Max's Island

Eve Lameks now lives in a small town in south-west France with her husband Rickie. On the surface that may not seem dramatically special, however, to go there not only satisfied a long-term dream but it also was important for their England based business.

Their transition story began following the passing of their dear, 100 year old Aunt Tatiana, who they had been her primary carers for eight years. On a previous episode, Eve had shared with the listeners of Max’s Island, the loving but sometimes challenging task of caring for an elderly relative, in a foreign country, as a pair of 30 years olds. This period of time was a significant influence in the way they appreciated life, and was an experience that actually reinforced their dream to follow a way life that really suited them.

They saw first hand how this way of life could be achieved, by observing others whilst on a surfing holiday to the south-west of France … and then Eve thinking “ we’ve got great jobs in central London…we’re making really good money … why are we not as happy as these beach bums … hanging out … surfing all the time … somethings wrong”

So they began to take their construction consulting business on-line and began telling their customers of their plans to relocate.

It worked immediately … their customers were relaxed to work with them in a different way … and they were able to take “costs’ out of the business that enabled them to set business targets that were more manageable and less stressful.

Eve and Rickie have totally adopted the Max’s Island Value of “Trusting the Truth” … that is, really understanding what can happen by adopting a different approach to life and believing in this option as the best way to live.

Their business is :- https://www.thetendertrainers.co.uk/

This episode features a classic example of a person who totally adopted the Max’s Island way … and made a deliberate decision to change everything.

As we say on Max’s Island, that moment in life where you made a decision … for yourself.

However, in this case … for a range of reasons, it didn’t end there. In fact, it eventually ended back to where it all began.

Darren Green made a decision in 2018, after 15 years of running his own successful mortgage broking business … and within a week of him sharing that decision to walk away, with his bosses … it was abruptly over.

Waking up on the next Monday morning, he was a free man … or so he thought.

Since then and until now, he has wrestled with what was best for his mental health, what are his passions and thinking about what he does best.

But nothing really stuck or satisfied him. This meant that Darren bounced around a few jobs, sat out his time during COVID and generally tried to find what was right for him.

Eventually he circled back to where it all began … being a self employed mortgage broker … but with a different frame of mind and a refreshing outlook of where work sits in his life. He feels that he now has achieved the freedom to self actualise and make the necessary judgement calls that allow him to live his life … on his terms.

Danny Allen and his mates used getting together, over a few beers, as a way of keeping close and yakking over things that mattered to them.

A chance meeting with a podcast producer and content creator … at a pub in the Perth northern suburbs … just as they were thinking about starting a podcast for themselves, was the moment of truth for them.

They mused over a Podcast name … loosely formulated a plan … and then just relied on the connection they had between themselves … to create 4Beerzin.

The natural evolution of this creative endeavour has been strong, consistent and pushes the edges of topics their listeners enjoy.

They have even had “an experience” with Mel C (of the Spice Girls fame) that adds to this story.

Danny’s infectious enthusiasm provides a spark of creativity and uniqueness that brings the podcast to life. And personally for him, this experience has allowed him to see the value of making decisions, taking informed risks and just being open to the opportunities the podcast … and life in general … directs his way.

Enjoy this engaging story, with all its humour, whilst still understanding the strong meaningfulness of the messages it holds.

This is part 2 of Brad Cecin’s visit to the island.

Previously, we learnt how Brad’s passion and commitment was pivotal in starting a successful community radio station.  

In this episode we continue to peel back the layers of person who has achieved so much…as an elite sportsman, talented media personality and a genuinely good bloke.

Brad shares his involvement in the Nollamara Primary school basketball phenomena, the passion for surfing and the diverse media experiences he had on both radio and TV. 

All this is wrapped up in a storyline of a person who chooses to feel emotion … another Max’s Island value … and how this emotional expression shaped his life experiences toward others.

The many faces of Brad Cecins…Sports star, media personality, school teacher and community radio entrepreneur.

This is Part 1 … of a two part series … of Brad’s visit to The Island.

Whilst sharing his primary journey of starting a community radio station, Brad unearths a story that has a multi-faceted message of commitment, perseverance and self belief. Without this focused drive, the ability to connect with others and be supported along the way by his family, he would not have achieved the amazing outcomes that have occurred.

His engaging personality genuinely reflects the Max’s Island value of “daring to be human - being unique”.

Brad has a relaxed storytelling style that is easy to listen to. You’ll feel like you’re in the room with him.

Enjoy.

Simon Carabetta openly describes himself as a typical arrogant, egotistical 20 year old, back in the early 2000’s. He joined me on Max’s Island to speak about these times and his early introduction into the local ‘pro-wrestling” scene in WA.

After a chance meeting with a group of guys of a similar age, he was drawn into being involved in an emerging organisation at the heart of this ‘pro-wrestling’ scene. His strong ego put him front and centre of this group and he immediately took on the roles of ‘marketing/PR guru’ and ‘event night referee’.

He was now in the scene and ready to ride the wave of growth with this enthusiastic band of wrestling brothers. And, then following an event mishap to one of the groups wrestlers, that attracted significant media attention, he was thrust into the public limelight as the spokesman for the group.

The TV and press coverage that occurred, not only gave the organisation a level of notoriety, but it was another catalyst to ‘stoking’ his already significant ego. This all contributed to him getting a gig to referee in front of 15,000 people one night.

The night was huge … but didn’t end well for Simon. Whether it was his ego, his pride or just his “20’s something” naivety, his actions lead to a massive fall from grace. Not only from the crowd on the night, but also from his colleagues in the pro-wrestling scene.

This experience has been hugely influential in shaping Simon’s approach to his own self-awareness and how “Trusting the Truth” of knowing who you really are, is important when maintaining relationships in both his personal and professional life.

It’s a great lesson for all of us … to understand when it’s time to change … when it’s time to grow … and when it’s time to be a better person.

Simon’s entertaining storytelling makes this a compelling listen.

We all aim to set ourselves “Everest Events” … those personal quests that when completed, provide internal fulfilment and a sense of achievement. The impact we create for ourselves can be huge … or, it just may be the start of a series of smaller achievements that build momentum and meaning in our lives.

But, they don’t need to be as grand as scaling the world’s largest mountain or crossing the largest oceans.

Lois Keay-Smith used the motivation of completing the Cape to Cape trek in the South West of WA, and then striking it from her ‘bucket list’ … all at a time where health had become very important for her and living life to the fullest … became a priority.

The completion of this trek was the inspiration to challenge herself with other personal goals … one of which was to rekindle her interest in performing ballet … something she did as a younger person, but now had the opportunity to re-engage as an older adult. 

Other quests exist for Lois on her bucket list, and it is all about creating the “space” … so she can really give them a go.

On Max’s Island we love people who embrace our value to just “Call It” … and make decisions to follow their passions.

Just like Lois, you should too.

In her “day job”, Lois guides people though career changes and helping them get the best out of their working lives. You can contact Lois @ https://www.careerwisdom.com.au/

The final lines in the early 20th century poem, by Robert Frost …  The Road Not Taken … says:-

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Paul Skewes admits that over his life he has regularly chosen the road less travelled and this has shaped him. From this, there have been experiences … some intuitively driven, some pragmatically driven and sometimes even driven by nothing other than a feeling for what is the right thing to do.

Paul now realises the significance of taking this journey and how important this approach is toward leading a life … in his words … of just “being me”.

So, Paul’s story, philosophy and life acquired wisdom, fully align with the Max’s Island value of “Daring to be human – unique”

Paul expertly describes how important this is for him personally … and how significant it is for the people he works with.

Contact Paul via LinkedIn @ Paul Skewes

OR

https://paulskewes.com/

Tara is passionate about bringing the beauty and power of Australian Sign Language (Auslan) into early childhood education. This passion is obvious in her emotionally powerful description of the venture she has created with her partner. Called Tiny Hands Signs, it has a purpose to introduce sign language as an additional method to aid the communication development of all children.

For all her life she has been deeply connected to the deaf and hard of hearing community, so the chance to take the benefits of sign language to all educators is an opportunity to good to be missed.

Feeling the emotion in this venture is easy to appreciate when you hear Tara’s vision of a better experience for children during the early learning years of their lives.

The Tiny Hands Signs supported community is growing and they are taking the learnings from the lived experienced examples being witnessed every day.

To find out more, connect with Tiny Hands Signs:-

https://tinyhandssigns.com.au/

Raff Di Bartolomeo has spent a career helping others and guiding them to find what’s important for them. Particularly, those with an interest in looking at how collaboration, connection and intentional action can address social need and elevate the voices of those most impacted. Ultimately, he has focused on others and embraced social innovation to make their lives better.

When the effects of a set of physical challenges began to impact on his own professional perception of himself, he eventually had to realise that there were resulting mental health pressures as well. The lived experience from recurring situations, over a period of time, gradually led him to a place where he could manage the process of recovery, identify trauma informed positive action and just acknowledging the importance of the values he lives by.

Raff’s story has strong messages for every professional to consider and contains lessons for everyone about how to live a good life.