Mindgold

Martin Heppel is co-founder of The Resilience Project, a Melbourne based non-for profit organisation that promotes mental wellbeing through gratitude, mindfulness and empathy. Former footy player, headmaster, and self-proclaimed bum, Marty has experienced the fuck out of life and shares his strategies for achieving mental gains through honest human connection. 

00:00 Graham going missing and realising the significance of community.

06:00 Marty is a different unit: the birth of The Resilience Project and growing up with head hunters (not the gang).

10:00 Failure is a growth point : learning from negative experiences and the importance of communicating about them, trusting the outcome and not being afraid of the consequences of opening up. 

17:00 Adversity leads to resilience; the importance of being taught as a child that it's OK to fuck up, post traumatic growth and seeing failure as an opportunity. 

23:00 How my initial encounter with Marty gave me the courage to be unapologetically ME.

27:00 Appearances, judgment, and the insecurities we attempt to combat by trying to fit in. 

35:00 The importance of making genuine connections and putting the effort in to our relationships. 

52:00 Practise makes perfect: training your mind the same way you would train your body and building daily habits that support your mental wellbeing. 

60:00 The courage to be vulnerable without fear of judgement: recognising that being honest, even about the bad things, is a strength not a weakness. 

67:00 People are gonna give you shit regardless, so you may as well just be who you are. 

72:00 How your mindset affects others, so putting your best effort out to the universe. 

Inspired by Jason, this episode is 100% me. Join me for a massive overshare into the less boring bits of my life, what I've learnt from them, and how the seemingly negative things that happen can turn into the best if you just wait them out, just like you'll have to wait til the end to hear me drop the c bomb. 

00:00 The inspiration behind doing a solo episode and the opportunity to stop listening if you don't particularly want to know too much about me.

01:30 How most of us are just normal people trying to be slightly better at normal things and the importance of using adversity to become slightly less average.

03:10 The least boring parts of my life; ice, sex, and the constant fear of going to hell.

10:00 The constant need to flog dead horses and the importance of quitting while you're ahead. 

13:00 Yeah, nah, bye. The transition from piece of shit to art student piece of shit. 

16:00 Why spite is an excellent motivational tool, but a genuine passion is essential. 

21:00 From food to fitness; the inspiration behind my next career change.

26:00 CrossFit; how being hit by a car turned me into a full CF wanker, plus finding and then losing a surrogate family.

30:00 Entering the world of weightlifting; why I love keeping my clothes on and sitting the fuck down. Discipline, commitment, and falling in love with the process.

33:00 The goal and why I'm OK with not being there yet.

36:00 Making things fucking happen, and why being an annoying c*** is essential to achieving anything. 

Siobhan is a breath work facilitator and runs The Breathwork Shed in St Kilda, Melbourne. Her story of adversity leading her to finding her calling, and the importance of sharing and working through your shit is beautiful and inspiring. 

00:00 Why is everyone so fucked up? How we can use something as simple as breathing to alleviate our stress and anxiety.

05:00 Siobhan's love of breath work is born in Bali and evolves as she discovers more about herself and where she wants to be in life.

08:00 There is no 'last' rep. Embracing the journey and all of its parts.

12:00 The journey of breath work from Bali to Melbourne and the birth of The Breathwork Shed.

15:30 The benefit of getting the feelings out through screams, tears, laughter, and most of all sharing. 

24:00 Standard Tinder date story that has vague relevance to the topic of breathing. 

26:00 Why we are who we are : uncovering and working through past trauma using breath work and subsequent aggrieved phone calls to family members.

30:00 Paying attention to the signs...before the universe tries to kill you. 

42:00 Where to find Siobhan and her shed. 

Celia Pacquola joins the show today with some words of wisdom gained from the 12 years of doing a job that still terrifies her : stand up comedy. We cover some pretty intense shit but it's OK because she makes it funny. 

00:00 The intentions behind Mindgold and the value we can gain from vulnerability and sharing our experiences.

02:20 Celia meets Graham. General banter.

08:30 Getting the feelings out on stage; how being vulnerable and sharing your insecurities brings strength and catharsis.

13:30 Speaking out about things that matter. 'Me too', abortion, the importance of telling your story and the anxiety of how that message will be received.

17:00 Internal vs external validation, how to measure your success without relying on the opinions of others.

22:00 Not having an end goal, why this is more motivating, and the fear that accompanies continuously striving for the next challenge.

29:00 Tattoos. Why? Sarah's unintentionally bleak views on commitment.

31:30 'Fuck off, I'm shit'. The cultural norm that is imposter syndrome and why we can't just say we are good at something.

35:00 The roller coaster of mental health, how to seperate yourself from your negative thoughts and make yourself take action.

41:00 You are not a burden, the importance of reaching out and of making your mental health a priority.

47:00 Why we want to believe that everyone is trying their best.

We are lucky to have Emily Muskett (Godley) join us this week on the show. Emily is an elite Olympic weightlifter, taking home gold for Great Britain at the Commonwealth Games 2018, and currently on the road to qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

Emily balances being an elite athlete with the responsibility of coaching others in the sport, with the empathy and compassion of someone who genuinely gives a fuck, and uses her own journey and experiences to be both inspirational and relatable.

Emily, you are literally solid gold, and we wish you all the best in the 'ball-ache' that is the Olympic qualification process.

00:00 Introducing Emily, and our current tripod situation.

06:00 Emily's journey from pole vaulting to weightlifting, and the importance of playing the long game.

12:00 Eating all of the food, feelings about going up a weight class.

15:30 Emily describes the Olympic qualifying process.

24:00 Trying not to think; mental strength both on and off the platform.

29:00 Being a coach who genuinely cares; why empathy is such a vital coaching tool and the importance of giving back to the sport and to others.

36:00 Managing anxiety and the comfort and strength to be gained by sharing your struggles with others.

52:30 Mindgold moments: why caring too much can be detrimental, the benefit of giving less fucks and how this is applicable in all aspects of life.

This week on the show we chat values and competition with Murray Ballenden, black belt and head coach of Dominance MMA. We grapple with some really interesting topics around struggles in sport, life, and the importance of values in both.

1:00 Why this episode is special / general irrelevant banter.

5:00 The freedom of admitting you know nothing, and the empowerment of owning it.

8:00 The 6 basic human needs (stolen from Tony Robbins), and finding these in a sport.

10:00 Murray's journey from BJJ back to BJJ, via CrossFit and Weightlifting.

20:00 The differences in value systems, culture and community in sports.

32:30 An in depth discussion about Hoar's Frost (it's a thing)

35:00 Exhaustion and burnout as a badge of honour in training and life. The benefits of sub-maximal training.

42:00 Suffering is equal to discomfort X resistance. Using fear and anxiety as fuel in competition.

51:00 Advice you'd give your 20 year old self.