Josh Tucker AKA Jiggs is a tremendously inspiring man.

Having been mollested by an older sibling as a child Josh's early life started off extremely difficult to say the least.

Then having a mother who at best wanted to escape reality through endless distraction or at worst wanted to blame Josh for his role in what had happened you'd be forgiven for expecting Josh to be extremely damaged by these events.

However listen to him talk and you will hear someone who has learned to process all of these events, reframe them and create an acceptance from his past that doesn't hold him back from living his life today.

This man is a true inspiration!

Casinntra is a legally blind lady and a force to be reckoned with.

Despite life with seriously imparied vision she is a streamer, a gamer, a dancer, a photographer and an activist. Oh... and she's only 21!

I first met her through streaming and in my opinion she is definitely one to watch in 2021.

On this episode we talk about life as legally blind, the perceptions, the restrictions and the opportunities for improvement.

Well... it's certainly been one hell of a year, I'm sure we can all agree on that!

In this annual special I do my rundown of the highs, the lows, the struggles and the achievements!

Lydia Hook is someone I have got to see take all kinds of journeys over the past 2 years (metaphorical AND literal).

Having been born prematurely she was given a very slim chance of survival and an even slimmer chance of normal cognitive development. But at the age of 23 she has a degree, has traveled the world and has already helped way more people than she gives herself credit for!

On this episode she shares her story of life with OCD, depression and generalised anxiety and how she is learning to live with and mmanage each of these factors.

One thing I see happen online is people doing good things but being accused of having bad intentions. From attention seeking to virtue signalling, to our favourite topic of late - toxic positivity.

What separates the good from the bad when the actions are the same is the intentions, but it has become increasingly customary to assume the worst of people without knowing their context.

From my experience though these people who exploit things like random acts of kindness or big up others for the collaterol clout certainly do exist they are the overwhelming minority. With the overwhelming majority of kind people out there being genuine, but unfortunately often tarred with the same skeptical brush!

Mental Health Matt is a poker player/coach who has recently ventured into the world of mental health streaming and is another wonderful person I have met through my ongoing journey on twitch.

Originally from the UK, Matt now resides in Las Vegas,, where he is a poker coach, both from a mechanics of the game point of view but also the mindset it takes to be a competitive player.

Through struggles with his own mental health and seeing recuring mental health issues in the poker community Matt recently added Twitch streaming into his repertoire of influence where he hosts a regular mental health show with the aim to empathise and impact!

I like to run my years with "themes" (well in business anyway!)

In 2018 it was random acts of kindness, in 2019 it was paying it forward and in 2020 it was "not them and us but all of us".

Well in 2021 it is going to be "don't wait until rock bottom" and the central focus on my work next year will be helping people to make changes BEFORE they need them!

To be fair, I've not been looking forward to making this one,, as excuses are a particularly touchy subject in the mental health space. But right now... I feel I did it justice!

 

That's all I'm going to say and let you listen to make your own mind up!

Alex Manos has been a big old inspiration to me over the years. When I first came to know of him he was practicing functional medicine, which is basically nutritional therpay but levelled up somewaht.

Using nutritional science and treating the human body (and mind) as the interconnected system that it is with the aim to heal the body through prevention (good nutrition) rather than cure (medication).

One of the things I love about Alex is his relentless pursuit of answers, which has lead him recently into transformational breathwork and a very recent (and medically supervised) experience with psychedelics.

This is an area of mental health that is very much taboo and those who dabble with such things are often placed in a similar category to those who use recreational drugs so I knew that when tackling this on the podcast I needed someone who would be able to give some gravitas to their experience and I knew Alex was the man for the job!

The boy has gone and got himself a hat trick! Sam Tyrer is officially the first person to get his own dedicated 3rd episode on this show and I can't think of anyone more deserving!

Sam has been someone I have worked with closer and closer over the last few years,, originally through his program Change Talks.

This year we took that program online as The Mental Health Family Hour and have reached literally 1000s of people with that work on top of recently being both awarded the Points Of Light award from the Prime Minister.

On top of all this amazing work Sam is also a Dad, a Husband and an Ultra-Endurance Athlete. Oh and just an all around top bloke!