This Grow With Me episode is about a shift I’m consciously leaning into . . . moving my energy from building my personal brand to growing and strengthening the Planting Seeds Podcast platform.

It’s less about me and more about us, the kaupapa, and creating something that holds space for community, conversation, and collective growth.

I also respond to two questions from the community, sharing my honest perspective and lived experience:

1️⃣ How do I have, create and stay consistent with quality time with my sons?

2️⃣ What’s the difference between growth discomfort and retraumatisation?

This kōrero is reflective and not about having all the answers, but about sharing what I’m learning in real time.

I hope you enjoy this episode. Please leave a comment below, I’d love to hear what landed for you.

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This Grow With Me episode is about a shift I’m making this year which is . . . choosing structure over goals.

For a long time, I thought goals were the answer and to be honest setting goals have helped me achieved so much.

But in this episode, I break down whats changed, and the four pou I’m using to support my health, mahi, whānau, and finances. Not to hype myself up but to hold myself steady, especially on the hard days.
It’s about sustainability and staying in the game.

In this episode, I speak into:

✨ Why goals create pressure instead of support
✨ The shift from outcomes to systems
✨ My four core structures (pou) for the year
✨ Trusting the process
✨ Sustainability over burnout

🔗 Get Bio Gold: SEEDS15 ⁠https://biogoldnz.com/discount/SEEDS15⁠🔗Book 1:1 Call to Join Seeds of Self OR Brother to Brother:⁠https://calendly.com/raniera/1-on-1-korero⁠

This episode opens the 2026 season of the Planting Seeds Podcast with honesty. Not inspiration. Not hype. Just truth.

The year didn’t begin the way I expected. What was meant to be a fresh start turned into a Not-So-Happy New Year, marked by an emotional breakdown and finding myself deep in the mental trenches.

In this Grow With Me episode, I share what led to that breakdown, the patterns and pressures that finally surfaced, and how I navigated through the pain instead of bypassing it.

If you’ve ever entered a new year feeling heavy instead of hopeful . . . this episode is for you.

In this episode, I speak into:

✨ A breakdown at the beginning of the year
✨ Being in the mental trenches
✨ The cost of carrying things alone
✨ Sitting with pain instead of escaping it
✨ What breakthroughs look like after the breakdown
✨ Why growth doesn’t follow a calendar
✨ Starting again by filling your cup

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https://biogoldnz.com/discount/SEEDS15

🔗Book 1:1 Call to Join Seeds of Self OR Brother to Brother:
https://calendly.com/raniera/1-on-1-korero

This Grow With Me episode is Part 2 of the communication and storytelling series. In this kōrero, I speak openly about how I got into speaking, public speaking and podcasting, and the simple structure I still use today to communicate clearly and confidently.

I wasn’t always a good communicator. In fact, there were specific moments that sparked my desire to get better, from listening to motivational YouTube videos, to being mentored by an amazing public speaker and storyteller, to experiencing one of the most fearful and embarrassing moments you can have when speaking in front of people.

I share how many failures and hundreds (if not thousands) of reps shaped the way I speak today. There was no shortcut just commitment, curiosity and repetition.

This episode is practical. The next podcast you listen to, I invite you to answer the questions alongside the guest or better yet, start shaping your own story using the structure I share:
Beginning (upbringing), Middle (2–3 defining moments), End (where you are now).

This series is about giving you tools to communicate your thoughts, emotions and experiences with more confidence and clarity.

Make sure you tune in for Part 3 🌱

We dive into:

✨ How I got into speaking & public speaking
✨ The events that sparked my desire to improve
✨ Learning through YouTube & mentors
✨ The most embarrassing speaking moment of my life
✨ Why failure is part of becoming confident
✨ Doing the reps over time
✨ The storytelling structure I still use today
✨ How to practice by listening to podcasts differently

🔗 Join Seeds of Self: www.skool.com/seeds-of-self

This episode is an up-the-guts kōrero with my good brother Kawariki Thompson, also known as Mr Waana Heal Stay Real.

Kawariki has been on a deep healing journey, using his real and raw lived experiences to support others in reconnecting with who they truly are — beneath the titles, beneath the masks, and underneath the hurt and pain they’ve been carrying for years.

Coming from a rough background, including childhood abuse and life in gangs, Kawariki shares how those experiences shaped him — and how he eventually chose to confront them instead of running from them. Today, one of his most powerful modalities is breathwork, which he uses to help people regulate their nervous systems, process trauma, and break cycles rooted in the past.

We talk about the nervous system, different ways of understanding trauma, the importance of giving and receiving love, and how breakdowns often become the doorway to breakthroughs.

This kōrero is honest, confronting, and deeply human — and will resonate with anyone who knows what it’s like to carry pain and still wants more from life.

We dive into:

✨ Kawariki’s upbringing and lived experiences
✨ Trauma, abuse, and the impact on identity
✨ From gangster to healer
✨ Breathwork as a tool for healing and regulation
✨ Understanding the nervous system
✨ Different ways to view and process trauma
✨ Giving and receiving love
✨ How breakdowns lead to breakthroughs
✨ Reconnecting to who you really are

🔗 Join Seeds of Self: HERE

This Grow With Me episode launches a new 3-part series on communication and storytelling — something that has shaped the way I live, lead, speak, and connect with people.

What has helped me the most in becoming a stronger communicator is knowing my own story.

So in this episode, for the first time on the podcast, I share it openly as the foundation for what’s coming next.

We dive into:

✨ Why storytelling matters

✨ My upbringing & bullying

✨ The partying years

✨ Breakups & running from myself

✨ Moving to Australia

✨ The book that changed everything

✨ Travelling for 6 months

✨ The food truck & podcast journey

✨ What matters most to me

✨ Preparing you to tell your own story

The hope and purpose of this series is to give you tools, insights, and frameworks that help you speak with more confidence, express yourself clearly, and communicate your thoughts and emotions with ease.

Make sure you subscribe and tune in to the next episode — we’re just getting started 🌱

🔗 Join Seeds of Self: HERE

The next episode is with a local brother, Eru Osborne, co-founder and owner of Uncomfortable Clothing, a brand built on the idea of doing uncomfortable things. But Eru doesn’t just talk about it — he lives it.

Last month, Eru ran 465KM for Movember and Men’s Mental Health.Each day reflected the number of kilometres he would run: Day 1 = 1km, Day 10 = 10km, Day 30 = 30km.

A mental and physical challenge that pushed his limits and revealed powerful lessons about mindset, discipline, self-talk, and purpose.

In this episode, we talk about the 465km challenge, the story behind Uncomfortable Clothing, and how Eru began his journey of growth — working through insecurities, the desire for external validation, imposter syndrome, and what led him to stop drinking alcohol for 12 months.

We dive into:

✨ Running 465km for Movember & Men’s Mental Health
✨ The origins of Uncomfortable Clothing
✨ Doing hard things on purpose
✨ Overcoming insecurities & imposter syndrome
✨ Letting go of external validation
✨ Choosing sobriety for 12 months
✨ The importance of honest self-reflection
✨ Lessons that discomfort continues to teach

🔗 Book a FREE 15-minute kōrero: HERE

🔗 Follow Uncomfortable Clothing: HERE
🔗 Join Seeds of Self: HERE

Big shoutout to @haumanuhauora for the powerful thread we speak into during the episode.

This Grow With Me episode is one of the most personal kōrero I’ve shared.

I speak openly about the story that has held me back for years — the belief that “I don’t value myself enough.” A belief I thought I understood… but never realised just how false it was, and how much it’s been limiting my ability to be, show up fully, and connect with the people who genuinely care about me.

What shifted everything was first my best bro and then a moment at the end of a table, surrounded by 10 others, who all reflected love, truth, and value back to me. Hearing them speak life into me woke something up, a deep realisation that I am valued, seen, and supported. Their words created a massive shift within me.

I also share about the Seeds of Life wānanga that took place over the weekend, one of the BEST I’ve ever facilitated. It was special on so many levels, and I break down exactly why.

I dive into:

✨ The old story of unworthiness
✨ How community reflected truth back to me
✨ What changed at that table
✨ Rewiring old beliefs
✨ Breaking the survival mindset
✨ Aligning with value & authenticity
✨ What made Seeds of Life so special
✨ How to step into your truth

✨ Abundant gratitude for those around me

If you resonate with this journey and feel called to join one of my offerings through Seeds of Self, you can book a free 15-minute kōrero with me below.

🔗 Book your 15-minute call for Seeds of Self:
👉 https://calendly.com/raniera/1-on-1-korero

This episode is another LIVE podcast, recorded during our Seeds of Life wānanga/retreat over the weekend. A space designed for like-minded people to come together for self-discovery and connection.

Our guest is Nick Smith, a brother I’ve been connected with since 2020 when he joined my then-online community Te Ara Hou, now called Seeds of Self.

Nick has grown into a tuakana within our space, someone who embodies the values and intentions of our kaupapa.

In this kōrero we explore the theme of the wānanga: AUTHENTICITY.We talk about learning how to simply BE, disconnecting from the mind, tuning into the lessons of the natural world and natural order, and what it means to break cycles within ourselves.

We finish the episode with a LIVE Q&A session from the whānau who were watching, adding another layer to the live sessions.

We dive into:

✨ The meaning of AUTHENTICITY

✨ Learning to simply be

✨ Disconnecting from the mind

✨ Nature as teacher and guide

✨ Understanding natural order

✨ Breaking cycles within self

✨ Live Q&A with the retreat whānau

✨ How Seeds of Self supports the journey

This is a grounded and insightful kōrero, one that reflects the heart of Seeds of Life.

If you resonate and would like to be part of the online community Seeds of Self OR Return to Origin Mentoring use links below:

🔗 Join Seeds of Self: ⁠www.skool.com/seeds-of-self⁠

🔗 Join Return to Origin: www.instagram.com/origin_mentoring

This episode is with Dr Ririwai Fox, a tāne Māori with a PhD in Psychology and kaupapa Māori, whose work explores the powerful intersection between Western psychology and Māori worldviews.

Ririwai shares openly about his academic journey, studying at Victoria University while becoming a father to four children, and the many life events that shaped him along the way.

We talk about the broadness of psychology, the gaps it currently has, and the findings from his research that help people understand themselves, their patterns, and their potential to thrive.

He explains the pathway from surviving (-10 to 0) to thriving (0 to 10), the concept of cultural embeddedness, and the frameworks he uses to support both himself and whānau.

We dive into:

✨ His journey studying psychology while raising four children

✨ The connection between psychology & kaupapa Māor

i✨ Moving from surviving to thriving (-10 to +10)

✨ What “cultural embeddedness” means for Māori well-being

✨ Practical frameworks he uses for himself & whānau

✨ The limitations & opportunities within psychology

✨ The importance of culture in healing and identity

🔗 Follow Ririwai Here: https://www.instagram.com/drfoxc101/

🔗 Join Seeds of Self: www.skool.com/seeds-of-self