We talk regularly on Seize the Yay about the unlikely but incredible places you can end up and how many of the best experiences in life are unplanned. You already know how blown away I was to be approached by one of our intelligence services a few months ago and given access to a real life spy for one of our most fascinating episodes to date, which was not only unplanned but never even considered being such an outlandish impossibility.

But if you told me that would snowball into a four part dedicated espionage and intelligence miniseries, which would include not only two further intelligence officers from an even more secret spy service but also its Director General who then invited me as the first external visitor in the history of that service to record at their top secret training facility in an undisclosed location? I would have absolutely laughed in your face at the sheer impossibility and ridiculousness that it could ever happen… and yet it did… so, here we are…

I could not be more honoured or thrilled to present as our guest this week the actual head of our most secret organisation, Kerri Hartland - the Director General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (or ASIS as we will refer to it). As the first female and first external deputy director general of ASIO and now the first female Director General of ASIS, Kerri is my absolute hero not least because she turned up in head to toe pink with a warmth and openness belying the power of her position and her awe-inspiring experience.

Within the understandable confines of operational secrecy, Kerri opens up about the challenges of a stellar career of “firsts”, her experiences as a powerful female leader in a sea of black and navy clad males, whether her life resembles anything like that of M in James Bond (dropping a few Seize the Yay exclusives), and also the humbling role of Mum that she comes home to also experiencing the ubiquitous “juggle”. I still can’t believe I actually got to pick such an extraordinary brain and share many invaluable lessons on seizing the yay.

We are also releasing a second episode at the same time as this one sharing part of ASIS’ story from a different lens through the eyes of two senior intelligence officers, Jess and Tara - not their real names. So, you have plenty to catch up on this week jam-packed with jaw dropping storytelling and reflections - I feel so lucky to be sharing this with the yayborhood and hope you all enjoy as much as I did!

Visit the new ASIS website here.
Follow the new ASIS Instagram here.

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We talk regularly on Seize the Yay about the unlikely but incredible places you can end up and how many of the best experiences in life are unplanned. You already know how blown away I was to be approached by one of our intelligence services a few months ago and given access to a real life spy for one of our most fascinating episodes to date, which was not only unplanned but never even considered being such an outlandish impossibility.

But if you told me that would snowball into a four part dedicated espionage and intelligence miniseries, which would include not only two further intelligence officers from an even more secret spy service but also its Director General who then invited me as the first external visitor in the history of that service to record at their top secret training facility in an undisclosed location? I would have absolutely laughed in your face at the sheer impossibility and ridiculousness that it could ever happen… and yet it did… so, here we are…

I could not be more honoured or thrilled to present as our guest this week the actual head of our most secret organisation, Kerri Hartland - the Director General of the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (or ASIS as we will refer to it). As the first female and first external deputy director general of ASIO and now the first female Director General of ASIS, Kerri is my absolute hero not least because she turned up in head to toe pink with a warmth and openness belying the power of her position and her awe-inspiring experience.

Within the understandable confines of operational secrecy, Kerri opens up about the challenges of a stellar career of “firsts”, her experiences as a powerful female leader in a sea of black and navy clad males, whether her life resembles anything like that of M in James Bond (dropping a few Seize the Yay exclusives), and also the humbling role of Mum that she comes home to also experiencing the ubiquitous “juggle”. I still can’t believe I actually got to pick such an extraordinary brain and share many invaluable lessons on seizing the yay.

We are also releasing a second episode at the same time as this one sharing part of ASIS’ story from a different lens through the eyes of two senior intelligence officers, Jess and Tara - not their real names. So, you have plenty to catch up on this week jam-packed with jaw dropping storytelling and reflections - I feel so lucky to be sharing this with the yayborhood and hope you all enjoy as much as I did!

Visit the new ASIS website here.
Follow the new ASIS Instagram here.

LINKS

+ Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah
+ Join our Facebook community here
+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when your entire identity is built on being the best in the world? For Jana Pittman, one of Australia's most famous athletes, the singular goal of Olympic gold was repeatedly torn away by devastating injuries and gut-wrenching losses.

You might think her biggest pivot was swapping the running track for the bobsled, becoming one of the very few athletes in history to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics.

But that wasn't it. Her real pivot was walking away entirely from being an elite athlete to become a doctor - all while raising six children.

In this episode of Pivot Club, Sarah Davidson speaks with Jana about this massive career change. They unpack how you cope with failure when your mindset is "silver is the first loser", and how you go from being one of the best in the world to a complete beginner back at the bottom of the ladder, surrounded by people half your age.

Jana shares the unfiltered story about how this profound pivot emerged from a period of intense personal and professional struggle - through divorce, miscarriages, failed exams and the financial lows of moving back into her own garage to make ends meet.

Join us for a raw lesson in resilience, a look into the unseen "messy middle," and a powerful reminder that your lowest moments can be the fuel for your greatest chapter yet.

THE END BITS:

Want more from Sarah Davidson? Check out her podcast Seize The Yay.

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Feedback: [email protected] 

Share your story, feedback, or dilemma! Send us a voice message, and one of our Podcast Producers will get back to you ASAP.

Rate or review us on Apple by clicking on the three dots in the top right-hand corner, click Go To Show then scroll down to the bottom of the page, click on the stars at the bottom and write a review.

CREDITS:

Guest: Jana Pittman

Host: Sarah Davidson

Executive Producer: Courtney Ammenhauser

Senior Producer: Sally Best

Want more Pivot Club? Listen here:

This show was brought to you in partnership with Charles Sturt University. Australia's largest and most experienced online uni. Take the next step. Search Charles Sturt University online. 

Mamamia acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the Land we have recorded this podcast on, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present, and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. 

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I talk all the time about guests who I’ve long time followed, first time called and how lovely it is to finally have a proper chat with someone you’ve admired from afar for so long. But then there’s guests who I’ve admired from up much closer and been lucky to know for years, always meaning to have them on the show without us ever actually getting around to it.

Today’s guest is one of those who I actually think might have been on the very FIRST dream guest list when I started back in 2018 and both of us still can’t believe it’s taken us this long to sit down properly. There are many preconceptions you might have about someone whose stunning looks landed them in a hugely successful modelling career kicking off with Australia’s Next Top Model then taking them around the world, but Brooke Pitt defies them all as one of the most humble, well adjusted people going around.

We met her as Brooke Hogan, but many of you will have followed her ensuing journey from modelling into business with Le Mon Swimwear and now co-founding the incredible pilates studio and online platform, Our Pilates, as well as huge brand partnerships including her role as an ambassador for Bellamy’s Organic. Our industry can be a funny one seeing people out and about many times over the years without ever having the chance to properly chat, but I’ve always left Brooke wishing we had more time together and we have especially bonded becoming boy mums running businesses around the same time.

Part of that bonding was over the challenges we both faced along the way, with Brooke so generously her long journey with IVF to finally having Billy. Nothing could be more special than sitting down for this episode just days before she recently announced she is pregnant with her second little one and wading through the beautiful mess of emotion that comes with it.

I won’t share any more here, but I loved every minute of this chat - I am so grateful to this show for allowing me a whole hour to crawl into people’s brains and learn what motivates them, challenges them and excites them on their way to finding yay. And even having known her for years now, Brooke surprised and delighted me in so many ways - I think so much of who she is does shine through on socials but I learned so much more today. I hope you guys enjoy this one as much as I did!

Follow Brooke here.
Check out Our Pilates here.

LINKS

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Today’s guest is another voice you are likely to have had in your ears many times with an incredible career spanning over a decade conquering basically every media format there is. From his earliest days, Mitch Churi could be found on the stage, on the airwaves or on a screen near you mastering everything from theatre, dramatic acting and stand up comedy to presenting, podcasting and radio.

From childhood dreams of being on the radio, Mitch worked his way up to headlining his own late night show, co-hosting the Pick Up with Laura Byrne and Britt Hockley and taking KISS FM to some of their highest numbers ever and all before the age of 30. But then, in a surprise to the entire nation, it was torn away when he was unexpectedly axed in a wave of redundancies and taken off air.

We love a pathyay pivot on this show whether engineered on purpose or experienced involuntarily and have many times explored the idea that the universe has crazy ways of giving you a little push to where you’re meant to be. Having taken just TWO WEEKS to turn this tragic surprise into his very own The Mitch Churi Chat Show, Mitch is such an empowering example of this and in just a few weeks he’s already reached wild heights debuting with Tyra Banks as a guest, Rosie O’Donnell releasing the morning we recorded and him politely excusing himself after our chat because one KHALED was waiting on him…

What I love most about this wasn’t having a yap with someone I’ve long time followed, first time called or getting some tips from an industry heavyweight but Mitch’s surprising honesty about the challenge of redefining success and how actively he is still working on embracing this new chapter of his life. I loved this chat so much and will definitely be back with a part two in the future!

Watch the Mitch Churi Chat show here.

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I spoke in last week’s introduction about the parasocial relationships we often have with the people we follow and today’s guest is another amazing human I’d been Internet besties with for a while before we met. When we did finally cross paths through a Business Chicks event - the foundation of so many great relationships - it was like the podcast universe of Sarahs folding in on itself and felt like we’d known each other for years. 

Many of you will already recognise Sarah Grynberg’s unmistakably soothing voice and thought provoking questions from her own leading podcast, A Life of Greatness, sparking meaningful conversations around purpose, connection, and what truly makes a life well lived - you can see why we get along so well! But what you may not know is the rich tapestry of life experiences that led her here — from the world of commercial radio to spiritual seeking, personal transformation, and sitting down with some of the world’s most profound thinkers and leaders in their fields - from Deepak Chopra to Matthew McConaughey and beyond!

Sarah has made it her mission to decode greatness — not the flashy, performative kind, but the deep, soul-nourishing greatness that comes from alignment, vulnerability, and courage and has also channeled her wisdom into a fabulous book, Living a Life of Greatness that came out just this year. In today’s episode, we turn the mic back on her and peel back the layers of what lights her up, what challenges she’s faced on her path, and how she navigates the inner world while showing up so fully in the outer one. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. 

Follow Sarah here

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In this day and age, we all enjoy a few parasocial relationships with people we follow but haven’t actually met and in fact most of our guests on the show feel that way before we record. But this week’s guest goes even further beyond that and into the realm of an honorary family member who’s with us in our lounge room, kitchen and sometimes even bedroom every single day…

In the ultimate case of #IYKYK, anyone listening who’s at a similar stage of life to us won’t need any further context than her name to understand why it was so surreal to sit down with the incredible Ms Moni for our episode this week. But for those who don’t know, I am so excited to have educator, musician, mum of two and Australia’s answer to Ms Rachel jump right out of her booming YouTube channel to join the show.

Ms Moni - otherwise known as Monica Ferreira - brings years of teaching experience to her interactive toddler learning videos on YouTube using interactive songs, stories and adventures to help our little ones develop language and social skills wherever they are. I was introduced to her after some of my own followers realised Teddy had been picking up American sign language before I realised sign language wasn’t universal, and we’ve never looked back. 

But even if you too know her face and voice as well as we do, you may not know the amazing story of how she ended up where she is today. I won’t give it away too much more but I had no idea about her medical sliding doors moment, other businesses she has started, and was dying to know more for behind the scenes of how she edits her videos, writes her lyrics and which instrument she actually plays. 

Wildly, this was her first podcast EVER (even though you wouldn’t know it at all from her eloquence and poise). She’s as delightful as you think she’d be from her videos and I hope you enjoy as much as I did. 

Follow Ms Moni here.

Get tickets to our live show here.

LINKS

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There would be very few Australians who haven’t encountered The Daily Aus at one point or another, consuming the latest headlines from around the world in unmistakably bright colours and a no-nonsense vernacular. Since 2017, TDA has been disrupting the media landscape by repackaging leading news stories in a digestible, engaging way for younger, traditionally news-avoidant audiences. 

What you may not know, however, is that a) it all began between two complete strangers, b) was all designed and executed at that initial blind coffee catch up and c) with both of them working outside of journalism and the media at the time. After years of following both her work and her pathYAY behind the scenes, I’m thrilled to have one of those co-founders, Zara Seidler, with us today.

You all know I love a pivot-filled pathYAY and Zara's is one for the ages going from early leanings towards education to climbing the ladder in government and politics before somewhat stumbling into this dream career. You’ll hear how she built a side hustle with a stranger into a media monster with a few fun side stories about managing risk, underestimation and failed rebrands and ALL still before the age of 30 years old. 

We also touch on the loss of her father to suicide when she was just 16 years old, a defining moment both for Zara and her family including her brother Zac - a clinical psychologist, researcher and Global Director of Men's Health at Movember - who you have also heard on the show. She is extraordinary in many ways, eloquent beyond her years and a joy to chat with - I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Follow Zara here
Follow The Daily Aus here

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Sometimes our guests are incredibly talented experts in a specific field, while other times they are extreme polymaths with ventures spanning industries and themes. Sometimes our guests are renowned public figures with extensively covered careers and other times their achievements are quieter although never less impressive. 

And then, you have Merrick Watts who is all of things at once with his insatiable sense of curiosity driving in a constantly evolving, multifaceted, stellar career. While most of Australia will know of him as a comedy giant across radio and TV (which he of course has been and still is since 1996), he is also a qualified wine judge with two professional qualifications, a weapon who won SAS Australia and recently ran the gruelling big 5 marathon in South Africa, AND founder of Posca Hydrate, an incredible hydration elixir inspired by Ancient romans. 

It reveals something about Merrick’s thirst for learning (pun intended) that the idea was born during an Internet wormhole through COVID where his wine qualification research led him to ancient Roman methods to hydrate soldiers and emperors. While most would be satisfied there, Merrick went right on to experiment in his kitchen refining the ancient recipe into a sugar-free, sparkling, electrolyte-rich beverage with the added benefits of red wine vinegar for gut health and hydration.

You can see why his is a brain that was SO MUCH fun to pick, but also a joy to learn from as someone in the media myself speaking to somewhat of an idol. He is at once infinitely knowledgeable and a loose cannon all at once - I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. 

Follow Merrick here
Find out more about Posca Hydrate here.

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I’ve had a string of special recordings lately with guests I’ve been lucky to know through multiple chapters of their pathYAYS and today’s is absolutely one of those. But this is even more momentous not only because Seize the Yay was our guest’s first ever podcast back in 2019, but because her return comes literally days after some HUGE announcements and this chat was the first time she could speak about it.

Michelle Battersby is one of the smartest women I know and some of you may remember that when we last spoke she was aggressively growing Bumble in the Australian market. A year after that, she co-founded the trailblazing creator-led platform, Sunroom, allowing women and non-binary individuals to monetise their content.

Just last week, after scaling that business to over 20,000 creators, she was finally able to announce that she has sold Sunroom to Fanfix, the category leader in creator monetisation. And just days ago, she shared that she will be stepping into the role of President of Peanut, the gamechanging social networking app for pregnancy and motherhood. 

…which is so perfectly aligned because, yes, another development since our last episode was the birth of her first son Alfie… followed 8 months later with the somewhat surprising news that her second is also on the way! So, at the time of this recording Michelle had just exited her business, accepted her dream job and all while 30 weeks pregnant so what an INCREDIBLE time to catch up with her and get her real time thoughts. 

She has always been one of my favourite people to bump heads with but ESPECIALLY since becoming parents - I hope you enjoy as much as I did. 

LINKS

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