Seize the Yay

Many of our guests on the show tell incredible stories of trying lots of different things they don’t really love before stumbling on a particular yay that changes their life. What has fascinated me about George Hartley since the day we first met is that he’s loved then left lots of different yays to end up in his current chapter in an industry he originally knew absolutely nothing about. I was first introduced to George as the co-founder and Chief Marketing/Product Officer of Bluethumb, Australia's largest online art marketplace, which he describes as “Soundcloud but for art”. Launched in 2012, Bluethumb connects over 20,000 Australian artists with collectors, facilitating the sale of more than 100,000 original artworks to date with around half a million dollars worth of art currently for sale.

How he has completely revolutionised a whole industry and grown the business to extraordinary heights just recently launching in the USA is a fascinating story in itself. I did not, however, expect to ask about his background in the art world and hear him say, “oh no, I know nothing about it”. While I’ve always been a proponent of finding a business idea out of a gap in the market that you experience yourself as a consumer, George is an amazing example that you can absolutely reverse engineer a business without any prior connections, qualifications or a foot in the door (and that this can often be an advantage). Instead, he began by studying marketing and accountant at uni, had a whole marketing career which he then left to do music full time, which he in turn left to do a Master’s in computer science and work in UX design all before Bluethumb began… I LOVED our first chat at a founders dinner and have been wanting to continue it, so you guys just happen to benefit too! I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

LINKS

Visit Bluethumb here.
Follow George here.
Listen to Art in My Home podcast here.

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It’s not the first time we’ve touched on this week’s topic or guest on the show, but you’ll all remember how absolutely CAPTIVATED I was by the Thai cave rescue when I first read Against All Odds, so I am SO excited to be able to revisit it again. Our conversation with Dr Richard Harris a few years ago is still one of our most popular episodes ever, so I’ve been hoping to get his friend, diving partner, co-author and co-Australian of the Year on the show for a while and I'm thrilled to have Craig Challen here today.

Just as Harry was, Craig is wildly humble about his pivotal role in one of the most incredible stories in recent human history. It's as mind blowing as ever hearing the details of how the unique combination of his passion and profession was just what the world needed to pull off the impossible - I don’t think you can ever hear this story enough times or be any less inspired by its details!

As always, while many of us met Craig through the media during the time, I also loved going through the journey it took to get him there from country WA through a career as a vet before finding his love for technical cave diving. As you’ll hear, he truly epitomises many themes we love to explore on Seize the Yay with such an interesting perspective on what he considers to be a necessary divide between work and hobbies. I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did!

LINKS

You can book Craig Challen to speak here.
You can buy Against All Odds here.

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Welcome to BIZ - the podcast that's rewriting the rules of work for a new generation.

Join Em Vernem (ambitious but efficient), Michelle Battersby (launched Bumble APAC) and Soph Hirst (ex-Google) as they tackle everything from dealing with difficult bosses to knowing if your side hustle can become your career.

In this first episode:

Asking for a pay rise is about as comfortable as explaining to your boss why you've been late three times this week. But what if there was a way to do it that actually works?

Biz career coaches Michelle Battersby and Soph Hirst to share their proven framework for getting what you want at work (spoiler: don't mention your expensive oat latte habit). 

Plus, they bust the myths about asking every year, using other job offers as leverage, and what to do if you get a 'no'.

Consider this your cheat sheet to having the money conversation - minus the awkward sweating.

Sign up to the BIZ newsletter here 

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I mentioned the crazy revelation in our last episode that our first was back in 2018 making 2025 our seventh year. And that makes this one of many beautiful full circle moments as we welcome back our first guest EVER, the inimitable Lisa Messenger, without whom the show would not actually exist. I so often talk about sliding doors moments and sometimes those come in the form of a person taking a leap of faith on you that changes your life forever. Lisa said yes when we hardly knew each other, I had zero proof of concept, and was so green in business so I’ll always be grateful to her and just reminding all of you to always ask because you never know who might say yes…

What’s even more special about this one is that while Lisa has been back a few times, we’ve now added motherhood to the bonds of our friendship AND pathways to family that transcend DNA. Lisa was just 3 years into trying when we first spoke, but 18 rounds of IVF would follow until, 2922 days after starting trying, Lisa welcomed her beautiful son Hugo into the world via surrogacy. Being adopted, I have always been so invested in making less traditional pathways to family more accessible, so PORED over the incredible book Lisa and her wonderful surrogate, Sarah Megginson, co-authored, The Power of Two. They broke their hearts all the way open to share every detail of their experience and we are SO lucky to have them BOTH on the show today.

I’ll let them tell you more themselves but I personally was so curious about the mechanics and logistics of surrogacy with it still being rarely spoken and perhaps a bit stigmatised. On the chance it might reach even one or two of you who needed a scrap of new information or a glimmer of hope, it felt perfect for Seize the Bebe and I hope you enjoy as much as I did


LINKS

You can follow Lisa here.
You can follow Sarah here.
You can buy the book here.

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I couldn’t think of anyone more special to help us start the year (and to mark our 300th episode) than my very best friend, Ebony Beggs, whose story embodies the idea of new beginnings both in itself and in the fact that this was her first time properly telling it in her first podcast interview ever. Some of you may remember we had the incredible opportunity of doing a live episode at SXSW with All Pacific and Novotel last year and I peer pressured Eb into being my guest promising her it wouldn’t be recorded... but then, as we all knew she would, she absolutely blew us all away and I HAD to re-record it to start your 2025 with a bang.

You may have already heard me talk about Eb and her sister Ashlee’s exquisite women’s label, Eupheme, which is revolutionising the professional woman’s wardrobe with a high quality, slow fashion ethos and life-changing technical fabrics that they have gone to the ends of the Earth to source (think non-crush no-iron shirts, machine-washable silk, literally changing the game). In this episode, we tell the story of how Eb and Ash left high flying careers (in NEW YORK mind you) to bring their dream to life. Even more interesting? There’s a dash of Diane von Furstenberg, chemical poisoning, ex-NYPD detectives and Parisian exchanges (yes, that’s indeed where we fell in love)... Eb still doens’t believe it herself, but it’s the MOST fascinating story and I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

LINKS

You can follow Ebony's personal page here.
You can check out Eupheme here.

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Whether you are a child, have a child or have ever met a child, you will undoubtedly know of The Wiggles and not just at home here in Australia - they have also captured the hearts of families around the world since their beginning back in 1991. Speaking of capturing hearts though, in their latest evolution with eight wonderful members, one particular Wiggle has shot to global fame as the "sexy wiggle" (or officially, Big Strong John) and we’re lucky to have him here with us today.

Like many of our guests, you’ll probably have seen John Pearce many times (either with The Wiggles or on his very busy socials) before hearing him today without knowing much of what came before his chapter in the purple suit. My favourite part of the show is getting to know the person behind the scenes and you may not have known that John was a member of The Justice Crew beforehand creating a very different kind of a music, that he was a member alongside his TWIN brother - one of 7 siblings, that his original ambitions were in sport and nutrition with a previous appearance on Australian Ninja Warrior and career in PT AND that he is about to become a father for the first time (in fact, any day now!) 

I had read so much about him but knew nothing about his upbringing either and the amazing journey from commission housing to global superstar while keeping such a level humble head on his shoulders. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did!

LINKS

You can follow John's personal page here.
You can follow John's Wiggles page here.
You can follow The Wiggles here. 
You can find out more about Hello Fresh and their Climate Superstars resources here.

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Our first #yaysofourlives episode in a while and our last for a while as Ang has some big news!!!

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You all know I find every single guest amazing in their own way and use a lot of superlatives to convey that, but every now and then a conversation leaves me almost speechless (which is very rare) and this was one of them. I recorded this one at Producey Studios who - shout out to the team - have been incredible for our return to in-person interviews since maternity leave, but it also meant we had a producer in the room who could validate my reaction so I knew I wasn't imagining how special this was - the minute John Kim left the room, both of us just stared at each other open-mouthed and in awe! And this chat isn’t just special because of its timing with the new Cruel Intentions series premiering which stars John in one of the lead roles OR because he was also just announced as part of the cast of the live-action feature Voltron along the likes of Rita Ora... I mean, he's absolutely SMASHING it over in Hollywood... It’s also special because - as you’ll hear - it came at a pivotal time in his life with a lot of reflection and change AND happens to be the first podcast he’s ever done. What. An. Honour. John's been friends with Nic through our dear mutual friend, Dave Higgs, for years and I’ve wanted to share his story for a long time covering his incredible rise from the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne to Hollywood. But I didn’t expect the privilege of catching him at this particularly pivotal moment in time and to be able to share his vulnerability, humility and eloquence to a podcast audience for the first time. I hope you are as awe struck and enjoy this as much as I did!

LINKS

You can follow John here.

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My first blood relative arrived when I gave birth to my son Teddy.

Growing up, I always knew I was adopted; brought to Australia from South Korea at just five months old, it was never a secret.

But even after finding out you're adopted there are so many other questions, some of which people may choose to never find answers for. 

As Adoption Awareness Month comes to a close, find out what life growing up adopted in Australia is really like. 

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CREDITS

Host: Claire Murphy

With thanks to: Sarah Davidson, host of Seize The Yay podcast

Executive Producer: Taylah Strano 

Audio Producers: Tegan Sadler 

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This week, we have a voice in your ears that needs no introduction - his music has been a formative part of so many of our lives and I’m pinching myself to have him here for you today. I’m talking of course about multiplatinum-selling singer and songwriter, Pete Murray. My husband, Nic, doesn’t fangirl many people (if anyone) but as an OG follower who had Pete’s very first original independent EP, the only person more excited about this interview than me was him and that's rare! Pete's incredible career selling over 1.2 million albums, releasing three ARIA chart-topping albums and amassing 17 ARIA nominations is no secret, but perhaps even more so than any guest we’ve had on before, it’s what came before that’s so powerful in reminding us all that not only does nothing happen overnight, some magic strikes later in life than you’d expect. While the tender age of 21 years isn’t old by any normal standards, I would never have guessed that this was the FIRST TIME Pete picked up a guitar after his earlier years showing every indication of a career in sport. I loved learning about his younger years, his process for writing, his fascinating combination of self-doubt and self-belief and everything in between. With fresh new music (check out his first new independent single in 20 years, Wouldn't It Be Good, here) and a new tour on the horizon we had so much to chat about and I hope you enjoy!

LINKS
You can follow Pete here.
You can see the tour dates and get tickets here.
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