Stand Out Life

Dr Karl is best known here in Australia for his ability to make science not only accessible, but engaging and fascinating, He’s been a staple in our media landscape from his early days on Triple J, to his multiple podcasts, books, and extensive media presence - a true science story-teller.

With the launch of his memoir ‘A Periodic Tale’ we explore in this conversation his early years as the only child of Holocaust survives who fled to Australia in 1950. He then described undertaking a convoluted cacophony of a career. From working as a physicist in a steelworks, to racing modified rally cars, his drug-crazed hippie years in Papau New Guinea, to training as a medical Dr off the back of an off-handed comment that Dr Fred Hollows said to him once. After he applied to be a NASA astronaut in the 1980s and 'failed', he ended up live broadcasting the first space shuttle launch on Triple J instead. Unexpectedly, that blasted off his media career, and from there it was a stratospheric rise from radio to TV, books, newspapers, speaking, podcasts and the internet.

You will hear from this conversation a little about how Dr Karl’s brain works - he has an insatiable curiosity that continues to drive pure wonder and awe. Actually he teaches us all that you don’t have to know the answers, as long as you continue to ask questions.

This conversation is one worth holding onto, and allowing it to ignite your own curiosity. And I can thoroughly recommend Dr Karl’s memoir ‘A Periodic Tale’ to absorb more of his wisdom and experiences.

The decision to step away from a 20 year career and embark on a new endeavour is one that requires courage.

Talitha Cummins is one of Australia’s most famous TV journalists having worked for Channel 7 across the span of 20 years. She has also led conversations about sobriety which saw her featured on The Australian Story, the cover of Stellar and Australian Women’s Weekly.

Talitha recently decided to step away from news reading and return to where she started, which was in the jewellery business. Her Uncle Craig has been a jeweller for over 50 years. Talitha worked in the space over 20 years ago before she went into reporting.

The Cut Jewellery is a new Australian jewellery brand that offers a taste of ethical luxury with its bespoke range of lab-grown diamonds. Despite launching only a month ago, their designs have already been worn on red carpets by the likes of Sylvia Jeffries and Edwina Bartholomew.

We chat about the decision behind the career change, what Talitha is learning and loving in this new role, and unpack what exactly are lab-grown diamonds.

This is a down-to-earth conversation with the real and courageous Talitha Cummins.

Mindfulness, enlightenment, inner-peace. If you are anything like me you might hear these words and glaze over a little bit. Seriously who’s got time for that - and does it even make any difference?

Today’s guest is going to help me (and maybe you) sit with these terms a little longer and explore why they might be useful.

Luke McLeod has become one of Australia’s most popular thought leaders and practitioners in mindfulness and meditation, having trained in these practices for over two decades. But he didn’t arrive on these through wanting to chase calm - he started to explore these as high performance tools.

You may also remember Luke from the 2017 season of The Bachlorette here in Australia. His day-job though is teaching meditation practices to support those navigating overwhelm, anxiety, and wanting to drive higher performance.

Luke is the founder of The Mindful Life App, Soul Alive, with thousands of members worldwide and the author of his book released this year, Everyday Enlightenment.

Bring your curiosity to the forefront as we explore meditation and mindfulness with Luke McLeod.

It turns out you don’t have to be good at art or creativity, for creativity to be good for you.

Caitlin Marshall and Lizzie Rose are the founders of MakeShift, an award-winning agency that provides trauma-informed creativity and mental health programs for communities, workplaces and groups. Since 2013 they have worked with thousands of people including corporate clients navigating an uncertain and ever-changing world.

Caitlin and Lizzy talk about what lead them down a path of creativity together, the surprises they h ave found for their own mental health as well as the way they support others, and share a few super practical prescriptions any of us can do.

This conversation was so delight-filled and practical that it’s ignited in me a greater desire to dance with creativity. Many of what Caitlin and Lizzy share in this chat is also covered in their book ‘Creative First Aid’ - which in itself is a colourful engaging guide and handbook that you’ll want to return to.

Get ready to shed some of those creativity-is-not-for-me stories you might carry around and play in this conversation with Caitlin and Lizzy.

Bonnie Hancock has been competing in the Surf IronWoman series since she was 17 years old. Her drive to push her limits and extend herself into adventures is exemplified in her most recent and remarkable journey.

Starting in 2021, for 254 days, across 12,700kms, seasickness, sharks, crocodiles and 6 foot waves Bonnie became the fastest person to paddle around Australia.

But it was never really about the world record. In this conversation we dive into what sparked the idea for this adventure, what she encountered along the way….and the lessons that have stuck with her since - including the importance of sharing your fears with others and gathering your tribe.

Bonnie now shares her story as a dynamic speaker, her book ‘The Girl who touched the stars’ and her documentary ‘Diamond of the Sea’ are ways you can explore more of her story. Bonnie has a heart for highlighting the importance of mental health and in our conversation she shares ways all of us to share our vulnerability and step into challenges whilst also letting go of the need to be perfect.

Soak up this conversation and be inspired by the heart and warmth that is Bonnie Hancock.

What is it about rest that makes it feel so hard? It’s like we’ve got to earn it, prove that we deserve it. And what if we had a different relationship with rest?

Emmie Rae is on a mission to change our relationship with REST. But this is a relationship that she herself has wrestled with over a number of years. Emma shares her drive and hustle approach to work and life, and how she resisted the urge to explore the value of deep rest…..even as a yoga teacher she didn’t want to be known for the so-called soft ‘yin’ yoga.

And yet she has found solace, recovery, and creativity in the value of rest that she is sharing this insight with others.

Emmie is a writer, yoga teacher, and founder of The Daily Rest, a digital membership site for prioritising rest and receptivity in the lives of vibrant, busy women. Based in Tokyo, her work is rooted in experiential learning, community, connection and finding beauty in the everyday.

I found this conversation equally challenging and opening, as a pathway to explore creativity and connection. I invite you to think about REST differently through the wisdom that comes from Emmie Rae.

Chocolate that loves you back - sounds like the ultimate luxury.

From Model to Naturopath & Nutritionist to founder of an AFR Fast 100 company, Emica Penklis’s story is a fascinating one. Emica is a visionary entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of Loco Love Pty Ltd, a trailblazing Australian chocolate company renowned for its innovative "high vibe" products. And if you haven’t come across these chocolates I’m here to tell you, you are missing out. They are an experience.

Within this conversation Emica shares the challenges she faced in her modelling career, the importance of having to explore the power of healing and how creating products that are good for people is the thread behind her work.

We also chat about the role of leadership and key lessons she’s learnt along the way. Clarity on our intentions, gathering people around us to support us and continuing to learn and grow are the things I’ll take from this conversation.

Enjoy this insightful conversation with Emica Penklis.

Habits - all of us have them.

Some we’re happy to keep, others we’d love to kick. This time of year is the perfect time to get forensic about the habits in your life and how they are serving you.

As a trained dietitian, Dr Gina Cleo has helped people improve their health and well-being - however noticed that her clients struggled to maintain their progress over time, much like those elusive goals you might be grappling with at this start of this year.

Driven by the desire to find lasting solutions, she pressed pause on her clinic and completed a Ph.D. at Bond University. It was there that she uncover the transformative power of habit change and its potential to impact every facet of life.

In this conversation we talk about some of Gina’s personal experience, including an experience that left her questioning everything and required her to rebuild every habit in her life - starting with brushing her teeth. We talk about the importance of self-belief, of realising that steps backwards are part of the process (not proof it’s not working) and how important it is to chase rituals over results.

Dr Gina Cleo’s new book ‘The Habit Revolution’ is a game-changer when it comes to practical tools to explore and understand habits.

This conversation will leave you feeling empowered not embarrassed about habits, soak up the wisdom and warmth that is Dr Gina Cleo.

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The Habit Revolution - https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-habit-revolution-gina-cleo/book/9781922616654.html

Dr Gina Cleo - https://www.drginacleo.com

Ali Hill - https://www.alisonhill.com.au

What would it take for you to be able to work with (almost) anyone?

Michael Bungay Stanier helps people know they’re awesome and they’re doing great.

He’s best known for his book The Coaching Habit which is the best selling book on coaching this century and is considered a classic

His most recent book is How to Work with (Almost) Anyone and it shows how to build the Best Possible Relationship with the key people at work.

He founded Box of Crayons, a learning and development company that has trained hundreds of thousands of managers to be more coach-like in organizations from Microsoft to Gucci.

He left Australia about 30 years ago to be a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University ... where his only significant achievement was falling in love with a Canadian ... and which is why he now lives in Toronto, having spent time in London and Boston.

Balancing out these moments of success, he was banned from his high school graduation for “the balloon incident” (you’ll hear about that) ... was sued by one of his Law School professors for defamation ... and his first published piece of writing was a Harlequin Romance-esque story involving a misdelivered letter ... and called The Male Delivery.

Enjoy this conversation with the thoughtful Michael Bungay Stainer.

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Host / Producer: Ali Hill https://www.alisonhill.com.au/

Guest: Michael Bungay Stainer https://www.mbs.works/

Sound Editor: Jason Strozkiy https://www.strozkiymedia.com/

Talent Producer: Maddy Westbrook https://thenoblegroup.com.au/

Much of what we do is living life by default even when life has dished up hard-ships, maybe even trauma. We’re going through the motions….but what if we were to shake things up and become curious rebels.

Yemi Penn is a global thought-leader on igniting our rebellious curiosity at an individual, team and organisational level.

British born, Nigerian, living in Australia Yemi is an Engineer by profession, Entrepreneur by passion. Yemi fuses analytical thinking with creativity to produce superior outcomes. Transformation is the theme across Yemi’s focus, whether this is opening a F45 gym in London, a café in Sydney’s South-West Suburbs, authoring a book, managing complex projects such as Crossrail and Sydney Metro or producing an impactful documentary.

Within this conversation we dive into how we can tap more into curiousity, the invitation to put ourselves in the way of discomfort, and to unlock a rebellious heart. This conversation is a deep one….it’s a beautiful one.

Soak up the wisdom and invitation shared by Yemi Penn.

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Host: https://www.instagram.com/alihill/ or https://www.alisonhill.com.au/

Guest: https://yemipenn.com/

Sound Producer: Jason Strozkiy - https://www.strozkiymedia.com/

Talent Producer: Maddy Westbrook - https://thenoblegroup.com.au/