In this enlightening conversation, Dr. Leslie Ellis, a leading expert in dreams and unconscious processes, explores the powerful role dreams play in understanding our emotional landscape. She explains how dreams function as a unique form of consciousness, revealing feelings and experiences we may avoid or suppress in waking life.

The discussion dives deep into the nature of nightmares, their connection to trauma, and the often-overlooked therapeutic potential of dream work. Dr. Ellis emphasizes the importance of recognizing personal metaphors in dreams rather than relying on universal symbols, and she outlines practical ways to work with dream imagery for emotional healing.

The conversation also covers lucid dreaming, dream incubation, and the science behind dreaming, highlighting how these practices can support creativity, self-awareness, and mental health. The episode concludes with insights on dream journaling, finding a therapist trained in dream work, and why integrating dreams into everyday conversations can foster empathy, healing, and personal growth.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• How dreams act as an unfiltered form of consciousness and emotional expression

• Why nightmares are meaningful signals rather than random or harmful experiences

• How unresolved trauma often appears in dreams — and how to work with it safely

• The difference between symbols and metaphors in dream interpretation

• Why dream metaphors are deeply personal rather than universal

• Practical methods for working with and even altering recurring nightmares

• How lucid dreaming can be used as a therapeutic and spiritual practice

• Why dream journaling is essential for recall, pattern recognition, and insight

• The health implications of chronic nightmares and poor sleep quality

• How dreams support emotional processing, healing, and personal growth

• Why dream work has declined in mainstream therapy — and why that matters

• How to find a therapist trained in dream-centered approaches

• Ways sharing dreams can deepen emotional connection and empathy

• How dream incubation can be used for creativity and problem-solving

In this episode of The Happiest CEO Show, we sit down with Nathan Folkes, founder of MojoSurf, one of Australia’s most iconic surf and adventure companies. What started in 1998 as a passionate, roaming surf lifestyle became an international business helping thousands of people catch their first wave across Australia, Bali/Indonesia, Portugal and beyond.

Nathan shares the real story behind building MojoSurf — from leaving school at 14, carpentry trade life, and launching a “totally rogue” pop-up surf trip from Sydney to Byron, to scaling a complex multi-location operation built on fun, freedom, and community. We also dive into the less glamorous realities of growth: cashflow pressure, hiring the right people, and learning to outsource your weaknesses before they swallow your passion.

Then comes the wild pivot: when COVID hit and tourism stopped overnight, Nathan and the team had to adapt or disappear — transforming their resources (beds, buses, and a whole lot of grit) into a large-scale accommodation and transport solution supporting Pacific Island workers in Australia’s farms. That unexpected chapter sparked something bigger: a long-term commitment to Pacific communities, sustainability, and responsible tourism — including projects in Indonesia and exploratory work in places like the Solomon Islands.

This is a conversation about adaptation, resilience, purpose-led growth, and what it really takes to build a business that still feels like you.

• Surfing as a metaphor for business: timing, persistence, and “paddling out the back”

• How MojoSurf began: a phone, a cartoon brochure, and a bus headed north

• The truth about scaling: staff culture, systems, and outsourcing your weak spots

• Sustainability + responsibility: “people, planet, purpose, profit”

• The COVID pivot: from surf camps to supporting farm workforces and Pacific communities

• Lessons from “failing forward” — and why showing up matters more than perfection

• Nathan’s best advice: “Keep breathing. Find a way.”

  Nathan Folkes — Founder, MojoSurf

  Learn more: www.mojosurf.com

What does it really mean to live — and lead — an exceptional life?

In this episode of The Happiest CEO Podcast, Sebastian chats with Marcus Pearce — speaker, author, podcaster, and co-host of the globally acclaimed 100 Not Out: Mastering the Art of Ageing Well — for a powerful conversation about purpose, performance, and redefining success.

Marcus’s journey is anything but ordinary. From a high-pressure career in elite sports media (Channel Nine, AFL Footy Show, Olympic Games, World Cups) to becoming one of Australia’s most trusted voices in health, wellbeing, and personal growth, Marcus shares the wake-up calls that reshaped his life — and how leaders can avoid burning out while building something meaningful.

We explore:

• Why exceptional standards matter more than chasing balance

• How CEOs can design a life that supports long-term energy, health, and happiness

• Lessons from 400+ conversations with the world’s greatest “graceful agers”

• What business leaders can learn from longevity cultures like Ikaria

• How to make the rest of your life the best of your life — without sacrificing ambition

This episode is a must-listen for founders, CEOs, and high performers who want success that actually feels good — now and in the decades to come.

🎧 Listen in and discover how to build a business, a body, and a life that truly lasts.

In this expansive and soul-stirring episode of The Happiest CEO, host Sebastian invites Boris Walter: a psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, and spiritual mind guide, to share his transformational journey from life as a boilermaker to becoming a deeply attuned practitioner of healing and consciousness work.

Boris opens up about the pivotal shifts that led him from high-risk industrial environments into the world of emotional and spiritual healing. Rooted in both science and the unseen realms, his work bridges psychology with spiritual insight, offering clients—from everyday individuals to corporate leaders—a path toward authenticity, inner peace, and expanded awareness.

The conversation explores hypnosis, past-life regression, the nature of consciousness, and how our beliefs shape reality. Boris speaks candidly about navigating skepticism, engaging with ancient wisdom, and accessing profound non-ordinary states of awareness. His reflections on trauma, reincarnation, soul evolution, and energetic healing challenge listeners to question the limits of their perception and embrace the full spectrum of human experience.

Topics Covered:

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In this illuminating episode of The Happiest CEO Podcast, Sebastian sits down with gut health educator and functional practitioner Charley O’Halloran, founder of Holistic Gut Health. Known for his popular educational content on Instagram and TikTok, Charley shares how his own battles with chronic fatigue, anxiety, and poor digestion led him to discover the power of functional medicine and holistic gut repair.

This conversation goes far beyond digestion. Charley unpacks the deeper systems often overlooked in modern health conversations — from the gut–brain axis to emotional trauma’s impact on the microbiome. He explains why true gut healing requires more than just supplements or fiber, and outlines a systems-based approach that includes nervous system regulation, bloodwork analysis, and personalized lifestyle shifts.

Topics Covered:

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In this transformative episode of the Happiest CEO, Sebastian speaks with internationally renowned breathwork trainer John Stamoulos, a pioneer in conscious connected breathing. With over 30 years of experience, John has worked across the globe guiding individuals through profound emotional healing, trauma release, and personal breakthroughs using nothing but the breath.

Together, Sebastian and John explore the astonishing power of breathwork to surface hidden traumas, release emotional blockages, and restore presence and vitality. John shares the foundational principles behind conscious connected breathing and explains why this modality can unlock transformation even without needing to "talk through" trauma. Their conversation journeys through birth trauma, ancestral patterns, and how repressed energy, when given space through breath, can finally be felt, moved, and integrated.

This episode also dives into the safety, ethics, and integrity of breathwork, offering essential guidance on how to find a qualified practitioner. John emphasizes how breathwork must be trauma-informed, consent-based, and practitioner-guided to ensure lasting healing without re-traumatization.

Topics Covered:

Resources Mentioned:

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In this deeply honest conversation, Sebastian welcomes Theo Bergmann, former professional footballer turned health coach, to the Happiest CEO podcast. Theo walks us through his journey from the elite world of German soccer into a courageous inner quest to reclaim his health. Along the way he reveals what chronic fatigue and brain fog taught him about the interplay of mindset, biology, and purpose, and how he now helps others heal.

From early ambition on the pitch to a health breakdown that nearly ended his career, Theo’s story illustrates the fragility behind peak performance. When a simple flu spiralled into brain fog, dizziness, fatigue, and cognitive decline, conventional medicine failed him. His turning point came via alternative frameworks—especially connecting viral loads, heavy metals, and detox strategies—and combining these with mindset, resilience, and community. Theo now coaches executives and people with chronic health challenges to rebuild not just energy, but identity, alignment, and sustainable vitality.

Topics Covered

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In this powerful conversation, Sebastian Mierau reconnects with Pete Evans, chef-turned-wellness advocate, to trace his winding path from the kitchen to deeper explorations of health, identity, and purpose. Over the years, Pete has shifted from extreme dietary ideologies to a more fluid, embodied approach. What emerges is not a rigid system, but an invitation: to live more attentively, courageously, and in alignment with one’s deeper nature.

Topics Covered

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Tara Shields joins Sebastian in this episode to share her journey from a high-pressure fashion career in Melbourne to becoming a kinesiologist based in Byron Bay. Through kinesiology, emotional work, and energy healing, Tara guides people to unlock deeper truths, clear old beliefs, and live with more alignment, vitality, and authenticity. Her story is a powerful example of how one can move from numbing pain to cultivating self-love, purpose, and resilience.

You’ll hear how Tara’s early life, shaped by a family struggling with alcoholism and emotional suppression, led her to develop coping strategies of perfectionism, busyness, and self-numbing. Even in success, she carried insomnia, digestive issues, anxiety, feeling unworthy—until she discovered kinesiology.

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In this deeply reflective and candid episode of the Happiest CEO Podcast, Sebastian Mierau welcomes Michael Kohan: an ICF-certified Life, Performance & Executive Coach and founder of the Elevate Life Project. Michael shares a vivid life story that spans Wall Street burnout, extreme spiritual practice, and ultimately the compassionate transformation into a grounded and balanced coach. Through harrowing lows, including addiction, trauma from surviving 9/11, and ego-driven competition, he guides listeners on a powerful journey toward integration, connection, and authentic purpose.

Michael's journey is a testament to the power of confronting one’s shadow and turning pain into purpose. His path, from self-destructive highs to spiritual extremes and back to a harmonious balance, offers listeners not just hope, but a clear blueprint for lasting change.

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