The Imperfects

Ready to learn? Us too.

In The Academy of Imperfection this week, imperfect students Hugh, Ryan and Josh speak with American psychologist, leadership coach and specialist in the area of male relationships, Daniel Ellenberg. Daniel shares some very insightful stuff on how men relate to other men - why they do what they do, and why they DON’T do what they don’t do! But by the end of the episode, what was supposed to be a casual “lecture” turns into a men’s workshop of sorts, as Hugh, Ryan and Josh show a lot more vulnerability towards each other than they were expecting. The recording of this episode was definitely a memorable experience.

Daniel Ellenberg, PhD is a co-founder of Relationships That Work https://www.relationshipsthatwork.com, the founder/director of Strength with Heart men’s groups and workshops https://www.strengthwithheart.com, and a principal in Rewire Leadership Institute https://rewireleadership.com

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Two episodes in a week, what is going on? Well, it's another Vulnerabilitea House that's what. This week it's Josh's turn.

Lockdown rules meant this teahouse was spread across three tea houses but it doesn't detract from the quality of the tea, and the vulnerableness. Josh discusses an issue he's had for a long, long time and Hugh takes some time to delve a little deeper into the concept of vulnerability. What is it? Why is it important? How do we best practise it?

Being vulnerable can be scary, but it creates stronger and more authentic connections with others. Just make sure to be mindful about who you’re vulnerable with. It’s always important to trust and feel safe with those you open up to.

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In the beginning, it was novel. A change of pace. A good excuse to bake our own bread and believe that “we’ll always bake our own bread from now on because it’s so nice to wake up to the smell of fresh bread in the morning!”

But come on... seriously... we’re not baking bread anymore are we? This whole COVID thing has become a proper bummer. Like, next-level maximum bummer.

So, because we’ve all been feeling the pinch recently, Hugh assembled Ryan and Josh for a very unplanned Snap Podcast to talk about it, and share what’s been helping him cope with the current and ongoing shitness of lockdown.

This isn’t a regular episode. There’s no guests, no experts and no tea. It’s just Hugh, Ryan and Josh trying to find some light during an extremely challenging time.

Hope you’re doing okay out there. We know it’s tough. But hopefully this helps a little.

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Travis Boak is one of the best footballers in the country. At age 33, he is showing no signs of slowing down, in fact many believe he is just getting better. His brilliance on the ground is a direct result of the hard work he puts into his game. What many don’t know however, is that he works just as hard on his mental and emotional health. Due to the tragic passing of his father, Travis has, for way too long, carried the baggage and trauma of this tragedy. Join Travis for this heartfelt conversation as he talks us through the power of letting go of the things you cannot control and embracing the uncertainties of life.

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Thirsty? How about a nice cup of Vulnerabilitea from The Vulnerabilitea House? Join Hugh and Josh as they listen to co-host Ryan Shelton pick a card at random and get vulnerable.

Ryan shares some recent discoveries he’s had with his psychologist in regards to how certain aspects of his childhood prepared him... or DIDN’T prepare him for adulthood.

N.B. There’s also a quick digression into the nostalgic world of 90s NBL Basketball. Don’t worry, it’s quick.

Also, while being vulnerable can be scary, it creates stronger and more authentic connections with others. Just make sure to be mindful about who you’re vulnerable with. It’s always important to trust and feel safe with those you open up to.

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Go get your pens and notebooks everyone!

In this edition of The Academy of Imperfection, students Hugh, Ryan, Josh sit down with famed paediatrician, Dr Billy Garvey of The Royal Children’s Hospital.

Currently, Billy regretfully has a two and a half year waiting list to see him in person, but is keen to reach as many of you as possible NOW. And with all the talk on our podcast about parenting recently, we felt this was a very necessary episode.

Billy may not look like one of Australia’s most respected and in-demand paediatricians, as we speak about in the episode, but gee whiz, he sure does talk like it!

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Our very own Hugh van Cuylenburg is back in the hotseat for a second round in the Vulnerabilitea House! And guys... wowee. Potentially inspired by the most recent Vulnerabilitea House episode with Missy Higgins, Hugh opens up about how much he is actually struggling right now. In fact, he’s probably as raw and honest and vulnerable as he’s ever been on The Imperfects. The Vulnerabilitea House (and the whole podcast tbh) is all about encouraging vulnerability by sharing our own struggles and imperfections. Why? Because being vulnerable creates stronger and more authentic connections with others. But like we’ve said a number of times on this podcast, you can’t just be vulnerable with anyone. It’s important to always trust and feel safe with those you open up to.

If this episode has triggered anything for you around mental health, we recommend lifeline, 13 11 14. The Imperfects is produced by Ryan Shelton, Hugh & Josh van Cuylenburg.

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At the beginning of 2018, Christian O'Connell was the host of the number one breakfast radio show in England, he averaged over 2 million listeners a day, he'd won basically every award possible in the radio industry, he was seemingly on top of his world.

Unbeknownst to almost everyone in his life though, he could barely make it on the air. At the age of 45, Christian had started suffering debilitating panic attacks. And they were becoming an almost daily occurrence.

In this episode of The Imperfects, we talk with Christian about his anxiety & the panic attacks that nearly ended his career in radio. We chat about the life changing move him and his family have since made; we talk about being a vulnerable father; we talk about the challenges of starting a new in Australia...we talk about alot...it's a really good chat.

If this episode has triggered anything for you around mental health, we recommend lifeline, 13 11 14. The Imperfects is produced by Ryan Shelton, Hugh & Josh van Cuylenburg. A very special thanks to 'No Mono' for generously allowing us to use 'Keep On' as the theme song for this podcast.

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Prepare yourself for a very different episode of The Vulnerabilitea House (for a few reasons):

1. We welcome our first guest... MISSY HIGGINS IS BACK ON THE POD!
2. We all live in Melbourne and it was COVID lockdown at the time of recording so we were on Zoom.
3. The whole thing almost didn’t happen at all... and you’ll hear why.

For those new to The Vulnerabilitea House, here’s how it works. We get together, we sip tea, someone picks a card from the deck of vulnerability-invoking questions, and then they answer that question, making themselves vulnerable to the group AND YOU.

In theory, it should be pretty simple. But on this occasion, we kinda messed up and accidentally made it very unsimple for Missy. We felt terrible. But boy oh boy...did she bounce back!

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Welcome back to The Academy of Imperfection - a conversational lecture series that features guest lecturers talking with students Hugh, Ryan, Josh and you about different areas of imperfection. Today, designer, author and teacher, James Victore talks about CREATIVITY.

Before writing his brilliant 2019 book ‘Feck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Creativity’, James created commerical work for Moet & Chandon, Time magazine and Yohji Yamamoto and has had his work exhibited in Nwe York’s MoMA and The Louvre in Paris. Oh... AND HE’S WON AN EMMY.

James is verrrrry passionate and hence there’s a language warning on this ep.

For more James Victore stuff, please visit him on his website jamesvictore.com or on Instagram @jamesvictore.

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