Busy is not a badge of honour.

And if you're constantly telling people how busy you are but still feel like you're not getting ahead — this episode is for you.

In this solo episode I break down the difference between intent and intention and why it's one of the most important mindset shifts any builder or tradie can make in 2026.

Intent isn't about working harder. It's about showing up with a plan, executing with purpose and making sure every single hour of your day is actually moving you forward.

This is how I built Queensland's largest subcontract carpentry business at 23. And it's still how I operate every single day across every business, every project and every part of my life.

If you're tired of feeling busy but never feeling like you're actually getting anywhere, hit play.

What I cover:
👉 Why busy is the wrong goal and what to chase instead
👉 The difference between intent and intention and why it matters
👉 How I used drive time to plan and run Queensland's largest carpentry business at 23
👉 Why clarity is the foundation of having real intent
👉 How intent flows through to your team and your job site
👉 Why structure is the fastest way to stop feeling overwhelmed
👉 How to flick the switch and start getting more done every single day

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(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
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(https://www.tiktok.com/@duaynepearcebuilder) 

Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne 

7000 Australian builders went broke in the last two years.
We're in the middle of a housing crisis.
How is that even possible?

This week I sat down with Scott Challen from QHI Group, builder, businessman and one of the most switched on voices in the Australian building industry right now — for one of the most fired up conversations we've had in the shed.

We get into why housing is becoming unaffordable, why builders keep going broke, why we can't find enough trades, and why the people making the rules have absolutely no idea how this industry actually works.
This one pulls no punches.

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 Follow me on my Socials! 

(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
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Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne 

Tired. Sore. Foggy. Running on coffee and not much else.

If that sounds like your average Tuesday, this episode is for you.

I'm back in the shed with Hectic Hector for round two and seven months on from our last conversation the results speak for themselves. This isn't about smashing weights and looking good. It's about building a body that can handle big workdays, family life and hard training without breaking down.

We get into the real stuff. Why what you eat matters more than how hard you train. Why caffeine and energy drinks are not real energy. Why alcohol is sabotaging your sleep even when it feels like it helps you switch off. And why chasing testosterone replacement and weight loss shortcuts without fixing the root cause is only making things worse.

If you're a builder or tradie who wants to feel younger, move better and stop waking up every morning already exhausted — hit play.

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 Follow me on my Socials! 

(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
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Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne 

Garbage in. Garbage out.

What you watch, hear, read and repeat every single day is shaping how you think, how you act and how you run your business. And most of the time you don't even realise it's happening.

In this episode I break down why controlling your inputs is one of the fastest and most practical ways to lift your mindset, your productivity and your results without adding a single extra hour to your day.

If your default is background news, talkback radio and social media doom scrolling — this one is going to hit home.

What I cover:
👉 Why garbage in always means garbage out
👉 How background noise is shaping your mood without you realising
👉 Why your commute and solo work time are your biggest untapped learning blocks
👉 How to swap mindless consumption for inputs that actually build your skills
👉 Why the source of your information matters more than the information itself
👉 How to curate your circle, clean up your feed and choose inputs that move you forward

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 Follow me on my Socials! 

(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
(https://www.facebook.com/DuaynePearceBuild) 
(https://www.tiktok.com/@duaynepearcebuilder) 

Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne 

Jack Sedgman spent years as a carpenter knowing he wanted more. More freedom. More purpose. More control over his future.

But instead of rushing in, he did something most tradies never do. He got himself educated, surrounded himself with the right people and built the foundations before he ever picked up the license.

In this episode Duayne sits down with Jack from Sedgman Constructions in Melbourne to talk about what it really takes to go from carpenter to registered builder, why doing it the right way matters and how investing in yourself changes everything around you.

This one is for any tradie out there who knows they're capable of more but just hasn't made the move yet.

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 Follow me on my Socials! 

(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
(https://www.facebook.com/DuaynePearceBuild) 
(https://www.tiktok.com/@duaynepearcebuilder) 

Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne 

Check out Luke and Elora's projects:
🔹 LJR Building — https://ljrbuilding.com.au/
🔹 Instagram — (https://www.instagram.com/ljr.building/)

Check out Duayne’s other projects:
🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com
🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au
🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html

$300K out of their own pocket. A tree through the roof three weeks from handover. Two mates lost to suicide. And a business that was bleeding money for over two years.

Luke and Laura from LJR Building had every reason to quit. But they didn't.
In this episode Luke and Laura sit down with Duayne Pearce to share the raw and honest truth about what it really takes to run a building business as a couple in Australia. From not knowing their numbers to finally understanding what it costs to run a profitable business, this is a story about resilience, family and refusing to give up.

If you are a builder or tradie who feels like you are working your guts out and still not getting ahead, this one is for you.

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 Follow me on my Socials! 

(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
(https://www.facebook.com/DuaynePearceBuild) 
(https://www.tiktok.com/@duaynepearcebuilder) 

Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne 

Follow me on my Socials!
(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/)
(https://www.facebook.com/DuaynePearceBuild)
(https://www.tiktok.com/@duaynepearcebuilder)

Check out Aaron and his projects:
🔹 Live Life Build Blogs — https://courses.livelifebuild.com/category/elevate-course/mentors/mentor-aaron-applefield/
🔹 LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-applefield-a3308498/

Check out Duayne’s other projects:
🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com
🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au
🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html

Anxiety gets thrown around a lot these days. But what if you've been looking at it all wrong?

In this episode, Duayne sits down with mindset coach and international baseball coach Aaron Applefield to break down what anxiety really is, why it might actually be your greatest superpower and how to use it to perform at your best.

If you've ever let nerves or self doubt hold you back from reaching your potential, this one's for you.

Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction
2:15 - What Anxiety Really Is & Why The Word Is So Polluted
6:30 - The 1-9 Anxiety Scale & Finding Your Sweet Spot
10:45 - Using Anchors To Tap Into Your Best Performance
15:20 - Why Nerves Are Actually A Good Thing
22:00 - How To Deal With Anxiety In The Workplace & With Apprentices
32:00 - Panic Attacks & How To Bring Yourself Back To The Present
38:00 - The Power Of Rituals & Routines
48:00 - Common Things Builders Say About Anxiety
55:00 - What To Do When Anxiety Hits Hard
1:02:00 - What Level Up Means To Aaron Applefield

#builder #podcast #buildingconstruction #constructionbusiness #constructionindustry #mindset #anxiety #mentalhealth

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 Follow me on my Socials! 

(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
(https://www.facebook.com/DuaynePearceBuild) 
(https://www.tiktok.com/@duaynepearcebuilder) 

Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne 

Steve and Simone Essex from SX Constructions join Duayne Pearce on the Level Up Podcast to share the raw and honest truth about what it really takes to run a building business in Australia. After nearly 17 years in the industry, this husband and wife team were burnt out, going backwards financially and ready to quit. In this episode they share what changed everything and how they went from working midnight shifts to being booked out until 2027.

If you're a builder or tradie who feels like you're working harder than ever but not getting ahead, this one's for you.

Check out the Essex's and their projects:
🔹 SX Constructions — https://sxconstructions.com.au/
🔹 Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/sxconstructions/
🔹 Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/sxconstructions/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

 Follow me on my Socials! 

(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
(https://www.facebook.com/DuaynePearceBuild) 
(https://www.tiktok.com/@duaynepearcebuilder) 

Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne 

Life is hard. Are you making it harder than it needs to be?

In this solo episode, Duayne gets real about one of the biggest problems facing Australians today and it's not the economy. We're living beyond our means, chasing things we don't need, trying to impress people we don't even know, and wondering why we're anxious, burnt out, and broke.

There's no cost of living crisis. There's a spending crisis.

Duayne breaks down why so many tradies and builders are caught in the trap of keeping up with the Joneses. Doom scrolling Instagram, comparing themselves to other businesses that look like they're killing it but are drowning in bad debt behind the scenes.

The message is simple. Life will always be hard. It's up to you to choose your hard.

💡 In this episode you'll hear about:

    Why material possessions are making your life harder, not better
    The truth about debt and the difference between good and bad
    Why social media is lying to you about success
    How to stop living for others and start building a life you actually want

This podcast exists to help everyone in the construction industry thrive and not just survive. If you're a builder, tradie, or anyone in construction who wants to level up their life and business, this one's for you.

#australianbuilder  #buildingindustry  #tradie  #AustralianTrades #constructionbusiness  #buildsmarter #costofliving  #australia  #smallbusiness  #entrepreneur  #buildinglife

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Support the show

 Follow me on my Socials! 

(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
(https://www.facebook.com/DuaynePearceBuild) 
(https://www.tiktok.com/@duaynepearcebuilder) 

Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne 

Check out Matt and his work:
🔹M Brown Building and Construction - https://mbrownbuilding.com/
🔹Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/brownbuildingandconstruction/

Check out Duayne’s other projects:
🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com
🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au
🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html

Matt Brown from Brown Building sits down on Level Up to share his raw and honest journey — from growing up in a tiny 600-person country town in NSW, chasing NRL dreams with the Broncos, to building his own residential construction business in Southeast Queensland.

Matt opens up about the struggles most builders won't talk about: losing $250K on a job gone wrong, maxing out credit cards to pay his subbies, spending 7 years in court, working 80-90 hour weeks, and the heartbreaking loss of his son Fletcher. Through it all, he found a way to rebuild — selling his own home to pay debts, starting fresh, and eventually joining the Elevate community to level up his business and life.

This one hits different. If you're a builder or tradie going through tough times, this episode is for you.

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Support the show

 Follow me on my Socials! 

(https://www.instagram.com/duaynepearce/) 
(https://www.facebook.com/DuaynePearceBuild) 
(https://www.tiktok.com/@duaynepearcebuilder) 

Check out Duayne’s other projects: 

🔹 Live Life Build — https://livelifebuild.com 

🔹 D Pearce Constructions — https://dpearceconstructions.com.au 

🔹 QuoteEaze — https://quoteeaze.com/Free-Offer.html Check out the Duayne