2:25 Humans are crap at pointless pain. We don’t do anything hard unless there is a reason. But if there is something of meaning, we’ll endure great hardship. So not how hard it is, but how important it is. High performers are not born different, they connect to that “something of meaning.” What would we run in front of a car for?

3:55 People think high performers have different DNA, but they have the same fears and stresses.

4:25 Slide 1

“It’s hard to survive in the jungle if you were trained in a zoo.” Don’t blame the jungle for being a jungle. We all have to do a better job at adapting and helping others to adapt. Top performers embrace the jungle. 

7:00

If you are not prepared for the real world out there, you will have a “violation of expectation.” Top performers focus on that preparation. 

Slide 5: It’s not about reducing stress & pressure, it’s about increasing the capacity to take on more. Not about positive thinking, but connecting to what matters. Motivation follows naturally from that. Stress is the price of entry for top performers. Embrace it, don’t hide from it. It’s not about motivating people, it’s about connecting them to what matters.

8:55 Top performers have changed their relationship with stress. We worry about things we care about. It’s natural!

9:55 Top performers connect to the reason behind what they need to do. Something of importance. I want to be healthy so I can be there for my grandchildren.

12.00

You have to increase your capacity to accept stress. Then you can function properly in all aspects of your life. 

13:29 Be the bigger vessel. Same stress but more capacity to deal with it.

14:20 The Domains Profiler tells me all I need to know about where someone’s state of mind is:

Slide 7: How important are each of these domains to you? (Health, work, family, etc). How satisfied are you with each of them? The difference: Gap analysis.

Spending too much time in less important domains? Pivot!

15:50 What can we do to bridge the gaps in our important domains?

16:20 Be intentional with your life. Do activities that combine and nurture your important (multiple) domains. E.g. Combine kids/social outdoors & learning experiences.

18:06 What version of you shows up? Loving & curious/absent-minded and not present?

18:30 Life is about living your values. Combine the activities that matter with the people that matter in a value-spaced way.

20:50 Find your margarita pizza, not someone else’s. Find the three things that move the needle for you and stick to it. 

23:45 Think about the primary skills you need to execute in your life. Technologies can erode our most necessary human skills. Don’t be too reliant on them. How can I use the technologies but not lose my fundamental skills? 

26:00 Slide 10 Embrace - Accept that there will be stress, doubt, and frustration…. Normal stuff.

 Normalise discomfort, then you can Be Present

Do What Matters. 

30:40 Identify the difference between fun & enjoyment. Enjoyment is when we do hard things and find things that stretch us. What is your response to challenges?

33:00 Don’t be frustrated because employees don’t buy into your business. It’s not their baby. Find what matters to them.

Find what matters to you. What would you jump in front of a car for, what will make you leap out of bed in the morning?

Ends: 33:55 Questions follow.

In our first episode back in the refreshed, Shaun McCambridge Podcast, you hear from Mark Mathews.

Not only is Mark a world-renowned big wave surfer, but he has also been sponsored by Red Bull, Go Pro and Ripcurl to name just a few. He is an international speaker with clients such as Deloitte, Westpac, NRL and Land Rover.

Mark is obsessed with personal growth, and he has a crazily inspirational journey. He is a dad, and a husband and through all of this has developed a process for overcoming fear.

Don’t forget, if you hear one or two, or maybe more, things that you took something from, to pay it forward and share this episode with those around you. One sentence or word could make an impact.

1.31 – Mark’s tips on ways to deal with fear:

Mark speaks to how he did not create these concepts, but he researched and unearthed the different concepts out there and ways to make them available.  He became inquisitive by facing his own fears and found the best ways to deal with them, for himself and others.

2.45 – How would you describe the process of overcoming fear?

Mark had an early relationship with fear yet through constant exposure, his learnings have stuck with him. 

“You learn the skills and knowledge to master the environment you fear. Once you have them you become less anxious over time. Something switches and it turns to excitement as you have the skills.”

“Remember the moment it turns from fear to excitement, for me the desire to keep doing it was greater than the fear.”

4.48 – How do you define fear? 

‘Sensations and psychophysiological functions occur when there is a perceived threat. Your body senses them, emotional or socialized versions of angst arise and your body senses and fears them. Historically interpersonal relationships with these versions were life or death, now we perceive the threat as if it’s life or death.”

6.30 - How do you overcome it? 

Through Voluntary Exposure Therapy – which is, choosing to expose yourself to the fear to condition yourself around it. Remaining calm and conserving energy. Figure out how to want it, how to desire it more, to get you through the conditioning.

“Fall in love with looking back at what you were doing a few months ago and be proud of that. Then get addicted to that feeling and continue to chase it.”

10.20 – The Power of WHY 

“Create crystal clear pictures of what success looks like to you and why you want to succeed.”

Mark talks about tying his loved ones to his success, how will they benefit from the hard work and your success?

“The line between success and failure is the state of flow and living in the present moment”. Being able to live in the present moment is a by-product of that fine line where you can be nervous enough but not in complete chaos.

13. 57 – How has Mark gone about understanding how his brain works, the actual psychology and how this has helped him overcome hurdles and helped to achieve his dreams?

Mark speaks to investing in himself and what he has done to equip himself to get there. He has gone through a long journey of dealing with his own fears whether it be drowning in the ocean or that public speaking as an introvert can be terrifying. 

15.08 – Mark’s foundational principles of dealing with fear

The things that you can’t go without, the things that help you be resilient enough to face fear.

16 – Cognitive techniques 

These are additions to the foundational pieces mentioned before, they work alongside them as cognitive behaviours are the everyday habits you have that can be realigned to make small steps towards breaking down anxiety.

17.54 – You have been vulnerable regarding your darkest days, what message would you pass on to those going through a tough time?

“Put in the time to research as well as having the motivation.” 

If Mark is assessing how he is coping with life and how to optimize his level of resilience, he adjusts it to multiple areas of his life. 

“Something may be in peripheral view so you are not aware of the stress it’s causing you; you may have gone off course and you don’t realise it. Make tiny adjustments to hit the thing that is having a negative impact, they are all linked like a negative snowball. You want a positive snowball.”

21 – Foundational Aspects

“Assess the foundational elements and create adjustments. Small amounts of progress that will be beneficial such as exercise, the small gains, assess at the end of the week if you get there and adjust if not. Bringing attention down to a smaller time frame can keep you sane.”

26 – Tangible things

Tangible things are those that will help you shift your perspective to one of gratitude.

Positive things come when you look at that one thing in a more positive light. So, you ask yourself how can I do this more consistently? 

27.21 – Habit Stacking

Taking a lifestyle habit and stacking on to a primary habit.

Primary habits – things you do consistently day in and day out (autopilot), time there you can do something positive.

29 – Positive Messaging

Send a message of gratitude to someone and see how your nervous system, as well as theirs, will settle. These messages can change lives.

Shaun speaks to gratitude daily habits 

"Rewind your life to think of things that make you grateful."

33.45 - Tips for parents on how to deal with fear
Kids should understand that it’s okay to be different and feel different. Compare yourself to yourself and who you were and see the changes you have had. “You can foster the growth mindset if you start it early.”
 
37 – Neuroplasticity
Shaun speaks to how the brain can change and evolve, you can overcome fear you just have to expose yourself to it and see where you were to where you are now. Fear is normal and everyone experiences it differently.  

Wrap Up & Thank You
Visit markmathews.com  

Layne Beachley 

Layne Beachley is regarded as the most successful female surfer in history. Layne’s dedication to success saw her as the only surfer, male or female, to claim six consecutive world titles between 1998 and 2003. Layne went on to win a 7th world title in 2006 before retiring from the ASP World Tour in 2008. In retirement, Layne spends her time travelling nationally and internationally as a motivational Keynote speaker for some of the world’s top commercial firms, sharing her stories about sustaining success, overcoming challenge and maintaining a winning mindset. She is also a trainer and facilitator of a series of workshops, igniting potential in everyone she works with. Layne is also the Founder and Director of her own foundation, Aim For The Stars, Chairperson of Surfing Australia and an Officer of the Order of Australia.

Layne’s Highlights

1:51 Lack of self-confidence and self-doubt

6:18 Bitter or better 

6:45 3 barriers: Fear of letting ppl down, scarcity mentality, and expectations

7:35 Congruent with who you are 

9:10 Tips to moving on from self-doubt

13:05 Meditation

15:30 Tips for building a formula of success

18:30 Success doesn’t define you

19:45 Positive outlook 

22:30 Goal setting 

29:30 Dealing with Disappointment

32:20 How to move past fear

38:45 Neuro-linguistic programming

42:30 What surfing gives Layne 

47:11 How she overcame victim mentality

51:40 Advice that she would give a young Layne Beachly

54:40 Triple E reset

Lack of self-confidence and self-doubt

Layne refers to it as ‘comparison-itis’, when you are comparing yourself to everyone. To overcome it with ‘enoughness’, when you need to believe that you are enough.

She says that she was fortunate that her dad let her have the freedom to fail and the safety to fail.

By detaching from the fear of letting people down or letting go of the expectation you can be in the moment; to do this you need to shine a light on it, accept it and move through the challenge. 

Bitter or better  

The challenge is to have stepping-stones to promote you forward and to have the patience and the trust to do so.  

3 barriers: Fear of letting people down, the scarcity mentality, and the expectations

To overcome these three challenges, Layne says that you need to accept, be congruent with who you are and surround yourself with people that elevate you.

Congruent with who you are 

Being congruent with who you are is about being true to yourself and being proud of yourself.  

This makes life more effortless. 

Layne refers to a quote “Why fit in when you were born to stand out”.

Tips to moving on from self-doubt

Layne says that it is a normal part of life and it is 100% okay. 

The biggest mistake she says that you can make is that you stay there for a little bit too long and it starts to define you. 

To overcome this, she says that the key is to own it, and ask yourself why are you doubting yourself and how is it affecting you; then ask yourself what action can you take to overcome it.  

Online academy coming soon: https://www.laynebeachley.com/ 

Meditation

With 50-70k thoughts per day mediation has helped Layne slow the ‘monkey mind’ down and shift her thoughts into the present and to have ‘space’ between thoughts; she recommends finding what activity enables you to do this; this could be meditating, deep breathing or even surfing. 

Tips for building a formula of success

First 6 world titles were part of her identity that she defined herself by and she struggled to find balance. 

Hobbies were the key to finding her own balance; it gave her time to reconnect and for her this was initially surfing and then beyond this it is now also painting, drawing, and bush walking. 

It refreshes her and gives her time to recharge and also builds resilience so that roller coasters change into speed bumps.

Success doesn’t define you

Layne now doesn’t let her success define her but instead her self-worth. It is about finding your inspiration and passion. 

Positive outlook – does it come naturally? 

Layne believes that we are all born with a positive/ optimistic outlook but it is then our tribe that effects our vibe. 

Goal setting 

Layne shares that she was a big goal setter from a young age and now she has transitioned to standards.

When she was a teenager she wasn’t doing the work to achieve those goals. She is a big fan of goals as they keep on you on track but as an adult she finds that goals can sometimes limit your flexibility. 

Dealing with Disappointment

Detaching from the outcome and loving the process. 

You control your personal choice and accountability; it empowers you and elevates you to the outcome.

Reference: Brene Brown, https://brenebrown.com/

How to move past fear 

Layne says that she loves and dislikes fear; when you are in a state of fear you are incredibility focused. To overcome fear, you first have to recognise it and find out what do you need to do to get yourself in a safe space.  

She believes that fear is a good thing as it stops you from getting too far in front of yourself and keeps you in the moment .e.g. developing an exit strategy or distracting yourself 

Reference: The Fear Bubble: Harness Fear and Live without Limits by Ant Middleton 

Neuro-linguistic programming 

NLP re-wires the way you that you think and enables you to gain clarity and perspective as well as create clear actions.

You can use it to ‘flip it’ – recognise when you are feeling negative and flip it to a more present moment where you can visualise the outcome, then detach yourself from it and instead commit to the process that is going to get you there.

What surfing gives Layne 

Surfing is calming, connecting, centring and nurturing; where she feels a true sense of freedom that she is drawn to.  

How she overcame victim mentality

Instead of falling into the victim mentality, Layne flips it to a champion mentality – ‘Why is this happening for me?‘

Viewing it this way enables her to make the choices everyday easier. 

Advice that she would give a young Layne Beachly

You are loved and you are enough and deserving of it; it all starts with the love of yourself.

The Triple E reset

During COVID, Layne has used the opportunity to reset her Energy, Economy and Environment.

Brad Kennedy
Brad Kennedy, pro golfer and Gold Coast local, recent winner of the New Zealand open is now ranked #7 in Australia and #101 in the world, discusses the process of success and the mental side of golf.

In his last 7 tournaments he has been top 10 with this year coming 3rd Qld PGA (after equalling course record of 61 and leading almost the whole 4 days), 3rd Qld Open and winning the New Zealand open for second time (last time was 2011) and 5th PGA tour of Australasia.

Brad’s Highlights

2:58 Starting out  

4:03 Mental game 

5:57 Mental game and the impact of Dr Dave Alred, Mental Coach

6:32 Every shot that you practice has to count

8:42 Be accountable

13:28 Focus on the process 

13:38 How the process of discipline can create resilience

14:43 Keeping the process while you are in the zone

17:13 The feeling of pride

18:38 The voice of doubt

23:39 Habits and rituals 

27:51 Visualising

33:02 Mastery - Intersection between skill and mindset

35:33 Kennedy’s conundrum 

38:55 Importance of having a supportive family and friends base 

42:45 Giving back

47:42 Key lessons that Golf has taught Brad

Starting Out 

Brad started playing golf at 13 years-old

Mental game and the impact of mental coach, Dr Dave Alred 

Dr Dave Alred has coached Brad for 7 years which has helped Brad go through amazing development.

Dave doesn’t have a technical golf background but delves into the player’s mental game. 

Every shot that you practice has to count

Dave continually tests you to ensure that every shot you make counts; whether in a tournament or in practice. 

He refers to it as the ‘ugly zone’; it is whenever you practice the uncomfortable part of your game until it becomes natural which enables you to go to another level. 

Be accountable

Ensure that the intensity and performance is there in practice; if it is, then there is nothing else that you need to do differently.

Focus on the process 

It is the best mental performance I’ve had in my career at 45 years old.

How the process of discipline can create resilience

This one key learning that Brad uses in golf and in life.

Ultimately success is never guaranteed but if you stick to the process, then the rest comes.  

Keeping the process while you are in the zone 

Believing in your ability to hit the shots that are required while being without any fear of consequences.

The discipline of staying in the process is key and being aware of what you can control.  

One of Brad’s dangers is to allow himself to look at the leader board and then that impacting the process. 

The feeling of pride

It was a mentally tough period during the Queensland Open; however, to go from that low to an absolute pride and self-satisfaction winning the New Zealand open. 

The voice of doubt

Everyone has doubt but it comes from fear and it can really negatively impact you.   

Being able to stay in control and stick to the process is key to overcoming this. 

By understanding the mistakes and concentrating on hitting the shots enables you to control the situation. 

The key is to not get ahead of yourself as it distracts you.  

Habits and rituals 

Brad journals a lot; he rights down his entire schedule of training. 

Writing down the performance sets a benchmark and overtime you can build on that.

It becomes a fact; It is a great way to build up your confidence and resilience.

Reference

The Miracle Morning: The 6 Habits That Will Transform Your Life Before 8AM by Hal Elwood

https://miraclemorning.com/

Really reinforced having a great work ethic, and the benefits of meditation, reading, and exercising. 

Brad believes that he is really getting better in the mental space; his game isn’t going to change at 45 but it is the mental game that has further developed. 

Visualising

Visualising how you want to play – how you want to walk, stand, and generally hold yourself has also helped his mental game.  

Once you try it and it works, it opens you up to what else it can walk for. 

Mastery - Intersection between skill and mindset

Winning a tournament is a form of mastery; where you beat everyone at that particular time. 

Kennedy’s conundrum 

Over 8 years out of the last 25, he has been away from home and he wants to watch his daughters achieve and succeed. 

However, with his current momentum as well as exemptions in upcoming tournaments and the Olympics, it is time to evaluate. 

Importance of having a supportive family and friends base 

With his wife’s support, he has been able to go after his dreams. He also has the support of friends and coaches. 

The base doesn’t change, and they celebrate the successes with you but don’t treat you differently. 

Giving Back 

Project One Putt: https://project1putt.com.au/

It starts at the putting green and works backwards; putting is one of the least enjoyed aspects of the game. He loves to be able to help people with this; to understand the intricacies of putting. 

Junior clinics 

He loves being out there. Post the recent New Zealand win, he ran a junior clinic with 20 high achieving children. 

Brad really loves that he was able to create something that helps people get better at their game. 

Key lessons that Golf has taught

Patience

If you have a passion and driven for something, just try and find out how you can do it to the best of your ability. 

Discipline

Not to think too far ahead and go continue to go back to structure and the process. 

About Your Host
Your host, Shaun, sits down with inspirational individuals who share key learnings from their own experiences on becoming great; whether it is in their own career, in their own field or inspiring growth across a business.

Together, each month, we will unpack key actions on how we can all learn from others’ experiences; unlocking our own scope to grow so that we can all become the best version of ourselves.

Shaun McCambridge is the Managing Director of Stellar Recruitment, a devoted husband and father to four spritely children. 

Gilbert Enoka has a long history of success as a mental skills coach with New Zealand’s corporate and sporting elite. He is internationally renowned for his 20 year history with the All Blacks, first as their mental skills coach and now as manager. He has been with the All Blacks for over 250 tests and during that time the team has won back-to-back Rugby World Cups, one Laureus Award (for the best team in the world), 17 Bledisloe Cups, three Grand Slams, seven Tri Nations and five Rugby Championships.

Gilbert’s Highlights

4:30 The fundamentals of a high-performance environment that endures

8:10 The Power of the Mind 

11:45 Asking if the situation was dealing with you or the situation is dealing you. 

12:40 Mental skills growth

16:00 Material benefits of physical fitness on mental health

19:50 Richie McCaw’s formula 

23:00 Everyone has fear and nerves but it is how you deal with that

24:50 Getting out of your own way

26:20 Three things that leaders must have

27:20 Be where your feet are

36:10 Everyone has 2 lives. Your 2nd begins when you realise you’ve only got one.

39:40 Parallels from the All Blacks’ World Cup recovery to Business recovery from COVID-19 

BIG PAUSE

31:45 Be at your best when your best is needed & not all moments in time are equal

34:15 Above and below the line thinking

43:30 Sustained success 

45:45 Strategies to maintain and support psychological safety

50:40 Young kids using their mindset to enable them to be the architect of their “best life” 

The fundamentals of a high-performance environment that endures

It is about understanding how to align people for a cause

The most successful centenary businesses are traditionalists; they understand the core of what they are about and they never mess with that. 

They instead disrupt the edges and look at small incremental improvement without disrupting the core. 

Understanding the core, preserving it and sending strategic disruptions around the edges.

The “Power of the Mind” 

There are moments in time that are defining; there is no secret sauce to success but comforting the problems and sometimes the brutal reality enables you to deal with pressure. 

Acknowledging the problem and ensuring the mindset is right is key. Skills set do nothing if the mindset is not right. 

The key question to ask yourself is are we dealing with the situation or is the situation dealing you to you. 

Mental skills growth

Starts with the leader and them understanding the importance of mental skills. 

To build the team’s capacity to mentally handle situations is connecting training with resilience and putting it front and centre.

COVID-19 is the perfect situation to build mental strength and dealing with emotional stress.

Material benefits of physical fitness on mental health

Mental health is being challenged during this time. Physical fitness intrinsically connected to mental health and if you are not doing physical fitness your mental health suffers. 

In your opinion why is R McCaw so successful?  

Hardworking, humble, and authentic. He works on himself and his game which enables him to lead and inspire others. His behaviour is also reflective of this. 

Cus D'Amato

“The hero and the coward both feel the same thing, but the hero uses his fear, projects it onto his opponent, while the coward runs. It’s the same thing, fear, but it’s what you do with it that matters.”.  

Everyone has fear and nerves but it is how you deal with that

We all have a load that we can carry, the key is not to get stuck or break. 

Getting out of your own way

There are moments that raise fear and if you can acknowledge it and then use your skills and talent that you possess more than often not you will succeed. 

Three things that leaders must have

Wish big, have a back bone to front the obstacles and have fun olong the way. 

Be where your feet are

Be in the present, not the past. Be in the moment is what matters and not what has happened before or that comes after; your action in the moment is what makes the difference. 

When you connect moments together, you create momentum. 

BIG PAUSE

Be at your best when your best is needed & not all moments in time are equal

It is most important to be at your best when it is needed and not all the time. There are particular moments when it is imperative. 

Champion performers deliver in the big moments. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLqzYDZAqCI

It is one phrase that can really be used as a tool.

In a given moment you can interpret something either positive or negative and there are associated behaviours to each. 

It isn’t about going below the line, but recognising when you do go below and use steps to get above it. 

Everyone has 2 lives. Your 2nd begins when you realise you’ve only got one.

Sometimes we take things for granted and life is great but you can get exposed to an experience that changes your perspective. 

It is a moment in life when you truly settle on and recognise what is important in life and what you are going to prioritise; this enables you to thrive not survive. 

Parallels from the All Blacks’ World Cup recovery to business recovery from COVID-19 

It is not about what the market brings but what you bring. The decisions you make far outweigh the situation. 

Post the Rugby World Cup it was important that the team prepared both physically and mentally. 

Talking about what energises you and what are you struggling with really helps. It enables you to identify situations that can bring stress. 

You also don’t need to go far into the future and bring fear to the forefront. You need to instead focus on the now and what you can control.

What is expected form leader is judgement and not stamina. 

Sustained success 

The moment you think that you have made it, you stand still. You need to have a thirst to take people the next step. 

Strategies to maintain and support psychological safety and connection ...

Andrew May is recognised as one of the world’s leading performance strategists and leadership coaches. A best-selling author, in-demand keynote speaker as well as a Leadership and transformation specialist. CEO and founder of StriveStronger.com.

Andrew’s Highlights

3:21 Mental health in the corporate context 

6:45 The lessons from resting and recovering in sport 

12:30 Covid lessons 

19:00 Positive psychology

17:30 Physical and emotional signs of fatigue

22:30 Sustained performance rituals

28:40 Resilience Training 

30:00 What are the levers that impact performance?

33:20 Defining Meditation

37:30 Diaphragmatic breathing 

38:25 “Play” & making the time to

43:20 Benefits of getting out of our “comfort zone”

55:00 Dealing with Divorce 

59:00 Vulnerability is real 

1:02:00 Slowing down to speed up

1:04:40 Learnings from Barack Obama

1:05:20 Advice to your 20-year-old self

Mental Health & Corporate Context 

First factor is that people are now more comfortable with admitting that they are not okay. 

Second factor is that we are under more pressure and we are connected from sun up to sun down. When you have uncontrollable factors the cracks in the systems become more prevalent.

Lessons from resting and recovering in sport

The world’s greatest athletes train hard but recover even harder, both physically and mentally.

Recovery is key for athletes having longer heights to their careers. – It is the key to extending their careers. 

Most corporates do not spend time recovering; it is common for work to impede on personal time. 

Covid lessons

For those that have three main things, money, a home, and connectedness, Covid has in ways been beneficial; we have had more time whether it is reflecting or connecting with our family. 

However, there is also a second phase which is fatigue. Fatigue of the ‘New World of Work’, which is a highbred of working from home and returning the work. 

Physical and emotional signs of fatigue

Physically you are tired, you have body aches when you are fatigued

Mentally it is multi factorial; for example, your body clock is all over the place, it is hard to get up, or your retreating from social factors

Emotionally you are disconnected or feeling angry 

As a leader it is really important to realise this, one for yourself and for your team, especially right now. 

Positive psychology

Tell me what is right with me rather than what is wrong with me. 

Reflect on what is positive in life and when you are above the line. You may have a pre-disposition of looking at what is wrong but through training you can shift to concentrating on what is right and having more of those above the line moments. 

Sustained performance rituals

Around 50% of your psychology is inherited; for example, if your mother has a pessimistic, then you are 50% likely to be a pessimist; but there is also a 50% chance that you will not. You can be trained with thinking skills, the life you lead, the people that you hang around. 

Just because of may have come from a tough background it doesn’t mean it has to continue. Examples such as Larry Olson, Owner of Oracle, Oprah Winfrey etc. 

You can change the way you think

Resilience Training 

Sports people have high performance scenarios, where they have done the training that many times, that it becomes a living blue print. 

You can learn how to reflect on the positives through journaling or thinking about what you are grateful for.  

What are the levers that impact performance?

We have looked into 1,000 of evidence-based peer reviews to find the levers that impact performance; at a high level it is the body and the brain. 

Further to this, it can be broken down to 6 levers:

1. MOVE – Getting active 10,000 steps a day, including regular weights etc. 
2. FUEL - Nutrition
3. RECHARGE – Physical recovery and psychology detachment
4. THINK – Base psychology and getting yourself above the line
5. CONNECT – Connecting with purpose, community and nature 
6. PLAY – Having fun, laughter and play

Meditation

It doesn’t have to be listening to a meditation track, it could be sitting in a park or walking. It is ultimately about being present and slowing down the internal chatter – psychologically disconnecting. People need to try different forms until you find what works for you. 

Diaphragmatic breathing 

This can be a great alternative to meditation and is easy to do. 

Play & making the time to

Young kids play but as adults we beat it out of our lives. There needs to be a balance; I often ask Executives what they do for fun, laughter and play.

Benefits of getting out of our “comfort zone”

The same game – same home, same clothes, same lunch.

Learning so much about yourself and not playing the stay game. Having a choice to finding a way or not and then making the first choice into a habit. 

Divorce 

During the challenges, you learn about yourself…I spent time rebuilding myself and being truly connected to others. I was functionally depressed for 2 years and I used the 6 levers and got support. 

Vulnerability is real 

It builds trust between people when you show it. 

Slowing down to speed up

Slowing down to be calm and ready for your performance moments. 

Barack Obama

It takes out the decision-making process.

To do “deep” work you have to get away and block distractions and with this why Barrack Obama only wore one type of suit; it is one less decision that they would have to make and they can use that energy into an important one. 

Advice 20-year old self 

Number 1 is to slow down to speed up; don’t try and do everything straight away.

Number 2 is to continually evolve and adapt to grow.

Your host, Shaun, sits down with inspirational individuals who share key learnings from their own experiences on becoming great; whether it is in their own career, in their own field or inspiring growth across a business.

Together, each month, we will unpack key actions on how we can all learn from others’ experiences; unlocking our own scope to grow so that we can all become the best version of ourselves.

Shaun McCambridge is the Ma...

In this Industry update, Shaun speaks with Tim Waddell; General Manager at Form Building & Developments in New Zealand and discusses the story behind what built the company and the brilliant opportunities available now in the New Zealand construction market.

Topics covered:

• Overview of Form as a business

• Origins including the stories of the founders

• How they grew to an $160 million dollar business in 11 years

• Culture and what it takes to be a member for the Form team

• Current opportunities in the New Zealand market

Why do clients choose to partner with Form?

Delivery is a big part of it. In the Bay of Plenty there are many large industrial kiwi fruit projects where they must be completed by a date, likewise in Auckland with school projects and other time sensitive jobs. We have that relationship with clients and consultants that we do deliver. They like the element that we can self-perform part of the works with our own tradesman, and we are not reliant on subcontractors in the heated Auckland market. We are also easy to deal with, we are not a large contract company, and we like engaging with people instead of firing of letters left right and centre.

Tell us about the good family feel and flat structural culture within the business? How important is culture in your eyes and how would you define the Form culture?

It's very important and one of the key things throughout the business that we have all worked very hard on. I would define the culture as inclusive first and foremost, we are not a hierarchical or faceless business. The people who own the business are active in the business and happy to interact with everyone. I would describe the culture as professional, friendly and team orientated. We are big on our project teams, we refer to our key players in the team as the tripod, project manager, site manager and quantity surveyor. In any project they have the complete support of every facet of the business. I’m keen to understand what you look for in people who you work with and people that work for you? You are always looking for fit and fit with others in the business, we like straight-up people, people who want to put in a good days work, but want to focus on the task at hand and fit in with the team. People who are available to work unsupervised and generally nice friendly people. We are very hands on and personal and so people who like that sort of environment we generally look for as well.