Seize the Yay

Thank you all so much for your wonderful, thought-provoking and well-considered questions, I had so much fun reflecting on them (and not so much fun listening back to my answers - even after all this time I hate listening to my own voice unless it's bantering with a guest). I can't properly express how grateful I am to everyone who has ever joined, listened or been part of the podcast in anyway - Seize the Yay brings so much depth and joy to my life and opens my mind in new ways each week to create it for you. I covered as many questions as I could in this one and, as I mention in the intro, I genuinely can't tell anymore if my answers makes sense, are useful or if it's all just nonsense but hopefully I've addressed at least some of your curiosity. I definitely missed some things, could have said some things better, and wanted to re-record as soon as I listened back, but I'm learning to take my own advice that "done is better than perfect", that self-doubt will always make you overly self-critical and that the essence of seizing the yay is sharing my real spontaneous answers, not the curated ones. The questions I answered in order are: The podcast •Which have been your 3 most eye-opening interviews? •Which interviewee surprised you the most? Why? •What are the three biggest challenges you have faced since starting your podcast? •Have you had any interviews that never went to air?! •Any awkward interviews where it was hard to get the conversation flowing? •How do you speak so eloquently on your podcast episodes? You practically never say "um" or "uh". What's your secret? •What do you think you have learnt about YOURSELF since starting this podcast? •Who would be your dream person to interview? •How do you choose who you interview for your podcast? What's the process •How did you get into what you do and what's the advice you'd give to others getting into the podcasting space? •How do you find your topic, tone of voice, first guests? The book •Can you give us a little sneak peak snippet of your book? •Can you tell us a bit more background about the story behind it etc? •What are the chapter headings? Personal life •Top 3 achievements so far? •Who's your biggest inspiration? •What did you wish you knew in high school or uni? •How do you do it all? Do you have a virtual assistant or manager? •Recommendations for coping with chronic fatigue or similar •Are you medicated for anxiety? •What's one piece of advice that has always stuck with you throughout your life? •How did you know Nic was the one and what was your history of relationships prior? •Have you been back to the town where you were born? •Would you consider adopting a child, considering how blessed you feel you were to be adopted? •What would be your last meal before you die!? •Do you drink Matcha everyday? •What is your absolute guilty pleasure to treat yourself? •Favourite foods and cheat meal? On 2020 •As you reflect on the volatility of 2020, what have you learnt about yourself? Maybe, have you noticed your values changing? •How's your mum coping with lockdown? •What motivates you to keep going day to day? •How do you get yourself out of a deep funk? •How do you stay positive in iso? •If you were single how would you have copied? What's next? •Will you be starting a Youtube channel? •Do you plan on increasing the podcast production for oth...

We're back with another guest whose episode couldn't be more perfectly timed. You may have heard my chat with him on the TOM Organic podcast earlier this year and, if you did, you'll know I refer to him as my spiritual guru but, if you didn't, you'll very soon understand why. Manoj Dias has taught me so much of what I know about sitting with discomfort, understanding suffering and the deeply life-changing impact of meditation and connection. We explored some of this on the Taboo Podcast but went a whole lot deeper here, which I found enormously helpful particularly during this shit-storm of a year and I hope you do too. Although you might not be able to imagine it of either of us as we are now, it was not wellness that brought us together but our nightclub glory days before our ways to yay really began. That alone is a reminder of my favourite theme - the non-linear nature of life and the way it unravels in many chapters not just the one you know someone from. Born into the Theravada Buddhist tradition, you might think Manoj skipped logically and smoothly straight to his position now as a globally recognised meditation teacher, writer, entrepreneur & co-founder of Open Meditation... But, squeeze a successful corporate career, teenage fatherhood, a mental health breakdown, an eating disorder and an ensuing transformative healing journey in between and you're getting closer to the real picture. Manoj shares all of the facets of himself so generously as well as busting some myths on meditation and I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did. + Follow Manoj here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

This week's episode is another one of many that's been shuffled around and pushed back for various reasons, but that has ended up coming out just when I think our guest's insights are most powerful. A big part of seizing your yay is acknowledging that both the best and worst times of our life play a role in our journey and If we ever needed some guiding words on turning adversity, uncertainty and grief into something positive, Liz Dawes is your woman. Like many of our guests, I loved diving into her earlier years because she had an entire life and career going from a small town in Wisconsin to travelling the world leading multi-million-dollar sales and marketing accounts BEFORE the chapter most of us know her from now as an adopted Melbournian and internationally recognised CEO and Chairman of a charitable foundation. Liz and her husband Scott had their world turned upside down when their son, Connor, was diagnosed with paediatric brain cancer - the #1 disease killer of young people - and passed away a few years later. We discuss the many different ways people process grief and how just a few short months later, Liz held the first Connor's Run founding the Robert Connor Dawes Foundation which is now the biggest paediatric brain cancer foundation in Australia. As she puts it in her TEDx talk last year, Liz reframed, reimagined and reaffirmed her way forward and has now raised $7million impact dollars that's helping fund research, care programs and so much more. Parts of this one are heavy but incredibly meaningful and with a beautiful happy ending (or happy beginning that's now eight years in) - I hope you are as moved as I am by Liz and the beautiful legacy she has created for Connor. SIGN UP TO CONNOR'S RUN 2020 HERE + Follow RCD Foundation here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Today I'm joined by a face many of you will know and love as I have since childhood, Dr Katrina Warren, an Aussie vet (along with her golden retriever Riley who had a great stare-off with Paul during the chat). You probably know Dr Katrina from Totally Wild or Harry's Practice or even Animal Planet or Dancing with the Stars, and I'm sure she's responsible for so many people's love for animals. As the only person I know of who did sheep husbandry for their HSC, Dr Katrina is a qualified vet but didn't take the conventional private practice pathway going into the media instead (with a fashion modelling career in Japan in the mix photos of which she has graciously shared with me for us to enjoy in the Facebook group!) She's definitely not the first guest who ended up seizing a yay they wouldn't have imagined in a million years, but she's possibly the first who's openly discussed the come down and disorientation of that yay abruptly ending pushing her to re-craft her identity and start her next chapter, which she's now in the swing of and enjoying thoroughly with Wonderdogs, as a Snooza ambassador and so much more. Paul also interrupts a few times to chat with Riley about his opinion on the beautiful Snooza beds they both have now - the woes of working from home! Enjoy! + Follow Dr Katrina here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

I'm joined this week by our first Wulli Wulli woman, Beach volleyball Olympian and Commonwealth silver medallist, Taliqua Clancy. You've probably seen I've been reflecting on Seize the Yay's commitment to diversity (of all kinds), but also, in light of the past few weeks, the best way to contribute to the BIPOC dialogue specifically and Taliqua is the first of a few wonderful guests coming up who offer some generously personal and thought provoking insights to the conversation. Growing up in Kingaroy QLD (otherwise known as "peanut town") over 200km from the nearest beach, you wouldn't expect Olympic success at beach volleyball to be in Taliqua's future. And yet, she reached the quarter finals in the Rio Olympics becoming the first Aboriginal Olympian to compete in the sport and is on her way to the slightly delayed Tokyo Olympics next year. Taliqua is also an Ambassador for our mutually beloved Cadbury who are launching an amazing Smart Watch campaign this week to support us all staying active in #iso which you'll hear more about. I hope you enjoy as much as I did... NOTE: Terra Nullius is the concept we discussed, that you might want to research. + Follow Taliqua here + Find out more about the Cadbury Smart Watch campaign here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has been experiencing a lot of ups and downs with the uncertainty and chaos of this year so far and I can't think of anyone better to give us some perspective and guidance on getting through adversity than the divine Elle Halliwell. Hers is a story I can never hear too many times that brings forth every ounce of emotion I have in admiration and awe and I'm so grateful she has shared it again today for the yay-borhood. Elle began in the world of journalism applying her incredible work ethic to climbing from making coffees to becoming a fashion editor at The Sunday Telegraph at just 21. She worked herself to the bone for almost a decade until just after her 30th birthday when her and her husband starting to think about having children. In the course of some preparatory blood tests, despite having no symptoms, Elle was diagnosed with a rare form of incurable Leukaemia. And, within the same 48 hours, she also discovered that she was pregnant leaving her with an impossible and unimaginable choice - to terminate and pursue treatment or continue with her pregnancy but risk not making it through. Rest assured, Elle's story has a very happy and heart-warming ending - her beautiful boy Tor is now three and Elle is absolutely thriving with a glow that belies what she's been through. She has since completely changed her life and direction and has also just started her first business, Auricle, which you'll hear all about shortly. Elle speaks so eloquently about what her experience has taught her about uncertainty, self-belief and strength and I think we can all take so many lessons from her wisdom. I hope you enjoy listening as much as I did. + Follow Elle here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

You might know that this week is Men's Health Week and while, of course everyone's health is equally important, I really support the particular focus this week on the unique challenges faced by men in both their physical and mental health. As you'll hear, men's health outcomes often fall far behind those of women and they still face a lot of stigma around the perceived "weakness" of seeking help, so I think this is a wonderful way to remind men they're not alone and to help women too understand how we can help change the dialogue for our partners, brothers, sons and friends. Men's mental health statistics in particular always come as a shock to me and if you haven't listened to our chats with Osher Günsberg and Jake Edwards, they share some honest and personal insights on their mental health journey that are well worth a listen. For this episode, I thought we'd get a medical expert's perspective and who better to join us than medical doctor, psychiatry resident and mental health advocate, Dr Kieran Kennedy. You might have seen Dr Kieran on the latest cover of Men's Health Magazine dedicated to the incredible efforts of healthcare workers through the COVID19 pandemic and that's just one of the many challenges he generously opens up about in our chat. From humble, idyllic beginnings in rural New Zealand (you'll hear ALL about the joys of what's called Calf Club), Kieran is the embodiment of persistence and grit working his way through a Bachelor of Science into medical studies and is now six months off finishing his specialisation in Psychiatry AND fits his passion for fitness and a bodybuilding career in on the side. He is self-deprecating in a way that belies his success and he gives us such powerful insights into men's struggles with societal views on manliness, hardening up and even on how much more widespread men's battles with body image is and valuing themselves on how they look. This conversation opened my eyes up to so much and I hope it does the same for you too. PLEASE REACH OUT IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING: Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyondblue + Follow Dr Kieran here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

It's been a little while since our last INTRApreneurial guest, but I'm delighted to have one of the best with us today - Jasmine Smith, Director of People and Culture from Swisse Wellness. You know I love a good non-linear way to yay, so I found Jasmine's story captivating from her nomadic and adventurous childhood to make up artistry, then a late entry to tertiary studies in behavioural science after her first child, a successful career in retail and sales and only after seven years at each of Mecca and T2, an eventual pivot into HR where she is working wellness wonders for the workforce at Swisse. She represents everything I love to share about life unravelling in chapters, the importance of self awareness and the shapeshifting nature of what your yay looks like over time. I think HR or, as it is known at Swisse, People and Culture, is another one of those areas of work that can absolutely make or break a business but that many of us barely understand and take for granted. You'll hear that Jasmine herself didn't know it was even a job she could do until years later, and those are the areas I LOVE to delve into - I learnt so much from this chat! I was reminded all about the many tools Swisse and other businesses use to help identify employees' strengths, weaknesses and passions - I tend to forget you don't have to learn everything on the fly, so if you're wondering how to figure out what your yay is, Jasmine shares a HEAP of useful hacks along with so much other wisdom about igniting human potential! Hope you enjoy as much as I did! + Follow Swisse Wellness here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

This week, we've got another way to yay full of twists and turns ending up nowhere our guest thought she'd be but exactly where she was meant to be. Nicole Liu started out on the very conventional "finance-y" pathway, climbing, (much like me) a ladder she thought she was genuinely passionate about. That was until a misdiagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome and the similarly inaccurate news that she was necessarily infertile threw her world upside down and opened her eyes to the difficulty of wading through information on women's health and how alone many of us feel trying to navigate it. Her experience led her to leave corporate to start her wonderful business, Kin Fertility, with the goal of raising standards for women's reproductive health and opening up the heavily stigmatised conversation around fertility. I am continually baffled by how even a chronic oversharer of a modern woman like me can have lasted as long as I did without knowing much at all about my cycle or the fundamentals of hormones and fertility (especially being adopted!!) and loved chatting to Nicole about blazing a trail in the industry and opening up the dialogue. As the first of many services that Kin will offer, they currently run Australia's first pill prescription service with the contraceptive pill being delivered to your door, letting you ditch the in-person doctor's appointment, without compromising quality healthcare. I'm so excited for what else is to come and also loved her advice (which I have thus far been unable to offer anecdotally) on getting immigrant parents on board with a big move away from the stability of a corporate career, so for those asking, Nicole's got your answer! Hope you enjoy! + Follow Kin Fertility here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

I'm not sure about you guys but these crazy times have definitely made me reflect on, among many other things, the way we communicate and connect with each other. What a perfect time to have today's guest join the show to dive a little deeper into just that - I'm delighted to have expert communicator, TEDx speaker, and Emmy-award winning voice actress, Tasia Valenza, join from New York. You might not have realised, but you've almost definitely heard Tasia's incredible voice (or voices) before as Poison Ivy in the Batman: Arkham Series, Venisa Doza in Star Wars Resistance, Shaak Ti in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Sniper Wolf in Metal Gear Solid games... She has had an incredible career as an actress turned voice actress and has turned that passion into a business founding Give Great Voice to share her learnings on the impact of tone and expression with all of us. You already know I love exploring the stories behind pathways we take for granted in everyday life so I had so much fun learning about just how one becomes the voice in our ears behind so many different characters. I hope you enjoy and learn something about using YOUR voice along the way. + Follow Tasia here + Watch her TEDx talk here + See The Haven App here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Well, I think I've held up pretty well so far on the show - it's not easy to leave me speechless, but this week's guest cracked me. I'm always so impressed and inspired by everyone's self-awareness, reflection and honesty, but Jake Edwards is just on another level. IMPORTANT NOTE - This is a little heavier than usual and we do touch on suicide in the context of Jake's incredibly inspiring recovery. A conversation about yay in any depth has to acknowledge how severe the challenges can be for some among us. You've likely realised I'm an advocate for open albeit difficult conversations around mental health to help us normalise it and continue to spread awareness about the support available, helpful strategies and how you can absolutely still find your yay (Jake's story being the perfect example). I always marvel at the timing of the universe and it's perfect that this one worked out just when we're all facing challenges to our routine and structure so probably need it most. I usually do a more detailed intro, but I think Jake tells his story so well, especially with the added layer of later reflection with hindsight, a lot of work and brutal honesty with himself. For some quick context, he followed his father, grandfather and great grandfather into the AFL but faced a mental health spiral after being delisted and losing the only identity he'd ever cultivated for himself. You'll hear about the depths of rock bottom that he hit but has since built himself back up from to found Outside the Locker Room, his incredible charity providing critical mental health education and welfare support to community sporting clubs across Australia. He's also co-founded Speak Clothing that you'll hear about in the show. It's no surprise to me that he is an Australian Mental Health Prize Nominee in recognition of his amazing work. I've known Jake for years and am as moved now as I was the first time I heard this - his is a truly incredible story that I hope you gain as much from as I did. PLEASE REACH OUT IF YOU ARE STRUGGLING: Lifeline 13 11 14 Beyondblue OTLR + Follow Jake here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

This week's podcast guest and I both love rambling as much as each other and we go all over the place in what I was humbled to hear was perhaps the most honest chat she's had, particularly with all the time we've had recently for reflections. You've almost certainly seen the work of the wonderful Lana Wilkinson - Australia's most beloved celebrity and fashion stylist behind the best dressed at the Logies, Brownlow, Races, TV and everything in between - as well as founder of her very own shoe line - By Lana Wilkinson. You'd be forgiven for thinking it was all glitz and glamour (which of course sometimes it is) but I love how Lana embraces every opportunity to show the other side of her work and and life. She is incredibly hard working, reflective, thoughtful and never takes life too seriously. Also please excuse a few glitches from Zoom where one of us laughing blocks out the other's words... there's was A LOT of laughing so I hope you enjoy getting to know Lana a bit more and have a laugh with us along the way. + Follow Lana here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

I feel like March went for a year and April has gone in the blink of an eye. Hope you're all continuing to adapt to #iso and, as our last guest Harlan Coben described, bringing your own weather to the picnic. Meanwhile, I've got another wonderful lockdown chat for you with the absolutely delightful Abbey Gelmi as part of what she affectionately refers to as #DowntimeAbbey. If you haven't already seen her work although millions of you have, Abbey is making waves in the world of TV as a Channel 7 sports presenter for racing, Cricket, AFL and the ultimately-postponed Olympics as well as host of the latest season of House Rules. Despite her booming career amidst the glossy world of the media (note Abbey is also a host of the Brownlow and no stranger to glamour), I love that her inner suburban Perth girl lives on. As always we dive into the overnight-success-a-lifetime-in-the-making, she is so hard-working, appreciative and endearingly humble about how far she's come. We chat impostor syndrome, the woes of blue vs black pen, and even welcome a delivery man to the show - isolation is such a fun time, I love how every Zoom call gives such a more authentic insight into people's day to day lives. And Abbey shares hers openly which I absolutely loved - hope you enjoy. + Follow Abbey here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

I'm so excited about this week's episode because, as most of you know, I'm a die-hard crime fiction reader so I'm fangirling a bit over our guest - the wonderful Harlan Coben. As much as I consume crime novels, movies and TV shows, I've never actually met or spoken to one of the many authors I admire so I was bowled right over when Harlan agreed to join the show from New Jersey. To many of you, he probably needs no introduction, but if you didn't already know, Harlan is the #1 New York Times author of thirty one novels with over 70 million books in print worldwide published in 43 languages around the globe. If you haven't watched Netflix hits Safe or The Stranger yet, they're up there with my favourite shows and both are from Harlan to add to the many other screen adaptions of his work. As part of his 14 book deal with Netflix, he has another series coming, The Woods, so keep an eye out for that. I just finished his latest book too, The Boy From The Woods, in one day - I couldn't put it down - and was thrilled to hear from the man himself about the many years it took to make it as an author, his process for writing, his dinners with American Presidents and his normal New Jersey life as a dad. I hope you enjoy! + Follow Harlan here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!

Welcome back beautiful people, hope you're all keeping safe and well. I'm so glad to be joined this week by absolute legend, Moana Hope, to share her totally refreshing approach to life, undying dedication to her family and appreciation of the little things. She has such an incredibly interesting story and such wise words for us all on embracing what makes us different, especially in a world where we so often feel pressured to be the same or do the same as others. I found our chat to be the most delightful distraction at this crazy time, covering everything from growing up as one of 14 children, balancing her AFLW career with full time work, marrying the love of life, caring for her amazing sister Vinny and of course her recent success on Survivor All Stars. I'll let her tell you the rest and apologise in advance for the slightly crackly audio in parts - I'm still experimenting a bit with using video and audio and how to maintain the same quality so appreciate your patience. I'm finding so much joy in keeping bringing you a dose of yay in lots of different forms, so hope this brightens your week. + Follow Moana here + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah + Join our Facebook community here + Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!