The You Project

For years, I've been keeping an electronic journal where I jot down thoughts, realisations, ideas, anecdotes, questions and topics. It lives in the form of a Word Doc. consisting of hundreds of thousands of words; around the equivalent of three or four 250-300 page books. Over the years I've learned that thinking happens despite me and while a lot of it is complete shit, some of it is worth paying attention to and more importantly, taking action on. Ergo, the journal. Sometimes it's the beginning of something that I intend to expand on later, sometimes it's a complete idea and/or message in and of itself and sometimes, it's a piece of a cognitive puzzle that I'm yet to figure out. Often it's a paragraph or two, occasionally a single sentence, sometimes a dot-point list and with increasing regularity, it's a page of rambling ideas that seem to come through me, not from me. Sometimes it's a very intentional, logical, conscious download and sometimes, it's more of an overwhelm of creativity, inspiration and insight coming from somewhere beyond my acquired knowledge, experience and/or education. I try not to over-think it or 'get in the way' but rather, just type.

TYP favourite Geoff Jowett is back and as always, the boys have fun going deep talking about stillness, turning down the internal noise, living the simple life and redefining success. Enjoy. @geoffjowett

Lisa Alexander is one of the winningest coaches in Australian Sport and after nine years at the helm of our national netball team (the Diamonds 2011-2020), Lisa walked away with a winning record of eighty-one percent. In this episode of TYP, we talk about the evolution of coaching (in all areas.. sport, business, health, life), what it takes to get the best out of people and why being a successful coach in any domain is largely about awareness, empathy, emotional intelligence, psychology and communication. Enjoy.

Marketing genius, thought leader, story teller and straight-shooter Simon Hammond is back to chat with us about the key themes and messages in his new book.. Brutal Truth: Surviving in a world of Lies, Taboos and Bullsh*t. At first glance (listen), some of his ideas might seem somewhat controversial (brutal, even) but be patient because when he eloquently explains why inequality is not the same as discrimination (among many other interesting ideas), it becomes apparent that, while he sounds like a hard-arse, he's actually someone who cares about deeply about people on a micro (individual) and macro (societal) level. This was a good chat. 50Crates.com.au

Exercise Physiologist, Educator and all-round Grouse Chick, Unna Goldsworthy is back and this time, hormones, emotions, exercise, hot flushes, body composition, lifestyle, grieving through Menopause and something called 'Meno-spread' (good grief!) are on the conversational menu. Enjoy. @goldyguts

A few weeks ago, I decided to run a free workshop for people who were hurting and struggling and for those needing a little inspiration, encouragement and support. The first one booked out in two hours (1,000 people), so we ended up running three workshops over three weeks. This episode of TYP is the audio from our second session and it runs for nearly an hour and a half. We cover lots of territory, ranging from the cognitive, emotional, physical and practical, through to the philosophical, existential and spiritual. If you've heard me speak often, feel free to give it a miss, although revision, reminders and reinforcement never hurt. Love ya guts.

This was one of the funniest chats I've had on TYP with a great Mate, who also happens to be one of the most down-to-earth, intuitively intelligent and gifted practitioners I know. He's also highly inappropriate, swears like me and seems to have no apparent filter. Perfect. OD (Ian O'Dwyer) is back and this time we explore the mental, emotional and physical health benefits of fun, laughter and play, we discuss the way emotion 'lives' in our body and we also talk about slumpy posture (kyphosis), biofeedback, having hard (but necessary) conversations, life in lockdown, self-experimentation, finding our optimal operating system and self-awareness. So not much at all, really. Enjoy. feelsoma.com

Among other things, this is an episode about my numerous failures and f*ck-ups and how those things became lessons, opportunities, growth experiences, resilience builders and motivation to do better. It's also a broader conversation about the 'psychology of failure'. That is, the way we think about it, talk about it, process it, understand it and sometimes, turn simple 'outcomes' into catastrophic failures.

Through no fault, choice or desire of our own, most of us are currently dealing with all things 'UN'... uncertain, unpredictable, unfamiliar, unwanted, unknown, uncomfortable, unhappy. Which is both interesting and challenging because we humans like the opposite of all those things. We like predictable, known, familiar, comfortable and happy, which is why right now, a significant increase in anxiety, depression, sadness, fear and a myriad of related mental health issues are telling us that, for many people, Covid is as much (if not more) a psychological, emotional, sociological and economic threat as it is, a biological one. TYP Fave Anna Feringa is back with Craig to go deep on the Uns. annaferinga.com.au

Through no fault, choice or desire of our own, most of us are currently dealing with all things 'UN'... uncertain, unpredictable, unfamiliar, unwanted, unknown, uncomfortable, unhappy. Which is both interesting and challenging because we humans like the opposite of all those things. We like predictable, known, familiar, comfortable and happy, which is why right now, a significant increase in anxiety, depression, sadness, fear and a myriad of related mental health issues are telling us that, for many people, Covid is as much (if not more) a psychological, emotional, sociological and economic threat as it is, a biological one. TYP Fave Anna Feringa is back with Craig to go deep on the Uns. annaferinga.com.au

In this episode of TYP, I discuss the Pros and Cons (yes, there are both) of body transformation programs. And while it might seem like a singular focus on a singular topic, it's actually a much bigger (and broadly relevant) conversation about everything from consistency, mindset, temporary behaviours, expectations, self-sabotage, why people fail and post-program bingeing to subconscious programming, organisation, goal-setting, accountability and (of course), creating lasting transformation.

Depending on the assessment tool, my body can be classified anywhere on the continuum from borderline obese (height-weight chart, BMI) to very lean (body composition analysis). No wonder people get frustrated and confused. *Note: Apologies for the audio quality in this episode. Few challenges in lockdown recording conversations over the ol' interwebs.

I was recently interviewed by Jack Nagle on his Podcast 'Real Drug Talk' and I think this is a conversation that many people will find interesting. Jack and I first met working at DayHab (our major sponsor); the one-time teenage ice addict and the boofhead Exercise Scientist. Among other things, Jack questions me about my thoughts and experiences around all kinds of addictive and obsessive behaviours, working with addicts, the 'less-conventional' addictions, my somewhat obsessive and addictive personality (I used to run 365 days a year, even when I was injured or sick) and the bullet I may have dodged by not picking up a beer when my mates did.

Dean Mawby, is a pioneer in the area of strength training for the 60 plus age group and this is a great chat about an important issue. I've long been an advocate of strength training for our 'more experienced' citizens, with benefits ranging from the obvious physical, practical and medical, to the not-so-obvious social, emotional and cognitive. Everything from improved strength, function, bone density endurance, balance, energy and overall physical performance, to improved self-esteem, confidence, happiness and quality of life. If I created a drug for our older population that could do what strength training can (1) that shit would sell like hotcakes (2) everyone would take it and (3) I'd be rich AF. *Note: as is often the way with Zoom recording, we had a few minor audio glitches in spots. Apologies. realstrengthstudio.com

This turned out to be something of a teaching session, with me banging on about everything from empathy, awareness and consciousness to communication, connection, subjective reality and viewing the world through someone else's window (journey, stories, beliefs, values, culture, fear, experiences, emotions). Mostly though, it's a conversation about the importance and value of understanding (but not necessarily agreeing with) other people and the variables that drive human behaviour (good, bad or indifferent).