Get Off The Bench Podcast

In this episode I reflect on our recent Reset Retreat to Cambodia, and our work with the charity Heartprint. Despite Cambodia's history of violence and poverty, I’m exceptionally impressed by the warmth and resilience of the people. We took along an amazing group of women, and together we visited significant historical sites like Angkor Wat and the killing fields, and learned about the country's t...

David Roden's journey from despair to triumph is a powerful testament to human resilience and determination. Born into a challenging situation, David weighed over 400 pounds by the age of 18, struggled with pre-diabetes and high blood pressure, and felt so trapped that he considered ending his life during his senior year of high school. But he chose a different path. Inspired and motivated, perhap...

Andy McCarthy is the author of memoir Here Comes The Sun. He is a business leader, mentor/business coach, public speaker, investor in startups and scaling businesses. Passionate about developing emerging leaders in the energy space across the globe, Andy believes in paying forward the support he has enjoyed in his own professional career.  Andy has 24 years experience in renewable energy sect...

Tiffanee Cook is a dynamic force in the worlds of boxing, coaching, podcasting, and speaking, driven by a passion to understand why some people thrive after life’s challenges.  Tiffanee Cook is a resilience mindset coach, speaker, and the host of the Roll With The Punches podcast. As 'The Mind PT', Tiff leads individuals towards transforming life's inevitable hard hits into opportunities for...

I'm Ben, a passionate motivational speaker and entrepreneur dedicated to inspiring others to overcome adversity, especially those facing disabilities. My journey is one of resilience and triumph, and I'm committed to sharing the lessons I've learned along the way.  As someone who understands the challenges of living with a disability firsthand, I advocate for disability employment and rights...

Hello! I am Gavin McCormack, a co-founder of Upschool.co, a platform that empowers students to learn real entrepreneurship skills that have real impact. With over 20 years of experience as a Montessori-trained teacher, I have taught in multiple countries and developed a passion for innovative educational practices that foster essential skills in students from an early age. I am also the Montessori...

Since Cherie Smirl’s first volunteering experience in Tanzania in 2013, the failure of the Government’s education system to deliver has been a driving factor in her work to break the cycle of inter-generational poverty in the country. One Love Tanzania is dedicated to encouraging personal development goals, fostering self belief and promoting better classroom practice, all integral to bringing hop...

Nicky and Ness are seasoned business leaders and coaches, dedicated to transforming the way business owners approach growth and success. With over fifty years of combined experience in leadership, sales, and coaching, they bring a wealth of knowledge and a unique perspective to the table. Both have successfully run coaching businesses since 2015, and together they co-founded Business Together, a b...

When she was growing up, Ros wanted to be a vet or a scientist, but her fascination with human behaviour and neuroscience led her to a career in organisational development, specialising in improving business outcomes by developing individuals, teams, and organisations. After more than 20 years in corporate human resources and organisational development roles, a successful battle with cancer gave R...

Let’s just start this with a confession. I’m deeply in love with photography. And this love affair started young, as a kid growing up in a small regional town in Victoria. I used to pour over the pictures in the National Geographic— those photos were my window to the wider world. They showed me the power of a single image to connect people across cultures, continents and time. My fascination with...

Audra Agen is the Founder, Host and Chief Inspiration Officer of the ‘Women in the Arena’ Podcast. As a corporate veteran, Audra has 25 years’ experience of being one of the few women in the room, and in many cases, the only one. While the women may have been outnumbered, they were all uniquely exceptional. She became fascinated learning more about them and their experiences. It became increasingl...

It’s amazing how often we feel guilty about something and we let it consume us. It’s even worse when you’ve created a narrative in your own mind about letting people down and not living up to the expectations of others. Yes, I teach this stuff, but yet I am human. Sometimes it’s absolutely OK to put your own needs first and fill up YOUR cup in order to serve more people. If only we could remember...

Tiffanee Cook is a dynamic force in the worlds of boxing, coaching, podcasting, and speaking, driven by a passion to understand why some people thrive after life’s challenges.  As a boxer and coach, her experiences shape her insightful approach to personal development. Her podcast is a rich tapestry of narratives, where she explores a range of topics - from mindset and adversity to neuroscien...

It seems we’re always quick to judge or blame others, and just as quick to sit in denial or to justify our position. Often even when we know were are in the wrong! But how often are we accountable for our words and actions? And do we take responsibility for things that need to sit with us? What about owning up when we make a mistake. The latter are all things that sit above the metaphorical line,...

Happiness is that elusive thing we all chase, but what does it actually mean? What if we replaced that never-ending search with celebration and seeking moments of joy. Those things that bring us energy, put a smile on our dial, and fill our cups. What then, are we doing that is compromising our happiness and our opportunity to find those moments of joy, and can we do more of the things that are co...

What if we could live our lives for ourselves, and not living to please the expectations of others? Do we even know what that would look like? The number one regret of the dying, according to author Bronnie Ware, is “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me”. When we know what we stand for and what values drive us, we have more confidence to stan...

We all have emotions and they are actually a great thing. Emotions are often labelled positive and negative because of the way they make us feel, but all emotions serve a wonderful purpose - to motivate us to take action to avoid or gain. All emotions come with a physical sensation, thoughts, and a behaviour. When we get an emotional charge, we can choose to suppress, react or respond. The good ne...

Fear of failure is a very real thing and impacts almost all of us. But what if we pushed past that fear and took a risk to do something important to us? That’s where growth lives, and satisfaction, and confidence. We allow our beliefs and past experiences to determine what we try into the future and so many incredible dreams are never brought to life because of that fear. We miss grand opportuniti...

This week my partner and I went to Metung Hot Springs . We booked it couple of months ago thinking it would be great to go in winter as the outside temperature would be freezing but it would be lovely and warm in the hot pools. However, we didn’t take into account that it might bucket down rain, because it is winter, and that we might actually decide to sit in the car at Metung, chomping on a pie...

Challenging behaviour is something we all face, not only due to another person’s behaviour, but also our own. None of us are perfect and we all produce triggers that set off other people’s hot buttons. But what’s under the behaviour? Before we go judging and criticising others, and pointing our fingers at them believing we are in the right and they are dysfunctional, maybe we need to understand wh...

Justin Jones, otherwise affectionately known as Jonesy, is one of Australia’s pre-eminent explorers, key­note speakers, adventure thinkers and storytellers. Over the past 19 years he has made a career of undertaking huge, epic, record setting expeditions around the world and sharing these on the stage and on screen. To date he’s spoken to over 350,000 people in 20 countries around the world and mi...

Kellie Eddy is a Civil Celebrant of 6 and a half years, based in Gippsland. She specialises in weddings, funerals and MC’ing events. Kellie has developed a fresh approach to sharing stories celebrating both life and love.  A mother to two little ones and a Step Mum to a teen. After a decade and a half of trying pursuing different career paths; from Education, Employment to a singing Pizza Van...

Self-love is really hard for so many. But where do we start, and how can we start with something that is achievable and believable? Because if deep down we don’t believe we deserve it, we struggle to attain it. And what about affirmations? Do they work? Starting with setting boundaries is something most people can do and it can work.

Mitch Nivalis (they/them) is a  filmmaker and photographer  with a commitment to social change, particularly around inclusion and visibility for diverse communities. Their recently completed Master of Arts Photography was the impetus for the ground breaking feature documentary film  Equal the Contest , the story of the Mt Alexander Falcon's fight for inclusion in community AFL. Mitc...

Karina Murray is the Founder & CEO Aunua Global/ Enterprise, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist. Humanitarian and Youth Advocate. She’s an Ambassador, an Advocate, and an Innovator and these are the roles that she plays with great success. Her inspiration to bring Aunua to life was inspired by her own fears for her children’s future and the uncertainty that lies ahead for all children. Karina, has b...