Keeping It Real with Jac and Ral

Do you stay “small” because of fear? Hold yourself back from doing ‘the thing’? Not meet the person. Avoid grasping the opportunity for fear of what might happen (negative) or what people might think? You’re living a life in fear and that is a life half lived.   In this episode Jac & Ral encourage you to try living a life of courage instead – don’t wait for permission, validation or reassuranc...

How do you leave a job or a leader gracefully and graciously when it’s been good to you, but you want to end it not for any negative reasons but because you have had enough, or you want a change or you get offered a better opportunity?  Well, poor Dave got told it wasn’t him, it was Ral… but as for Jac, she got told it wasn’t her, it was him… but she did end up marrying him in the end!   There are...

If you’re digging a hole in the wrong place, it doesn’t matter how deep you’ve dug… it’s still the wrong hole! This episode is all about continuing to stay on a course of action despite it being more beneficial to quit. You might try to rationalise the situation by saying since the spent cost can't be recovered, you might as well stay the course and/or allocate additional resources to try to m...

Why stop at 1 goal when you can set more? This episode inspired by Maddy Phillips and the Boston marathon. We are talking about s-t-r-e-t-c-h goals. Ral says chin ups are her stretch goal, Jac thinks making it to Friday and a glass of wine is not just her weekly goal but a priority!   It’s all about mindset. It applies to your personal and professional life. So set yourself an A goal, a B goal and...

Every single person has potential. Untapped. Ral reckons she’s already exceeded hers, Jac reckons she’s just warming up, so how do you reach your potential?   There are a few things you can do and we cover all of them and how they have applied to us or others we know.   The trick is to be optimistic, open minded, to grow your self belief and to define what ‘failure’ really means to you… Because no...

What does processed cheese and saying sorry have in common? Both can be plastic… yep, not real!   Nothing worse than someone who apologises but doesn’t really believe they should or need or want to. We share a few doozies – some most recent. Don’t be them.   We also unpack how not to apologise, and if you need to apologise, how to do it with sincerity.   …and then there are those who just apologis...

Hardest job in the world. No one prepares you for parenthood, and as two mothers with four kids between us we share some of the horrors we put our kids through… award winning events that will either horrify you or you’ll find hilarious!   Foot surgery, nasal surgery, cracked heads, left behind in shopping centers, kinder surprise trauma and much more! Jac and Ral keep it real when it comes to the...

Cindy Gallop likes to blow shit up. She’s one of the most sassy, outspoken and well known experts in the advertising industry.  A tireless supporter and fighter for women being promoted and paid as much as men in advertising, a brand and business innovator, consultant and speaker and more recently, founder & CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn - the world's first and only user-generated, human-curated...

In this very special episode Ral interviews Independent member of federal parliament, Dr Monique Ryan - someone who keeps it real every day.   Learn what the power of people banding together (but not always agreeing or aligned!) achieves. And when it comes to creating positive outcomes, find out Mon’s secret weapon and what  Pressure not Power  means.   There were no Teals more than 3 years ago an...

Do you have more triggers than glimmers? Do you take note of when and why? In this episode we unpack these ‘new terms’ that have become a thing thanks to our growing interest in psychology and mental health combined with social media.   Jac and Ral talk about self awareness when it comes to triggers and glimmers and how you can use your growing awareness to leverage triggers and glimmers in your w...

In this episode Ral opens up about a recent health scare that forced her to hit pause and reflect deeply. She shares the confronting experience of undergoing tests, facing uncertainty, and the critical reminder it gave her, and now us, about the importance of regular health checks. Whether it’s your breasts, skin, bowels, or beyond, this is your wake-up call to stop putting it off. Jac brings a po...

Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers. And thanks to tech today, you can also listen to a book if you’re not a visual learner, including the 10 very favourite (so far) books we have loved and learned from over the years. Some books are oldies, others are very recent!   To find out what titles we recommend (we brought different recommendations) and why, listen in. And here’s wher...

There are some brands you never forget… when it comes to experience.   In this episode we explore the power of creative engagement when it comes to how brands can make their customer experiences unforgettable.   We discuss Unreasonable Hospitality, the magic of Eleven Madison Park, and how Mecca the cosmetics retailer sets the standard for customer connection.   It often comes down to giving more...

Will A.I. take your job? Unlikely, but someone who knows how to use A.I. will! There are many benefits to exploring, learning, practising and using artificial intelligence, or LLMs – large language models. Two people who pride themselves on keeping it real (smart) are both getting right into artificial intelligence.   So who is Charlie??   We share what you should do to start (just start!), how we...

Have you ever had a bit on the side? If not, we encourage you to There are many benefits to having a side hustle – any work or project outside of your main job that allows you to earn an extra income, learn new skills, develop an idea, meet new people and teach you something.   Jac started a side hustle when she was living in Singapore and had a need… she continued her side hustle for years and it...

We love a good podcast so we thought we would share our individual most favoured regular listens with our Keepers in this episode but we didn’t stop there… we also asked A.I. what our choices say about us…   Jac’s podcast choices reveal a sharp, business-savvy, and intellectually curious mindset with a passion for leadership, personal growth, and high performance. Here’s what her podcast picks tel...

We think using the ol’ ageism chestnut when you don’t get a role could be a convenient story you tell yourself. Maybe even an excuse…!   Provocative? Yep. Accurate? Maybe.   Ageism is when we discriminate based on age – younger or older, everyone could experience ageism but when we deem it the reason we didn’t get the job, or the reason we weren’t promoted or the reason we were made redundant or s...

Salary negotiation should be taught in school Jac & Ral reckon.   Both have had long careers in corporate as well as working for themselves, so negotiating salaries and incomes are something they have a bit of experience in.   In this episode they share stories about what they did well and what they did wrong when it comes to seeking out higher salaries with their employers. Things like: What...

What is a portfolio career? Is one right for you? If so, how do you start? Jac & Ral both have portfolio careers and reckon they’re the bees’ knees. But not everyone is suited to a portfolio career. So how do you know if you are? Check out this episode to find out more, including the 3 key tips Jac shares at the end which will set you up well if this is the direction you want to go in. Best ad...

She’s been around… but in a good way!   This year, this month (February) marks 20 years of a great working life with lots of learnings for young Ral and every year she adds a new ‘thing’ she knows to be true, thanks to her many experiences.   We discuss the 20 things Ral has learned, which cover Being yourself; Dickheads; Relationships; Leaving meetings with no work to do; Busy is overrated and bo...

Our first episode of 2025 and our 50th episode of the podcast! And what a coincidence the significant meaning of the number fifty is “feast and joy” – two words we live our lives by.   We discuss our reflections and insights from the break. Ral tells us about learning her fave new sport, pickleball (don’t ask her to jump too high!) and the value in trying something new and different.   Jac says fa...

Learn the art of questions to gain a career advantage.   Do you ask (enough) questions?  Most of us don’t and it’s holding us back. We need to ask more and better questions so we can deepen our knowledge, challenge beliefs, uncover new opportunities and be considered a curious and intelligent leader.   In this episode, Jac reveals the key to asking great questions and she shares a story about her...

On average we change jobs 12 times in our lifetime. Jac has had at least 16 jobs and Ral has had 12 so collectively we have conducted around 28 successful interviews. Listen in to learn the tips and techniques from our experience – we teach you the importance of prepare, prepare, prepare; why talking less is better than gabbling; the 4 different types of stories you should practise; and anticipati...

Listen to the full episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6r3VPQOpI86E9IA38BvNwH?si=rqqH5tLFQimiiVamwR0H3w If you want to change, grow, improve and achieve then this episode will get you started! Or it might even help you to stop some habits that aren’t serving you well anymore. How do you start a good habit? There’s a system you need to learn – Jac thought she could look like Elle MacPherson i...

Our final episode of 2024 kyboshes the new year’s resolution and instead encourages you to do an end of year audit, starting by reflecting on the year you’ve just had.   Reflect on your work, professional development, relationships, health and well-being, hobbies/leisure fun, side hustles and anything else.   After reflecting on your 2024, ask yourself these 4 questions:   What are you going to do...