Max's Island

Lynsey McDonnell proves that it is never too late to chase a spark of inspiration, even if you spend your days immersed in spreadsheets and financial reports. Lynsey, is a successful Chief Financial Officer, a dedicated mother, and now, a published debut author. Her journey to publication is nothing short of magical, or as she likes to call it, an instance of the story choosing the writer rather t...

On this episode of Max's Island, 19-year-old Levi explores with us the profoundly life-altering journey that began with a shocking leukemia diagnosis at just 11 years old.  Levi opens up about the physical toll of his chemotherapy, particularly how the drug Vincristine damaged his muscles and stripped him of his ability to play the active sports he loved.  However, as Levi notes, closing that door...

Digby Scott shares his transformative journey from living on "autopilot" to fully embracing a life of conscious choice. Digby takes us back to a massive epiphany he experienced at age 22 while sitting outside the Colosseum in Rome. It was there he realised he wasn't bound to the linear, traditional path of becoming a chartered accountant that had been laid out for him. Instead, empowered by a prof...

Alan Ferris’s career journey is a masterclass in the art of reinvention and the relentless pursuit of purposeful leadership. Alan started his career in the state public service at just 17 years old, ultimately climbing the ranks to act as a Director General. But it is what he did next—and how he chose to rebuild his professional identity across the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors—that...

Mike House, a former survival instructor turned leadership consultant, shares his dramatic experience during the onset of the COVID-19 lockdowns, where an 18-month pipeline of “live” consulting work vanished in just three days. Instead of giving in to panic, Mike leaned heavily on his background in survival training to adapt and stack the deck in his favor. Recognizing that he couldn't control the...

Nadia Lopez completely shatters the idea of a picture-perfect personal growth journey. At 31, recovering from a tough breakup and admitting to being a highly anxious "people pleaser," she threw herself into a daunting 14-day solo trip to Japan. Her biggest mental breakthrough didn't happen during a serene, cinematic moment; it happened when she got lost near a bamboo forest, sat down in the heat,...

Claire McGlew’s story is a profound journey of adaptation and defying the odds. She initially studied to be an opera singer in Western Australia before transitioning into music education with a strong desire to help kids who, like her, didn't fit the traditional educational mould. However, despite excelling in her university practicums, Claire faced severe discrimination; schools bluntly refused t...

Ali Horriyat describes Compassiviste through the lens of an octopus. While the "main brain" has a vision, each "tentacle" (program/initiative) has its own "mini-brain" that acts independently yet in perfect cohesion with the whole. This decentralized approach allows for specialized impact—be it in art, film, or direct aid—without losing sight of the central mission of compassion.

In 2016, businessman-turned-charity founder Ali Horriyat gave away his entire personal fortune of almost $100m. This was not just a meaningless distribution of cash to satisfy an ego charged desire for personal fulfilment, but it came from a real belief in a better way to shift the social impact dial. He is one of the great moral and social thinkers of our time. In this episode we re-visit his sto...

Feels is a duo featuring Rosie Taylor and Elise Reitze-Swensen. Together, they have over 10 years of experience writing, producing, and recording music, and then playing this music all over the world as professional musos. Recently, Rosie visited the island to share their story of where they saw a gap in the local electronic music space for female artists. The opportunities were not always there,...

Flash Poetry visited the Island in late 2025 and shared the journey from having a career in copywriting, to being fully immersed in making music, sharing messages and having real impact from a creative form. Flash Poetry blends spoken word, freestyle rap & alt-rock instrumentation to concoct lyrical epics that explore our modern myths & middle-class demons. The recent release of a debut album … “R...

I’m talking directly to you and not at you. So, I’m going to be far more less rehearsed and just go off the cuff. This may mean I might ramble a bit, might even sound like I’m sort of looking for words, but the approach is hopefully going to make your listening experience so much more enjoyable. This episode to start the year is going to be a snapshot of three episodes that were in 2025.

Alex Green grew up with a nurturing, working class environment that positively influenced his approach to helping others. Guided by his grandmother and a significant example of caring for those less ‘well – off” saw him become connected to the charity … for purpose … sector, where he has spent his professional career. After a confronting experience, on the charitable front line in Manchester, he r...

Gaj was into hip hop and rap when growing up in Sri Lanka. At 16 years of age, and heavily influenced by the New York hip hop and rap scene, Gaj and his brother set up their “Urban Sounds” outfit to entertain crowds at clubs and live events… and then through studio recorded releases. As typical teenagers, they were actually really anxious about performing live and were more comfortable in the stud...

Michael Ward faced a definitive moment during a dark time in his life. He admitted that he couldn’t see a way out. He was just ‘stuck’ ... he couldn’t find happiness or any purpose to his life. But a revelation that he should ‘try a little harder’ and make real change was the catalyst to ‘writing a list’ of what was needed to recover. He became diligent in adopting new disciplines of looking after...

Since the introduction of legislation into the WA parliament, in 2021, the practice of Voluntary Assisted Dying (Commonly referred to as VAD) … has been accessed by many West Australians. The opportunity for patient autonomy and compassion in end-of-life care … and the relief from intolerable suffering, has seen a year-on-year increase in the number of people making a first request for VAD and the...

As a teenager, Monique Power was exposed to the death of a friend’s father and this became an early catalyst for her to realise “Life is Short”. She felt there was a need to do things. In her early 20’s, this took her to Ghana, Africa on volunteer work … Quickly, she realised her passion was not necessarily being on the ground, so to speak, but it was in influencing policy to make change … and usi...

n this final instalment of Deany Jaghdour’s visit to Max’s Island, we begin to learn a little more of her personal discovery of how she thinks and acts in stressful situations. The importance of professional mental health support is highlighted and Deany really learnt more about herself by reflecting on her early childhood memories. But, whilst she was managing her own mental health recovery pathw...

In the first chapter of this story, Deany Jaghdour met a man, Nabil … moved to Jakarta … married him and started a family. It was a whirlwind decision … and meant a new life, away from Australia. They then moved to Bali to open their dream restaurant … unfortunately it was just as Covid hit. These challenges were being faced by many other businesses in Bali … but since Deany still had her job in J...

Deany Jaghdour’s visit to Max’s Island was a long one … she stayed longer than most guests … But there is a good reason why… she has a story that has many parts. So, it is split into 3 chapters … each will be released separately. They are individual experiences in their own right … but all form part of a bigger story from a time in her life that has certainly opened her to exciting opportunities,...

As a returning visitor to Max’s Island, Justin Davies was keen to share the latest story of how he has embraced the creative passion of creating, playing and recording music for all the world to hear. As an acoustic singer-songwriter, he’s known for his lyrical honesty, dry wit, and ability to connect through the strings of his guitar and the stories in his songs. They’re all rooted in real life —...

Elena Brand chose to embrace the Japanese concept of Ikigai to inspire a career ‘shift’ … This was not going to be a full blown change … but more of a re-framing of her existing passions to guide her life’s vision. However, it was not until she began to have vagal faints that her actions became more deliberate. Especially after she fainted into someone’s lap, on a train journey home from work. So,...

Now living in Osaka, Japan with his partner, Dylan is teaching English to young Japanese students and helping them to develop the language skills to enhance their career opportunities. …and, doing this without any formal teaching qualifications. But that’s not all … he spends his leisure time organising, hosting and performing English spoken, “stand up comedy”. This is not necessarily unique in Os...

Eve Lameks now lives in a small town in south-west France with her husband Rickie. On the surface that may not seem dramatically special, however, to go there not only satisfied a long-term dream but it also was important for their England based business. Their transition story began following the passing of their dear, 100 year old Aunt Tatiana, who they had been her primary carers for eight year...

This episode features a classic example of a person who totally adopted the Max’s Island way … and made a deliberate decision to change everything. As we say on Max’s Island, that moment in life where you made a decision … for yourself. However, in this case … for a range of reasons, it didn’t end there. In fact, it eventually ended back to where it all began. Darren Green made a decision in 2018,...