The You Project

In this episode, the TYP Geek and I wax lyrical about hackers, scammers, fake emails, online puppy and romance scams, Melissa’s addiction to Apple (the brand, not the fruit), dodgey links, cybersecurity, weird numbers calling your phone, Patrick’s issue with iPhones (I still won’t be switching), oldie’s getting ripped off, creepy Alexa with the potential to speak in the voice of people you know (e...

What is self-awareness, why does it matter, what role does it play socially, how does it impact personal and professional relationships, is it a crucial piece of the self-improvement puzzle, is it trainable and if so, how can we improve it? In this episode, I open the door on the self-awareness conversation in some depth, using relevant and important questions as the conversational springboard. En...

Canna Campbell is unintentionally hilarious and revealing in her first two minutes of this episode. It’s not often I’m (almost) tongue-tied but her debut caught me by surprise. Canna is a financial expert, keynote speaker, best selling author of The $1000 Project and Mindful Money, founder of the financial media platform SugarMamma TV and she regularly appears on Channel 9 as a financial commentat...

Pharmacist Nima Alavi is back at TYP and this time we chat about nutraceuticals, psychedelic drugs being used clinically, strengthening our immune system, finding the ‘right’ dose (for everything), how many mice equal one Craig (it’ll make sense), how giving up dairy improved Nima’s health, physical vs. psychological addiction, the health benefits of social connection, when ‘drugs’ become medicine...

Let’s be honest, there aren’t too many Aussies who have ever played Major League Baseball (MLB). Well, Trent Oeltjen (pronounced Ol-chen) is one of an elite group who turned his childhood dream (obsession) into the real-world experience of playing his first MLB game in front of fifty thousand people. Trent’s career as a player includes making multiple State, Representative, National and World Cup...

Ashton Applewhite is the author of This Chair Rocks: A Manifesto Against Ageism and a leading spokesperson against discrimination on the basis of age. Ashton has been recognized by The New York Times, National Public Radio, the New Yorker and the American Society on Aging as an expert on ageism. She has written for Harper’s, the Guardian and The New York Times. She has been named as a Fellow by th...

Our favourite geek (Patrick) is back and to be honest these episodes are as much fun and silly-ness as they are grown-up tech talk but nonetheless, this episode we manage to explore café robots serving customers (they’re here), the pros and cons of electric cars (explained for non-geeks), why I definitely need a drone, a phenomenon called ‘the doorway effect’, some of the wild advances being made...

Seamus Evans has worked successfully as a TV and radio presenter, comedian and corporate speaker, despite living with Tourette Syndrome, ADHD and a few other not-insignificant personal challenges. I enjoy exploring life through the eyes, understanding and experiences of other people and this chat, was definitely that and more. Among other things, we spoke about Seamus failing school and being in t...

After 843 Episodes, I can say that this chat goes straight into my all-time top ten. It won’t (be top ten) for everyone but it is for me. I absolutely loved it. For a range of reasons, this conversation resonated powerfully with me, challenged me and made me realise a lot of things about myself that I wasn’t fully aware of, hadn’t acknowledged and maybe didn’t even understand. Like, how I learn be...

Mercedas Taaffe-Cooper (Merc) is a registered Psychologist (M.Sc. Clinical Psych), qualified Sports and Exercise Scientist (B.Sc.), former elite kickboxer (having won both European and World Championships) and an International Boxing Coach, with forty years of experience. These days Merc combines her vast knowledge, experience, skill, education and passion to improve the lives of young people, wit...

Managing ‘me’ and getting the most out of my genetics, potential, intellect, creativity, time, resources, energy and opportunities has been an ongoing experiment since I was the fat 14 year-old. Trying different things. Seeking my own truth, insight and discoveries by being both the researcher and the ‘researched’ (participant) in my own project. N=1 and I am the ‘n&r...

For me, this episode was super interesting, partly because of the conversation itself and maybe even more because of who I chatted with. Andy J. Pizza is a highly successful illustrator and speaker who has written kid’s books and comics and done client work for the likes of The New York Times, Apple and Nickelodeon. He also inspires people from stage with his unconventional and interactive p...

For me, this episode was super interesting, partly because of the conversation itself and maybe even more because of who I chatted with. Andy J. Pizza is a highly successful illustrator and speaker who has written kid’s books and comics and done client work for the likes of The New York Times, Apple and Nickelodeon. He also inspires people from stage with his unconventional and interactive p...

Ex Journo, Researcher, Tech-Nerd, Fellow Podcaster and long-time Mate, Patrick Bonello is back and I gotta say, podcasting with him is the conversational equivalent of talking shit, eating Twistie rolls (with butter), devouring chocolate Big M’s and hanging out with my mates at lunch time in year 8. In other words, fun. We covered a lot of ground, including.. dumb people (me) with smart tech...

John Fitzgerald, is a renowned and respected Australian property expert with over 40 years’ experience in residential and commercial real estate, property development and property investment. After completing high school at 17, he hitchhiked from Melbourne to the Gold Coast with $200 in his pocket, started working in real estate, quickly mastered the art of building wealth and by 25, he owne...

Axle Whitehead is an interesting bloke, with an interesting background, who has, for reasons both good and.. er, interesting, caught the public eye as a talented singer, musician, actor, TV host and occasional wild man. Apart from his musical achievements, Axle has worked on Home and Away, Shameless (US TV series), The Wall (a game show he hosted), Video Hits (TV host), World’s Strictest Par...

Dr. Beau Lotto is a neuroscientist and world-renowned expert in perception. His research explores the ways in which we experience the world through our own versions of reality. As Beau says, "the brain never sees the world as it actually is, only the world that is useful to see." By illuminating these principles of perception he has helped individuals and companies transform their approach to crea...

Dr. Beau Lotto is a neuroscientist and world-renowned expert in perception. His research explores the ways in which we experience the world through our own versions of reality. As Beau says, "the brain never sees the world as it actually is, only the world that is useful to see." By illuminating these principles of perception he has helped individuals and companies transform their approach to crea...

Some people think I’m weird. And depending on whose definition of normal, conventional or weird we’re going by; they may well be right. Some people struggle to comprehend that a 58 year-old, never married, non-smoking, never used recreational drugs or drunk booze, gym-going, motorbike-riding Aussie bloke, who’s lived alone for 41 years, could somehow be functional, fulfilled and...

Some people think I’m weird. And depending on whose definition of normal, conventional or weird we’re going by; they may well be right. Some people struggle to comprehend that a 58 year-old, never married, non-smoking, never used recreational drugs or drunk booze, gym-going, motorbike-riding Aussie bloke, who’s lived alone for 41 years, could somehow be functional, fulfilled and...

I liked my first chat with Kute Blackson but I loved this one. This is the bloke who walked away from his church upbringing (and his likely life as an evangelist) after preaching to an audience of 3,000 at 8, being an ordained minister at 14 and being the son of a Japanese mum and a famous Ghanaian preacher father, who had a clear plan for his son’s life. Well, in this chat Kute dropped some...

Dr. Jemma King has a PhD in Human Behaviour, is a Stress and Emotional Intelligence expert, works as a specialist advisor to the Australian Defence Force, the Australian Institute of Sport, the Australian Olympic Swim Team and global management consultancy firms. Other than all that, she’s a dud (lol). I enjoy chatting with academics who can share their vast knowledge in a manner which is us...

There are times when life is about navigating detours, solving problems, inhabiting uncertainty, dealing with pain (of all kinds) and being the calm in the chaos. It could be argued that this is much of life. This conversation with Kristina Mand-Lakhiani is largely about these very human challenges. Kristina is an entrepreneur, international speaker, author and the co-creator of Mindvalley; a glob...

We all want to belong, to be part of something bigger than us, to be connected with others and to be part of a ‘tribe’ (group, club, team, family, organisation, family, religion). And while this all makes sense because we humans are social creatures, what are the potential risks of desperately wanting to belong? These days there’s a lot of discussion around the virtues and values...

On this episode of TYP, our legal drug dealer is back and this time, we talk about the current flu that’s doing the rounds, Monkeypox (I think I may have it), anti-inflams (the good, bad and cautionary), building a tolerance to prescription medication, Nima’s thoughts on appetite suppressants, using antidepressants and anxiety medication safely (is that possible?), melatonin for sleep...