What's Fear Got to Do With It | Fear, Growth & the Mind

In this conversation, hosts Anne Wicking and Jo Wiese explore what they've learnt from their first six guests of season three. They unpack the themes woven through Nadia, Mary-Lou, Andrea, Toni, Vince, and Deborah's stories. They reveal how holding space for these guests' vulnerability has deepened their own understanding of challenge, choice, and what it means to live authentically. They reflect...

In this conversation, Deborah Grace shares how turning 70 became an invitation to intentional transformation. After decades chasing external achievements and burning out in a high-pressure career, she stepped away at 60. But this milestone felt different. Through a year-long meditative program and sacred personal retreat, Deborah discovered that wellness isn't a destination, but an evolving act of...

Vince Baloga, truck driver, and father of four, shares his journey through his most difficult chapter following the end of his long-term marriage. When everything collapsed, Vince was forced to confront a painful truth: he was a narcissist driven by anger and the need to control. Through deep inner work, Vince discovers that self-love is the key to transformation. He learns to sit with emotions wi...

In this conversation Toni Powell shares how multiple crises converged at once including her father's death, relocation, menopause, and walking away from her Christian faith, leading to profound despair. In her darkest moment, she made a bold decision to enter a twenty-four hour film festival with no filmmaking experience. That seven-minute film won international recognition and inspired her to cre...

In this conversation, Andrea Turner-Boys shares a story that changed her life. On August 12, 2006, her husband Michael collapsed with a cardiac arrest at the finish line of the Sydney City to Surf. Without a defibrillator nearby or paramedics two hundred metres away, Michael would have died. Andrea reveals how intuition guided her through uncertainty and how staying present, asking questions, and...

In this conversation, author and former ABC radio presenter and music director Mary-Lou Stephens shares how her band's breakup nearly thirty years ago cost her the identity she had spent her whole life building. What followed was years of fear, a phone number carried in her wallet for over a year, and the slow, courageous work of a twelve step program that taught her she was never as alone as she...

In this conversation, veteran journalist and broadcaster Nadia Mitsopoulos shares her journey from tragedy to advocacy, from decades of silence to the courage to finally tell the truth. At 61, her father took his own life. For thirteen years afterwards, she told people he'd had a heart attack, easier than facing the grief and the fear of judgement. Nadia reveals how that unspoken fear sat with her...

In this special season finale, Anne and Jo pause together to reflect on Season 2's remarkable journey through fear, challenge, and transformation. They share personal insights from eleven powerful conversations, exploring how fear touches everyone's lives beneath our polished exteriors. From connecting the dots within our challenges to the transformative power of accepting help, they explore how e...

In this conversation, 21-year-old Lauren Jones shares her journey from shame and isolation to self-compassion and strength. At 17, a devastating betrayal by her best friend triggered years of self-loathing, anxiety, and depression. But her story isn't just about surviving those years. It's about discovering what lies on the other side. Lauren reveals how shame lived in her body as a physical weigh...

For over 40 years, Kylie Zeal was convinced something was fundamentally wrong with her brain. She masked. She tried to fit in. Then, three years ago, a diagnosis of neurodivergence, including ADHD and autism, changed everything. Not by fixing her, but by giving her permission to finally be herself. At 41, with no permanent home and no fixed address, Kylie discovered the kind of contentment most of...

In this conversation, Kim Hey shares her intimate journey through a diagnosis that forced her to confront not just her mortality, but her identity. When calcifications were discovered in both breasts, Kim faced a pivotal choice: a double mastectomy to prevent breast cancer. But this isn't just a story about loss. It's a story about what happens when you refuse to let fear paralyse you. As a nurse,...

In this conversation, John Hendry OAM reveals his journey from a stammering child to a decorated educator who spent decades teaching others about forgiveness, relationships and hope. From his earliest days at school, John discovered that the people who looked beyond his challenges changed everything. But the moment that became the blueprint for his entire life came through tragedy. On his seventee...

In this conversation, Sue Carr takes us back to a suburban dinner table in the 1970s, where a 17-year-old girl sat silently carrying a secret she had kept to herself for three months. Pregnant, terrified and frozen by fear, Sue describes waiting, hoping each day might somehow be different, until her mother asked one quiet question that changed everything. Sue shares how the unconditional love of h...

When Justin Robinson's 11-year-old son Sam was diagnosed with bone cancer in 2012, Sam spent 250 nights in hospital and the family faced a constantly unpredictable path forward. Despite being planners who valued control, Justin learned three pieces of wisdom that became lifelines: "Don't plan," "Don't Google," and always say yes when people offer help. Through vulnerability and honesty, Justin rev...

In this conversation, Georgina Banks shares her journey of writing a book to honour her great aunt Bud, an Australian army nurse killed in the Bangka Island Massacre during World War II. What began as an act of remembrance became far more challenging when Georgina discovered the full truth had been suppressed for decades. Georgina reveals how she navigated intergenerational silence that had shaped...

Louise Bedford shares her journey from a rebellious teenager to a thriving share market trader. When illness stripped away her corporate identity, she discovered her real worth. She opens up about her darkest moment, sitting alone during COVID lockdowns, unable to speak, questioning whether to keep going. In the silence, Louise learned that choosing life isn't always about grand epiphanies. It's a...

When Deanna Cooney's marriage ended, she walked away with $50,000 in debt, zero financial literacy, and two young children relying on her. Her nervous system in complete disarray, she spent two years terrified. Through vulnerability and honesty, Deanna shares how she learned to sit with her fear instead of avoiding it. She picked up 'The Barefoot Investor' and built practical financial skills. As...

Kerry Milligan opens up about one of life's most difficult decisions: placing her aging mother Emmie in residential care. After seven and a half years of caring for her mother at home, dementia forced an impossible choice that triggered massive guilt and forced her to confront lifelong patterns of self-sacrifice. Kerry explores the tension between her rational brain, which knew care was necessary,...

Alan Furlong shares his journey from high-achieving executive and entrepreneur to discovering authentic purpose. Throughout his successful career, including building and leading the team that scaled a business to £42 million in revenue, he admits he found himself living in shades of grey, successful on paper, but silently disconnected from what truly mattered. When burnout forced him to stop, hosp...

In this special season finale episode, we pause together as co-hosts to reflect on Season 1's remarkable journey through challenge, fear, and growth. We share our personal takeaways from eleven powerful conversations, exploring how each guest's story revealed unexpected gifts within life's challenges. From creating "3am friends" to embracing vulnerability, we discuss how these conversations have c...

What happens when shared learning challenges become an unexpected gift? In this powerful conversation, father and daughter Michael Grinder and Krista Grinder-Dettloff reveal how their early struggles with reading sparked a transformative journey. As a teacher who had taught himself to read after high school, Michael understood his daughter's challenges uniquely. Together, they discovered that diff...

What happens when your world crumbles to the point where you can't afford a ham sandwich? Martin Mileham shares his compelling journey from unstoppable success to standing at an ATM with just $2.40 to his name. When the Asian currency crisis hit, Martin lost everything society told him equalled success, but in this loss, he discovered an unexpected gift. With remarkable honesty, Martin reveals how...

International speaker Amanda Gore reveals how teaching others about joy led to an unexpected discovery: she had forgotten how to live it herself. When the pandemic halted her global speaking career, she was forced to confront the disconnect between teaching joy and experiencing it. Through exploring three life-changing events, including a courageous move overseas at 68, Amanda shares how childhood...

In this conversation, Nick Tsakiris shares his journey of discovering a different approach to life when the pandemic disrupted his hospitality career. Already questioning the sustainability of late nights and demanding schedules, he found himself facing an unexpected opportunity to reimagine success. Through reflection, Nick reveals how shifting from asking "What do I want to be?" to "How do I wan...

In this conversation, Emma McLarty shares her personal journey through a perfect storm: when menopause, her children moving out, and supporting her aging parents all converged. Despite careful planning for this life transition, she found herself blindsided by the physical, emotional, and psychological challenges that arrived unexpectedly. Through vulnerability and honesty, Emma reveals how her dri...