Better Questions Better Life Podcast (Formerly the Why 2 Podcast)

19. Antonluigi Gozzi - Taking on a billion dollar industry

Gigi is currently Founder and Managing Director of LiveHire. LiveHire is an ASX traded company who are the technology firm behind the Live Talent Ecosystem. This is where people privately connect with Live Talent Communities of the best employer brands. More importantly, though, LiveHire's purpose is to empower the flow of the world's talent, to create a more agile, open and awesome working world. And what an awesome world they have created, after starting Livehire in 2012 with co-founder Michael Haywood, Livehire has grown to extraordinary levels. Just to give you a sense of what that means, at the time of recording they have achieved a 170million dollar market cap and now work with some of Australia's largest companies like Bupa, Telstra Health, KPMG, Roy Hill, and so many more!!

However, if we go back just a few years before LiveHire started, we find that Gigi had just completed a degree in Mechanical Engineering in Italy. Shortly after he received his degree, he made the bold decision to move to Australia.

His story is really all about how from having nothing and not even able to speak English, he leveraged his learned skill set and opportunities to tackle one of the biggest problems you and I will probably have at some point in your life, getting a job! He and his, team have boldly taken the 11.2 billion dollar industry of recruitment in Australia head on and have their eyes set to disrupt the broad 400 billion dollar global staffing industry.

This is a unique look into the story and mind of a successful tech entrepreneur. Someone who started actually further back than most of us will, in that he didn’t even speak the same language, but has now gone on to create an incredible business in only a relatively few short years.

While it might seem like a mystic feat to achieve the levels he has today, his story sheds the thoughts, decisions, and mindset behind what has made LiveHire so successful today.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonluigigozzi/

 

 

18. Dustin Elliott - My biggest regret about the Podcast

This episode of the Why 2 is Podcast is a very a special episode and something I haven’t done as of yet on this show. For the first time on the podcast, I want to turn the microphone around on myself and revisit the last year of the Why 2 Podcast awhile discussing some important topics for the year ahead.

More specifically though, I wanted record this episode because, as I reflected over my 2017 year, the podcast came under the microscope. In that, there were some wins, some failures, some mistakes, more than a few cringeworthy moments, some great learnings, and a few regrets about the podcasts. Seeing as the best time to address them was at the time, and the second best time is now, better late than never I guess!

For this, I wanted to take you back and explore the origins of the podcast through a quick narrative explaining a particular thread of my life where the idea for the podcast originated from. And as a part of the previously mentioned reflection and through some wonderful conversations about the podcast with many of my listeners, I have become more clear about what the podcast is and what I want to achieve.

The biggest one is a much clearer Mission and Vision which I talk about, as well as introduce a few new ideas that you will see over the coming months.

If you’ve been listening to the podcast from 2017, I want to thank all the love and support I have received over the last 9 months. And if you’re new to the podcast, I know that this is the podcast you need to hear.

I believe that there is no bigger tragedy than someone with capacity and potential to do something great, but doesn't. When they wait too long to take those first steps, or worse, don't take the steps and their ideas and potential impact goes to the grave.

17. Adam Murray - Better questions to a better life

Adam Murray is currently a Product Manager at Cogent, but probably best known for being the man behind the mic of the Subtle Disruptors Podcast. After having completed over 70 episodes, Subtle Disruptors is a weekly podcast of down-to-earth and inspiring conversations with those who are having an amazing local and global impact through their work, in an under the radar way. Each conversation is recorded in a location that is significant to the story of the guest, from coworking spaces to cafes, train stations to bars. Adam has had incredible success with the podcast and risen to the coveted front page of iTunes, where you should head after you listen to his interview here and check out his podcast(links below to iTunes).

I’ve been a fan of Subtle Disruptors after hearing previous guest of the Why 2 Podcast, Corey Wastle, featured on Subtle Disruptors back in April, just before the Why 2 Podcast officially launched. From there I’ve found myself in an ever deepening sense of awe of Adam’s ability to ask the right question at the right time to bring out the most brilliant insights of his guests. I’m a big believer in the Tony Robbins quote that the quality of your life can be measured by the quality of your questions. From that, I’ve focused a lot of asking better questions of myself, the people around me, and of course, my guests on the podcast. I wanted to feature Adam on the podcast as I believe that by asking better questions, we can lead better lives, as it all starts with the right questions. Of course, as I’ve found, and I am sure you’re thinking, this is easier said than done.

But this isn’t just about the art of asking questions, it’s an exploration of Adam’s journey as he’s navigated the challenges of finding his calling in life and finding a place that was aligned for him. Specifically you’ll hear how he navigated a challenge that we all face of some point, in that how do you take a step back from the money and prestige that a role might offer you to make a step forward towards what you really want to do.

https://subtledisruptors.com/

https://www.facebook.com/SubtleDisruptors/

https://twitter.com/SubtleDisruptor

https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/subtle-disruptors/id1085438192

 

16. Adam Jelic - How to become a Goal Digger

Adam Jelic is currently Founder and Managing Director at Mi Goals. Their mission to help you unlock the potential within yourself to dream, plan and take action on the life you want. More than a stationery brand, they’re a global community of dream chasers and action takers.

I had actually originally found Adam and Mi Goals from a Kickstarter campaign where I was blown away to see that they raised 4 times their goal and had amazing outpouring of support and interest in their latest product, Goal Digger.

To be honest from the outset, this isn’t a triumphant, ‘overnight success story’ where by doing these 2 simple things you can create a million dollar business for yourself tomorrow. It’s the story of Adam’s life, as he recounts how he faced the challenges that we all face when we chase our dreams. That challenge of self doubt, people pushing you towards the safe path, the responsibilities that life can thrust on you unexpectedly, and ultimately how to live towards your values and goals. But in that, Adam has done something that very few people have accomplished and something I have utmost admiration for. He has faced those same challenges we face and actually pushed past all of that to create the incredible business and brand he leads now. Like I said, this isn’t an overnight success story, but a real and honest recount of exactly how he connected the dots to live a meaningful life he does now.

It’s almost weekly that I am speaking with people, just like you who are listening to this now, who get told their idea aren’t viable or they tell me that they can’t quit their job to chase that passion, or they’re family expects them to follow the safe route, and Adam’s story is the quintessential one of how he still managed to make it happen and provides us the lessons to help you do the same.

Telling his story is the reason I started the podcast, that I truly believe that everyone of you listening has the potential to chase your dreams and make it big. That we all face the same challenges in life but  we are all able to break through them and become the best version of ourselves. Doesn’t have to be starting a business, but it’s all about living with purpose, chasing your dreams, and ultimately becoming a goal digger.

Please make sure to subscribe to the Why 2 Podcast wherever you’re listening to this and it would be awesome if you can leave a review, especially on iTunes.

Make sure to follow the Why 2 podcast on Facebook where you can find us by searching for the "Why 2 podcast".

Special thanks to Belinda Coomes from Red Lemon Productions for being the Why 2 podcast’s audio engineer.

15. Mark Middo - How to create your own overnight success story

Today’s guest is Mark Middo.

Mark is currently Chief Marketing Officer and Co-Owner of Linkfluencer. Recognised by Forbes as Australia's Leading LinkedIn Training Company, their mission is to transform social selling on LinkedIn and build the next generation of influencers. Mark himself has been prominently featured by some of the largest publications in the world including The Sydney Morning Herald, Cosmopolitan, Bloomberg and was recently recognised by The Huffington Post as one of Australia's leading online entrepreneurs. He is also an international best selling author of 5 Minute Business which skyrocketing to #1 in the world on Amazon within the first 3 days of it's release and had over 42,000 downloads on Kindle within that period.

Mark is a serial entrepreneur through and through. From his early online days of creating online's businesses, to starting a bar at the young age of 19 with no experience, he has since then gone on to start consulting businesses, an innovative entertainment business, and now to helping run Linkfluencer. In that though, it hasn’t all been smooth sailing as we talk about how he got ahead of himself, and managed to get into a quarter of a million dollars of debt after a bit of early success led to some bad decisions. And managing to make a get a few bumps and bruises as he’s found his way to all he is achieved now

I think the one big thing I really value from this conversation, is hearing about how Mark is the kind of guy who hasn’t been afraid to take action with the ideas he’s had and opportunities he’s been presented with. As we hear about, they don’t always work out as expected, but the skills and learnings have helped Mark leverage into that next big opportunity. It might seem like an overnight success, but it’s a terrific story of all the blood, sweat, tears, and hard work he’s put in and how you can achieve the same things if you’re willing to put in the work.

With that being said, let’s get to today’s chat.

http://markmiddo.com/

https://twitter.com/markmiddo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markmiddo/

https://www.facebook.com/mark.middo

14. Ash Marton - Listening to your intuition

My guest today is Ash Marton, Director and Co founder of Ash Marton Realty. At the young age of 21 with only a few years of experience, and after a serendipitous moment at a Tony Robbins Conference, Ash and his business partner Lilly resigned from their job and opened the doors to their own real estate agency.

From there, Ash and his business have risen to meteoric levels with appearances on selling houses Australia and Skye News, as well as being selected as a finalist at the industry REB awards for innovator of the year and residential agency of the year. However, my favourite of Ash’s accomplishments is that of having been invited to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s house in California.

From a make or break moment early in his real estate career to growing an office with a team of over 17 and grand plans for the future, Ash is an incredible example of a man who has taken life head on and achieved so much in such a short amount of time.

This chat is a must for anyone listening who doesn’t feel that they have “what it takes” to get started in whatever they want to do in life. We talk tactics about using your lack of experience to your advantage, the importance of goal setting, compromise, and listening to your intuition.

https://www.facebook.com/ashmarton

https://www.facebook.com/ashmartonrealty

https://twitter.com/ashmarton

http://ashmarton.com.au/

13. Dara Simkin - Permission to play

 

Dara Simkin, Director and Play Consultant of Project Play and is an author and mindset coach who runs Project Play which fosters creativity, encourages innovative thinking and improves employee engagement by cultivating a new culture of business with strategic play. She utilises research in the field of play from neuroscience and psychology, to animal play behaviour and evolutionary biology, Project Play has crafted experiential play programs for businesses and professionals.

Dara tells us her story of starting out in PR and marketing in Florida to winning an all-expenses paid trip to Tasmania and moving to Australia, eventually taking a dramatic turn in what she does today. She also comes to us with a tremendous amount of insight and knowledge into areas that are fundamental to our growth.

This is a wide ranging chat where we go deep into themes of mindfulness and our relationship with ourselves. We explore what we can do to ensure that we are balanced, productive, fulfilled humans living in this complex and busy world.

http://projectplay.work/

https://www.facebook.com/ProjectPlayAU/

https://www.instagram.com/projectplay.work/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dara-simkin-8257a740/

12. Michael Back - That feeling when something's about to change

 

Michael Back is a self proclaimed Customer Experience Enthusiast, Social Media dude, and public speaker. He has been named as one of the top 50 most influential social media users in finance in 2014 and 2015 by the Financial Standard and now works with various small businesses across Australia to build and hone their own amazing client experiences and bring into focus the intersection between what they do and how their world perceives this.

But with that being said, I think an even more important distinction which sums Michael up is that he actually received an award for “always being interested” in primary school. That innate curiosity has grown and flourished into a man that has an incredible thirst for knowledge when it comes to life and people, leading him to have an profoundly insightful outlook on life which can benefit us all.  

In this chat, we unravel Michael’s very human story, that of which anyone of us could have lived as he makes sense of himself and the world. We hear about someone who was unhappy with where he was in life and took some decisive steps to do something about it. We talk about the value of playing, trusting yourself and being in the driver’s seat in life, getting comfortable with the fact that our journey isn’t always just a straight line, like we sometimes think it should be.

Make sure you connect with Michael on: 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaeljback/

https://twitter.com/mickjackback

https://www.facebook.com/mickjackback

11. Vanessa Wiltshire - Achieving success on your own terms

 

Vanessa Wiltshire currently works as the Business Development and Engagement Coordinator for the Mitchell Shire Council, 80kms from Melbourne.

After spending 7 years in Corporate Human Resources, Vanessa struggled to find her place. What started in a fit of exasperation (and a strategic attempt to fill a resume ‘gap), Vanessa developed The HR Talent Community.

The HRTC was a network of, and think tank, of over 2000 HR, talent and learning professionals across the world. In 2014 Vanessa was profiled in the Australian Financial Review and BRW by Fiona Smith.

But it wasn't fulfilling. And although multiple opportunities presented themselves to commercialise, something always held Vanessa back.

As we dig deeper in her journey, we explore Vanessa’s own personal growth and a raw account of her story that led her to make some dramatic life changes. What I love about her journey, and what I am sure that many people listening to now can resonate with, is how she grappled with being true to her values while dealing with the realities of life and battling the negative health effects that can accompany those experiences.

Her story isn’t one about big money or typical corporate/startup ladder success. It's about finding the elusive happiness in life we are all seeking.

Part of the reason I wanted to feature Vanessa on the Why 2 Podcast is to explore the idea that success isn’t necessarily about achieving ‘career or entrepreneurial success’.

It’s about doing and being the person you want to be on your own terms, and this episode gets right at the heart of that!

10. Hafiz Omar (Coach H) - Lifting up your inner game

 

Today we’re join by Hafiz Omar or Coach H as he is best known as. Coach H is currently a personal trainer at RBT South Melbourne and his own lifting group, Ethos. he has over 12 years in the personal training industry and has trained professional and amateur athlete at an extremely high level. We’ll get to meet H in a few moments, so hang tight!

Today's chat is all about exploring the tools and tactics that he uses to both coach he uses to coach his own coaching group but also with his amateur athletes who he trains now.

If you listen to my podcast, you either love my voice, or more likely you aspire to being better and chasing and achieveing your dreams. This chat gets right at the core of habits and thought processes everyone can use to make sure they can make those dreams a reality!

Wheather you are a manager, a leader, mentor, or just want to use the same proven techniques that have led to the development of Coach H’s amateur atheletes in achieveing their goals, then this chat is you.

Coach H's company page: https://www.facebook.com/ethosstrengthandperformance/

Coach H's coaching page: https://www.facebook.com/hrbtsm

 

9. Gemma Lloyd - From adversity to diversity

Gemma Lloyd is Director of Client Engagement and Co-Founder of DCC jobs, Australia’s only job site which pre-screens employers based on their policies and initiatives around supporting women in the workplace. At the time of recording, they had recently won the Victorian Minister of Innovation Diversity Award 2017, #TechDiversity Award Winner - Media Category 2017, and an absolutely mind blowing list of other awards and accolades.

Gemma is an amazing example of an female entrepreneur, who after some negative experiences and facing workplace discrimination, wanted to change the way the females were treated in the workforce. She takes us through all the experiences that led up to her starting DCC while giving us an insight in the personal journey she went on in starting this now award winning business.

Gemma's story is an inspiring one as I am sure many people listening to this have faced some workplace hardship, worked under horrible bosses, or even worked at a job that didn’t satisfy their passions. We talk about determination, dealing with stress, ways to passively learn, and what it takes to succeed in starting a tech business with no real tech experience.  

https://www.dccjobs.com

https://twitter.com/gemllo

https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemma-lloyd-8274a48/ 

 

8. Trav Bell ( The Bucket List Guy ) - A guide to an extraordinary life

 

Travis Bell is best known as the Bucket List Guy. As a self-appointed ʻBucket Listologistʼ, Trav has obsessively studied the Bucket List phenomenon & blended the worldʼs best Positive Psychology principles to create his own unique Bucket List Life Philosophy. He has designed his life around his Bucket List and now he helps Bucket Listers all over the globe create and cross off theirs. From that, Travis is an accomplished mentor, coach, podcaster, and speaker. He has actually already ticked off an item off mine, and even many of my guests I’ve interviewed bucket lists, by speaking at a Ted Talk event.

I am so grateful for Trav to be able to take us through his incredible journey of the ups and downs of his life. From right at the beginning of being a person trainer, through to it all coming to an abrupt end, to starting the incredible path he is on now being the Bucket List Guy. I very much look at Trav’s journey of speaking and inspiring others as something I aspire to do and very much feel this podcast are my first steps to doing so.

His insights into personal development, living to your values, and everything that makes Trav Bell such a unique individual are all things we go through. No matter what you want in your life, the themes and perspectives that Trav speaks about are central to how we live our lives.

http://www.thebucketlistguy.com

https://www.facebook.com/thebucketlistguy/

https://www.instagram.com/travbell/

 

7. Rohit Bhargava - The art of adding value

 

Rohit Bhargava requires little introduction as he currently runs one of the hottest podcasts, Startup Playbook Podcast, which has reached number three on iTunes. He has interviewed some very well known people across technology, entrepreneurship, and Venture Capital.

Rohit is also well known for running StageLabel, established in 2013, which was a crowdfunding platform that provided market validation and funding to various fashion designers. For the next two years StageLabel helped launch over 150 fashion brands globally and won numerous prizes and awards including being named one of the "Top 10 Startups To Watch in 2014" by Startup Daily and finishing runner up at the Startup Weekend Melbourne event in 2013.

As you will hear in the podcast, Rohit has been real inspiration to me. At the young age of 29 he has already been on such an incredible journey and already achieved so much in his career. Within a few years he went from no formal business education to starting one of the hottest startups, which ultimately ended after a rollercoaster experience, to what he is pivoted into now.

As we dive through the highs and lows of his career, you will hear Rohit’s journey of self discovery and a distillation of the qualities that make him so extraordinary today. The themes of being true to yourself, how to deliver value and providing some great suggestions about starting your own venture are all discussed.  

Make sure you say check out Rohit's podcast and say hello on his social handles:

Startup Playbook Twitter: https://twitter.com/PlaybookStartup

Rohit Bhargava Twitter: https://twitter.com/rohitbhargava7

Startup Playbook Website: http://startupplaybook.co

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rohbhargava/

 

6. Andrew Mackinnon - Putting it all on the line

 

Andrew MacKinnon is Managing Director of Taboo Group, a Melbourne-based creative agency which provides cutting-edge creative solutions for some of Australia’s most exciting companies including Nike, Schweppes, 1 Giant Mind, National Australia Bank, Sensis, General Electric, and many more. He always dabbles in real estate, co-owns an iconic bar, as well as a range of entrepreneurial ventures that you’ll hear about during today’s chat.  

This is a conversation I’ve been looking forward to since meeting Andrew at a Melbourne Fuckup Night. Hearing his story can be only be described as one part inspiration, and one part awe inspiring as he recounts his journey through a series of dramatic events that solidified Andrew’s resiliency and mindset leading him to his success today.

The themes of growing from chaos, and not being afraid to put it all on the line, are some of the most important attributes I believe that everyone needs to cultivate in their life to achieve their dreams. His insights are brilliant no matter at what stage in life and your career you are at and he’s a great example of a successful entrepreneur.

5. Brenton McKiterick - Lessons from the mat

 

Brenton McKiterick comes to us today on the podcast as a different type of guest; he doesn’t come to us to talk about his corporate or entrepreneurial experience, but rather, as a black belt in the martial art of Brazilian JiuJitsu, having competed across the world and grappling with some big names in the fight sport industry. He has competed in and won some big events, which include multiple Australian State & National Championships, the Arnold Classic, Grappling Tournaments Australia, medalling at the Asian Open, Silver at the NAGA World Championships in Philadelphia and is an Abu Dhabi World Pro Competitor, IBJJF & Masters World Competitor; to name but a few.

I am a big proponent of thematic learning; that is, taking lessons and learnings from seemingly unrelated concepts and implementing them into your life – that is what this interview is all about. I think that sport is a beautiful analogy and distillation of the same sets of skills and attributes that a range of many of this shows’ guests have cultivated, and Brenton has achieved this through the pursuit of his passion of sport.

In this episode, Brenton provides his take on cultivating self-awareness, he shares his own personal insights into the psychological challenges he personally faced on his quest to earning a black belt, and the physical and intellectual properties of the sport and the subsequent learnings that are applicable to everyday life.

It takes a few minutes for us to get warmed up but once we set the stage for Brenton’s history, we dive really deep into his story and all the wisdom he’s developed through the years as a professional athlete.