A Cuppa with Sally A Curtis, Content Repurposing Wiz

A recent study by the mental Health Foundation in the UK found that in the past year, a staggering  74% of people have been so stressed that they have been overwhelmed or unable to cope.

My guest on this episode is Rebekah King, The Brain Changer.    Rebekah is a 

·         Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)Master Practitioner

·         Hypnotherapist

·         Speaker and life coach.

 As a  former corporate professional who, for years, navigated  depression and anxiety.

Rebekah reached what seemed like an insurmountable low. A pivotal encounter with a renowned Australian Coach, led Rebekah to delve deep in to understanding her mind's mechanisms, where she embarked on a transformative journey to rewire her thinking. 

Her own remarkable journey inspired Rebekah to effect radical shifts in her life, becoming a source of strength and inspiration to others seeking liberation from anxiety and self-limiting beliefs. 

Drawing from her experiences and coupled with her impressive qualifications, she now guides  people in retraining their brains, facilitating  immediate and profound transformations, earning her the moniker, ‘The Brain Changer’. Her clients have seen incredible shifts that have completely transformed the trajectory of their lives for the better, moving from feeling stuck, anxious and unhappy to motivated, calm and confident.

Unlocking your beliefs: the key to personal and professional transformation

Manage stress amid anxiety and sort out your life.

The essential ABC to retrain your brain

The power of language:  eliminate anxiety and transform your life through words

Unlock the secrets of behaviour change with neuroscience. 

We discussed:

• Her story, dealing with depression and anxiety.  In her words, "I didn't want to live, but I knew I didn't want to die".
• What did the LOW look like for her.
• People with depression.    That’s sounds easy BUT, you don’t understand…… Job, kids, demands of family etc.
• Our constant stress, and how our body normalises it.
• First step to change.
• Hypnotherapy.   Peoples perception vs what it really is
• The power of language…I am, self deprecating humor
•  Instant gratification.   People looking for a pill rather than doing the work
• Great question “for what purpose”
• In order to move forward we have to be open to the idea that there is a solution

Rebekah's ABC ,

• A             Awareness         Stillness, meditation, journaling
• B             Brain ,      Understanding how it works
• C             Choice, we have a choice in everything we do.

To learn more about Rebekah's work or to reach out, here are her links
Email         rebekah@moonbeammonday.com.au
Website  https://www.moonbeammonday.com.au/

THIS EPISODE MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE………BOWEL CANCER…..

Now that I have your attention, once considered an old persons disease, there is an alarming increase in both diagnosis and death in younger people.  Here are some frightening  statistics:

1.        Bowel Cancer is now the #1 death by cancer of 25-30 year olds

2.       This is up from #9, 40 years ago.

3.       Now the 4th most common cancer, there has been an 11% increase in under 50’s 

My guest on this episode of ‘A Cuppa with The Con Versationalist’ is Nick Lee, Chairman of The Jodi Lee foundation,  corporate health expert and co-director and partner of Healthy Minds.            

With a beautiful family and working as a director of multi-national consumer goods company, Nick Lee had good reason to be happy and optimistic about his future. That changed in an instant when his wife Jodi was diagnosed with stage IV bowel cancer at the age of 39. After battling with the disease for 2 years, Jodi passed away in 2010. 

We all face critical hurdles in our lives, but when we do it is how we react that determines our future health and happiness. After Jodi’s death Nick made the brave decision to leave his job and use his experience to do all he could to stop others suffering a similar experience. He established The Jodi Lee Foundation to inspire others to protect themselves against bowel cancer and make positive choices to improve their health. The work of the Foundation has saved many Australian lives. 

Nick was a 2015 SA Australian of the Year finalist, and was awarded the 2013 Social Entrepreneur of the Year (Central Region) by Ernst and Young. In 2022 Nick was awarded The Medal of the Order of Australia. Nick receives this recognition for his service to the community through the not-for-profit sector (Jodi Lee Foundation) and commitment to raising awareness for the early detection and prevention of bowel cancer. 

During this eye opening and captivating interview, 

·         Nick shared his story.

·         What were the symptoms and what you should be looking out for.

·         Was there a delay in diagnosis and is there an ‘age barrier’ to diagnosis?

·         The dramatic increase in cases and deaths in under 50’s  and even more alarmingly, under 30’s

·         The valuable work of the foundation through research, education and support.

·         There is a 99% survival rate if there is early detection.

·         The importance of screening and questioning your doctor.

For more information about the life saving work the Jodie Lee Foundation do, head to their website at https://jodileefoundation.org.au/

Innovation is the future.  Innovations in Green Technologies, Space and Artificial Intelligence are impacting our world.

Stone and Chalk at Lot 14 in Adelaide South Australia is at the forefront of innovation and it’s having impact on a global scale.

My guest on this episode of ‘A Cuppa with The Con Versationalist’ is Innovator, entrepreneur and impact -driven Director of Ecosystems at Stone and Chalk, Dr Tim Mahlberg Sie

With a curiosity for people and culture, a passion for community, and a dedication to creating impact, Tim has had a diverse career spanning corporate, non-profit, higher education, startups, and service industries. 

Qualified as an organisational psychologist, he’s been developing individuals and organisations for nearly 20 years. He has a doctorate from The University of Sydney which explored new ways of working with purpose to drive innovation in large institutions. At Stone & Chalk, Tim is the General Manager for South Australia, where he is working to grow our innovation ecosystem and inspire the next generation of innovators.

The Adelaide Hub of Stone and Chalk has a population of 200 residents, has supported over 100 startups who have created over 1000 jobs in emerging tech, and are now valued at over $250 million

We chatted about:

·         Tim’s work in such diverse sectors, and what lead him into those industries.

·         What makes Stone and Chalk so successful and unique.

·         The great work by April Hobbs to highlight innovations in South Australia through her book, ‘Innovate Adelaide’  You can view on line here https://bit.ly/3OLrh8q or to get your copy,  reach out to April at  Innovations of the World at april@innovationsoftheworld.com

·         Tall Poppy syndrome.

·         The amazing technologies in South Australia.  There are over 100 space companies here!

·         Key Innovation into the future.

To see some of Tim’s thesis, follow the links below.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOeS-5U7d7E

https://ses.library.usyd.edu.au/bitstream/handle/2123/24269/mahlberg_tj_thesis%20%281%29.pdf

To see more about Stone Chalk follow the link below.

 https://www.stoneandchalk.com.au/

DR TOM NEHMY IS A CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST WITH MORE THAN 20 YEARS’EXPERIENCE. 

 His passion is preventing psychological problems in people of all ages while also enhancing resilience and wellbeing. 

 His doctoral research in developing the Healthy Minds Program produced the world’s first prevention program to prevent the onset of symptoms of depression, and anxiety while also reducing risk for eating disorders. 

He was subsequently awarded the 2015 Flinders University Vice-Chancellor’s Prize for Doctoral Thesis Excellence. 

Tom is a prolific public speaker and corporate Trainer across Australia and overseas and has coauthored ten scholarly articles in peer-reviewed scientific publications.

He is the author of the book 'Apples for the Mind: Creating emotional balance, peak performance and lifelong wellbeing', and his work has been featured on Triple J, ABC Radio, 7 News, Power FM, Radio Adelaide, in the Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Advertiser, and beyond. 

See below all the links to reach out to Tom and purchase his book. 

We discussed: 

·         Where his interest in psychology began.

·         There is an increasing higher level of community awareness of mental health.  Is it becoming a bigger problem or are we just talking about it more?

·         Are we more stressed or do we have more to be stressed about?

·         The impact Covid had on our mental health was well documented.  What good, if any , came out of Covid?

·         Developing the Healthy Minds Program which produced the world’s first prevention program to prevent the onset of symptoms of depression and anxiety while also reducing risk for eating disorders.

·         Self Esteem vs Self Compassion.

·         The bullying in schools as a result of social media and how parents and teachers can help the children and also themselves.

·         We have choice.

·         Steps we can all take to help with out mental well being. 

To learn more about his work or to reach out to Dr Tom Nehmy follow the links below:

www.healthymindsprogram.com

www.tomnehmy.com

Get a copy of his book, ‘Apples For The Mind, Creating emotional balance, peak performance and lifelong wellbeing.’ With this link: https://books2read.com/u/3Jye0J

ARE YOUR TRADEMARKS, PATENTS AND IP (Intellectual Property) PROTECTED?

HOW VULNERABLE ARE YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS FROM ILLEGAL USE OF YOUR IP?

WHAT WOULD THE COST BE IF YOUR IP WAS COMPROMISED?

On this episode I chatted with experienced commercial lawyer, trademark and  patent expert,  Maggie Yarak.

Maggie has over 20 years experience in both the private and corporate sectors including banking, outdoor media, franchising, consumer and aviation and having negotiated international contracts to the value of $400 million.

We discussed:

·         What lead her into law.

·         The challenges she faces running a business with 2 boys with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

·         What is the difference between copyright, trademark and patent?

·         When should a business consider protecting their IP.

·         We discussed a recent case of an Australian woman whose website, product and all images including those of her children was completely copied.

·         How can business best protect themselves.

·         The most common, ongoing issues she sees and how they can be avoided.

·         How you can check if your ideas are new and can be protected.

For more information, to follow her on social and to get in touch with Maggie, follow the links below.

https://yourlegalpartner.com.au/

https://yourlegalpartner.com.au/free-resources/

https://www.facebook.com/ylplegal

https://www.instagram.com/ylplegal/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/ylplegal/

HAVE YOU EVER HAD TROUBLE CONCENTRATING?  

Perhaps your focus isn't as good as you'd like it to be. Or do you have one of those inner voices that constantly berates you and holds you back? 

The good news is you're not alone. Everyone has these issues. It's how they deal with them that determines their level of success. 

My guest on this episode of ‘A Cuppa with The Con Versationalist’  is Darren Fleming. Darren is a speaker, author and trainer to some of the largest companies in Australia and around the world including CISCO, Caterpillar and Komatsu. 

His latest book Mindset Mastery was published earlier this year and is currently being translated into Japanese. In it he shows you how to deactivate distracting thoughts, quieten that inner voice so you can have the concentration and focus you need to get through the day. 

Darren has studied psychology at UniSA and philosophy at Oxford. And each year he puts himself through a 10-day silent meditation retreat which he says teaches him more than any university course ever could. 

In this jam-packed episode, Darren shared his insights on: 

·         The conflicting information is popular self-help books and the one common aspect of them all.

·         We spend 20 minutes convincing ourselves we want chocolate then when we finally give in, we spend the next 20 minutes berating ourselves.   Sound familiar?

·         Some people are open to sharing success such as new cars holidays on social media, yet some don’t.  Darren shared his thought process around eventually sharing his childhood dream which he recently achieved.

·         Imposter syndrome, fear of failure and procrastination. 

To learn more about Darren and his work, head to his website at https://www.darrenfleming.com.au/mindset-mastery.

HER HUSBAND PASSED AWAY 37 DAYS AFTER DIAGNOSIS.
On this episode, Jodie Atkinson shared her journey which rose from the ashes of devastation after losing her husband to Pancreatic Cancer only 37 days after diagnosis.

Being acutely aware of her own lack of preparedness to face her grief, she not only sought help for herself but a deep desire to help others.

From becoming a' Certified Advanced Grief Recovery Specialist' to her work with community organisations to writing her book, 'Have You Met My Grief' to amazingly having her book transformed into an Award Winning Cabaret Show which premiered at the 2023 Adelaide Cabaret Fringe  Festival, her journey has been nothing short of inspirational.

I last spoke to Jodie over 2 and half years ago and lots has happened!

We talked about:

• Her profound loss and how she became aware of her lack of preparedness.
• What does 'preparedness' look like.
• Grief manifests in many different ways.
• Loss takes many forms.   It is not just death, it can be the loss of a relationship, job or a loved pet.
• How her book is helping people and how it evolved into a cabaret show.

If you are looking for a speaker for your community, have been touched by loss or would like  to know more about Jodie's work, reach out to her at info@jodie-atkinson.com.au

Doctors told him that he shouldn't have lived!  Shot 14 times in less than 5 seconds from a semi-automatic weapon, he lay bleeding for 3 hours before he could be rescued.   As if this is not unbelievable enough, he  returned back to FULL duties within 2 1/2  years.
On this episode, I chat with former Elite Star Force officer, Derrick McManus.  He shared his harrowing story and how it lead him to a career as a renowned keynote speaker, trainer and founding 'The Centre for Human Durability' where his programs provide tools to go beyond resilience, to sustainable Optimal Performance.

We don't all face the prospect of being shot multiple  times in our working days but the lessons Derrick shared benefit managers, leaders and business owners to be prepared and perform at an optimal level.

Derrick spoke about:

• Proactively preparing yourself.  Having honest and open conversations with your family and your team.
• Analysing the event.  What could or should have been done differently.
• Resilience vs Durability
• Strategies.  The importance of preparation physically, mentally and emotionally.
• The 2 key principles that underpin Human Durability.  
  •  Open, Honest and confronting conversations with yourself and those affected by your actions.
  • Take responsibility for our decisions, actions and outcomes.  Good or bad.

Oh and don't miss his story at 10:30.........putting his thumb between a trigger on a pistol whilst wrestling with an offender!

To learn more about Derrick's story and his work, head to his website at https://humandurability.com.au/

Years of people pleasing, not living authentically and finally finding out, via an anonymous letter, his wife was having an affair, took him to the depths of despair and led him on a journey of self discovery where he is now dedicated to inspiring hope and a love of life.

On episode 45 of 'A Cuppa with The Con versationalist'  I chatted with Inspirational Keynote Speaker and Empowerment Coach, Sava Politis.

Sava educates, guides, and helps people live in self-love, focusing on "Agape," the highest form of love. Living true to yourself with integrity, positivity, and self-awareness. 

His inspirational keynotes and personal coaching help people reconnect with themselves, empowerment of courage, confidence, and resilience. 

In corporate environments, he is transforming and building powerful engaging teams and positive culture that promotes growth and success and via personal 1-on-1 coaching, he helps you become the best version of yourself.  

Sava's personal journey fuels his belief that you have the power to be an outstanding human being, which he shares with the world.

2:00  The beginning of his journey, the people pleaser.
5:30  Losing contact with the most important person, you.
6:15  The moment that changed his life, the letter divulging the affair and his biggest lesson.
9:55  The 4 key components we all have within our hearts, faith, Love, Hope and Forgiveness.  Forgiveness is not about forgetting, it's about releasing.  It's a daily process.
15:00  The current relationship with his ex wife and the roles and responsibilities we have as parents.  How do your children view you?
17:40  The role of spirituality in life and work and the power of faith.
20:00  Integrity and positivity, what are they?
22:40  Can you relate to these challenges?  Losing your job you see as your identity and broken trust.  Sava shares one of the biggest fears beyond 50......I don't want to die alone.
28:40  Creating peace in your day/life.  It's not about making time but understanding the value of your time.
31:30  Boom, Crash Opera....what happens when you get home?
34:10  Culture in the workplace.  The 2 biggest challenges and the importance of vision.
39:20  Leadership is about actions with integrity.  Sava discusses mental well being and emotional resilience.
42:20  Sava shares his top 3 tips live a life true to yourself with integrity, positivity and self awareness,

To learn more about Sava's work, head to his website at https://savapolitis.com.au/    or reach out to him by email at sava@savapolitis.com.au

On this episode we shower you with a big dose of optimism and get you to look at your cup, not as half full or half empty, but overflowing!

Victor Perton is the Chief Optimism Officer at The Centre for Optimism. 

The Centre for Optimism is 8000 people in 82 countries and asks people “What makes YOU optimistic?” and “What makes YOU feel Optimistic?” 

Prior to taking on the optimism mission, Victor was a barrister, 18 years a member of the Victorian State Parliament, Trade Commissioner in North and South America; and senior adviser to the Australian G20 Presidency. 

Victor is a Board Member of Yarra Valley Water and Vicwater.  

The foundation for the formation of The Centre for Optimism was a two year “Australian Leadership Project” which concluded Australian leadership was pretty good so why the negativity in Australia? 

Victor’s Eureka moment came in 2017 – the problem was not the problem of leadership but the fog of pessimism.   His book, “Optimism: The How and Why”, sums up that journey. 

As a speaker, Victor promises his audience they will leave laughing or singing or both.  All the links to the exercises and resources are at the bottom of the show notes.

2:00  Victor turned the tables on me and asked me "what makes me optimistic"

2:43  Why and where does all the optimism originate?  Hear is fascinating history which goes back to pre Russian revolutionary Czarist Russia

4:17  His grandmother always said she always wanted to outlive communism.  Hear her amazing tales of hardship and persecution whilst never losing hope.

7:22  Optimism is a state of mind, not the state of the world.

10:43  The boarding house with rats in Richmond, the stench of burning rubber and the peering possum.  The migrant life.

13:40  Why Victor entered politics

20:00 The Tax Commissioner and Victor's mum.

23:30  Victor was the first politician in Australia to have a website and his foresight into the future of communication

29:00  The power of laughter. 

30:00  The changing face of politics and the 24 x 7 news

35:00  Changing 1 life at a time, a powerful chance encounter in jail and  a perspective changing question we can all ask.

42:00  The power of gratitude and a very simple exercise which for many, is better than anti-depressants.

46:00  The catalyst for The Centre of Optimism.

52:00  Enjoy some 'Optimistic Exercises'

55:30  Ultimately, Optimism is a choice

59:50  You make your own memories.  Very few of us have an accurate memory.  Our memories are re cast in the stories we re tell.  The memories adapt to the stories dependant on how we recite the memory, be it in a positive or negative light.

1:01:00  Victor's interesting perspective regards the media and the news.

5 Minute Survey – What makes you Optimistic?  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Optimism2023 

What is Optimism?  https://www.centreforoptimism.com/whatisoptimism 

My Best Self https://www.centreforoptimism.com/your-best-possible-self 

My Optimism Superpower - https://www.centreforoptimism.com/superpowers