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

“Asking the right questions takes as much skill as giving the right answers” - Robert Half If you were about to put a LOT of money and time on the line to invest in a fledgling startup, what would you want to ask? Well, that’s what today’s guest, Whitney Sales (Twitter: @thesalesmethod) has to talk about. She is the General Partner and Executive Director of Programming, based in San Francisco, for the top B2B accelerator Acceleprise. Whitney has 10+ years of startup sales experience and is the founder of The Sales Method, a consultancy that helps startups identify target markets, build successful sales teams and quickly get products to market.  She led four companies to the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list including LoopNet, Joby, Meltwater and SpringAhead. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

One good conversation can shift the direction of change forever. - Linda Lambert Ever been saw someone and wish you went up to and spoke to them? In our world of ever increasing isolation and loneliness, I wanted to revisit the lost art of how to start a conversation. This episode keeps it nice and simple as we look at the 2 fundamental components of how to start a conversation. Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.- Tony Robbins If you can ask one question to build a better connection with someone, what would it be? Well, that’s what today’s guest, Chris Schembra has discovered. But not only has he uncovered a very powerful question, he’s built a whole business (7:47 Club) around it that since July 2015, 7:47 has worked with over 5,300 leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals; advised 70+ companies, and sparked more than 300,000 relationships.’ Chris is an accomplished speaker, has his own podcast, advises business, and has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, HuffPost, VICE Impact, Thrive Global, VarietyMagazine, Bravo TV, Newsmax TV, AMEX OPEN, and many more. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.    

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit. – Aristotle Where do we go from here? What is the next step in our journey to learn how to ask better questions? Well, on today’s episode, we reflect on where we’ve been so far and set out the map for where we can to go next. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“Being different gives the world color.” - Nelsan Ellis How does a Human Centered Designer think about and ask questions? Well, there are few in the industry better to ask than the talented Chirryl-Lee Ryan. Chi has almost 20 years of experience in visual design, research, and human centered design. She’s worked, and led teams, at some of the most innovative and forward thinking companies in the world including Fjord, Isobar, and Idean. During part 2 of 2 of her interview, we get into more of the nitty gritty of how she goes about inspiring others to ask questions and techniques she uses to ask questions. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“Empathy is simply listening, holding space, withholding judgment, emotionally connecting, and communicating that incredibly healing message of you’re not alone.” – Brene Brown What is being empathetic? Is your knowledge undermining your ability to ask questions? These, and many more questions are asked, and talked about in today’s episode as we focus on shoring up the 3 foundational mindset pillars that everything else in this podcast is built upon. So don’t miss this episode! Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Click here to check out part 1/2 of Chi Ryan’s interview here.

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” - Walt Disney How does a Human Centered Designer think about and ask questions? Well, there are few in the industry better to ask than the talented Chirryl-Lee Ryan. Chi has almost 20 years of experience in visual design, research, and human centered design. She’s worked, and led teams, at some of the most innovative and forward thinking companies in the world including Fjord, Isobar, and Idean. During part 1 of 2 of her interview, she talks us through how she goes about asking clients questions as she tackles some very big challenges in some very big companies! She also gives us brilliant insights as to how to inspire others to ask questions as she drives change and innovation. Chi also has her own podcast which explores many of today’s topics in greater detail and is always high on my own podcast rotation! Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBLMake sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead We already know this right? But leveraging a group of diverse people to ask proper questions, can be the most powerful environment to unlock strategies, tactics, and insights which all culminate to success in whatever we are striving for. However, all of that can quickly become unraveled by our own cognitive processes. What are those? Well, I take some time today to explore of the one major ones that occur in our gatherings. Something that we’ve all experienced before and help to provide some strategies that anyone can use to help manage this and make sure we can successfully unlock the groups potential. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“The quality of your life is a direct reflection of the quality of the questions you are asking yourself” - Toby Robbins What does a high priced Human Capital Consultant, someone with over 15 years of experience working in leading companies, have to say about how to ask better questions? Well it turns out, A LOT!! This is a rare glimpse into someone who has spent his whole career using questions to recruit, consult, and manage his own personal career to his current role of Director of Consulting in one of the big 4 global consulting firms. Adam Walker takes us through a range of topics such as how he recruits, how he works with clients, advice he gives to people when they navigate critical moments in their lives, and some of his own personal questions he has used to climb the corporate ladder and achieve high level positions in prestigious companies. Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“ego is the enemy of what you want and of what you have: Of mastering a craft. Of real creative insight. Of working well with others. Of building loyalty and support. Of longevity. Of repeating and retaining your success. It repulses advantages and opportunities. It’s a magnet for enemies and errors. It is Scylla and Charybdis.” ― Ryan Holiday, The Ego Is the Enemy It’s funny sometimes how our brain can work against us and undermine our own best interest. This episode takes a different path than you’ve heard before on the podcast explores one of the most peculiar of this(at least in my opinion). What is it you might ask, it’s exploring Self-Serving Bias (a.k.a Your ego). Specially, we talk about how your ego is stopping you from become the best version of yourself and how how it’s stopping you from asking the right questions. How your ego is cutting off the conversation flow and deflecting critical feedback, information, and learnings to help you ask the best questions you can. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.   Resources: Jocko Willink Book Ryan Halliday Book https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-serving_bias  

"Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." - Victor Frankl What does mindfulness and paradigms have to do with being able to ask better questions to live a better life? Well, today’s interview featuring David Walker, pulls from his years of work as both a Mindfulness teacher and his experience in his Consulting practice. The concepts that David takes us through on this interview, are critical to shoring up the foundations in which all other techniques and principles of how to ask better questions are built upon. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Make sure to check us out on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

“Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together.” ― Brené Brown As we continue to dive in to human psychology, and explore the underlying processes and algorithms we use to have conversations, we have now come across two very important concepts: Social Desirability Bias & Impression Management. These two aspects, different sides of the same coin, really rob us of being able to lean into deeper conversations to explore meaning questions and find meaningful answers. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and join in to the conversations using the hashtag #BQBL Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/   Resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_desirability_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impression_management https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/201310/the-dangerous-art-impression-management https://sciencestruck.com/what-is-impression-management https://epubs.scu.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=hahs_pubs

What does a People Scientist do? Can you ask too many questions? How do you ask questions to figure out which questions you need to ask? All these questions and more answered on today's episode featuring Chris Barrell who is a People Scientist working at (one of my favourite companies), Culture Amp.  Chris gives us a unique insight into the science and rigor behind how to conduct surveys in an organisation, shares his own personal questions that has served him well, talks about many of the mistakes companies make when they survey their organisations, and MUCH MUCH MORE!! Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/  

While the world is a gold mine, you need to go digging in other people’s heads to unearth riches. Questions are your pickaxes and competitive advantage. - Tim Ferriss As we switch gears from the previous epsiodes, we start to dig a little deeper in to some of the challenges we face when it comes to asking good questions. This episode is the start where we will specifically tackle some of the most prevalent biases that hinder us in asking questions. While the concept of confirmation bias isn’t new to most people, this is an important episode to refresh yourself of this concept as well as get some new tools to make sure you’re not robbed of the opportunities when asking questions. Make sure you’re following the Better Questions Better Life on the socials and don’t forget to hit that subscribe button! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ Resources: https://medium.com/swlh/how-to-overcome-cognitive-biases-and-make-better-decisions-daeecd38f910 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/2018/05/15/fake-news-social-media-confirmation-bias-echo-chambers/533857002/ https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/9/8/16263710/fox-news-presidential-vote-study https://www.valuewalk.com/2018/06/social-media-confirmation-bias/   Links from today’s show: https://medium.com/swlh/how-to-overcome-cognitive-biases-and-make-better-decisions-daeecd38f910  

Ever wonder how a Qualitative Researcher asks questions? I know I did!!

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. - F. Scott Fitzgerald Following up from last week’s episode where we spoke about the two biggest barriers to asking good questions, we want to flip that around now and start to look at two fundamental keys that we can use to unlock good questions. This episode is going to seem basic, and I really hope it isn’t anything new. But at certain times, we can easily lose track of these principles and our ability to learn and explore from all situations quickly dissolves. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/  

Ever wonder how someone who comes up with apps or design website or experiences? Well, make sure you check Milly Schmidt's interview on the Why 2 Podcast. Milly has a vast career working in designing experiences, products, processes and even organisations. She is also a writer, teacher at General Assembly and all around really smart lady!  Thanks to her strong career and teaching experience, she is able to break down critical question asking principles and provides a lot of hidden wisdom of things you didn't think you needed to know - but you do! Check our her website, and Twitter!  

“Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” ― Stephen R. Covey When it comes to asking the best questions to live the best life, we need to address the two biggest enemies stopping you from achieving this. We need to go back to basics and start to make sure that the concepts we will be building over the coming weeks and months aren’t being silently undermined by two silent phenomenon robbing you of your ability to ask good questions. In this episode I talk about: 1.) My own experiences falling victim to these two enemies 2.) Strategies on how to recognising them 3.) And lay down some foundations on how we will continue to address them over the coming weeks and months. Check our the website for links to the podcast/youtube and resources: www.betterquestionsbetterlife.com Links to Fiona Triaca’s Interview on the Why 2 Podcast: https://www.betterquestionsbetterlife.co/why-2-podcast-1/2018/3/7/20-fiona-triaca-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-starting-a-business

Today's episode is part 2 of Narelle Fraser's interview. Narelle is a retired Police Detective with the Victoria Police who has a career spanning 27 years. 15 of those as a Detective at the Rape and Homicide Squads and Missing Persons Unit, but dedicating much of her career to investigating child abuse and sex offences. This interview is an amazing glimpse and rare glimpse in to how she went about asking questions and investigations. Both with victims who had suffered some of the most horrific things a person can experience, and asking questions to those who committed these crimes.  I highly recommend you check our some more episodes where Narelle goes in to more detail about some of the things she experienced in her career.  Link to Australian True Crime (iTunes)   Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/

“Look for people who have lots of great questions. Smart people are the ones who ask the most thoughtful questions, as opposed to thinking they have all the answers. Great questions are a much better indicator of future success than great answers.” ― Ray Dalio, Principles: Life and Work Welcome back to the second episode of the Better Questions Better Life Podcast all focused around how we can ask better questions to live better lives. This episode is really focused on taking stock of the questions we’re probably asking right now and getting you to start taking stock of some of the questions you’re probably asking that aren’t serving you. I talk about: What pizza and asking good questions have in common. What makes a bad question. Give you a quick list of some of the most common questions we ask, that aren’t serving us. Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/

Today's episode features Narelle Fraser who is a retired Police Detective with the Victoria Police who has a career spanning 27 years. 15 of those as a Detective at the Rape and Homicide Squads and Missing Persons Unit, but dedicating much of her career to investigating child abuse and sex offences. This interview is an amazing glimpse and rare glimpse in to how she went about asking questions and investigations. Both with victims who had suffered some of the most horrific things a person can experience, and asking questions to those who committed these crimes.  I highly recommend you check our some more episodes where Narelle goes in to more detail about some of the things she experienced in her career.  Link to Australian True Crime (iTunes)   Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/

“Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.”  – Tony Robbins Welcome to the first episode in the Why 2 Podcast’s first episode of the new miniseries all focused around how we can ask better questions to live better lives. This first episode is a short introduction to this new project and centers around answering 3 key questions: 1. What is it? 2. Why did I create it? 3. Why should you care??!?! Make sure you follow the Better Questions Better Life on the socials! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-elliott/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/bqbl_ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betterquestionsbetterlife/

After having celebrated the Why 2 Podcast being over a year old now, interviewing over 25 amazing professionals from a variety of backgrounds, today's episode gets right at the heart of the Why 2 Podcast is trying to achieve. It's all about answering the question, how do you cross the chasm from where you are, to where you want to be? Simple question, but as many of you listening are well aware of, not as easy as it sounds. This process is fraught with uncertainty about where you are, where you want to go, and how to cross the chasm to get to that life that you envision and dream about every day. And to do that, today’s episode features the wonderful Kate McCready. Kate McCready runs her own Career & Work-Life coaching practice and works with individuals in helping them answer this question here. She also runs the top-rated podcast called the Good Work Revolution which strongly recommend giving it a listen. Connect with Kate on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, her podcast, and check out her website. 

This episode of the Why 2 Podcast is a very special one as I've invited the wonderful and talented Ruby Lee who hosts the Own Your Hustle Podcast, to take the microphone over in this Takeover edition of the Why 2 Podcast.  Ruby has been a personal inspiration for me over the last few years as I've followed her journey as she's developeded her own side hustle and meticulously honed her skills along the way. She's incredibly generous to share so much information about her journey and the skillsets she uses which has driven her success. In only the first 65 days of full time running her side hustle, she's made over $65K and shows no signs of stopping. For this episode, she takes the microphone over and speaks about her journey, her side hustle, and brings in her husband and business partner Michael Poon to talk about running a business together.  Make sure you connect with Ruby on Linkedin, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and check out her website with links to her podcast. 

This episode is very different from any previous episodes heard here on the Why 2 Podcast, and one that I've wanted to have for over the last 5 years.  I’ve actually known Jason Hamborg (Co-Founder and Production Manager of 6ix Sigma) for a long time now, as we both went to University of Northern British Columbia to get our Human Resources degrees. But when we graduated, Jason did something very unexpected. You see though, while I entered the HR world with all the momentum behind me, I watched Jason first hand take a radical pivot in his career to start 6ix Sigma. At the time, I thought he was conducting career suicide by taking such a dramatic step away from HR and not capitalising on all the momentum we had both worked so hard to built and instead launch a business into a fledgling industry.  But what Jason did next, was absolutely incredible and inspiring!  Connect with Jason on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. 

From a challenging upbringing, having only 60 seconds to live, being on the brink of financial ruin, receiving death threats, and everything in between, Travis is the first to say that he shouldn't be successful. But he is! he is! He has successfully started multiple multi-million dollar businesses over the last few years and shows no signs of stopping!  Frankly speaking, Travis Jones hardly needs an introduction. But, just in case you haven’t heard of Travis, he is the Managing Director of the RBT gyms, runs a Small Business Consulting company, a Digital Agency called Think Tank, and if that’s not impressive enough, he’s also just in the process of launching a Health and Fitness App. Travis’s story is absolutely incredible, to say the least, as we explore how we went from a professional rugby player, to having just 60 seconds to live, to starting and growing various multi-million dollar businesses. I’ve wanted to interview Travis for a long time now, and he was actually the first person I wrote down on my list of future guests, as I believe he embodies the spirit of the Why 2 podcast in that anything is possible as he came from a disadvantaged background and has battled uphill to get the success he has now. From selling his car to scrape enough money to open his first gym that he had to live in, to getting his life threatened, and watching him hustle and grind to make his dream a reality today through all the make or break moments, I don’t want to say anything else to introduce him because the simple truth of Travis’s story is one that you need to just hear from himself - even if you just give it 10 or 20 minutes.   Connect with Travis on Facebook, Facebook and Linkedin. 

Today’s guest is Natalie Firth, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Think Talent,  Melbourne's fastest-growing, female-led recruitment agency. They specialise in executive recruitment across marketing, technology & innovation, people & culture and executive support. Think Talent was also recently awarded the Small Recruitment Agency of the year during the latest SEEK Annual Recruitment Award - one of the highest honours in the hyper-competitive industry of recruitment here in Australia. But, what makes Natalie’s story so interesting though is the circumstances that her and her Co-Founder, Ainsley started the business in. Now, while I’m sure most people agree that starting a business can be very challenging at the best of time, but Think Talent was launched right while Natalie was pregnant with her second child and adding to her very young family. If you’ve ever come up with an excuse as to why you can't start your business, this is a great chat that will surely make you rethink the perceived obstacles in your way! Connect with Natalie on LinkedIn Connect with Think Talent on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. 

When I learned about Michael Ellis's (Head of Culture for Vinomofo) background, I couldn't figure out why he was so successful given his background.  This conversation was a deeply personal one for me, as if you had gone back just a few years into my history, I would have told you how I aspired to work with a fast-paced, innovative, and people focused company that was redefining what Culture was in an organisation. That dream would basically have looked exactly what exactly what Mikey has done at Vinomofo. He’s worked with the Founders of Vinomofo to grow it from about 40 staff here in Australia to over 130 staff across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and now expanding into the US Market. They’ve been featured in the Top 25 Great Places to Work 2016 list, received an award for Most Successful Staff Engagement, and have created one of the most sought-after employer brands in Australia (and one of the coolest offices that has a massive wine bar!!). However, a quick look at Mikey’s history shows that prior to his role starting at Vinomofo just 3 years ago, he had pretty much no HR experience or HR education that you would think someone would need, or at least have, to create what he has done now. The funny thing here is that I started my university career, with the idea that if I got an HR degree, and plugged away in the Corporate HR world for 10-15 years, I might be finally in the place to do what he’s done - but obviously that was just the traditional success narrative and this chat is all about exploring Mikey’s journey to get to where he is now and how you can to.   Connect with Mikey on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin.   

Just about every time I speak with Aaron,  I always came back to this one question that has been almost haunting me since I first met him; how does a guy, who got a degree in and still occasionally moonlights as a radiologist, run a successful global software company from rural Australia? Aaron Price is one of the Co-Founders behind Wyzed and Cloudschool. Wyzed, his latest business requires little introduction as, of course, they’ve been the sponsor for the Why 2 Podcast for many episodes now. In addition to that, I’ve also been working with the team at Wyzed for the last few months and getting to know Aaron personally through that time.  Aaron has never done any formal training in business or even worked in another software company, never taken any outside investment, but he and the team have has still managed to grow this business from nothing to doubling quarter all while living in rural Australia. I’ve personally watched him close large enterprise deals, write amazing marketing copy, forge some unlikely partnerships, become an incredible leader, and work with the rest of the team around the continuous development of the software product and company itself. At the end of the day, Aaron has really shown me that no hurdle is too big to work towards your dreams.

So when I sat down with Fiona my question was simply this, how does someone go from TV to Investment Banking, and finally land on Design Thinking Consulting and training? On the surface of it, Fiona Triaca's career makes no sense. Currently, she is the Founder and CEO of Naked Ambition where they teach the habits of innovation to corporate mavericks so that they can solve complex challenges, seize opportunities and lead their company into new territory. But if we scroll back in her CV, you’ll see that she had actually received a Masters Of Arts in Creative Media and Screenwriting. But then a quick look at her working life, you’ll see that while she did have a short stint in film, she quickly switched to the world of Investment Banking where she spent over 8 years before starting Naked Ambition. What I found was a very interesting insight as to the fundamental skills, insights, and mentality that she used to climb her way up in the Investment Banking world where she quickly identified an opportunity that led her to start her business. This is an especially important chat if you’ve ever noticed a problem with your industry or the nature of your work and had a brilliant stroke of insight as to how you might be able to change it. http://www.naked-ambition.com.au/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionatriaca/ https://twitter.com/MyNakedAmbition  

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/    

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.

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  

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.

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

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/

  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/

  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

  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!

  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  

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/   

  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/  

  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/  

  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.

  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.

  Andrew Van De Beek. is one of the Founders of a new social enterprise Big Little Brush and the Director of illumin8, a holistic business accountant and business advisory firm he started with a partner at the young age of 26. To say that Andrew is one of the most unconventional accountants I think I have ever met might be an understatement - and I’m excited for you to see why. His professional career started at one of the big 4 accounting firms, from there at another firm he worked his way to potential partnership opportunities, and eventually leading him to start his own firm as he searched for something aligned to his values.   One thing I love about Andrew’s story is it seems to smack the “conventional wisdom” I hear all the time of someone needing some unknown (but substantial) amount of experience before you can start a particular business/career/project. And then when they do start they so often become another “me too” looking and sounding like everyone else out there and watering down what makes them unique and authentic. As we navigate through Andrew’s journey you’ll get a raw and unapologetic discussion on playing to your strengths, being true to yourself, and dreaming bigger than perhaps you ever thought! If you’ve ever sat there, like I’ve done, and didn’t feel that you were ready to take that next big step with your career or business, you need to listen to this! I love how he takes us through his thought process of getting started in his business and the approach he uses, that is elegantly simple yet guaranteed, to help you get started before you ever probably thought you could.

Ryan Spaccavento is an Entrepreneur & founder of Coffee on Cue, Melbourne’s fastest growing event coffee company. Whether he is starting up a pizza shop with no hospitality ownership experience (and turning it into a local Sydney hotspot) or dabbling in a variety of leading edge tech start-ups, Ryan has never been one to shy away from a challenge and take life head on. His story appears to follow a non linear process, but as we dive into it, it’s a truly inspirational journey weaving through a process of self discovery to define and chase his passions which ultimately led him to marry his two passions together in his latest venture, Coffee on Cue. We talk about goal setting, the mentality of getting started, and how to bring your passions and interests together to create something uniquely you. If you’ve ever sat there and weren’t sure about how to combine your passions, this will be a great discussion for you! Not to mention, he does one of the best Italian impersonations ever!

  Jason Price has been in the recruitment game for the better part of the last decade, and has taken an interesting shift from being involved in the Australian music industry and hip hop scene to becoming a leader in corporate Australia with some large Australian and Global organisations.You're going to love this conversation as Jason really opens up about his journey; starting with growing up in a tough neighbourhood south of Adelaide, not finishing school, becoming a father at a young age, and taking a big career shift in his late 20s. We talk about self talk, goal setting, and the idea of being an entrepreneurial employee which I think Jason is an amazing example of.

  Corey is the Co-Founder of Verse Wealth, a firm that's doing financial advice differently and breaking down industry traditions. Corey has been prominently featured on the front page of Financial Planning Association Magazine,  a finalist for the Association of Financial Advisors Rising Star Award 2015, finalist in the Independent Financial Advisor Newcomer of the Year Award 2016, and a regular speaker and workshop advisor.I hold Corey in high regards as both a friend and mentor who has made one of the biggest impacts on my professional and personal life and a big catalyst for me starting this podcast. Whether it’s his boundless optimism, or his pursuit to create a bold, culture first organisation, he is a gold mine of insights and knowledge! This conversation is very wide ranging, from the nuts and bolts of starting a business to personal development, optimism, leadership and so much more! There is something in this conversation for everyone, no matter what you are looking to improve upon.