a listener production. Hello and welcome to episode six of a special series highlighting
our pillars of leadership and incredible responses that I've been getting from leaders that we've
spoken to and had the great pleasure of catching up with throughout the year. I've loved every
moment of the diverse range of guests that we've had on the Empowering Leaders podcast.
Each have got incredible story to tell and a unique insight into how they lead. So these
type of insights that really align with this great passion of mine, a leader, a business co-founded
with my great friend Matt Wadowitz. It's a place where leaders like the ones you'll hear from today
come together to collaborate and to learn from each other in bespoke unique environments. If
you're interested in learning more about it, please head to elitercollective.com. We love
collaborating with all sorts of people across industry, sport, education, social venture,
the arts. You could even be involved in a small business or just simply wanting to improve the
way that you impact others in your environment. Whatever that environment is, I encourage you to
book a discovery call.
And check out our signature Elita Connect program where we come together to learn, to lead and to
collaborate. Now, speaking of collaboration, it's one of the most important aspects of so many parts
of our lives. From work to relationships, collaborating is one of the ways leaders are
able to impact their environments and get the best out of their teams and other people they
collaborate with. To round out this very special masterclass series, we're now going to dive into
some of my favorite chats around this topic.
Who would be the greatest leader in your life and who would you most want to collaborate with?
The following conversations are with, in my mind, some of Australia's most fascinating leaders,
including Scott Pape, John Aloisi, Luke Beveridge, Lakeisha Patterson, Nicole Gibson,
Peter Singer, Mim Bartlett, Paul Little, Jaguar Jones, Marcus Godinho and Gus Warland. But first
up, let's hear from AFL superstar, Marcus Pontempelli. Marcus Pontempelli debuted with
the Western Bulldogs in the AFL. He was a great player. He was a great player. He was a great player.
In 2014, in the eight years that has followed, he has achieved an almost unprecedented level of
success. He is at 26 years of age, a four-time All-Australian, four-time Best and Fairest winner,
including the Best and Fairest in the 2016 Premiership, which ended a 62-year drought
for the Western Bulldogs. He was voted by his peers in 2021 as the most valuable player.
In 2019, as the AFL Coaches Association Champion Player of the Year, he's the current
captain of the Western Bulldogs, universally respected and admired at every level.
Thanks for your time. Thanks, Das. Good to be with you and talking.
Who's been the greatest leader in your life? It's hard to go past my dad. I think family's
always the people that you spend the most time with, but you get probably the greatest
understanding of. My dad was a concreter from a very young age, from an Italian family,
so that seems to be where a lot of the Italians obviously ended up in the concreting business. But
he was someone...
Just from a watching perspective, worked incredibly hard, provided obviously for our
family, clearly with mum as well. But concreting is a really hard business. People who work in
that industry and probably the building industry in general, they work obviously long hours and
it's very physical work. But he definitely, when it came to my football and when I was probably
15 or 16, felt like I was falling further and further away maybe from the football.
And I think that's the football dream, which I'd sort of prayed and hoped for since a very
young age. But sometimes you just need that person sort of in your life who can give you
the confidence and lift your spirits and lift you up. And he did that for me pretty much
around that age. And it's to see someone I can rely on, someone in your life that you
know will always be there regardless. And then mum and dad are both the same in that
vein. But his work ethic and then his appetite to always...
Remember your family values is really strong and that definitely has rung true with me for sure.
And he was such a big influence for me from such a young age that he continues to do that sort of
regardless. Yeah. Well, I haven't heard you talk about that for a lot of... If there's kids listening,
that 15 years of age is a tough thing in sport for... You get the early developers who jump out,
have a massive size and strength advantage and kids lose their confidence at that age.
Did that happen to you a little bit where you're a bit of a later developer?
Yeah. And I wasn't sure how...
Far back you wanted to go sort of with this chap, but definitely as a 14, 15-year-old
late developer born later in the year, probably, yeah, lacked a bit of confidence at that age
when players start to either get bigger, grow faster. And once again, your mates around
you are all progressing, but you seem to be stuck in mud almost. And yeah, dad was probably
the one that probably saw me slowly questioning or doubting. And I imagine as a father, yeah,
you see that and try to do everything you can to continue to try and push your son along.
And it's funny, I spent school holidays, I'd work with him and sort of developed. And that's
probably where I got a sense for how hard he worked. I think that two-week school holiday
period you got, I'd spend with him being his lackey, just going to get different things from
him, not doing a whole lot, but just sort of watching. And actually being able to do that
probably gave me a greater appreciation for him. And I think that's probably where I got a sense for
appreciation for how hard he worked and then the things that he did just to provide for our
family. So I really probably even just now think about that and think what a great opportunity it
was to do that. And it also probably gave me a look at, I think if I can make this football thing
work, I'd probably prefer to do that maybe than be pouring concrete. And maybe he thought about
that, maybe he didn't. Maybe he thought it's a good insight into what I do and potentially what
you can maybe go and do if you want to. I think that's probably where I got a sense for how hard
you work enough for it. So inadvertently, he's probably had an impact like that without even
probably thinking it, or maybe he was smarter than I give him credit for and did. But definitely as
a 15-year-old, I sensed I was falling behind and had a bit of a growth spurt probably when I was
16, 17. And I remember him, we went down to one of the training sessions at the Northern Knights,
more or less just to try and show me that it's sort of a bit in your head that these kids are
good, but you're definitely capable enough.
To be sort of out there training. And like I said, he would be out the back with me. He didn't
grow up playing much sport or play football like I did. And he'd be doing his best just to try and
support his son in what his hopes and dreams were. So yeah, I definitely felt myself, I guess,
coming back to the initial question, falling a bit behind. He was there from a confidence
perspective to try and sort of continue to lift my spirits. And sure enough, I managed to
grow, develop a bit more confidence and then really come on late sort of in my, I guess,
my draft year, which was sort of all started with his initial push.
What a gift that is to have someone like that in your life and still to this day. The final question
is back to the word of collaboration. If you're asking this question, if you could collaborate
with anyone that could be in any part of your life, Bono, I know you've got passions outside of
your love of football, but if there was any collaboration, any person, who would spring to
mind? Straight away, I think sort of Roger Federer.
Which, you know, maybe that's just from a, you know, he's an incredible, you know, obviously,
you know, tennis player, but I've always admired the way that he sort of handles himself clearly
off the court, the things that he does, how he speaks. There's a real genuine sort of nature to
him. And I think a lot of people are in the very similar vein of how they sort of see him. And
he's a, you know, authentic person. And I love that probably about him,
can, you know, yeah, represent, you know, such a, you know, really nice and caring and,
you know, nurturing sort of personality and be such a, you know, obviously a successful
sort of tennis player and athlete. So he'd be one that I think if you could just sort of sit
down and have a coffee with, it'd be really interesting.
Jono Luisi is a legend of Australian sport. He's widely respected as one of Australia's
greatest ever players. The first Australian player to play at the highest level and score
in the three big leagues.
of world soccer, La Liga in Spain, Premier League in UK and Serie A in Italy. Jon scored 127 goals
in his 459 senior appearances in an outstanding professional career spanning 20 years. On top
of that, Jon scored 27 goals in 55 matches representing Australia, a record at the time
of Jon's retirement from the game. Jon's penalty kick that took the Socceroos into the 2006 World
Cup was voted by the Sport Australia Hall of Fame as one of the three greatest
moments in Australian sporting history. Jon is the current head coach of A-League Club
Western United. And I feel very privileged to call Jonny a friend. We went to school
together, Jon, way back in year three. And it's always great to catch up with you, mate.
Thanks for your time today.
Thanks for having me on, Daz. I have to say my dad, you know, because just the way that
he's, you know, gone about bringing up a family, first of all, and also running a business
for so long and also finding time to...
To coach in soccer. He probably regrets that he got us down that path because he said,
you know, I would have loved to have lived in Adelaide, back in Adelaide, but you've,
you know, you left home at 16, you haven't come back. So it's nearly 30 years now. But
yeah, so I would say my dad has been, you know, probably the best leader in terms of
who I learnt most off of. And I'm still learning today, you know.
So you pick up the phone and ring Rocky, there's something going on in your life.
And look, sometimes, you know, because he can be pretty negative still, you know.
Have you had that conversation as you've got older? Have you said, because I remember talking
to you as we would catch up along the journey and if you're back in town playing for Australia
and grab a coffee with you and you could have had an unbelievable year in the Premier League
in the UK, but Rocky was on to you about a certain part of your game.
And have you sort of said to him occasionally?
Oh, yeah. Often. I always say to him that... And look,
he's negative. By nature, I think he's negative.
Does he laugh about that?
He does, but then he'll just like let it go. But, you know, but sometimes it's not bad
because you need sometimes a few home truths, you know. So, you know, he might say something
that you go back and you go, you know what, I think he's right. I think he's right. So
I need to have a good look at that. You know, or, you know, dad, like settle down. You know,
this is, that's a one off. It doesn't, it's not a constant. So, you know, I think he's
you know, you're negative because of just the result or something like that. But, you
know, if it's something that you look and you go, no, that's happening on a regular
basis. I think he's right there. You know, but he was ruthless in terms of, you're right.
Like, oh, when I was playing, I remember having the best season I've had with Portsmouth.
It was in the championship in England and I was scoring game after game and he came to
visit me and, you know, he goes, you've gone backwards. And I was like, what do you mean?
He goes, your touch is not as good as what it used to be. And, you know,
you're not playing the same way. And I go, dad, I'm scoring every week and I'm a striker.
And then, but then I looked back and then after that, I started to work again on my
basic skills because I was going, you know what? He's not too far off. He's right. But
he was just, it hurt at the time.
Yeah, it's interesting. I had a very similar but different relationship with my dad. Super,
super close. He played and I was a father-son in, you know, in Australian rules football
and I'd ring him.
All the time. We lost him a little over a year ago, but it's funny, mate, because I
could pick up the phone. We might speak for two minutes or two hours, you know, depending
on if there was something going on, but I can have those conversations with him in my
head. Because I know exactly what he would say. He was less prescriptive. He wouldn't
tell me what to do, but he'd ask me questions and then in that way sort of find out myself.
So, but you're lucky in life, aren't you? If you had a father figure like you've had
and I was incredibly lucky to have, it's a gift, isn't it? To have that throughout your
life and you can hear how close that relationship is.
It is a gift. Others need to look elsewhere. Obviously, they, you know, might have an uncle
or, you know, a relative or a close mate or an older, you know, mentor. And I'm lucky
that, you know, I've had my dad there. You know, sometimes I don't call him after a game
because I don't want to hear the negative side. I'll leave her for a few hours and then,
you know, maybe speak to him a few days later. But, you know, it is always, you know, good
to have someone that, you know, that you're close to.
Close to that wants the best for you as well.
Now, final question, Johnny. The work we're doing, we're massive on collaboration and
seeing where that's heading at a leader. And I ask you this question, if you could collaborate
with anyone in the world, it could be on anything. It could be a coach. It could be outside
interests from your coaching world or from professional football. Is there anyone you've
ever thought you'd like to collaborate with someone? Question without notice for you.
Yeah, I would say that there's always coaches.
It's about coaches because, you know...
That's your world.
Yeah, that's my world. So, there's a Spanish coach called Luis Enrique. And I've had the
privilege to meet him a couple of times and spend time at Barcelona when he was coaching
Barcelona. But he's the current coach of the Spanish national team. And he's been through,
you know, a lot of ups and downs in his life in general. But his daughter passed away a
few years ago from cancer. And she was only eight years old. And, you know, now he's back
coaching the Spanish national team.
The way he leads the group and the way he's a leader of men and the way he actually can
adjust, you know, in certain environments. Because, you know, he was coaching Barcelona
when they had Lionel Messi, Suarez, Neymar, and you go on. They're hard three to coach.
Messi is actually the person that runs that football club, you know. And he had his moments
with him because Luis Enrique, he can be a hothead at a time. But he stepped away from
the way of being that and allowed others to control Messi in a different way. And then
you see him with the Spanish national team and he's got a really young group of players
that they're just looking up to him. And he's sort of always joking around with them, you
know, always being himself around them in a different sort of way. And I just find it
fascinating how he can just, you know, move into a different environment and, you know,
be a leader in a different way.
It's a great answer, Johnny.
I mean, to me, that art of leadership that I love is it's very different to the experience
I had playing sport. It was one size fits all. And if you didn't fit into that box,
you just went up to it and you moved on. I felt like we lost a lot of good people because
of that. So you're saying that ability to say you've got to treat Lionel Messi very
differently to, you know, a young guy coming through the Spanish national team. And you
think he does that as well as anyone you've seen?
Yeah. Yeah. He does it as well as anyone I've seen. Look, with Barcelona, it's funny because
the recognition, but he doesn't care. Like, he walks into a press conference and he goes,
all right, you're going to ask me stupid questions. You know, but he knows that the media, you
know, very powerful, especially in a country like Spain where football is everything. But
he just, it doesn't bother him. He said, if I lose one or two games, I'm going to get
the sack anyway. So I don't need the media. So that's probably why he hasn't got the recognition
of a Guadagnole because Guadagnole, he's got the full package. You know, he can walk into
a press conference and just, you know, control the whole, you know, environment.
He's a half stand-up comedian these days, Guadagnole. Do you think that's part of his
arsenal as well, where he can play that role really well?
And, you know, I talk about Luis Enrique because I, you know, I met him a few times. I've never
met Guadagnole, but I love the way he's been able to go into different countries and still
be able to go on different cultures and control, not control in the sense that he's controlling,
but able to get success and get his teams to play a certain style of football.
And win playing that way. And then you've got, on the other side, you've got someone
like a Klopp. I'm sticking with football here because that's the main thing that I follow
and love. And Klopp is this energetic person that always seems to have a smile on his face.
But you know that he's going to get angry, but it's, you know, that he's a lovable character.
He's walked into, you know, that Liverpool club, high expectations, but have struggled
Premier League in 30 odd years. And he walks in there and he just gives everyone a lift.
And to sustain that, it's been about seven years now that he's sustained that level.
And they play with intensity and a passion. And that's him. You can just see it, you know.
He gets the crowd going when he walks out into the field. And just, you know, to be
around and see how they are every day would be fascinating. And, you know, I would love
to be able to, you know, get in their inner circle and see how they, you know,
that they treat their players and treat the people around them.
Scotty Pape, known as the Barefoot Investor, has changed the paradigm completely for how
millions of Australians think and manage their personal finances. His book, The Barefoot
Investor, The Only Money Guide You'll Ever Need, is the highest ever selling book in
Australian history, with over two million copies sold. His follow-up book, The Barefoot
Investor for Families, is also a number one bestseller. Scott's leadership in lobbying
state and federal MPs to overhaul financial stability.
Literacy in schools has put that issue firmly on the agenda. Scotty Pape's positive contribution
to the financial health and education of millions of Australians is a great story of passion
and leadership. Welcome to the Empowering Leadership Podcast, Pape. Thanks for joining
Thank you, Das. Now, I'm, I think the greatest leader in my life. Well, I would say my parents,
obviously. My dad sat me down and paid me in one BHP share, which,
uh, blew my mind as a little kid, you know, in, uh, and, uh, you know, just having, as
I get older and deal with different people, having two parents that loved each other and
that loved me is such a huge step up in life, um, because not everyone gets it. Um, Warren
Buffett, uh, the, who we've just spoken about, um, I've met a couple of times.
How much time have you had with, uh...
Not enough. The time is, is very valuable with him.
But you, you're a regular pilgrim to, uh...
We're, we're not going through pandemics.
Um, and do you, do you enjoy that as much as for you? That, that's your grand final,
Yeah, it's my grand final, mate.
You love it, don't you?
Absolutely, yeah.
And, and is the wisdom still, he's over 90 now?
Yeah, he's, he's, what it is about him is that he has lived a very authentic life. You
know, he, um, he has become the richest person on earth. He still lives in the same house
that he, that, um, that he bought when he was a young person, um, loves his kids and
has given all the money away.
I think that is something, you know, I, you don't learn anything from, from me now. I
don't learn anything, but it's that re, it's like going to church. It just reinforces that
this is a guy who is the real deal. Money has not tainted him. Um, and he's made all
this money, he's given it all away. And, and so that legacy I think is really interesting.
And then the other one would be my wife who has supported me through deciding to go back
to TAFE to be a mature age student and, you know, drinking beer on a Thursday in the college,
uh, uh, lawns when she's...
Going home with the kids and stuff and supporting me with all the stuff that I've done. And,
and yeah, it's been good.
So we are into the world of collaboration. I love that you are honest enough to say that
it's hard for you and that's what, you know, tread your own path, you know, authentically
yourself. But if you could collaborate with anyone, is it in anything? And it mightn't
be finance, it might be you've wanted to write a song with someone or is there any collaboration
that, that would jump out at you?
Well, I mean, I think that the thing that I'm always interested in is, um, you know, the
space that I'm in.
And one of the things that I would like to do that I haven't done yet, but I, but I'm
interested in is I do believe that small business is the backbone of our country. And the one
area that I haven't really focused on is that I think that there's not enough training and
help for our small businesses. Anyone can set up a small business and you give it a
go and we all know that the majority of them fail and you learn by trial and error. But
I do think that there could be something that you could do.
That I would like to collaborate with, with somebody who has been very successful, that
you could create something for small businesses. What I do is, um, uh, as part of my financial
counseling is, um, there's a small business debt helpline. A lot of small businesses get
in trouble and I see the pain that that inflicts on not only the business owners, but the family
and the kids. So there's something there I'd like to collaborate there to try and help,
um, help those small businesses.
They do it bloody tough and they work incredibly hard. You and I are both from small business
families. You know how hard it is. That's something that I would like to do. But, you
know, I'm just going to focus on the kids.
Well, I'd love to see that happen, uh, Pepe, because it's, uh, it is close to my heart
as well. Grew up in the hospitality industry, still, uh, actively, uh, involved in the hospitality
industry. Hasn't made a lot of fun in Melbourne, you'd imagine, for the last couple of years.
And, and, and you're right. It's one of those things. There's no playbook really hard to
get, um, other people sharing their IP.
Hoping there's going to be a better sharing economy in that space.
And there's a, there's a lot, we inflict a, it's sort of like finance. We, we suppose,
presuppose a lot of knowledge. So, you know, that you got these kids coming out, they're
18, they're, they've got to, supposed to know what health insurance is and super and all
this stuff. And with employees, we expect them, you've got to have all these regulations,
the pay grades, all these things. And you're trying to make a buck and you've got all these
other regulations. Something that actually mentors and helps those people. I know there
are programs around, but I would just like to try.
And work with someone who really has a deep knowledge and skill in that. And that's not
In 2016, Luke Beveridge coached the Western Bulldogs in the AFL to their second premiership
in the club's history, ending a 62 year drought. He has twice been recognized by his peers
as the outstanding coach of the year in 2015 and 2016. Last season, 2021, he coached the
Bulldogs to just their fourth grand final in close to a hundred years in the VFL AFL
competition. He's playing career extended over a decade and more than a hundred AFL
Luke Beveridge is universally respected for his sense of purpose, his vision and his
leadership. Bevo, it's always great to spend time with you. Thanks for joining me on the
It's a pleasure to ask. Thanks for having me today.
If you could collaborate with anyone in the world, and it could be on anything, Bevo,
it could be your love of surfing, it could be coaching, collaboration where we're interested
in. If you could collaborate, it might be in a rock band. Bevo, who would you collaborate
Well, right at this point in time, I'd say Peter Garrett. Is that right?
Yeah. I've been thinking a lot about Peter Garrett, and I've always admired him fiercely.
My interest, my desire to be more influential in the First Nations space and recognition
of Indigenous rights and reconciliation has really escalated over the last few years.
A good friend of mine, David Quinn, Paul Thompson, have been influential there.
He's on the scenes with me. Obviously, Peter has had a huge passion in that space. He's
want to influence our thinking around the environment. Obviously, a lot of the songs
that Minot Oil have sung and that they've written over the years have been really sensitive
to the environment and definitely First Nations people. His journey for me has been fascinating
for him to go into politics.
It's been a long, long time at federal level. I'd love to sit down and talk to him about
why not, because for me, he's just one of the most stand-up characters that Australia
has ever had the benefit of being exposed to.
And when you think of the diversity of him as an artist in the music industry, but then
As a freedom fighter and a rights preserver, what an amazing person. So he'd be probably
number one in the way I've been thinking recently, because I just think he's just such an amazing
human being, and he'd be probably at the top of my list.
And the courage to go on the inside and go through the path at his age, and he could
have toured around the world and kept doing that. That would have been a pretty hard thing
to give up, I suspect, Minot Oil for that period of time. But I'm going to go in and
try and enlist a change from the inside. And then the hand grenades got thrown at him
everywhere. But the humility of his exit and the class with which he, you know, with all
sorts of mud being thrown his way, you know, it'd be a great conversation. I'd love to
hear a transcript of you two getting together. So I've given you some think time, mate, on
the greatest leader in your life. Is there anything or anyone, or is it a handful of
Yeah. I mean, so many influential people along the way, Dars. But the guy who's been a great
who stands out for me is a guy named Neil Jensen. Neil was the one who set up the financial
intelligence units in Australia. He was the CEO of Austrac. But the Australian FIU and
the Canadian FIU were the most powerful financial intelligence units in the world. Now, he was
involved in helping other countries set their own up, where essentially, you know, the data
capture and the analytics.
Around trying to detect money laundering and the mechanisms that surround that, he
was the one who was guiding and influencing. Austrac really has got two main offices, or
back when I worked there, and one's in New South Wales and one's here in Melbourne. And
Neil happened to be based in Melbourne at the time. And what struck me was he would
walk the floor as a CEO. He'd talk to everyone. He'd shake hands with them. He'd talk to everyone.
He knew everyone by their name, and he'd call them by their name. And he was at pains
to make sure that anyone new to the agency would feel welcome. And he was a CEO. Other
people could do that, but he felt it was important for him. And this is a government agency.
This isn't a private entity that he owns or runs. You might say, well, it's not part of
his remit, you know.
He thought it was absolutely critical. And there was a real power in that because people
knew he cared. And so as far as the influence from the top down and the relationship piece,
it was really strong. There were great connections there at Austrac. And the reason why he stands
out so much is he retired. And during the transition into the new legislation, they
recruited a lot of senior management from other government agencies, and there was a
And there was a new CEO who came in. And the whole environment changed. And that personable
caring aspect of the organization went within the space of six months. And I realized how
much of an influence Neil Jensen had on Austrac as an agency. And for me, it was just so tragic
that that agency now was in the state that it was. And I experienced the change and even
the toxicity that now existed in some of the agencies. And I think that's a really important
thing as well, Isn't it?
I love that the team became important to the team. And then you have when the team left
and heMusik kept coming back. There was no reason why he wasn't head 채 It was overwhelming
for me, including the timing because.
You know, there we go a so back and he's never heard again fromoured Ph Shugeneration
You don't think anything about Chuck.
I go back to the years.
Yeah,ян and Kirk I've soon back and resolvent a couple of times.
And I've got kind of a name briefly or just got to say that we do everything we're still
doing internally. We don't really know who do that to firms yet.
And it's tough when you're like, oh, why why I am making a point of doing something
Paralympic swimming superstar. She is a Queensland, Australian Commonwealth and Paralympic
champion, a six-time world record holder, a seven-time Paralympic medalist, including two
gold in Rio and a gold in Tokyo. She's also a two-time Paralympic Commonwealth Games gold
medalist, as well as being a recipient of the Order of Australia medal for her outstanding
achievements. Lakeisha, or Lucky, it is great to meet you. Thanks for joining me.
Thanks for having me on.
Who has been the greatest leader in your life?
Oh, that's a tough question. But I suppose probably as cliche as it is, it's definitely
been my mum. I know I've mentioned her a lot, but she really is such an incredible person. And
like I alluded to a little bit earlier, you know, you don't need a specific title to be a leader.
You don't have to be, you know, the prime minister, the CEO of a company, a manager.
It can be those little people in your life that can make a huge difference. And my mum has been
a massive impact in my life. And I can hands down say I would not be here without her in my life.
She's instilled all these remarkable traits in myself, you know, the strength, determination,
resilience, perseverance, going after what you want, not being afraid to fail,
giving everything a go. I've learned all of this from her and more. And as well as, you know,
a mix of what she's taught me and everyone else I've been able to encounter along my journey.
Be that coaches, other athletes and friends, people from different organisations and businesses
I've been able to meet with and speak with have really shaped me into the person I am today.
And yeah, it's really exciting to see the impact that they've had on my life. And hopefully I can,
you know, give that back to them and then to the community and hopefully to other people.
Yeah. And hopefully mum listens to this and I'm sure, you know, you've said that to her,
but that will be the real thing.
Isn't it as a parent to understand the impact that she's had, you know, I'm sure on you and
your sisters and everyone around her is, you know, another incredible story and not told often enough.
Lucky, the family legends like your mum, it's great to hear you mention her the way that you do.
In the spirit of collaboration, we love it in our world. We see great collaboration as a real
strength. If you could collaborate with anyone in the world, Lucky, on any plane, whether it's
your sporting life or any other aspect of your life, is there someone that you would like to
Oh, oh my gosh, throwing me in the deep end here. That's, that's a very tough question.
There's so many people I would love to, to meet and talk to in the world.
I couldn't narrow it down. Like there's so many different aspects of my life and
that have, you know, made me the person I am being the athlete space,
the personal development space and person space.
Oh, I don't know.
I'll put you on the spot here, Lucky. Can I give you some inspiration? I've had people say,
but Lindsay Boyd is a great author and leadership coach in the UK. She said,
Elon Musk, I want to, I want to collaborate with Elon Musk. I had Luke Beveridge, who's the coach
of the board, who said he wanted to collaborate with Peter Garrett, who is starting to really
reflect on the First Nations people and their influence. So we've had this rain. I don't know,
it is a hard question. I have put you,
put everyone on the spot with that. So it could be anywhere in your life. I'm,
I'm buying you a bit of think time here. Like, is there, is there anyone now with a bit of time that?
No, I can't think. There's so many names come to mind, but then I don't want to just,
you know, choose one. That's not, that's not who I am. I'm sorry. It's not quite the answer you're
looking for. Nicole Gibson is a multi-award winning social entrepreneur that prefers to
be known as an unstoppable messenger of love and human potential.
At 18 years of age, Nicole established a not-for-profit and grew it to sustainability.
At 20 years of age, she was a finalist for the Young Australian of the Year,
listed as one of Australia's top 100 most influential women at 21. She is a fierce
ambassador for mental health innovation and connection after recovering from her own
terrifying lived experience with anorexia nervosa through her teenage years. Nicole is the CEO of
the Rogan Roos Foundation and recently completed three terms as the youngest Commonwealth
Commissioner for Mental Health. Nicole, it's great to have you on the show. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
It's a great honour and privilege to spend some time with you and to catch up in person.
Thanks for joining me. Thank you, Luke.
Who's been the greatest leader in your life? Definitely my principal. That would be,
yeah, that would be one. I mean, on a personal level, he definitely, there's no other leader
that's impacted me as much. Yeah. Pretty hard to go past that, isn't it? Yeah. It's a...
It was very defining for me. Yeah. Is he still teaching?
No. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Retired or is he... On a farm.
Really? Yeah. Living the life. Yeah. And one of the things I've been doing for a long time is
one of the things I really want to do through this format actually is celebrate great educators
and, you know, we think it's undersold a lot. My great friend, Matt Waterwood, so we started
a leader leadership is a great educator and I feel like we, in Australia, quite do that
well enough. Oh, man. In other parts of the world, there's a lot more respect for people
who change people's lives like your principal did. It's undersold sometimes in this part
of the world. Teachers are expected to be so much, you know. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's a
big conversation too. And I think so much needs to change and I do think it will change. I think
we're going to most likely see a huge transformation of a lot of our systems and I hope education is
one of them because what worked, you know, 200 years ago, training kids to go into different
sort of batches of this factory style education. It's just...
It's not going to work for how the world is. And so, teachers are naturally not going
to be inspired, I think, working in an environment that actually isn't contextually relevant.
Peter Singer has been described as the world's most influential living philosopher. His book
Animal Liberation, published in 1975, is credited with starting the modern animal rights movement.
Peter's influence and extensive writing on the topic of effective altruism has led to
many of the richest people on the planet committing to donating.
The vast majority of their wealth in their lifetime. He's the founder of The Life You
Can Save, an organisation based on his book of the same name, which mounts a very convincing
argument that we should all be doing more to improve the lives of people living in extreme
poverty. Peter was born in Melbourne in 1946, educated at Melbourne University and Oxford
in the UK. In 1999, Peter became the Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. Peter
Singer, it's a great honour and a great privilege to meet you. Thanks for joining me on the
You're very welcome, Luke, and I'm pleased to be able to talk to you.
Who has been the greatest leader in your life?
The greatest leader in my life? Oh, I don't really know, but I have to say, you know,
this is maybe not the greatest leader of my life. But at the moment, I'm really admiring
President Zelensky of Ukraine. I think he's quite extraordinary, you know, especially
if you look at the background, I was following Ukrainian politics earlier on, and the corrupt
people that they had running that country.
They were some of the biggest leaders, and other leaders in the world, who, you know,
were just ripping off the country, making money for themselves. And then when there
was a big protest, they fled the country, and the previous ones are still in Russia.
And a lot of people expected when the Russians invaded, that he would leave Kiev and, you
know, either go to Lviv, which is more in the west, and away with the Russians, or actually
leave the country altogether. But instead, he stayed, and he took all his videos showing
himself walking around the main squares of the town, and he got everybody else to stay.
I think he's been a fantastic leader for Ukraine.
Obviously, you could say the country has paid a heavy price for it,
but there wasn't really an alternative unless they wanted to be under Putin's thumb.
And so that's what comes to me at the moment when you ask that question,
rather than thinking back over the years, I'm thinking about Zelensky.
What a brilliant answer and what an extraordinary leader of the time,
as you said, the courage to not only stay, but as you said,
to really in real time declare where he is and show that he was being portrayed
as a former actor and a comedian and almost trying to picture him
as a sort of a clown president, but he's been anything apart from courageous
and admirable, hasn't he, under that sort of pressure.
It's been amazing to watch that in real time, for sure.
If you could collaborate with anyone in the world, Peter,
Is there anyone that springs to mind, and clearly you've got these identifiable
passions of your life, but it could be in any other area.
Is there anyone that you can think of?
Well, there's a lot of very smart people doing important things for the world.
I think one of the important issues is artificial intelligence and where that's going.
So there are some smart people working for organizations like DeepMind.
I've had a little bit of contact with.
I've had a little bit of contact with some of them because I'm interested in some of
the ethical questions about AI and where it's going.
So that would be an interesting opportunity to work with them and trying to make sure
that AI is used for good, as it certainly has the potential to be, rather than for evil.
I'll have to follow up on that, just off the top.
What are the obvious concerns with artificial intelligence?
How damaging could it be if it is?
Not used for good?
Well, the overarching one that people are worried about is that as it gets better and
as it becomes really artificial general intelligence, so it's not just beating us a chess, but it's
good in general, that if it's not aligned with our values, we might not be able to stop
This is something that some of the people in the effective altruism movement have thought
about, people like Nick Bostrom and Will McCaskill, that we need to, they call it value alignment.
We need to align.
We need to align artificial intelligence with our values and make sure that it stays
But even that's not quite enough, because when you say our values, then of course there's
the question, which values?
And certainly in the area of the treatment of animals, I think the values that most people
have are not good enough.
I don't want AI aligned with the way we treat animals now.
I want it aligned with the best values to produce alternatives to the way we're treating
So there are, you know, that's just a couple of issues.
Clearly, there's many other issues as well.
About discrimination within humans, about the use of AI for surveillance, which can
be put to negative uses.
So there's a huge range of questions.
Min Bartlett is a champion for strong, authentic leadership and wellbeing.
She's a qualified lawyer, psychotherapist, a sought-after coach facilitator, human rights
champion and gender equality advocate.
As a fluent Chinese speaker, she spent six years living and working in China, Hong Kong
In law, sales and marketing, in 2015, Mim was recognised as one of the Financial Review's
100 Women of Influence.
Mim's work focuses on connecting people, ideas and resources that can lead to personal fulfilment
and social change in today's world.
In her work at Mim Bartlett Consulting, she challenges people to define their unique passion
or intersection, maximise their potential and generate positive change for themselves,
their work, their families and the communities they serve.
Mim, it's great to catch up with you today.
It's wonderful to be here.
Who's been the greatest leader in your life?
Yeah, it's a really good question.
I'd say my mum around love and generosity and energy and zest that she'd bring to every
And then actually more kind of a little bit further afield, but Gloria Steinem, an incredible
feminist in America, the way she mobilised women and kind of empowered them to step up
and stand up for what they do.
Stand up for what they're worth and to believe in themselves and a whole lot more is absolutely
one of my role models too.
It feels like you're passing that on in all of the work that you're doing.
Is that inspiration for me?
I'm trying one step at a time, but there's some incredible women who have gone before
us and I feel so grateful for them.
I'm just, I'm like a drop in the ocean.
So many people have just done incredible things and I love being inspired by them.
Yeah, and it's brilliant.
You know, whenever I have these conversations with...
with you and people, you know, think about being a father of a teenage daughter and not
really knowing where to go a lot of the time.
And so, you know, when there are people out there leading the way you are, it's the great
You're fumbling your way through, I'm sure.
I'd get that feedback from her if she was here.
In terms of collaboration, in the spirit of collaboration, is there anyone in any of your
varied and brilliant work that you've thought, if I could collaborate with that person, anyone
in the world on any issue?
Is there anyone that springs to mind?
That's a great question, Luke.
Well, probably someone like Gloria Steinem because she's such a big visionary and she's...
and the impact that she's had just in so many areas of her life, but on such a big scale,
that would be amazing.
I went and heard her speak when she came to the Melbourne Town Hall and Mike came with
me and, I mean, it was just incredible.
So, yeah, that would be amazing.
I really loved my conversation last year with Mim Bartlett.
He was an inspiring leader doing great things right across the globe.
I'm going to take a short break and we'll be back with my conversation with one of Australia's
most successful businessmen, Paul Little.
Paul Little is one of Australia's most successful businessmen.
In 1985, Paul negotiated a management buyout of the transport and logistics business Toll
He went on to serve as managing director of the Toll Group from 1986 to 2011.
In that time, Toll grew from an 18-truck operation worth $1.5 million into an organisation that's
now in operation with 45,000-plus employees in 50 countries, eventually being sold to
Japan Post for $6.5 billion.
Paul's creativity and success has expanded through the Little Group investment in the
property, technology, marine transport and lifestyle sectors.
Paul and his wife, Jane Hanson, are very active philanthropists.
The Hanson Little Foundation has a singular objective to create a legacy of significant
and positive change that enables and inspires Australians.
Paul is the chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.
He's also the chairman of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation.
He's the past chair of the Essendon Football Clubs and Visit Victoria.
Paul, in your mind, who's been the greatest leader in your life?
The greatest leader.
I'd probably need to think about that one.
Are you talking about in every area of endeavour or are you talking about, I mean, I guess
I love getting advice from my family.
I love getting advice from my father when he was around and as a young man who probably
never thought that he would succeed.
I mean, you have a lot of self-doubt when you're younger and quite often that's what
drives you, I think.
But my father would always sort of point me in the right direction, I think, yeah.
So he wasn't a leader, but he was my leader, yeah.
And that is a common answer for people scared and they, you know, some people go to great
historical, you know, Mandela type leaders who they've read about and have had an influence
But those that had an influential parent, often that's where they start.
What sort of dad was he like?
What sort of influence did he have?
Yeah, he was very similar.
I mean, he played a few games with Melbourne, I think.
He was a great tennis player.
He didn't have a crazy social life.
He was a good family man.
He was always around.
Yeah, he was sensible, balanced, and he told me what he was thinking, which is probably
what I needed as a young man.
We see collaboration, as we said before, of being something that is really been beneficial
to the way people are thinking about leadership.
In that spirit, if you could collaborate with anyone on anything, Paul, and you've
got a diverse range of interests in any part of your life, is there someone that jumps
out at you that you'd like to collaborate with?
Yeah, if I had a problem or an opportunity of significance, I'd probably want to talk
to Jane about it, I think.
And the two of you together, I mean, and she's had an extraordinary, you know, successful
life as an investment banker and, you know, she's an Order of Australia.
Alongside you for the work you do together.
So, it's a real partnership and a real collaboration on all those things, or do you have things
that you sort of separated?
Oh, no, we don't always agree if that's what you mean.
No, no, but it's probably interesting for you and your listeners to know that Jane was
the banker who floated toll for us back in 93.
Is that how you met?
I didn't know that.
And that's an interesting relationship to them.
And was it an, it was, you know, they're an attraction straight away or?
Oh, you mean to the business or to me?
Look, I think when Jane was asked by her sort of a quite a large, well-known global bank
to go out to a place called Brooklyn here in Victoria or in Melbourne, I mean, she knew
where Brooklyn was in the US.
She's slightly different than Brooklyn here in the western suburbs of Melbourne.
So I think she'd thought she'd probably made the wrong decision to consider coming back
to Melbourne and working here for a while.
But no, we talk about a lot of things obviously, and I respect her view, which comes probably
from a different angle in my view with a lot of these things.
So it works well.
Marcus Godinho's impact on those less fortunate and in need is a great Australian story.
FairShare, founded in 2007, is a charity that works with businesses to cook surplus
food into free, nutritious meals.
FairShare operates Australia's largest charity kitchens, where every week 1,000 volunteers
cook more than 50,000 meals.
They collect food that business can no longer use, vegetables that no longer look perfect
but are perfectly edible, meat approaching its use by date, pastry offcuts from commercial
bakeries, high-fibre bread not sold on the day it was baked are some of the examples.
Each of FairShare's ready-to-eat meals contain at least half an adult's recommended
daily intake of protein and vegetables to improve the diet and health of people who
have fallen on hard times.
Marcus's outstanding contribution is seen and recognised as one of Pro Bono Australia's
2022 Impact Award winners, City of Yarra Local Hero Award, and one of the 100 most influential
people in the City of Melbourne.
He's a Harvard University alumni in the not-for-profit management, innovation and performance sectors,
as well as holding an MBA.
Marcus, we have the title of this as Empowering Leadership, and yours is an incredible story
In that spirit, who has been the greatest leader in your life?
There have been a few.
I think one of the people who I've found most inspiring over the years is the person who's
succeeding me in the CEO role at FairShare.
I think we talked about self-awareness before, and yeah, from, I mean, I know I'm a mobiliser.
I love engaging people externally and bringing them into FairShare and having them be part
I've been lucky to have people join and stay, and we've got a really strong team operationally,
and as our long-term president, David Harris, says, you're lucky because you can just hamble
blindly over your shoulder.
I know that Kelly or any one of a number of people will catch that and run with it.
You don't need to look over your shoulder.
But look, FairShare's now around 70 staff, equivalent of about 45 full-time, and internal
leadership's as important as external leadership, and it's not a space that I play naturally
in, and I looked at it and thought, gee, I could train myself to do that differently,
I could spend time on it, and then somebody became available, and I'm speaking about Paul
Conroy, who's taken over from me, and I thought, gee, the team will be so much stronger if
he played at CEO than if I did, and you'd look at this in your footy career, and somebody
would come along, and over a few years, you'd think they'd play better in that position
than the person who had played there for five years.
The team will be stronger, so we're changing it, and that's how I've looked at this.
Lucky enough to have Paul.
Come in, and from day one, even though he said, I'll come in as COO, he acted like he
was CEO, which is exactly what I wanted, and it's what the organisation needed, and internally,
the staff responded so positively to it, and I just watch him with awe.
He's exactly what the organisation needed to be, FairShare 2.0, and it was a funny one
because a number of people have said to me, but FairShare was stronger than it ever had
It was doing more important work and doing it so well, and you've changed it, and there's
a risk there, and I think one of the things for us is you don't want to throw the baby
out with the bathwater.
There was a real magic there at, I don't know what, but it was something, but you don't
want to lose that, but to see how Paul's now leading the organisation, it's wow, and I've
never worked with somebody who I've had as much respect.
But I just see the organisation even stronger for that.
And that takes incredible self-awareness and self-reflection.
Most people in the past give up that title, give up the hierarchy, and you shrug and you
think that isn't important to you, which again is reflective of the type of leadership we're
loving sharing, and those stories we're loving to share is to say, if I can find someone
to do that role better, that makes sense, but you still have to be in touch with your
ego and a range of...
There are other things to make that happen, so...
We've got a wonderful guy who's just about to step onto our board, and he's, I'm not
going to say who it is, but really impressive guy, and he said to me, Marcus, I've watched
over the years many founders, and I didn't start Fair Share, got involved very early
on, but didn't start it.
He said many founders haven't got the self-awareness when an organisation that's successful and
gets to a point to know that it needs something else, and even if they do have the self-awareness,
they can't necessarily step away from that role, and to me, leadership is not about
a title, so I see myself in the leadership role at Fair Share.
That's not to undermine Paul's role as CEO, but we've got a wonderful partnership.
We bring different things to the organisation, and I think that just makes Fair Share stronger,
and I know that I can have even more impact now without being CEO, and that might sound
But I think we're going to have so much more impact through him in that role, and so it's
about how you play the team to have the most impact.
That's what it's about.
Easier said than done for a lot of people.
I'm thinking of Andrew Bassett, the founder of Seek, who I interviewed on this podcast,
and incredibly humble, incredibly successful.
Seek is a $10 billion company by market cap, and the thing he wanted to speak about most
that he felt was the best thing he'd ever done was replace himself as CEO in the past
It's Ian Narev, who's the former CEO of the Commonwealth Bank.
He can do things that I couldn't do.
He does it better than I could ever do, which for people who've had great success, it takes
great humility to understand that.
We love the idea of collaboration in current leadership in the sense that that is where
a lot of sweet spots lie.
If you could collaborate with anyone on anything, I'm assuming fair share is where we're going
Has there been a partner?
I mean, you casually connect.
with incredible leaders all around the country?
Has there been one collaboration that you thought of
I could get that going that would make a difference?
Yeah, look, the pandemic's been a real opportunity
for us to rethink how we, I'm going to say staff the kitchen.
So before the pandemic, we had 1,500 regular volunteers.
We had the same number on the waiting list.
One person retired and a friend of theirs had heard about it
and they stepped in and it was just, you know, it was easy.
Volunteering's not returning to charities in the numbers
that they were pre-pandemic,
which is harder for the charitable sector.
And that's an opportunity for us because it means
that we can look at how we can diversify our volunteering.
So, and Paul's really leading this and I so agree with it.
So can we have more?
Ethnic diversity in the kitchen, volunteering on our kitchen gardens,
driving our vans.
Can we have younger people?
So people maybe not staying with us for 15 years as volunteers,
maybe for three years while they're at university.
Can we have people who are recipients of our meals
coming in and helping as well?
And long answer to your question,
but I think that last bit is where I'm interested in going.
And my mother was an academic up at Melbourne University
and did a lot of work with, in Arnhem Land.
And a few years ago, she said,
we've got a group of Indigenous kids coming down to Melbourne for a week
and could they come down and spend half a day in the Fair Share kitchen?
And I pushed her on and said, well, look,
the staff and volunteers would love that, but why?
And they want to go to the MCG.
And they were going there.
She said, because they've got tough lives.
There's no hiding that.
But there are others in Australia that are doing it tough as well.
And I want them to see that.
And I want them to be part of something that's helping others who are doing it tough.
I think there'd be a really, it'd be a really interesting experience for them.
Anyway, we did it.
The staff loved it.
The volunteers thought it was great.
And I was speaking to mum a few days later and I said, how did that go?
I said, bar none, the best experience they had in Melbourne was volunteering at Fair Share.
I said, I don't believe that.
It would have been going to the MCG.
But she said, no, it was exactly what I wanted.
And so I've reflected on that.
And to be able to take some people who, yeah, are doing it tough
and who have received or are receiving our meals and getting them in,
I think would be very empowering.
Because if you think about it, it's pretty challenging having to ask for
and receiving a meal when you're doing it tough.
There's a real, there's a power imbalance.
There's a dignity thing there, a dignity challenge for us as a giver.
And if you can then give people the opportunity to then be part of helping others,
it's not a paying back thing.
It's just, I think that's a very empowering thing.
And a beautiful moment for me one day in a fair,
share was a school group walking into the kitchen.
They'd been inducted, they'd washed their hands,
they're putting on their aprons and a young secondary school girl
just pulled me aside and said, thanks for doing what you do
and for the opportunity to come in today.
Our family received some Fair Share meals when we were doing it tough a few years ago.
So it's really special for me now coming in and being able to help somebody else.
Gus Wallen is a much loved Australian television and radio personality
alongside his great friend Hugh Jackman.
Gus created the Aussie Go series.
For more than a decade, Gus hosted the grill team on Triple M Breakfast Radio in Sydney
with rugby league legends Matty Johns and Mark Guyer.
Following the death of a great friend and mentor to suicide,
Gus has become a passionate advocate for men's mental health.
In 2017, Gus founded the Got You For Life Foundation
to support better mental health outcomes for men,
running programs in communities right across Australia.
Gus's leadership in breaking down old stereotypes of what it is to be a real man
has created a new generation of men.
He's a great man.
He's a great man.
He's a great man.
He's a great man.
He's a great man.
He's a great man.
He's a great man.
He's a great man.
He's a great man.
positive change and led to men connecting better
and breaking the silence around suicide.
Gus, I genuinely love catching up with you, mate.
I always feel inspired and I suppose wanting to be better, mate,
every time I'm around you.
Thanks for joining me today, mate.
It's a pleasure, mate.
I've loved your series and I really do feel honoured that you have me on.
You've had so many wonderful leaders chatting to you.
So, yeah, I feel blessed.
Question we've been asking everyone, Gus, that's come on.
Who has been the greatest leader in your life?
Well, it'll be an easy one to say Jacko
because he has in the last five years
given me so much good advice
that has kept me on my path
because I have had so many emotional moments
where I felt, you know what, I can't do this anymore.
But I'd have to say my mum
and she learned it so much from my granddad on her side,
And that authenticness,
that level of care comes from my mum.
I spoke about it with Ian Roberts
who people don't know was a big tough rugby league player
and he's the first and only rugby league player
to come out as gay.
And I had him on my podcast a few weeks ago
and it's the first time I've spoken about it openly
that my father's gay.
And I normally speak about it with people
and then I edit it out.
But I rang my dad and I said,
I just spoke to Ian Roberts
and I actually spoke about the fact that you're gay
and that your partner Ian
and you have been together for 40 years
and I found out as an 18 year old
and I really struggled with it until I spoke to you
and asked you some difficult questions
and got some difficult answers.
Well, from my point of view, Dars,
having those type of conversations
where you are completely vulnerable
is where I grow the most,
where I feel the most awkwardness,
when I feel the most,
when I feel the most out of control
is when I grow out of my comfort zone
and my grandfather and mother,
because they were so close,
they taught me that.
Wear your heart on your sleeve,
your friends will come
and if people bag you or whatever,
well, it saves you the drama of getting to know them
than giving them the flick.
You know what I mean?
That's always been their process
and it has hurt me a lot.
Telling girlfriends I love them
after two and a half hours
after when we've been sitting in a movie
and we haven't even actually properly chatted,
but I just feel so in love and connected.
You know, like, believe me,
it hasn't been all fantastic,
but, gee, I've got a great bunch of mates
who totally know who I am
and there's no BS amongst us
and I think they would tell you
that our friendship group is better because of that
and that all comes from my granddad and my mum.
Great, great leadership
and encourage you to go and listen to Gus.
I mean, they're brilliant conversations,
starting with Hugh Jackman and Carl Stefanovic
and Lisa Wilkinson and Ian Roberts as well
will be something that you'll learn
an enormous amount from Gus
Spirit of collaboration, Gus.
We are passionate about the idea
of leaders collaborating extensively.
If there was one person in any part of your life, Gus,
that you could collaborate with,
is there any name that springs to mind?
You know who was that person?
I don't know if I've had a chance to do it,
Darce, was Mark Burris
because I am all about passion
but not so flash on the finance.
So I just grabbed him one day and spoke to him
this is what you do,
this is what you do,
this is what you do
and all of a sudden it was all great.
For those who don't know Mark Burris,
Home Loans was the business
that along with the Packer family
and Yellow Brick Road.
An amazing individual success story.
Yeah, and he's got a podcast called The Mentor
and he mentors businesses and so forth.
So that was great
but there's actually a bloke called Earl Evans
from Shore and Partners Financial Services
who support my body
and he gives $10,000 away to any guest
that comes on our podcast
as long as you give it to the charity of your choice
and you can show what that 10 grand will mean.
It's a brilliant idea.
I think it's the,
it's the only podcast in the world.
I've searched this.
I don't know if I'm right
but I think we're the only one in the world.
So far we're giving $300,000 away.
It's an amazing contribution that guest.
I literally was having coffee in Collaroy
which is on the northern beach of Sydney
and he tapped me on the shoulder
can you give me a call?
I'm Earl from Shore and Partners.
I think I can help you
and I turned around and went,
but he kept walking right,
there was no proper conversation.
So then I'm going,
Like I'm trying to write it all down
because when you run a non-for-profit,
if someone says they're going to help you,
you call them as soon as you possibly can.
You're going to regret this Earl.
I'll be calling you in 10 minutes time.
And he's become a really good friend
and he also has a really good attitude to life
as you're only here once.
You can't take it with you.
So have a goddamn crack
and make sure you're proud of yourself
at the end of the day.
And so he's been a great person for me
just when I needed someone
to let me know that it's okay
to not have all the answers.
Like I've got to take some of my own advice sometimes.
if I feel like I'm not doing as well
but it's just life, right?
I have good days and bad days
and I was down at Point Lonsdale
this Saturday night
I'd had a couple of beers.
but I certainly was,
I couldn't drive that way,
but I wasn't drunk.
My goddaughter's 21st
and I'm on the dance floor
and I am the happiest
that I can remember.
And I have no idea why,
in this feeling of like,
I'm just in a good place at the moment,
And I just was smiling
and the photograph that was taken of me
that I saw the next day
is just this unbridled peace
and you would feel that
with your meditation
and the fact that you do
all the work you do with your resort.
It's just finding a bit of peace
knowing that you're on the right path
and it's not always going to be awesome,
but you're getting there.
That's probably where I'm at at the moment.
hearted legend Gus Wallen is
having a huge impact
on everyone around him
and creating a great legacy
in everything that he does.
Loved all of those conversations in 2022
and I'm looking forward to
a really big year in 2023
with some insight and learnings
from great people all around the world.
Well, that finishes up episode six
in the Masterclass series.
who would be the greatest leader in your life
and who would you most want to collaborate?
Thank you very much for listening.
Empowering Leaders is produced by Ed Gooden.
With sound design by Matt Currie.