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

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.