HANDS HEROES

Dr. Sean Richardson: Making the complicated simple when it comes to High Performance

Sean is a high performance and leadership consultant to professional athletes, performing artists, and successful CEOs.  He comes from a background of elite sport, having competed at national and international levels in rowing and windsurfing and he combines 30 years as an athlete in competitive sports with a PhD.  So he has got some cred when it comes to talking about performance.  In this chat with Sean I put to him that achieving more with high performance athletes, on the face of it, would seem to be easier than working with employees who are disengaged and don’t have the ambition at work the athletes do.  I ask him what are the keys for leaders, who’s job it is to motivate those without a clear or shared purpose.   Finally we explore the topic of recovery and what that can look like for those who did it tough during Covid and what time frame is about right for a recovery after two years hard and unrewarding work. 

Heidi Dening: A life of service to others, with a healthy does of adventure

Heidi Dening is anything but what you expect when you first meet her.  She has a list of life experiences that read like a script for a James Bond movie.  There is a line that we tread between living on the edge and challenging the status quo and then there is just making dumb decisions.  Heidi has done both, come to think of it haven’t we all.  Her tail of adventure is an intriguing one that gives her a unique perspective when it comes to living a resilient life.  

Maz Farrelly: If you’ve watched it, she probably made it!

In her role as an international, award-winning TV & Film Producer, Maz led the biggest brands on earth, with the biggest teams, budgets, audiences and stars. She's worked with the most successful people on earth and if you've watched it, she probably made it and won an award for it. Her content has been watched more than eight billion times and she's produced everyone from pop stars to politicians, scientists to socialites, Hollywood A listers to Astronauts.

Maz now uses that TV psychology, research and expertise to give individuals and businesses that extra something that gets you noticed. They call it The X Factor - she knows how - she should, she made the show and won a Logie for it.

Darren Hill: From country boy to the people’s champion

Darren Hill who is a country boy turned Corporate advisor.    He is a behavioural scientist and Executive Director at the company he runs with his wife Alison, Pragmatic Thinking.  

When he is not assisting leaders and business perform better he spends a lot of his time lifting those up in society who need a bit of a hand.  A true advocate for the under represented or those living without equality.  

And when he is not changing the world in his own way he is likely to be found with Patty his young bloke pulling mud crabs out of the Warrell River at Scotts Head.

A good mate and a true champion of the people.

Dan McMahon shares his love of the Overland Track

In October of 2022 Hands is leading a walk along the iconic Overland Track in Tassie taking us along the magic of the Cradle Mountain Huts walk over six days and 68kms. During our chat Dan shares the magic of the walk and the memories it leaves with those who embrace the experience. 

Annie Love: Learning and Growing Through Loss

Life isn't meant to be easy, but surely it doesn't have to be cruel for us to learn the lessons that are on offer.  We have a choice when presented with loss; how we respond.  Annie Love sets the blueprint for dealing with the most heartbreaking loss of all. 

Dan Murray: Connecting Pedalling with Purpose

Dan Murray was on the inaugural Hands ride in 2009 and like many of us believed it would be a one off event.  How wrong he was.  Having ridden for more than a decade for Hands in Thailand and Australia, he shares the learnings he has taken, how it has helped shape his view on life and how he has applied that to business. 

Tiff Cook: Rolling with the punches

Tiff will tell you that everyone gets punched in the face at some point in their life.  It might not be literally, more a metaphorical punch in the face, but having taken plenty of both Tiff knows how to respond.  

Paul Watkins: The Rogue Scholar

In 1995 Paul left university with $8 in his bank account and a sky blue Holden Gemini with beige upholstery. A little over a decade later he found himself hitching a ride on a reconditioned Russian military cargo plane out of Argentina on his way to the heart of Antarctica. He was an unemployed, self-confessed nerd suffering from a serious case of 'imposter syndrome' as he embarked on an unsupported polar expedition to climb the highest peak on the Antarctic continent. 

Despite being a self confessed non-athlete and scientist - Paul has managed to compete in and win some of the worlds toughest races, as well as build multi-million dollar businesses. He has also managed to race in some of Australia and the world’s toughest ultra-marathons - including being one of only eight people in the world and the first Australian to finish and win the 614km 6633 Arctic Ultra. Strap yourself in for this conversation with Paul Watkins.

Dr. Madhu Tamilarasan: Creating a life by Design

Dr. Madhu Tamilarasan puts down the stethoscope and shares with us the journey that took her from practicing medicine in England to finding love and her home in Lithgow, a regional town a couple of hours west of Sydney.  

Madhu details for us how she has very purposefully created a life by design that sees her enjoy the balance of living and working as a general practitioner  in rural New South Wales.

 

Along the way we explore the impact of childhood obesity within society, mental health in light of the pandemic and the value of giving hugs.  An insightful and thought provoking conversation.