The You Project Podcast
The You Project Podcast is a 30-90 minute dose of inspiration and education hosted by Craig with great stories, ideas, strategies and lessons from high-performers in sport, business, science, media and health.
Listen to the Podcast now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Google Podcasts.
LATEST EPISODES
#217: Herding Cats
Ex Richmond (Melbourne, Fremantle) football club(s) CEO Cameron Schwab is back and this time, he and Craig talk about what it takes to succeed and what we can learn from those who find a way to perform at the highest level (it’s about much more than talent and genetics). They also discuss the lessons and lightbulbs in the new(ish) Netflix Documentary Series ‘The Last Dance’, the value and power of being adaptable, herding cats, the complexity of managing and leading elite athletes, whether or not we can be simultaneously satisfied and ambitious and Cam gives us a health update following his recent surgery for prostate cancer. We love Cam. Enjoy.
#216: Unlearning
Did you know that a great deal (maybe most) of human learning happens unconsciously and incidentally? Without any actual plan or intention to learn? And while we might think of learning as something that is typically a structured, conscious and/or academic process, in many cases, it is not. It’s often something that happens despite us, not because of us. Quite often, without our knowledge or awareness. And while we might think of learning as a positive thing, that is not always the case. In fact, some of our learning (and subsequent beliefs and thinking) is the very thing that stands between us and growth, us and success, us and happiness. Sometimes, we need to learn to unlearn.
#215: Surviving the Sh*t Show
There’s a reason we get so much amazing feedback about Paul Taylor; he’s always interesting, funny, inspirational and periodically, inappropriate. And he always tells a good yarn. In this episode, Paul and Craig talk about lessons learned, skills acquired, awareness gained and resilience built in the middle of the shit we didn’t want, plan for or expect.
#214: Toxic Friendships
What’s the deal with ‘friends’ who aren’t actually friendly? People who manipulate, undermine, resent and backstab their alleged friends. How and why is this a thing and more importantly, why do the victims of these crap friends stick around? In this brief episode, Craig flies solo, thinking out loud about the true meaning of friendship, familiarity and proximity, the friendship litmus test, being desperate to fit in and the consequences of inhabiting a toxic friendship.
#213: Learning How to Learn
Dr. Richard Huysmans is an academic, pracademic and for the last two months, home-schooling dad. He has spent his life learning how to learn effectively and helping others do the same. In this episode of TYP, Richard and Craig talk about conscious and unconscious learning, academic and non-academic learning, learning styles, developing a personal learning system, studying vs. learning, going back to formal study and the health benefits of stimulating our brain as we age.
au.linkedin.com/in/
#212: The Corona Mind
Psychologist Jacqui Louder is back on TYP and she’s talking about some of the mental health challenges and consequences of the pandemic. Jacqui discusses some of her own Covid challenges and issues and more broadly, she and Craig talk about brain training, dealing with anxiety, why we’re all control freaks, our ‘survival’ brain, why we struggle in stillness, the psychology of guilt and the addiction we have to being busy. Enjoy.
#211: Self-Awareness and Self-Understanding
What is self-awareness? Why does it matter? How can we improve it? What impact does it have on everything from work, relationships and problem-solving to anxiety, happiness and connection? Why do I do think the way I think, feel the way I feel and behave the way I behave? Where does all this ‘me stuff’ come from and does it serve me or sabotage me? This brief episode is not so much a (typical) podcast, as it is Craig sharing a few thoughts and ideas around self-awareness (internal and external) and the understanding of self. It’s a brief introduction to a very big conversation. Kind of a podcast-ette. Enjoy.
#210: Re-Defining Success
TYP favourite, Geoff Jowett has reinvented himself over the last few years. The one-time high-flying, drug-taking, ego-driven, money-making entrepreneur had all the trappings of success, but none of the experience. The external show was a façade hiding a plethora of personal issues, challenges, addictions and pain. As many of you know, Geoff hit rock bottom and now describes that painful time as the best thing to ever happen to him. In this episode, we discuss the stories we have around money, tapping into the universal intelligence, the healing power of animals, dealing with criticism and negativity, being fully present, why soft is strong, being addicted to drama, getting triggered, the joy of stillness and the freedom of having nothing to prove. This is maybe my favourite Geoff chat.
#209: Change Your Life Forever (Another Free Workshop)
What’s your life telling you? Are you living your purpose, passion and values or are you treading water in your own personal Groundhog Day? Spinning your wheels? Living in a holding pattern? Or maybe worse? Are you over-thinking and under-doing? Wasting your potential? Self-sabotaging your way into frustration and stagnation? Don’t beat yourself up; it’s a pretty big club. We all want to live our best lives but what does that actually mean? And where does our idea of ‘best’ come from? Is a ‘best life’ experience about what’s happening in our external (physical) world or is it more about that non-physical (internal) space? Maybe it’s about both? This episode is not a prescription (of course) but rather, an interesting conversation around what it means to live our best life and how we might go about it.
#208: Change Your Body Forever (A Free Workshop)
This is essentially a one hour coaching and teaching workshop. It’s not so much a conversation as it is, an exploration into what it takes to be the person who ‘gets in shape’ (whatever that means for you) and stays that way. Forever. In it, Craig explores the seven key influencers and determinants of physical transformation. If you’re after some motivational fluff, a self-help cuddle or a back rub, this is not for you. But, if you’re sick of your own bullshit and you’re ready to own up, step up and do the work, tune in.
#207: Out of the Chaos and into the Calm
Jen Forster was a goal-setting, box-ticking, high-performer. She developed and owned successful businesses, gained an MBA, ran 100km races, built her ‘best’ body, ventured to Everest base camp, did lots of cool things and in the middle of it all, she was miserable. From the outside looking in, her life was shiny and impressive but the internal experience, was quite different. This conversation is about Jen’s story out of unconsciousness and anxiety and into consciousness and calm. Enjoy.
#206: Can Science and Spirituality Co-Exist?
Apart from being the wife of AFL Hall-of-Famer Paul Roos, Tami Roos is a superstar in her own right, with a PhD in Parapsychic Science (it’s a thing), a best-selling book and a successful career as a Corporate Speaker and Meditation Teacher. It’s fair to say that Craig was excited to open this particular conversational door and go deep on all things science, spirituality, psychology and happiness. Enjoy.
#205: Stop F*cking Around (The Audio Version)
This brief episode is essentially a coaching session (of sorts), where Craig unpacks the first ten principles (of thirty) from his most popular book. The book his mother calls… the sweary one. Enjoy.
#204: Love Languages, Decluttering & Spice Racks
One-time Journalist, TV Presenter and Sportscaster, these days Brad McEwan is immersed in the ‘helping people’ space and he’s great at it. As an ambassador for Beyond Blue, a mental health advocate, corporate speaker and chief cheerleader for kindness, Brad is someone I love spending time with. In this episode, we talk about everything from friendly strangers and love languages to cyber-workshops, decluttering and his obsession with spices.
#203: Learn, Laugh, Sweat
Luke Milton is a ripper. He’s the ex NRL player who went to the US, established a totally Aussie brand (Training Mate) in the middle of LA, started working with celebrities, got a gig on ‘Revenge Body’ with Khloe Kardashian, set up three training centres (with more on the way) and is building a fitness empire while having fun, keeping it real and creating a space where people are encouraged to learn, laugh and sweat at the same time.
#202: Dr. Cam is Back
Dr. Cam McDonald is back and this episode is seriously fascinating. And valuable. There is so much great information in this chat, you’ll want to listen twice. Along the way, we talk about how, just being around certain people can be good or bad for your health. Why your job might not be a good ‘fit’ for your biology. Why certain colours, clothes, music and environments can boost or suppress your immune system and impact your nervous, cardiovascular, respiratory and endocrine systems, for better or worse. And lots more.
#201: The Chick Who Throws a Stick
68.92 metres (226 feet). That’s how far Kathryn Mitchell threw her javelin to win the 2018 Commonwealth Games Gold medal. Or as I like to call it, far as f*ck. It’s also the furthest any female in the world has thrown a javelin in the last seven years. Apart from being an amazing athlete and competing at two Olympics and four Commonwealth Games, Kathryn is also a super-interesting, raw, real and relatable person who, like the rest of us, is trying to navigate and negotiate the peaks and troughs, joy and tears, pleasure and pain of the human experience. This chat was not what I expected. It was better.
#200: Lisa Stephenson
These days, Lisa Stephenson is a successful Author, Entrepreneur, International Speaker, Corporate Consultant and Media Commentator but ten years ago, it was a very different story. At that time, Lisa believed she was in the middle of a happy and healthy marriage. That belief was shattered one day when her husband left the house and unexpectedly, didn’t return. In the space of an hour, her life was turned upside down and a new life as a single mother had begun (and continues to this day). This podcast is a conversation about those ten years.
#199: Ten Steps to Almost Anything…
In this episode, I step out of my Corona hammock and put on my coaching hat for a brief personal development session to share ten fundamental ideas and principles. These are concepts which have proven to be relevant, reliable and effective for many of the people I’ve worked with on their individual journeys of education, transformation and liberation.
#198: Bianca Chatfield & Pete Shepherd
For this episode of the TYP, the very tall and charming Bianca Chatfield (6’2”), Melissa Cameron (6’0”) and Pete Shepherd (6’7”) sit down (remotely) with the ‘neither tall nor charming’ Craig, to talk about how they’re all improvising, adapting and overcoming. Among other things, they discuss how their day-to-day thinking, rituals and habits are changing, what they’re learning about themselves, decluttering, becoming a minimalist and what they might do differently on the other side of Corona.
#197: The Body Whisperer
Ian O’Dwyer is a body-whisperer. Well, that’s what I call him. More typically, he might be called a functional movement specialist but I’ve known him for decades and, over and over again, I have seen him do incredible ‘hands-on’ things with (seemingly) broken bodies (including mine) and sometimes, it’s in as little as two or three minutes. I suspect he has some kind of weird healing superpower but at this point, I only have anecdotal evidence. In fact, I’m not a hundred percent sure he’s mortal. Anyway, he has a really interesting backstory and journey and this was a fun conversation with a great Mate.
#196: To Hell and Back
This is the first time I’ve actually cried in a podcast. In part, this is a conversation about despair, abuse, identity, body-image and mental illness but thankfully, it’s also a message of recovery, strength, survival, hope, healing and love. There’s too much in this episode for me to do it justice with a few clumsy words.
#195: Keeping up with the Jones’s
The ex-drug-taking, rush-chasing, fast-talking, money-spending, self-destructing Geoff Jowett is back and thankfully, these days the manic entrepreneur has disappeared and the philosopher, teacher, deep thinker and compassionate human has emerged to share his thoughts, ideas and messages in his (truly) unique style. Among other things, we discuss comparison culture, how animals saved Geoff’s life, acceptance, being a suicidal addict and coming out the other side, where joy lives, starting over and hitting the reset button on life.
#194: The Calm in the Chaos
In this episode, Craig and TYP favourite Bobby Cappuccio talk about the psychology, philosophy, sociology, physiology and practicality of self-managing in the middle of our ever-evolving reality. This chat was recorded on Zoom with a few ‘viewers’ so, there’s a small amount of interaction with the group. Enjoy.
#193 Harps Visits The Daily Talk Show
This episode from the bunker is a conversation I had with Josh and Tommy from TSTD and among other things, we discuss my current technological learning curve, connecting with people who aren’t in the same room, situational awareness, life without a gym, life without hugs, faith vs. knowledge and the art of adaptation.
#192: High Performance, Leadership and Team Work
Founder of ‘Leading Teams’, Ray McLean is one of Australia’s most respected, experienced and sought-after Facilitators, Speakers and Coaches in the space of High Performance, Leadership and Team Work. Ray has worked at the pointy end of both, sport and corporate, with organisations like the Sydney Swans, St Kilda Saints, Adelaide Crows, Carlton Blues, the Australian Cricket Team, the Boomers and Opals (National Basketball Teams), Sydney Kings (NBL), St George Illawarra (NRL) and NSW Waratahs (Rugby Union), the Australian Netball Team (The Diamonds), Sugar Australia, Axeio and Murdoch Partners. In this episode, Ray and Craig reconnect for the first time in decades and have a fascinating chat.
#191: Unconventional Workout Ideas
Over the last fortnight, I’ve been exploring three key questions with people: (1) How do I avoid going crazy? (2) How do I avoid going broke? (3) How do I avoid going backwards with my training? This podcast is about question 3. Not surprisingly (to me), some people are actually getting great results away from their ‘normal’, simply because they’re now stimulating their body in a new way. In this episode, I share some variations (from slight to significant) on some old concepts. Despite the title, not all of my suggestions are specific to exercise. If you’re after some new ideas, a little science and a laugh or two, this is a good chat.
#190: Cameron Schwab: What’s Important?
Former Richmond, Fremantle and Melbourne FC CEO and TYP favourite, Cameron Schwab returns to chat with us about his recent cancer diagnosis and subsequent journey. On February 14, Cam was diagnosed with prostate cancer and on February 23, he spoke at our TYP conference knowing that the next day he would find out whether or not the cancer had spread through his body. I won’t tell you the rest of the story (you’ll have to listen) but I will tell you that I love the way Cam thinks, teaches and shares so authentically. This was a very thoughtful conversation. PS. Apologies for the poor audio quality on my microphone. Getting a new one tomorrow. Won’t happen again.
#189: Reinventing Your Business / Career
Like many others, Leanne Hamilton is a small business owner who is trying to navigate her new unexpected normal. With a very ‘hands-on’ service (a functional movement studio called Swift Fitness), 17 staff, 300 clients and significant weekly expenses, Leanne (like many others) has been in the middle of a very steep learning (and adapting) curve over the last few weeks. With massive pressure and uncertainty and almost no sleep, Leanne has been working tirelessly to adapt her business model, delivery of service and the way she connects with and supports her clients. In this episode, Craig and Leanne have a very raw, real and practical conversation about ‘finding a way’ professionally, personally, financially, emotionally and mentally.
#188: Our New Financial Normal
Not only has our current global challenge impacted us mentally, physically, emotionally and socially but obviously, there’s also been a massive impact on careers, businesses, industries, professions and of course, our individual financial situations. In this episode, Harps goes deep with our resident financial guru, Jason Cunningham from Network Ten, Triple M radio and of course, The Practice (his company). They talk practically, empathetically, strategically and humorously about how we might navigate our current reality.
Please find below the attachments discussed in the episode:
- The first is The Practice’s Business Continuation Plan – a step by step process of the things we as business owners should be looking at;
- The second is detail around the COVID-19 Small Business Stimulus Support on Offer from the Government. This document will obviously be updated as additional measures are introduced.
- The third is what to do if you have been stood down by your employer.
- The forth is a guide to applying for the Centrelink payments.
#187: Paul Taylor: Instalment 4
The Irishman is back and this time he and Harps talk about lessons learned from his military experience, The Stockdale Paradox (it’s a thing), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (another thing), reframing and resilience, finding the possibilities in the mayhem and what the Stoics might have thought about our current situation. Enjoy.
- https://www.globalhealthnow.org/2020-03/covid-19s-stop-gap-solution-until-vaccines-and-antivirals-are-ready
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2019.00466/full
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/opord-covid-19-what-we-need-do-some-helpful-resources-paul-taylor/?trackingId=gcGYu3oeS%2FKn%2BJnZl0A5kw%3D%3D
#186: And Now Our Gym is Closed
After 50,000 PT sessions, 35 years in the fitness industry, 30 years training athletes and 25 years owning gyms, Craig has a few ideas about optimising time, energy and genetic potential in less-than-ideal situations. So for this episode, he dusts off his Exercise Science degree, drags his Everlast singlet out of retirement and goes deep exploring the multitude of options, graduations and variations we have at our disposal to be able to exercise (train, move) productively, effectively and safely at home with zero exercise equipment.
PS. Apologies for the audio quality, this is the first episode recorded away from the studio, with Craig and Melissa in different locations. We’re figuring it out as we go and we’re working hard to keep producing great content for you.
#185: Boosting Your Immune System
Podcast favourite Doctor Cam McDonald is back and this time he’s teaching us how boost our immune system, understand what our body is telling us, use stress to our advantage, become more aware in our environment, the (super) importance of sleep and lots more.
- https://ph360.me/coronavirus-immuneboost-friendsfamily/
- https://www.facebook.com/events/213708616354685
#184: Staying Awkward with Pete Shepherd
This is an episode full of ideas, stories, inspiration, insights and strategies that will resonate with many. Personally, I loved it. I actually forgot I was recording and got lost in the conversation with one of Australia’s best thinkers, communicators and coaches. If you’re a human, you should listen.
#183: Navigating a New Normal
While it could have been a heavy conversation, it turned out to be one of the silliest and funniest chats Melissa and I have ever had. On air or off. In the middle of some practical thoughts and ideas around our current challenge, I managed to share two stories about Melissa that she definitely didn’t want shared publicly. You’re welcome. Of course I’m in trouble but it was totally worth it. #ohwell
#182: Mark from MAFS and Bianca from The BLOCK
I loved this chat. It was a fun episode with great stories, laughs and some genuinely interesting insights from Bianca Chatfield and Mark Scrivens. Among other things, Craig, Mark and Bianca talk about the non-reality of reality TV, how their relationship unfolded, Bianca’s feelings about marriage, Mark’s time as a soldier and federal policeman, self-management under pressure, mental health challenges, eleven year-olds wanting to do a ‘collab’ with Bianca, navigating Corona and lots more. Enjoy.
#181: Geoff Jowett Returns
TYP favourite Geoff Jowett is back and this time he and Craig talk about some of their core principles for living a meaningful, authentic and aligned life.
#180: Sam Wood
Sam Wood (Better Homes and Gardens, 28 by Sam Wood, The Wood Shed, The Bachelor) is back and this time he and Craig talk about everything from fitness, health, diet, disappointment, frustration, program adherence and long term success, to running a retreat, building a business, technology, parenting and even husbanding. Enjoy.