This Connected Life with Mel Kettle

An extraordinary future with Tony Ryan

I first met this week’s guest, Tony Ryan, about 12 years ago when I joined Professional Speakers Australia. Back then Tony was a bit of a legend in Australia’s speaking community, and today is no different.

He is a lifelong educator, parent, and futurist, and has worked with over 1000 education, business and parent groups in 10 different countries throughout his career. Tony is also an international best-selling author of 8 books, an Australian ambassador for School Aid, and a former national president of Professional Speakers Australia.

Tony’s latest book, Next Generation – Preparing today’s kids for an extraordinary future, is a must-read for all parents and educators, as it will help you identify what’s ahead for our children, the capabilities they will need and some actions to help them in their future.

You can connect with Tony at tonyryan.com.au. You can also connect with Tony on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

What Tony Ryan and I talked about:

• Conversation is connection
• the words we use – real life versus the online life
• future technology challenges with conversation and connection
• the need to reframe the mindset of kids today so there is more optimism
• we are capable of coping with the dramatic change up ahead – the ability to think critically and creatively – regardless of behaviour
• hope – the best four-letter word that you can talk about
• 70% of all articles on the news are negative
• we need to teach children how to think not what to think – critical thinking and creative thinking are essential
• being a professional speaker
• Hans Rosling – Factfulness
• book of the year lists for Bill Gates and Barack Obama
• Melinda Gates – The Moment of Lift
• Steve Biddulp – The New Manhood
• Michelle Obama – Becoming

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

Becoming more self-aware

In this episode I talk about

· self-awareness and how as leaders, most of us can improve this element of ourselves

· Being self-aware is about understanding what motivates you, the impact you have on others, what you do well and where you struggle.

· Stephen Covey says that self-awareness involves deep personal honesty and that it comes from asking and answering hard questions.

· What self-awareness isn’t is self-judgement.

· Research tells us that when we have greater self-awareness we are more effective at communicating, we have increased confidence and we are more creative. This enables us to have stronger relationships, be more effective and impactful leaders, have more productive and satisfied employees and run more profitable companies.

· My friend Kate Billing, who I spoke to on episode 9 says that increasing self-awareness and the capacity for inner self management should be a foundational part of our development agenda.

· self-talk – that little voice in your head that tells you how great you are or, in many cases, how great you aren’t.

· naming the voices in your head

· how we become more self aware

· CliftonStrengths assessment

· be open – to new experiences, new people, new ideas

· be curious – ask questions, show an interest

· question our assumptions.

How are you going to become more self aware? Do you think you might name that nasty voice in your head that tells you you’re not good enough?

And how will you be more open, more curious and question your assumptions?

I’d love to know.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle. I’m always happy to hear from listeners, and if you have a guest you would like to nominate or would like to nominate yourself, you can apply here.

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe.

If you REALLY loved it, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

Emergency management with Andrew Short AFSM

Andrew Short AFSM is the Assistant Commissioner for the State Emergency Services for Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES).

Andrew is no stranger to the challenges associated with providing effective emergency management, having worked for QFES for over 20 years. He is passionate about lifelong learning, especially when it comes to investigating how organisations can improve how they lead, manage and train to achieve the outcome of operational excellence.

In 2007 he was acknowledged for his achievements when he was awarded an Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) for significant contribution to QFRS Operational and Business processes. including iZone, wildfire preparedness (WAL, LAP, RAM), Functional Management and Absenteeism Management improvements. This medal is the highest national award for fire service officers in Australia. He is also a life member of the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland.

Andrew is married with two teenage children, and with his family enjoys travelling within (and outside of) Australia. He is also an avid shipwreck scuba diver, and uses this sport as a means of gaining respite from work and from his phone!

You can connect with Andrew on LinkedIn.

What Andrew Short and I talked about

• what connection means to him
• preparing for the worst – management of a large emergency
• helping communities understand risk in emergencies and that they can be impacted by an emergency at any time during the year
• working with volunteers
• communication challenges with paid staff and volunteers
• the notion of learning throughout life
• accepting responsibility and what you could do differently to get a better outcome
• having critical friends who are brave enough to challenge you
• Dominick Quartuccio – episode 17
• Books –
• John Carlin, Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation
• Malcolm Gladwell
• Bill Bryson
• Victor Frankel, Man’s Search for Meaning
• Craig Ferguson, Riding the Elephant

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe and if you REALLY loved it, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

Know your purpose

When you know your purpose, it’s easier to plan, to set goals and then take relevant action to achieve them. In the past I’ve found that when my goals are connected to my purpose, I’m far more likely to achieve them.

In this episode I talk about:

· Simon Sinek Start with why

· Stephen Covey – begin with the end in mind

· How knowing our purpose can help us in life

· The Japanese concept of Ikigai

· Four questions to help you find your purpose

· Creating goals

Do you know your purpose? I’d love to know.

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

Coping with overwhelm at Christmas (and other times!)

Christmas and the holiday season can be a really difficult time for a lot of people. And even for those who love it, there can be pockets of stress and overwhelm.

One of the things I’ve learned from life, and from horribly fraught Christmases, is that it’s so important to look after yourself. While it’s not always possible to avoid stressful times – at Christmas and at other times of the year, it is always possible to build in some tactics to make it easier for yourself.

6 tactics for dealing with overwhelm

1. Get help

2. Have a digital detox

3. Step away

4. Relinquish control and delegate

5. Set some boundaries

6. Set some rituals

How do you cope when you are feeling overwhelmed? What steps are you going to put in place to help you cope when you are feeling overwhelmed?

Finally, if you or someone you know needs help, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.There is also an anonymous online chat service available between 8pm and 4am AEST at Lifeline.org.au, or visit Beyond Blue’s website. For crisis assistance, call 000.

How do you deal with overwhelm?

What are your tactics for surviving Christmas?

I’d love to know. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

Or you can email me – mel@melkettle.com

This is my last episode for a few weeks as I’ll be taking a break over Christmas. I’ll be back late January for season 2, and I have some great guests to introduce you to!

I’m always happy to hear from listeners, and if you have a guest you would like to nominate or would like to nominate yourself, you can apply via my website, www.melkettle.com

Merry Christmas, and I’ll see you in 2020!

The importance of rest

In my last solo episode I spoke about the importance of sleep. Today I want to talk about rest.

Our brains thrive when they have time to rest. We make over 30,000 decisions a day, so the cognitive load on our mind is immense. If we don’t take some time during the day to rest our brains, our performance, moods and physical and mental health all suffer.

The risk of fatigue is well known. When we are over-tired our brain switches off and we have micro-sleeps. These can last from a fraction of a second to thirty seconds. Long enough to have a car accident if you’re driving.

Our brain has the same reaction to serious sleep deprivation as it does to excessive alcohol consumption. In fact, being awake for 17 hours has the same impact on our cognition and our bodies as having a blood alcohol content of .05. And 21 hours awake is the equivalent of a blood alcohol content of .08.

Our brains have two modes of processing and are designed to have regular rest periods:

1. The first mode is when we are focused and concentrating on tasks, solving problems and processing incoming information – this includes when we scroll through Instagram or Facebook, do work that requires us to think and when we are watching TV.
2. The second mode is the default mode network, which switches on when our minds start to wander – such as when we are in the shower or out for a walk. It’s when our brain is in default mode that we get some of our best ideas.

Our brains work best when we give them the opportunity to switch between these two modes. Something that happens with less frequency when we are glued to our phones…

Ferris Jabr writes in Scientific American “downtime replenishes the brain’s stores of attention and motivation, encourages productivity and creativity, and is essential to both achieve our highest levels of performance and simply form stable memories in everyday life”.

So how can we rest?

Personally, I love a good power nap. Research has shown that a 20 minute power nap can increase cognitive performance by up to 40%, with the benefit lasting two to three hours.

If napping isn’t for you, or you don’t have an opportunity to nap during the day, there are plenty of other things you can do:

• Use a productivity technique such as 52:17 or Pomodoro
• Go for a walk or do some other sort of physical exercise
• Meditate for a few minutes
• close your eyes and taking some deep breaths to help relax your mind and body
• Unplug and enjoy the silence
• Go outside and get some fresh air
• Do something creative with your hands such as draw, knit, make some origami
• Get into the garden

The consistent pattern here is that you step away from your desk to do a different type of activity that doesn’t require a lot of thought.

Getting enough rest isn’t only about enough sleep. We need to make sure we give our brains time to rest during the day.

How do you rest your brain during the day? Or do you go flat out and fade at 3pm? Or sooner?

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or via the podcast app on your smartphone.

If you REALLY loved it, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

Live your magnificent life with Lisa O'Neill

Lisa O’Neill is feisty, funny and fabulous. She has been described as a human version of Berocca and is one of my favourite people for her energy, her positivity and her ability to cut the shit and tell it as it is – always with love. Lisa wants us all to live big lives and to become the best version of ourselves. She is the former fashion editor of NZ Women’s Weekly and today is the author of three books, a highly sought after conference speaker and MC, and a mentor to loads of very fortunate women, including me!

You can connect with Lisa at www.lisaoneill.co.nz. You can also connect with Lisa on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

What Lisa O’Neill and I talked about

• How connection means everything and without connection we have nothing
• Meeting her husband when she was 14 year and knowing immediately he was the one
• how many underestimate the power of an instant connection
• be “on purpose”
• make people better with comfort and love
• don’t let your life live you
• women get stuck in the various stages of life and tend to lead other people’s lives
• being conditioned to service
• never too old to chase your dreams
• unashamed pleasure
• being your own best friend
• give yourself permission to be you
• Life is hard and what are your strategies for it
• Book – The Lickable Third
• Being a funeral celebrant
• Russell Brand’s podcast Under the Skin
• Perform Under Pressure by Dr Ceri Evans
• Faster Than Normal by Peter Shankman

You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or via the podcast app on your smartphone.

If you REALLY loved it, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

The importance of sleep

There are four ways we need to look after ourselves physically - we need to get enough of the right food, water, exercise and sleep. Sleep is often the one that is ignored.

This episode is is part 1 of a 2-parter – talking about sleep and rest.

Rest is more than just sleep at night. Most of us are aware that we need enough sleep (which doesn’t mean we get enough!), but too many of us go hell for leather during the day, without giving in to our body’s need for rest. And I don’t mean a quick nap – although I’m certainly not averse to that!

A lack of sleep is debilitating to our mental and physical health, and in most cases, poor sleep behaviour is an individual choice. Not getting enough sleep is like being in a permanent state of jetlag, and those of us who travel know how awful that feels!

Four out of ten Australian’s don’t get enough sleep (on average we get 6.5 hours a night, with 12 per cent of us having 5.5 hours or less) and 20 per cent of us suffer from excessive daytime sleepiness.

The costs of this lack of sleep are high – it significantly reduces workplace productivity, costs the Australian economy $66.3 billion per year and can lead directly to work-related accidents and fatalities.

What causes our lack of sleep? Our inability to manage our time with technology is partly to blame – Netflix is a biggie.

If you’re tired all the time but believe you’re getting enough sleep, then see your doctor, as you could have a serious sleep disorder such as sleep apnoea.

A lot of people have a morning routine, but do you also have a night-time routine? The benefits of a night-time routine are that it can help you wind down from the day so you fall asleep more quickly and have a more restful and better quality sleep.

Tips to help you get more sleep – suggestions for a night-time routine

· Go to bed earlier so you can aim for 7-8 hours a night

· Set consistent times for going to bed and getting up

· Don’t drink caffeine in the afternoon or immediately before going to bed – try herbal tea instead

· Try and limit the amount of alcohol you consume

· Reduce the blue light exposure from screens in the evening

· Turn off the TV an hour or two before going to bed

· Have a warm bath or shower

· Make sure your mattress and pillow is comfortable

· Make sure your bedroom had adequate ventilation and is a comfortable temperature

· Be organised for the following day

· Encourage your partner not to snore!

Getting enough rest isn’t only about enough sleep. We need to make sure we give our brains time to rest during the day.

However I’m going to talk more about this in my next solo episode! What does your night time routine look like? Do you even have one?

I’d love to know. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

If you would like to be more connectable, or have a more connectable team, please get in touch.

Financial fitness with Lara Bourguignon, CEO SuperConcepts

I first heard of Lara Bourguignon when we received an email she sent to all SuperConcepts clients, introducing herself as the new CEO, and inviting us to get in touch via her direct email if we had any concerns or otherwise. I was incredibly impressed so reached out to her on LinkedIn to say so.

I loved how she was so keen to connect, as well as to listen to clients in her early days in the role.

Lara was appointed into the position of CEO, SuperConcepts in April 2019. Prior to that, she was in the role of Director, Strategic Marketing and Customer Experience within SuperConcepts parent company AMP.

You can connect with Lara at SuperConcepts. You can also connect with Lara on LinkedIn.

What Lara Bourguignon and I talked about

• A connection is more than a transaction
• Checkout attendants at her local Coles supermarket
• Differentiation in a very digital world
• Bring your ‘whole self’ to work
• Personal email connection as a new CEO
• Undertaking a listening tour in the first months of a new role
• Stealing “Jack Welch-isms” – respect the past and what has happened in the past
• Leadership is not done in isolation
• Heightened sensitivity to past decisions
• Very serious responsibility to stakeholders
• Women and money through Superannuation
• Financial fitness is the same as physical fitness
• Understanding your superannuation
• Becoming Financially Fit Females
• Rachel Griffiths Ride Like a Girl (movie)
• Extreme Trust – Don Peppers and Martha Rogers
• The Power – Naomi Alderman
• Steph Clarke’s Podcast – Steph’s business books

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or via the podcast app on your smartphone.

You can also connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle.

If you REALLY loved it, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.

Connecting through kindness

I’ve been thinking a lot about kindness lately. And how a small, kind gesture can make such a mammoth difference to someone’s life.

Kind is possibly my favourite four letter word.

Being kind is one of easiest things we can do, and it can have life‑changing consequences. Kindness doesn’t need to be difficult or expensive or time consuming.

I feel as we become “busier” we are becoming less kind. If you’re wondering, busy is my least favourite four letter word!

I’m so very grateful to have been the recipient of many acts of kindness throughout my life so far: When my parents died, when I was housebound after melanoma surgery, when we’re away and our neighbours look after our chickens, when a stranger offers me a seat on the train, when door is held open for me and so many more small and large gestures.

Kindness is so prevalent in the personal worlds of so many of us, that it makes me wonder why it’s not as common in the business world.

Don’t businesses and their leaders realise that when you are kind to people, they want to do more for you? Whether it’s your workforce, customers or investors.

The number one quality of a connectable leader has is kindness.

What would happen if we started to measure the number of kind deeds transacted?

How many of us would be able to say, hand on heart, that we are a success? And think about the flow-on impact. I know I seek out the businesses that have shown me kindness. I WANT them to have my money. And I tell people about them. Their kindnesses show they value me. It’s not rocket science!

It shouldn’t surprise you to know that research shows leaders and organisations that are kind to their employees have employees who stay longer, work harder and are more committed to the organisation.

It also shouldn’t surprise you, that when you are kind to your staff that kindness flows out and onto their colleagues, their families, your customers, suppliers and other stakeholders.

What would happen if you included a kindness metric in your key performance indicators or your strategic goals? What impact do you think that might have on your people and your business?

Kindness at work isn’t only about the warm fuzzies it generates. Kindness at work can improve job performance, lengthen employee tenure and reduce absences. According to Emma Seppala, associate director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University, “when organisations promote an ethic of compassion rather than a culture of stress, they may not only see a happier workplace (since a lack of bonding within the workplace has been shown to increase psychological distress, while positive social interactions at work have been shown to boost employee health), but also an improved bottom line.”

How can you start a kindness revolution at work?

A few things you can do are:

• Ask people how they are and actually listen to their reply
• Say good morning and / or good night when you arrive and leave each day
• Bring in baked goods to share
• Have a kindness board – where people can share kind things others have done for them
• Say thank you – to your team, colleagues, suppliers and customers
• Help out a colleague when they are stuck on a piece of work
• Spend time getting to know new staff members
• Buy a coffee or make a cup of tea for a co-worker
• Don’t yell at people when they make a mistake
• Give a compliment to a co-worker
• Focus on the strengths your colleagues bring to work, not their weaknesses

What are you doing to be kind? And what are some of the small meaningful ways people have been kind to you?

I’d love to know. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #thisconnectedlife and tagging me @melkettle

If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love you to subscribe. If you REALLY loved it, please leave me a rating and review on iTunes.