At 17, Matt De Gruchy was legally blind, morbidly obese (over 150kgs at 170cm), on numerous drugs, dealing with a rare disease, trying to survive crippling anxiety and depression, becoming more and more isolated and socially disconnected and understandably, hating (his version of) life. To say that he has turned it all around, is a massive understatement but as you'll hear in this episode, he is indeed an inspirational young man with a great vision doing amazing things and helping countless people. I loved this chat and I loved meeting Matt.

At 17, Matt De Gruchy was legally blind, morbidly obese (over 150kgs at 170cm), on numerous drugs, dealing with a rare disease, trying to survive crippling anxiety and depression, becoming more and more isolated and socially disconnected and understandably, hating (his version of) life. To say that he has turned it all around, is a massive understatement but as you'll hear in this episode, he is indeed an inspirational young man with a great vision doing amazing things and helping countless people. I loved this chat and I loved meeting Matt.

The You Project is a 30-90 minute dose of inspiration and education hosted by Craig Harper with great stories, ideas, strategies and lessons from high-performers in sport, business, science, media and health.

 

The You Project is a 30-90 minute dose of inspiration and education hosted by Craig Harper with great stories, ideas, strategies and lessons from high-performers in sport, business, science, media and health.
&nbsp;

The You Project is a 30-90 minute dose of inspiration and education hosted by Craig Harper with great stories, ideas, strategies and lessons from high-performers in sport, business, science, media and health.

The You Project

The You Project is a 30-90 minute dose of inspiration and education hosted by Craig Harper with great stories, ideas, strategies and lessons from high-performers in sport, business, science, media and health.
&nbsp;

#1723 No Sight But Great Vision - Matt De Gruchy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/2ad6b416-19cd-414d-8019-b23a00475d25/transcript

Jamie Stedman wears a number of hats to cover his delightfully bald head; he's a resilience workshop facilitator for businesses and organisations looking to support their employees in challenging work environments, a men's behaviour change facilitator with a large nonprofit organisation working with domestic violence offenders, and he works one-on-one with people navigating grief and trauma through the Rural Fire Service. As someone who grew up in a household that revolved around his stepfather's violence and mother's heroin addiction, he draws deeply from his own experiences. *Warning: some people might find this conversation triggering. It wasn't an 'easy' or typical fun TYP chat, but it was definitely an important conversation, with important messages.

Jamie Stedman wears a number of hats to cover his delightfully bald head; he's a resilience workshop facilitator for businesses and organisations looking to support their employees in challenging work environments, a men's behaviour change facilitator with a large nonprofit organisation working with domestic violence offenders, and he works one-on-one with people navigating grief and trauma through the Rural Fire Service. As someone who grew up in a household that revolved around his stepfather's violence and mother's heroin addiction, he draws deeply from his own experiences. *Warning: some people might find this conversation triggering. It wasn't an 'easy' or typical fun TYP chat, but it was definitely an important conversation, with important messages.

#1724 Shining A Light Into The Darkness - Jamie Stedman

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/4c30fe8c-d3ef-475b-bc9b-b23a00480447/transcript

Retirement is an interesting idea. In our culture, it's seen as a good thing. A reward for decades of toil, work and sacrifice; the trophy at the end of the career marathon, with the idea being that our life will be better (and so will we) once we transcend the work phase of our existence. Without spoiling what's to come in this episode, I'm of the opinion that retirement is not arbitrarily 'good or bad' but I do think it's important to consider the 'when, how and why' behind our retirement and the potential physical, financial, emotional, social and psychological implications (good and bad) of what a post-work existence might be. My 'work' has never felt like a job, a slog, an anchor or something I want to escape. Over the decades, I have consciously created a paradigm that is (for me) an intersection of connection, fun, learning, unlearning, purpose, service, peaks, troughs, meeting awesome people, travel, sharing my passion, personal growth and making a few bucks. What I share here is not a recommendation but rather, a reflection. You might find something interesting in it. 

Retirement is an interesting idea. In our culture, it's seen as a good thing. A reward for decades of toil, work and sacrifice; the trophy at the end of the career marathon, with the idea being that our life will be better (and so will we) once we transcend the work phase of our existence. Without spoiling what's to come in this episode, I'm of the opinion that retirement is not arbitrarily 'good or bad' but I do think it's important to consider the 'when, how and why' behind our retirement and the potential physical, financial, emotional, social and psychological implications (good and bad) of what a post-work existence might be. My 'work' has never felt like a job, a slog, an anchor or something I want to escape. Over the decades, I have consciously created a paradigm that is (for me) an intersection of connection, fun, learning, unlearning, purpose, service, peaks, troughs, meeting awesome people, travel, sharing my passion, personal growth and making a few bucks. What I share here is not a recommendation but rather, a reflection. You might find something interesting in it.

#1722 Why I Won't Retire - Harps

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/95fd4dad-f941-4f6b-a029-b239009f1c16/transcript

Heston Russell has been through some horrible sh*t; physical, mental, emotional, personal and professional. Some of it he was highly trained for, some of it he wasn't. Some of it he chose, some of it he didn't. And while you might think his biggest challenges would have been as a Special Forces Officer in the middle of combat situations around the world, the reality is different. If you haven't watched the Channel 7 'Spotlight' doco that unpacks Heston's fascinating (and harrowing) journey to hell and back, I strongly suggest you do. I thought I’d share the channel 7 synopsis here because they did a great job. **With a proud lineage of military relatives, Heston Russell enlisted in the army at 17 and rose through the ranks to become a highly decorated officer with more than 10,000 hours of leadership in combat operations, including four combat deployments to Afghanistan and a fifth to Iraq to fight against ISIS. He proved fearless in battle, iron-willed in his personal convictions and prepared to put it all on the line. As a soldier, Russell led our troops into countless battles and when he retired, he kept fighting. He campaigned for the royal commission into veteran suicide, built charities for soldiers and even ran for a seat in the Queensland senate. But his toughest fight came several years after his discharge, when Russell became the target of a relentless attack launched by the investigations unit of the ABC alleging that he was the worst kind of soldier - leaving a trail of destruction in Afghanistan and involved in fraudulent behaviour back home. Russell's battleground this time: the Australian Federal Court, where he spent almost three years fending off the ABC's allegations of war crimes.

Heston Russell has been through some horrible sh*t; physical, mental, emotional, personal and professional. Some of it he was highly trained for, some of it he wasn't. Some of it he chose, some of it he didn't. And while you might think his biggest challenges would have been as a Special Forces Officer in the middle of combat situations around the world, the reality is different. If you haven't watched the Channel 7 'Spotlight' doco that unpacks Heston's fascinating (and harrowing) journey to hell and back, I strongly suggest you do. I thought I’d share the channel 7 synopsis here because they did a great job. **With a proud lineage of military relatives, Heston Russell enlisted in the army at 17 and rose through the ranks to become a highly decorated officer with more than 10,000 hours of leadership in combat operations, including four combat deployments to Afghanistan and a fifth to Iraq to fight against ISIS. He proved fearless in battle, iron-willed in his personal convictions and prepared to put it all on the line. As a soldier, Russell led our troops into countless battles and when he retired, he kept fighting. He campaigned for the royal commission into veteran suicide, built charities for soldiers and even ran for a seat in the Queensland senate. But his toughest fight came several years after his discharge, when Russell became the target of a relentless attack launched by the investigations unit of the ABC alleging that he was the worst kind of soldier - leaving a trail of destruction in Afghanistan and involved in fraudulent behaviour back home. Russell's battleground this time: the Australian Federal Court, where he spent almost three years fending off the ABC's allegations of war crimes.

#1721 The War After The Combat - Heston Russell

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/2fb3740d-3436-44af-8cc0-a91900716aa5/clips/4dd7b96b-4622-425b-b71c-b237004bec70/transcript

#1723 No Sight But Great Vision - Matt De Gruchy

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