Monique van Tulder knows this generation of mid-life women have had enough. With helicopter parenting, juggling careers (perhaps professional life taking a backseat), or caring for aging family members, it’s time for second-act women to spend resources and time on themselves. Yeah!!

The lady you’re about to meet has a unique story. Not letting speech difficulties define her as a child, she overcame early setbacks to master her craft and become an incredible keynote speaker. I came across Annelise McCarthy when she was ‘schooling’ those on social media who had trolled her for the attire she had chosen to wear on stage. Not one to conform, Annelise eloquently put them in their place and I was intrigued to find out more about this fabulously articulate woman.

My guest today is unlike anyone I’ve ever had on the show before. When he was very young, he was a criminal hacker. Now he protects companies from people just like him.

Many years ago, in the NSW coastal town of Eden, Bastien Treptel was a curious kid and had a fascination for computers and technology. He would disassemble any technology he could get his hands on, including his father’s old telescope and his mother’s washing machine. After his grandfather gave him an old Pentium 486 computer when he was 14, Bastien began reading about famous hackers around the world and they became a source of inspiration for him.

Amanda Thompson is the Founder and financial guru behind Endurance Financial. With an impressive two decades of financial advising experience under her belt, Amanda has guided clients from diverse backgrounds and financial aspirations. Whether she’s launching her own business, facing a cancer battle, or qualifying three times for the Ironman World Championships, Amanda has never been afraid of a challenge.

Shane Kelton is a speaker and author who’s experienced mental health issues since the age of 12. His first memories are hiding under the bed with the thoughts of wanting to die, and it was the internalising of all the thoughts and feelings that nine years later led to a suicide attempt. A roller coaster ride of ups and downs was to follow, as he went about finding his way to get through the darkest of thoughts. Shane knew he didn’t want to die, but the internal dialogue and suffering all became too much. In this years that followed Shane got to work on himself, lived the ups and downs and decided after a friend died by suicide that enough was enough.

My guest today is someone dear to my heart & she’s not only super talented but she’s the most joyous person you could ever come across. We’ve worked together coming up 5 years now & I felt it was time I got her on the show as she’s a wealth of information. Brianna Ansaldo is the founder & head honcho of my wonderful podcast production company Bambi Media and I’m so happy for you to get to meet her today.

Gianna Lucas is a passionate motivational speaker, Youth Life Coach & Co-Founder and CEO at Happow – a life skills education provider on a mission to future-proof the lives of young people in high school and beyond. Featuring 50+ hours of Life Lessons (life skills courses) and 100+ Power Talks (mini motivational videos), their gamified eLearning life skills platform gives youth access to on-demand insights, tips and strategies from Australia’s top experts around money, health and wellness, career and relationships.

At this later stage in life, I’m starting to break down many ‘societal norms’ I’ve carried with me for most of my life. This is interesting because I was brought up with quite progressive parents who didn’t conform to the typical ‘norms’ around gender bias that many of the parents of my mates did. It’s hard to change deep-seated views around masculinity and femininity that often are formed and passed through generations before us. So I was super keen to sit down with a wonderful couple who just by starting with encouraging their son to fully express who he is and wants to be, they’ve created a movement of allowing others to be themselves too.

Dr. Esther Zeledón (Dr. EZ) is a master of making dreams work. Her pioneering work as a former international diplomat, scientist, and current life coach has proven to work for people of all cultures and across communities, corporations and countries. Dr EZ has created a formula for balanced success and brilliant productivity that everyone can use to create their limitless life.

She’s released a book ‘Creating Your Limitless Life’ that is designed as an instruction manual of what you need to do to make a shift in your mindset that Esther believes is mostly what holds us back - not that we are incapable of living a life that we want. Let's meet the wonderful Dr EZ!

“It’s scary starting a business. I want to talk about how very isolating and personally confronting the experience of building your own business really is.”

Kim Kerton is a creative and commercially minded podcast consultant, helping brands and business owners build themselves big podcasts. She’s also the host, creator and producer of Unemployed & Afraid, a popular small business podcast for the brave self-employed, where she dives into the realities, practicalities and self-growth journey of starting a business from scratch.

I’ve recently returned from an amazing retreat in NZ where one of the leaders, beautiful Jess, read us “I wish someone had told me” - an incredible piece from the writer & poet, Sarah Blondin. It was such a wonderful moment that I thought more people might enjoy the piece as it was impactful for many of us - so I’m reading it for you today.

TRANSPARENCY AROUND SUCCESS

As a long term business owner I wish society was more transparent about success. I wish people were more honest about their failures as well as their successes and shared the whole story.

Meet Nerida Bint - she’s a speaker, coach, author, podcaster and Life Mentor who coaches and supports people to understand how their subconscious beliefs hold them back from living the highest version of themselves possible. Helping you to understand, overcome and heal your ‘emotional home’ to intentionally create a new one is something she is incredibly passionate about.

International Award Winner and speaker Lisa Walker says she’s a bit crazy, a bit extra, she likes to think outside the box, and has a huge heart! She’s had a varied career in many sectors including Government, Accounting, Retail, and now Agriculture and Healthcare, yet she’s still trying to work out ‘what she wants to be when she grows up’!

I am thrilled to bring you back a One Question Podcast fave guest today who I always have such wonderfully diverse conversations with. The ever impressive Louka Parry is the CEO + Founder of The Learning Future and works globally as a speaker, learning strategist and education futurist.