Where did your open-minded adventure begin? Was there a significant event that shifted you into gear, or did your outlook on life simply shift over time?

Without doubt the catalyst was my beautiful Mother Darling giving me Tony Robbins Get The Edge program for my 21st birthday. In hindsight what it made it even more incredible was that at the time this was such a big expense for my mum, as she was struggling financially, yet I think she knew how much I would love this. Before this, I remember listening to Tony’s Personal Power cassettes in the car as a teenager which Mum had bought. I didn’t know why Mum was listening to this, however I absolutely loved his style. I now know that Mum was going through some tough times and was determined to find a way out of it. When I look at her now and her personal strength she is a great role model for my two sisters and I, and all of her friends and family.

What drives your enthusiasm for self-care and optimism?

I’m very pain driven. There’s no doubt that I do things to avoid pain. As human beings with do things to either avoid pain or gain pleasure, and most of us are more driven to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. You will notice that the mass media preys on this. We watch the news when it’s about car accidents, war, death and sickness. No one would watch it (or very few) if it was about everyone getting home safely from school and work, peace, birth and good health.

With my own business the Exceptional Life Blueprint, I created it out of the perceived pain I would experience of NOT creating it! I had the content, thoughts and insights bubbling away inside of me for the last 5 years and I got to a point where I could not go another DAY without genuinely making an effort to put the program together.

Often this is when our greatest work is done. When we feel that there is NO OTHER CHOICE. I once read something similar that when our dreams come true is when we “murder our options”. It sounds brutal however I believe it to be 100% true. If we all lived our lives in the feverish pursuit of our dreams knowing that there was NO OTHER OPTION but to arrive at that only destination (no matter how long it took or how hard it was), I think we would be living in a much happier and fulfilling world.

So, back to your question! I exercise not only because it makes me feel great but because I know it’s perhaps the #1 preventer for dementia. I know that dementia takes 20-50 years to develop in the brain before being diagnosed. So I don’t want to wait for a diagnosis to change my lifestyle! I’m getting in early and working on prevention as being the cure.

I consciously live life on my own terms because I know the #1 regret of the dying (as beautifully told by Bronnie Ware in her book The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying) is that we wished we lived our lives on our own terms and not according to the expectations of others.

I make an effort to actively socialise with people I love because I know it has an untold positive impact on my health.

I eat a wholefoods diet because I know it improves the quality of my life and I can’t bear the thought of losing my quality of life through something which I personally could have prevented.

I make a conscious effort to constantly magnify my family relationships. Whether it’s my marriage with my beautiful Sarah, the relationship I have with two gorgeous children Maya & Darby, or the relationship with my parents and sisters and extended family, I know how important this is and again, I can’t bear the thought of a fractured family dynamic that I have contributed to.

I constantly ask myself what I want to learn and then I go about doing it. I’m a bookwork, and at the moment particularly love reading autobiographies and biographies. I’ve recently consumed Bear Grylls work and the biography of the late Jim Stynes. My all-time favourite autobiographies are Andre Agassi’s Open and Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom.

I make sure I pay myself first, saving a portion of my income and depositing that into a “never ever touch account”. It’s taken a few goes at mastering this, and a few expensive lessons (!), however this is the only way to learn sometimes! I’m happy to say now though, lesson well and truly learnt!

And finally, I guard my mindset and my global belief system strongly. I ensure that I don’t look at the world through “one-sided” glasses. I recognise the world is full of love AND hate, good AND bad, peace AND war, birth AND death and to only honour one side of life is to be shielded and blinded from the grand (and often unexplainable) magnificence of life.

What keeps you goofy and ‘down to earth’?

My family. No doubt. I know it’s a cliché answer. However particularly having two children under 5 you can never get too ahead of yourself! Darby has just been up overnight having his first ever vomit (sorry for the details but you did ask!), and there’s nothing that keeps things in perspective like a child not feeling well.
I also think learning from the experiences of others in invaluable in staying grounded and real. One of my idols is Alice Herz-Sommer. She lived to 110 and up until her death was the oldest survivor of the Holocaust. She lived with no hatred towards Hitler (despite losing her husband to the gas chambers) and her mantra was “I have no room for pessimism or hate”.

How do you keep exercise FUN!

I love both aerobic and anaerobic exercise. I love the rush I get from going for a good run of say 8km+ (however I often struggle with the first 2k!). I love going for a swim in the ocean. I love playing football. I love a home workout I do called Tapout. I love Tabata training. I used to love triathlons, however I broke and dislocated my shoulder in 2010 after falling off my bike and that put a dent on the triathlon game (for now). Perhaps when the kids are older I’ll get back into it.

When it comes to nutrition, what is your philosophy?

Don’t STRESS! As a journalist by trade, I’ve always been fascinated how some people eat poorly and live great long lives and some people eat “perfectly” yet die prematurely. The more I researched this the more I realised that the lack of an active social life and/or life purpose was perhaps the greater contributor to the premature death. And often these voids are created due to the addiction to the perfect diet.

So if you find yourself avoid family gatherings, social catchups, or doing the work you love, because of your food choices, then perhaps find a way to relax your rules or consider your options. And again, this doesn’t come from me, this comes from the people who have lived the greatest and longest lives.

People like the Ikarians from Greece (10% of their diet comprises sweets, 20% grains) and the Okinawans (large rice portion) show that perhaps fad diets aren’t a “one case fits all” phenomenon.

How do you overcome limiting thoughts and rationalise negativity?

My wife! Nothing helps me overcome fear or stinkin thinkin better than a good old chat with Sarah. We’ll often sit down on the couch when the kids are asleep, have a chamomile tea and piece of chocolate, and I will verbally vomit to Sarah what’s going on in my head and one of two things will happen.

1. I will feel immediately better out of the venting and have a greater sense of clarity and confidence as a result.
2. Sarah will have some insights (I always call her the wiser one in our relationship as she is two years older than I) that will help me change my perception or my future behaviour.

Go ahead, inspire us!

Instead of finding fault in people, find the fabulousness. We often think people’s faults are negative, however it’s important to recognise that there are benefits or “perfection” in everything. There’s benefits to worry and there’s benefits to “not giving a damn”. There’s benefits to war and there’s benefits to peace. The sooner we can recognise that people don’t need to change, that instead it’s much wiser to accept people for who they are, the better off we will all be.

It sounds idealistic and it is, however that’s my parting shot to the world 

Think fast, what are you grateful for right now?

My beautiful Sarah – such a supportive women. To our children, to myself, to the human race.

Maya & Darby – Still can’t believe that these two little legends chose me to be their daddy. Grateful every day for them, whether they’re laughing or crying, happy or sad, fighting or playing beautifully, they are two incredible human beings and I am so privileged to play a role in raising them.

My parents – Simply because I wouldn’t be here right now without them. I know it sounds simplistic, but I always ask people who don’t have great relationships with their parents to always remember that they wouldn’t be here in this life without them both. Simple as that.

Make me drool!

Chocolate Pudding Cup

If I ever go back into bricks and mortar business, it would be a chocolate shop!

This is the base

1 tablespoon cacao (less if you go crazy on cacao!)
1 tablespoon tahini (more if you need it runnier)
1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon water (can replace with coconut oil if you want creamier / fattier)

Mix and stir and enjoy!!

Excite your senses by adding any of the following