A Passionate Inquiry

#50 Sophie Staras | Navigating the World as a 24yo Girl... Surviving SA, Backpacking Vietnam & more!

Sophie is the first person I met when I moved to Sydney at the start of the year, and has since been my closest friend here. In honour of this fact, and her solid viewership of the pod, there were few others in contention for the illustrious and highly-prized 50th episode slot! Cajoled to venture out on a recent Vietnam backpacking trip... Sophie returned with plenty to talk about in the classic (yet nonetheless ever-significant) realms of self-discovery and newfound perspectives. Here we get a cheeky life update on that with my typically over-complicated line of questioning perhaps slightly hindering the convo's flow lol. Anyways... moving onto deeper and darker topics of Sophie's own experience, as well as the broader shared one of young girls and women everywhere, plenty of ideas are brought up and discussed. I've consistently struggled to entice women with the premise of such a vulnerable and un-rewarding stage as this pod is hahaha so am extremely grateful to Sophie for being up for it! Enjoy:)

#49 Max Learmont | The 'Normal' Dude Behind a $1 Million/month Business...

Max is one of the few guy mates I've made this year moving to Sydney. Testament to his general easy-going vibe and openness to new experiences and new people. It also was not made immediately obvious the exact level of success his online business 'Chill Chair' was generating. One late-night car ride he started to reveal the reality of journey. I was not just shocked, but incredibly excited to be getting such insight into a world that is so often muddied by out of touch internet grifters, spruiking a questionable online course... We, of course, had to get Max on the pod. So, finally, we wrangled him to the mic and delved into the story of his life! Covering an extremely promising initial career in advertising, to the perils of going out into the woods of entrepreneurship, and the nature of e-business. Most importantly to me, I think, is the opportunity to present micro-expressions, stories and struggles which are oh so human and relatable. Again, Max has essentially always been a 'normal guy' in my eyes. That fact, however, flies in the face of the internet conditioning which so often pedestalises those who hit certain quantifiable success metrics, disregarding the inevitable compromises likely involved. Anyways, yet another time capsule of an interesting human as we approach the half-century... Thanks Max! Enjoy:)

#48 Taher Shaikh Mohammed | Living the Australian Dream in Lakemba... Islam, Immigration & Business

Taher and I met sat outside a pop-up Bangladeshi restaurant in the middle of Lakemba, a suburb of Western Sydney famed as a stronghold of foreign immigration. That evening I was coming back from uni and couldn't help but take note of the fact that in two hours of eating and wandering these streets, I had not crossed paths with a single other person who looked like me (white, blond, blue-eyed) Quite chuffed that I had found a place I could drive quite easily to a place with such strong foreign culture on display, Lakemba instantly became one of my favourite places to visit. Some Sydney traffic is still a lot easier than long-haul plane travel after all!! However, I am well aware that many Australians don't see things quite the same way and I was keen to explore the world of a local business and community man to see what I could learn and discover about the plight of Lakembans and the millions living similar lives in my country and around the world. Thanks again Taher for your time and authenticity!! Enjoy:)

#47 Dr Lawrence Blair | One of the Last Real Explorers... Consciousness in Nature & Other Intrigues

Wow Lawrence has lived just about the most extraordinary life one could imagine!!! Growing up in the prim and proper world of post-war England, his family moved to the wild and ancient Mexico in his teen years. To continue their departure from the 'norm', Lawrence, now with a doctorate in psycho-anthropolgy under his belt, and his late brother, Lorne, made their way to the exceedingly exotic Indonesia. Over the next decade they did it all!  6 months at sea with pirates? check. 3 months living with a long-lost nomadic tribe in uncharted (literally) jungle?? check. And that's not to mention the tribe of cannibalistic headhunters whose last most recent 'kill' was a famous US statesman!!! I could not be more deadset serious when I say that the 4-part doco series 'Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey' which captured these adventures stands as the most enthralling, awe-inspiring, and unfathomable films I have ever watched. Anyways, I had sooo many questions going in and we were limited to an hour so we brushed through loads of topics but boy was it fascinating.   Everything 'Lawrence' can be found at his website: https://www.drlawrenceblair.com Could not recommend it higher... Enjoy:)

#46 Angelo Somers | A Professional Wisdom Dealer... My All-Time Favourite YouTuber

Angelo Somers is simply a weapon of an intellect! For those unfamiliar with him and his work, this video from his channel is mandatory viewing to set the scene:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3rTMd7WUtc  Building a recent Bali trip around this interview, I couldn't have been more excited to pick Angelo's brain in-person having gorged on his videos of the last year or so. Turns out I picked my timing perfectly as he left a few days later to the States to join my personal podcasting idol Chris Williamson on the 'Modern Wisdom' podcast!!! Anyways, I struggle to express how much I frothed this chat... perhaps the only pod so far I felt myself actually getting smarter from just listening and was genuinely engaged for its entirety. That's tough on all my other guests, but no others have so consistently captured my mind as Angelo and for that I am super grateful and excited for where he directs himself moving forward. Thanks again Angelo mate, Enjoy:)