Episode 31: With Nadine Champion, on courage and being your authentic self

2022-12-19

It is our last Podcast episode for 2022! Thank you for the support of all our listeners this year and for your gracious feedback. I wanted to do something extra special, especially because so many of our listeners have been doing it tough this past year. Actually, for most people, it has been a tough few years. Many of you have been pushing through barriers and challenges that you are facing within your workplace and personal lives, often forgetting self-care. Pushing hard extended periods of time comes at a cost,...

It is our last Podcast episode for 2022! Thank you for the support of all our listeners this year and for your gracious feedback.

I wanted to do something extra special, especially because so many of our listeners have been doing it tough this past year. Actually, for most people, it has been a tough few years. Many of you have been pushing through barriers and challenges that you are facing within your workplace and personal lives, often forgetting self-care. Pushing hard extended periods of time comes at a cost, often in the form of fatigue and burn out, which are the types of symptoms that so many people have shared, which is concerning on many levels.

So, when things are tough, a little goodness is needed, which is why I wanted this episode to be like a Christmas Stocking filled with goodies. And the best part about this episode is my special guest, who is one of the nicest and generous people I know, and a wonderful friend. Nadine Champion has joined me to help create this special episode.

Nadine is a Courage Creator and Resilience Revolutionary. Nadine is one of the most popular speakers we have locally and internationally. She is a mindset coach, champion kickboxer & martial artist with over 35 years of experience. Nadine’s wholehearted mission is to help people get back up, leave life’s dressing room, and courageously create a life they love.

Rising to prominence by doing her first ever public speaking event in front of 2,500 people, Nadine was the closing speaker for TEDx Sydney with a speech entitled “10 Seconds of Courage”. She took a giant swing at creating a new life as she demonstrated the mindset tools that had led to her success but were also instrumental in her resilient recovery from cancer. The presentation’s much talked about grand finale changed the course of her life, launching a successful professional speaking career and seeing her author a book, also titled “10 Seconds of Courage”.

Nadine and I could talk for hours. I am always inspired whenever we do talk, and I am sure you will be also. Some of the points we chatted about included:

Going from wearing armour to being your authentic self.
Conflict within ourselves. Misalignment with our own integrity, it is exhausting.
Taking big swings and taking a chance, because when you do nothing… nothing happens.
The Nudist camp, a metaphor for freedom of being oneself verses cultural conditioning.
Managers and leaders being genuine and authentic because people notice there is something off when you don’t.
Open to learning and finding good, valuable, and wise teachers, including a couple of books we discussed, “The Way of Integrity” by Martha Beck and “Extreme Ownership” by Jocko Willink, where Jocko shares the danger of arrogance (over-confidence).
Your title or rank shouldn’t be what defines you.
The importance of connecting and listening to your team. Mistakes can be made when you don’t.
No innovation without mistakes and a safe zone to work and learn within.
‘10 Second of Courage’ speaking opportunities often provides insights into company’s culture.
Organisations don’t consider how their people feel? Or how does their organisation make their people feel?

People are our greatest resource, so looking after ourselves and others is incredibly important. The last few years has done a lot of harm to many, and perhaps you feel you are one of those people. Take a moment to imagine how different your life could look if invested the time to truly understand yourself and live your most genuine and authentic self. That does not mean taking away from others, because for those who truly go deep and understand the process, you can create space for yourself and others. It can be a tough and confronting road, but the most rewarding.

My wish for you is to find some time to step back from the chaos and do some self-care. Also, treat yourself to something special, because you are worth it.

Now, if like Nadine and myself, you are open to learning and finding good, valuable, and wise teachers, then you might find the below resources and links of value.