I spoke in last week’s introduction about the parasocial relationships we often have with the people we follow and today’s guest is another amazing human I’d been Internet besties with for a while before we met. When we did finally cross paths through a Business Chicks event - the foundation of so many great relationships - it was like the podcast universe of Sarahs folding in on itself and felt like we’d known each other for years. Many of you will already recognise Sarah Grynberg’s unmistakably soothing voice and thought provoking questions from her own leading podcast, A Life of Greatness, sparking meaningful conversations around purpose, connection, and what truly makes a life well lived - you can see why we get along so well! But what you may not know is the rich tapestry of life experiences that led her here — from the world of commercial radio to spiritual seeking, personal transformation, and sitting down with some of the world’s most profound thinkers and leaders in their fields - from Deepak Chopra to Matthew McConaughey and beyond! Sarah has made it her mission to decode greatness — not the flashy, performative kind, but the deep, soul-nourishing greatness that comes from alignment, vulnerability, and courage and has also channeled her wisdom into a fabulous book, Living a Life of Greatness that came out just this year. In today’s episode, we turn the mic back on her and peel back the layers of what lights her up, what challenges she’s faced on her path, and how she navigates the inner world while showing up so fully in the outer one. I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Follow Sarah here LINKS + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Monica Ferreira // Ms Moni's first ever podcast!!!
In this day and age, we all enjoy a few parasocial relationships with people we follow but haven’t actually met and in fact most of our guests on the show feel that way before we record. But this week’s guest goes even further beyond that and into the realm of an honorary family member who’s with us in our lounge room, kitchen and sometimes even bedroom every single day… In the ultimate case of #IYKYK, anyone listening who’s at a similar stage of life to us won’t need any further context than her name to understand why it was so surreal to sit down with the incredible Ms Moni for our episode this week. But for those who don’t know, I am so excited to have educator, musician, mum of two and Australia’s answer to Ms Rachel jump right out of her booming YouTube channel to join the show. Ms Moni - otherwise known as Monica Ferreira - brings years of teaching experience to her interactive toddler learning videos on YouTube using interactive songs, stories and adventures to help our little ones develop language and social skills wherever they are. I was introduced to her after some of my own followers realised Teddy had been picking up American sign language before I realised sign language wasn’t universal, and we’ve never looked back. But even if you too know her face and voice as well as we do, you may not know the amazing story of how she ended up where she is today. I won’t give it away too much more but I had no idea about her medical sliding doors moment, other businesses she has started, and was dying to know more for behind the scenes of how she edits her videos, writes her lyrics and which instrument she actually plays. Wildly, this was her first podcast EVER (even though you wouldn’t know it at all from her eloquence and poise). She’s as delightful as you think she’d be from her videos and I hope you enjoy as much as I did. Follow Ms Moni here. Get tickets to our live show here. LINKS + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Zara Seidler // On Bright Colours, Brand Building And Bringing Australia The News
There would be very few Australians who haven’t encountered The Daily Aus at one point or another, consuming the latest headlines from around the world in unmistakably bright colours and a no-nonsense vernacular. Since 2017, TDA has been disrupting the media landscape by repackaging leading news stories in a digestible, engaging way for younger, traditionally news-avoidant audiences. What you may not know, however, is that a) it all began between two complete strangers, b) was all designed and executed at that initial blind coffee catch up and c) with both of them working outside of journalism and the media at the time. After years of following both her work and her pathYAY behind the scenes, I’m thrilled to have one of those co-founders, Zara Seidler, with us today. You all know I love a pivot-filled pathYAY and Zara's is one for the ages going from early leanings towards education to climbing the ladder in government and politics before somewhat stumbling into this dream career. You’ll hear how she built a side hustle with a stranger into a media monster with a few fun side stories about managing risk, underestimation and failed rebrands and ALL still before the age of 30 years old. We also touch on the loss of her father to suicide when she was just 16 years old, a defining moment both for Zara and her family including her brother Zac - a clinical psychologist, researcher and Global Director of Men's Health at Movember - who you have also heard on the show. She is extraordinary in many ways, eloquent beyond her years and a joy to chat with - I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Follow Zara hereFollow The Daily Aus here LINKS + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Merrick Watts // A passionate polymath's pathway to Posca
Sometimes our guests are incredibly talented experts in a specific field, while other times they are extreme polymaths with ventures spanning industries and themes. Sometimes our guests are renowned public figures with extensively covered careers and other times their achievements are quieter although never less impressive. And then, you have Merrick Watts who is all of things at once with his insatiable sense of curiosity driving in a constantly evolving, multifaceted, stellar career. While most of Australia will know of him as a comedy giant across radio and TV (which he of course has been and still is since 1996), he is also a qualified wine judge with two professional qualifications, a weapon who won SAS Australia and recently ran the gruelling big 5 marathon in South Africa, AND founder of Posca Hydrate, an incredible hydration elixir inspired by Ancient romans. It reveals something about Merrick’s thirst for learning (pun intended) that the idea was born during an Internet wormhole through COVID where his wine qualification research led him to ancient Roman methods to hydrate soldiers and emperors. While most would be satisfied there, Merrick went right on to experiment in his kitchen refining the ancient recipe into a sugar-free, sparkling, electrolyte-rich beverage with the added benefits of red wine vinegar for gut health and hydration. You can see why his is a brain that was SO MUCH fun to pick, but also a joy to learn from as someone in the media myself speaking to somewhat of an idol. He is at once infinitely knowledgeable and a loose cannon all at once - I hope you enjoy this one as much as I did. Follow Merrick hereFind out more about Posca Hydrate here. LINKS + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Seize the Bébé // Michelle Battersby on selling her company and starting her dream job at 30 weeks pregnant
I’ve had a string of special recordings lately with guests I’ve been lucky to know through multiple chapters of their pathYAYS and today’s is absolutely one of those. But this is even more momentous not only because Seize the Yay was our guest’s first ever podcast back in 2019, but because her return comes literally days after some HUGE announcements and this chat was the first time she could speak about it. Michelle Battersby is one of the smartest women I know and some of you may remember that when we last spoke she was aggressively growing Bumble in the Australian market. A year after that, she co-founded the trailblazing creator-led platform, Sunroom, allowing women and non-binary individuals to monetise their content. Just last week, after scaling that business to over 20,000 creators, she was finally able to announce that she has sold Sunroom to Fanfix, the category leader in creator monetisation. And just days ago, she shared that she will be stepping into the role of President of Peanut, the gamechanging social networking app for pregnancy and motherhood. …which is so perfectly aligned because, yes, another development since our last episode was the birth of her first son Alfie… followed 8 months later with the somewhat surprising news that her second is also on the way! So, at the time of this recording Michelle had just exited her business, accepted her dream job and all while 30 weeks pregnant so what an INCREDIBLE time to catch up with her and get her real time thoughts. She has always been one of my favourite people to bump heads with but ESPECIALLY since becoming parents - I hope you enjoy as much as I did. LINKS + Announcements on Insta at @spoonful_of_sarah+ Join our Facebook community here+ Subscribe to not miss out on the next instalment of YAY!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A lawyer turned funtrepreneur's investigation into how some of the world's most inspiring people find their "yay", whether it's through work, rest or play and any other pearls of wisdom they have along the way.
Australia