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Inspire Club Ep #35 - Laura Cooke
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In this episode of the Inspire Club Podcast, host Matt Manners welcomes Laura Cooke — co-founder of Positive Foundry, expert in positive psychology and champion for well-being at work. Laura shares how a leader who saw her potential changed her career path, why ego is the enemy of growth and how gratitude, meditation and humour keep her grounded in a VUCA world. A conversation full of warmth, wisdom and practical inspiration for flourishing at work and in life.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Bio
00:00:04
Speaker
Hello and welcome to the latest episode of the Inspire Club podcast. I'm your host, Matt Manners, and if you don't know, I'm the founder and owner of the Inspiring Workplaces group. So as always, let's just get straight into it and introduce this week's guest.
00:00:19
Speaker
Today, we're thrilled to welcome Laura Cook to the podcast, a dynamic leader in the field of positive psychology and co-founder of the Positive Foundry. Laura's passion for fostering well-being and resilience has empowered countless individuals and organizations to thrive.
00:00:34
Speaker
Her innovative approach to leadership development and mental fitness, she commands combines scientific insights with practical strategies to cultivate flourishing workplaces. um You may also recognise Laura as our host of our new Thrive Thursday sessions that are going down an absolute storm this
Inspiration and Leadership Insights
00:00:51
Speaker
year. If you've not checked one out, please do register register for um um So join us as we delve into Laura's inspiring journey, exploring how her dedication to positive change is transforming lives and shaping the future of organisational health.
00:01:04
Speaker
Welcome to the podcast, Laura. How are you? I'm great. How are you today? I'm very well. Thanks for having me. Well, it's a pleasure. um And um thank you for being here. And also...
00:01:16
Speaker
Really, really big thank you on behalf of myself and the community for coming up with Thrive Thursdays and and and running those sessions. I think we're about to do three of the six for 2025 and really great feedback so far and just a nice addition to help people on their day-to-day journey.
00:01:37
Speaker
ah Well, we are we're building a great community in that. And I have it totally enjoyed my interactions with all of the participants ah equally, hopefully, as they have received value from them. So it's a lot of fun. It's really a great group. Thanks for hosting those. so Fantastic. Well, please do check them out if you're listening live or later on in the year.
00:02:00
Speaker
um So, as always, the first rule and question of the Inspire Club podcast is to share a story about someone that has inspired you at look at work along the way and why.
00:02:13
Speaker
So over to you, Laura. This is such a challenging question because when I think about inspiration, so many people have inspired me along the way. And in a way, i sort of seek to be inspired almost every day in my interactions with people because i get to be in a field where we're really sharing a lot of vulnerability and learning from each other.
00:02:33
Speaker
But as I first, um the first person that popped into my mind was um I spent 15 years at an independent school and Rob Brisk was the head of school while I worked there.
00:02:46
Speaker
He gave me an opportunity to teach and I had spent years in leadership, and in business, as well as in the independent school. And i had an opportunity to step into the classroom with students.
00:02:58
Speaker
And I think the reason why it was inspirational to me was because at the end of that experience, he said to me, you know, you're a great teacher. And i had never thought of myself as a great teacher before, had never even known that was a capability that I had.
00:03:15
Speaker
And I think of um my life trajectory because he sort of gave me that opportunity and saw something in me. It ended up really almost starting Positive Foundry as I then dove into the science of positive psychology and then realized that really teaching was a passion and a strength.
00:03:33
Speaker
And so i would say Rob was one of the most inspirational leaders that I ever experienced. Well, thank you, Rob, um, for changing that trajectory.
00:03:45
Speaker
what What an amazing skill to have. i but My mum's a teacher and some like some of the best people and most inspiring people I've ever come across in my life are teachers or have the ability to teach and um it's a great skill to have. So it's fantastic that Rob saw that in you.
00:04:03
Speaker
Just thinking about the importance of people seeing strengths in others and encouraging them to explore them and on a day-to-day basis. Yeah. And I just think about the fact that that school's philosophy and Rob's philosophy and vision was really that the only constraints that we have are the ones we put on ourselves.
00:04:23
Speaker
And I really do believe that. I really do believe people are unlimited in their capabilities and we hold ourselves back. And so when we can allow ourselves to sort of be inspired by someone else or see something in ourselves through someone else's vision of our of us, it can be life-changing.
00:04:44
Speaker
I mean, things happen for a reason that at the right time, don't they? And it's funny that you mentioned that right now because I've been doing a lot of what's the word, self-discovery, looking in yeah looking inwardly over the past six to 12 months and have started reading Mel Robbins, which I'm sure you're more than well aware of. love Mel Robbins.
00:05:06
Speaker
and And then an old client of mine came around and he's starting to do some leadership stuff and he did an Enneagram on me, which for folks who haven't heard, you should look it up. And talking about...
00:05:20
Speaker
constraints you give yourself so I found out that one of my core emotional drivers is fear which is a good and a bad thing um but also it makes me think about things rather than taking the action to do them which like is one of my repeating characteristics of my entire life whether it be studying for exams or I'd sometimes wonder how I ever started the business um But by looking at myself and then understanding that sometimes you've got have to be kind to yourself because we're sometimes our own worst critics. And I've heard this phrase, you would never talk to somebody like you talk to yourself.
00:05:56
Speaker
um So those kind of constraints, we do put on ourselves. And if you free yourself from them, it's remarkable what you can go on
Personal Growth and Challenges
00:06:06
Speaker
to achieve. And Again, I go back to the Rob piece and he's freed you from your own constraints so in in that way. And what an amazing thing to have done.
00:06:15
Speaker
oh he and he just is he's got the kindest personality and I can recall many conversations in his office where I've said, are you sure? And he, you know, cause you kind of, that self-doubt creeps in all the time. And when you have a leader that you feel comfortable enough sharing your self-doubt, they can really help you move through that. um But you know, that inner critic that, that, um that lives inside all of us, that fear lives inside all of us. I really do think that this journey in life is meant to constantly go through iterations of all of that. So I love what you're sharing about where you are on your journey.
00:06:52
Speaker
I'm on that journey almost every day. It's why I do the work I do so that I can spend most of my time learning. So ah we see each other well. Well, one of the things I love about doing the podcast is when we have great guests on, every guest is great.
00:07:07
Speaker
and There's not not been a bad one, but when you share your story or they share their stories of people that inspired them, you can't help but smile. So you've got a fantastic, if it's not a video and you're listening to audio, Laura's got an absolutely fantastic beaming smile talking about and recollecting Rob and and his and is impact on her. So, yeah.
00:07:26
Speaker
but What a great way to start off. Now, the second question is it like the flip side of the inspiration story. It's a negative experience that's led to positive outcomes. So it's driven you to do good.
00:07:37
Speaker
And I wondered what one of those might have been in your career.
00:07:43
Speaker
Oh, goodness. think...
00:07:49
Speaker
You said a negative experience that led to a good outcome. Was that the question? Yeah. So for an example, people have heard this before, but I was in a ah brainstorm back in my old career and I came up with an idea, which is the purpose of a brainstorm.
00:08:04
Speaker
And my boss just said, that's a rubbish idea. Next. And that is as fresh now as it was 20 years ago. And I went, I will never treat anybody like that the rest of my life.
00:08:17
Speaker
Yeah. And it kind of led to launching this business. ah So that was my negative experience, I think has led to a lot of good. That's so cool. I love that. Yes.
00:08:28
Speaker
I would say probably watching, um I think watching ego. So I think egos hinder self-discovery.
00:08:38
Speaker
And egos really lead people to disconnect from their values. And as I watch people interact in meetings, the thing that I think um I watch and I think, oh, please don't let me act that way, be that way, is when we sort of posture or try to um puff ourselves up when really the greatest conversations are when everyone is just at their core essence and open and vulnerable and able to be sort of touched by someone else's learning and thoughts.
00:09:14
Speaker
So I feel like i I sometimes watch people's ego and I think, oh, their sense of curiosity is destroyed and their s sense of openness is destroyed because they're just letting their ego get in the way. And please, that's just one thing that I never want to have happen to me.
00:09:31
Speaker
And curiosity is a superpower, in my opinion. I think it's one of greatest things in the world. um So ego dampens or destroys curiosity.
00:09:42
Speaker
Yeah. And it also dampens self-discovery. it it It prevents growth because we're just so busy sort of trying to um puff up our feathers and show how you know great we are.
00:09:56
Speaker
And then in that, we miss that the greatness is when we learn, grow, make mistakes and and relate to each other. Like that's where greatness is.
00:10:07
Speaker
It's not in ego. But I think sometimes that gets
Workplace Dynamics and Priorities
00:10:11
Speaker
in our way. And i just I've just sort of become attuned to it. And so sometimes I um i just sort of watch it and witness it and with just a sense of like, huh, that's interesting that that's where they are right now. And sometimes I just wish people would let their guard down a little bit because that's when the beauty of life can be experienced.
00:10:34
Speaker
So much I want to put put into that, but this podcast is not about me. It's quite funny about finding, finding one's voice and ego because somebody could perceive having a voice as maybe being, having, having an ego, but they are two very different things.
00:10:49
Speaker
I think. Yeah, totally. So that's okay. Cool. Yeah. Like I said, very interesting timing of this podcast. um What do you think is a major workplace priority right now and why?
00:11:04
Speaker
I think, well, workplace well-being, as as you know. And um I think that right now, um people are really struggling. And they're you know the trajectory of mental health is going in the wrong direction. And I think organizations are needing to address that at the same time wanting their teams to continue to work and perform well.
00:11:31
Speaker
And so I think it's this this this balance. I also think right now in the workplace, we're seeing a lot of challenges with different generations communicating so many different styles. I love that you're doing the Enneagram, like all the different ways that we can figure out the way we operate and the way others operate and how we come together and operate the most efficiently and effectively as a team.
00:11:57
Speaker
So I think those generational differences are um somewhat of a challenge right now. not to mention all of the sort of external challenges that um that our businesses and organizations are facing. I mean, you've heard that term, we live in a VUCA world, you know things are very volatile, they're uncertain, they're chaotic, they're ambiguous.
00:12:17
Speaker
There's so many challenges and it just requires a new level of flexibility, of empathy, of sort of new leadership skills, new communication skills so that we can all get through this together.
00:12:32
Speaker
I hadn't heard VUCA world. Oh, you haven't? Yeah. And it it really does sum up the world we're living in right now. um the And so much faster than we're used to. You know, everything is just faster. so it makes it even that much more challenging when the chaos happens because it's quick.
00:12:53
Speaker
And um yeah, so there's a lot of challenges that are that I think we're all facing right now.
00:13:01
Speaker
don't know how to phrase this question because you talk about workplace wellbeing and my initial question was, well, how how do we get, obviously that covers, thankfully now, a lot of different aspects. It's a catch all for a lot of different issues that we try to address.
00:13:17
Speaker
um
00:13:20
Speaker
I'm just wondering how we get a handle on that in the, n And if you've got any advice or tips in this VUCA world, as you as you as you put it, because it made me think about the pandemic and how we lost control.
00:13:32
Speaker
And we were running around for a bit, but as people describe, even the crazy situations become normal quite quickly. And they used an example of the Brits for Londoners during the war. Okay, after two or three days or three four days, okay, this is what just happens. And it becomes normality and you get a sense of control of the situation again.
00:13:53
Speaker
But this feels different right now in the sense that the pace of change every single day, there seems to be another challenge being laid at an individual an organization's doorstep. But it's quite hard to seemingly wrestle some control into one's life or an organization.
00:14:09
Speaker
So any thoughts or ideas around that at all? Yeah, I mean, it's just the challenge. I think one of the things that ah that we really try to instill in our training is um this idea that we cannot control our circumstances. We can't control what's happening yeah around us. In fact, you know, Stephen Covey's got the circle of control, the circle of influence and the circle of concern. And we spend a lot of our time in our circle of concern thinking we're going to control things, but we can't.
00:14:41
Speaker
So it's really just helping people understand that um there are a lot of things outside of our control. We need to focus our energy and our attention on the things that we can impact.
00:14:53
Speaker
I would say that's one really important element. And, you know, some of that impact is building relationships and having the right people around to support us. And then the second piece is really, i think it's all around emotional intelligence And, ah you know, to be a great leader today, we've got to have people who are really focused on building those relationships, um getting people to work together, understanding where people are, giving them the support that they need, where they are, and then bringing them along in the journey.
00:15:29
Speaker
You know, it's funny, it's, you know, vision is really important for a leader, but if you don't have the relationships, you don't have anyone following you, right? I mean, it's all about how do we build those relationships? And so in a perfect world, the world that we see at Positive Foundry, it's like, how do we get people talking about their wellbeing, learning together so that you create this supportive, safe environment where people you learning, growing, and then working even harder because they're more tied to the mission and the purpose of the organization. um And you know somewhat not ignoring the external factors, but only focusing on the ones that we know we can impact.
00:16:09
Speaker
ye Because otherwise, it's really just a waste of our time and energy, and we're going to miss out on a lot of joy. The other thing I would just say is that As I know you know really well, um sometimes we've just got to keep it light.
00:16:23
Speaker
And I think sometimes everything can be so heavy. So finding a way to laugh a little bit at work, building in a little bit of you know oxytocin into our day, lifting people's spirits, you know walking around with the question of tell me something funny and have everyone look for something that's going to generate some humor because we need the lightness in order to sort of ah deal with some of those darker, more challenging moments.
00:16:50
Speaker
And all the research shows we do better when we experience more positive, positive emotions at work. Fantastic. well I'm glad I asked that question. one but i and I could dive into that even more, but um we will, um we will move on. And I think this is a nice segue into this question, actually.
Stress Management and Well-being
00:17:08
Speaker
What's one of the best ways you've found to beat stress? Oh, gosh, man. i spend I spend a lot of my time figuring that out as a CEO and entrepreneur in the world that I'm living in. the ah I have found that my best days are um filled with three different real important really important tools. One is exercise, even if it's 20 minutes.
00:17:33
Speaker
ah Exercise has been proven to be one of the best ways to ah handle handle and manage stress. I meditate. almost every day for at least 10 minutes.
00:17:46
Speaker
What I have found is creating that space in my mind and the quiet and that practice of meditation has really been a boost for me in terms of managing my emotions, as well as sort of mastering that mental talk, what we call master your stories, you know being able to manage the self-doubt or the the shame or the beating ourselves up or whatever else. um I think meditation has been really key for that um for me as a practice.
00:18:16
Speaker
And then the other thing is just gratitude. I i do every single day practice gratitude. And I do that in a couple different ways. One is um jotting down three things I'm grateful for. I use the five minute journal app on my phone.
00:18:31
Speaker
And I also take a picture every day. So it gives me this like, I'm seeking to find the things that I'm grateful for in a day, which makes me look for the good things. So I will randomly take a picture of my daughter or my dog or a ah the the scenery because I'm like, this is my moment for the day. I want to lock this one in because this is what I'm grateful for.
00:18:53
Speaker
It's amazing how often the dog is the photo. that ah I know. I mean, that ah we're taking too many photos of Seamus, my dog. But um um ah I love those tips. I do two of three. i've yet I've tried to meditate.
00:19:08
Speaker
um I've not yet found the way to build that habit. um But I've always found it a positive experience. um And I've just started doing the gratitude piece. And it is is very, very powerful, actually.
00:19:22
Speaker
um every day trying to switch the mindset and putting yourself into that that but that different state of mind you know what what am I grateful for today or yesterday i mean it's it's ah it's incredibly powerful so if there's anybody out there who hasn't tried that Please do.
00:19:40
Speaker
and i'm And I am a believer because you know the research shows that the more we practice, the more we rewire our brain to default that way. And after about, I think I'd been practicing for four years.
00:19:56
Speaker
I have four daughters and one of my teenage daughters was screaming their head off at me. They had a bright red face. They're standing in the hallway and they were yelling at me at the top of their lungs.
00:20:07
Speaker
And the thought that popped into my head when she was yelling at me was, I am so grateful that I have a daughter who feels like she is strong enough and has a voice to be able to express herself with all of her emotions towards me. I am not joking you. That popped in my head. My normal default would have been to scream right back at her. But I was like, oh, this works. I'm actually like seeing the good in even the worst situation. I was like, wow, it really does work.
00:20:36
Speaker
I will tell you that one of my um one of my friends, his name is Doug Smith. He wrote a great book about happiness. he He lives with terminal cancer. And every morning, he takes his right foot and he puts it outside of his bed. And he said he looks down every morning at his big toe.
00:20:56
Speaker
And if there's not a toe tag on his toe, ah he says, it's going to be a great day. Wow. Wow. And I think when when we talk about having a perspective of, you know, a life's perspective, living with terminal illness is, you know, next level. And he also is just an inspiration for me to think about, gosh, we can focus on everything that's wrong with the world, or we can really just choose to focus with focus on the things that are going right with the world and go make a difference.
00:21:28
Speaker
Yeah. I absolutely love that. Absolutely love that. ah Doug Smith. um look I will look up his book as soon as we finish the podcast. um what ah what ah What a great perspective to put onto the things.
00:21:39
Speaker
um
00:21:41
Speaker
What's the, oh yeah, my favorite question, actually, as just discussed before we started recording. um The best advice you were ever given and who was it from, if you can remember?
00:21:54
Speaker
ah Oh my gosh. So this is also really hard because I feel like I've been given lots of advice. I would say the the work hard, play hard motto is probably the best advice.
00:22:07
Speaker
Came from my dad, I think came from a long line of relatives that um really is just a core belief of mine to sort of live life to its fullest in every minute. And we've We've aligned that in our positive foundry values. So one of our values is love and specifically love the work, love the
Leadership and Productivity
00:22:28
Speaker
clients. And I try to put like my heart and soul into everything I do and make sure that ah there's work and play involved and that we're, you know, 100% in when we're in. So I would say that's probably the best advice.
00:22:44
Speaker
Work hard, play hard. Love it. Absolutely love it. I've written down live life to its fullest as well. I think a lovely crossover there. um yes what's What's the most important quality in a leader from your perspective?
00:22:59
Speaker
I mean, we might have covered it off in some respects. We talked about emotional intelligence and creating those relationships. you know Nobody's going to follow you if you don't have them. But is there something else that comes to mind? I mean, um when i when i when I talk about emotional intelligence, you know emotional intelligence is really four separate skills. It's self-awareness, it's self-management, it's awareness of others, and then it's relationships.
00:23:24
Speaker
And so as I think about the best qualities of a leader, i think it's someone who's got a really high EQ. I think they've um they've got to have a strong vision,
00:23:37
Speaker
And then I think they have to believe that people are their most important asset. I mean, I'll just go with your people first, what you believe, where you are. i think the best leaders are focused on people because nothing gets done without people.
00:23:55
Speaker
And um I think that's really most important. I think today it also requires, you know, as you think about things like empathy, i would i would lump that into emotional intelligence.
00:24:06
Speaker
or you know compassionate management, I would also lump that into emotional intelligence. So I think really that that's my summary of a great leader. Well, I'm not going to get any dis disagreement from me on that one.
00:24:20
Speaker
I haven't asked this one for a while, um but having but been reading about different elements of this, I'm interested now if you have one. um Do you have a go-to productivity trick that you use for yourself or recommend to others?
00:24:35
Speaker
to get things done? So I was just thinking about this the other day because I, I like probably like many people find it really challenging because i I'm what I call a time optimist. I like to put 20 things on a list and think I'm going to get them all done. And it's very, it's never realistic.
00:24:57
Speaker
So the tool that I use is actually, um, have you ever heard of intelligent change? No, I love that. Oh my gosh. Okay. they' are the They're the creators of the five minute journal, but I use their tool, which is a little card.
00:25:13
Speaker
You can see it right here. i actually have it in front of me where um every day i only get to write down four things that I'm going to accomplish, five things that I'm going to accomplish in the day.
00:25:25
Speaker
The first one is at the top and it's most important. And then underneath it says secondary tasks of importance. And I get to list four. So my trick in um productivity is is figuring out the most important things that need to get done yeah and doing those first.
00:25:46
Speaker
And then recognizing that when you let things slide, that you're doing it because you're doing the best you can. And that's all you had time for in that day. yeah I think where we get hung up is not prioritizing the most important tasks.
00:26:00
Speaker
Because let me tell you, email and our text messages think they're the most important. And 90% of the time, they're not. yeah And so that's really the challenge. Because to do big work, we need chunks of time to think and and dive in And so I think that limiting the number of tasks is is my productivity key. But I love these little cards because I do it every day. I just write down the five things.
00:26:25
Speaker
And that's it. That's the day. I love it. I love the the phrase time optimist. Even even if you've put a positive slant on that, I think. And I can relate to being a time optimist 100%.
00:26:38
Speaker
ah hundred percent um And even if I had one of those cards in front of me, I would still probably find a way of writing 20 things on it. um Oh, trust me. I write on the bottom of them where there's no spot. The other things that I think I'm going to get done.
00:26:51
Speaker
But you know, the challenge with all of that is that We, um you know, one of the one of the key aspects of feeling like you're flourishing or thriving in life is your sense of accomplishment.
00:27:03
Speaker
And if we consistently rob ourselves of that sense of accomplishment, we're sort of robbing ourselves of that feeling of, of um you know, really being our best. yeah And when you look back on your week and you see what you've accomplished, it's amazing, right? Right.
00:27:21
Speaker
Yeah. But yet you can still feel very unsuccessful. And that's not fair. I hadn't thought of it like that. look back on what you've You should look back at your list and see what you've achieved. um yeah you you only have Well, sweeping generalization, I only ever think of the things I've not done, not the things I've done.
00:27:39
Speaker
Exactly. um Exactly. A poor way of looking at it for sure. but One of our previous guests, um Jenny Field, called it eating the frog.
00:27:51
Speaker
So that one thing every day ah you you know is the most important thing and it might sometimes be the thing you want to do the least as well and you eat the frog for the first thing you do.
00:28:03
Speaker
And then everything else is almost a... a bonus after that. Exactly. and your yeah mind I love that. Yes, absolutely.
Personal Interests and Inspirations
00:28:11
Speaker
She's got great advice. um So some of the quick, more relaxed questions, I suppose. um If you're a teacher, which you are, what would you teach?
00:28:22
Speaker
ah I am a teacher. I teach well-being. Amazing. Fantastic. I almost didn't ask that question, but I just um had to tee it up. I'm so lucky. i literally pinch myself that I get to teach this because more important than teaching it, I get to learn it.
00:28:38
Speaker
And that's really what I enjoy the most is learning and then figuring out how to teach it in the most engaging way that will help people using the science of positive psychology, which is really cool.
00:28:51
Speaker
Fantastic. Are you an early bird or a night owl? So, um, I have four children and after you have children, I think you don't really have a choice. i am an early bird.
00:29:04
Speaker
i love the quiet of the morning and ever since my kids were born, I often wake up. My normal wake up time is sometime between 5.30 and 5.45 only because i need that morning time for myself.
00:29:18
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. um Very hard question. So if you don't have an answer, totally understand. but Do you have a favorite album that you can always just put on? And is there a go-to song if you need to fire yourself up, pump yourself up, that you put on the iPhone or Spotify whatever player you might use?
00:29:39
Speaker
Okay, so my caveat is that I have a daughter. I have daughters. i have four daughters. So that's my caveat. But I would say one of my favorite albums is The Greatest Showman.
00:29:51
Speaker
oh yeah. Do you want to listen to that soundtrack? Fantastic. And then um the song This Is Me sometimes my like pump up song. I also will say like the, I don't know if you've ever listened to Piano Guys. They have a song called It's Gonna Be Okay.
00:30:08
Speaker
That's the other song that sometimes, sometimes This Is Me is too much and I just need It's Gonna Be Okay. It's a great song if you haven't heard it. Amazing. We, am, i am unashamedly a massive fan of The Greatest Shaman. Oh my gosh.
00:30:23
Speaker
It was one of those, i think everybody, I know, how can you not enjoy that? um And when it came out, it's the only time we've ever done a themed event anywhere in the world. We did a for our awards in London, we did The Greatest Showman and got some amazing singers doing the songs from The Greatest Showman in between parts of the awards.
00:30:43
Speaker
Absolutely fantastic. And that that singer has actually gone on to sing at King Charles' coronation and everything now. So you can imagine that kind of quality of voice singing those songs.
00:30:55
Speaker
yeah i We were just in New York in January, happened to be in New York, and there was a sign for Hugh Jackman having a show there. And we randomly like bought tickets at the last minute. And half of the show was Hugh Jackman singing greatest showman songs. wow And it was, it was over the top amazing. it was so cool.
00:31:16
Speaker
A talented man.
00:31:21
Speaker
haven't asked this one for a while, but why not? Um, ah Just because I've i've been du've been doing my my chores the past week. the The sun is out, so all of a sudden um my my game is being upped in the garden and the painting stuff. So um what what what's the least – what's the thing you leave within your chores at home with all your daughters and hoping that they might do it out the household chores? Oh, daughters or husband, I guess. Or husband, i yeah. Here's what I do. Which job do you just really hope you don't have to do?
00:31:52
Speaker
ah um The thing that I hate is opening up a trash can and putting a trash bag in it. So what I do is i literally will even tie off the trash bag and leave it in its spot, hoping that someone will pick it up and take it out to the trash.
00:32:09
Speaker
That is the eternal struggle in my household too. So often, it ah youve you haven't put the trash bag in. I mean, you've taken it out to the bin, but you've not finished the process.
00:32:20
Speaker
Oh yeah, there's that too. Yes. yeah um Your favorite film? Doesn't have to be the Godfather, like the best film ever ah quality. It could be just something you love just to throw on and watch.
00:32:33
Speaker
Oh my gosh. nice This is very out of character, but I'm going to just be honest with you. My favorite film is Grease 2. Oh, wow. Did you ever see Grease 2 with Michelle Pfeiffer?
00:32:46
Speaker
I did. You can't forget it. Well, I feel like a lot of people say they never even saw it. I think it hit me at the right time when I was a teenager. I don't know. But to this day, it is one of my favorite shows. And I think I can repeat every line.
00:32:58
Speaker
but Wasn't the ah the main heartthrob, didn't you go on to be in the Colby's or something like that as well? Yeah. Yeah. No, Grease 2, motorcycle and the, yeah, I know it.
00:33:09
Speaker
I love the honesty. It's so funny. i wish I had a better one, like one that was a little more values-based, but it's it's it's, you know. No, it's real. I love it. That's um but one of mine, um haven't thought about it for a while, but was always always the Karate Kid.
00:33:26
Speaker
Oh, gosh. I love the Karate Kid. I also can repeat lines from that movie. That's such a good movie. Word for word. So when Cobra Kai came out, that was ah I was so happy.
00:33:38
Speaker
That's so cool. They did a really good values in that movie, though. Not so much increase to not so much increase to. So ah two two more questions.
00:33:49
Speaker
And then we we're sadly finished, but what's the best place you've visited around the world? um And it obviously could be in America. um And if you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?
00:34:03
Speaker
Oh, gosh. Okay. So the best place I've ever visited is Machu Picchu in Peru. Nice. I went after I graduated from um my MBA program and traveled with a friend and hiked into the gate right when the sun was going down. And I mean, it's just spectacular what the Incas built and...
00:34:25
Speaker
just the sense of awe and serenity and all of those sort of emotions of being in that space was just spectacular. I loved it. I want i want to take my whole family back at some point. And then if I could be anywhere in the world, i guess i have two answers. One is right here because I truly love my life. I love my work.
00:34:47
Speaker
I love my family. i love everything. um If I could go on a vacation right now, i would, hands down go on an African safari. i I have a have a book. it's my It's my bucket list trip. I have a book of all the safaris and it sort of inspires me as I walk by it. And someday i will i will experience an African safari, but I'm a big animal lover.
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00:35:12
Speaker
and outdoor nature kind of person. And I've just always wanted to go see Africa. So someday. Is there a specific part of Africa for that safari in your mind, or you haven't narrowed it down that far yet?
00:35:24
Speaker
I haven't narrowed it down. i have like three different trips that are earmarked, but I haven't narrowed it down yet. Okay. Well, let me know if you ever get there. Cause there's a, i would like to go back. i've I've been lucky enough to do one of those with my wife who,
00:35:41
Speaker
maybe make not made me do it, but gave me the the nudge I needed. Um, but I really want to go back and visit Victoria falls. Um, so, and I think if we did that, then we'd have to build in another type of safari extension to that as well somewhere. so Oh, for sure.
00:36:00
Speaker
and Fantastic. Um, great, great answers. Um, so last, lastly, who do you think would be a good guest for the podcast? Um, if you were to make a recommendation,
00:36:11
Speaker
Well, ah you you mentioned Mel Robbins. Has she been on? i mean, aim high Absolutely. Let's do i love I love her. She's amazing. And I had a chance to meet her in an airport. We sat and chatted for a really long time. She's just a really personable, awesome human.
00:36:29
Speaker
Okay, let me see. Who else should be on a podcast? I mean, i mean i I find it funny. I think Doug Smith. i think I think Doug Smith. He is so inspirational and he really helped get Positive Foundry started. He's one of our um one of our inspirations. he's He's amazing. He'd be great. I'm going to ask both.
00:36:56
Speaker
um i totally missed the whole Mel Robbins phenomenon. I can never say that word. um And I've only just discovered her and very quickly in short succession,
00:37:07
Speaker
have read her books in the wrong order. um And yeah, amazing. um I like to, I like to help teach the high five habit in one of our workshops that we run.
00:37:20
Speaker
I mean, if you aren't going to laugh at yourself, even just smiling at yourself in the mirror in the morning, it starts off your day the way it should be started. ah Why aren't we cheering ourselves on? Right? Like, why aren't we high fiving ourselves all day?
00:37:32
Speaker
It's a great way of, like you say, rewiring your ah your but your brain. I mean, I've um've started that. So that was the, the yeah, I've just finished that book actually. So I read the last one and the first one in the middle one. So I do high 10 in the morning.
00:37:47
Speaker
ah Oh, I love it. Yeah. yeah um and And what power in let them, like what power in let them and let me, I mean, it's just her, some of her techniques are so, they seem so simple, but they are really life-changing.
00:38:01
Speaker
I think that's the power of her is the ability to make it simple and simple. connect the dots to it all. So, I mean, yeah, no anybody who has, like me, might have been fully in the dark around Mel Robbins, please go check her out because um in some respects, not nothing short of life changing if you if you really get stuck into them. So, but yeah, thank you so much, Laura. Is there anything else you'd like to add before we finish? I've really, really enjoyed having you on the podcast and look forward to more work that we do together.
00:38:37
Speaker
Thank you for inviting me and thank you for continuing to do the good work that you do in lifting up organizations and workplaces and inspiring people to be inspiring workplaces. So what better job is there? And you you do it just amazingly well. So thanks for being you and thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.
00:38:57
Speaker
Well, that's very kind. Thank you. I always find that very awkward. So on that note, um thank you, Laura. Thank you to you, everybody out there that listens to our podcast, ah might be part of our community, and is just trying to put a positive ah frame on the world, whether it be in your in your home or your workplace. So keep it up. We need it now more than ever.
00:39:20
Speaker
So thank you so much, everybody. Thank you, Laura. And see you soon. Take care.
00:39:31
Speaker
Thank