Transcript
Speaker: G'day, I'm Trent Maxwell.
Speaker: And I'm Lee Masson.
Speaker: And we want to welcome you to our Live, Learn, Survive podcast.
Speaker: Since 2018, Lee and I travelled the globe and met face-to-face with over 33,000 children in six countries across three continents.
Speaker: We've created a series of award-winning children's books, a global online education program, and a founders of the Live, Learn, Survive charity, all focused on teaching children and young adults life skills that will not only help themselves, but help others too.
Speaker: We're on a mission to spread awareness about fire, water and first aid education to inspire the next generation of first responders.
Speaker: So join us for the next half an hour with some fun, inspiration and kindness and we'll try and learn something too.
Speaker: How are you this week, Lee?
Speaker: Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker: Maxie, I am here and I am good, thank you.
Speaker: And we are, we're doing a really early, early record because this is going to be going out at Christmas or New Year.
Speaker: We're not sure yet.
Speaker: Yeah, between the two.
Speaker: Yeah, we've got a couple of specials for people.
Speaker: A couple of special podcasts for people.
Speaker: We're always doing our own podcast each week and we also get some great guests over the last few years.
Speaker: But today we're going to be interviewing yourself.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: So, you know, we're good at asking the questions of other people and we thought as a bit of a, you know, it's going to be the end of the year, we're wrapping it all up.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: People, you know, might be curious about, well, what would Lee answer that or what would Max answer that?
Speaker: So we've got a heap of questions.
Speaker: And this is our little Christmas special.
Speaker: There's not a bit of tinsel or glitter between us, like, you know, a bit of a, you know, but anyway.
Speaker: So, yeah, so I am going to just...
Speaker: Be quiet now.
Speaker: And you are going to ask me the questions.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So the way it's going to go, everyone, we've got about 20 questions here and we're going to go through.
Speaker: We're going to have a chat like we usually do when we have guests on.
Speaker: And we're going to learn a little bit more about Lee and Live, Learn, Survive.
Speaker: So it's very exciting.
Speaker: It's the first of its kind.
Speaker: And I'm sure people listening, watching will learn something new.
Speaker: So I'll do my best, Maxie, and I hope I make a good guest for you.
Speaker: You will.
Speaker: I reckon you will.
Speaker: Okay, let's give it a go.
Speaker: So question one, what was your career path like before founding the charity?
Speaker: Did you always know you'd work in the area or did your journey evolve unexpectedly?
Speaker: Did it evolve unexpectedly?
Speaker: Absolutely it did.
Speaker: So did I always know I'd work in this area?
Speaker: Absolutely not.
Speaker: Not even a clue or a chance of it is the answer to that.
Speaker: So yeah, absolutely it evolved.
Speaker: unexpectedly.
Speaker: But yeah, my career path, I mean, you know, people may, if they've listened to the podcast before or whatever, they will know that I was born and I grew up in England in a suburb of Nottingham called Longeaton, which for a bit of history, because we love history, was actually the birthplace and the home of Lace.
Speaker: So Nottingham Lace comes from our town, industrial town, and
Speaker: You know, school, comprehensive school, massive, massive school, 1,500 kids in our school.
Speaker: That's a lot of kids.
Speaker: That's a lot of kids, big school.
Speaker: You know, I was bright, but I wasn't particularly academic.
Speaker: And that kind of industrial town.
Speaker: So I went straight into, didn't go to uni, straight into one of the,
Speaker: local companies that was a lingerie and a swimwear manufacturer.
Speaker: So I spent my whole career right up until even after I met you, and I'm just kind of closing it now, in the fashion industry.
Speaker: So I'm a garment engineer by trade, which for anybody who doesn't know anything of things like that, you know, if you, a designer might design a bridge.
Speaker: So say the, you know, Sydney Harbour Bridge,
Speaker: You could all draw the Sydney Harbour Bridge, couldn't you?
Speaker: Like, you know, straight line, circle at the top, you know, all the things.
Speaker: But then the engineer is the person that makes sure that the traffic will be able to drive over it.
Speaker: So a garment engineer would like, we could all draw a T-shirt, but how would that seam not rip?
Speaker: How would you be able to get it over your head?
Speaker: How would you be able to move your arms in the armhole?
Speaker: How many stitches would you stitch in it?
Speaker: all those kind of things so never thought about it that way that was my um trade that was my bit of the jigsaw so um that was um a brilliant brilliant career took me all over the world because manufacturing um spread globally so so very very lucky i worked in the states i worked in sri lanka i've been to istanbul i've been to many many places um
Speaker: thanks to that incredible career and actually setting up factories.
Speaker: So it wasn't like I was going to fashion shows or, you know, the glamorous bit of it.
Speaker: I was in the factories.
Speaker: So a lot of the factories.
Speaker: Down in the city and sorted.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker: Like your dad, building that wall, Maxie.
Speaker: Build the walls, build the houses.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So yeah, that was my background.
Speaker: Yeah, and considering we've known each other for over 10 years, I've heard that story a few times, but people listening and tuning in probably didn't realise that.
Speaker: And actually, the way that you explained that
Speaker: how an engineer textile.
Speaker: Yes, garment engineer.
Speaker: Garment engineer.
Speaker: The analogy that you used about the bridge, it's a good way for me to visualize that.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I thought it was pretty cool.
Speaker: Thank you.
Speaker: That's great.
Speaker: First question.
Speaker: I want to, okay, Maxie, go.
Speaker: Okay, next one.
Speaker: What inspired you to start Live, Learn, Survive?
Speaker: Was there a specific moment or experience that sparkled, sparked, sparkled, sorry, your passion for the fire and water safety education?
Speaker: Well, meeting you, my dear friend.
Speaker: So basically, you know, we met, as a few people know, because you, you know, swimwear, you wore a lot of swimwear, or I made a lot of swimwear.
Speaker: And that's what brought us together.
Speaker: And then we took those kids for that swim at Summer Ice.
Speaker: And yeah, it was absolutely, took me in an instant back to my childhood.
Speaker: So I was still on the side of the pool.
Speaker: I watch these kids talking to you and asking questions.
Speaker: And there was this little switch in my brain that went, I have been here before.
Speaker: And, yeah, it was literally, I thought, whoa.
Speaker: Here we go.
Speaker: I can still remember a day.
Speaker: I actually swam at that pool yesterday.
Speaker: And I never don't go to that pool without thinking about that moment.
Speaker: And, yeah, so the reason, and I think a lot of people think that I, you know, like,
Speaker: working with you obviously who wouldn't um just because you're a you know a great guy but because you know it takes me back to what my my mum did so um it was all around my childhood I was a student swimming teacher learned life-saving skills all the things that you talk about it was like like you were reinforcing something I knew when I was young
Speaker: Apologies about that, Lee.
Speaker: We had some technical difficulties.
Speaker: However, you were saying about the answer for question two.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So basically I was saying meeting you and then recapping it took me straight back to my childhood because people think that, you know, I think I said that, you know, why wouldn't I want to work with you just because you're a great guy?
Speaker: But actually it took me back to my childhood.
Speaker: So, you know, I'm not just a maxi super fan.
Speaker: And it's actually, I get it.
Speaker: I get what you try to do every day when you're out there because that was what my mum did.
Speaker: So, yeah, awesome.
Speaker: Awesome.
Speaker: So that's what started it all off.
Speaker: It started all off, but obviously we had the Sunrise at Bondi partnership at the start.
Speaker: And then I think our first trip to England was what kind of sparked the actual Live, Learn, Survive.
Speaker: So you want to elaborate a little bit more about that?
Speaker: Yeah, it did actually, because you were going to Europe, if I remember rightly, you were going to Europe.
Speaker: I was going back to the UK.
Speaker: I hadn't been back in 10 years.
Speaker: I had a significant birthday.
Speaker: I was turning 50 and didn't know what to do for my birthday.
Speaker: So I thought I'll go and see my mates.
Speaker: And then we got the invitation from Mr. Sponge down in Southbourne, which was actually very close to where my godmother lives.
Speaker: And it's almost like, you know, there was something, I think, happening, telling us.
Speaker: And I said to you, do you want to go to England for a week before we go to Europe?
Speaker: And we were like, yeah, why not?
Speaker: And off we went.
Speaker: And then it was like, yeah, that was, it took another level then, didn't it?
Speaker: Because we just saw the kids that came out.
Speaker: We just saw, and I just, I think we just had so much fun, didn't we?
Speaker: It was like.
Speaker: We had a lot of fun.
Speaker: And it was great to meet those people.
Speaker: And those people that we did meet on that first trip were kind of the stepping blocks for us to go back the second and third time.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: And yeah, it was brilliant.
Speaker: So yeah.
Speaker: There we go.
Speaker: Good stuff.
Speaker: Question three, give me one character trait of one of your family that makes you proud of them and why?
Speaker: So I thought about this one.
Speaker: My granddad, Billy, who you've got to have a granddad, Billy.
Speaker: I have a granddad, Billy.
Speaker: It would have been his birthday today.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: When I met you, one of the first things that you said to me was, I just like helping people.
Speaker: Literally the first sentence, one of the first things you said, my granddad was just all about community.
Speaker: He wasn't, you know, he wasn't, you know, a brilliantly academic businessman or anything like that.
Speaker: He was just a simple man, went to church.
Speaker: And what he did at church was he started a thing called the care group.
Speaker: And all the care group was, was to look after the elderly people in the community that maybe couldn't get to the shop to buy something or other.
Speaker: And every time that someone in the care group was sick, my granddad would turn up on the doorstep with a get well card and a few flowers that he'd picked out the churchyard.
Speaker: He looked after the church grounds.
Speaker: He was a gardener.
Speaker: And I just think it was just so simple, but
Speaker: That's what counts, isn't it?
Speaker: You know, like looking after people.
Speaker: Looking after people and being a part of the community because, you know, we're all getting older and there'll be one day when we're going to be in a vulnerable state or, you know, might need some help.
Speaker: And, you know, how good is it having a family member or your local person in your community come and help you and make sure that you're okay?
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: It's a beautiful thing.
Speaker: Particularly like if you've got like family that maybe move away or kids that have, you know, now living in a different town or something like, you know, or you maybe can't get out to meet your,
Speaker: usual group of friends at the afternoon tea or something, you know.
Speaker: So, you know, and my granddad was doing this in his 80s and telling my mom, yeah, but Jill, these people are old.
Speaker: And he was still on a push bike in his 80s, like taking his cards and things around.
Speaker: So looking after the old people.
Speaker: So, yeah, so there you go.
Speaker: Billy.
Speaker: Billy Wells.
Speaker: All right, question.
Speaker: Four, tell us about a time in your youth when you stood up for what is right rather than bow down to peer pressure.
Speaker: Oh, I've got a good story for you here, Maxie, about this one.
Speaker: I thought about this.
Speaker: You don't know this story, I'm pretty sure.
Speaker: And I was very young.
Speaker: So I was, I think, probably 15.
Speaker: Yes, I was 15 just before I came to Australia with my mum and dad.
Speaker: And mum and dad had saved for years and years for this trip.
Speaker: And a school trip came up to go to Germany.
Speaker: And I was doing German at school.
Speaker: And mum and dad couldn't afford me to go.
Speaker: You know, the Australia trip was breaking us.
Speaker: But the school teacher went, oh, you know, it's good for the exams.
Speaker: You know, she really needs to be there.
Speaker: So I think dad, you know, went and worked another 28 days overtime or something.
Speaker: Got Lee on the school trip.
Speaker: Went on the school trip.
Speaker: And the first night we were in Cologne and there was a very naughty teacher.
Speaker: This is, you know, we're going back to the 80s now.
Speaker: I don't you wouldn't get away with it.
Speaker: It wouldn't happen these days.
Speaker: Took us all out into Cologne for the evening.
Speaker: Took us to this street with 15 year olds and told everyone to split up and everyone went in the pubs.
Speaker: I was 15.
Speaker: My dad would have absolutely, if I'd have gone over there and gone in a pub, like, you know, my dad, Jocky, I'd have been in all sorts of trouble.
Speaker: So I didn't go in the pubs.
Speaker: There were six girls, stayed together with the other teacher that had gone on the trip.
Speaker: And she took us a little sightseeing tour around.
Speaker: We did the, you know, the, you know, little night tour of the Cologne Squadron Amazing Cathedral.
Speaker: We walked all the rest of it.
Speaker: We walked for walk for hours.
Speaker: We all walked back to the hostel.
Speaker: When we got back to the hostel, surprise, surprise, there were a few teenagers a little bit worse for wear.
Speaker: The teacher looked a bit dusty as well.
Speaker: And I got the telling off of my life.
Speaker: for being, you know, going off, for wandering off and not knowing where we were and all the rest of it and all the rest of it.
Speaker: So I had a bit of a set two with this teacher in the corridor, in the halls of where everyone was staying.
Speaker: Everyone was listening and Lee was not backing down.
Speaker: And I noticed on the floor two glasses, beer glasses, that this teacher had brought back
Speaker: as a souvenir from one of his, wherever he'd been or whatever.
Speaker: And I'm like, I'm a bit like, I actually, I actually kicked these glasses right down the hallway, literally smashed them to smithereens.
Speaker: And I walked off.
Speaker: And I said, and I, you know, I was told I was going to be grounded when I got back home.
Speaker: I was going to be with the headmaster.
Speaker: I was going to be, I brought the whole group into danger.
Speaker: I'd been,
Speaker: irresponsible i'd left i was obviously the ringleader and i just said i'll see you back at school with the headmaster show up anytime you like interestingly enough nothing happened when we got back to school until parents evening and when mom and dad went to parents evening um the german teacher was a bit sheepish actually didn't have a lot to say to himself can you imagine that even happening today
Speaker: It wouldn't happen today, but yeah, it goes a show, different times, different times back then, back in the 80s.
Speaker: But it's awesome that you stood up yourself and, you know, you didn't kind of get peer pressure in by a teacher of all people.
Speaker: Of all people.
Speaker: And I was just like, yeah.
Speaker: And you know what?
Speaker: I think I, because I knew I just respected my mom and dad way more than I was going to.
Speaker: And, you know, I just knew it was wrong.
Speaker: I was not playing in that.
Speaker: I just knew it was wrong.
Speaker: I might have only been 15, but I was not having it.
Speaker: So there you go.
Speaker: Great answer.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: Number five, running a charity can be tough.
Speaker: What were some of the biggest challenges you faced when starting Live Lens 5 and how did you overcome them?
Speaker: Oh, you know what, Maxie?
Speaker: We know how tough this is.
Speaker: And for anybody...
Speaker: The challenges are you have to almost think of a charity.
Speaker: It's like a business.
Speaker: You have to have that.
Speaker: And it's actually more important than a business because you're dealing with other people's money.
Speaker: You've got to be...
Speaker: You've got to have a level of professionalism that is even more than if you're just a business.
Speaker: And I think the challenges are some of the, and rightly so, the accountability that you have to have, the reporting that you have to have, because if you don't go with your eyes wide open,
Speaker: it can be an absolutely minefield.
Speaker: And I think that's the thing, the scale of the administration and the compliance and the accountability.
Speaker: So I think that's like the biggest challenge because it's so lovely to be able to do nice things for other people.
Speaker: And yeah,
Speaker: But then there's this back engine that's got to be look after, reporting, annual reporting for every state, annual reporting for, you know, so they're the challengers.
Speaker: That's the back end of it.
Speaker: Yeah, it's awesome.
Speaker: And we've got a bit of a team to help you because for a long time, it was just you doing it.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Which, you know, I had no idea some of the stuff and you did as well.
Speaker: But, you know, you learnt on the fly and you held in your shoes.
Speaker: You learnt on the fly.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: Andrew and Jenny and yourself and for helping us get to that next level of, you know, and a big shout out to McAlex Robinson lawyers for giving us a lot of the, a lot of the leg up to understand and what to do to beget charity status as well.
Speaker: And, and being our safety net as well, because you don't know what you don't know and you need people to be able to go to, to go,
Speaker: are we doing this right?
Speaker: You know, so, you know, it does take a village.
Speaker: A charity takes a village.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Question six.
Speaker: Could you share one or two moments that have been the most rewarding since launching the charity?
Speaker: Any particular stories or experiences that stand out?
Speaker: Do you know what?
Speaker: I think it's, I think,
Speaker: it's the charity bit has almost just been like the building of the other things with living and surviving.
Speaker: So I try to think like it's the little things.
Speaker: It's never like the one big thing, but it's like the little thing.
Speaker: It's like, and for me, it's always about when someone's made something.
Speaker: So I try and think about like, remember when Anika at going into uni in St.
Speaker: Andrews,
Speaker: And in her first class going into medicine, knew the answers to some of the cardiac lessons.
Speaker: And people couldn't believe that she knew the answers.
Speaker: That makes me really proud.
Speaker: Recently, Bea, that we met, you know, 33,000 people we've met, we wouldn't possibly remember everyone.
Speaker: And we may never have not remembered Bea.
Speaker: without the message to say she went up and joined a life-saving club and was competing on the Gold Coast.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Like, you know, things like that, you know.
Speaker: Hundreds of them.
Speaker: Emily Hendo, we met on a beach, as shy as you like, has been lifeguarding on the Gold Coast.
Speaker: And even little Naz, the little guy, I watched him last week, and I might have mentioned this on an earlier podcast, that
Speaker: I just watched him down the surf club cleaning out, putting the witch's hats away, cleaning out the back of the truck.
Speaker: What kind of 10-year-old just does that without being told?
Speaker: You know, and it's like they're the kind of things that I think I get excited to think where he's going to be in another five years' time, in another 10 years' time, and what kind of doctor Anika's going to be, because you know she's going to be.
Speaker: Oh, 100%.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: Cool.
Speaker: There's so many out there.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: It's hard to pick four, you know, when you think.
Speaker: Or even two or one, you know, because you scroll back through the phone, you know, when you go back through the photos of all the places we've been.
Speaker: Blows your mind.
Speaker: It does blow your mind.
Speaker: Number seven, what kind of impact have you seen in communities where Live and Survive has been active?
Speaker: How do you measure success in terms of safety education?
Speaker: Well, I think I've got, I would say every town that we've been to, there's been some impact, whether we know about it or not.
Speaker: But I think one of them, when we hear the impact, recently going out to Surratt,
Speaker: when you know that families went and put smoke alarms in, like that's a result.
Speaker: You know, that's the bit that, you know, makes you proud because that could change the course of that family's life.
Speaker: 100%.
Speaker: So having those safety measures in place, having a working smoke alarm could save their lives and that's an awesome thing.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I know you're answering quite well, Lee, but I was just thinking the place that we have been, sometimes when we do leave a place, a tragedy happens a couple of weeks later, a drowning when we talk about floods or a bushfire and people get stuck in bushfires.
Speaker: It goes to show too, when we do educate these kids in these areas, they are somewhat prepared for tragedies that do happen.
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker: Well, only recently I was in Kiama and eight hours after I left Kiama, right where I was stood taking video of the rocks, a dad and his son were washed off the rocks.
Speaker: And drowned, yeah.
Speaker: Literally on the same day.
Speaker: It's just like, you know.
Speaker: So I think...
Speaker: Anywhere where we've been, there will be, have been some positive impact.
Speaker: And, you know, that's the thing.
Speaker: And the other thing, I think, when I, one of the other things I really love is when boys start reading the books, when we'll get a message about boys reading, which I think is really cool too.
Speaker: Reluctant readers too.
Speaker: I was a reluctant reader when I was growing up and, you know, yeah,
Speaker: when we design these books for that reluctant reader and for everyone, we do get some amazing messages of people that say my son or my daughter has not been able to put this book down.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: So it's like, you know, that's like you can see a change.
Speaker: Like someone's learned something or they've started doing something.
Speaker: I think that's the biggest thing.
Speaker: When you see a change, you know, that's really cool.
Speaker: That's what it's all about.
Speaker: 100%.
Speaker: Question eight, you talk a lot about focusing on your dreams and they will happen.
Speaker: Give us some examples of where this has worked for you.
Speaker: I think we all have dreams.
Speaker: We all have like, you know, short term, medium term, long terms.
Speaker: I think it comes down to how bad you want it.
Speaker: How bad you want it?
Speaker: What you're willing to sacrifice to get it?
Speaker: And have you got the discipline needed to do it?
Speaker: I think it comes down to that.
Speaker: Because I'd have dreams that I, they are maybe just a dream.
Speaker: It would be nice.
Speaker: But if I'm not prepared to sacrifice things to get it and I'm not prepared to like kind of
Speaker: putting the discipline needed to whatever, they are just a dream.
Speaker: It's the steps and the discipline that makes it the dream.
Speaker: And probably the ultimate dream for me was being able to live in Australia.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And that was a huge sacrifice.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, no, it's a lot of the time.
Speaker: So you hear people that have these dreams and don't do those three things you just mentioned, just expecting things to happen for them.
Speaker: Or if they put their hand out, things just got to land in their hands or on their lap.
Speaker: It doesn't happen like that.
Speaker: The world doesn't work like that.
Speaker: So those three examples you just gave are gold.
Speaker: And if you do have dreams, follow it, stick to it and have the discipline to execute it because you know what can be achieved.
Speaker: Because thinking of you, Maxie, I don't think there's anything you wouldn't have done to become a firefighter.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly right.
Speaker: So, yeah, everything I could possibly do.
Speaker: Whatever it takes.
Speaker: And like you've all said, you know, like what's the one that you say, you know,
Speaker: You're not going to be a jockey if you're six foot four.
Speaker: Sometimes there's things in life that, you know.
Speaker: Sometimes you have limitations, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: But you can still be involved in horse racing or you can still be involved in the Air Force if you can't be a fighter pilot.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, there's so many different things you can do within that realm and be kind of a part of it.
Speaker: You know, you want to be a famous sports person, but then you can't do it because you haven't got the body type for it.
Speaker: But then you become a coach or you become a physiotherapist or you become a commentator.
Speaker: You become someone that can get things done within that realm so you can still get a taste of what it's like.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And I'd say like there was –
Speaker: Like, you know, within reason, you know, and within the law, there was not much I wouldn't have had a go at to have been able to live in Australia.
Speaker: It was that important to me.
Speaker: I couldn't.
Speaker: It took the focus of my life from probably 21 till, you know, I went back to uni till I had to go back to work.
Speaker: Then I got the house.
Speaker: Like, you know, literally we sat in a holding pattern for probably the best part of seven years.
Speaker: because we kind of thought our future was not going to be in England.
Speaker: And we had no guarantee.
Speaker: You just have to keep going and be disciplined enough to keep trying.
Speaker: So that's what I would say.
Speaker: You have the dreams, but then you've got to want it bad enough, sacrifice something because you can't do everything all the time, and then want it bad enough and be prepared to put in the hard work.
Speaker: Yeah, sounds good.
Speaker: Question nine, what is luck and how has it worked for you?
Speaker: Oh, so I don't know, you know, do I believe it?
Speaker: Would I say I'm lucky?
Speaker: Incredibly lucky.
Speaker: But I also don't necessarily think that luck is just by chance because I think that, I think Oprah says it this way, luck is where preparation meets opportunity.
Speaker: So I think if you've done the work and you're prepared, you recognise the opportunity when it presents.
Speaker: So you jump on it and some people would say that's lucky, but you've done the work kind of.
Speaker: And you understand when to jump on the opportunity.
Speaker: Lucky is maybe, you know, getting that winning, you know, scratchy in a birthday card or something like that.
Speaker: You know, that's random luck.
Speaker: But like lucky in life, I think you can to an element make your own look.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Make the right decisions and learn from mistakes and just be the better version of yourself.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: And prepare, prepare, prepare.
Speaker: So when the opportunity presents or you meet that person or you whatever you think,
Speaker: yes, you recognise that this is an opportunity and then everyone else will go to you, you're so lucky, but they won't have seen you when you're doing the work.
Speaker: No, they don't see the work.
Speaker: They only see the 1% of the 100%, the 99% of what it is, is the work to get to where you are and the 1% is, oh, it's luck.
Speaker: Yes, exactly, exactly.
Speaker: So, you know, it's like the...
Speaker: The Olympian that, you know, gets the swim of their life in two and a half minutes, it's not really about the two and a half minutes.
Speaker: Stephen Bradbury, though, quite lucky.
Speaker: That was quite lucky.
Speaker: Very lucky.
Speaker: Anyway.
Speaker: It was maybe his preparation, Maxie, that he managed to swerve those people, that he didn't go with them.
Speaker: Right.
Speaker: Brilliant.
Speaker: Question 10.
Speaker: How has founding and running Live and Survive changed you both professionally and personally?
Speaker: Ooh, okay.
Speaker: So...
Speaker: Professionally, oh my gosh, I love learning.
Speaker: I'm like a little curious kid.
Speaker: I like learning new stuff.
Speaker: When I'm not learning new stuff and I'm bored, that is just a nightmare for me.
Speaker: So all those challenges that we just talked about, that's part of the things you hate and the things you love because you've got a chance to learn new stuff.
Speaker: So from a point of professionally,
Speaker: there's been a huge amount of personal growth because, you know, I've learned new things and you, I think you even have that feeling of added responsibility because to be a boss of your own business is a brilliant thing, but to be the boss of a charity, I think comes with an added kind of responsibility of,
Speaker: You've been given a people can give you money and you can use it well.
Speaker: So I think professionally, that's like a real privilege.
Speaker: And then personally, oh, my gosh, it's like it is literally the I love my, you know, my other career.
Speaker: But this the people I get to meet,
Speaker: the people that we've met, that we've not just met and then have stayed, you know, like, oh, it's someone where we went, but they stay in your orbit because of social media, because of, you know, of the way the world is these days.
Speaker: Distance isn't as, you know, like it was when even I left England.
Speaker: So I think...
Speaker: to be able to have a purpose, to be able to do nice things for kids.
Speaker: That's what gets you out of bed in the morning.
Speaker: And so I think it's the most rewarding thing I've ever done and I take it as an absolute privilege.
Speaker: Very proud of it.
Speaker: Question 11, what one character trait is essential in friendship and business?
Speaker: Well, you know what?
Speaker: I think friends, business, you know, trust, trust and respect.
Speaker: I think if you treat people how you want to be treated, you're not going to go far wrong.
Speaker: And you know what?
Speaker: You may try and build, you know, it comes back to finding your tribe as well because, you know, friendship, trust and respect,
Speaker: You're not going to make, if they're important to you and you're meeting people that don't trust or respect, then it's not going to go very far because they're just not your people.
Speaker: So I think, you know, trust is everything.
Speaker: And respect as well, you know, whether they're your friends or your business associates, whoever they are, you know, you just treat people how you want to be treated.
Speaker: You just think, would I like that done to me?
Speaker: Not really.
Speaker: So don't do it.
Speaker: Be kind as well.
Speaker: I thought we always say be kind.
Speaker: We're pretty much saying in our bio for the podcast introduction each week, but just be kind too, you know, just be kind.
Speaker: Yeah, smile at a stranger.
Speaker: You might be the only, you know, smile at the, you know, say hello to the taxi driver or the, you know, smile at a stranger.
Speaker: You might be the only person that that person's interacted with all day.
Speaker: Like, what does it take to
Speaker: You're paying for your coffee.
Speaker: Say how's your day.
Speaker: You know, literally, it goes a long way.
Speaker: Yeah, it goes a long way.
Speaker: Question 12.
Speaker: What advice would you give to someone looking to start a non-for-profit or charity with a mission they're passionate about?
Speaker: Oh, I've got a couple of things on that.
Speaker: There are so many incredible charities out there.
Speaker: And many of them do similar things, not exactly the same, do similar things.
Speaker: So if you are looking to start a charity, first thing I would say was almost a little bit back to your dream.
Speaker: How bad do you want it?
Speaker: Because it's not just about doing nine things.
Speaker: It's a lot of work.
Speaker: So are you ready for that commitment?
Speaker: If you're not ready for that commitment,
Speaker: and you're actually passionate about a course, there may be one already out there that you could just go and support.
Speaker: And trust me, they will absolutely love your support.
Speaker: So if you are really passionate about, say, mental health or homelessness or, you know, early reading, whatever your passion may be,
Speaker: unless you want the work and commitment to run a charity, look if there's something similar and go and support it.
Speaker: That would be my thing because, you know, you are effectively taking on a business, even though it's a charity.
Speaker: You have to have, like, it's not just, you know, sitting in a park and doing nice things.
Speaker: So unless you really opt for the work, go and find another one because they're all crying out for support.
Speaker: And volunteers and helpers too, yeah.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Great answer.
Speaker: Number 13, what core values drive your work at Live and Survive and how do those values influence your decisions as a leader?
Speaker: We just redid, didn't we, Maxie, our visions and values and our mission statement and everything.
Speaker: So I think that if you bring every decision as a leader back to your values, you're not going to go far off.
Speaker: So, you know,
Speaker: we always say put the kids first.
Speaker: So any decision we've got to make, is this in the best interest for the kids?
Speaker: That makes your decision-making easy.
Speaker: So if you know what your values are, so, you know, we have like everybody's welcome, you know, think big, you know, we have, you know, those core values, if you relate your decisions back to them,
Speaker: it really actually makes your decision-making quite easy.
Speaker: Quite easy.
Speaker: And you align yourself with the values and you're speaking and you're preaching what you are trying to tell other people that what you and Live, Learn, Survive is all about.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: In the process of educating others, what personal values do you hope to instill in the communities you work with?
Speaker: I think, you know what, it kind of all carries on because if you, what we just said about being kind, if you're going into a community, you are responsible for the energy that you take there.
Speaker: You know, you and I get out of a car, have got out of cars in many places around the world knowing no one.
Speaker: We get out of a car and we go,
Speaker: Hello, we're Liam Maxey from Liberland Survive.
Speaker: We've come to spend the afternoon with you.
Speaker: It's like, if you, you know, treat everyone how you want to be treated, be kind to everybody, be friendly, be this, be that, you know, it's those kind of things that then will mirror back to you.
Speaker: So it's like, and then they may think, oh, that's how we're going to be in the future.
Speaker: Or we, you know, kind of...
Speaker: You know, if you give out what you want to receive back, then hopefully that is what other people receive as well.
Speaker: And they may take a bit of it and spread the love.
Speaker: Yeah, spread the love.
Speaker: And then, you know, in a perfect world, get us back to come again next year or visit them again and or teach and educate kids what we are trying to do and make sure that their kids are safe as well when they're doing their stuff around the schools or community groups or the sports clubs that we visit.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Brilliant.
Speaker: Good stuff.
Speaker: Question 15.
Speaker: How do you inspire and motivate volunteers or team members at Live and Learn Survive to share your passion and vision?
Speaker: Oh, look, you know what?
Speaker: The thing is, it's one of the things that we all say, it's like finding your tribe.
Speaker: So a charity, you know, we're just talking about our difficulties.
Speaker: We have a code of conduct.
Speaker: Anyone who's involved in the organisation has to adhere to the code of conduct.
Speaker: By default, the people that are going to come in are going to be shared values, shared vision, shared similar.
Speaker: You know, they are going to be from your tribe.
Speaker: Therefore, it makes it easy.
Speaker: If you get a wrong hire and happens in companies and organisations every day of the week all around the world, it's very quickly easy to spot that person.
Speaker: And you just...
Speaker: You know, this is where it's a hard thing when you're the leader because you sometimes have to make tough decisions and you're not necessarily there to be liked.
Speaker: You have to do what's right by the charity.
Speaker: So I think, you know, by finding your tribe, you can tell if people are genuinely happy.
Speaker: passionate about it, or if it's just a stepping stone to someone else, or if it's a, you know, it's just something, you know, particularly when you're a charity, people are aligned with a cause or they're not, we can't all be interested in the same thing.
Speaker: You know, maybe, you know, ovarian cancer, it may be, you know, like I say, MND, there's, you know, so many things.
Speaker: I think the fact that people show interest in your charity is
Speaker: There's obviously something there that's a link or a connection.
Speaker: So I think, you know, you very quickly can tell people.
Speaker: And again, if you work and operate by your values, you'll really quickly see someone that doesn't fit in.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: No, 100%.
Speaker: And that's so important why us and other businesses and charities have the code of conduct because you want to make sure you dot your I's and cross your T's and make sure you have the right people in the right places that align themselves with your values as well and just give people.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: Question 16.
Speaker: As a leader in your field, how do you ensure that your team and volunteers work
Speaker: at Live, Learn, Survive, share and uphold your values.
Speaker: I think we just did that one, didn't we?
Speaker: Was that the one?
Speaker: Was it or was it the same question?
Speaker: No, it was passion and vision.
Speaker: Oh, passion and vision.
Speaker: They were similar questions.
Speaker: Sorry, sorry, sorry, Maxi.
Speaker: As a leader in your field, how do you... I answered the first one as the second one.
Speaker: So, yeah, maybe I... Sorry, I went to wrong answer there.
Speaker: So, yeah, very one and the same.
Speaker: So it's like the vision and the values and, again, finding the tribe.
Speaker: So, yeah.
Speaker: Excellent.
Speaker: The question before was a great answer, Lee, so it carries over into that one.
Speaker: Question 17.
Speaker: In challenging times, what personal beliefs or values do you lean on or stay true to your mission?
Speaker: Do you know what?
Speaker: I think with anything, you've just got to stay true to yourself.
Speaker: You've got to stay true to yourself, and it's the most important thing is why are you doing it?
Speaker: If you're not doing it because you're really, it's the right thing for you, cut your losses and do something else.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Just cut your losses and just stay true to you because you can't live your life for anyone else, for any cause or anything, you know, and you can change and it's okay to change just literally.
Speaker: You know, just stay true to yourself because you're the only person that you wake up with every day and you've got to, there's one life, you've got to be happy with it.
Speaker: 100%.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: Question 18.
Speaker: Looking ahead, where do you see Live, Land, Survive going in the next five to ten years?
Speaker: What's your long-term vision for the organisation charity?
Speaker: So where are we going, Maxie?
Speaker: Five to ten years.
Speaker: Whew.
Speaker: We did a couple of videos a couple of years ago.
Speaker: We did.
Speaker: But I look forward to hearing your answer.
Speaker: Absolutely.
Speaker: So, you know, what's the vision for the organisation?
Speaker: So we want to be at the forefront of youth education when it comes to drownings, injuries and keeping kids safe.
Speaker: We want every child and
Speaker: school to have access to the books so that every child gets the ability to um to learn whether they meet us or they don't they can just you know wander along those library shelves and go that looks interesting we may never know if they read it or not but it's there for them to have so um create more books build on what we've already got create more books
Speaker: maybe for different age groups, create some different kind of educational resources and things like that.
Speaker: And just, you know, the same thing that we get this education to every child, no matter their location or background.
Speaker: And then also that then we are part of developing like a really resilient,
Speaker: empowered future generation and maybe inspire a few um first responders along the way through all different means and ways so um so yeah that's the um the five to ten but I mean like you know definitely five five years if we've not got every these books in every school in Australia then um you know you and I are hiring a car to go and find the ones that are missing
Speaker: Good answer.
Speaker: Question 19.
Speaker: What's the top one advice you'll give to young people at the start of their career?
Speaker: Number one advice, do something and find something you love.
Speaker: You work for a lot, lot, lot of your career.
Speaker: Your career is a massive, massive part of your life.
Speaker: You're going to work for a good probably 40 years of your life.
Speaker: Do something you love because if you do something you love, it doesn't feel like work and it will fly by in an instant.
Speaker: Not that you want it to fly by, but, man, if you're doing something you hate, days at work are long.
Speaker: They drag them out there.
Speaker: Find what you're interested in.
Speaker: If you're creative, don't try and think that you're going to work in a nine-to-five office job looking at spreadsheets.
Speaker: If you are a creative, there are a million careers for you.
Speaker: Creatives were not even thought about in where I grew up.
Speaker: You were in an industrial town.
Speaker: Go and get a proper job.
Speaker: Put a decent day's work in.
Speaker: So if you are a creative, don't try and be anything other than a creative.
Speaker: Just find the role that suits you.
Speaker: And whatever you do, and don't be frightened to change.
Speaker: Your first job will not be your last job.
Speaker: And don't be frightened to change and make sure and be and if you're not even know where to start, make a list of the things you love doing and the things you hate doing, because even the things you love doing from points of hobbies and whatever might start and nudge you in the right direction.
Speaker: And man, I wish someone would have said that to me as a 15 year old.
Speaker: Because I literally, all I wanted to do was languages because I thought I wanted to, you know, be an air hostess.
Speaker: And I did languages.
Speaker: But I think in actual fact, I just love traveling.
Speaker: I don't think I wanted to be an air hostess.
Speaker: I just wanted to travel.
Speaker: So, yeah, that would be my advice.
Speaker: Try and find the thing that you love as quick as you can.
Speaker: Brilliant.
Speaker: Last one.
Speaker: What are you most excited about in the years to come?
Speaker: I suppose personal as well.
Speaker: Yeah, look, you know what?
Speaker: I'm just, I just genuinely, I'm excited about all of it really.
Speaker: You know, I, I, I've had a great trip traveling this year.
Speaker: I love that I can go places and take work with me.
Speaker: That's really, um,
Speaker: important to me now that, um, as long as I've got my laptop, I can be anywhere and, um, still working.
Speaker: Um, I, I just excited, um, about that for me, um, you know, personally, and then, um, just live, learn, survive.
Speaker: Just, I, um, I'm excited to go and speak on more stages.
Speaker: That's going to be getting the story out more and just seeing where we, where we can take it.
Speaker: What, what, um,
Speaker: potential we can achieve and and as we've always known it's a um always a um it's a marathon not a sprint exactly right no it's uh it's very exciting couple of years ahead and uh both personally and professionally i look forward to seeing so much more to come and uh yeah is there anything else you want to share before we finish up lee um no i don't think so maxi i think um
Speaker: I think that's it.
Speaker: I think, you know, it's just nice to share a little bit of the background of where it all came from.
Speaker: And, you know, me talking to you, you asking of me, I think hopefully it just gives people a little bit more of an insight into, you know,
Speaker: who we are and what we're about and what Live, Learn, Survive kind of stands for.
Speaker: So I very much appreciate to have been interviewed by you, legend.
Speaker: Well, you know what, probably by the time this episode goes out, we're well and truly in the 170, pushing 180 episodes over the last two, three years.
Speaker: So it's awesome that we can reflect and talk and tell people what our visions are and what we have done, stuff that we might not necessarily know about myself and you and
Speaker: You're saying this is out around Christmas time.
Speaker: So I hope everyone's having a great Christmas between you and you and, you know,
Speaker: I hope you enjoyed this chat and I hope you enjoy my chat that I'll be doing next week or whenever it is.
Speaker: Yeah, well, I think we'll do this, Maxi.
Speaker: I think we'll put me at, this will be the Christmas and then we'll put you for the new year.
Speaker: And then hopefully people have enjoyed maybe a little bit of a longer chat and a little bit of a different format from what our normally weekly thing is to just have.
Speaker: If people are feeling a little bit more relaxed on holiday, they've got a few more minutes extra to listen.
Speaker: Merry Christmas and I hope you guys are having a great time and yeah, happy days.
Speaker: And I'll have done a lot more swimming as well, Maxie, so I'm going to just say the swimming's going great.
Speaker: The swimming's going great.
Speaker: Brilliant.
Speaker: So have a great Christmas, everyone.
Speaker: I hope everyone has a wonderful new year and there'll be more catch-ups with Maxie next week.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: And yeah, again, have a great Christmas, everyone.
Speaker: All the best.
Speaker: And I hope you enjoyed today's chat with Lee.
Speaker: It was awesome.
Speaker: So yeah.
Speaker: Brilliant.
Speaker: Thanks, Maxi.
Speaker: See you, everyone.
Speaker: Bye.
Speaker: Bye.
