Social Lights

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Briony Schadegg, co-founder and director of HCI Insights, which is better known as Frank App.About BrionyBriony wants to make a positive impact on the world and it was this motivation that inspired her to become a police officer. In her role within the police, Briony undertook several advanced training programs in crime reduction which expanded on areas of criminology and victimology. Over her years of service, she was witness to many instances of the ever-growing mental health issues within the community. To her these people were not just a statistic, she was seeing their faces daily. Due to restriction within the law, she felt limited in her ability to intervene and provide help to those struggling with mental health.Briony noticed that the mental health services that are available to help people prior to the police getting involved were often failing people and needed rebuilding. This was her primary inspiration behind creating Frank App, building on the design philosophy of fitness trackers and using those concepts to help people improve their well-being. Empowering people to have tangible goals in front of them and give people guidance to resources that could help them make better choices.BIG IDEA 1“If you know which days you are in a better mood you can start scheduling things in those days to be more productive.” (07:59) Discussing with Briony how Frank App began, she shared with us it was through her own struggles with PTSD and how using a prototype of Frank helped her manage the onset of a PTSD episode. Frank works by collecting the natural language of the user to determine their mood and sentiment from the data retrieved. The visual feedback that the app provides nudges users towards constructive behaviours or highlights negatives ones. This nudge allows individual to make more positive choices, the app even provides resources that could be helpful to the user given their real time situation. Briony goes on to describe that the tool is not just for when you are having a bad day but also for when you are having a great day. Providing users with insight on when they should schedule stressful events or when they are the most productive too when they need to relax and take a break. Awareness of these high and low periods allow users to be more productive with their time and make smarter choices. BIG IDEA 2“Empowering business to make sure their employees are working in a safe environment.” (18:46)At the height of COVID everyone was working from home and now even as the world slowly returns to normal, working from home has almost become the norm. Briony explains to us there was a misconception when it came to working from home, the idea that employees were less productive and worked less. New evidence suggests that not only are they working longer hours they are also taking less breaks and no longer getting that social engagement that they would have in a normal workplace. She goes on to explain, how when using a tool like Frank, employers may be able to properly measure the impact of social isolation on their team members. It could be potentially used to assist people in ensuring a positive mindset for working at home as well as ensure that the work/home space is a safe environment.BIG IDEA 3“Connect users to the community” (30:11)Briony tells us how her company did not want to reinvent the wheel and compete with other business within the mental health space. Instead they are reaching out and working in...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Dustin Miller who is an omni content creator, host of the Polymath Polycast, and creator of the Modular Degree Framework.About DustinAs an aspiring polymath, Dustin created PolyInnovator as a foundational means to build out the various careers he wanted out of life (A Polymath of Innovation if you will). He’s on a mission to create a Modular Education Platform to revolutionize how we approach education as whole and is currently building the Modular Degree System: a do it yourself, with help, framework for a modern approach to education.He is the Host of The Polymath PolyCast, where he interviews multidisciplinary people. From a young age Dustin always wanted to make a difference, always thinking what can I do to change something, to make it better, more efficient, which led him to where he is today.Dustin explains the meaning of the name of his business, poly means much or many and it just implies many different actions you can take and innovation being making a change in a certain area. The idea of a polyinnovator is someone with much or many learnings.BIG IDEA 1“When you have multiple skills, they are all applicable to different areas in your life” (08:59)Dustin explains to us what it means to be a polymath and how a polymath has expert knowledge in many different areas. Unlike a “jack of all trades” that is an individual with maybe an average level of familiarity across a wide range of pursuits, when you have multiple skills there is an integration between these different knowledge areas, it can be used to expedite your learning in different skillsets.BIG IDEA 2“Create an education for people in a modern way.” (12:13)He wanted to be able to learn a broad range of topics and he realised that he was not able to do this the traditional way. It would require doing several different university degrees and a massive time investment. He wanted to find his own way, a DIY education where he was able to create a foundation to explore any topic of interest. As the modern business world is moving in a direction where it requires people to be multidisciplinary, the traditional education pathways designed for specialisation is no longer effective. Dustin’s vision is a system of education that allows individuals to have the access to courses of programs to keep current in the ever-evolving industry.BIG IDEA 3“The idea of strategy plus automation multiplied by execution equals success.” (33:03)Dustin’s goes into his personal formulae for social media success. There are so many different platforms that individuals and communities use to communicate and express themselves on, eg Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Slack, Discord and Clubhouse. It can sometimes be difficult, and time consuming to keep track and have a presence on all these apps, especially without a team behind you. He goes on to explain having a defined strategy and taking advantage of automation is the pathway forward.Episode LinksYou can find Dustin Miller, and more on Polyinnovator:https://polyinnovator.space/https://www.facebook.com/polyinnovatorhttps://www.instagram.com/polyinnovator/https://www.linkedin.com/in/polyinnovator/Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts by joining in Social Lights Podcast...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Sarah Britz, who’s an e-commerce specialist and founder of Spend With Us, an online initiative to support rural and regional small businesses impacted by fires, floods and COVID.About SarahSarah loves meeting new people, connecting and helping them to grow their businesses, especially using her skills and knowledge to help them get online, get through difficult times and make a difference.She is a web designer and developer and has been building websites for about 20 years. Sarah decided during the 2020 bush fires to use her skills and knowledge for small businesses that were impacted at that time. She realised that rather than creating individual platforms for each business to get online, that a centralized market place would make the most impact. This is how the idea of Spend With Us started.BIG IDEA 1“How could we help rural and regional small businesses around Australia suffering from bushfires to COVID?” (06:21) At the start Sarah was posting to Facebook groups that she created a way to help small business that had been affected by the bush fires. It was this first step that allowed her to get in contact with many business owners that needed help.  The organisation really expanded with the help of Lauren Hateley and Jenn Donovan, each bringing their own unique skillsets to Spend With Us. They built a platform for rural and regional small business that people can access across Australia and across the world. Something that would raise awareness of these businesses and people, along with all their incredible products. This could only happen through collaboration, and talking to people within these communities. In Spend With Us there’s a private Facebook sellers group, where they do webinars to help them to get better product listings, take better product photos, learn to market their products and give them tips and advice to help them survive and grow.BIG IDEA 2“Community is the heart our platform.” (13:32)Sarah’s goal for her company is to create a massive community of sellers and buyers and everyone supporting each other. The businesses share their stories with each other and gain hope and inspiration. Through social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook, they aim to highlight the products through a program called ¨Meet the Maker¨. A newsletter helps promote what the sellers are advertising to any potential customer. On the website they also promote every week a different business, showing what they are selling and different campaigns, trying to raise awareness and to get as much exposure for the small businesses as possible.BIG IDEA 3“Be mindful where you spend your money” (15:18)One thing Sarah would like people to do differently is to think about where you are spending your money and when you are buying something be mindful of the choice and choose to support a business where it makes a huge difference. When you buy from a small business seller that is in their Facebook group, then you're already supporting that person, you're making such a big difference in their life.Sarah has been inspired by the corporates who have also come on board. They’ve sold many gift cards on their platform and several of big corporate companies purchased sitewide gift cards for their Christmas gifts, it was big businesses giving back to small businesses.Episode LinksYou can find Sarah Bitz, and more on Spend with us at:·         

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Jacqui Bloom, the founder of the Helping Hub. About JacquiThe Helping Hub is an online gift platform and registry service that allows people to support friends and family in need with thoughtful gifts and practical support such as laundry services, cleaning services, meal, delivery, pet care, personal care services, and anything else that might be useful, purposeful or meaningful when people are going through a hard time (or just because!). Jacqui studied business management and marketing with sales and started out running the family business for 15 years in the fashion industry. She then transitioned into palliative care, in collaboration with Cure Cancer Australia. Her varied life experiences have led her to launching The Helping Hub. BIG IDEA 1“Wouldn't it have been amazing if there was one place that everyone could go in times of need that has a list of everything you need” (07:31) In 2005 Jacqui’s family endured the tragic loss of her young brother-in-law Rob, at the age of 37. Leaving her sister to manage the care and support of their four grieving children, while also dealing with her own personal stress of losing her husband. Less than 12 months after Rob’s passing, the unthinkable struck again and her mother, Evelyn was diagnosed with Cancer. With a passion for helping others and through her own personal experiences of grief, loss, motherhood, illness, injury, and divorce Jacqui recognised that help is often the most difficult to ask for, but also the most appreciated. She thought it would have been amazing if there was one place that everyone could go that would have a list of useful, purposeful or meaningful things  that you need to help you, when things go wrong. When Jacqui lived through her own grief and loss, she experienced first-hand the way capable people still need extra support to get them through the ongoing challenge of dealing with the everyday. She was inspired to find an easier way to help people help themselves and others in need – as well as making ways to celebrate life’s happiest occasions more meaningful and memorable. In late 2020 she launched The Helping Hub.BIG IDEA 2“Making a difference in someone's life” (13:32)Jacqui explains how her website works. You can hop on the Helping Hub and you can gift someone or yourself some extra time, things like house cleaning, meal delivery, babysitting, someone doing your washing, anything you need. You are gifting a product or service that will make a difference in someone's life. The recipient receives the help they need, something that they may be too afraid to ask for. It also gives the giftee the gratification of knowing that you have gifted them something that is useful and purposeful.BIG IDEA 3“Some people react by hearing other people's stories and they take inspiration and courage from that.” (22:14)Jacqui is growing her community, that isn’t just from the buyers but also the sellers, creating a community where the business values align. It is that sense of helping someone, that's what your community do when they rally around you. The Helping Hub want to facilitate the sharing of recipient and giver stories/narratives in different ways, allowing people to relate to it in their own way. These stories allows people to draw inspiration and courage from others. Episode LinksYou can find Jacqui Bloom, and more on the helping hub at:thehelpinghub.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqui-bloom/https://www.facebook.com/The-Helping-Hub-510006919505544https://www.instagram.com/thehelpinghub/Keep listening to the upcoming episodes of podcasts...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Trudy Rankin, who is the director of West Island Digital and the founder of the Online Business Lift Off program. About Trudy RankinTrudy Rankin is a digital strategist, an online business coach and a consultant. After more than 15 years working with big organisations, helping them use digital technology to achieve their goals, she wanted to continue her practice of giving to the next generation through work experience. After starting West Island Digital in 2015, she was on the hunt for an intern.Thanks to Jan Hauser, from Vision Australia’s employment service, Shahan Cheong joined the West Island Digital team for 3 months. During these months, Trudy discovered that Shahan had been writing a blog for years and had a significant number of people coming to his website every month. What Shahan didn’t realise was that his blog could be used to generate an income for himself.Over the rest of the internship, and some coaching beyond that, Trudy helped Shahan figure out how to use his blog to start earning money. Now, Shahan has built himself a business, buying and selling antiques online! He has his own YouTube channel – where he makes videos about restoring antiques – and he’s still blogging about antiques and history on his website, Throughout History.The Online Business Liftoff Program was born, available to all who struggle with finding traditional “9 to 5” work – students, stay-at-home parents, carers with limited availabilities or even older job seekers struggling to find work.BIG IDEA 1“I believe in supporting people get experience so that they can just get their foot in the door.” (06:53)When it came to building her own business, Trudy had the chance to make the choice to either do it now, or never do it at all. So, she decided to make the leap and start a business. She thought she knew what she would do, but quickly discovered that it is one thing to work for a corporation and have a massive team around you, supporting you, and another to becoming just one person in a small business doing everything.She said that one of the things she has always done, is to have and support an internship program. These programs are a great opportunity to provide people with experience and give them the chance to get their foot in the door. She mentions that she had an intern that had sight difficulties and for that reason, it was difficult for him to find a job. It wasn’t until she found that as a hobby, he was always writing blogs about thing he was passionate about, so she coached and taught him how to monetize that blog. Through helping him develop his writing skills he was able continue doing what he loves and maintain a living from it. Trudy realized that there are many more people that could have similar problems, so she ended up creating a pilot program with Vision Australia. Through the growth that program they were able to turn that into a government funded project to enable those with disabilities to gain work experience.BIG IDEA 2“What is it that our customers need?” (17:11)Trudy tells us where her community members are. She is currently using a private Facebook group as a medium. This Facebook group is a place for people who aren't quite ready to take the leap, to just be asked questions, talk about where they are and for her and her team to give them tips and hints etc. Facebook is great for creating awareness and...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Paul Dunn, the co-founder of accountants for good and B1G1 business for good.About PaulPaul is a four-time TEDx speaker. He is a senior fellow in one of the world's leading think tanks and consults with the mentors of cutting-edge businesses around the world. He was honoured as a social innovation fellow in his new home of Singapore, something he shares with film star and philanthropist Jet Li and Walmart chairman, Rob Walton. He was one of the first 10 people in Hewlett Packard in Australia. He then created one of Australia's first computer companies, and then the Results Corporation, where he helped develop and grow 23,000 small and medium scale business enterprises. His programs are used by an estimated 226,000 companies around the world, and he continues to push the boundaries. He is featured in Forbes Magazine alongside Sir Richard Branson in a global piece on disrupters in business. He is the co-founder of accountants for good and B1G1 business for good, the global giving in initiative. B1G1 has already enabled businesses to create over 220 million good giving impacts globally. BIG IDEA 1“Entrepreneurs, in particular, do things that allow them to make more impact, so it becomes this lovely flywheel that is based on impact” (03:34) Paul says that there are three key ideals that can impact your sense of direction. The first one is having some sort of North Star, something that drives you, that is bigger than yourself and that is the key. The second thing is to understand something that we have always known and is that we are all connected, we've always been connected, but we realize it now.  Finally, the third one is asking yourself the right question. Was that the right track? to be able to know what the best for you and your business is.He explains that in B1G1 they are playing a significant part in that, in terms of making it easier than ever before for entrepreneurs to do it and to add meaning and purpose to what they do. As a business leader, once you get that big North Star, which involves meaning and purpose, it is not about you anymore, it's about something bigger than you and that will be your guide.BIG IDEA 2“Imagine every time you buy a cup a coffee, a child gets access to life-saving clean water” (12:32)Paul explains how B1G1 was created and that when he was mentoring his now co-founder Masami Sato, she approached him one day with a brilliant business idea. She told him: “I want you to imagine a world where every time business is done, something great happens in our world”.  This idea excited him, and he wanted to know more about it, “you want to buy a TV because you want a better or bigger picture, imagine how would it be if, when you did that, someone who could not see got the gift of sight”. At that moment he realised that this was the best idea he ever heard in his life, so he asked her if he could keep mentoring her for the rest of her life!He clarifies that sometimes people start saying that they are lost, what he recommends to people is to look outside, look at some of the issues that you, as an entrepreneur could have an impact on. It is finding a way to hook your business onto those ideals. This also translates to potential customers, investors or team members who hear what you are doing, and then they start saying I want to be part of that as well. The larger the purpose the more people are likely to come on board, the more likely your business is to be a magnet for talented individuals. The existing members or stakeholders within your business are more likely to be engaged and involved. It becomes this beautiful sort of virtual cycle, where the people you are influencing getter...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Ben Teoh & Emma Carbone, founders of Bricks N Bytes. Bricks N Bytes was created in response to COVID restrictions to continue providing kids and parents a way to discover more about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), how to be creative with Lego and, find fun educational apps.About Ben Teoh and Emma CarboneBen and Emma are from the City of Marion Libraries in South Australia. After being forced to close all the libraries because of COVID, they started thinking “what can we offer to families” as many kids will be at home and parents will need a little bit of support. After some research exploring what parents needed, what are the challenges they were facing with home schooling, they found the best approach was to create Bricks & Bytes. Established to build community groups where the kids can learn to create things with Legos and offering resources to parents on STEM related educational programs for their children. They also provide opportunity for hosts and business previously associated with the libraries to engage and support their audience. Both Ben and Emma love to work in a place where they can give back to people and provide something that often encourages and supports them.BIG IDEA 1“We are all about the community, about supporting them and providing them with all the services that we have.” (6:40) Ben and Emma notice that in many homes, families will have and use iPads and many other electronic smart devices, they came the conclusion that they needed to create something fresh that allowed them to engage with both kids and parents. Their STEM show has had positive feedback from the audience and only continues to grow.At the beginning they started just on Facebook, but within couple of months they have expanded onto YouTube and now also Instagram. The focal point of Bricks & Bytes is their live shows, where they build Legos and explore educational topics to connect with their audience. Their emphasis has always been to support and provide for community by any medium possible.Ben and Emma talk about how they try to bring a special guest on to the show from time to time, this is often someone from the science community. In the past they have had guests that have explored topics such as insects, rocket science, marine biology, and drones. All with the purpose of providing kids with an avenue to be creative and learn about the many different topics that can be explored within the STEM community.One of their key programs is the App of the week. This initiative was created specifically with parents in mind. It was to give parents a resource to discover new fun educational games that can be played with their kids. BIG IDEA 2“It’s fun to get that engagement with people.” (12:32)They mention that it has been a very interesting journey, where they have learnt a lot about technology and social media, and how they can use these platforms to engage with people. What really surprised them and gave them encouragement and motivation was all the support and the positive impact that they are having with their audience. They made a point mentioning that they don’t like to pre-record what they are going to say, as they believe this is the best way for them to be completely genuine and the kids love when they make mistakes building Lego. In this whole process they have made many good relationships with external people and parents are very happy to see that their kids are having fun and learning.Ben and Emma so far have used Facebook as their preferred social media platform. They have created groups where people of all ages can chat and post videos of the Legos they have created. This community has...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Luke Faccini, founder of The Sponge that specialises in helping the next generation of business owners rebrand with purpose.About Luke FacciniIn 1999 he started his professional brand design journey since then he has helped thousands of people put their brands on the map. While beginning as a trained graphic designer, the entrepreneurial drive took him on a path of transformation. He has experienced first-hand the impact that purpose and values have in business and the connection to brand story. Having had a “purpose moment” that transformed his outlook on business, The Sponge obtained B Corp certification in 2017. Luke is a firm believer that business can and should be a force for good. His purpose is to help good businesses become a better brand by all means necessary, this includes a book, an online program, and helping to grow the GoodNorth good business community.BIG IDEA 1“Until that point in my life, I hadn’t actually thought about the true cost.” (6:14)Luke felt that his life was like a hamster wheel, just making money and spending money. One day he watched a documentary “The True Cost of Things”, an exposé, showing how everything works within the fast fashion industry, how that affected people, and in that moment he said “I’m going to start doing things differently”. He decided there and then that he will no longer work for brands that were involved with that type of abuse. Since then he has made a concerted effort to work only for brands that have a positive impact in the world. This decision forced him into firing clients and imploding his business, to practically starting everything again from scratch.He built an app that was designed for people that were conscientious to tell the community which brands are actually having a positive impact. From his research, Luke found an organization that certifies good ethical business practices. Following his own beliefs, he began the process of getting The Sponge B Corp certification. His vision is to help businesses on a large scale to have more positive influences in the community. He mentions that he has very good clients that trust him to help and guide them on that journey. The opportunity to collaborate with others, to solve the wicked problems in the world, and being involved in a community over and above business.BIG IDEA 2“It's not what you do. It's what your intent is.” (13:37) Luke explains how B Corp certification works. The company cannot be good in just one attribute, it needs to be decent as a sum across all things. It helps business leaders to think about aspects of their business, that they may not have considered before.What he is passionate about, is helping embrace and encourage people to get involved, but also providing a benchmark to improve as a team.Luke’s ley advice is when you find yourself at an event, you shouldn’t ask people, “what do you do?” As this will put you in a ladder of you comparing yourself to someone else. Instead of asking that, say what are you passionate about? You will immediately see the difference in how people will respond. This line of conversation can lead to sharing something, which can bring on collaborations, eventuating in creating solutions to problems quicker.BIG IDEA 3“Simplicity is the key because it's not the story that you tell. It's the story that they tell.” (27:24) Luke commented that a common mistake that companies do is making themselves the hero. By doing this you push people away because subconsciously there is only one hero in a story. People think that there is one audience for their message, this isn't the case. As a...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Evan Shellshear, the Head of Analytics at Biarri, a world-leading mathematical and predictive modelling company.About Evan ShellshearEvan is an expert in artificial intelligence with a Ph.D. in Game Theory from the Nobel Prize winning University of Bielefeld (in Germany). He has many years of international experience in the development and design of AI tools for a variety of industries having worked with Australia's top companies on all aspects of advanced analytical solutions. He is also the author of a number of books including the best-selling book on Amazon, Innovation Tools.He is passionate about making an impact and seeing the work he does change something for the positive. Within industry he is involved with the analysis and reporting of key information to give companies a competitive edge. He gets excited when people are consistently improving their business models which leads to greater efficiencies and a more effective / productive way of working.BIG IDEA 1“We need to do things better” (2:21)In 2009 the founders of Biarri created a company that had a primary goal of making the world operate more efficiently. They noticed that if we as business leaders keep doing the same procedures, at some point it will not be enough. Biarri wanted to be the catalyst that could help find a better way to use the resources available to be more efficient. He told us that at the beginning a large organization in Melbourne Australia was having problems managing their transports needs. It was all being managed on excel sheets with major inefficiencies. It got to the point that they had thousands of deliveries in specific time windows and locations, that it was just becoming too difficult for them to try to follow, and employees were starting feeling like their time was pointless. Biarri built the company a web-based tool in the cloud which gave them everything they needed. Their employees could access it from an internet browser automatically, and they could see what the best routes were and if there was any traffic. This tool could work with real life problems like road accidents and then in real-time update and optimise travel routes for drivers.BIG IDEA 2“If we see a startup or a company that we think will have a significant impact, we will assist them” (07:36)Evan explains that they don’t just work with big brands like Google or Australia Post, they seek out startups that could have a significant impact or to disrupt their industry in a positive way. The only piece of the puzzle that they are missing is the mathematical capability, to know how to frame a problem. Biarri steps in and assists them to make good decisions with amazing tools.One example includes a company who put a computer chip in cricked balls, to improve sport analytics and science. Biarri assisted by developing machine learning algorithms to help the company understand the speed and the spin of the ball from the data that was coming from the chip. They consolidated a partnership with them and with many small startup companies around the globe to pass on a key piece of technology that they needed to better serve their target market. BIG IDEA 3“Technology will not make a bad business model be good, technology will not make a bad business idea be good” (16:24) Evan describes artificial intelligence (AI) as just a computer program that can mimic the pattern recognition and detection skills that all humans possess. AI has been a part of several important improvements to society, for instance the improvement on how cars and vehicles are made. He goes on to mention it is about being proactive in the...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with M.J. Ryan, change expert, thought leader and one of the creators of the New York Times bestselling Random Acts of Kindness series and the author of The Happiness Makeover (nominated for the 2005 Books for Better Living award in the Motivational category), Attitudes of Gratitude, The Power of Patience, Trusting Yourself, The Giving Heart, and 365 Health and Happiness Boosters, among other titles. Altogether, there are 1.75 million copies of her titles in print.About M.J. RyanM.J. is a coach, mentor and adviser to founders of startups around the world, as well as executives in organisations large and small. She also serves as the lead Development Guide for SheEO, a global community of women radically transforming how we finance, support, and celebrate female innovators. She has appeared on The Today Show and CNN, and is a contributing editor to Good Housekeeping and Health. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter.M.J. shares with us that what inspires her is the possibility of helping others, using her ability to understand what other people are going through.When we asked her how she created the publishing company, she said ‘’it was an accident completely and totally’’. The idea started, when a friend who wanted to be a book publisher, decided to create a company without any money, but luckily for them, the first book published was very successful. They started publishing books for women in the area of personal growth, self-help, inspiration and more.When the idea of Random Acts of Kindness came up, it was a collection of stories of many different people, talking about small positive experiences that had been happened within their lives. She realized and started understanding the real power of those small encounters, then the book became a worldwide sensation.BIG IDEA 1“I had no idea how to be happy.” (3:36) M.J. studied Psychology because she had a deep interest in how the human mind works and associated feelings. Looking to understand more, and going through therapy herself, she noticed that she wasn’t happy, but not just that, she didn’t know how to be happy. It was coming to this realization that she needed to start practicing what she wrote, these acts of kindness were the key to her happiness. Building upon her first book, she wrote several more about gratitude and generosity. Every time she put what she wrote into practice her happiness improved. She wanted to explore this more and how it this could beneficially impact people. So, she started doing researching and working with other people, to understand as much as she could. It wasn’t until later on that the “Positive Psychology Movement” began to publish the research results that back up what M.J. had found anecdotally.  She goes on to tell us that all the positive emotions exist to help us recover from the negative ones. If we experience fear, anger, sadness, etc we send our bodies into a negative state, physiologically and emotionally and when we practice the positive ones we bring ourselves back into balance. BIG IDEA 2“I decided what I wanted to do is work more directly with people rather than writing books only.” (12:22)M.J. recognized that she didn’t want to be in her business anymore, she decided to sell her publishing company, so she could work more one on one with people. It was helping people that she was so passionate about. She started helping local businesses and their employees...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Tony Loyd, former Fortune 500 executive with companies such as John Deere, Medtronic, and Buffalo Wild Wings. Tony is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, business coach, and podcast host.About TonyTony Loyd is a leadership development expert. He helps purpose-driven business leaders to thrive in life so that they can connect with others and contribute to society. He is a former Fortune 500 executive from companies such as John Deere, Medtronic, and Buffalo Wild Wings.Having walked away from his corporate career to start a podcast, personal business, and write a book, Tony’s passion is to provide advice to people to not only be successful but leave a positive and sustainable mark within the community and the environment. BIG IDEA 1“In every story, somebody is either moving away from something or they are moving towards something.” (1:49)Tony shares that he was doing a little bit of both. In his experience working within Fortune 500 companies he noticed that these very successful businesses had strengths and weaknesses. One strength being that they heavily focused on their shareholders. Unfortunately, due to this narrow vision these companies tend to forget about the other stakeholders around them, such as the community and the planet we live on. He thought there must be a better way to approach business. He moved away from the corporate life to seek out those people he calls “social entrepreneurs”. Social entrepreneurs are individuals that want to make a dollar but also a difference, providing a product that sells and does social/environmental good.BIG IDEA 2“I was in no way differentiated from everyone else who was out there doing exactly the same thing that I was.” (6:53)Tony thought at first that he had all these skills, doing executive development, success planning and organizational design. He had this comprehensive portfolio of skills from years of experience that he planned to be his first base. However, once he put himself out there as a consultant, he came to the realization that he was the same as everyone in the market, and this had to change.Tony has been focusing on one on one coaching, this new path has really carried him through to where he is today. He found himself in new experiences, such as web development and management. It is from the one on one sessions that he found a new passion for teaching and presenting in a classroom. He made a profound statement that he follows what is called a portfolio life, when you gain knowledge of many different things and you put them in practice. At the end of the day you don’t have one major thing, you have a portfolio of many little things and it is the combination of everything that defines you.BIG IDEA 3“The truth was that I was depressed.” (11:05)Tony gave us a small glimpse into the struggles that can come from being your own boss and business owner. He goes on to mention that any strength can be a weakness when taken to the extreme. After a conversation with a close friend about the amount of time and responsibilities of being self-employed he opens up about being anxious and depressed.From a book by Johann Hari “Lost Connections: Why You're Depressed and How to Find Hope” Tony mentions that there are nine causes of anxiety and depression, and only one of them has something to do with

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Eddie Blass, CEO and Founder of Inventorium.About Eddie and InventoriumHaving grown up in Central London and in a comprehensive school where white was the minority, she still came out on top, even with minimal interest in schooling. This experience taught Eddie much about white privilege.Inventorium began as a passion project because Eddie truly felt that the education system was favoring some people over the others, which has driven all her life. Designed by a group of academics, teachers, and corporate professionals, this learning space is slowly able to create a major shift in the way people think about and deliver education.The former full-time academic and teacher is the brains behind the concept design and the curriculum writing in the Inventorium. BIG IDEA 1“It’s not about everyone being the same. It’s about everyone having the same opportunities—because then people can make what they want with the opportunities.” (1:44)Eddie has been focusing her life on how to address the inequalities that stem from diversity. Inventorium partners with schools and providers to provide education to children who cannot operate within a traditional school environment. These children include those with severe anxiety, those who have been bullied, those with autism, and children who hate school and are rebellious.While she admits that Inventorium is not perfect, they do have a blueprint of how the education system could be fit for the 21st century. The curriculum that they have written supports the students to understand their identity. The children learn to understand their identity, learn how to be a great citizen, and learn about necessary employability skills. They also learn about cyberbullying, and other matters that children should be aware of.BIG IDEA 2“The system is so broken. Something needs to be done.” (2:23)According to one report, the rate of high school dropouts is at least one in four. Eddie shares that if you watch TED talks on education, everybody is saying the same thing—but no one is actually doing anything about it. No one is creating a system that works. With Inventorium, Eddie took on this challenge and passion project, thinking, “Could I create it, and would it work?”With a 100% retention rate over two years, Eddie shares the three key points that allow them to be so successful with their students: First, the students have one teacher who sees them through everything. While they do have access to other experts should they need to get advice on certain topics, that one teacher is always there for them. Second, the learning happens at the pace of the student, and so they can slow things down when the students need a break or get stressed out over things. Third, because the students are given freedom to choose what they are learning about, the subject matter becomes highly relevant to them.With such method of learning, the children become in charge of how to use their time, and when they use their time. “They learn how to manage themselves, their time, their ambitions, their aspirations, and how to learn.”BIG IDEA 3“There needs to be more control and choice for parents and for individuals as to what they want to see.” (28:20)When it comes to social media, Eddie generally feels that there is generally a negative impact on young people. While these platforms enable people to keep connected, she feels that the negative self-view they develop on themselves can be quite...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Vicki Saunders, Founder of SheEO—a network of women focused on radical generosity.About Vicki and SheEOHaving grown up on a farm with her parents and three brothers, Vicki learned to work hard very early in life. She grew up in an environment where they would dream at the dinner table and build these dreams the next day. There wasn’t a lot of discussion on failure. If her family had a vision, they would try to execute it.Vicki’s businesses have always been focused on both doing good and making money. She has done a lot of work with innovation, youth, and women. She spent decades looking at how to create the right conditions for people to thrive and innovate, and how to bring out the best in people in a business context.On Vicki’s journey as an entrepreneur, she noticed many things about the world that was not designed for women. She felt that there existed a very narrow definition of leadership and success, and that there was only one way to do things—and she was constantly being told that she was not doing things right.A shocking 2.2% of venture capital goes to women—and Vicki shares that it is statistically impossible for this to happen if not for massive biases existing in our current structures and systems. She thought to herself, “What would scaled-up businesses run by women on their own terms look like?”In 2015, SheEO was born. This new operating system began with the concept of being radically generous with each other, and thus bringing out the best in people. This ecosystem-based approach brings people together, and enables people to share their gifts to support those with dreams who need help.Today, SheEO is in five countries, and has funded 68 women-led ventures. All these ventures are working on the world’s to do list: The United Nations’ sustainable development goals. BIG IDEA 1“What if you just did the generous thing instead of judging, criticizing, pushing back?” (13:44)Entrepreneurs who have never experienced an environment like that of SheEO’s are blown away. It is a space and place for women innovators to apply and come into an environment on their own terms. These innovators can not only get funding and 0% interest loans payable in five years, but also have access to thousands of women who want to support them and grow their businesses. At SheEO, they don’t dictate the milestones, tell entrepreneurs how fast to grow, or ask for pitch decks. According to Vicki, “It is a shift from scarcity to abundance, from isolation into community.”“In many ways,” Vicki shares, “it is a healing for all of us to create a different experience for those coming after us—and all of us who are journeying together—to do this in a more human way that really resonates with what it means to be alive on this planet. It’s hard to be human. There’s so much going on—you have no idea what’s going on in people’s lives.”BIG IDEA 2“Giving and receiving are the in breath and the out breath.” (25:41)One steps into the SheEO community by giving first—a $1100 contribution for the year or $92 a month. By doing this, people invest in themselves. One contributes to the whole, and also with a mindset of “I am here to help others.”The first thing an entrepreneur is likely to hear upon joining SheEO is “How can I help you?” The small amount that one gives is a door into abundance.According to Vicki, “You can’t contribute unless someone asks. All of us are sitting here wanting to help and wanting to contribute.” There are people out there who have things that others don't have. Some have things in overflow. “Imagine if these people gave them freely—and you gave freely what’s easy for you,” she continues....

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Sandy Blackburn, Founder of Social Outcomes and Author of Holding Up the Sky.About Sandy and Social OutcomesSandy works in the social impact space—and what lights her up day after day is thinking of better ways to do things in that space. Her superpower, according to her friends, is being able to see through walls. Give her information, and she’ll be able to sort through that information into a pattern that makes sense and turn it into a new strategy for an organization or a new way of thinking and measuring impact.One principle that Sandy likes to live by is saying “yes” to things—especially when the opportunities to do interesting things arise. In 1988, she was given the opportunity to go straight out of university to live and work in South Africa—and she loved it so much that she spent the next 15 years of her life there. In this timeframe, Sandy learned how to do brave, large-scale, whole system social change work. She eventually moved back to Australia to spend time with her parents, and ended up working in the corporate world, spending almost a decade at Westpac. According to Sandy, her time in South Africa was like earning a Master’s Degree in social change, and her time in Westpac was like doing an MBA. Her experience allowed her to bring together the social financial skillsets needed to set up Social Outcomes—an organization all about helping organizations to maximize impact. They do this through many means, from finding evidence-based designs that could work for how a program is run or how an organization is built and raising capital from impact investors to designing a contract with the government that makes the most of the outcomes and the impact that the organizations create.BIG IDEA 1“We’re seeing this shift where not for profits are starting to talk in that language of impact and outcomes.” (8:33)There’s been a global shift of outcomes in the last ten years. Previously, when corporations and not for profit organizations alike talked about what they did, they would mostly talk about activity—and that’s not enough. This shift is massive. Instead of organizations talking about activities, now they have to talk about outcomes. When it comes to activities, funders and stakeholders ask questions such as “What happens as a result?” and “How are people helped by what you are doing?” Nowadays, the government has contracts that pay when they see desired outcomes—and not activities. BIG IDEA 2“Any program that’s worth its salt should research what works.” (24:57)When it comes to putting money into an organization, the first thing you have to see is what happens to the money. For instance, how much money is being spent on admin? Good organizations should be spending on paying for their people, for their development, better processes, and their measuring outcomes. For good, evidence-based design, the questions that need to be asked is “What works?” and “What’s changing as a result?” If the organization can’t articulate it, put your money...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Jill Ford, Founder of Refill New Zealand.About Jill and RefillJill originally worked in the Social Marketing industry. On one visit to the UK, she was involved with a plastic pollution campaign—which was run by the same people who set up Refill in the UK. She admits that though she was aware of the plastic problem, she was not that aware of how bad the problem was.Upon returning home, Jill decided to set up Refill New Zealand—an organization basically focused on promoting the refilling of water instead of using single-use plastic bottles. Thanks to Jill’s efforts, Refill went from initially relying entirely on fundraising from film nights to later receiving support from the Auckland Health Board and other House organizations.BIG IDEA 1“Single-use water bottles are a big issue.” (2:50)Potable water isn’t really a main issue in New Zealand, as tap water is deemed safe to drink. In fact, it is common for New Zealand cafes to have water outside, and bars are required to have water out as well. The issue lies with the 828 million single-use water bottles thrown away in New Zealand every year. “If you want to visualize that, that’s equivalent to about 164 Olympic-sized swimming pools,” Jill shares. That’s a lot of plastic—plastic that gets into the waterways, gets broken down, and eaten by marine life. Reports show that sales of bottled water have increased by 25% in the last two years—and that’s not necessarily a good thing.According to Iceland research, over 60% of international visitors said that they bought more bottled water when they were traveling compared to when they were home. Over 70% also said that they didn’t trust tap water when they were traveling.“There was nothing really that was about actually stopping it at source and also getting people to change their behavior.” With Refill, Jill hopes to see all—or at least 50% of all—sports fields and children’s playground with water fountains. She also hopes for water to be accessible on the street for when people are on the go, and she hopes for there to be a big reduction in bottled water and soft drinks purchased.BIG IDEA 2“What started out as an environmental campaign is now an environmental and health campaign.” (5:39) “Like Australia, we have a big obesity problem,” Jill shares, “and a lot of that is due to the high sugar intake of which soft drinks are a big component.” Most soft drinks, of course, are sold in single-use plastic bottles.There are not too many water fountains around in New Zealand, not to mention the fact that soft drinks are cheaper compared to bottle water. Health organizations could see that being involved with Refill could not increase the accessibility of water for individuals on the go, but ultimately encourage individuals to drink more water as well.With Refill, both locals and tourists can enter any café, bar, or establishment with a Refill NZ sticker on their window—which easily signifies that

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Juliette Wright, Founder and Director of GIVIT.org.au—an online donation and giving platform.ABOUT JULIETTE and GIVITA former nutritionist who specialised in autoimmune diseases, cancer, and infertility—Juliette Wright has always wanted to help people. However, she realised one day that she wanted to help out in a different manner. What started out as a person’s simple quest to donate baby clothes to a charity that really needed it has snowballed into Juliette starting a national charity. Through GIVIT, charities can request for specific items that they truly need—such as a microwave or mattress—and individuals can donate items they no longer need and give it to someone who does. Juliette and her team ensure that it’s always perfectly matched, down to the item’s size, quantity, and quality.BIG IDEA 1“It’s incredibly addictive to watch giving flow and helping it happen.” (8:47)Juliette quickly realized that charities in her area needed very specific, sometimes even unusual, things. One charity asked for work boots, so that the father of a homeless family could get a job. “The simple school shoes that your kids no longer require, the lovely pencil case that they got given as a present that they never use—we do guarantee through GIVIT that they will go directly to someone who actually needs it,” Juliette shares.They even allow the recipient to choose which donation to accept, giving them a sense of ownership. Juliette shares that these recipients tend to hold on to their items longer when they’re have a choice as to what they’re given. As such, her team sort through the donations, and have the right to refuse donations when they feel that it’s no longer in useable condition, or is essentially deemed not fit for gifting.Apart from helping out those in need, GIVIT also sees to it that they help out the local economy when possible. When the quantity needed is large, for instance, then the charity asks its donors for money instead of physical items. The charity then uses then use this money to purchase the items from the local retailers. BIG IDEA 2“We are never not activated now.” (20:34)Regardless of the time of year, GIVIT is working on either small or large activations. While they’re not always activated on the level of fires where all hands are on deck, they have other appeals that keep them busy. From January to April, for instance, they work on their Back to School campaign for kids that don't have essentials such as shoes, a pencil case, or a hat. After the holidays, they also get numerous requests stemming from domestic violence cases and families getting displaced who are in need of support.BIG IDEA 3“Don’t ever just give up, even if it just takes a little longer.” (43:37) Juliette built her website numerous times—and failed—before getting it to work the way she wanted it to. She had lost about 800-900 AUD. She...

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Ryan Elson, who tells us about how his multiple endeavors—Tribe, EmployMeet, and the Guardian App—and how these came about.ABOUT RYAN, TRIBE, EMPLOYMEET, and GUARDIAN APPSometimes, we as a society create systems that obviously don’t work, yet we continue to do them anyway because that’s how it’s always been done. Ryan has always had an eye for broken systems, and so he does his best to go in and improve them. Improving the way things are done is exactly what he is doing with his multiple undertakings: Tribe—a social inclusion program, EmployMeet—an alternative to traditional employment services, and Guardian app—a simple messaging app that prevents abusive exchanges of texts. He is even running for council!BIG IDEA 1“One of the first questions I always ask is, ‘Who can you control?’—and everyone goes, ‘Me.’ And that’s the truth. There’s nothing else. There’s no one else. No one’s responsible for your behavior. No one’s responsible for the way you’re feeling.” (5:30)Ryan has dealt with his fair share of challenges as both a child and an adult. From losing his parents at an early age to separating with his wife and later losing his child to cancer, he truly resonates with the saying, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” While bad things happen to everybody, not everyone chooses to do something with that. Ryan has learned to look at the situations he’s been through and found multiple ways to make positive change.Tribe is all about social inclusion, providing connections to individuals who feel lonely and isolated. They have regular events—from monthly Tribe gatherings over food and drinks, family gatherings at the beach, coffee dates, Tribe trivia, and even regular visits to the home for the elderly. There are very few rules in this social inclusion program, and one of these rules is that you must talk to people you don’t know.With EmployMeet, Ryan provides opportunities for jobseekers and employers to meet in a more comfortable setting. There are no interviews and no resumes here—It’s all about you. Ryan is currently working on EmployMeet.com—a website that differs from other employment websites. “Think of it like a dating app for employment,” Ryan explains. Instead of job advertisements, employers can basically act as headhunters, searching through a database of jobseekers that fit the parameters they have set. Employers are also able to see videos of the jobseekers, giving them an opportunity to hear them speak and see how they present themselves. The Guardian app was inspired by bad breakups and how quickly things can get out of control when emotions are high. Texting can be particularly difficult and easily misconstrued, and Ryan believes that no one should have to be on the receiving end of an abusive exchange of texts. Guardian app is a good option for two people who are going through a difficult time, but who still need to contact each other. This messaging app that blocks roughly 500 abusive words and phrases. If one party tries to send a message of that nature, the sender will receive a message stating “This message has not been delivered and has been deemed inappropriate.” The receiver, on the other hand, will never have to read such message. This simple messaging service forces people to have a civilized, drama-free exchange of messages. BIG IDEA 2

In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort chats with Melissa Spilsted, Founder and Director of Hypnobirthing Australia and Hypnobubs.ABOUT MELISSA, HYPNOBIRTHING AUSTRALIA, AND HYPNOBUBSMelissa started out in the travel industry, and would travel to new places for days, weeks, and even months at a time, trying to find out her reason for being. Upon arriving in Australia, Melissa began to teach travel and tourism to others. She had finally found her passion—teaching. She completed an education degree and a drama degree, but realized that she wasn’t suited to teaching at schools.Melissa then met her husband, and over the years, had three children. Hypnobirthing classes weren’t readily available back then, so she read books and created her own form of hypnobirthing for her children. She realized that all of her previous experiences and training pointed her towards the same direction. She used the knowledge acquired from her degrees to teach hypnobirthing.It was kind of by accident and it wasn’t at all what she planned to do, but here she is. Today, Hypnobirthing Australia and Hypnobubs are the fastest growing childbirth education courses in Australia. Through them, Melissa is also able to teach hypnobirthing techniques to parents and practitioners from all over.BIG IDEA 1Hypnobirthing, is a fancy word for a positive birth. (7:20)While the term hypnobirthing sounds a bit weird, it refers to the use of self-hypnosis—a state of deep relaxation tapping into your own subconscious. These skills are used to stay calm during birth. The time of giving birth, after all, is an intense collision of the physical, emotional, and spiritual. Hypnobirthing helps one to create and maintain a really positive mindset, remove fear leading up to birth, and also to be able to chill and to release and let go during birth.Self-hypnosis is just a small part of hypnobirthing. Hypnobirthing is a comprehensive, evidence-based antenatal course that covers everything from tools and knowledge to support and preparation. Women don’t have the same care during their actual labor as they have had through their pregnancy. (9:38) Hypnobirthing provides a certain continuity of care. Women in Australia and all over the world end up birthing with strangers—but the one thing that is constant is having one’s partner there. BIG IDEA 2They’re skills for life. (21:35)Melissa knows how beneficial hypnobirthing is for babies, mothers, and families—and has always wanted to make hypnobirthing accessible to everyone. However, she realized that she has been limiting her big plan.Their online course is very popular, and is actually the leading antenatal course in Australia. Hypnobirthing Australia gets so much interest internationally for their programs, and she receives weekly requests from countries who want to translate their online courses or teach their face-to-face courses. All Melissa needs to expand internationally is the right people in her...

** Please note - there is a slight echo during the asking of questions. We apologise for this issue in this episode.In this episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort shares a conversation with Darren Lomman, founder of Greenbatch.ABOUT DARREN and GREENBATCHAs a child, Darren was a tinkerer. He liked to pull toys apart, and wanted to see what was inside and how things worked. Naturally, he took up Engineering at the University of Western Australia. Darren’s ultimate goal was to do good in the world. After dedicating 15 years of his life to building a company that focused on building gear for individuals with disabilities, Darren searched for a new problem to solve. In December 2016, Darren saw an advertisement for reusable shopping bags, which stated that in 2050, there would be more plastic in the ocean than fish. After researching on plastics and plastics and the ocean, he knew he wanted to a make a positive impact. In his research, Darren found photos of rivers in China and all throughout Southeast Asia full of plastic. Darren then wanted to look into Australia’s own recycling system, initially planning to study how their recycling system worked to teach those in Southeast Asia. However, he was surprised to find out that there weren’t too many reprocessing facilities in Australia. “We can be doing better than this,” Darren thought to himself. He then put his hand up to see what he could to do tackle this problem in Australia. He established Greenbatch, the first plastics reprocessing plant in Western Australia.BIG IDEA 1“That bin which we call a recycling bin should really be called a recyclables bin.” (6:52)Not everything that goes into the recycling bin at home gets recycled. A truck comes along to take your recyclables to a material recovery facility—and these companies call themselves recyclers. They will comb through your stuff and sort them out—paper, cardboard, glass, metal, different kinds of plastics. That’s where their job finishes. They move the materials somewhere else.Reprocessing is the next step after sorting, but locally, no one has invested the time, effort, and money to do the next step. As a result, these recyclable materials get put on a ship and sent to China, where about 50-75% of the world’s recycled plastics was being shipped to. However, China has since banned the import of waste plastic into their country, and recycling industries have had to look for somewhere else to send these materials.For every 100 pieces of plastic, only nine will get recovered, sorted in a facility, and end up reprocessed into a new product—91 will not. Unfortunately, there are only three places that plastics not recycled will end up—land, water, and air. Land refers to legal dumping or landfilling, or illegal dumping through littering. It will end up in our water—In rivers and oceans. In the air, it’s through wasted incinerations.BIG IDEA 2“A Container Deposit Scheme is not actually a recycling program. It’s an anti-litter program.” (13: 57)With the Buy Back Scheme, 10 cents is paid per bottle—and these bottles are sent offshore. South Australia, for instance, has had a Container Deposit Scheme for 40 years, yet no one...

In this sixth episode of the Social Lights Podcast, podcast host and Social Mediology founder Kate vanderVoort has a conversation with All Villani, author of Ali the Shiny Sparkly Unicorn.ABOUT ALI VILLANI and ALI THE SHINY SPARKLY UNICORNAli Villani is on a mission to redefine what it means to be alive. She is an international speaker, sought after assertiveness coach and Founder of the ALIVE Women’s Circle; a thriving network of like-minded women seeking a safe place to grow.She also created ‘Ali the Shiny Sparkly Unicorn’ a children’s book inspired by her own experiences of being bullied at school and aimed at sharing a powerful message of self-awareness. Her desire to empower individuals all over the world also led to her creating the Tree of Life Group, a philanthropic project in Nepal designed to develop leadership and create resources for those in need. BIG IDEA 1Ali has a strong desire to connect others for the greater good, first serving herself, and then finding ways she can serve others.The creation of Ali the Unicorn“I see everything in bright colours, I don’t see anything within the box or within the lines.”Ali always knew she was different. Experiencing mental health challenges and illness in her developmental years, these experiences led her to hide her shiny, sparkly ingredients from the world. Through an online community of women that she created on Facebook, Ali found a safe space to share uplifting messages and ideas with others and was soon referred to as ‘Ali the shiny sparkly unicorn’, hence the character was born.What Ali the unicorn teaches us (7:00) “Your shiny sparkly ingredients are what make you special”.The character was created to show children how to embrace their differences and channel their uniqueness into doing good in the world. Ali talks about how she uses the book and character as a tool to connect with kids and teach them about bullying.BIG IDEA 2“I love connecting with humans on a very deep level but I don’t like connecting with them on a very superficial level.” (10:55)Imagine what we could do for the consciousness of the planet if we only spread kindness and positivity through social media? Social media can be polarising but Ali believes we all have the opportunity to influence and inspire others through using social media as a tool for spreading kindness.“We need to see moral education being taught in everyday curriculum.” (13:00)Ali believes that learning psychological skills will help address rising mental health problems and suicide rates in young people and she sees a dire need to bring more moral code into our education system.BIG IDEA 3How to set boundaries on social media (17:30)Facebook has been an amazing tool for spreading Ali’s message around the world and allowing her to post uplifting content that has influenced people’s behaviour, but she has had to set strong boundaries in using it to ensure she maintains her mental health and happiness. We all have that same power to engage or disengage with content and it’s important we recognise the boundaries we can set ourselves.How to connect more authentically with others (23:25)Ali talks about the roles of self awareness and personal responsibility in understanding our own behaviours and teaching others how to treat us.Episode LinksYou can find Ali Villani and more about Ali The Shiny Sparkly Unicorn here:Instagram or Facebook...