Money & Plants

This week is my 7 year anniversary, in terms of the last time I took conventional medicine to manage my MS. On 16th April 2016, against the wishes of my medical team and almost everyone else, I stopped taking the disease modifying therapy, "COPAXONE" and all other medication I may have been taking intermittently. I had made the decision to transition to lifestyle medicine, with the view to trying to facilitate the healing process in my body. Thankfully, 7 years later, my health is tremendous, physically and mentally, and determination is robust, in terms of attacking each day and sticking to my plan. There are alot of people keeping an eye on my health, and all I really want to do by continuing to share my own life experiences, is to prove that there could be another way, and that it is possible for all of us to heal, but with one condition- we must help and facilitate this process, by taking the appropriate action. I hope some of you guys get some value from this, and that some of my own experiences, resonates with you. If you want to reach me, send a mail to conor@conordevine.com Untill next time, Look after yourself, Keep the faith 🙏 CD ☘️

I am delighted to bring you guys my 50th episode of the podcast, and even more delighted that in this episode I have switched the dial back to health and longevity again.  For me health is absolutely everything.  If I am fit, well and healthy, then I believe I can do and achieve almost anything, including be a good parent to my two kids, continue to grow my business, and in short, to stick to the plan of being the best version of myself.  If you can relate to all of the above, then you want to pay attention to my guest Dr Paddy Barrett.   I came across Paddy's work on line over the Summer, and immediately he struck a number of chords with me. Primarily what I thought was really interesting about Paddy, was his willingness, passion and determination to share so much information, and to do this, so well across all of the main social media channels including twitter, instagram and LINKEDin. Dr Barrett is a preventative Cardiologist, working out of the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin, and in combination with his cardiology training at the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland he has acquired extensive specialty cardiology training in world class medical centres in New York and California. As part of Dr Barrett's time in the US, he played a pivotal role in the development of several novel technologies, large scale clinical trials and has published extensively in the field. He speaks regularly around the world on heart disease. For me I am particularly interested in heart disease as it continues to be the the world's no.1 killer, taking over 17 million lives every single year, and in Ireland alone accounts for some 36% of all deaths claiming around 10,000 people every year.  In this conversation, I ask Paddy about why he got into medicine, in particular his specialism, what is heart disease and then talk about some of the things each of us can do to prevent this disease and prolong each of our lives.  Paddy truly believes part of the answer to this emergency is in policy and that Is the responsibility of the government to incentivise it's citizens to live healthier lives and to cohabit environments that is aligned to people living much more healthier lives. "Show me the Incentive and I will show you the Outcome" is a line paddy mentioned a few times throughout the course of this conversation.  "Physiology doesn't care about your schedule" - another one of Paddy's favourite lines... how many people do you know who say they're too busy, have too much on, and will start a new program tomorrow, next week, the New Year..... almost everyone I know - problem being, that can keeps getting kicked down the road until you start presenting with symptoms and as Paddy says, that's far too late to be reading and making a change.  With 25% of Irish kids, and over 60% of our adult population obese, it really is time we all started to talk about this topic more, educate ourselves around it, face some home truths, and then start to make some real decisions around how we all lead our lives. I was delighted to finish on a very positive note, in terms of my very last question. The summary note being it's literally never too late to make a lifestyle change, and that your body will react to this almost immediately.  Incredible to hear. If you want to reach out to me, get me on conor@conordevine.com  - I would love to hear your feedback, or on any of my social media channels.  I hope you really enjoyed series 4 of the podcast.  I was delighted to work with my new engineer Evan Balfe, who has made all of this sound pretty incredible.  Thanks Evan and I look forward to working with you on Series 5. So all is left for me is to wish my tribe a very peaceful, health and happy Christmas, I hope to see you all in the New Year, so look after yourself and each other. CD

I am absolutely delighted to introduce you guys to Mr Ben Hunt, on episode 49 of the show.  Ben Hunt has a Phd in political science from Harvard, an incredible entrepreneur who has co founded multiple tech companies, and has also managed his own billion dollar hedge fund.   He is one of the USA's most critical thinkers right now, and also the founder and publisher of Epsilon Theory, an extremely popular website, and newsletter, where he focuses on trying to understand the narratives that are being created, refined and repeated across social and main stream media today.  Epsilon Theory is a project committed to real change in the practice of investing and the practice of citizenship.  It describes itself as "an independent voice for change, with no obligation to anyone, but our readers, our clients, and our partners - our pack". I have been following Ben's work only for a few months, and I have to say, how he thinks about things, and then goes onto explain what might be happening in the world, is a skillset and quality I have seen in very few humans I have came across to date. In 2013, he decided to leave the rat race as such, possibly escape, might be a better way to put it, and to turn his attention to creating Epsilon theory, a publication which now has over 100,000 subscribers and highly regarded resource right across the world.  One of the reasons I started the podcast in 2020, was to try and find some people, who could help all of us understand some of the things that are happening in the world right now.  A cursory look into Bens work and background will tell you he is an incredible guest for me to get onto Money and Plants.   Ultimately I came away from this conversation incredibly thankful, for getting the opportunity to engage directly with Ben, who above all else, in my own opinion is an incredible story teller. The conversation we kicked off with focuses on this, when Ben sets out that life ultimately is about the stories we tell ourselves, and how we decide to react to each of these stories. We also move into the territory of identity and how important it is for each of us in life, no matter who we are or where we might be going, to find our own identity, our own voice, our own passions in life.  Some further clips and subject matter can be found below; 26:58 - how we perceive the world determines our reactions and behaviours 33:15  - the 3 headed monster, tech, pharma, media - the goal is to make us engage 35:15  - Dopamine machines - how our phones have changed absolutely everything 39:29 - How the FED wants to crush everyone's psychology to get inflation down 42:00 - Why and how he started Epsilon theory, coming from a dark place 43:42 - We can change the world.... from the bottom up This was one of my favourite conversations to date on the podcast, and I hope you guys got some value from it. Can I ask you to share the pod with a friend and maybe leave me a review if you have a few minutes. You can reach me at conor@conordevine.com if you want to drop me a note or ask me a question. Until next time, please look after yourself and each other, CD  

In this episode, we see the return of the original "Rogue Trader" Mr Nick Lesson, who I thought was the perfect guest to get back onto the show, in an effort to contextualise what is happening right now across the world in terms of the economics of it all, and projected recession. Recently I attended a Bank of England presentation in Belfast, and the bank is very clear - they are projecting a long (2 years) slow painful recession for the UK, with plenty of pain, particularly for UK businesses and households, and those of us who have a mortgage. Nick is one of the most well known traders and investors in the world, has lived through quite a number of big economic shocks / events, including "Black Monday" in 1989, the DOTCOM crash, the GFC and now what has been unravelling over the last two years, with the onset of the pandemic leading to the current crisis, where inflation is running at 40 year highs, and we appear to be entering another recession.  Before I spoke to Nick, I was expecting him to be quite pessimistic of what might be en route, as generally he seems to take that sober outlook on the world and economies, however, surprisingly,  his outlook on how he see's things moving forward caught me a little by surprise, as it was much more optimistic.  Nick's view is that it is quite natural for economies and markets to correct themselves, and in fact it is needed at times, so things can cool down, and people can take stock and review how they might come back into the market after a period of time.   His observations are that earnings in the US remain quite high, and despite the FED increasing central bank base rates in super quick time, he does feel that the US market and economy is looking more at a softer landing, as opposed to a chaotic abrupt recession most are predicting, which to me was incredibly interesting.  Nick is however, more concerned about how this all plays out in Europe and the UK, and believes that things will be much more difficult for people this side of the Atlantic.  I also spoke to Nick about the recent FTX / SBF financial disaster, which has caught the attention of the world's media, given the scale of the financial disaster that continues to unravel.  Who better to speak to about what appears to be one of the biggest frauds in history than the original rogue trader himself.  It's interesting NIck's take on this incredible story, where over $36bn has been wiped from this company in a matter of days, as it's owner and the guy ultimately responsible (SBF), sits tweeting nonsense, apologising over twitter in real time - all very surreal.  Nick's overriding view being that the authorities will catch up with SBF, in the not too distant future. We finish the conversation with Nick reiterating his view that he fears more for the UK and Europe economies, than the US, and is certainly much more optimistic and buoyant in general than much of what we hear and read these days, about what happens in our economy and markets in the next 18 / 24 months. I hope you enjoyed this podcast, and remember if you prefer to watch it, you can now do that by subscribing to my YOUTUBE channel.   If you have a question for me or you would like to get in touch with me, please email me at conor@conordevine.com  Finally, and something you can do for me now - if you like the show, please give me a LIKE/ REVIEW/ and SHARE the show with a friend - that would be much appreciated. Until next time, please look after yourself and each other. CD

I have been following Michiel for a number of years and was delighted to finally catch up with him on Money & Plants earlier this week. For any entrepreneur, the holy grail is often to exit or sell your business. For Michiel he has achieved that now a number of times, firstly selling his on line classified advert business, the most successful in Belgium to EBAY in 2013, which was a huge success for him personally. Following some downtime, travelling around Australia drinking cocktails and loving life, this curious psychology graduate, couldn't resist the urge to get back into business, and over the last ten years, he has went into achieve incredible results lending his experiemce, expertise and own cash, to a number of fantastic entrepreneurs and businesses, achieving more exits, and more cheques along the way. In this conversation I lift the bonnet on all of this, trying to get a feel for how Michiel thinks, works, and ultimately decides what companies he will invest in. I drill into some of Michael's characteristics in this conversation covering items like the three successful habits of an entrepreneur, advice he would give to anyone starting a business, how to push through hard times, to what keeps him awake at night. It was interesting the focus and importance Michiel put on knowing your numbers, which is pretty much non negotiable for anyone looking him or his investment company, Capital V's money. What really struck me about Michiel in this conversation and one of the reasons I admire him and wanted to get him on this show was his humility and ability to communicate clearly and concisely. Many entrepreneurs evolve, just like the rest of us humans, and it's interesting that Michiel has devided to CHANGE alot about his life, including developing a real passion for animals and becoming Vegan. His Investment platform Capital V, will only invest in companies that take the use of animals out of production, which is an incredibly conscious and admirable stragegy. A fellow IRONMAN triathlete also, with 7 x Ironman races under his belt, that also tells you abit about Michiels mindset and "must do attitude" and approach he has to living. For anyone looking to achieve success in life and business, I am sure you will get some value from this conversation. Please share with a friend and leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts if you have a moment. You can contact me on conor@conordevine.com for any feedback or questions about the show. Until next time, look after yourself and each other CD ☘️

It's been 12 months since I last spoke to Mickey, and a full 16 month's since the evening of the 29th March 2021, when he experienced a widow maker heart attack, and was minutes from death. With a survival rate of 6%, it is no surprise then to come away from listening to Mickey for a short period, how aware he is to be one of the luckiest guys in the world right now. In this conversation, I wanted to check back in with him, as alot can happen in 12 months. In what is another wide ranging conversation, Mikey hones in on what's important to him now, how he approaches life, and his incredible sense of gratitude and awareness of how fortunate he is to be able to get to live the life he now leads. From plant based diets to considering running a marathon, it was great to see, and hear how Mickey continues to be in terrific form and in fantastic health. His heart took an incredible beating last year throughout the attack, but all is now recovered and Mickey continues to get stronger, keeping his medical team in amazement. This conversation is designed to encourage others to NOT be like Mickey, do NOT wait to your life flashes before you, before you make lifestyle changes in your own life, make these changes TODAY. Mickey is an incredibly well grounded character, and is very aware of the second chance he has in life now. I was delighted to see him in top form, and I hope this conversation inspires CHANGE in your own life. Please like and share this podcast with your friends and family, and also, make sure you listen to part 1, which went out last July, to get the full detail on what happened to Mickey on the 29th March 2021. If you want to reach out to me, best place is conor@conordevine.com or DM me on any of my socials. Take care, CD ☘️

I am delighted to welcome the first guest from the Hedge Fund world onto money and plants, in the form of the wonderful, Mr Hugh Hendry. Hugh is best known for being the CEO and founder of his Hedge Fund Electica Asset Management, which at it's height had $1.3bn assets under management. Born into poverty in the working class streets of Glasgow, education and a desire to get out of the environment he grew up in, was the catalyst for a young Hugh, to go on and build a ew very successful life for himself. Now living in the carribean, in the beautiful island of St. Barts, following his exit from the cut and thrust of the money markets, Hugh is back, building a new brand, creating content and educating people on a daily basis as to what he thinks is happening in the world today. Hugh tells me that he vibrates, he is energy, he has healed and his passion for life and creativity is now back in abundance. In this conversation we chat about Hughs views on central banks, why he thinks the system is designed for people to fail, his frustrations with China, why he thinks we are in a Depression and much much more. A proper treat for you guys this one, and I'm looking forward to speaking to Hugh again soon. As ever let me know what you think and pls leave me a review and share the podcast. Until next month, take care all. CD ☘️

In this episode I welcome back one of the shows most popular guests.  Jordan Buchanan is the Chief Economist of the property portal PropertPal, and it's been six months since I have had Jordan on the show.  So much has happened since our last conversation, I have become a little unclear as to where our property market is right now in N Ireland.  Interest rates for example reached their highest point in 1981, levelling off at just over 16%, which is pretty unthinkable in this day and age, however since that time and up until 2021, rates went down to almost zero in many jurisdictions across the world. The world has changed insurmountably in the last 18 months given the pandemic and the most recent disaster zone, namely the ongoing war in Ukraine, and this really has caused all kinds of trouble across so many countries, businesses and ultimately households, as we are now in the middle of a cost of living crisis, which is quite new to most people middle aged and under, who are experiencing these shocks to our economy for the first time. In this conversation Jordan eloquently summarises what has happened in the last two years in our housing market, to include the QE policy measures that undoubtedly assisted the housing market and dare I say it, facilitated a housing boom right across the UK and Ireland. Interest rates, inflation and labour markets are causing all kinds of volatility, and we get into a fair bit of detail as to how all of this impacts the market and how things may play out over the next twelve months. For anyone interested in the economy, the property market, and just generally trying to improve your understanding into some of these big ticket items like inflation and cost of living crisis, you will get great value from this podcast. Finally next month we are re-launching our recovery and restructuring business. The bottom line is that we accept the economy is heading towards a downward trend, and given the experience we have at GDP, we feel compelled to try and help, save, restructure as many businesses as possible.  If you or you know someone who might be concerned about this, then you can reach me at conor@gdpni.com As ever, a review would be great if you have a moment, and please share this episode with a friend. Until next time, look after yourself, and each other, CD

In this wonderful episode of Money and Plants, I get to speak to one of the world's leading authorities on all things Brain Health.   Tommy Wood is an athlete, works with and coaches many elite sports people, but he is also a UK-trained Medical doctor, with a PhD in physiology and neuroscience.  He studied at Oxford and Cambridge, and is now based at the University of Washington working as an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics. I have been following Tommy and studying his work for a number of months now, and it really is a proper treat to get him on the show.   In essence this conversation is all about me trying to figure out, through quite a range of questions, how we all might look after our brains better and achieve optimum bran health. In what is a wide ranging conversation, Tommy drops some incredible nuggets around ways in which we can prevent cognitive decline and the development of dementia for example, by simply changing our behaviour and considering our environment.  He goes into detail around the importance of brain stimulation right throughout our life, and the importance of that in protecting our brains and brain function. Anxiety and stress are too familiar with most people in this mad world we live in today, and it was super interesting to hear Tommy talk about the link between those two and this who then go onto develop significant cognitive decline.   Did you know that old chestnut inflammation is up to no good in the brain?  It was really interesting for me personally when Tommy stated it's really important to consider your food choices, as we know by eating the wrong types of foods, ie JUNK FOOD, PROCESSED RUBBISH - this creates inflamation which can lead to poor brain health, along with all of the other negative impacts eating rubbish food has on your body.   I was delighted to get Tommy on the show, he certainly didn't disappoint,  and I hope you guys get tremendous value from it.   If you enjoyed this episode, please leave me a review, and also If you could share this with one or two of your pals.  Much appreciated and until next time, keep working away at life everyone.  Keep the faith, CD conor@conordevine.com 

Eoin Ó Broin is the SF spokesperson for housing in Dáil Éireann, and a TD for Dublin Mid West since 2016.  Arguably one of the most articulate politicians on the island of Ireland today, Interestingly in our conversation, Eoin prefers to describe himself as more of an activist, than a politician.   In this wide ranging conversation, Eoin gives us some background into the early part of his life, privately educated n Blackrock College Dublin, studying at Queens University in Belfast, and then going onto become a councillor in Belfast City Council. An established author in his own right with a number of very successful books published in the last twenty years, it's really in the last few years that Eoin has became a household name in Irish politics. Sinn Fein as a party have went through an incredible transition in the last twenty odd years, and if we look at the last election in Republic of Ireland, they topped the poll with 24.5% of first preference votes. Today they lead both FF and FG by more than 10 points no matter what polling company you follow.   In the North, it is also widely expected that Sinn Fein will top the poll, in the upcoming election in May.   I start out by asking Eoin why he thinks this is, and why he thinks people who maybe would normally not consider voting for SF, now appear to be happy to do so. The housing crisis in the South is going on now for many years, and it would appear for whatever reason, that successive governments in Dublin simply cannot get to grips with it. I point out to Eoin that there is a housing crisis almost everywhere in the Western world today, not only in Ireland, which he agreed with me on, but he did also point out how different countries are dealing with it, which was an interesting perspective and insight into the mindset of Eoin and his ideology / thoughts around fixing the problem.  Eoin has written a number of excellent books, but it was his book "Home" which I wanted to talk about in this conversation.  I ask Eoin why he thought it was important to write this book and also why he thought it important to talk about the work of Nye Bevan, the English politician, who is famous for implementing the policies that created the NHS in the UK, after the Second World War.  I was delighted Eoin set aside time for me to have this conversation particularly on St. Patricks's morning, when he should have been having a day off. I found Eoin an incredibly interesting and engaging guest to speak with, and I am looking forward to speaking to him again on Money and Plants. If you enjoy the podcast, I would love you to leave me a review, and also feel free to share this with your friends if you think it maybe of interest. All feedback welcome, and you can reach me at conor@conordevine.com  Until next month, Take care, CD

I've had Niall on my list of guests to interview for quite some time, and this conversation didn't dissapoint.  Niall Harbison is an Irish entrepreneur, with no less than three business exits under his belt in the last ten years.  Following the sale of his last business, he did what so many of us probably think of doing, in that he upped sticks and moved to Thailand, to build a new life for himself in the sun, sounds terrible I know:(( What could go wrong, having achieved success after success with plenty of cash in the bank.....? well lots actually !!! In this very candid, open and honest conversation, Niall shares with me the many trials and tribulations he has encountered in his journey through life to date, in terms of living with depression, anxiety, and panic attacks for years, and then literally nearly drinking himself to death, having to sign himself into hospital last year, and spending time in intensive care.  The great news about Niall is that he decided whilst lying in hospital that he simply didn't want to live a life like he was living anymore, so he made a deal with himself to make huge CHANGES in his life.  Over the last twelve months, Niall has been able to get his health back on track, so much so that he has started his new life mission, which is to save thousands of dogs right across the world, starting in Thailand.  Currently the CEO of Happy Dogs, Niall is spending his time now, going out every morning, with food and nutrition, looking for stray dogs, (there are literally thousands of them right across the country) to feed them and help them out.     I encourage you to jump on Nialls instagram to you see the fantastic work he is up to everyday, it really is incredible to watch. I hope you guys get some value from this conversation, as I know I did, and I would like to thank Niall for his time, his honesty, and the humility he showed me when talking about such private and complex issues. I am thrilled to see life back in Niall again, its tremendous to see him looking strong again, and I am pretty sure, you will get some strength from listening to this episode. As ever, if you enjoyed the pod, please let me know, and please share it with your friends.  Also a short review wherever you get your pods would be super. Until next time, look after yourself, and each other, Keep the faith, CD

In this episode I was delighted to welcome back my old friend, the rogue trader himself, Mr Nick Leeson. Always one of the more popular guests on my show, this has to be my most wide ranging conversation with Nick to date. It is 30 years this year, since Nick was headhunted by Barings bank, to go to Singapore, to run their Far East operation. I start of the conversation by asking Nick how he thinks about time now, and how he values and looks upon time. From that we move through the gears and the conversation covers a wide range of topics including the importance of self esteem for people, and also the fact that Nick believes it was his working class upbringing in Watford, which gave him the motivation and ambition to achieve some kind of success in life.  With over 30 years of experience in trading in the financial markets, there is no better person to talk to about the economy right now, and where things might be heading.  It is Nick's opinion that the markets have never been so aggressive as they are now, and his advice is to get out if you can at the moment, as opposed to getting or staying in.  Volatility is the name of the game right now,  and it looks like after a couple of decades of decreasing interest rates to 0%, we are now entering a new phase of interest rate hikes, with the defacto leader of the financial world, Jerome Powell, who runs the FED in the US, indicating as much in the last few days. Nick talks about the importance of leadership in difficult times and maybe the lack of leadership many of us have experienced over the last twenty four months. I finish our conversation asking Nick about his views on Crypto / Bitcoin.  He has always been pretty sceptical about all of this, and to be fair to him, he continues to be.  However I enjoyed the exchange of views in this regard and I did get Nick to agree with me that over the next twenty years, we will see Central Bank digital currencies in play, most likely alongside Bitcoin and many other crypto currencies.  I really enjoyed this conversation, and I hope you get some value from it. If you have a moment, i would love if you could leave a quick review, at wherever you get your podcasts, and feel free to share this conversation with any of your friends. Look after yourself, and I will speak to you guys again soon, CD ☘

This really is a special episode of Money and Plants. Who knew, there are 375,000 new cancer diagnosis every single year in the UK.  1 in 2 people will get cancer in their lifetime, and breast, colon, and lung cancer account for 50% of all cancers. In this episode I get to speak to the wonderful and hugely passionate Dr Shireen Kassam, a consultant haematologist and honorary senior lecturer at the Kings College in London, about all things cancer. Dr Kassam has been working in this field for many years, and is also the founding member of Plant based health professionals UK www.plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com and also set up a brand new plant based healthcare service in the form of www.plantbasedhealthonline.com  Cancer is a horrendous disease, and has caused so much destruction over the years right across society, but did you know that 4 out of every 10 cancers can actually be prevented, if only 1. we understood the disease better, how it works and develops, and 2. we make and stick to changes in our lifestyle including what we eat, how we move, think and interact with people (change our environment). A vegan and plant based doctor herself, Conor asks Dr Kassam about the role inflammation plays in cancer, how to reduce this, what about alcohol - does this impact cancer?  Vitamin D also, did you know how important it is for people living with cancer to supplement vitamin D?  All of this and much more in this week's episode of Money and Plants, which I'm sure you will get some value from.  Finally we have reached the end of another year and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their continued support and encouragement with the podcast.   In series 2 so far, I have been able to have some really important conversations, mostly health related, and I genuinely believe that if any of you guys take on board some of what has been set out in the last few episodes, it will change your life for the better.  If you enjoyed this podcast, please share it with your friends and family and also if you have a moment, please leave me a review wherever you get your podcasts. You can also reach me here conor@conordevine.com  Have a peaceful and healthy Christmas, and I will be back in the New Year, with more conversations that I hope will enrich and maybe even CHANGE your life. Best wishes, CD

In this episode I get to speak to former Tottenham hotspur, Norwich, Burnley and Northern Ireland International, Paul Mc Veigh about his life to date, and how over the last ten years he has went through his own incredible transformations, from the Premier League in England, to being one of the most highly sought after public speakers in the field of mental performance. Having left West Belfast for the dizzy lights of London as a 16 year old kid, Paul found himself playing with some of the world's best footballers including Jurgen Klinnsman, David Ginola, and Les Ferdinand.  When his manager George Graham, decided to let him go from Spurs, this rejection was another challenge for Paul to overcome.  Overcome he did, and a successful spell at Norwich City commenced when his manager, Paul Lambert went onto describe Paul in his book "The Stupid Footballer"  as being, - "few have been more determined and driven to make the most of their ability than Paul Mc Veigh, a manager's dream with a wonderful attitude".   Paul then decided to leave football and pursue a degree in psychology, and post his studies worked for six years as a sports psychologist for Norwich City and Crystal palace.  In the last five years Paul has continued to push himself through continued professional development and is now one of the most highly sought after public speakers, in the whole area of performance psychology.  He now regularly speaks to huge corporations about the important if mental performance and how we can all improve upon our mental performance.   In what is a wide ranging conversation, I hope you get some value from this.  You can find more information about Paul across his social media platforms and also his website www.paulmcveighh.com  If you want to connect with me, please email conor@conordevine.com  Look after yourself and each other, CD

Dr Gemma Newman is no ordinary doctor. A GP now for over 17 years, she entered into the medical professional with one main goal, which was to help people. Over the years she has grown to understand how wonderful, yet how limited the conventional medicine model can be. Chronic modern medicine is fantastic, and when we have a car accident, and need emergency surgery or a life saving course of antibiotics, the advances in modern medicine has been extraordinary. However the same cannot be said for the treatment of chronic disease.  Things like back pain, heart disease, diabetes, depression, auto immune disease, are much tougher nuts to crack.  Over the last fifteen years I have had plenty of experience of this trying to manage my own multiple sclerosis.  In 2006 I got very ill, diagnosed with MS one year later and started a range of medications to help manage my symptoms.  I was injecting copaxone to 2016, when I decided that the conventional path to managing my condition was not the best path for me.  In April 2016, I switched to a plant based diet, and started to practice a lifestyle approach to managing my health, trying to induce and fast track the healing process.  I have to tell you it is people like Dr Newman, who have validated every single decision I have made over the last 5.5 years.  Dr Newman is a wonderful example of a new group of medical practitioners, who have a deep understanding of our bodies and an appreciation for the role our lifestyle plays in our health.  In this conversation I start of by asking Gemma, when did she know she wanted to be a doctor, and who continues to inspire her today.  Gemma over the years has become much more open minded on what is the best course of action for her patients to implement programs and lifestyles that kickstart the healing process in people's bodies and allow them to go on and lead better healthier happier lives.  She learned more about psychological interventions, ways she could support people to change their mindset to facilitate change and growth, and to help her patients with their mental health. Her own journey to plant based advocacy came by chance, as it was her husbands transition to this way of living who convinced her to give it a go.  Curiosity got the better of her and with a family history of heart disease, and after seeing her husband benefit from the transition, she herself went plant based and started to see a remarkable improvement in her own health within the first 28 days.  Over the next number of months, everything about her health started to improve including going from a size 18 to a size 8.  This gave Gemma the foundation and confidence to bring her new learnings into her professional setting and with over 3000 patients in her family practice, Gemma spends alot of time speaking to her patients about ways in which they can change their lifestyle, what they eat, how they move, think and interact with people, and the difference this can make to their all round health.  This is a wonderful conversation and I know you will get some incredible value from it.  Please also check Dr Newman out across her social media channels as everyday she is sharing free content, all designed to help people become healthier.  Her website is also an excellent resource www.gemmanewman.com and her new book, The Plant Power Doctor, is a wonderful investment and I believe should sit in every family home. I can tell you that by me changing the way I life and changing my environment, I have been able to totally transform my life and my health.  I know and have met many others in the last ten years who have had a similar experience.  This is a subject matter close to my heart as I know if you decide to give this a go, commit, and be disciplined in your approach, the return on that investment will be incredible and actually it is also great fun. You can reach me at conor@conordevine.com

In this episode I welcome back one of my most popular guests to the show, PropertyPals Chief Economist, Jordan Buchanan. Over the last fifteen months, the housing market, almost everywhere right across the world, has outperformed everyone's expectations. In Northern Ireland, personally I felt the market would cool significantly as a result of the pandemic, however the opposite has occured. In this conversation Jordan sets out what has happened in the laat year, why it happened, what challenges the market faces and what 2022 might look like in this market. This is a wide ranging comversation which I'm pretty sure you guys will get some value from. If you have any questions, please reach me at conor@conordevine.com and also if you have a minute, I would be very grateful if you could leave me a review and share this with one or two people you think might be interested in the subject matter. Thanks for listening, and remember to look after yourself, and each other CD ☘

In episode 34 of series 3, I get to speak to one of my great friends Jack Kavanagh.   I have been pretty open over the last ten years about my own trials and tribulations in life, and I accept I have made incredible progress, however one of the reasons I have been able to make so much progress is that I have surrounded myself with absolute warriors, who have encouraged and inspire me to keep moving forward in life.  Jack is one of these people. A few years ago Jack and myself met up for the first time, and started what is a growing friendship of trust, respect and admiration. At 20 years of age in 2012, Jack experienced a traumatic event in his life, that would change everything.  He broke his neck in a freak accident on holiday, and as a result has a mere 15% muscle function in his body.  The truly fascinating thing about Jack is that this adversity seems to have played an incredibly positive role in creating this powerful human being, who is now so strong, so articulate and so interested in helping people develop in their own life through personal development.  Courage, resilience and integrity are central occurring themes when you are in Jacks presence.  Such a grounded and humble person if you are lucky enough to be in his company, however it's when he starts to speak and share his philosophy of life, is when he is at his most powerful. I recognised a number of years ago that in life, we will all encounter and go through traumatic events.  The key then has to be how we react to such events. This is often touch and go, as it is not always easy to pick the right pathway forward.  I can assure you if you find people like Jack, listen to what they say, and how they live their own lives, you will get an incredible amount of strength and value from this exercise. In 2016, Jack released his documentary Breaking Boundaries, where him and his mates went to the West Coast of the US, to live out some of their dreams.  I highly recommend you watch this, and also Jacks Ted talk. I am a much better person having met Jack, and I'm pretty confident, if you study this man's work and his message, you will be all the better for it also. I hope you get some value from this conversation. You can reach me at conor@conordevine.com and I would love to get some feedback on this one. Look after yourself, and each other, CD ☘

In this episode I get to speak to an old friend from Tyrone who has been building a new life for himself and his family over the last 10 years in New York City.   On 29th March at around 8pm, Mickey Coleman came back from his usual run in the city, only to experience an excruciating pain in his chest.  He told his wife he needed an ambulance as he knew something was badly wrong.  What Mickey didn't know at that time was that he was experiencing what is known in the medical world as a "widow -maker" heart attack, which has a 6% survival rate. That means that 94% of people who have this kind of heart attack die.  Mickey was immediately now in his biggest ever battle, which was to live. His heart stopped three times in the ambulance on the way to hospital and he spent a number of days in a coma in the hospital.  In those few days Mickey tells me on the podcast he has a number of weird, deep dark spiritual experiences in his own mind as he was fighting for his life in hospital. The amazing news being that 12 days later, he was able to leave hospital and head for home to start his new life of recovery. In this conversation, Mickey tells us exactly what happened on the night of the 29th March and what the last few months have looked like for him and his family. The new Mickey is now incredibly grateful for everything that he has in his life today.  His wife and kids, his family, his health and his new sense of purpose.  His story of recovery has travelled around the world as he is a very popular well know sportsman and musician. I would like to wish Mickey well and thank him for sharing his experience with me on the pod.  The reason I wanted to get him on is that I do believe his story, approach to life and changes he has made in his life, can educate, empower and inspire all of us to continue to embrace CHANGE in our own lives. Mickey has transitioned to a plant based lifestyle, and is incredibly passionate about this switch and how his new nutrition program is going to help keep him alive and healthy for a very long time. I hope you guys get incredible value from this conversation, and if you have any questions or queries, please get me at  conor@conordevine.com  Please don't be like me and Mickey, and wait until something happens in your life until you make changes.  Start today, right now, and figure out what YOU need to do to improve your life and CHANGE your life. I wish you well. If you enjoyed this podcast, please leave me a review and share it with your friends and family. Many Thanks and look after yourselves, Chat to you soon, CD

In this conversation I get to speak to one of the world's leading cardiologists about all things health related.  Dr Kahn is an interventional Cardiologist, who literally saves peoples lives every day.  As some of my listeners already know, I have went through my own incredible health transformation over the last 15 years, and therefore it was amazing to speak to Joel and ask him directly about a number of things that are really crucial to understand, if we really want to avoid meeting people like him in hospital theatres.  A vegan for over 30 years, and now 62 years of age, with arteries of a 20 year old, I really wanted to understand if the science tells us, if we can genuinely reverse and/or prevent any of these diseases.  From heart health to brain health, exercise to alcohol, this was a wide ranging and fascinating conversation.  Dr Kahn talks at length about saturated fat and the fact that there is universal agreement across the divide, that a diet low in saturated fat is the best one to follow for your overall health.    We discuss numerous studies that have occured over the last 100 years, and what the science is telling us about how we can avoid the world's biggest killer Coronary Artery Disease. Vitamin B12 and it's importance is also discussed, along with the crucial role played by Omega 3 in the body. Speaking from personal experience, discipline is a characteristic you need in abundance, to arrive at, and maintain optimum health. It was a decision I took in April 2016, to change the way I was living my life, go plant based and walk away from the conventional approach (drugs) of managing disease, which has ultimately changed my own life. I am hoping that even one of my listeners might get some inspiration from this conversation, to go on and make the necessary changes that could transform their own life. I hope you guys really enjoy this very special edition of the podcast, and get tremendous value from it.  Please leave me a review if you wish, and share this pod with your friends and family. By people listening to this, it may even save a life. Now wouldn't that be incredible.  If you have any questions or want to get in touch, email : conor@conordevine.com  Finally have a look at Dr Kahn's website for further reading and study : www.drjoelkahn.com  Speak to you all again soon, CD ☘

In this episode I speak to a senior Ulster Unionist Politician, Philip Smith about some of the arguments for N Ireland to remain in the UK. Over the last twelve months we have seen a range of people, podcasts and events talking about the benefits of Irish Unity, but we haven't seen much energy from the Unionist side in this regard. Enter United UK, a Pro Union campaign group, and one of it's founding members Philip Smith. One of the objectives of United UK, is to package up the benefits of NI remaining in the Union, and going after the 20% of people who might be voting in any upcoming border poll, but haven't decided on who to vote for. In what turned out to be a wide ranging open discussion, we talk about the new UUP leader Doug Beattie, the rejuvenation of the party, the NI Centenary year, the NI Protocol and finishing up talking about why Philip believes NI is better off staying in the UK. I really enjoyed chatting to Philip, and as I said in the conversation, I welcome him and groups like United UK and would encourage them to get stuck into the body of peer reviewed work that is required, if they want to underscore and validate their arguments over the next few years. If you enjoyed the show, please let me know at conor@conordevine.com and remember to leave me a review and share the pod with someone you think might be interested in the subject matter. Look after yourself and speak to you soon CD ☘