A Wake Up Call

If you have ever wondered:“How does someone come out of the worst thing that ever happened to them more grateful, not less?”“What am I supposed to do with myself once I have finally got the thing I was chasing?”“Why does money stress leak into everything else, even when the numbers are not that bad?”- this episode is for you.Tristan Knowles OAM has been given his odds twice. At nine he lost his leg to childhood cancer. At twelve he found out that the 50/50 his parents and his doctor gave him when the cancer came back in his lung was a white lie, and that his real chance of surviving had been closer to 5 per cent. This week he sits down with Layne and Tess to talk about what that does to a person, and what he built out of it.It runs from a foam cover cut off a prosthetic leg at 17, to gold in Beijing and the email from his coach that was waiting when the team got home, to ranking themselves across 30 separate parts of their sport so that being the best would not make them soft. Six Paralympic Games, a gold medal, back to back world titles, and a definition of success that has nothing to do with winning.Then it goes somewhere nobody expects a Paralympian to go: money. Tristan has spent more than a decade in financial advice, and he makes the case that how you handle money quietly decides how much energy you have for everything else. Financial stress and mental health run in both directions, and most people never touch either because they think it is complicated.You will hear about:●     The 50/50 his parents and his doctor agreed on before he ever asked, and the real number he learned at twelve●     Why cutting the foam cover off his prosthetic leg at 17 was the most liberating thing he has done●     The three questions he uses to define success instead of winning, and why the result is not one of them●     The email waiting after Beijing gold, and how ranking themselves on 30 parts of the game kept the team hungry●     What financial stress actually costs, and the simple split he gives people who think money is too complicated●     The question from Tuesdays with Morrie that he put to Layne and Tess live, and why everyone answers it the same wayGuest linksTristan Knowles: https://tristanknowles.com.auFollow Tristan on Instagram @tristanknowles09Support Australian Paralympians (virtual seat, donations are tax deductible): https://www.paralympic.org.auAwake linksJoin the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasseshttps://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-salesGet Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869Follow Layne on Instagram @LaynebeachleyFollow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwerFollow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academyAwakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactBook us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactDisclaimerThe A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

If you have ever wondered:“How do people actually do hard things when I can barely find the energy for mine?”“Why does every achievement seem to cost me so much?”“Is pulling back going backwards, or is it the smartest move I can make?”- this episode is for you.Sam Gash was a corporate lawyer when she decided to test the limits of what she was capable of. That decision made her the first woman, and the youngest person at the time, to complete the legendary Four Deserts Grand Slam: 1,000 kilometres across some of the world's harshest environments. She has since crossed India on foot to support education initiatives, traversed Nepal's Great Himalaya Trail, played Australian Survivor and become an AIA ambassador. But this conversation is not about running.Layne and Tess sit down with Sam for a conversation about what it really takes to keep moving when life gets real hard: where unwavering self-belief actually comes from, why she stopped waiting to be invited and backed herself first, and what she learned when a natural disaster left her stranded for 12 days on a 50-day expedition. Sam is disarmingly honest about the cost side of achievement, the invisible rules she is still uncovering, and why she now walks on stage without a bow to put on the story.At its heart this is an episode about capacity and self-leadership: honouring the person you are today rather than the person you were a year ago, finding an easefulness to effort, and using the power of the pause to catch your default settings before they run your day.You will hear about:Why resilience is being adaptive, quicker and with greater ease, and why the reflection after a hard thing (not the hard thing itself) is what builds capacityWhat the Four Deserts Grand Slam actually involves, and what carrying everything on your back teaches you about your real baselineWhy you should not wait to be invited: how Sam sponsored herself when nobody else would, and why action builds confidence rather than the other way aroundThe 12 days Sam spent stranded on the Great Himalaya Trail, and how it rewired what success and finishing mean to herThe AIA Do It For Life toolkit: the power of the pause, uncovering your invisible rules, and closing the gap between the person at home and the person in the outside worldLinks textConnect with Sam Gash https://www.samanthagash.comJoin the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasseshttps://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-salesGet Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869Follow Layne on Instagram @LaynebeachleyFollow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwerFollow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academyAwakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactBook us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactDisclaimerThe A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

When You Can’t Be Bothered: Motivation, Overwhelm & the JuggleIf you’ve ever thought:“Why can’t I motivate myself, even when I know what I need to do?”“How do I keep everything going without burning myself out?”“Why does it feel like everyone needs something from me?”— this episode is for you.This week, A Wake Up Call is back with another listener Q&A, and Tess and Layne are tackling two questions that will feel very familiar if life has been feeling a little too full: how do you find motivation when you simply can’t be bothered, and how do you juggle everything without losing yourself in the process?First, they unpack why losing motivation isn’t necessarily a sign that you’re lazy or failing. Sometimes you’re overwhelmed. Sometimes you’re depleted. And sometimes your body is asking you to stop pushing and start paying attention.Tess shares the “bare minimum” approach that helped her move through a winter slump — including the 3km-a-day challenge that taught her just how loud her excuses could become — while Layne explains why action often has to come before motivation. Start with five minutes. Take one step. Make it achievable. Then let momentum do the rest.Then the conversation turns to the juggle.Layne opens up about a season when she was caring for her dad, chairing Surfing Australia, running a charity, building a business, speaking, filming and still competing — and the moment someone reflected back to her: that’s a lot.What looked like capability on the outside was costing her time with the people she loved, her health and her wellbeing. And underneath all that busyness was an even bigger question: what was the juggle giving her?Together, Layne and Tess explore why being needed, being busy and being the person who can “handle everything” can become part of our identity — and why sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is step out of the middle and realise the world will keep turning without you.You’ll hear about:Why motivation often follows action, rather than the other way aroundThe “bare minimum” tool for days when everything feels too hardHow accountability can help create momentumWhy losing motivation can be a signal to look deeperHow to tell when your busy life has become unsustainableThe hidden emotional payoff we can get from being neededWhat to let go of, outsource or delegate when you’re overwhelmedWhy structure can create more freedomA simple physiological sigh to help regulate your nervous system in moments of overwhelmThe questions to ask when the juggle starts costing you more than it’s giving youJoin the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses:https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-salesGet Awake’s transformative book, Know Yourself, Grow Yourself, to live a happier, more purposeful life:https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869Follow Layne on Instagram: @LaynebeachleyFollow Tess on Instagram: @tesscbrouwerFollow AWAKE on Instagram: @awake_academyAwake’s TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_Sponsor our podcast:https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactBook us for a workshop:https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactDisclaimerThe A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey — not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.Help is always available. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14.

If you have ever wondered:“What do the most decorated people in the world actually do differently when no one is filming?”“How do you stay present with your own kids when your job is showing up for everyone else's biggest moments?”“What does your mother know about you that no highlight reel ever will?”- this episode is for you.For more than 20 years, Hamish McLachlan, sports broadcaster, journalist, commentator and AIA Ambassador, has held the microphone while other people have had their biggest moments, sitting just a few feet from Olympic champions, AFL greats, prime ministers and Kobe Bryant. This week Layne and Tess flip the format. Instead of interviewing the broadcaster, they interview the student, taking Hamish through what he calls his own life MBA: the lessons picked up over two decades of watching greatness up close.It opens with a voice note from Hamish's mother, Sylvia, introducing her own son, and from there Hamish works through the people who shaped him: his mother's total absence of hierarchy, his brother Gillon as the first call in any crisis, and the professionals who let him inside their preparation, Bruce McAvaney's ritual before air, Dennis Cometti's scone and tea debrief after every broadcast, and Kobe Bryant choosing his own interviewer from four audition tapes because he refused to leave the last three percent to chance.It becomes a conversation about presence over performance: the sixteen months he took his family travelling instead of chasing the next broadcast, trading FOMO for what he calls JOMO, and the daily habit of choosing good units over bad ones with his own kids. It closes with Hamish reading a message back to his mother, live.You will hear about:Why Kobe Bryant asked to choose his own interviewer from four audition tapes, and what it revealed about leaving nothing to chanceThe “good units, bad units” habit Hamish uses with his kids to spend each day well, and the day his ten-year-old called him out on itWhy Dennis Cometti's post-broadcast scone and tea ritual is a masterclass in presenceThe difference between a “deal friend” and a “real friend”Why the family took sixteen months off to travel, and the line from his daughter that reframed what happiness actually looks likeLinks textFollow Hamish McLachlan @hamishmclachlanWatch: Hamish's AIA talk, “The Last Time I Cried”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ny9Y9B5xicJoin the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses: https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-salesGet Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869Follow Layne on Instagram @LaynebeachleyFollow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwerFollow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academyAwake's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_Sponsor our podcast: https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactBook us for a workshop: https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactDisclaimerThe A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you. Help is always available, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text on 0477 13 11 14.

If you have ever wondered:💭 "Why am I gaining belly fat when I am doing everything right?"💭 "Why does the diet that worked at 30 stop working at 40?"💭 "What should I actually ask my GP for beyond the standard blood panel?"- this episode is for you.This week Layne and Tess sit down with Kate Save: accredited practising dietitian, clinical exercise physiologist and founder of Be Fit Food. Kate sits at a rare intersection. She reads food through metabolic flexibility, cognitive output and physical longevity, not weight loss, and she is on a mission to treat food as our most powerful daily performance tool.Her own wake-up call came early. Emergency surgery at 20 for a rare congenital condition doctors said she would not live past 30, after 19 years of being told it was in her head. Years later she found her mum dead at home, after emergency departments sent her home three times with a bowel cancer nobody caught. If you look well and present well, you do not get seen.Then the conversation gets practical: why fat arrives at the waistline after 40 even when you are doing everything right, how insulin resistance builds for 10 to 20 years before a standard test flags it, why muscle is the sink for glucose, how much protein you actually need and in what form, and how busy people fuel for energy, focus and the long game. Layne even hands over her own blood results for Kate to read live.You will hear about:The two blood tests that reveal insulin resistance 10 to 20 years early: fasting insulin and the HOMA index, and why your GP will not run them unless you askWhy muscle is the sink for glucose, and the three-times-a-week strength habit that protects your metabolism as you ageProtein done properly: 1.2 to 1.6g per kilo, whole food first, supplements second, and the 2025 trial that showed whole food lifts 45 beneficial gut bacteriaThe perspective tool Kate uses with her intensive-care doctor best friend on the hardest daysThe Do It For Life toolkit: vegetables of every colour, leftovers packed the night before, and one health check that predicts your next 10 to 20 yearsLinks textFollow Kate Save on Instagram @katesave and LinkedIn (Kate Save)Be Fit Food: https://www.befitfood.com.auListener code: WAKEUP35 for $35 off Be Fit Food orders over $100Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-salesGet Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life. https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869Follow Layne on Instagram @LaynebeachleyFollow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwerFollow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academyAwakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactBook us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactDisclaimerThe A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you. Help is always available call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text on 0477 13 11 14

If you have ever thought:“How do I get better at being selfish when I always put everyone else first?”“Why is saying no so uncomfortable, even when I know I should?”“How do I set boundaries without the guilt, or without letting everyone down?”- this episode is for you.This week A Wake Up Call is a solo listener Q&A (Part 2), and it goes deeper than Part 1. We asked the Dream Team what they were wrestling with, and the theme was almost unanimous: people-pleasing. One question said it all - “my generosity is my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. I put everyone first and my own health and finances last. How do I get better at being selfish?”Layne and Tess reframe the whole thing. Selfish is not the enemy - selfless is. When you say yes to everyone and no to yourself, the people you love get the fried, depleted, running-on-empty version of you. Showing up “selfish” - protecting your time, energy, health and finances first - is what lets you show up for anyone at all.They get honest about why saying no is so hard: the three fears underneath every yes (letting people down, losing your relevance, and the shiny fix-it version everyone expects), and the three types of expectations - including the stealth ones we quietly place on ourselves. Layne shares how selfishness became a privilege that got her to the top, the story of her dad calling her “a bloody idiot”, and winning seven world titles - five of them in fear - and asks the real question: fuel, at what cost? Tess opens up about being “Tess from Virgin”, performing on a fragile foundation, and what changed when she started filling her own cup first.You will hear about:Why people-pleasing is fear wearing a helpful face - and how to show up “selfish” so you stop reserving the worst of you for the people you loveThe three fears that stop you saying no: letting people down, a scarcity mentality around relevance, and the expectations you place on yourselfThe three types of expectations - yours, other people's, and the stealth ones you assume - and why the stealth ones are the most toxicFill your cup first: do one thing you love every day (15 minutes is enough, and it has to be tech-free)The boundary tool: “no, not now” and “no, not me”, why the guilt is a stepping stone, and knowing your recovery rule (one day is fine, three days is a warning sign)Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasseshttps://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-salesGet Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869Follow Layne on Instagram @LaynebeachleyFollow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwerFollow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academyAwakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactBook us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactMentioned in this episode:Viktor Frankl - Man's Search for Meaning (the one thing that cannot be taken from you is your choice of how to respond)Dr Kristy Goodwin - researcher on digital overload and focus, and past AWUC guest (“infobesity”, ~74GB of information a day, and the case for micro-breaks)The Seven Doctors 7-Week Challenge - Awake's gentle nervous-system reset program (sunshine breaks, micro rest, the science of why), linked in the show notesDisclaimerAwake Academy is not a licensed mental health service, and this podcast is not a substitute for personalised mental health advice, assessment, diagnosis or treatment. What we share here is general in nature and is designed to offer reflection, insight and practical tools for everyday life.If you are experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you have heard on this podcast.

If you have ever wondered:“How do I stop identifying with the scared version of myself?”“Why does my inner critic get louder when I am tired, overwhelmed or out of my depth?”“How do I stop comparing myself to others and become the person I actually want to be?”This episode is for you.This week, Tess and Layne answer questions from the AWAKE community about fear, identity, comparison and the relentless voice of the “itty-bitty shitty committee”.They explore what happens when the identities you have built your life around suddenly disappear, whether that is a career, a business, success, appearance or the role you believed you had to play. Tess shares how losing her corporate identity forced her to intentionally rebuild her life, health and sense of self, while Layne reflects on becoming a world champion and learning not to let success, fear or other people’s labels define her.The conversation then turns to negative self-talk and comparison, with Layne revealing the sexism, unequal prize money and resistance she faced while fighting to transform women’s surfing. Her story is a reminder that purpose can carry you through moments when confidence disappears, progress feels painfully slow and the change you are working towards may not arrive for years.This is a conversation about giving fear a voice without handing it the steering wheel, choosing your identity with intention and moving from “I have to” to “I get to” to “I am”.You will hear about:Why fear becomes louder when you are depleted, overwhelmed or feeling unsafeHow to recognise the difference between who you are and the labels other people have placed on youTess’s experience of losing her corporate identity and intentionally creating a new oneUsing Elizabeth Gilbert’s letter-writing exercise to understand and respond to fearHow comparison creates fragile confidence and keeps you focused outside yourselfThe sexism, pay inequality and resistance Layne faced while fighting for the future of women’s surfingThe “I have to, I get to, I am” framework for reconnecting with purposeWhy your inner critic may never disappear completely, and how to stop identifying with itHow compassion, curiosity and play can soften fear and help you choose what love would do nextLinks textJoin the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasseshttps://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-salesGet Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier, more purposeful life.https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869Follow Layne on Instagram @LaynebeachleyFollow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwerFollow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academyAWAKE’s TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_Sponsor our podcasthttps://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactBook us for a workshophttps://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactMentioned in this episode:Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love DisclaimerThe A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey, not to replace professional medical, psychological or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.If you are experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you have heard on this podcast.Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

If you have ever wondered:“Have I taken wellness and optimisation a little too far?”“Why does chasing the perfect sleep score leave me feeling worse, not better?”“Is outsourcing my life to AI making me more connected — or more alone?”- this episode is for you.This week A Wake Up Call is a solo Health Trends episode. Tess and Layne pull up the cultural wellbeing moments blowing up online and pressure-test them in real time - so you can challenge them, test them, and decide what you actually think.They start with Steven Bartlett's viral claim that three glasses of wine “ruined” him for three days (cue a very Layne take on quality wine), move into Brian Johnson and the millions-spent quest to never die, and land on the statistic that 37% of Gen Z say they could fall in love with an AI companion. Underneath the laughter - wine-maxing, sleep-maxing, life-maxing - is a bigger question: have we swapped intuition for data, and connection for optimisation?This is a conversation about trusting your body over the spreadsheet, choosing quality of life over quantity, and - borrowing Mo Gawdat's two campfires - deciding who we want to be at the intersection AI has put us all at.You will hear about:Why wine-maxing, sleep-maxing and life-maxing can optimise the fun right out of your life - and where the middle ground actually isChanging your relationship with alcohol: trusting your body's visceral yes or no instead of the after-a-hard-day defaultBrian Johnson, longevity culture and the real question - quality of life vs quantity of lifeThe AI connection paradox: 37% of Gen Z open to falling in love with AI, and why outsourcing connection can quietly deepen lonelinessMo Gawdat's two campfires - the fork in the road with AI, and why who we choose to be matters more than everLinks textJoin the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasseshttps://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-salesGet Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869Follow Layne on Instagram @LaynebeachleyFollow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwerFollow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academyAwakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactBook us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contactMentioned in this episode - Mo Gawdat, Scary Smart (book on AI) [add link]DisclaimerThe A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.