In this episode, Bronte Bennett speaks with author, coach, speaker, and Untamed founder Jim Hughes about purpose, fear, and the parts of ourselves we hide to fit in.
Jim shares the winding path that took him from ski instructing in Canada to running an electrical engineering business in Western Australia, and how that experience led him to help people reconnect with their real selves. They also dig into his cast list concept, the emotional intelligence behind coaching, and the challenge of turning a big body of lived experience into a book.
Key topics
- Bronte introduces Jim Hughes as an author, coach, speaker, and founder of Untamed, and frames the conversation around purpose and self-discovery.
- Jim explains that he did not grow up with a single clear career path, but instead tried multiple directions before finding his own lane.
- He shares how, around 2016 to 2017, he realised he was deeply misaligned in his life and work and began a deliberate process of asking who he was, who he wanted to serve, and what kind of life he wanted.
- Jim tells the story of ending up in Western Australia through a series of wild pivots, including working on the mines, taking a secondment he was not qualified for, and eventually running an electrical company.
- He describes how he muted his playful personality in a corporate environment and how that experience became the seed for Untamed.
- Bronte and Jim discuss fear as a survival mechanism, especially the fear of rejection, judgment, and public speaking.
- Jim introduces the cast list concept, a framework for understanding the different inner parts that show up depending on context, history, and learned behavior.
- He explains how traits like the class clown, the protector, or the pleaser can form early as survival strategies and reappear later when we feel threatened.
- They connect this work to emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and the importance of noticing both what people say and what they do not say.
- Jim talks about the difficulty of distilling years of coaching experience into a book, including multiple drafts, publisher feedback, and the importance of outside accountability.
- The conversation shifts to motivation for writing, including access for people who cannot afford coaching and the professional credibility a good book can create for speaking work.
- Jim shares the books and people that shaped him, including The 4-Hour Workweek, Rich Dad Poor Dad, Richard Branson, and an Irish coach named Philip.
- They close with a quick reading preferences game and a warm reflection on coaching, books, and personal growth.
Connect with Jim here: https://www.becomeuntamed.com/
