Shows
Inspirations In My BackyardEmbracing My Vulnerability Opened A Whole New World For Me - Martina Hughes: From A Financial Controller To A Love, Intimacy And Relationships Mentor"What I have been looking for is always there, inside me."
A tantric retreat changed everything.
What happened? Why did Martina so scared of the trip at first? And what made her want to explore herself and end up doing what she is doing?
Listen to this episode to hear about Martina's soul searching journey and learn some tips on relationships and how to embrace your authentic self and deepen your intuition.
Martina's website: https://martinahughes.com/2021-04-1746 min
Inspirations In My BackyardI Can Use My Creativity To Do Meaningful Things - Stephanie Daughtry: An Artist and Producer ReflectsStephanie Daughtry, a co-director and producer of an award-winning Fringe show Eating Tomorrow this year. It's an interesting time travel experiment, imagining what future food would look like.
To my surprise, she only started to call herself an artist recently. Also, I discovered her life is experimental too. After many trials and challenges, she finally found out her secret power and what she can bring to this world.2021-04-0555 min
Inspirations In My BackyardI’m So Glad to Choose The Third Option - Promila Gupta: A Chef and Cultural and Community Award Winner ReflectsPromila Gupta immigrated to Australia almost 40 years ago from India. With only $500 in hand and being in a completely new environment, she cried a lot initially, but what made her change and thrive? From being a housewife to a chef, an author, a radio show host and a tutor. But most of all, she has become a public figure in the culture and community space. Promila has promoted her rich culture and cuisine to Australia and has done many amazing works for the community.
Apart from reflecting on her turning point, Promila also talked...2021-03-1950 min
Inspirations In My BackyardAustralia Granted Me Citizenship Based On A Song I Wrote - Mahmood Khan: I Want To Expand Australians’ EarsMahmood Khan is a singer-songwriter and music producer originally from Pakistan. He has created many first-time records. For example, his recent song Jagamarra, a folk-pop world music hybrid dedicated to the Indigenous community, is Australia’s first-ever orchestral set to achieve a No. 1 iTunes chart.
What touched me the most is his dedication and passion for music. Before these successes, he just worked on his music consistently without making much money for over 15 years. How could he do that, and what are his supporting values and crazy stories he had? Find the answer by yourself, no...2021-03-0438 min
Inspirations In My BackyardHow You Say It Matters, So Be Willing To Play - Sanja Jovanovic: From A Shy Ballerina To A TEDx Speaker CoachSanja Jovanovic is a public speaking coach and founder at Talent Academy where she cures stage fright. But what interests me the most is how she got to where she is and her passion for international students, refugees and immigrants. Surrounded by a macro minority family culture in Australia, she sees herself as a global citizen.
Sanja used to be a shy girl, that's why she was sent to learn dancing and performing. But life made her notice and started to use her superpower: a skill almost always trumps the rest.2021-02-1842 min
Inspirations In My BackyardBeing A Minority, This Is How I Made My Way - Henry Thong: A Young Asian Australian’s Filmmaker ReflectsHenry Thong didn’t discover his passion for filmmaking until something happened in high school.
He then broke the norm. You may be aware that for people born in an Asian family, working in a creative industry is usually not encouraged by their family. But Henry was determined, and in fact, he even decided not to attend university.
What made Henry push through all the boundaries? And how did he deal with some extra challenges as being a minority in Australia, this western world?
Listen in to find out his journey, ho...2021-02-0536 min
Inspirations In My BackyardI Want To See Better Dialogue With People From Different Cultures - Sabina Qader: Cross-Cultural Communication Expert ReflectsSabina Qader’s life is filled with different cultures: having parents from Bangladesh and Ukraine, she grew up in Kuwait, stuck in the US for 2 years and moved to Australia at the age of 12, then she has taught English in South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and the UK. Now she has her own business S&S Development Co, because she’s passionate about seeing better dialogue with people from different cultures.
In this episode, you are going to hear Sabina’s personal journey, her struggles, observations and tips on better interacting with people from different cultur...2021-01-2945 min
Inspirations In My BackyardMy Eat Pray Love Journey - Jean Sum: How I Became A Proud Asian Australian Woman
What does it mean to be an Asian Australian?
What does it mean to be a woman?
From choosing to study Actuarial Studies and Commerce at uni (trying to be a good Asian daughter),
to dressing like a mid-aged white man (trying to fit in),
to finally becoming an Asian Australian who is proud of her own identity, Jean Sum's journey is not easy.
However, because of that, she eventually discovered her life purpose, to support and mentor young Asian Australian women so they can celebrate their diversity and feminine qualities, ultimately...2021-01-2144 min
Inspirations In My BackyardTweak the Future and Make It Happen, and We Did - With Jerald Feinstein, Visiting Fellow at Harvard University and Founder of Planet Startup Educational NGOJerald has many titles, professor, dean, business consultant, visiting fellow at Harvard University, and so many more. But the most important one for him is the founder of Planet startup educational NGO.
He always wanted to bridge an inequality gap, opportunities are not even globally. Many people told him: "You're never going to make a difference." But he did.
In this episode, you are going to hear his evolving journey:
His backstory with Planet NGO: How did he make it happen? Who is the most impressive person he has mentored and what...2021-01-1430 min
Inspirations In My BackyardAll About Me: Why Did I Start This Podcast On Top Of My Busy Schedule? Motivation, Challenges and Much MoreI think it's time to have this solo show :)
Why am I doing what I am doing? To start and host this podcast while my hands (having a full-time job, a radio show and a blog) are already very full. It took me two whole months to decide to do this.
Listen in to find out the reasons (many interesting mini-stories), and the things I learned.
If you have any feedback or potential guest for me, please let me know. I would love to hear from you.
You can either email...2021-01-0715 min
Inspirations In My Backyard3 Crossroad Decisions Led Me to My Dream Life - Jason Yap: A Performer and Curator ReflectsJason Yap is a professional dancer, the first Asia full-time dancer at Divadlo Študio Tanca, a performing arts theatre in Slovakia. He sees himself living his dream life now, but not many people knew he had faced many challenges before:
He only started to learn dancing after high school
His traditional Asian family did not support his dancer dream
By the end of his Contemporary Dance degree, he even thought of quitting
Apart from his secret self-talks and decisions which made his dream come true, you will also hear:
His passion in another area, m...2020-12-3138 min
Inspirations In My BackyardI Love Bringing Joy and Meaning to This World - Ross Stephenson: A Magician and Psychology Lecturer ReflectsYou may have met a person who is a magician or a lecturer, but what about an entertaining educator who is doing both? Ross made it happen. In this episode, I got to listen to his whole journey and the joys and struggles of his magician life.
But more than that, I believe his story is relatable to many of you, especially if you are from an Asian background:
When his parents stopped supporting his hobby because it is unrealistic to make it as a future career, Ross didn’t give up. Instead, he ke...2020-12-2436 min
Inspirations In My BackyardLanguage and Community Brought Me to Where I Am - Award Winning Community Connector Sam Shlansky Reflects on His Personal JourneySam Shlansky is an award-winning community advocate, supporter and leader. He brings together diverse communities to create a fairer future for all. He wants to connect with people and help them to find their awesome not only for themselves but also for others. He believes Australia needs to better engage with the world.
In this episode, Sam tells us why he is passionate about what he is doing by reflecting on his entire journey.
To my surprise, despite being a “philanthropist captain” at his high school, all he wanted to do was to become a sc...2020-12-1745 min
Inspirations In My Backyard100 Lunches with 100 Strangers Transformed My Life - Kaley Chu Reflects: From a Shy Immigrant to a People ConnectorTwo years ago, Kaley Chu started a mission: to have 100 lunches with 100 strangers within a year. For others, it might not be a big deal. But for her, it’s a huge step. Her shyness had severely impacted her life. Therefore, a decision was made after an emergency meeting.
However, Kaley didn’t know that this journey has completely transformed her in every way. She is now a TEDx speaker, an author and an entrepreneur who is passionate about building meaningful networks for others. She firmly believes that “Anyone who has 100 lunches with strangers will h...2020-12-0942 min
Inspirations In My BackyardShifting My Mindset Changed My Whole Life - Mario Pizarro Reveals His Lifechanging Moment and Thought ProcessesMario Pizarro had a humble beginning. When he first moved to Australia from Chile, he was only 15, with no extended family, no friends, unable to speak the language and no money. But after shifting his mindset, he changed his life completely: from being a nail bender to a director of 12 companies, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. More importantly, he is now transforming the lives of thousands of people, helping people and making them believe in themselves.
In this episode, Mario reveals his life-changing moment and thought processes. Also, he shares his...2020-12-0227 min
Inspirations In My BackyardHow Memories And Testing Helped Me Open My Cake Shop (Part 2) - Immigrant Story: Challenge Lover, Helena Pavan Guimaraesn Part 2 I stepped closer to Helena’s life to hear more about the reflections about her life so far, such as the biggest lesson that she learned, good habits that she has, her happiness source, and dreams.
Also, I didn’t expect to hear these from her. Listen in to find out why:
“I love challenges, and that makes me happy.”
“I do not want to go back to my younger self.”
2020-11-1913 min
Inspirations In My BackyardHow Memories And Testing Helped Me Open My Cake Shop (Part 1) - Immigrant Story: Challenge Lover, Helena Pavan GuimaraesWhen we talk about immigrants, we may think of challenges a lot, but Helena shows us another possibility.
"The good thing about being an immigrant is when you get here, you can be whoever you want to be. Because you start again from the beginning."
Listen to Part 1 to find out:
Arrived in Adelaide, Australia three years ago, without knowing any English and baking experience, how did Helena manage to open up her OWN cake shop, Cozy Cake?
What stories and did Helena experience as an immigrant, for example, cultural differences:
"...2020-11-1824 min
Inspirations In My BackyardI Want To Bring This Transformational Practice To My Students Too (Part 2) - With A Change Maker Researcher Beatriz Carrillo GarciaIn Part 2, I stepped closer to Beatriz’s past to hear more about her personal journey and her findings as a researcher in China space and higher education.
For me, as a Chinese, to hear views from a researcher from another country Mexico was interesting. I also resonated a lot from her personal reflections.
Listen in to find out more:
What made her so passionate about China that she went to study in China without knowing any Chinese?
Which Chinese values does she like or find very different from the western world?
Why does sh...2020-11-1227 min
Inspirations In My BackyardI Want To Bring This Transformational Practice To My Students Too (Part 1) - With A Change Maker Researcher Beatriz Carrillo GarciaBeatriz is very passionate about making social changes. Currently, her work is around widening participation of unrepresented groups of university students to foster a more inclusive environment.
However, this passion initially came from her own mid-life crisis.
Listen to part one to find out more about her project and stories behind.2020-11-1036 min
Inspirations In My BackyardHow Pain Drove Nathaniel Diong to Make A Difference in The World (Part 2) - An Award-Winning Gen-Z Educator and Social Innovator ReflectsIn Part 2, find out more about Nathaniel, what made him the person he is:
What’s the biggest lesson he learned in life?
What would he tell his younger self?
Why doesn’t he like people describing each other as young people and old people?
2020-11-0521 min
Inspirations In My BackyardHow Pain Drove Nathaniel Diong to Make A Difference in The World (Part 1) - An Award-Winning Gen-Z Educator and Social Innovator ReflectsNathaniel Diong, 19, 2021 Young Australian of the Year VIC Finalist. He has worked with over 11,000 young people from 50+ cultures to tackle youth unemployment through entrepreneurship. He shows: “If you want to, you can be that difference.”
Listen in to find out more about how he made this happen by following the burning desire that he had when he was only 10 years old.2020-11-0323 min
Inspirations In My BackyardFrom Finding My Light To Holding The Light For Others (Part 2) -Using Arts To Change Communities | Dimitrios PapalexisI stepped closer to Dimitrio's life to explore the most important lessons that he learned. Listen in and find out more:
His top secrets of getting rid of self-limiting belief.
Daily habits that keep him happy.
Things that he wants to tell his younger self.
2020-10-2925 min
Inspirations In My BackyardFrom Finding My Light To Holding The Light For Others (Part 1) -Using Arts To Change Communities | Dimitrios PapalexisDimitrios Papalexis has won the NSW Youth Worker of the Year in 2019.
Being a professional artist, he is passionate about using arts (e.g. dance and theatre), storytelling, and strengths-based approach to make social changes in community settings.
Listen to Part 1 to find out:
- How did he find his flow?
- What differences that he noticed about communities between AU and Brazil?
- How to find your strengths and mentors?2020-10-2726 min
Inspirations In My BackyardA Sunny Flower In Our Community Backyard (Part 2) - A Former International Student Reflects | Rong Huang (Sunny)In Part 2, I stepped closer to Rong Huang Sunny’s life to explore how she found her core values and kept her cultural identity in AU.
Listen in to find out more about her journey:
What are some of the Chinese values she has brought to AU and the Australian values she adopted?
Why volunteering is important to her and what are some of her most memorable moments?
What made her decide to keep her English name Sunny?
2020-10-2225 min
Inspirations In My BackyardA Sunny Flower In Our Community Backyard (Part 1) - A Former International Student Reflects | Rong Huang (Sunny)n this episode, Rong Huang (Sunny) reflects her study, teaching life and cultural differences in her past seven years in AU.
She is determined, and she sees cultural differences as an opportunity to learn. Also, she loves giving.
Listen in part 1 and learn:
How did she find out her passion?
What made her know she would study at Uni Mel when she was only in year 5?
What has changed her for better after living in AU?
2020-10-2027 min
Inspirations In My BackyardIf I Knew I Wouldn’t Fail (Part 2) - Co-Founders of Voice of Health, A Preventative Free Mental Health App | James Hatchman & Luke KarabatsosI took a deeper look into the lives of Luke and James, allowing them to reflect on their journeys so far. I find out how their past shaped their present and how we can avoid the same pitfalls that they made.
Listen in and find out:
What does disagree and commit mean when working in a team?
Why “Everybody is just a person” and “You got this” are so important?
What would they say to their younger selves?
2020-10-1538 min
Inspirations In My BackyardIf I Knew I Wouldn’t Fail (Part 1) - Co-Founders of Voice of Health, A Preventative Free Mental Health App | James Hatchman & Luke KarabatsosThe passion and determination of James Hatchman and Luke Karabatsos to help others touched me throughout our chat.
They made the decision to not put a price on the app because it wouldn’t align with their values. Listen to their personal journeys behind fulfillment and learn:
How did they find their purpose?
What does peer support mean and how can we help others by just listening?
What's their advice for upcoming entrepreneurs?
2020-10-1127 min
Seeking HumanityThe Voices of Two Powerful Young WomenIn this episode we hear from two prior guests, Yifan Wang and Xueqian Zhang, who's voices of leadership and empowerment are very inspiring. "Always be a highlighter and to look for the people's good..." This episode should be shared with everyone especially women around the world. Their voices will raise your spirits and motivate you to find your power, potential and purpose in life. Please visit http://www.acya.org.au/womens-network/ to see some of the great work that is being done.2020-07-2034 min
Lagrange PointEpisode 304 - Flexible electronics, graphene transfer and paper sensorsFlexible electronics and phones sound like science fiction,but materials engineers are turning them into science fact. We find out about projects from across the world to make it a reality. From Australian flexible screens, to MIT's incredibly thin and exotic semiconductors to Purdue's paper based circuits for medical applications.
References:
Linglong Zhang, Ankur Sharma, Yi Zhu, Yuhan Zhang, Bowen Wang, Miheng Dong, Hieu T. Nguyen, Zhu Wang, Bo Wen, Yujie Cao, Boqing Liu, Xueqian Sun, Jiong Yang, Ziyuan Li, Arara Kar, Yi Shi, Daniel Macdonald, Zongfu Yu, Xinran Wang, Yuerui Lu. Efficient and Layer-Dependent Exciton P...2018-12-1020 min