Prontitud » podcast: Recent Episodes
Everyday People podcast by Con
Níall & Josie Ó Murchú were stressed, tired and sick... then they learned the Wim Hof method and their lives were transformed...
Gearoid decided he wanted to join the Irish Air Corps when he was 15. His dream was to be the Presidential Pilot.
The first step was to get in... He researched the admission process - the aptitude test, the physical assessment, the interview. He was determined to excel in each area but there was one thing missing...
He learned that the interviewers liked to see that you've had some life experience - a project you led or another achievement. He needed a story - something to talk about in the interview - so he entered the BT Young Scientist Competition with his school. He worked hard for a few months on the project and nailed it.
Well Gearoid didn't just stop at the BT Young Scientist Competition. Since then, he kayaked from Ireland to Scotland, he set a world record, and set up several businesses.
But did he ever get to fly the president? Press play to find out.
Kingsley Aikins (@kingsleyaikins) is the founder and CEO of Diaspora Matters. He has spent over 30 years working in 6 countries in the areas of trade, investment, philanthropy, education, culture, tourism and sport. As CEO of the Worldwide Ireland Funds, Kingsley helped raise over $250m for philanthropic causes.
Kingsley is passionate about networking. His mission is to help individuals and companies become better Networkers. His company, Diaspora Matters does this with online and in-person training, videos and articles.
In this conversation, we talk about how he learned to network, how countries can harness the power of their diasporas, as well as networking tips for people who might be uncomfortable about networking. Please enjoy!
A few years ago, I was listening to a podcast called London Real. London Real features interviews with the most interesting people on the planet. One week, the latest episode of London Real comes out and it's this guy Philip McKernan who I had't heard of - I press play and a of a sudden there's an Irish accent. I'm used to hearing American and British accents on London Real and now here's a Dublin accent. "Who is this guy?", I thought.
So the accent got me interested. And then I listened to what Philip was saying and his message got me hooked. Philip has an amazing gift of cutting to the core of what's important. And what's most important is not always the most comfortable.
He'll ask a question like, 'What conversation do not want to have?'
Who do you want approval from right now?
Are you driven towards your goals because they are valuable in themselves, or because you want to make a point to someone?
Are you living authentically, or at the mercy of a story that no longer works for you?
These are hard, uncomfortable and necessary questions to answer.
So I became a fan. And last year I went to a screening of Philip's film, 'Give & Grow'.
Before the film started, Philip got up to speak to introduce the film. He spoke about the importance of teachers and mentors . And he spoke about out one of his own mentors. A man who was sitting in the audience. The man's name was Trevor Garrett and he was Philip's teacher in school. Philip said that Trevor believed in him when no one else did. Trevor came down to the stage where Philip was speaking and the two men hugged. There was a huge round of applause from everyone in the cinema.
So in my preparation for interviewing Philip, I decided to get in touch with Philip's teacher Trevor. I sent him a Facebook message just saying, 'Hi, i was at the screening, I'm interviewing Philip... what would you like to ask him...?" Trevor replied a few hours later saying:
"Hi Conor, You might ask Phil what is his reaction when he hears the term.... Dyslexia ?. Also why is it that so many creative people have to leave Ireland to become self aware........ Does he still feel that being President of Ireland would be something he could contribute to ?. How do you know when someone has faith in you ?. Has he ever worn a uniform since he left school because he didn't really wear on then ?. Tell him I said that..."
If you like the sound of any of those topics, have a listen. I think you'll enjoy it!
Please forgive the sound quality for the first five minutes of the episode. We recorded this over Skype. We had a few minor connection problems which disappear after a five minutes. Stay with us.
Thank you for listening. If you like what you hear, please rate, review and subscribe on iTunes
Enjoy!
If you have any feedback, please get in touch. On Twitter, I'm @conorsweets. On Instagram, I'm @conor.sweets. Or by emails: conor@everydaypeople.ie.
Niall Doherty writes books, build websites, and helps people get started working online.
He spent 44 months traveling around the world without flying.
He's from Waterford, Ireland but has called dozens of countries his home.
Right now he's in Bansko, Bulgaria.
Thanks for listening to Everyday People.
Please rate, subscribe and review on iTunes, (or wherever you get your podcasts).
I'd love to hear from you. Say hello on Twitter (@conorsweets) or Instagram (@conor.sweets).
Earlier this year, Patricia Fitzgerald decided to leave her 27 year career as a Senior Librarian to pursue her passion.
If you are afraid of public speaking, it's reassuring to know that every great communicator has been in your shoes. They have felt their chest tighten and their palms sweat.
Eric Fitzpatrick was no different. At the start of our conversation tells the story of his first time speaking in public: "I'm pretty sure that no one in the room that day would have encouraged me to write a book about presentations!". But that's exactly what he did. Since then, Eric has dedicated himself to helping others get over that fear.
My guest this week is Eric Fitzpatrick. In our chat we talk about Eric's journey from his first speech to now where Eric is a Speaking Coach and Professional Speaker. In his new book, Persuade With Purpose, he outlines the "T.R.U.E Presentation" model. This a great a tool for helping people to create to create memorable, engaging and persuasive speeches and presentations.
If you ever have to speak in public, you'll get a lot listening to this conversation: reassurance, insight and practical advice.
014 Andrew Considine (part 2) - On Achievement Verses Fulfillment by Everyday People podcast by Conor Sweetman
If you had told Andrew Considine at age 15 that we would be the first one of his class from school to get a job, he would not have believed you. In fact neither would his teachers, family or friends! And if you had also told them he would join the priesthood at 20, move to Ireland, fall in love and leave the seminary by age 28, they would of thought you were cracked all together...
Nowadays Andrew is a personal and professional development coach. He works with businesses and individuals as a speaker, trainer and coach.
Andrew's Twitter handle sums in up his work perfectly, it's @inspireachieve. Please hello to him there. You can also check out his website, andrewconsidine.com.
This week's story is only the tip of the Andrew Considine iceberg. The original interview was over an hour long. Next week I will be releasing the full unedited interview where we talk about Andrew's work in a lot more detail.
To get the next episode and all the other episodes, make sure you have subscribed on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. While you are there, please leaving a rating and review.
I'd love to hear from you. You can get in touch with me on Twitter, or send an email to conor@everydaypeople.ie.
I'll be back next week with more stories from everyday people.
This week's episode in with founder of The Third Act, Dr Edward Kelly.
The term, third act refers to the third act in our lives. The first act is childhood and our teenage years. The transition to the second act happens in our twenties. When we get into our fifties and sixties, we move into the third act.
But what happens then? Nowadays when people retire, they have a whole new gift of time - twenty or thirty years - that the generation before them never had. Average Life expectancy in the developed world is now close to 80. Half of all babies born since 2000 are expected to celebrate their 100th birthdays. And this doesn't just apply to babies; if you are 60 now you have a 50% chance of living to 90 or more
Naturally there are practical questions like, will I be healthy? How will I support myself financially? Where will I live? But there's a whole other set of questions that are lot deeper and a lot more difficult to answer... What will do now? Who will I be now? What's my purpose?
Edward through his work helps people answer these questions for themselves.
The thing that struck me was that these deep questions are always there - they're there when we're 18 and trying to decide what to do after school. They're there when we're 25 and we're trying to start a career. I turn 30 this year and I still struggle to answer to these questions.
You go through childhood looking up to adults and thinking that they have all the answers. But the older you get, the more you realise that they've just been making it up as they've went along! The same as you.
But whatever challenges we have, we can always ask our elders for advice - they have seen more of life so they can give us an informed opinion. But when they reach the third act, they cannot turn to the generation ahead of them for advice about this new phenomenon. Their elders never had this experience. But they can turn to each other. And that's what Edward helps facilitate.
Edward says the purpose of The Third Act organisation is to educate people and support them through this transition from the second to third act. They run seminars, conferences, retreats, workshops, and one-to-one coaching. All as ways of helping people make the most out of this new gift of time.
As you will hear, Edward is very passionate about his work. If you are interested in finding out more, you can find him on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Or you can head to their website.
If you like the podcast, please go on to iTunes and subscribe. While you're there please leave a rating and review.
If you have any feedback, you can find me on Twitter. Or you can email me, conor@everydaypeople.ie. I respond to all my emails so please do get in touch.
This week's episode is with Des Mullally. Des runs Facebook page called Dublin 8 where he collects and share stories about Dublin richest historic quarter. Ever since the Vikings first saw its potential, Dublin 8 has been the heartbeat of the city.
And there's a lot there! Dublin 8 is home to museums, theaters, monuments, Cathedrals and a world famous brewery; not to mention Ireland's oldest street, pub, library and fish & chip shop.
In this episode, Des takes me on a walking tour of Dublin 8. And what's amazing is that the sites he shows me are sites that I have been ignorantly walking past for years. Des sees the world differently to most people. While most of us have our heads in smartphones, Des looks up. He notices what's interesting. And then he goes a step further - he shares what he notices. And in doing so he connects people with the past, provides joy through nostalgia and inspires the rest of us to look up.
Jane Stephenson runs seminars.ie which brings international inspirational speakers to Ireland. She set up the business in 1995. There was a lot happening in Ireland in 1995... boxer Steve Collins became a world champion, Father Ted first appeared on our televisions, and signs of the Celtic Tiger were beginning to show. For Jane, it wasn't such a happy time. She had just returned to Ireland from London after being conned out of her savings. To add to to that, she was a single mother trying to raise two kids but had no job to support them.
Throughout this time, Jane found herself gravitating towards the self-help section of book shops. Titles like, "Feel The Fear and Do It Anyway" and "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" really spoke out to her. These titles had once felt cheesy to her but now felt like they were showing her the way.
Setting up any business takes courage. But setting up a business having already been burnt in life and when the stakes are so high takes real guts.
The first speaker Jane brought to Ireland was Lynne Franks and since then she has brought huge names to Ireland - Deepak Chopra, Tony Buzan and Eckhart Tolle to name a few.
Jane is currently living in France and writing a book about her experiences and what she has learned from the amazing people she has met along the way.
Enjoy!
Elva Carri (@elvacarri) is co-founder of Girl Crew.
I love the Girl Crew origin story... Finding all her friends were busy one Friday night when she was keen to go out dancing, Elva changed her settings on Tinder to make sure she’d show up to girls in her area. Using a big pink text graphic as a profile image, she explained she was in fact female and was simply looking for some new friends to head out dancing with. Much to her surprise, Elva accumulated over 100 matches within 24 hours
A few weeks later, Elva set up a private Facebook group and asked the girls from Tinder to join. A few hours after setting up the group, Elva returned to her computer to find that dozens had joined the group and girls were already organising events and spreading the word. It was at that moment the penny dropped and Elva realised the potential of this idea. Girl Crew was born.
Girl Crew now has almost 85,000 members in 46 cities, spanning multiple counties. Alongside Elva are her two co-founders Aine Molloy and Pamela Newenham.
In this conversation we talk about what life like at an early-stage start-up, how the Girl Crew team took the initial idea from Tinder to Facebook and how they are now bringing it to the next level with the Girl Crew app. We also talk about spirituality - Elva was raised in the Baha'i Faith and chat about how the Baha'i Faith has influenced her personal and business life.
A few years ago, I played a gig with Keith Burke's band. It was a hot July night. And it was even hotter by the time you had walked the four flights of stairs to get up to the Odessa club in Dublin. You'd cool down quickly though. It was a dark, romantically-lit room. I remember the sound of talking and laughing and clinking glasses getting louder and louder as more people began to arrive. Without saying a word, Keith signaled to me and the other musicians that it was time to start. As we made our way to the stage, I noticed the volume of the crowd drop. By the time Keith is standing at the microphone, the room was silent. Keith doesn't get nervous. He smiles at the audience, they smiles back... the band begins to play.
There is an intimacy to a Keith Burke gig that is quite unique.
I was hoping to capture some of that intimacy in this interview. You are going to hear a conversation between two friends. You are also going to hear a bit of an experiment in the format of the podcast... Keith released an album last year called These Boys. We play a few tracks from the album, with Keith introducing the songs. Just as he would at one of his gigs.
Thanks to everyone who has listened to the podcast so far. A big shout goes to Graham Keatley who left a blush-worthy review on iTunes. If you haven't already, please head over and subscribe, rate and review.
If you have any story ideas, I'd love to hear from you. You can find me on Twitter. Or you can email me.
For now though, please enjoy this conversation with Keith Burke.
I first heard Ailbhe Smyth (@ailbhes) speak at a conference in Dublin called Show & Tell. It was one of those moments where I have realised how ignorant I am (and I've had plenty of those moments!). No only did I get a kick in the head and a glimpse into reality, I was overcome by a sense of admiration for Ailbhe and for anyone, anywhere who is campaigning to improve the lives of others. It's their courage that amazes the most. How many of us are afraid to simply be on our own for a short period of time? We've all done it... You're out for a drink or a coffee or an ice-cream with a friend, they head to the bathroom, and we pull out our phones and check Facebook so that we have a bit of company while we wait.
Yet campaigners like Ailbhe are not afraid to stand out from the pack, to be different, to challenge the status quo and fight for a better world. There should be more people in the world like Ailbhe.
Ailbhe Smyth is a feminist campaigner and former academic. She was the founding director of the Women’s Education, Research and Resource Centre and was head of Women’s Studies at UCD (University College Dublin) from 1990 until 2006. She has published widely on feminism, equality, politics and contemporary Irish culture
I hope this conversation influences you as much as it has influenced me.
Enjoy!
"Scene is picture. Picture is memory. It's about imprinting memories and engaging your listener" - Liam O'Brien
This week’s guest is Liam O’Brien.
Liam O'Brien is the Series Producer of RTE’s Documentary on One, a radio documentary series and podcast
Liam started at Doc on one in 2005. Since then, the team has gone on to win over 180 national and international awards - making it the most successful radio documentary unit in the world
Liam himself has been involved in over 300 productions.
Any feedback, you leave it on iTunes, on Twitter or you can send me an email.
Enjoy! Conor
This week's guest is David Lyttle (@david_lyttle). A man of many talents, he is a songwriter, jazz drummer, music producer, record label owner, and fellow podcaster. He has been described by Rolling Stone magazine as "one of the best, robust listening experiences you're likely to have all year".
I have been a fan of David's work for about ten years now so it was great to finally meet him and chat with him about music, life and everything in between.
David started out as a child performer at the age of four with his family band. He caught the attention of Irish jazz fans like me while performing with legendary guitarist Louis Stewart. Since then, he's gone on to perform in fifteen countries and develop associations with jazz icons like Joe Lovano, hip hop visionaries like Talib Kweli and the Irish music star Duke Special. The release of his third album, Faces, led to a MOBO award nominations.
I caught up with David last December, having just finished his busiest touring year in the UK and Europe. 2017 will be David's most ambitious year yet with 2017 artist residencies in China and in the U.S.
If you want to hear more about David, check out his website, davidlyttle.com
Born in 1961 in Newry, Northern Ireland, Sean Hillen is an artist and a fascinating character. In this wide-renting conversation, we cover his early life in Northern Ireland, literary influences, censorship, UFOs and his recent diagnosis with Aspergers.
As you will hear, Sean is heavily influenced by Ireland's literary greats such as Joyce, Beckett, Kavanagh. After the interview, I text him to ask where is a good place for someone to start with these writers. Not only was it a great answer to the question but the short text really captures Sean's personality:
Conor: Hi Sean. I'll be releasing the podcast on Monday. In your opinion, who's the most accessible of the "crazy bastard writers"? Where's a good place for people to start?
Sean: Hi Conor. I suppose you mean my 'dead boyfriends', the Asperger genii..?? Well, they're all different kettles of fish: Joyce, Yeats and Beckett the more highbrow (?) and Brendan Behan and Myles na gCopaleen more the comedians - with Paddy Kavanagh plowing his own furrow as always. Myles being 'the funniest writer in the English language' (according to Graham Greene, and I agree) maybe is the one but... not everyone will agree. I think his masterpiece is The Third Policeman and that's what I recommend.
From the 1990’s Sean's series ‘IRELANTIS’ has come to be described as “the most vivid and emblematic expression of the dreams and anxieties of ‘Celtic Tiger’ Ireland”- and have themselves become part of the cultural landscape, featuring on over 30 book covers and the subject of academic studies.
He co-designed, with landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald, the Omagh Bomb Memorial.
His work can be seen at seanhillen.com
This week's episode is with Michael McDemott. Michael runs a really cool website called Just Six Degrees. It's a really simple yet brilliant idea: he reaches out to a person who has inspired him and asks them the question, "who in the world is inspiring you right now?". When he gets an answer, he'll contact that person and ask them the same question. And he continues following the trail of breadcrumbs until he's made six connections.
Just Six Degrees is a goldmine. If you are feeling stuck in a rut, go on and check out some of the creators featured there.
Michael was also the co-founder of a very cool and very aptly titled online magazine called LeCool Dublin. LeCool used to be a staple of my week. Every Thursday I would get an email with the latest issue which had all the coolest events happening in Dublin in the following week. It's one of the few mailing lists I didn't unsubscribe from! And that's because it was always good!
If you have any feedback, you can let me know on Twitter (@conorsweets), by email (conor@everydaypeople.ie) or in the comments.
If you haven't already, please subscribe, rate and review on iTunes.
For now, though, please enjoy this week's episode.
Paul Brady is the general manager of Belvedere Youth Club in Dublin. In this episode, we talk about the social issues in Dublin's north inner city - drugs, unemployment, poverty. We also talk about optimism, potential and hope.
Visit the website to find out more: www.everydaypeople.ie