Sept. 25, 2022

#77: Excellence with heart. With Dr Jeannet Kessels.

#77: Excellence with heart. With Dr Jeannet Kessels.
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Season 1

Ours is a pretty cerebral profession, right? But if you think about the reasons we do what we do - our WHY, for most of us, it’s mostly about heart. This creates some challenges though. Like how do you protect your heart? How do you not abandon it in exchange for 'progress' How do you rediscover your heart when most of your life has been run on brain power? How do you GROW your heart, strengthen it, and create the space to find out what lives deep inside your heart that needs to be expressed? Big questions for sure, but our guest for this episode does a fantastic job of providing clues to the answers to these questions. 

Dr Jeannet Kessels is a highly respected veterinarian with over 30 years of clinical and business experience. She’s the founder and owner of  Greater Springfield Veterinary, home to 50 team members across three locations. She also created Groodles Australia, a community enterprise which has raised more than half a million dollars for charity to date. Jeannet still actively mentors her team, though she has retired from clinical work to focus on the defining issue of our time: climate change, in particular its effects on animal health and welfare, production, and biodiversity. She founded and continues as Chair of Veterinarians for Climate Action, through which Jeannet is working to inspire and inform all of us who care for and work with animals to act urgently on climate change.

Join in the conversation as we discuss what the right kind of growth looks like, finding and living your higher purpose, the fear of success, how to use your voice as a vet in the face of climate change, facing criticism, worrying less, and doing it ALL of this... with heart.

 

Come say hello to us at The Vet Expo in Sydney on 26 and 27 October for some live podcast recording. Jeannet will also be there to host a session there on climate change. 

Go to thevetvault.com for show notes and to check out our guests’ favourite books, podcasts and everything else we talk about in the show.

Unplug, connect and grow with us at our first ever Vet Vault Live conference with Prof Jill Maddison and Prof David Church in Noosa on 22-25 November.

If you want to lift your clinical game, go to vvn.supercast.com for a free 2-week trial of our short and sharp highly practical clinical podcasts.

We love to hear from you. If you have a question for us or you’d like to give us some feedback please get in touch via email at thevetvaultpodcast@gmail.com, or just catch up with us on Instagram.

And if you like what you hear then please share the love by clicking on the share button wherever you’re listening and sending a link to someone who you think should hear this. 

 

Before we jump in just a little bit of housekeeping.If you listen to our previous episode with dr.Jocelyn you'd have heard us say that will be in Sydney with Joseline and a large multitude of other amazing Minds from the vet profession in Sydney on 26 and 27, October at The Wedding Expo to do some live.
And in person podcasting with you, which means that I can't edit out Gerardo or even any of my own letters so that should be fun.Our Guest for this episode, dr.Jeannette castles.Will also be hosting a seat.Even at The Wedding Expo and hanging out at our store.So, come along, bring your curiosity and share your ideas with us with Jeanette, and with everyone else will be there.
Now, if you listen last time, you'll know all about the vid Expo and the special rates that they're offering our listeners.So you can skip ahead for a few minutes to the interview.If you don't know what the red Expo is all about and what we are doing there, all you need to reminder and keep listening, we're going to replay those details including that discount code, that you'll need for your hugely discounted tickets.
Cuban.And I were excited because we're coming to hang out live with you in Sydney on the 26th and 27th of October, which is like a no couple weeks away.Next month, we are coming to the vet Expo in Sydney.Now, it took me a bit of time to figure out what the vet Expo is all about, because it's something normal lecture all day, get plastered, it night with a little bit of networking on the side, kind of conference.
So here's what I've figured out.He is the official line.They vet Expo brings the entire Veterinary Animal Health and Pet Care worlds together a see this as a meeting of ideas and when ideas meet they fall in love and make lots of cool, little baby ideas, that grow up and make massive ideas that will in time move our profession forward.
We're talking two thousand attendees over 100, major vet and Product suppliers as well as some of the most Innovative startup companies in the vet space.So what does that all?Look like Bunchy?And straight to the point twenty minute presentations by some of the most Innovative Minds.
In Vietnam in between presentations, you can walk around the busy Expo, floor, and check out the new products and services that are out there to support your career and your business.Oh, and competitions fact, I've won something at almost every conference I've ever attended and freebies.
Oh, He loved the freebies.My kids always get so excited.When I attend.Any of it means they won a bit Expo ends with a frigate.Boat, cruise.Gerardo, I'm picturing you and me, Titanic Style on the front of the ship, as we sail through Sydney, Harbour, in fact, is an event idea.
Maybe it can be a prize.If you come to a stall, Gerardo will take a Titanic style selfie with you on the front of the boat and then we'll see how many Titanic selfies with dr.G, we can get on vets, the graph, but here's what we are really excited about About, we have a kick-ass space at the Trade Center.
We were going to set up camp with all of our recording equipment and cost as many of the amazing speakers as we can to create a whole lot of content for the podcast live.And in person, we also going to try our first ever live broadcast, where the live recording will go out to visit voltage across the world raw and unedited with the opportunity for questions and even audience participation, we'd love it if you join us on or off a so camera grid throughout history with us.
Or watch us crash and burn in public.Either way, it'll be entertaining.We've also got some cool swag and special offers to share with you guys and we'd love to meet you.So come and find us right near the cafe to make sure that we have a total width W.Listen to take over at the win.We have a special offer for you from the team at The Vedic SPO use with v. 7t.
That's all capitals with v 70. 70, when you check out and your tickets for the two days will be $90 or 105 bucks if you want to join under the boat.Cruise that It is seventy percent of the standard pricing so get your ass into gear come and see us there.
House is a pretty cerebro profession, right?I don't know about you, but it took me a favor to brain power to become of it and even two decades into my career.Some shifts will have my poor little neurons begging for mercy.But if you think about the reason we do what we do, the, why for most of us?
It's mostly about heart.This great some challenges though.Like how do we protect our hearts?How'd you not abandon it in exchange for Progress.How do you ReDiscover your heart when most of your life has been run on brain power?How do you grow your heart, strengthen it, and create the space to find out what lives deep inside your heart that needs to be expressed?
Big questions.But I think our guest for this episode does a pretty fantastic job of providing Clues to the answers to these questions.Dr. Jeannette castles is a highly respected veterinarian with over 30 years of clinical and business experience.She's the founder and owner of Greater Springfield Veterinary which is home to 50 team members across the three locations.
She also created griddles Australia.It Community Enterprise which has raised more than half a million dollars for charity to date.While Jeanette is still made during a team.She has retired from Clinical work to focus on the defining issue of our time, climate change in particular, its effects on Animal Health, and Welfare production, and biodiversity.
For many of us, our reaction to climate change is the whinge about how bad Youmans are on social media or simply falling into hopelessness, but Jeanette decided to act.So she found it and continues as chair of veterinarians for climate action through which Jeanette is working to Spire and inform, all of us who care for and work with animals to act, urgently on climate change.
Join in this conversation as we discuss, what the right kind of growth looks like finding and living your higher purpose.The fear of success, how to use your voice as a vet in the face of climate change facing criticism, whirring, lace, and doing all of it with heart.
Please enjoy dr.Jeannette kisses amoeba things dress.I'm dramatically and this is the weight belt.Welcome to the V12 podcast, thanks for having me.
It's been a long time coming Dorado.Good to see you back when let's jump in with the standard question.Bad decisions lead to good stories.Do you agree with that statement today?And if you do you have an example for us?Well, I've made a lot of bad decisions in my life.
Lots of them, but I don't, I think that the best stories, I think the best stories are when we have human interactions when we misunderstand each other, when we underestimate people, I think creative people make really good stories.
People think out of the box so they do make good stories but I don't know that they make the best stories.Mmm-hmm, that's an interesting answer.So it was I do have an example of the other kind of the other good stories, the human interactions and things.
Been following this guy who was the owner of Patagonia, the owner, and director of Patagonia, his just going to be selling his company which is worth so much and his stakeholder.He said, is the planet and I think that's a really good story.
What an interesting guy is written a book called, let my people go, surfing Yvonne Sherrod.How do you pronounce his surname?Yes, Sinead french-canadian lives in America said, Company called Patagonia developed an incredible company decided that he wanted to hire people not with mbas.
But people that like to Surf and mountain climbing and all the things that he liked to do and that the purpose of the company resolved around, and he also decided that the planet was in trouble and established the 1% for the planet program.I just think is so inspiring.
So, I think the best stories are inspiring people.Okay.So those are the best kind of stories.Let's get to some good stories from Jeanette who cares and is creative your value statement for the business Excellence with heart.
Yeah.Where and why where did that come from?And why did you choose that?I think that just gradually became who I am.Your business is really a reflection of you, affection of your own values and I like to do things really well.
But if we only do things, As well.And there's no heart and there's new Humanity.I don't see very much point in that.So if we have all heart without Excellence, we can't get very far.And if we have all Excellence without heart, then we don't have a soul.
So I really like that combination and I hope that that reflects who I am and we certainly employ our staff with that in mind.That those are values that they share So with employing people with the same values, around employees, people who like surfing, how do you pick?
How do you find the people who lives?Excellent with heart, Well, I'm very fortunate.Now I have 50 staff and a lot of those have been employed by my managers.So I have three key managers who do all employment now or the HR but they reflect very strongly the values.
So Excellence with hard is our motto, but we have probably six other values.They're up on the flags here.Behind me is one, is that communication is key.Another is have spirit and be kind.That's probably the most important one to have spirit and be kind to take responsibility and strive for outcomes to develop yourself and others.
Take the long-term View and finally, is there something more I can do for you?Those last two were really good like they probably ones it over.Haven't necessarily her before, as core values of a business.Not saying your First for aren't powerful, especially the fourth one, which was develop yourself and others, because of Just doesn't sit with the Vets.
I'd love to hear what it means to you.Well, I like to think about what this business is going to be in 100 years.What's it going to be like in 500 years?What's it going to be like in 50 years, we need to be having those conversations.
We can't continue in this trajectory of just making things bigger and bigger and having more and more money and having more and more stuff.We need to look at a different way of doing things, and we need to be thinking about About that, we need to be engaging on and having conversations around it.That's not only taking care of the planet, but taking care of each other as well, you know, as business owners, we're in a uniquely privileged position to have influence within our societies and to influence the way that our society thinks Yvonne should not is a really great example of that.
You know, he's thinking very differently, there's a book, I've been reading by Jason hickel called Les.Small.That's been very powerful to me as an entrepreneur.How do we get off this cycle of continuous growth?You know, how do we run a business?
That's not only about growth, that's a, but that's about quality and it's about Community.It's about taking care of people.It's about taking that long term View.And those are things that I'm thinking about at the moment.Is it a different stages?Like a business goes through growth and then it goes through like a stage of stability and then it goes through because there's like three phases to the business and one you like a lot of businesses just want to focus on growth and then everything is geared towards growth.
And then if you grow for too long then and you don't focus on systems and other things and team engagement than obviously growth starts to stifle.It's really hard to focus on growth and In profit those three main areas all at the same time?
Yeah, I think there's two sorts of growth.One is growth in terms of, I mean, our business is in a growing area.It's in the Greater Springfield area in Ipswich of Queensland and it's this is a growing population.So size wise, our business will continue to grow because that's organic.
But what are we going to do with that growth?What are we going to strive for in amongst that growth?You know where We going to put value True Value in.What we do, you know, is that growth so that I can buy myself a brand new car every year and be sure we with that is that growth going to contribute to the community is that growth going to Foster art and music and education amongst our people.
Is it going to be about personal growth or is it going to be growth?Just for the stakeholder and who is the stakeholder?You know, those are all questions that I'm asking myself.The moment because yes you're right that you have that forming stage and you're always going through a wave of accommodating change and change will always happen in business owner.
But ultimately where do you want to end up?And what impact it won't have.That's the question for some people.That's about developing knowledge and skill.And for others, it's about developing community.And for others, it's about accumulation of goods and and I guess that's the sort of growth that wanting to think differently about.
When you have that kind of future long-term like big long-term Vision or objectives, do you find that some of the smaller stuff because it's very easy to get ground down in the the small things when you look at it and you ask yourself, two questions is this with this really matter in two years time, five years time, 10 years time and sometimes when you ask yourself the questions, kind of what I'm worried about is small-fry compared to what it is that I want to achieve.
Additives.If you fight, if you found that with your conversations with your team, it's yeah.Well, I guess there's a little bit of a longer story.I practice this of practicing veterinarian for over 30 years and I really enjoyed that journey.I can tell you about that another time, but started my practice at home with four young children, my husband became ill and that came in waves over a very long time and you know, there are periods.
He was able to work but long periods, he wasn't.So I found myself responsible All 46 of us.That's why I started the business.It wasn't.I never had any intentions of establishing a Veterinary business.I didn't really have any intentions of anything.
I guess I was more of an earth mother just like being with my kids and so I had the practice at home so I could be with my kids then found that I needed to do something bigger to sustain my family.And I thought if I do it really well, I won't have to work as hard and I'll be able to be with my kids.
For do really well.So it was always that Excellence of, I do it really.Well, then maybe I won't have to work as hard and then gradually, I was less engaged in that work.I was really love surgery and loved getting to know my clients really well.
And they always would tell me everything about their lives and I knew about their lives.But over time, I developed more of an interest in looking up to my staff and developing a strong culture at work.And it was a conflict between In doing this Veterinary work and wanting to really provide a good workplace.
And also I wanted to do things but probably didn't really understand that little black box that is operations.How hard it is to bring about change and how much time it takes to actually do the stuff that needs to be done.So as an ideas person, I can have lots of ideas but I need to build a strong team that can deliver on those ideas and it always takes a lot longer than what you think, no matter how hard we all work at it.
So I think it got to a point that I just said, I just can't do it anymore.I don't want to do Veterinary work anymore by that stage.We had two practices.We now have three and I instructed my practice manager that if we were short of it because of that was sick or, you know, with a vet shortage obviously, it's been very challenging for everybody.
And I said, look, I just want you to shut the doors that day.Just shut the practice because I won't be able to work anymore as a Veterinary surgeon and My staff is so extraordinary, they decided that they didn't really want to shut the practice.So it did happen a couple of times, but they always manage to find a solution which often included them working very hard to be honest, but it meant that I could then be free and I did some traveling I went up to the gamma Festival in northern boy in the Northern Territory where the First Nations people were talking about the earlier statement from the heart, I wanted through Alice Springs.
I went through the valley of the Winds Red dirt and immerse myself in nature and then learn to kitesurf went to Indonesia.I kitesurf, very, very badly, but I absolutely love it because all I've got to do is look at that kite and wonder how I'm going to fall off next time or whether I'm going to do a Mary Poppins and land land badly in the water.
So I just gave my brain, a really big break and then was very concerned about the adani coal.Mine it's very concerned about the Mine's, I visited the mines with the doctors for the environment, too.Were trying to get arrested.
Unfortunately, it was a public holiday International public holiday in that day, so that didn't quite work.But I thought maybe protesting was my thing and then found out that I wasn't a very good protester, I not very good at speaking on the spot, I guess I can get feisty, but maybe not in that way.
And then somebody said to me, I Somebody from Farmers for climate action.And I said, well maybe I can help you guys and, and then they said, well what about your setup?Veterinarians for climate action.So that then seeded that idea, this journey that you're talking about what's the timeframe of this?
When we did this all happen, probably about four years ago, it's probably been five years since I've done clinical work.And to be honest, you know, when I started practicing, I think I was pretty good vet, I think.If I can say, you know So I generally pretty good vet at that time and I love doing surgery and I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't that complicated and I just write my notes on the recipe card.
I back in the day but it's become so much more difficult and I think I can still make animals better, just all the systems that are required around that the tech and the you know, riding an A4 page of notes about something.I just sort of it was hard for me to enjoy that side of things and I think my staff Probably really wanted to sack me and they told me, really, I think quietly that my time was up and it was time for me to, to get on the other side of the fence.
So I respect that.So many questions about all the stuff you said.I can't pick where to begin but let's start dreaded that with a stuff.We were just finishing off with their statement of.I couldn't do it anymore.I didn't want to do the clinical staff anymore, but I'm prepared for this.
You said the sentence My heart wasn't in it anymore.You've ever feel like I think a lot of people get to that stage and I'll make this personal.I have days like that.Do you feel guilty?You feel like I have a thing that I can do.I have the skill?
I can do.You ever feel like I'm a quitter for not doing it or how do you use?Not at all.But remember, I did it for 30 years and I taught a lot of people, a lot of stuff.You know, have staff that have been with me for a very long time.So I feel like I've sort of Set the tone for the work and the standard of the work at one level.
And for me, I wanted to be a veterinarian.When I was about 14, you know, I loved animals and I like working with my hands and I thought that I would enjoy working with people in that way.But gradually over the years, I found that I was more interested, perhaps in the people, the technical skill and people.
And I really care about people, I care about people a lot, you know, every euthanasia that would come in, I Pretty much weep with every single one and give them a hug and you know, and I'd live that Journey with them.And so it became more about people.
And I suppose when the fires happened, I thought I've been weeping with owners pet owners for over 30 years about their pet, and we've just lost three billion, animals, three billion animals are suffered.You know, they don't just suddenly died, they get burned alive.
Well, they get displaced in the distressed you know.And so I guess in a way it was a natural transition for me to care for the individual pet and for that transition into caring for the pets and the wildlife and the livestock of the world.
I mean in Australia here in North Queensland in 2000 2019 there was some extraordinary flooding events, you know some extreme flooding events and It was February in the tropical North and 600 thousand head of cattle, Parish those that didn't drown died of cold exposure, that's a great deal of animal suffering and I felt that my purpose from that moment on really what's to care for the animals of the world and check transition myself.
So, it's still about animals, it's still about bringing my my understanding of the World into this new life that I'm living as chair of veterinarians for climate action.And then I have the privilege of still being leader of my team and meeting with my manager weekly and running strategic planning sessions with them.
And, you know, taking all the newbies out for dinner.That's fun.Every six months.I get to take the new stuff out and get to know them.And so I have this incredibly exciting life and meeting people that I would never have thought that I would ever meet in my life.
You know, people that have won a Nobel Prize.Rise people that have been head of biosecurity for the Commonwealth, people, who lectured at universities, people who work in animal welfare and run the zoo's of Australia.Run the rspca.
You know, all of these organizations are getting involved in climate action and we're a small contributor to that work for all of those organizations.And so it's the biggest privilege of my life really, to have had that transition.And I don't feel like I'm a quitter because there's a lot of Purpose in what I do.
And there's a lot of energy, a lot of forward energy.There's a lot of I guess reaching deep down into the back of my brain, the part that I can't articulate very well and trying to understand what it's telling me that I need to do to reaching out to whatever that biggest source is, some people call it the universe, some call it, God's and call it nature, you know, whatever.
That biggest source is that we don't really understand that gives.Us the spirit that we need to be able to do this really important work.So you need a bit of time and space to do that.Don't you?You need, you need space.You've got to sit in nature.
You've got to be outside.You've got to hear the birds and you've got to be a part of something bigger than yourself to do those things.I'd recently went through a bit of a challenging time and why I refer to it as your higher power.Some people believe in God writes but some people maybe it's God plus nature, plus your community, plus your family.
But whatever it is, it's something bigger than yourself that enables you to do the things and you couldn't do on your own.Yes, that's very true.That's very true.And that long-term vision is also something that's difficult to articulate.I think my personality if it means anything might be a Infp, which makes me sometimes a bit of a frustrating person but I can be a bit dreamy and Timeless and, you know, it takes a little while for things to emerge.
It's not always very clear to me what I'm trying to say until I've given it some some deeper thought overtime and part of that I think is accessing that higher being.So how do you do that?How do you access that higher power?
Well, there's this, there's one story, one part of one book that I read that the listeners might be interested in called Falling upwards by Richard, Rohr who was a Franciscan monk and I read that book about 10 years ago and he talked about the two halves of life.
This might resonate with you Gerardo you know the first half of life where it's about building up your container and that's about.What's your hairdo going to be?What are you going to study?Where do you live?Who are you people?How do you address?
What do you like you know any describes that as your container?That's he calls up the EGO half of your life and then he says, something will happen in your life.That's unexpected.That's out of your control.That brings you family and test second half of life and that's the soul part of the life.
And that's no longer the container, that's what's in the container and he says, it's no longer pointing NG at the moon.It's the moon.It's not like no longer rowing across the lake.It's the shore on the other side and not everybody has the opportunity to reach that second half of life.
But that's a richer, not always a happier, but a richer and deeper aspect of your life, that is a real privilege to experience.And I think that was a Crossing that I made about ten years ago.
I do have a busy life.I can't say that.I don't I have a full-time PA which and another PA, if I need her to do my hands and feet work for me and for somebody like me that can lose track of time that can be organized, but disorganized all at once that has a lot of ideas to have somebody that believes in me, enough to want to deliver on my ideas and help my ideas become reality.
I'm in a position now that I can afford to pay somebody to do that.And it's it's an absolute joy and it probably triples what I'm able to achieve, but doesn't make my life more stressful.I also, I love art.I've come to really love doing big mosaics in glass.
I love the color and they'll take me six months to make and I can just be in my own quiet space at home.Looking out over the trees, just in my own little world thinking and maybe some music But usually just the sound of the birds and that puts me in a place where that's what happens in.
I like to climb mountains, not not like with, you know, ropes or anything, but I like to go up Mount maroon near here.Be happy to take you up there and I go up about three times a year and just have a day and you get a 360 view up the top.
It's a proper walk, it's not a stroll, it's a proper walk for me anyway.And when you're at the top, you know, just It's just Sensational.You can see all the way around and sometimes you're up in the clouds and that puts me in a place where I can think more deeply and be more creative.
Quick Interruption, Jeanette likes.Walking up mountains.I like walking up mountains, you should come walk up a mountain with us and veld 22.See on day four of our first ever live event, which runs from 22 to 25.
November up here in Russa will be heading to a hinterland icon and Hiking up Mount cavora together will challenge ourselves.Enjoy some excellent views from the top and then we'll walk back down and enjoy an excellent meal and some excellent gin at a local Distillery Which is conveniently at the foot of the mountain.
And then we'll go into a very old silent, movie theater, with Philip mckernan from episode. 70, will join us via the interweb for a big session.We will be getting real deep on all matters related to the heart and purpose and meaningful living.Go check out the details at the link and the show description including details about the two days of clinical learning with the Oracles of smallest medicine.
Professor, Joel medicine and prof.David church and when you book your ticket, use the discount code via.V listener to save yourself, 300 bucks.And if you book before October 7, will give you a three months free subscription to our clinical podcast.This is for a good reason.
A discussions with the clinical guests will build on the content that we've already covered with them in the podcast.So for example, when we're going to talk about complicated diabetics will be assuming that the detainees have listened to the Epic series of diabetes discussions.We've already had with breath church.So you'll need access to the podcast to make sure that you get the most out of these amazing guests.
Was this also means that you can binge and all of the almost 300 other medicine, emergency and surgery episodes, as well as all of the show notes.During your three, your free three month subscription.So, get on to it, we'll see you there now back to Jeanette.
I want to dig into this two parts of life thing.I know a lot of our listeners are younger Even younger than asteroid.Oh, it's amazing.You don't have to wait for middle life for that to occur.I mean, that can occur.
Some people are so wise in the younger life, you know?Yeah.So this is what I want to get to.And I've touched on this before in previous conversation.It sounds to me, like, you have the container part of your life and let's assume that your Young weight is going to be in that container.But you got to take care of the bills, right?
You got to have a place to live and food to eat.Yeah, and I from my own experience.I don't know if it's other people as well, but I feel like there's this thing inside.You it's this thing.There's other thing that needs some breathing space.I heard an author on a podcast.I forget who it was.
I feel like it may have been the woman who wrote Eat, Pray love' or maybe not have a.She talked about feeling like there's a creature alive inside her that needs to come out but she took a years and years and years of being a lawyer of being this doing that to create the right environment and to Grant the headspace for that thing to burst out of her.
And she said that it's quite moving.Irving actually just said the day that she finished the book that she needed to write, she lay down on the floor and she said, she felt like she'd given birth that this thing needed to just get out of it.And then there's the thing you mentioned in that book.
The thing, that happens, the big thing that happens in your life and then is that second stage and a lot of these stories in retrospect to go, like a listen to you and you go, I've got a PA, I've got this, you've got, you have space, you've managed to create space for this thing to bloom.
But you kind of need the success first to do that.You kind of photo PA if you working 60 hour weeks, it has to pay the bills.Well, you can because you can think differently and you can I mean are we talking about as an employee or we talking about us an employer?
I mean, as an employee to find a place that encourages people to have spirit and be kind that wants people to flourish, you know, whether that's as an emergency Specialist or that or as a general practitioner or as a surgeon or as an animal behaviorist to know to find a workplace where you can flourish and you can work to your strengths where you're not going to get flogged working 60 hours a week.
You know, there are plenty of work places that will really, really look after you and allow you to have a life as well as work hard.So I think there's a huge amount of satisfaction that that people who are employees can get from their Veterinary career and Space to the do, the things, that matter to them and to think if they need to think or to play sport, if they want to play sport, you know, but you do need to rise above where you are and give you time to think.
I mean in a way you want to write yourself a list of what you don't want and will become very clear orders.You do want.You've got to make it really clear what it is that you want out of your life and then that will gradually emerge.So, I don't think it's actually about money.I can say that.
That when I had four young children and my husband was around.Well, we didn't have any money and never would have even gone to McDonald's.We had a very old vehicle and we played in the yard you know I wasn't very good at making money at the time I had to learn to do that later.
I was good at being a vet and good at being a mum but I wasn't any good at making money.I had no idea how to do that.I didn't even That it mattered that's a very Western perspective to think that we need to have all this stuff to be able to have the time to be able to have a richer life.
We don't at all.We can live very simply if we want to and then as a business owner for sure the vet shortage is absolutely crippling and very, very difficult.However, a friend of mine is just decided they're not going to work on Saturdays anymore, they're going.
We can make enough money through the week.Eek when I'm going to open Saturdays or Wednesdays.I think at one point, maybe they're doing Wednesday's now.But you know, there are creative ways that we need to, you know, the vet shortage I would say is a huge problem and I really sympathize with the profession on that front and I know that the universities and the, a VA working very hard on that.
But I think if we're in that position, we need to share with one another.One of the things that we're looking Forward to doing again.We've done, once before is a sharing perspectives Workshop, just with a few practices from Brisbane where we get together and to share some ideas and quite comforting to do that, you know, to think about how we all do things.
And what's going well what's not going well and to be anti-competitive I guess and to share ideas and support each other, I think it's really important but yeah, you got to think differently when you've got these sorts of big problem.Them's got to think differently and you've got to create space for yourself.
If you don't create space for yourself, that's to think because then you don't have any space.I mean if you're that busy doing Veterinary, workers should have enough money to get somebody to help you do the stuff you don't want to do and you should allow yourself the permission to get somebody to clean your house, or get somebody to organize your filing cabinet, or whatever.
Needs to be done, do your grocery shopping, cook your meal, you know, if you're that Busy doing Veterinary work, you're going to have enough money.And if you're not busy doing Veterinary work, then maybe you'll have time.Either way you can find yourself in a position to creating that space for yourself, which I think is imperative at the recent Navy a conference in Gold Coast.
So, this is this year 2022 Cuban.I hosted a panel discussion on challenges facing the veteran profession.And one of the things that came out at the other end because it's kind of like we hosted it in.Was what is the outcome you want to achieve?
How we going to achieve it?One of the things that came out was like this creative way of facing the challenge, which is not necessarily just need more more more more But also the different perspective, a different mindset around, the structure of a tree business, like, for you to say that closing on a Saturday or closing on a Wednesday to most business owners to to, you know, potentially have busy days on the two days, have a break or whatever it may be, or even to triage process, which, you know, allows up whichever way, right?
Whichever way you can get around the challenges of demand, but the key point was that Business owners are there said, well then to do this, we need to re-evaluate how a standard Veterinary practice runs just because it's been done for the last 80 years, doesn't necessarily mean that this is what's going to be.
This is the way that it has to work.This is the way that it should work and a couple of the people we've interviewed in the podcast of revalue the change the way that they structure the roster and flexibility and worked with veterinarians and created spaces for them and they worked out how to make it work.
But it was a it was an interesting approach went from to hear Veterinary business owners say that we would need to re-evaluate the way that we do business.Yeah.I mean, you just need really brilliant managers to do that, don't you?Yeah.Yeah.Business owners and then also you're employed.
Visit we mentioned I like that.It's a mindset shift Jeanette that you say, it's not because the Trap that I step into on a daily basis.Is when I this, then I'll that and this much money, then I can take more time off when I get two eggs, then I will do the thing I want to do and this is something I step in time and time again.
I need first, I need more money, so I can have more time and then I'll do that or once I finish this, then I'll do this in this in this all when I'm 40, I'll work lace and I'll spend more time with my kids instead of saying no, prioritize this thing.Such a dangerous trap, isn't it?
Is that, is that something you've struggled with in the past?And if so, how did you actually get around it?I think I'm not goal-driven in the traditional way.I don't really set myself a goal and then go for it.I just have this sort of it's probably a little bit more like Dorado was talking about having this thing in your gut that you've just got to do it and then you just go for it so to me.
Yeah, that the might be more so Of achievement-oriented somehow.It's not about the achievement.I never set out to found a not-for-profit.I didn't plan my life, my life sort of came to me.
I'm not just sure I'm explaining that very well.You know what I think it is over Theory and comes back to Excellence with heart.Yeah a lot of the stuff you've mentioned comes back to heart again.How can I keep making it better?And how can I keep looking up to me?
People better, how can I make it more fun?How can I make it something that's got depth, you know?Even when you talked about the used to do the very short notes and you love doing the clinical work, but the way that it's become more complicated has made at least one for you.
I have a very strong theory about if we practice from the heart as you live life that's enjoyable and sustainable and it's when we start being more, suppose more defensive more fearful it becomes less fun.Yeah, I think that fear thing, it'd be really interesting to talk about.
I actually did an elite Mastermind course, about or maybe seven or eight years ago with a number of people from the veterinary profession, entrepreneurial people largely.And one of the things we had to do was address our fears.So we listed all the fears.
It might be a fear of being left out of fear of fear of not being understood.I fear of Having enough was a really big one.Particularly for the guys that in my view were incredibly successful.They were terrified of not having enough.The one I had to address was the fear of success.
And when it came down to it, that was my problem.I thought success was one thing and maybe it was actually another and it was the teacher said, well, your greatest strength will come once you face your fear.So once you understand your fear, and you get past that, that's where you real successful happen.
And for me, it was a fear of success.It was never a fear of not having enough.I knew I'd always have enough.Wasn't a fear of what people thought, because I always do things a little bit differently.And I go, you know, I'm independent but my fear was actually of of success.So I had to write down what that what that was and explore that Within Myself and then realized maybe it could be a good thing because I could do really good things with with that and what is success anyway, and what does it matter?
You know.Well, that's my question and the success that you feared.What did that success look like and why did it scare you?I think a lot of your fears come from your younger days and I grew up in a, quite an extraordinary family, you know, a migrant family from Holland and put a fairly calvinistic thought of approach.
I guess traditionally within my Generations before, which is, you know, all about serving others and doing things for other people and not, not perhaps allowing yourself, success, in material terms and, you know, I think that Is a really strong Foundation, but I think I was limiting myself and limiting what I was able to bring to the World, by being afraid of what people might think.
If I was, I think I was afraid of what people might think of, I was successful.How mm I might be regarded.And then how I define success might not be how others define success.You know, for me success is having a really rich relationship with my foot children and being able to not cook a nice It's meal and having people around and having a nice dinner together.
Going out with a new staff and getting to know them and understand them.That's success to me.I think I was confusing that with success, meaning having a bigger practice of and I was afraid of doing those things, but I needed to do those things to free me up to be able to do bigger work, for example, the vets for climate action work, Just following on from the freedom.
It's not necessary freedom from all troubles and freedom from worries, and freedom from your hospital.But to some degrees, it is freedom.It's like freedom to create to the, for the freedom to have a bigger impact, you do need to start letting go of the things that people can do.
And a lot of family, professional struggle, with the whole idea of Letting Go or perfectionists at heart or feel like as if they must be, the only one that can do it or whatever kind of Imposter syndrome is or the fear of handin over and it won't be done like attachment to how things are and how it will look, the, to be able to have the freedom.
You gotta let go of your real somewhat lick of your business to the people who are in it.Who have generally a better understanding of how things work is, because they're in the hospital working in the hospital, experiencing the hospital day today.And the transition from being in it and making all the decisions to allow another People to make decisions.
It's a tough one.But unless you do something like that, especially as a business owner than you don't have the time, you're the top of the Pinnacle and if you have no succession plan or no depth to your to your business, then it's really hard to have the freedom.Yes, I agree.
I mean, I think one of the most useful things I did with leadership training, I've done now for years, plus The Mastermind.So, I mean, that's not a full-time thing, obviously, but doing, The training understanding, how teams work understanding how emotional intelligence work understanding getting the right people in the right seats on the bus, you know, that all takes time.
That's that certainly took time for me to learn all of those different ways of thinking, but I was very proactive.And the other thing is that I go for counseling, probably every quarter, and that might be for personal reasons.It might be something in relation to my, A family or it might be in relation to my business or it might be in relation to any number of this really.
So I've been doing that for about 10 years and we have an EAP with our staff here.You know, employees, assistance program, we're encouraged the staff, not just to go when there's a crisis but to the more we can understand ourselves, the more that we can let go of our ego and the more we can reach into that part of ourselves that stronger and richer.
Able to contribute more.So the vulnerability you need to be able to do that.I think it's a it's a real gift and yeah so I'd really encourage listeners to look at themselves and if you don't know how to do stuff, get some help.You know you don't you don't fix your own car.
Usually, you know, in your brain is that much more complicated.Why would you try and do that all yourself?You need some help from a skilled person to what I do anyway to figure out what's Going in the back of my brain and to bring it to the front of my brain.
Help me to understand what's happening.And why I feel a certain way or why I feel distressed or upset or confused or anxious or excited and to develop a relationship with somebody for a long period of time to provide that sort of support.
I think it's been very enriching for me and it's allowed me to have a deliberate life.I guess a deliberate life is one that I just sort of that then, but To have rather than goal-driven life.Deliberate life, where I can choose the next step that I take.
And I need to be reminded of that, you know, it's been a very busy, couple of years.You talked about the core values of the business before at the start.And generally, do we need to view a go.These are our core values is what it means, do.
You agree with them, or something like that, but how do you like on a deeper level?How do you employ four core values?How do you do in your interview process or something like that?How do you find people who are aligned with them?Outside of just, this is what they are.
Do you like them?This is how we work in.Well, I just got to say, I don't employ anybody, I meet my staff after they've been employed for some months so I don't have any part in that process because I think my staff are better at than I am it.
Choosing those people, we're not necessarily looking for Superstars.We're looking for some humility, we're looking for professionalism, professional will but we're looking for some humility.We are looking for people that want to strongly be part of a team and my managers operate really well in a team.
And I don't know that I'm the best person to select the team to be honest, although, I've established the culture, the top people in the team of a very, very strongly aligned on that culture.And I'm trusting them to, I mean, they won't have nice people to work with you.
They don't want to have people that they need to.The jet of the business.They don't want to work with people that are going to have a lot of emotional distress constantly.While they're at work.They want to have an easy workplace to an enjoyable workplace and work with people that they love being with.
So you know, it's not for me to dictate who's going to work for us.I meet my manager once a week for at least three hours where we go through some troubleshooting and ideas and things that I might have noticed.I do notice things and we will notice them.
So I'm just a quiet notice or not bring things to attention and then I do leadership training with my staff.So I take the staff away in groups of all the staff down.You know, Junior to senior in groups of six to eight and we'll go and hire a really beautiful Air B&B have nice healthy food, and do training around, understanding one another understanding, how we best to work together, understanding principles of leadership and personal development.
I'm standing out.Teamwork Styles how we best to work together and also for them to get to know me and what drives me and really why they're there, which is have a great career to be part of a fantastic team and at the same time to support this incredible work that that's for climate actions during, you know, through their contribution, they're allowing me to do this work.
So yeah that's that's how I'm involved and then creating beautiful spaces because I love doing that, that's kind of my Creative side.I just love having a place that's fun and colorful and beautiful.And so that's what I've been having really enjoying doing this year.
Nice.Okay.So, we talked about the biggest things about debates for climate action.It's a huge thing.It's a brave thing to take on.I personally, find it can be overwhelming when you think about it.Was there a particular thing that happened or an experience that you had that made you say stuff that I need to do something about this?
Yeah, that's a really good question.So I grew up with this Dutch family and my Father was a bit of an Explorer, actually, he, he lived in irian Jaya in popular for a long time.With in the 1950s, he was with the police there with the Dutch police.
He was training people and they went across and they go, you know, between tribes and he'd say around the dinner table sometimes.You know what, the favorite part of the human body is, what do you think is the most delicious part of the human body?
Because there were people that Exercise cannibalism there.And it was this little part of the Philip just under the thumb was, apparently, the most delicious part.This is a trivia fact that you never gonna see it in CrossFit.
Watch the most delicious part of the human body.So, you know, he was very adventurous and I love climbing mountains.And you know, when he was over 80 we took him out.Mum Barn in my brother organized it, we went for a three-day hike to night.It's he wouldn't have a tent and he'd say, Jeanette, can you bring some of those big body bags home for us to sleep?
And in case it rains and so we head up the mountain with a couple of body bags.Awful.Really.So, he was a real Adventurer and we would Camp through the Christmas holidays, over Christmas for maybe three weeks camping by a creek, with Crystal Clear Water.
We drink the water with swim.So that's the family.I grew up in and I'd have my birthday there.Remember one time I got a watermelon Birthday, you know, and she'd hang Christmas baubles up on the tree by the creek.So to be the Christmas tree and so we had this real appreciation for nature and I love watching birds.
And I think, when I really understood the impacts of climate change on animals that are already happening and the potential impacts to the Future.And also bearing in mind that I do actually really love animals and and I really love people.
And and I You know, cried.I've shed a tear with almost every client, you know, that's how much that's how much a my heart is in this.And to think that these little birds that I've been watching might not be there anymore since I was a five-year-old.
Girl our world is lost 70% of its Wildlife, 70% that seven in ten animals.No longer exist that existed only 52 years ago.That is just the most devastating figure and then climate change is incredibly threatening to the animals that remain and much as veterinarians around the world.
There's a group in England that's working on sustainability and Veterinary practices.This is also occurring in France and in Canada that were aware of wonderful work.But as far as I know, nobody, At this point, is focusing on climate change, in animals, and veterinarians are trusted with scientific.
We're not generally political in a bipartisan manner, we are very much loved by our communities and we can be a really strong messenger in helping the public, understand climate change and the impacts on our world.
It's extremely serious.Every decision that we make every decision.In that all governments around the world.Make every fraction of a degree matters.Every decision matters and every year manners.So I set myself on a goal to spend 10 years.
On this personally, I'm three and a half years in now.And after that, I hope that it'll be like my Veterinary career.That somebody was they to networking to sack you now and you can do some other cool stuff and they'll be other people to take take my place in that.
But I have a strong vision for this to become an international Movement.We have a strong movement occurring in Australia that starting to influence.The way that veterinarians think about climate change is influencing how politicians think about climate change and will influence the way that the public care about climate change.
So I can't think of anything more important to do with my life and it's been absolutely Inspiring the support that is coming from all directions for the work that we're doing because everybody loves animals here and if we don't love them we need them.
You know?So we can connect with every human being on the planet.Really?Because the work we're doing is so important.So huge.So the work that waits for climate action.Does.It's not about or not just about helping practice owners, save energy or waste less or produced because that stuff's important but sometimes to me, feels like feel.
Good stuff.Well I feel better about myself.So my hands are clean.There's a planet goes to shit.It's not my fault.It says more at a higher level at a policy level.That we working towards is that, is that a correct understanding when this first started?
And because I'm a visual person, I wrote a couple of mind maps.One of the mind maps was what I thought, the climate movement could look like this was before I understood the climate movement.The second mind map of was of myself and my role in life really, and how that fitted with the climate movement, I thought we need to come bottom up.
Ordinary people like myself.Have to understand, we all have to do something, we all have to be involved and then it needs to come top down.So our governments and our corporations including Veterinary, corporations need to be accountable for the decisions that we make because ultimately the people from bottom bottom up, you know, all of us can do something.
We need to get to Net Zero very quickly. 2050 is too late and We need to year-on-year, reduce our emissions, whether we're individuals with a companies, whether we're governments were the relations, we all have to do it.
So there's a real place for doing something ourselves and vets.For climate action is established, the climate Care Program, which is just got 22 practices, in Pilot phase, it's a program with six modules there on water, use on recycling on Energy.
We need to differentiate between climate change and Recycling, and sustainability.Somebody explain it to me this way sustainability is planet.Earth is a little bit like a spaceship.There's only so much stuff that can fit in that spaceship when we use it up, it's been used up.
So we have to be careful with our resources.We have to look after our resources.We can't use too many Resources, we can't continue to exponentially grow as Humanity.Can't continue to do this continuous growth cycle.It's not possible because spaceship earth won't accommodate that.
The other issue is climate change, which is rising carbon in our atmosphere putting like, a warm blanket around the earth and that warm blanket.We talked about one degree two degrees.The problem is that it's not just a uniform, warm blanket.
If it was one degree, we could probably deal with that.Yeah, we'd probably go or even two degrees.Uniformly, we could probably go, we'll turn our air conditioning up a little bit.Or we can adjust.It's an 18 degree days are now.It's a 20-degree day.
It's a 36 degree days. 38 degree day mean, at one level we could cope with that.The problem with climate change is the extremes of temperature and the extremes of weather events that's associated with it.So it's not a blanket.
Increase of one or two degrees.It's phenomenal increases, I mean, the polls have had a 40 degree record high Temperature 40 degrees.It should be - so much.It's 40 degrees higher than that.
We've seen extreme bushfires.We've seen extreme floods, we're seeing it all around the world in Europe, in America, in Australia.That's climate change.It's more Cyclones.It's more cold in some areas.It's not all about want.
Some areas are going to be colder.The weather events that we're seeing going to be exaggerated and that's the problem and that's what our Animals can't adapt to and what needs to happen for climate change.Is that we need to stop fossil fuels.
That's the absolute answer is to stop fossil fuels as soon as practically possible and for governments to feel pressure all around the world to do everything that they can to embrace the renewable economy, to find a way to get out of coal and gas as quickly.
Early as possible.And to understand why, I mean my staff here at work understand why they do what they do.And a lot of what they do is because they want to support me in this Venture, that gives them a lot of encouragement.To do a really brilliant job at work because they say, Jeanette's off doing this thing.
It's a bit of a crazy thing.It's an important thing we're going to run this practice so well That she can focus on that and that she'll have enough money to pay a PA to do that.That's where real purpose comes.That's where my practice gets its purpose and governments all around the world, need to understand.
So clearly what's going on that?They have a really strong purpose to move to Renewables and we've got some fantastic leaders in Australia during that people like Matt Keen that really get it.They're terrific leaders in Australia that really get it.
In the veterinary profession, I met Professor Mark Howden who is the director of the Australian climate Institute.I'm very honored to say that he's now on our board of directors, a bits for climate action, he shared a Nobel Prize with Al Gore who was running for president in America.
He's the director of the climate Institute.I met him in Canberra and he very kindly did a talk for all the VIPs of the profession three years ago who didn't really And climate change.I didn't really understand it.How am I supposed to understand it?
I'm a vet from Ipswich.How am I supposed to understand these big things?You know, I had never met anybody like that.I hadn't, you know, I hadn't engaged deeply in this conversation, I was busy running my family and looking after my children and running a Veterinary practice.
But when I really understood, I actually went to the National Climate emergency seminar conference National Climate emergency conference in in Canberra.Invited some key people from the veterinary profession to join me there.And really understood the science of climate change, saw the graphs and it clicked in for me.
And I went now I get it now, I understand what this is about.I understand what the fuss is about and then tied that into, well, what's that going to do to animals?I can give you so many examples.I don't know that this is all in for that, but that's for climate action, can have a voice on, not only the animals that We love that are dear to our hearts but also the billions in livestock that Australia you know that contribute an enormous amount to the Australian economy and veterinarians are pivotal.
It's obviously very important work but it's a massive job.Where do you even begin?What, what is the process look like for us to address these issues or for you as vets for climate action?So it's all just tell you a little bit about Strategic plan, one of our arms of our strategic plan will be to have 100% of the veterinary profession to understand climate change and it's impacts on animals.
So that means for us to appear at every conference to be creating lectures for University students, not just a lecture on climate change, but it's across every part of the curriculum.The education component is a big one.The second is collaboration so to collaborate with each other animal organizations around the world and around Australia because they have access to the public even more than what we do.
And to highlight through social media or through whatever channels.They have impacts of climate change and animals because I firmly believe that when people understand the problem, they will want to act.I trust people with that.
I think that when people can make the connection between this, is hurting our animals, like Really hurting our animals but they'll be prepared to do something and sometimes the Money Matters less when you've got a strong purpose.So bringing that purpose, to all animal lovers and all who work with animals in an economic capacity, I think it's really important.
So collaboration, thirdly to be a trusted advisor to government.We work very closely with former Chief at me officers, there's an hour 33 of them who have been writing to government In jointly with vets, for climate action.And I feel that we can have a voice with government fourthly.
Our climate CARE program is very powerful, it's part of the education piece to help us all understand climate change to understand what we can do in our own practices.So it might not feel like much that we're putting solar on our Veterinary practices, might go.
Well, there's this many billion people in the world and my soul is not going to make a difference, but if we all do that, I think it's actually really cool and it's setting an example.Ample and it's also great.In terms of the vet shortage Gen Y and gen said, want to work with people who care about the planet and then our other goal is to be a sustainable organization.
So that means that we have enough money to employ staff that we have a strong governance and strong foundational work has been done so that we can continue and we can think ahead 100 years.Like we talked about at the start of the podcast.
So stumbling blocks and problems.And again, I can make this very personal because I think there's very few people listening to this, who will disagree.We're going in, you know, that's just a don't agree with climate change.You guys great.Of course, taking action that is such a big thing and I think as write a few things down yet I think what gets in the way is selfishness selfish.
I like driving.Yeah, I like the Comforts that I have.That accounted to prevent the climate change.Shortsightedness is, yes, s will sort it out, but right now, this holiday I want to go do this thing, but yes, I do care about climate change but just not today.
And it's not tomorrow because it's inconvenient greed.It's a big thing, fear apathy and then paralysis, I often feel these things are so overwhelming.I listened to have you seen a movie called?Don't look up.Yeah, I couldn't end up watching it.
Yeah.Yeah, tell me about it.No, I found that really powerful.It just just to show us show you how short-sighted we are about things like this to go.We are so distracted.By all the little things that the media throw at us and then life throws at us.
And, you know, get the next in, get this even in a minute practice ownership by.If I, imagine if I was a practice owner and and I go, yeah, there's this thing that I should focus on.I should subscribe to Jeanette's program.It's important.And I said, but I can't find a vet.
I don't even notice.If I'm going to sign up to a program, we're going to commit time to anything.It's going to be to a mastermind.That's going to make me a better business owner, so that I can earn more money, so that I can then can do this thing.Well, we're in here for the long term, you know, I mean, that's a brilliant idea if that's what you do to sign up to the Mastermind and you figure out how you're going to do it, we don't have to do it.
All right now I completely agree that it can be very depressing.And it can be very paralyzing and that's why I say don't get depressed, get active.We are much stronger together and it's not all about our individual actions.
It's about the decisions that our governments make are the most powerful influence that we can have as a group collectively to influence government and government is a reflection of the people but to ensure that the government is listening.
What we as the people need and as veterinarians for us to have a group of people that care about something and can speak to government that can write to government, our government needs to make strong decisions.We as a profession, also need to be making strong decisions.
And a lot of those decisions need to be made by a corporates to be engaged.In this conversation.They do have capacity to get involved.They must it's their responsibility.T mean, we need to look at the triple bottom line?
We need to look at Finance, yet we've need to have enough money to pay our people to be rigorous to the generous, to our staff to look after our people properly.Secondly, we need to look socially, and we need to make sure that we are looking after our people, their mental health.
We're providing any AP.We're rostering, as best, we can to take care of our people, but thirdly every corporation there, Have an environmental responsibility that needs to be the third foot to the stool and that's for climate action.
As a collaborative group, can be very encouraging to these collaborative to corporations, we could choose which organizations we decide to be aligned with.We can choose, you know, my practice turns over six million dollars.So you have a twenty percent cost of goods.
That's 1.2 million dollars, buying power.Every year.We have a lot of power.As business owners, you don't necessarily need a lot of time to say, to your supplier, I need you to see your climate policy.Where is it?
What does it look like?And those are the sorts of questions that we as a group can ask to just put gentle pressure on those that we work with.I mean the business owner doesn't need to run the climate K program.There are nurses that are really Keen to do that, you know, put on a nurse an extra day, a week to work on it, you know, and let them have some ownership take pride in it, let them go for it.
It's really cool.And it's a way for us to feel less depressed to get active and to collaborate together and to find comfort.In, of course, it's a terribly sad thing, but there are huge opportunities in.
Can changes but we have to make them now.We can't wait another five years to make the changes, the world needs to make these changes now, and if it means we've got to get off Facebook or it means, we've got to, you know, take out stuff off iPhone so that we can focus on the things that matter.Well, then that's what we do.
So those are the sorts of things vets have climate action do and if you don't have time, give us some money.If you've got ten thousand dollars, if you're in a successful business, you ought to have a little bit in Kitty.You don't have time, you feel bad Well, donate some money and then we can put on more staff to do the hands and feet work.
So I think we can all do something.I'll have little people are listening to this and going I want to do something.We will see her legs.This is her if you want to get in touch with Jeanette or the incredible work that they're doing, we can all do something.
So we're going to wrap up with the last couple of questions.Do you listen to podcast occasionally?I do I've Tell you about Yvonne to nod the founder of Patagonia, at the start of the chat.He calls himself an existential Dirtbag.He's done some really great stuff on YouTube that I have enjoyed interviews with him.
May now finding very inspirational, but my absolute favorite podcast was s town or shit town from This American Life.It was very funny and sad engaging human and I thought about it for weeks and weeks, and went for about five hours, and I listened to it twice.
So shit town.I know it was huge, but I never actually listened to it.And I think that books as well, and I think I told you about less is more by Jason hickel.It's really shaping my thinking about capitalism, and the commercial world with my business.I understand I'm part of the problem and I could be part of the solution.
So are we looking for Perpetual growth or we were looking for a new way of living in community together?So that's one that I recommend.Yeah, when you talked earlier about, was it from that book that you said, Getting off that cycle of Perpetual growth.Yeah, it's from that book.
It said, never or almost never heard a business owner.Say those words.Get growth is always the goals.Always grows.Grows grows cell.What it's worth in this growth.This growth in community.This growth in doing really great work that's growth in connection but in terms of material growth, that's another thing.
There's another one that I'd really recommend called Lost connections.That's an incredible book by.By Johann Hari.I can't recommend that strongly enough either.What's the the outline is it's nonfiction.So, lost connections, talks about much of what, I guess we've talked about this morning that, you know, a few Generations ago.
We knew everything that was going to happen in our life and over this last generational to it's become so uncertain.We have lost our connection with our community.We've lost connection with our future.We've lost connection with our past.We've lost connection with religion.
We've lost connection with nature and he Is those in and talks about the Hope in making connection at some level to what we had in the past and how much Richards comes from that, it's really easy to read, everybody that I've told about it is just absolutely gobbled it up.
He's also written a book very recently on Stolen focus, and it talks about our connection with social media and our phones.And how that's really robbing us from being able to live a really solid sort of life because our focus is constantly being stolen.
It's really I think you should read that yourself actually.I think that'd be really interesting one for you.Just busy downloading last connections.I've just finished listening to a book called Deep work, which is a very famous book on the same sort of topic about how which it's a big thing.
Because I feel that the very real thing for me is the lower the lured to the Superficial that takes you away from the deep and the meaningful.Yeah, that sounds fantastic.And then you'll last question that the talk you're doing lots of talks at the moment.
I feel like you're one message for young.Kids might be about climate change but now I'll leave it up to you really can't tell them about climate change because I think they could probably tell me more about climate change.What's your one message to to the veteran?New grounds of the world?I just think have a crack, have a go, your Always going to do your best.
Don't be too hard on yourself.You know, don't be too precious, just connect with your people connect with your team, give it your best shot.Do your very best not to worry too much.I can give you lots of examples of things that I did that didn't go as to plan that I worried about probably way too much and with a little bit of maturity.
Now, I can look at those and say, why did I make it so hard for myself?So don't make it hard for yourself.Enjoy.You work.It's a privilege.Don't sweat the small stuff and things will go wrong.Things will make you sad, but think of all the great work that you do and go for it.
Have a go at hard things and give it your best shot.That's my advice.I think a lot of us struggle because again you've got Excellence with hard Excellence puts pressure them.Yes so we've got to strive for excellence but that line between Excellence, what's good enough?
And I'm not good enough for what I've done, isn't good enough and then leading on from that or maybe it's a separate question.Don't worry so much.How do you know what he so much?Bad stuff.You have your, you have to take responsibility for your own mental health and you have to take responsibility about how you Think about things, that means that you have to check that your physical health is good.
You're not running low on that.Your thyroids right?You need to make sure that you're physically a good specimen that you're exercising and eating.Well, that's your responsibility is something you can control.You also need to take responsibility for your own mental health and if you are a perfectionist and it's a problem, you need to go and talk to somebody, you need to help them, get them to help you sort that out, because perfectionism is a huge Wrap for our profession, it's not doing you any favors and it's probably not doing your client, so your pets a lot of favors either.
So if that's a problem, you need to do what I do, which is go and see somebody regularly.Get your mechanic going on your little brain and get the help you need to address it.Take a holiday, have a look at how you thinking and get some help to think differently wherever you possibly can.
That's easy to say.But you know, develop your emotional intelligence and if you have opportunities to develop your emotional intelligence and to move across from your ego to your soul side, take whatever time you can't do that because that's ultimately where your greatest successful come and you greatest happiness will come.
When you're not focused on your on how great you have to be but on what you can contribute and where you can be of most use.Because we're all going to make errors.Even if a perfectionist, we'll all going to do some pretty shitty stuff.Sometimes we all have.
Well I have at least every year I've made an error of some sort that I regret probably throughout my life.But that's, that's a tough job.You know?We're not dealing with cutting it sheet of paper in half.We're dealing with lies that are in flux.
We gotta learn to surf those waves a little bit better, maybe.You know, the so it's not going to change.We've got to Just Surf it a little bit stronger.So don't be hard on yourself.And if you need help with that, there's no shame in that.Get some help with it and learn from mentors and take responsibility for it.
I think I've learned something in the last couple of years.In that regard, I think might be useful when I get feedback direct not necessarily.Somebody telling me about a case that goes, not the way I planned who I realize, it's me.Isn't it when it goes badly.
Exactly.With the first thing is so that emotion still hits, me very hard.Like, I'm an idiot, all you feel like throwing up?Yeah, it's but then I've gotten really good at recognizing that it's a self-awareness thing of going, oh, there's that emotion.And very, very quick next step for me is.
All right, let's look at my intention.When I made the decisions I made, was I trying to the best of my ability at the time and was my goal to help this animal and designer.Answer is always yes.And then I immediately then is the ego thing because the next thing that comes up is I look stupid, my colleagues and I think I'm an idiot because I missed this thing.
So then there's it that embarrassment of going on.She's and then I go.Yeah, I am.We're all idiots.Sometimes.So then the next thing for me is to just open up and go.Oh yeah, that was dumb.And as soon as I do, those two things to go over with my intentions and recognize that I'm fallible.And yes, I was an idiot and I'm going to be needed again another day and so are you?
So just don't be embarrassed about it, then immediately the emotion disappears.Just like, okay, well, I'm going to learn from it and next time I won't do it again.Yeah, I think that's that's a super smart approach.I mean, I'm just learning with vets for climate action to do speaking, right?
I haven't had to do that in my life and I had to do it talk for the ABC an interview for the ABC, if you couple of months ago, and we had a practice run and an all went really well, and I thought this would be good.And then I went to the studio and it was a different interview with that asking different questions.
I literally couldn't speak for the whole interview, I pretended to cough and there's just nothing like it so it's completely mute that was Sort of embarrassed.There was this live did it for all of Brisbane and I actually couldn't really say anything of value.
I think I had to decide what I was good at and when I wasn't good at and I decided maybe interviews won't my thing in that stuff.And of course, when you're dealing with something a living thing, a pet that somebody loves is a lot more emotion and I mean, that was obviously just my ego and feeling disappointed that I hadn't done a good job of Promoting, that's for climate action, but the end of the day it was okay.
We do the best, we can not everything will get better and sometimes we're going to make boo-boos and some of those are going to be really awful.But I think talking to somebody is having that Mentor or having that, you know, somebody to take care of our health and mental health is probably the best advice I can give you to help.
You think differently, get you off that train of worry.Worry worry, I was an idiot.Dan.This interview masterfully.That's better than the ABC.Everything.Thank you, so so much for your wisdom and specifically.
Thank you for watching doing its really big stuff, and it's really is inspirational to see people move through the process and get to a point where you can't do the important work that you want to do.So, thank you for doing that, and for sharing it with us.Yeah, always happy to share.

Dr Jeannet Kessels