In this episode, I talk about my trip to Great Barrier Island, about 95km from Auckland, visiting friends who ditched their corporate lives in their late 50s for a simpler existence. No TV, no news, no social media, and definitely no traffic noise – just the natural world around us. Walking along the coast on day two, I found myself sitting on rocks, watching the tide move seaweed around beneath the surface. It got me thinking about how rare these quiet moments are in our everyday lives. Let'...
May 21, 2025
12 min
Personal growth advice often presents a single "right way" to approach life's challenges, but there are actually multiple valid paths for everything from relationships to career development to self-improvement. Key Points • The difference between "the way" versus "ways" of approaching life situations. • When people claim to have found "the way" it may be due to immaturity, limited experience, or having an agenda. • With age and wisdom comes broader understanding of multiple valid approaches...
May 13, 2025
18 min
If you’re a human being - and I’m guessing you are - then you have lots of relationships. And while many might be healthy, enjoyable and good chances are there are one or two that have some kind of stress, or are not as good as you’d like. Maybe, there is one that has just broken and you’d still like to see it mended. In this episode, I talk about how important relationships with my birth mother and my Dad went through a cold or even non-existent phase, but both are now wonderfully warm, enga...
Apr 29, 2025
11 min
Do you feel discontent in your relationships, career, or daily life at times, despite outwardly having what you want? The answer often lies in a values problem - a misalignment between what we truly value deep down, and how we actually live. When our behaviours don't match our core values, we can experience tension, which can look like unhappiness, stress, or even physical symptoms. In this episode, we discuss why this happens, give some examples to illustrate, and suggest how you can c...
Apr 22, 2025
19 min
As we go about life we inevitably move to a script, a narrative, an identity. You would think that this identity is consciously decided. But after many years on the road, the reality is that we’re shaped by the influences and expectations we have accumulated from who we’ve been with, what we’ve experienced, and messages we’ve seen/read/heard. In this episode, we explore what this feels like and look at examples like the feeling that you are there to serve others’ needs, that no one will find ...
Apr 3, 2025
21 min
Have you ever wished you were younger again? Many people do. However, in my case, that would NOT be a good idea. Because where I’ve gotten to now has been hard-won by time, experience, and masses of learning and change. I do not want to have to go through it again!! And I really like where I am now; who I am now. Going back would only feel like reversing time without any associated benefits. No, the experiences, memories, lessons, insights and wisdom gained are worth too much. Like finding tr...
Mar 24, 2025
6 min
We discuss the reality that life can be rugged, rough, surprising and wonderful. It's not straight and narrow and we shouldn't expect it to be. Instead, learning to navigate whatever comes with clarity, courage and determination is a much better toolkit for the journey. Rob also talks about the time he almost got hypothermia up on a mountain track. Any thoughts or questions? Send me a text! Thanks for listening! See you again soon. Rob PS Subscribe to Wiser and you’ll get new episodes dire...
Mar 17, 2025
6 min
We humans automatically categorise people as safe or not, friendly or not, ‘us’ or ‘them.’ While this helps us feel more secure and like we belong, it also puts up barriers where there may not need to be any. Rob calls us to consciously try to see people as similar rather than different. To want the best for everyone. Any thoughts or questions? Send me a text! Thanks for listening! See you again soon. Rob PS Subscribe to Wiser and you’ll get new episodes directly to your inbox. Plus the od...
Mar 3, 2025
14 min
Every day is precious, filled with possibilities like a blank whiteboard ready for the pen. Like an empty stage ready for the dance, or a lump of clay ready to be molded. For whatever art you want to create. Because your life is your art. But, do you make room for that in your busy life? Let’s talk about mindfulness in midlife and beyond. Because the more we appreciate and enjoy the moment, the more we enjoy life. Any thoughts or questions? Send me a text! Thanks for listening! S...
Feb 23, 2025
19 min
Life has phases as we grow. If we don’t adapt to the requirements and capabilities of a new phase, we can get pretty frustrated. To flourish in our second half, we need to accept there are things we can’t do anymore. But that’s actually really good news! In this episode, find out why. Any thoughts or questions? Send me a text! Thanks for listening! See you again soon. Rob PS Subscribe to Wiser and you’ll get new episodes directly to your inbox. Plus the odd article and recommendation...
Feb 16, 2025
13 min
Load more