Great Traits Project

On this podcast we meet elite performance coach Harvey Hillary (@harveyhillary).  Harvey is known throughout the sailing community for coaching and developing Olympic athletes. Today, Harvey is using his elite performance insight to coach across various sports, and develop future gold medalists. Harvey was previously the Head of High Performance for the British Sailing Team over the course of multiple Olympic cycles. Since Sydney 2000, the GB Sailing Team have won a grand total of 23 gold medals, which Harvey was a vital part. Harvey now works for Peak Dynamics, an organization that strives to improve human performance in both business and sport. In this podcast, Tobias and Harvey discuss elite performance, marginal gains vs. maximal gains, competitive advantage, mindset control, training, performance mapping, goal setting, super strengths, and unacceptable weaknesses.

On this month's podcast we meet Jaco van Gass. @jacovangass Jaco was born in South Africa. At the age of 20, he flew to England hoping to follow his dream of joining the British Armed Forces. By mid 2007, Jaco had completed his training and he joined the highly regarded Parachute Regiment. During Jaco's second tour of Afghanistan in 2009, he sustained severe life changing injuries. He was struck by an RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade). The injuries he sustained included the loss of his left arm at the elbow, a collapsed left lung, shrapnel wounds to his left side, punctured internal organs, blast wounds to upper thigh, a broken tibia and a fractured knee. Jaco had 11 operations and intense rehabilitation and incredibly, he survived. His career dream of being in the army was over. Despite the physical and mental trauma he went on to become a member of the record-breaking team of wounded soldiers to trek unsupported to the North Pole. More recently, Jaco has been a member of the GB Para-Cycling team, competing at the World Championships in 2013, 2014 and 2015. In 2016, Jaco narrowly missed out on being selected for the Paralympics but the next Paralympics in Tokyo 2020 are in his sights.   On this podcast we talk about the injuries Jaco sustained, adjusting to life after serving in the army, psychological rehabilitation, walking to the North Pole and his obsession and devotion to training as a GB cyclist.

On this podcast we meet director and screenwriter Henry Scriven (@henryscriven) Henry's short films (To Let, The Babysitter, Divided, The Fox) have amassed over 35 million views online and won awards at film festivals across the world. His debut feature film, How To Become A Criminal Mastermind starring Joerg Stadler (Saving Private Ryan, Spy Game), picked up numerous awards including the Best Low Budget Film Award at the London Independent Film Festival and the Best Director Award at the Green Bay Film Festival. He recently completed a short film, The Fox which was funded by a grant from Film Earls Court and is being developed into a feature film. Currently Henry is preparing to start filming his next feature film, Love, Sex & Killing which is being co-produced by Sara Huxley and April Kelley at Mini Productions and Colin Day at Rickshaw Entertainment. The script was written by Raymond Friel who has written three produced feature films including The Calcium Kid with Orlando Bloom. In this podcast we talk about how Henry became a director, films that have influenced him, the feature film he is currently working on, and the creative process. If you enjoy this podcast you can read our Top 10 Bestseller, GREAT TRAITS available on Amazon

Stephen Catlin is the founder of Catlin Insurance Group. After 10 years in the insurance industry Stephen Catlin set up his own insurance business in the 1980s. He successfully built a multi-billion dollar underwriting empire from nothing. In the early years Catlin's business didn't even have a typewriter or a fax machine but by the early 2000s the company had 55 offices worldwide writing insurance for Aviation, Casualty, Energy, Marine, Property and War & Political Risk. By the late 2000s Catlin Group had become the largest insurance underwriter in the specialist insurance market called Lloyds of London (where companies price and underwrite insurance policies) and in 2015, Catlin Group was acquired by XL for $4.1bn. Stephen is a conviction entrepreneur, who often goes with his gut feeling and openly admits to making mistakes along the way. He is retiring from the insurance industry in December 2017. In the podcast we talk about Stephen's life, his business lessons, his mistakes and his successes and his recently published a book, Risk & Reward.

Damian's number 1 bestselling memoir, Maggie & Me, is about coming of age and coming out in Thatcher's Britain. It was the Sunday Times Memoir of the Year, BBC Radio 4's Book of the Week and won the Paddy Power Political Books Satire Award.  Damian writes columns for the Big Issue and the Sunday Times and often often appears on Radio 4. The Guardian named him one of the most connected men in publishing.  Starting at Shoreditch House in 2008 and now based at the Savoy in London, his sold-out Literary Salon premieres new work from emerging and established writers and guests including David Nicholls, Caitlin Moran and Bret Easton Ellis. www.theliterarysalon.co.uk  In this podcast we reflect on his bestselling memoir, Maggie and Me and Damian shares moving insights on the adversity he suffered growing up in Scotland. He also shares insights on the creative process and we get a sneak preview into Damian's next book You Will Be Safe Here.  If you enjoy this podcast you can read our Top 10 Bestseller, GREAT TRAITS available on Amazon

Bruce Fordyce (@BruceFordycerun) is a South African marathon and ultramarathon runner. He is best known for having won the worlds largest and oldest ultramarathon, the South African Comrades Marathon (89km or 56 miles) a record nine times. Eight of his wins were consecutive (1979-88). He also won the 100km London to Brighton Marathon three years in a row (1981-83). He is the current world record holder over the distance of 50 miles and the former world record holder over 100 km. Bruce has written two books about the Comrades Marathon, he was also a sports columnist for various newspapers and he is the founder of Parkrun, a weekly 5km running event in South Africa which is free to all participants. In 2004, he was voted in the list of Top 100 Great South Africans. On this podcast we talk about Bruce's running career, his training and preparation for ultra marathon events, the mindset behind endurance events and his views on food and diet. For legal reasons please note that Bruce's comments regarding diet and exercise are general comments and do not constitute specific medical advice. Before making any changes to your diet seek professional and medical advice tailored to your individual circumstances. Before you start or stop or change any physical activity or exercise programme always consult your doctor for specific medical advice. In the podcast you will hear a brief interlude with a third person, this is Bruce's sister, who kindly let us record the podcast at her house!

Karen Darke (@kdarke) is a Paralympic Gold Medallist and adventurer. Karen was always a keen runner, climber and all round outdoor addict but aged 19, she fell off a cliff and became paralysed from the chest down. With creativity and perseverance she has lived an extraordinary life and proven that almost anything is still possible. Karen has crossed mountains in Central Asia on a hand bike; completed a 600 kilometre journey across Greenland on a sit-ski and climbed the one kilometre high rock face of El Capitan, in Yosemite National Park. Currently, she is a full time athlete with the British Para-Cycling Team. In Rio in 2016 she won a Paralympic gold in the Handcycling road race. Karen is truly an inspirational character. On this podcast we talk a lot about mindset, Karen's approach to dealing with fear and other psychological tips and tricks. We also talk about Karen's incredible expeditions and what she hopes to achieve from now on. www.karendarke.com

Simon is a maverick entrepreneur. He is the founder of YO! Sushi, YOTEL, YO! Home and all things YO! Simon left school at the age of 16 with just two o-levels. He spent 30 years in the entertainment business designing and staging concerts for many artists, including The Moody Blues, Madness, Rod Stewart, Stevie Wonder and George Michael. In 1997 Simon founded YO! Sushi, the UK's only conveyor belt sushi bar. The concept turned dining out into a complete entertainment experience, featuring call buttons, robot drinks trolleys and Japanese TV. The first restaurant opened in the heart of Soho and became an overnight phenomenon. Today, YO! Sushi continues to expand both at home and abroad and has opened 100 restaurants serving 6 million customers each year.  Simon was an original "Dragon" on BBC Two's worldwide hit program Dragons' Den, making (and breaking) the dreams of would-be entrepreneurs pitching business ideas for financing. Simon continues to develop new YO! brands today. YOTEL, is Simon's solution to boring and expensive hotels and with YO! Home, he has re-invented the city apartment. On this podcast we talk about goal setting, taking risks, self belief, set backs, the concept of luck, happiness and lifestyle.

On this month's podcast we meet Eliza Rebeiro, founder of the charity Lives Not Knives (@LNKCharity). The charity aims to prevent young people from carrying knives and becoming involved in gang culture. Eliza established Lives Not Knives at the age of just fourteen after witnessing a series of tragic stabbings in her local community in Croydon. Lives Not Knives began as a local community group selling t-shirts branded with the bold slogan LIVES NOT KNIVES to raise awareness. The t-shirts resonated with the local community and proved popular with friends so Eliza expanded production to a much larger scale. With the profits from t-shirt sales she then invested the proceeds in hosting a party to celebrate young people having fun without violence. The event was a huge success, hundreds of people attended and signed a petition to support making the streets safer and Lives Not Knives was officially formed. From its initial inception Lives Not Knives has evolved from a community group, to a campaign and is now a fully fledged charity helping to prevent knife crime and mentor young adults who are not in education or employment.  Everything that Eliza has accomplished so far shows a level of maturity and equanimity that belies her youth. From the depths of a profoundly tragic and negative situation Eliza has generated the most positive and constructive movement and has devoted herself to helping others. At the age of just twenty-four Eliza has already devoted nearly half her life to Lives Not Knives. She is an inspiration for young people and adults alike.

George Bullard (@georgebullardexplorer) is an explorer and world record holder. In 2008, at the age of just 19, George embarked on an expedition with Alex Hibbert to break the world record for the longest unsupported journey in a Polar region. After 113 days, hauling 200 kilos of equipment George and Alex covered 1,374miles to set a new world record. Their journey took them from the south-east corner of Greenland to the north-west coast of Greenland and back again. George has been pushing himself beyond the limits of human endurance for over a decade. His challenges have included swimming the English Channel, as well as cycling 2,500 miles from London to Greece. In 2016, George and his expedition partner Oly Hicks completed a world first by kayaking from Greenland to Scotland, which was a journey of 1,200 miles. They spent between 17-20 and hours a day paddling and had to sleep in their double kayak to complete the journey. In this podcast we talk about George's numerous adventures, his mindset, his motivation, the setbacks and the challenges he faced. We also talk about his expedition challenge company www.igoadventures.com