March 6, 2024 • 18 mins
In this episode we delve into the world of startups through the lens of wellbeing and mindfulness with our guest, Roberto Damante. As a key player in community and content across various startups, he offers a unique insight into how integrating principles of mindfulness can not only enhance personal wellbeing but also drive meaningful content creation and media engagement in the competitive startup landscape.
Note: Since the recording of this episode Roberto Damante is working with a different company but still in the same field of Community and Content.
Roberto takes us on his journey, sharing the challenges and triumphs of maintaining balance in a field known for its relentless pace. This episode is packed with practical advice for anyone in the startup ecosystem looking to elevate their approach to work through a more mindful and well-rounded perspective.
Tune in for a conversation that promises to enlighten, inspire, and offer a fresh take on achieving success and fulfilment in the high-energy world of startups. Whether you're deep in the hustle or just curious about incorporating more mindfulness into your professional life, you'll find valuable takeaways in Roberto's approach to wellness in work.
Roberto's unique viewpoint, mature wisdom, and conscious mindset towards creativity and entrepreneurship will undoubtedly inspire audiences. Don't miss this enlightening episode.
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This episode was recorded in June 2023 at the Tropical Innovation Festival in Cairns QLD https://www.tropicalinnovationfestival.com.au/.
For The Creatives Podcast https://www.instagram.com/forthecreativespodcast/
Roberto Damante https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertodamante
Elisha Taderera https://www.instagram.com/nachyoafro
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the For the Creatives podcast, where we hear from creative people
at different stages of their innovation and creative journey in the hopes of inspiring us all.
I'm Elisha Tadrera, your host, and today's episode is Mindful Innovation,
Embracing Wellness in the Startup Hustle.
We're exploring a less talked about side of the startup world with our guest, Roberto De Monte.
(00:23):
This episode isn't just about what we create, but how we create it,
focusing on the mindset and practices that lead to impact and meaningful work. Let's dive in.
Hey, Roberto, thanks for joining me on the podcast today. Thanks so much for doing this, Elijah.
So, before we get into it, tell me, what are you really passionate about?
I'm passionate about lots of things. Look, I'm really passionate about my mission
(00:45):
at the moment with the Regional Angel Investor Network, supporting startups
around Australia and angel investors.
The startup ecosystem is really new to me, and so I love immersing myself in
the the community because it's so incredibly enthusiastic and inspiring.
I love it. It's really, for me at the moment, it's almost like a hobby.
It's personal and professional development, learning so much about so many different industries.
(01:06):
And the great thing is in my work, one day you're learning about agriculture,
then you're learning about med tech, then fintech, then prop tech.
You get to expose yourself to so many different people and so many different
things. But on a personal level, I'm really passionate about yoga.
I'm a yoga teacher and meditation.
So I love that side of things as well. And my health and fitness,
I think is pretty important to me. So personal and professional,
(01:27):
there's a lot of great things going on. Yeah, no, that's amazing.
I would never have thought to ask about yoga or meditation.
Yeah. I think it's important. I think it's really important in what we do.
I think founders are so incredibly passionate and enthusiastic about what they
do and equally anyone in the startup ecosystem, but it's easy to burn out and
it's easy to give 150% all the time.
(01:49):
So I think I've I've learned over the past decade how much yoga and meditation
is important to me to disconnect so I can reconnect with myself.
Yeah. And it's really important, I think.
Yeah, no, I agree. I think as founders, you know, who are, like you're saying,
passionate about what we do, we can get, we can blur the lines between,
you know, rest and work because work can sometimes feel like play,
(02:11):
but it's still taxing on us. Absolutely.
It's that mental drain and just emotionally. You put so much energy into it.
I can empathize. Absolutely.
So, you mentioned that you work for the Regional Angel Investors Network.
Yeah. So, what is your role? Tell us a bit about that. So, the Regional Angel
Investors Network is, for short, we'll just say RAIN.
(02:31):
I'm the head of community and content. So, I have a fantastic role on a really
grassroots level. It's really...
Connecting with communities and incubators and accelerators and startups and
saying, what do you need?
And sometimes it's capital, obviously. Sometimes it's council, a bit of mentorship.
Sometimes it's just connections and pointing in the right direction.
And I really enjoy that aspect of community because it's massively important,
(02:56):
especially in this ecosystem.
And the other side is content. So I get to tell fantastic stories of innovators
and entrepreneurs entrepreneurs all over Australia.
And I think there's nothing better than that. Yeah, that's amazing.
When it comes to content though, how do you feel about, like,
I feel like everyone is bulk creating mediocre, rubbish content.
(03:17):
How do you feel about that? And how do you try to avoid doing that in your own
work? I have a rule where I want to inspire, educate, and entertain.
You can sometimes just do one of the three, right?
You can get up and entertain if that's the purpose for the audience,
but I want to to be able to affect the audience.
So there's, I'm not just adding to the noise, no matter what,
platform and I've done it all, whether it's TV or audio, whether it's anything on anything online,
(03:43):
I've done all sorts of marketing and content that I always stop and check myself
and think, what am I adding to the audience?
What does the audience really need first and foremost?
And am I giving it to them and packing it together in an impactful way?
I want people to walk away all three. I've learned something.
(04:03):
I'm inspired by something. And yeah, maybe I had a laugh along the way.
Or maybe sometimes it's a matter of being touched by something, somebody's story.
Yeah. I like that. But you're creating content with intention and purpose. Absolutely.
Intention. Just not adding to the noise. I think it's so important.
Not adding to the noise. Yeah.
So we're here at the Tropical Innovation Festival. So I've got a bit of a wacky
question for you that needs a bit of an innovative reply, answer.
(04:26):
So I'm going to throw this at you.
How would you invent a use for a single chopstick? Whoa.
I would first have to think about the intention of what I would like to affect.
So a single, this is a good question.
(04:50):
Because immediately I think of poking and prodding something,
but I'm thinking if I wanted to do something that was a little bit more impactful
and meant something, okay, single use chopsticks.
What if I was using them for holding up plants, you know, plant stems?
I mean, hey, that could work. Because the first thing that comes to mind is
(05:10):
just poking dumplings and shoving them in my mouth.
So, I don't think that's what we want.
Just eating a bowl of rice with one. It's the same thing with two chopsticks.
Just one chopstick. Just poke my food and shove it in.
I don't think about that one in bed tonight. Thanks for that.
That's all right. Get back to me if you have any new ideas. Yeah,
I need to be a little bit more innovative with that one. I need to trademark a product.
(05:32):
Now, coming back to a bit more of a professional question. question.
What challenges are you personally facing in your personal and professional development?
I certainly think the balance between the two, between what I love with work
and I guess tuning out, like we spoke about earlier.
I also think, and keep myself in check, what you were talking about earlier,
it's just sometimes you can give so much, right? And you think,
(05:53):
but I also think keep myself in check.
I sometimes catch myself and remember to have a friend, you have to be a friend, right?
And so I like to show up of value, whether it's personally or professionally?
What can I offer? How can I be of service first and foremost?
And I think the challenge for me is sometimes I have an expectation that I either
(06:14):
deserve or I should one day get something in return. And I've.
Keep myself in check in recent years and thinking, no, keep showing up,
keep giving and keep being a value and a service and don't think about what's in it for me.
I think sometimes I have in the past thought about what's in it for me and I
(06:34):
realized I didn't like the energy of myself or what I was giving in that case.
So if I did whatever it is in no expectation, that's my challenge to just catch
myself and make sure that I'm doing it for whomever with that intention and purpose.
It sounds like a really healthy level of self-awareness. Not easy.
I think yoga meditation gets to the point where that's the thing.
We've all got it. We all need to keep ourselves in check in some way.
(06:57):
I feel like it may not be a healthy thing, but it's a fairly natural thing for
us to try to do is to be selfish.
Yeah. Even keep catching myself. I'll give you another good example.
When I find myself getting jealous and think, God, I wish I could do that or wish I had done that.
That's when I think, oh, that is speaking to me so much that my spirit is saying,
(07:18):
step up. Like, you know you can.
And if you feel that, that's for me, that's the challenge going,
then do it. So instead of feeling jealousy and getting annoyed or angry,
you're being empowered and inspired.
You know the word, and I love this. Let me share this with you in the audience.
The word inspired, think about what that comes from. In spirit.
(07:40):
So when you are inspired by something, it has touched your spirit.
So for you to feel your spirit, maybe hair stand on the back of your neck,
or maybe you get goosebumps.
For your spirit to feel that inspiration, do not deny it.
Yeah. Because you are denying yourself whatever that message is.
So I think that's what's really important. Anytime I'm inspired or I feel that
(08:01):
jealousy, I'm like, oh, that is speaking to me on a real deep level.
I need to move towards it.
And I feel like along those lines, I know that from my experience,
and I feel like yours might be somewhat similar, is that I've had to do quite
a bit of self-work, figuring out who I am, what I care about, what I value.
But then when those situations come up as well, the more grounded I am,
(08:23):
the stronger girl like my identity is i can sort of
make i have more of that self-awareness i can make those decisions and
determine that better yeah so that's one thing i'm sort of just encouraging
people is to do some of that you know work on themselves some of that personal
development to figure out who they are so that when something comes up they
may not even actually then get jealous about it initially like that reaction
like would hopefully change over time as well that initial reaction Doing the work,
(08:48):
whatever that means to people, the work in doing the work is really important,
but also being kind to yourself.
And I think, and going, what's my anchor, my values.
I think going back there is really important, but doing the work is important.
And also giving yourself that love and attention to go, actually,
I'm still working on it. Just going, yeah, I haven't got it right yet.
(09:10):
I'm perfectly imperfect. perfect. You know, you don't have to get it right.
Not catching yourself all the time. Cause that is also exhausting.
It is exhausting. Sometimes you're going to mess up. Sometimes you think at
the end of the day, I wasn't so proud of myself. Okay.
Yeah. Feel it. Acknowledge it. Realize it. Don't beat yourself up.
Because we've all done it. I've done it.
And it's not fun for yourself or anyone around you. I agree.
(09:33):
So I think you were talking about like what anchors us. One of my anchors,
which I share a bit about on here, is my faith.
For you, you were talking about values. Like sort of what, is there like a key
value or something that is sort of your main, your anchor or something you,
I don't know, hold fast to?
I, I personally, I'm really proud of what we're doing with RAINN because we
(09:56):
are incredibly curious and supportive.
And I just love kind of the community around what we're building as well.
Personally, I feel the same. I want to instill those values in myself of just
being of support. And I think of being of service.
Yeah. Um, yeah, I do like to keep myself in check, I guess.
I think about my own faith and whether you call it God or Yahweh or the universe
(10:19):
or whatever it is, I think my realization is I'm part of something bigger.
Yeah. And I think kind of leaving the ego back a little bit and thinking I'm
just a tiny part of whatever this whole big picture is.
So whether, whatever people's faith is, just have faith that,
and I'm going to use the word God, your relationship with God is personal between you and God.
Nobody else has that. You can call it God, universe, Yahweh,
(10:40):
whatever. You can pray, you can have your thought, whatever it is.
You are setting a positive intention, but that is between you and nobody else.
And I think that's really what faith is.
I feel like when we believe we're part of something bigger than ourselves,
that helps take the focus off of ourself a bit as well.
Absolutely. And that's what this whole startup ecosystem is about.
(11:02):
Everyone's helping each other, connecting. It takes a village.
No one is in a silo. And I love that everyone's so willing to say yes.
People are so busy, but always willing to help each other. And I think that's
brilliant. What advice would you give to someone trying to find their balance?
I think to each his own. Yeah. And so I think retreating sometimes.
(11:23):
Personally, I think retreating sometimes and going back to, I guess,
anchoring myself, figuring out what it is I want, what it is I stand for,
and then figuring out if everything around me is really aligning to that or not.
And it is okay to then, in that case, move job, move friendship groups.
Sometimes it might mean distancing yourself from family or partners.
(11:45):
You know, it's sometimes you
think I'm going in a new place and it's important that I elevate, right?
Yeah, no, I agree. It can be difficult. It looks a bit different for everyone.
Everyone says, right, what's that saying that nothing easy happens in your comfort zone.
So if you're going to grow and elevate, but there is also the choice.
You do not have to grow. You do not have to elevate.
(12:06):
You do not have to have a start up and move forward with that idea.
You do not have to put your money where your mouth is. You can just stay on
the couch if you want, but it's all a choice.
I know. And that's, I think what I talk a lot about is 100% ownership,
100% responsibility for your actions.
Because like you're saying, it's completely okay if you do want to sit on the
couch, but don't sit on the couch, complain that your life is a mess,
that everything's going against you and that, you know, the world is against you.
(12:29):
You, within some limits and slightly slightly different for different people,
but within most reason, you have control on how you're living your life or what you're going to do.
Yeah, absolutely. I think we're all masters of our own destiny.
We all have that control.
So what would you say is your superpower? What is my superpower? You know what?
(12:52):
I'm starting to realize a little bit more I'm going to own some superpowers.
I am naturally enthusiastic and inquisitive and I do connect the dots with people.
And if somebody needs something and I've spoken to or I know somebody else that
might be able to support in some way, I'll bring it together and I'll make it happen.
(13:13):
So I think that relationship building and connecting is quite a superpower.
Yeah, that's so good. I know Jared Townsend here from Advanced Queensland.
He's running the Dot Connector program. and he was talking a lot about that
yesterday. That was beautiful.
Yeah, it was really good. And how we all can be that person.
Some people like yourself, like you were saying, more naturally talented and gifted at it.
(13:36):
But yeah, I think I really dislike gatekeepers.
And the term gatekeeper has been going around a bit, but there's really no,
there's not much benefit for me, like, you know, not introducing someone to
someone else because, you know, I think, you know, there'll be less of an opportunity
for me for something, if that makes sense.
I think there is an abundance of everything for everyone. And I think the more
you give, the more you'll get.
That talk absolutely resonated with me as well, the dot connecting.
(14:00):
I think it's a beautiful thing. And on the gatekeeper point,
I think, yeah, there can be hurdles and barriers in gatekeepers.
And I think what's interesting is.
Find out what that gatekeeper needs and wants, right?
Because there is a reason. So, figure that out and talk to that and give them something of value.
And then I think that gate will open up. Yeah. No, 100%.
(14:21):
So, we're at the Tropical Innovation Festival. There's some pretty amazing sessions
happening, some pretty great discussions and networking.
So, I've got a few questions for you in a moment about that.
But first, I have some rapid fire questions.
So, I need you to answer these. Top stick question. I took all the thought I
have. I'm definitely going to take a nap now.
(14:42):
I will 100% admit that those initial wacky questions were generated by ChatGPT.
ChatGPT, you're the answer. I'm going to Google, I'm going to find ChatGPT,
what do you do with one chopstick?
I'm actually really interested in that answer. Why are you asking me these rapid
fire questions? I want to find out. out.
All right. So three questions. Number one, if you had an extra hour every day, how would you use it?
(15:10):
You know what? I had a yoga teacher that once said to me, everyone would benefit
from doing 20 minutes of meditation a day.
And if you're too busy to do 20 minutes, then do an hour.
Okay. So I think if you had the extra hour in the day, I think I,
maybe all of us would be better off by switching off for that hour. Okay.
Next, Next, who's an innovator, an entrepreneur, or a business owner that you look up to?
(15:35):
Honestly, the founder of the Regional Angel Investor Network,
Sam El-Maliki, is an incredibly inspiring man.
He was a refugee from Iraq, came to Australia. He's had some incredible success,
not some, a lot of incredible success. I find him truly inspiring.
I admire his work and I'm thrilled that I could support him in his mission as
the leader of RAINN. Yeah, that's amazing. Last one.
(15:57):
What is one tech tool or software that you can't live without?
You know what? I could definitely live out with Slack notifications pinging.
That's so triggering, but at the same time, it's a great app.
I feel like my phone has become a big part, but more than anything,
(16:19):
I just think I need my music.
That will always recalibrate me. Spotify or Apple Music? Spotify.
Yes. Right answer. Spotify.
As much as I'm an Apple cult fan, Spotify music is the way to go.
Can I, with one, should we finish the rapid trip? Can I tell you what ChatGPT
told me about with one chopstick, you can use it as a utensil to pick up small
items like vegetables or pieces of fruit.
(16:40):
You can use it to stir small amounts of liquids or reach into tight spaces.
I think my answer is the same as what ChatGPT.
All right. Well, thank you for your time. Thank you. Now, with the Tropical
Innovation Festival, what makes the Tropical Innovation Festival different?
For someone who hasn't been yet, so it's been three years running,
we both know it's great. But what do you think makes it different?
(17:03):
It's not just a conference. It is a festival. Yeah. It is a celebration of ideas.
It's a celebration of entrepreneurs.
It's a celebration of all the people that come together. And everyone here comes
with the same values and philosophies of showing up in every sense.
Yeah, I like that. I agree. And what is your personal reason to recommend attending
(17:26):
the Tropical Innovation Festival next year?
I think whether you're stuck in life, whether you're stuck with an idea,
or whether you are not stuck and you are moving really fast,
this is a place where everyone and everything in the energy of the people will support your journey.
Yeah i love that so good well
(17:47):
thank you roberto for joining me today and
having a chat and sharing some of those insights um it was a pleasure to have
you on and i hope we connect further down the track thank you so much really
appreciate what you're doing because i think giving voice to everyone and doing
this is really important and i will see you on the podcast 2024 gail all right thanks.
Welcome to the For the Creatives podcast, where we hear from creative people
at different stages of their innovation and creative journey in the hopes of inspiring us all.
I'm Elisha Tadrera, your host, and today's episode is Mindful Innovation,
Embracing Wellness in the Startup Hustle.
We're exploring a less talked about side of the startup world with our guest, Roberto De Monte.
(00:23):
This episode isn't just about what we create, but how we create it,
focusing on the mindset and practices that lead to impact and meaningful work. Let's dive in.
Hey, Roberto, thanks for joining me on the podcast today. Thanks so much for doing this, Elijah.
So, before we get into it, tell me, what are you really passionate about?
I'm passionate about lots of things. Look, I'm really passionate about my mission
(00:45):
at the moment with the Regional Angel Investor Network, supporting startups
around Australia and angel investors.
The startup ecosystem is really new to me, and so I love immersing myself in
the the community because it's so incredibly enthusiastic and inspiring.
I love it. It's really, for me at the moment, it's almost like a hobby.
It's personal and professional development, learning so much about so many different industries.
(01:06):
And the great thing is in my work, one day you're learning about agriculture,
then you're learning about med tech, then fintech, then prop tech.
You get to expose yourself to so many different people and so many different
things. But on a personal level, I'm really passionate about yoga.
I'm a yoga teacher and meditation.
So I love that side of things as well. And my health and fitness,
I think is pretty important to me. So personal and professional,
(01:27):
there's a lot of great things going on. Yeah, no, that's amazing.
I would never have thought to ask about yoga or meditation.
Yeah. I think it's important. I think it's really important in what we do.
I think founders are so incredibly passionate and enthusiastic about what they
do and equally anyone in the startup ecosystem, but it's easy to burn out and
it's easy to give 150% all the time.
(01:49):
So I think I've I've learned over the past decade how much yoga and meditation
is important to me to disconnect so I can reconnect with myself.
Yeah. And it's really important, I think.
Yeah, no, I agree. I think as founders, you know, who are, like you're saying,
passionate about what we do, we can get, we can blur the lines between,
you know, rest and work because work can sometimes feel like play,
(02:11):
but it's still taxing on us. Absolutely.
It's that mental drain and just emotionally. You put so much energy into it.
I can empathize. Absolutely.
So, you mentioned that you work for the Regional Angel Investors Network.
Yeah. So, what is your role? Tell us a bit about that. So, the Regional Angel
Investors Network is, for short, we'll just say RAIN.
(02:31):
I'm the head of community and content. So, I have a fantastic role on a really
grassroots level. It's really...
Connecting with communities and incubators and accelerators and startups and
saying, what do you need?
And sometimes it's capital, obviously. Sometimes it's council, a bit of mentorship.
Sometimes it's just connections and pointing in the right direction.
And I really enjoy that aspect of community because it's massively important,
(02:56):
especially in this ecosystem.
And the other side is content. So I get to tell fantastic stories of innovators
and entrepreneurs entrepreneurs all over Australia.
And I think there's nothing better than that. Yeah, that's amazing.
When it comes to content though, how do you feel about, like,
I feel like everyone is bulk creating mediocre, rubbish content.
(03:17):
How do you feel about that? And how do you try to avoid doing that in your own
work? I have a rule where I want to inspire, educate, and entertain.
You can sometimes just do one of the three, right?
You can get up and entertain if that's the purpose for the audience,
but I want to to be able to affect the audience.
So there's, I'm not just adding to the noise, no matter what,
platform and I've done it all, whether it's TV or audio, whether it's anything on anything online,
(03:43):
I've done all sorts of marketing and content that I always stop and check myself
and think, what am I adding to the audience?
What does the audience really need first and foremost?
And am I giving it to them and packing it together in an impactful way?
I want people to walk away all three. I've learned something.
(04:03):
I'm inspired by something. And yeah, maybe I had a laugh along the way.
Or maybe sometimes it's a matter of being touched by something, somebody's story.
Yeah. I like that. But you're creating content with intention and purpose. Absolutely.
Intention. Just not adding to the noise. I think it's so important.
Not adding to the noise. Yeah.
So we're here at the Tropical Innovation Festival. So I've got a bit of a wacky
question for you that needs a bit of an innovative reply, answer.
(04:26):
So I'm going to throw this at you.
How would you invent a use for a single chopstick? Whoa.
I would first have to think about the intention of what I would like to affect.
So a single, this is a good question.
(04:50):
Because immediately I think of poking and prodding something,
but I'm thinking if I wanted to do something that was a little bit more impactful
and meant something, okay, single use chopsticks.
What if I was using them for holding up plants, you know, plant stems?
I mean, hey, that could work. Because the first thing that comes to mind is
(05:10):
just poking dumplings and shoving them in my mouth.
So, I don't think that's what we want.
Just eating a bowl of rice with one. It's the same thing with two chopsticks.
Just one chopstick. Just poke my food and shove it in.
I don't think about that one in bed tonight. Thanks for that.
That's all right. Get back to me if you have any new ideas. Yeah,
I need to be a little bit more innovative with that one. I need to trademark a product.
(05:32):
Now, coming back to a bit more of a professional question. question.
What challenges are you personally facing in your personal and professional development?
I certainly think the balance between the two, between what I love with work
and I guess tuning out, like we spoke about earlier.
I also think, and keep myself in check, what you were talking about earlier,
it's just sometimes you can give so much, right? And you think,
(05:53):
but I also think keep myself in check.
I sometimes catch myself and remember to have a friend, you have to be a friend, right?
And so I like to show up of value, whether it's personally or professionally?
What can I offer? How can I be of service first and foremost?
And I think the challenge for me is sometimes I have an expectation that I either
(06:14):
deserve or I should one day get something in return. And I've.
Keep myself in check in recent years and thinking, no, keep showing up,
keep giving and keep being a value and a service and don't think about what's in it for me.
I think sometimes I have in the past thought about what's in it for me and I
(06:34):
realized I didn't like the energy of myself or what I was giving in that case.
So if I did whatever it is in no expectation, that's my challenge to just catch
myself and make sure that I'm doing it for whomever with that intention and purpose.
It sounds like a really healthy level of self-awareness. Not easy.
I think yoga meditation gets to the point where that's the thing.
We've all got it. We all need to keep ourselves in check in some way.
(06:57):
I feel like it may not be a healthy thing, but it's a fairly natural thing for
us to try to do is to be selfish.
Yeah. Even keep catching myself. I'll give you another good example.
When I find myself getting jealous and think, God, I wish I could do that or wish I had done that.
That's when I think, oh, that is speaking to me so much that my spirit is saying,
(07:18):
step up. Like, you know you can.
And if you feel that, that's for me, that's the challenge going,
then do it. So instead of feeling jealousy and getting annoyed or angry,
you're being empowered and inspired.
You know the word, and I love this. Let me share this with you in the audience.
The word inspired, think about what that comes from. In spirit.
(07:40):
So when you are inspired by something, it has touched your spirit.
So for you to feel your spirit, maybe hair stand on the back of your neck,
or maybe you get goosebumps.
For your spirit to feel that inspiration, do not deny it.
Yeah. Because you are denying yourself whatever that message is.
So I think that's what's really important. Anytime I'm inspired or I feel that
(08:01):
jealousy, I'm like, oh, that is speaking to me on a real deep level.
I need to move towards it.
And I feel like along those lines, I know that from my experience,
and I feel like yours might be somewhat similar, is that I've had to do quite
a bit of self-work, figuring out who I am, what I care about, what I value.
But then when those situations come up as well, the more grounded I am,
(08:23):
the stronger girl like my identity is i can sort of
make i have more of that self-awareness i can make those decisions and
determine that better yeah so that's one thing i'm sort of just encouraging
people is to do some of that you know work on themselves some of that personal
development to figure out who they are so that when something comes up they
may not even actually then get jealous about it initially like that reaction
like would hopefully change over time as well that initial reaction Doing the work,
(08:48):
whatever that means to people, the work in doing the work is really important,
but also being kind to yourself.
And I think, and going, what's my anchor, my values.
I think going back there is really important, but doing the work is important.
And also giving yourself that love and attention to go, actually,
I'm still working on it. Just going, yeah, I haven't got it right yet.
(09:10):
I'm perfectly imperfect. perfect. You know, you don't have to get it right.
Not catching yourself all the time. Cause that is also exhausting.
It is exhausting. Sometimes you're going to mess up. Sometimes you think at
the end of the day, I wasn't so proud of myself. Okay.
Yeah. Feel it. Acknowledge it. Realize it. Don't beat yourself up.
Because we've all done it. I've done it.
And it's not fun for yourself or anyone around you. I agree.
(09:33):
So I think you were talking about like what anchors us. One of my anchors,
which I share a bit about on here, is my faith.
For you, you were talking about values. Like sort of what, is there like a key
value or something that is sort of your main, your anchor or something you,
I don't know, hold fast to?
I, I personally, I'm really proud of what we're doing with RAINN because we
(09:56):
are incredibly curious and supportive.
And I just love kind of the community around what we're building as well.
Personally, I feel the same. I want to instill those values in myself of just
being of support. And I think of being of service.
Yeah. Um, yeah, I do like to keep myself in check, I guess.
I think about my own faith and whether you call it God or Yahweh or the universe
(10:19):
or whatever it is, I think my realization is I'm part of something bigger.
Yeah. And I think kind of leaving the ego back a little bit and thinking I'm
just a tiny part of whatever this whole big picture is.
So whether, whatever people's faith is, just have faith that,
and I'm going to use the word God, your relationship with God is personal between you and God.
Nobody else has that. You can call it God, universe, Yahweh,
(10:40):
whatever. You can pray, you can have your thought, whatever it is.
You are setting a positive intention, but that is between you and nobody else.
And I think that's really what faith is.
I feel like when we believe we're part of something bigger than ourselves,
that helps take the focus off of ourself a bit as well.
Absolutely. And that's what this whole startup ecosystem is about.
(11:02):
Everyone's helping each other, connecting. It takes a village.
No one is in a silo. And I love that everyone's so willing to say yes.
People are so busy, but always willing to help each other. And I think that's
brilliant. What advice would you give to someone trying to find their balance?
I think to each his own. Yeah. And so I think retreating sometimes.
(11:23):
Personally, I think retreating sometimes and going back to, I guess,
anchoring myself, figuring out what it is I want, what it is I stand for,
and then figuring out if everything around me is really aligning to that or not.
And it is okay to then, in that case, move job, move friendship groups.
Sometimes it might mean distancing yourself from family or partners.
(11:45):
You know, it's sometimes you
think I'm going in a new place and it's important that I elevate, right?
Yeah, no, I agree. It can be difficult. It looks a bit different for everyone.
Everyone says, right, what's that saying that nothing easy happens in your comfort zone.
So if you're going to grow and elevate, but there is also the choice.
You do not have to grow. You do not have to elevate.
(12:06):
You do not have to have a start up and move forward with that idea.
You do not have to put your money where your mouth is. You can just stay on
the couch if you want, but it's all a choice.
I know. And that's, I think what I talk a lot about is 100% ownership,
100% responsibility for your actions.
Because like you're saying, it's completely okay if you do want to sit on the
couch, but don't sit on the couch, complain that your life is a mess,
that everything's going against you and that, you know, the world is against you.
(12:29):
You, within some limits and slightly slightly different for different people,
but within most reason, you have control on how you're living your life or what you're going to do.
Yeah, absolutely. I think we're all masters of our own destiny.
We all have that control.
So what would you say is your superpower? What is my superpower? You know what?
(12:52):
I'm starting to realize a little bit more I'm going to own some superpowers.
I am naturally enthusiastic and inquisitive and I do connect the dots with people.
And if somebody needs something and I've spoken to or I know somebody else that
might be able to support in some way, I'll bring it together and I'll make it happen.
(13:13):
So I think that relationship building and connecting is quite a superpower.
Yeah, that's so good. I know Jared Townsend here from Advanced Queensland.
He's running the Dot Connector program. and he was talking a lot about that
yesterday. That was beautiful.
Yeah, it was really good. And how we all can be that person.
Some people like yourself, like you were saying, more naturally talented and gifted at it.
(13:36):
But yeah, I think I really dislike gatekeepers.
And the term gatekeeper has been going around a bit, but there's really no,
there's not much benefit for me, like, you know, not introducing someone to
someone else because, you know, I think, you know, there'll be less of an opportunity
for me for something, if that makes sense.
I think there is an abundance of everything for everyone. And I think the more
you give, the more you'll get.
That talk absolutely resonated with me as well, the dot connecting.
(14:00):
I think it's a beautiful thing. And on the gatekeeper point,
I think, yeah, there can be hurdles and barriers in gatekeepers.
And I think what's interesting is.
Find out what that gatekeeper needs and wants, right?
Because there is a reason. So, figure that out and talk to that and give them something of value.
And then I think that gate will open up. Yeah. No, 100%.
(14:21):
So, we're at the Tropical Innovation Festival. There's some pretty amazing sessions
happening, some pretty great discussions and networking.
So, I've got a few questions for you in a moment about that.
But first, I have some rapid fire questions.
So, I need you to answer these. Top stick question. I took all the thought I
have. I'm definitely going to take a nap now.
(14:42):
I will 100% admit that those initial wacky questions were generated by ChatGPT.
ChatGPT, you're the answer. I'm going to Google, I'm going to find ChatGPT,
what do you do with one chopstick?
I'm actually really interested in that answer. Why are you asking me these rapid
fire questions? I want to find out. out.
All right. So three questions. Number one, if you had an extra hour every day, how would you use it?
(15:10):
You know what? I had a yoga teacher that once said to me, everyone would benefit
from doing 20 minutes of meditation a day.
And if you're too busy to do 20 minutes, then do an hour.
Okay. So I think if you had the extra hour in the day, I think I,
maybe all of us would be better off by switching off for that hour. Okay.
Next, Next, who's an innovator, an entrepreneur, or a business owner that you look up to?
(15:35):
Honestly, the founder of the Regional Angel Investor Network,
Sam El-Maliki, is an incredibly inspiring man.
He was a refugee from Iraq, came to Australia. He's had some incredible success,
not some, a lot of incredible success. I find him truly inspiring.
I admire his work and I'm thrilled that I could support him in his mission as
the leader of RAINN. Yeah, that's amazing. Last one.
(15:57):
What is one tech tool or software that you can't live without?
You know what? I could definitely live out with Slack notifications pinging.
That's so triggering, but at the same time, it's a great app.
I feel like my phone has become a big part, but more than anything,
(16:19):
I just think I need my music.
That will always recalibrate me. Spotify or Apple Music? Spotify.
Yes. Right answer. Spotify.
As much as I'm an Apple cult fan, Spotify music is the way to go.
Can I, with one, should we finish the rapid trip? Can I tell you what ChatGPT
told me about with one chopstick, you can use it as a utensil to pick up small
items like vegetables or pieces of fruit.
(16:40):
You can use it to stir small amounts of liquids or reach into tight spaces.
I think my answer is the same as what ChatGPT.
All right. Well, thank you for your time. Thank you. Now, with the Tropical
Innovation Festival, what makes the Tropical Innovation Festival different?
For someone who hasn't been yet, so it's been three years running,
we both know it's great. But what do you think makes it different?
(17:03):
It's not just a conference. It is a festival. Yeah. It is a celebration of ideas.
It's a celebration of entrepreneurs.
It's a celebration of all the people that come together. And everyone here comes
with the same values and philosophies of showing up in every sense.
Yeah, I like that. I agree. And what is your personal reason to recommend attending
(17:26):
the Tropical Innovation Festival next year?
I think whether you're stuck in life, whether you're stuck with an idea,
or whether you are not stuck and you are moving really fast,
this is a place where everyone and everything in the energy of the people will support your journey.
Yeah i love that so good well
(17:47):
thank you roberto for joining me today and
having a chat and sharing some of those insights um it was a pleasure to have
you on and i hope we connect further down the track thank you so much really
appreciate what you're doing because i think giving voice to everyone and doing
this is really important and i will see you on the podcast 2024 gail all right thanks.
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