The You Project - podcast cover

The You Project

Craig Harperwww.craigharper.net

The You Project is a 30-90 minute dose of inspiration and education hosted by Craig Harper with great stories, ideas, strategies and lessons from high-performers in sport, business, science, media and health.

 

Episodes

#1825 Being the White Belt - Harps & Tiff

For me, this was one of the most enjoyable, relevant, funny and amusing podcasts Tiff and I have done in a long time. While it's impossible to be objective about something you're in the middle of, to me it felt like a conversation that most people will connect with, relate to, benefit from or laugh at somewhere along the way. We spoke about 'getting good' at stuff, the social appeal and value of humility, our mutual inability to follow a script (versus going freestyle), my favourite guests (and ...

Mar 14, 202537 minSeason 1Ep. 1825

#1824 The Bodybuilder & The Scientist - Keith Ellis & Paul Kirkham

Once upon a time (back in the old days), a Bodybuilder called Keith and a Scientist called Paul got together to create some nutritional products for themselves and a few friends to supplement and support their diet, training, and recovery. Three and a half decades later, they're still doing the same thing but on a slightly bigger scale. Since 1989, Max's (their company) has become one of the most successful and well-respected supplement companies in the world. This was a fun chat with two old fr...

Mar 13, 20251 hrSeason 1Ep. 1823

#1823 One-Legged Stools - David Gillespie

Gillespo's back talking about his tuba career (it was short-lived), his reluctant piano years, his total lack of musical aptitude (and tone-deafness) and he throws some shade at the validity of the 'ten thousand hours of practice makes perfect' theory (to be honest, l'm with him). We also talk about an amazing molecule (Molecule of the Year in 1992) that can blow sh*t up (literally), treat numerous cardiovascular issues (like angina) and is also used (broadly) to help blokes get an... ahem. you ...

Mar 12, 202532 minSeason 1Ep. 1823

#1822 The Two-World Theory | Harps & Tiff

This time on TYP, Tiff and I do a deep dive into the idea that you and I exist and operate in two-worlds; one that's external, physical, and visible (where 'life' happens) and another that's internal, non-physical, and invisible (where 'living' happens). We talk about the ever-present challenge of constantly navigating these two very-human 'places’. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mar 11, 202543 minSeason 1Ep. 1822

#1821 My Health Protocol - Harps (PT2)

While this episode has been requested hundreds of times, it definitely won't be of interest to all. For better or worse, some people want me to do an episode on my personal health protocol, so here it is. In it, I talk about my diet, training (weights, cardio, flexibility), supplements, caffeine intake, sleep protocol, biological age, current fitness and health status (as rated subjectively by me), current body-fat level, weight, medication, cognitive function and training, and lots more. Enjoy....

Mar 10, 202525 minSeason 1Ep. 1821

#1820 My Health Protocol - Harps (PT1)

While this episode has been requested hundreds of times, it definitely won't be of interest to all. For better or worse, some people want me to do an episode on my personal health protocol, so here it is. In it, I talk about my diet, training (weights, cardio, flexibility), supplements, caffeine intake, sleep protocol, biological age, current fitness and health status (as rated subjectively by me), current body-fat level, weight, medication, cognitive function and training, and lots more. Enjoy....

Mar 09, 202541 minSeason 1Ep. 1820

#1819 Our Lumpy Friendship - Bobby Cappuccio

Bobby and I have been friends for about twenty-five years and it hasn't always been smooth sailing. Mostly yes, but not always. There have been some hard conversations, healthy disagreements, slightly-less-healthy disagreements and the odd honest misunderstanding but underneath it all, there was (is) always love, trust, respect and a strong brotherly bond. And fun, silly-ness and laughter. Of course. I liked this chat where we both got a little vulnerable and raw and spoke about all-things commu...

Mar 08, 202549 minSeason 1Ep. 1819

#1818 The AI Doctor Is In - Patrick Bonello

According to our resident Tai Chi-teaching, tech-obsessed, loveable, father-of-one (Fritz the wonder Schnauzer), more and more people are making an 'appointment' with 'Dr. ChatGPT' (or similar) to diagnose and treat whatever ails them. Of course, it seems like a terrible idea as Al gets stuff wrong but then, so do humans. Humans also get tired, hungry and distracted but Al doesn't. Personally, I'll keep consulting my human option but Al is certainly opening us all up to a new world of virtual po...

Mar 07, 202554 minSeason 1Ep. 1818

#1817 The Torture Of OCD - Brad McEwan

Brad McEwan is best known as an Australian Television Presenter and Sports Journalist, having hosted Network Ten's 'Sports Tonight' for almost a decade. Apart from being a media superstar (my words, not his), Brad and I have been friends for decades, having first met when he trained in one of my gyms. Brad is a man of depth, integrity and kindness and as always, this was a fascinating an insightful conversation where we went deep down the rabbit hole of OCD, anxiety, physical, mental and emotion...

Mar 06, 202557 minSeason 1Ep. 1817

#1816 The Proliferation of Coaches - Pete Shepherd

Health Coaches. Business Coaches. Executive Coaches. Life Coaches. Exercise Coaches. Mind Coaches. Nutrition Coaches. High-Performance Coaches. And on it goes. In the old days, my Coach was the bloke who screamed at me on the footy field. Back then there was only really one kind of coach; the sporting kind. Not anymore. In this episode Pete, Tiff and I talk about the good and bad, the how and how-not-to, the what-to-seek and what-to-avoid in the ever-expanding field of coaching. Enjoy. See omnys...

Mar 05, 202554 minSeason 1Ep. 1816

#1815 What's on the Other Side of Goals? - Harps & Tiff

This was a fun chat between the fledgling pianist and the old bogan, and we sure covered some ground. On the conversational menu was living authentically, the ten-thousand-hour mastery rule, the value of paying attention to the wisdom of our body (bio-feedback), the other side of goals, the benefit in doing something 'un-you', the willingness to bravely 'be the worst' at something (in the beginning) and Tiff's curious tendency to say the (non)word.. "haffening": Enjoy. See omnystudio.com/listene...

Mar 04, 202551 minSeason 1Ep. 1815

#1814 The Pill's Hidden Toll on Teenage Girls - David Gillespie

Well, this chat was a steep learning curve for the old bogan from Latrobe Valley. In this episode, Gillespo and I discuss the fascinating and complex history of the birth control pill - how a scientific breakthrough, a feminist movement, and a social revolution collided to change the world. But we also explore the unintended consequences, particularly for teenage girls. While the pill has empowered millions, emerging research suggests it may also pose serious risks to mental health, brain develo...

Mar 03, 202536 minSeason 1Ep. 1814

#1813 The Fence Sitter - Harps

In this thought-provoking episode of The You Project, we challenge the conventional wisdom that "picking a side" is always the right move. What if the most insightful perspective comes from the fence itself? We explore why our culture pushes us to choose teams, how tribal thinking warps our perception, and why maintaining thoughtful neutrality might be an act of courage rather than indecision. Join me as we examine the hidden benefits of seeing both sides and discover how "fence sitting" could b...

Mar 02, 202536 minSeason 1Ep. 1813

#1812 Is Biological Age BS? - Dr. Jeff Gross

This chat with Dr. Jeff was a conversational smorgasbord of health, medicine and human optimisation. The good Doc and I spoke about hormesis (where exposure to a low dose of a potentially harmful stressor triggers a beneficial adaptive response), the truth about biological age, melatonin, hormone replacement therapy (for men and women), heat shock proteins, senescent zombie cells and we even get Dr. Jeff's thoughts on the ramifications (good and bad) of the new US Government (the Doc lives in Ne...

Mar 01, 202554 minSeason 1Ep. 1812

#1811 The Perfect Parent - Dr. Sam Casey

I'm not a parent (so take this with a grain of salt) but I'm pretty sure that 'perfect parenting' is not the best or most realistic goal. In this chat, Dr. Sam and I discuss the pressure, expectations and demands (internal and external) around parenting in 2025, the 'thriving formula' for different kids, my very low-tech (no tech?) childhood compared with kids growing up never having seen a cow, walked in a forest, ridden a bike or played in mud, whether or not kids are more fearful now than a g...

Feb 28, 202540 minSeason 1Ep. 1811

#1810 The Healthy Eating Guidelines Disaster - David Gillespie

Imagine growing up in the Gillespie household; no chemicals, no processed food, no seed oils, lots of cow, chook and fish in the fridge, probably some weird kind of filtered water, and definitely not a gram of sugar in sight. This was a fun chat where the feather ruffler and I put the Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines under the microscope and also took a run at a few other controversial topics. Enjoy. substack.com/@davidgillespie147423 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....

Feb 27, 202540 minSeason 1Ep. 1810

#1809 Quit Every Day - Bobby Cappuccio

The super smart and loveable Bobby Cappuccio is back downloading the gold, as he does. Wow, this was a good chat (he says humbly). Well, I loved it; you might too. We spoke about the idea of 'quitting every day' (it'll make sense), self-compassion, ego-deconstructing experiences, the 'need' to be right, our shared experiences about being (essentially) dogmatic and unteachable (at times), electronic income-reducers (again, it'll make sense), Bobby's new-found agnosticism (to most things) and he s...

Feb 26, 202559 minSeason 1Ep. 1809

#1808 Are You Wasting Your Potential? - Harps

I'm fascinated with human potential; what's actually possible when somebody is genuinely prepared to do the work, face the fear, embrace the pain, overcome their self-sabotaging bulls**t and completely commit to the process of optimising what they have to work with. As someone who isn't wildly talented, brilliant or genetically gifted, l've long been obsessed with the challenge of defying my innate mediocrity and getting the most out of what l've got. This is a chat about that. See omnystudio.co...

Feb 25, 202531 minSeason 1Ep. 1808

#1807 What's Your Learning Potential? - Harps & Tiff

Is it weird that at sixty-one I feel like I'm learning like a teenager? And that l'm going through a 'cognitive growth spurt'? And that my brain feels like it 'works better' than it did in my forties? While I spend much of my life teaching and coaching, l'm also a life-long learner who is still excited about what's next in my never-ending classroom. In this informal chat, Tiff and I talk about the fun, value and anti-ageing benefits of being a perpetual student. Enjoy. See omnystudio.com/listene...

Feb 24, 202544 minSeason 1Ep. 1807

#1806 No D*ckhead Policy - Sally O'Connell

In an industry overflowing with male CEO's (Real Estate), Sally O'Connell is something of a unicorn; she is the CEO is of the very fancy-schmancy (my term, not theirs) Abercrombys Real Estate, which operates primarily at the end of the market that I won't be shopping in any time soon. This was a fun and insightful conversation with an old friend (and employee) who continues to evolve, learn and lead with a refreshing blend of intellect, empathy, common sense, passion and social intelligence. And...

Feb 23, 20251 hr 2 minSeason 1Ep. 1806

#1805 Rate Of Perceived Exertion (RPE) - Dr. Jodi Richardson

In Exercise Science there's a concept (tool, scale) that's used to assess how hard a person thinks they're working (1-10) based on their capacity, with 10 being their (perceived) absolute physical limit. It's called the 'Rate of Perceived Exertion' (RPE) scale. It's a subjective self-assessment (which makes it makes it more science-ish, than hard science) but nonetheless, I'm always interested in how hard people 'think' they're working (or perhaps, how much of their potential they think they're ...

Feb 22, 20251 hr 3 minSeason 1Ep. 1805

#1804 Should we be Scared of Technology? - Patrick Bonello

Technology scares the crap out of Mary Harper. It's a language she doesn't speak, a skill she doesn't have and at eighty-five, she doesn't want to learn it and I don't blame her. For people like my mum, even having a conversation with someone who lacks awareness, patience and/or empathy (a person in a business or on the end of a phone call perhaps) can result in confusion, frustration, embarrassment and even anxiety. For the 3.1 million Aussies aged 70 and above, the ever-shifting technological ...

Feb 21, 202558 minSeason 1Ep. 1804

#1803 Is God Relevant In 2025? - Rev. Paul Joy

Paul Joy is a School Chaplain, ordained Baptist Minister, religious TYP listener (pun intended) and freakishly talented Sketch Artist (weird combo, I know). I might be insulting some religious folk when I say that he's uncharacteristically relatable, real and open-minded but.. oh well, I said it. Sorry, not sorry. Anyway, we decided to get together and chat all things God, religion, the validity of the bible, love, connection, the co-existence of faith and doubt, the declining numbers in (most) ...

Feb 20, 20251 hrSeason 1Ep. 1803

#1802 Life Blockers - Dr. Lillian Nejad

According to Clinical Psychologist Dr. Lillian Nejad, life blockers are psychological, emotional and practical challenges, beliefs, issues and barriers that stand between us and what we want to do, be, create and change. Some of those blockers exist despite us, some because of us, and some of them only exist in our mind. Enjoy. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Feb 19, 202558 minSeason 1Ep. 1802

#1801 The Biology of Happiness - Dr. Bill Sullivan

Who knew that happiness is way more than just an emotional state we get in? There's so many interconnected variables and factors (emotional, psychological, sociological, biochemical, and even genetic) that influence our overall sense of happiness, including neurotransmitter activity (like dopamine and serotonin), hormonal balance, cognitive patterns, social connections, life circumstances, and even gut microbiome health. Dr. Bill knew!! Of course he did. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Feb 18, 202546 minSeason 1Ep. 1801

#1800 The High-Level Problem Solver - Leila Sweeney-McDougall (Part 2)

Wow, this was an awesome chat. It's not often I talk to a guest for ninety minutes and it feels like it's been thirty. I honestly could have chatted with Leila McDougall (pronounced 'Lee-la') for hours. Her energy, outlook, personality and authenticity make her conversationally intoxicating. She is an amazing woman, doing amazing things, overcoming adversity, inspiring communities and giving help where it's needed most. Amazingly, the girl who couldn't read or write until she was fifteen (due to...

Feb 17, 202548 minSeason 1Ep. 1800

#1799 The High-Level Problem Solver - Leila Sweeney McDougall

Wow, this was an awesome chat. It's not often I talk to a guest for ninety minutes and it feels like it's been thirty. I honestly could have chatted with Leila McDougall (pronounced 'Lee-la') for hours. Her energy, outlook, personality and authenticity make her conversationally intoxicating. She is an amazing woman, doing amazing things, overcoming adversity, inspiring communities and giving help where it's needed most. Amazingly, the girl who couldn't read or write until she was fifteen (due to...

Feb 16, 202542 minSeason 1Ep. 1799

#1798 Kate's P*ssed Off - Kate Save

Dietitian, Exercise Physiologist and Diabetes Educator Kate Save is normally way more polished, professional, polite and charming than the potty-mouth host but this time at TYP Central, she calls out some of the big movers and shakers in the food space, including the government) and their (apparent) lack of care factor' about the ever-expanding volume of 'food-like' substances masquerading as nutrition, filling the shelves of our supermarkets, and the stomachs of our children. befitfood.com.au S...

Feb 15, 202553 minSeason 1Ep. 1798

#1797 Two Gym Dinosaurs - Tobias Quinn

To say that Tobias Quinn didn't have the dream childhood, grow up in an ideal situation or enjoy the warm-cosy family (model), would be an understatement. Although all things considered, he turned out pretty well. And I can speak with some confidence because we've been friends for twenty-five years. This is a very casual chat between two old friends about life, purpose, meaning, living overseas, overcoming adversity, working in security (both of us), the evolution of the fitness industry, living...

Feb 14, 202552 minSeason 1Ep. 1797

#1796 Eggs Are Not The Enemy - David Gillespie

Who knew! Regularly eating eggs supports a lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death (no, not a typo). New research from a Monash University-led team has found that a daily egg (instead of one a week) is associated with a 29 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular disease-related death in relatively healthy older adults. Gillespo loves this sh*t and as he so often does, he took to the nutritional dinosaurs with a verbal baseball bat over the revelation that not only won't daily eggs kill ...

Feb 13, 202529 minSeason 1Ep. 1796