Welcome to the energetic radio podcast. My name is Dale
Sibon. Each week, I'll bring you inspirational guests who
will help you bring fun, energy, and purpose into your
lives. Let the show begin.
Alright, ladies and gentlemen. I tell you what, it has been a long time coming.
And I must admit, the last 10 episodes were not up to standard.
Reason being, we had a little bit of a break. Obviously, we got another podcast
out there at the moment, which was taking up a lot of time. But really
excited to get energetic radio back up and running. It's episode
number 333. And I thought we could not start
it without introducing my guest today, my new business partner.
I'm very excited to have you on here. Paul Campbell, welcome to the show. Thanks
for having me, mate. I'm super excited as well. Was that episode 333?
333 episodes. Jeez. I'm coming at a good time, a few runs on the
board. You are, mate. You are. Put that a
little bit closer to your lips there too, mate. But there we go. So very
excited to be here. Now today is, obviously, with this,
podcast, we're going to really angle it around our new business, the
school of play, and ways that you can use sort of play based research
evidence and activities to build better connections with yourself, but also
your workplace, people you live with, and particularly your friends and family.
Let's paint the picture for the listeners out there. So, obviously,
now, director at a school of play, which is bloody exciting. Not gonna lie.
Before that, mate, do you wanna paint the picture for listeners a little bit about
who Paul Campbell is? Sure, mate.
Father of 2. 2 beautiful beautiful boys, Hunter and Parker. So shout out.
No doubt these guys will give this list and have a bit of a laugh
at the old man. So father of 2, beautiful wife,
girl called Mel. Been together for 20 odd years. She's a ripper.
She keeps the house on running firm. Past educator, worked in the
education space for 21 years. Spent a heap of time working at the
Collingwood Footy Club. Spent about 5 years there working with athletes
and players all around well-being, welfare, development, mindset,
positive psychology, all that kind of work, and just getting them ready to to
play week in week out and, navigate the the life of
this of a professional athlete, I guess. Mate, I
love me sport. Love all types of sports. Still playing footy. Dale thinks I'm a
I'm an idiot for still playing footy the right old age I'm at, but I
won't let listeners know how I am. But, still love my footy
involved with the Parkdale Footy Club out there. So shout out to all the parked
out boys if you're if you're listening to this one. But, yeah, mate, love life.
Love connecting with people. Really do. And your previous
role, so you're an AP of well-being? I was. So I was an assistant
principal at Cranbourne Secondary College. Yep. The AP of well-being and
positive education, which was a role that just brought everything together for me.
You know what I mean? My love of education, my love of working with people,
especially in that well-being front and that positive education and getting the
preventative work in. You know what I mean? Strengthening the thing between our ears and,
and preventing mental health, I guess, from occurring in the first place,
was a huge draw card for me. Huge school, huge
huge enterprise, and I loved my time there. Taught me a lot and it led
me to you, obviously. So It did. And, for listeners out there,
obviously, I've been doing this a long time by myself. And I've
wanted a business partner, but I think it's a unique position,
and I wasn't just going to settle for anything. And
so, I saw Paul in action multiple times when
I did a number of sessions with your staff and students. And the way
you build connections, but more importantly, the way that you can
communicate with everyone, make them feel comfortable, safe,
is an incredible thing. I thought I was pretty good at it, but I see
you do it, man. You operate in a different planet than what I do. Oh,
I've made a pressure. Always, like, come naturally to you?
Good question. With outstanding arrogance, I think it has. I think
it has. I think my whole life I've had a an element of leadership, you
know, from junior sports. You know what I mean? I was always one of the
leaders. My sport team's always loved encouraging and talking to the
playing group, you know, keeping them on track and motivating them to play well.
Right through my, my high school days, my university days, I
always enjoyed getting up and speaking in front of people and
presenting and, you know, unifying a group
and bring a group of people together and motivating them.
So yeah, I guess it has come somewhat natural to me as everything you work
on it, you you develop it and and you tweak it here and there. And
you read and you watch and you learn as much as you possibly can to
develop your, you know, your your
your skills. But yeah, still working on it. I think
you're, I'm an infinite learner. You know what I mean? You've got to be an
infinite learner in this life. And, something I do love to do is I read
for knowledge. You know what I mean? I watch what's going on online and watch
what other people are doing in this space and I'm continuously working on my craft.
Yeah. And you know, still get nervous. Still get nervous. I'm a human
being. I don't think there's anyone out there that doesn't have a little bit of
butterflies in their stomach before they take to a stage or before they address a
whole group of people, whatever it might be. But, I think I've just
learned to harness that, you know, harness that little bit of nervousness and get
excited about it. And there's no better feeling than when you put a bit of
preparation in, you deliver something it's well received. You see
some smiles on people faces, you get to connect with the people in the crowd.
Your messages is needed, and
people love it. And then you walk off and you think that was a job
well done. And it gives you a little bit of a spring your step, I
reckon. So, yeah, that's cool. It definitely does. And I
say this all the time when I'm speaking as well that I'm I'm anxious.
Like, I am nervous. Yeah. And that's every speech. So, yeah, it might get a
little bit easier, but you still have that those butterflies and things like that.
Yeah. Do you find because you're very good at it, and I've
seen in action that when you say things like that, people go, that's easy for
you to say, or, oh, it comes naturally to you. You don't know what it's
like for others? All the time. Yeah. All the time. And I get a lot.
I you don't because I often I'm honest. I'm always honest. I like to be
an honest bloke and always tell people, you know, I I I get nervous. You
know what I mean? I do. And they always laugh at it and go, surely
not. You don't come across as being nervous and they think it comes naturally and
they think it comes easy. But I think I enjoy letting people know that I'm
a human being too, and that it's okay for them to feel nervous
about it and they can get out of the comfort zone as well. I think
it's really powerful when you give people permission to feel that
little bit of anxiety, little bit of nervousness, and, hey, give it a crack. You
know what I mean? Yeah. And that's the thing. You only overcome things
by doing it. 100%. And I know yeah. You
obviously leaving teaching was a big decision,
and very excited to have you on board, mate. How has the first few
weeks been? Obviously, now it is a lot different. There's no bell times.
You're leaving the school. You don't have to be somewhere. It is all on your
own watch. How have you found the first 3 3 or 4 3
weeks? It's been brilliant. Yep. For all the reasons you
outlined. But for me, I'm I'm practicing what I've been
preaching for a long time. You know what I mean? Get out of your comfort
zone, follow your dreams, follow your passions, do something for you.
The amount of times I've told people and athletes I've worked with that you get
one shot at life. You get one crack at it. It's
bloody amazing that we're even here. Right? And
you've gotta spend your days doing something that you love and you've gotta follow your
dreams and passions. And education was brilliant. I loved it.
It led me to amazing people and it's developed my knowledge in amazing
ways. But now I think it's led me to a
place where I really wanna be. You know, you yourself
told me when you were getting me on board, I had the opportunity to impact
on, you know, a couple of 1000 kids a year and people a year as
an AP. But in this role, I'm hoping to have the scope to
impact on tens of thousands of people all around Australia, all around the world,
and spread that message of, you know, embrace life,
always put things in perspective, have a positive mindset, have
a bit of optimism, and just spread that. It's
super exciting. You know, I can't wait to get stuck into it. And you're
right. Lastly, you know, that bit about not living my life by a time table
anymore. That's weird. That's weird. It's super
strange. I've, you know, become accustomed to bell times and and having to be
in a certain place 5 days a week. But the
flexibility that I've really enjoyed in the 1st 3 or 4 weeks, has
been amazing. Road tripping with you, has been a fun
part of it so far too. Let me say too, haven't you? We've done a
few. We spent a fair bit of time together. Let me tell her. Lucky we
get along. But yeah. And and the linchpin
that is enabling me to to love it is that little bit extra family
time. You know what I mean? As you know, I've got 2 young kids, youngest
has started primary school. The second one will start next year. So to have the
opportunity to have a bit more family time, school pickups are epic.
You know what I mean? I love them. And then off to the park and
have some play with the kids, something I couldn't do previously. So for me, it's
all those little 1 percenters that add up that, yeah, making
this the right move so far. Isn't it, funny
what really matters, you know, for so long, I think we're so
destined by identified by what we do in our career, and we're
so driven by that. But at the end of the day and I've realized this.
Like, you know, I've spoken about on the other podcast that this time of year,
normally, I'd be that's when I'd go overseas to present because that's I'd
be quieter here, and I thought I needed to do that because that's
impressive and things like that. And the only people I'm letting down are the people
that I live with, the ones that mean everything, my kids and my wife.
But it was so it's a really hard thing to grasp because
we taught so long that you've gotta have a career and you've gotta do all
these things. But, realistically, you've gotta have a career you enjoy, very important.
The first and foremost, do you have a responsibility to the people in your
life? Mhmm. And that must be and I I know we did
a little podcast with, both your boys, and,
it really shone through. They both mentioned it that what are they
both excited about to have you around more? That because you'd leave, you know, you'd
leave at 7 and back at 6. 100%. Everyday. You know, it's 50 hour
weeks. I'd I'd have to get my,
you know, my exercise in and and and things for me before the house woke
up in the mornings. Then get home, shower, breaky, and
basically at the door as the house is waking up and, you know, the wife
who's phenomenal was leading the charge and getting the kids ready for
school and getting herself ready for work, etcetera, etcetera. And then I get home and
the kids are already bathed in their gym jams.
Playtime's already done. They're having a feed and then it's wind down time. You know
what I mean? So, that
melted my heart when the when my boy said that on that podcast they did
with you. It melted my heart, honestly. No doubt. And right in that moment, it
was like, yep. This is definitely a great decision. Yeah. You
know, someone said to me a while ago, you get you get 15 summers with
your kids. Yeah. And that's resonated with me big time.
6 have already gone for Hunter. You know what I mean? And and 15, you
know, 6 have already gone. It's not long. It's not many. Right? And so
you've got whatever you do in life, as you said, make sure you're trying to
find the balance and the time between your career and your family
because that family of yours is gonna grow up so bloody quick. Yeah. And be
out the door before you know it and be too cool for you as a
teenager. And, yeah. So just cherish it as much
as you possibly can and make time for it. And I know it's hard in
some instances and you do your career to support your family and that's super important.
But I think society in the world are getting better at
understanding the importance of balance and organizations understand that and
the hybrid working situation is helping a lot of families out. So,
you know, I mean, if you're out there, you're listening and you can have a
think about that, you know, have a think about your balance and and how that
seesaw is going. And, you know, can you have a chat to your organization about
finding better balance, have a chat with yourself and your wife? I encourage you to
do so because you will never regret that. That's not one thing on your deathbed
you're gonna regret that you've worked to find some more time
for you and found some more time to have some family time. So So true.
So true. I'm always interested hearing
I think we learned so much from, you know, our past life and previous experiences.
Obviously, working at Collingwood is probably arguably the biggest sporting club in the
country. I think they averaged quite over 70,000 per game. You're actually
barrack from as well. Yep. One of those die hard knappies.
What was it like working at such a big organisation like that?
Particularly, previous 10 years ago, you know, the
well-being and mental mental health side of things was sort of taboo or
sort of coming in, but your role was essentially around that well-being element.
What was that like with such a big club behind you? Yep.
Unreal. Like, simply unreal to yeah.
Calling with supporter. When I received the phone call from the club, you had to
come in for a chat, I thought it was a joke at first, to be
honest. Someone's pranking you. Yeah. I thought someone was pranking me.
And just an absolute dream come true. You know, I think to work in any
major sporting organization in that role would be a dream come true. But do it
at the pies, a team that I've grown up supporting and idolizing was
a dream come true. But just the opportunity to impact on their culture for
me was the most fulfilling part of that role. You know, the connections I
made with the athletes, you know, especially working with the women when they
first came in to be professional athletes, the step up was
huge. Right? And they were all juggling full time work study, and and then trying
to be a professional athlete. The rigors were massive. You know, the stresses were huge.
The media were on them. It was all new. And to be able to
guide and support those young
athletes through that time was really fulfilling. And
then we got to make our mark on the club. Right? We got to really
develop a culture within that. Unreal,
mate. Unreal. I loved it. I loved it. Didn't wanna give it up, but family
called another bits and pieces. But it led me to amazing
people. I learned a heap of skills from the club. You know, people like
Nick Maxwell, for example, was was unbelievable that guided me in all
about culture and how to develop that within a sporting organization or even
like a business organization. Yeah. Bloody loved it. It was
unreal. Nice, mate. Now that's, that's always good. Now, I'm always
keen to obviously talk this isn't just gonna be at our business. We're
going to we're gonna talk about things that you can use at home, with your
family, with your friends, your workplace, number of different ways that you can improve your
own well-being. But, the one thing that I'm really excited to
have you on board because, essentially, after a while, you'll be in charge of this,
of running, like, our student based programs. And particularly, the new
one that, we've created this year around student agency and
well-being where we go into schools and we work with the student leaders. We
upskill them and give them a really nice experience as a leadership
team, but then we've got a program that they champion across the school. They
take ownership of it and lead it. So not only is it taking away time
from the staff, but more importantly, it's giving them a voice and the power to
make a really positive change across the schooling environment. We've
just started 2 big studies with Latrobe Uni, at Ocean Grove Primary
School and Fountain Gate Secondary College, and we're really excited about that. But
more importantly, why when I, you know, when I approached
you and said, would you be interested in helping me take this
over, just because I think you've got more skill sets than
what I do in that element. What what really excited
you about that? Because you are really passionate about that student leadership
aspect. Yeah. It's the direction of it. Right? Like
young emerging leaders are the future of our society
and I don't want to get negative at all, but I, I sometimes I freak
out about the direction society is going in. I really do. Obviously working in a
second space for 20 odd years. I've seen the change from 20 years
ago, 10 years ago through to now. I've seen the impact
social media and technology and those things have had on families and
and kids. And sometimes I freak out about the direction that society's going in.
Right? So That's that's okay though. I'm sure that you're not the only one. No.
I wouldn't be the only one. Don't worry. And there's some amazing amazing young people
getting around there, but I know there's also a lot of young people that are
really struggling at the moment. And just the
opportunity to champion, as you said, our young emerging leaders to take
over that sort of well-being space and and drive well-being
initiatives within their school community and then beyond, like
encourage them to get it over the school fence, work with local organizations,
their families, whatever it may be. But just championing young
emerging leaders and giving them the skill set to
drive the future of all being is super,
super exciting. And I think they're the head. That's the hands it needs to be
in. Right? Peer to peer learning is super
powerful. And to be honest, I think it's the most powerful type of learning you
can get. And so if we can champion those young
leaders to be the well-being champions of their school communities, the
world's gonna be in a better place. Yeah. It really will be. It really will
be. And the other thing that I love about that program is leadership
is so beneficial for all parts of your life. Right? And I know I'm a
I'm a product of that as well. I think once you developed your leadership skills
to a point where you can transfer them into
different industries, different organizations, whatever it might be, you start your
sport, it goes into your career life. You bring that leadership into your home amongst
your friends and family. When you develop that skill set,
it really does set you up for a successful life. I'm a huge believer in
that. So for me, it's a bit of a double edged sword. You know, we're
we're working with our student leaders. We're educating them and
empowering them how to take ownership over their own well-being. They go home
and teach that stuff to mum and dad and their brothers and sisters. They hopefully
have a chat to their friends. They're impacting on others. And then
also they're developing their leadership skills at the same time.
Awesome program. And and you know what? In the space of 20 years, I've never
seen anyone do that. I've never seen anyone come in and actually give
the student leaners complete ownership over a portfolio within a
school, especially important and an important portfolio such as
well-being, and let them drive that. And I think
when schools get this on board, when they see the power of
it, I think they're very quickly gonna realize that this
program and this is a great way of doing it. Giving them voice and agency
and leadership is gonna really transform
the feel of their school and the culture of their school. Yeah. So true. And
I think, like you said, there's nothing done like this before.
So, obviously, last year, I was able to work with Latrobe Union,
around the sort of fun shop and the play shop that delivered the 1 hour
session. And nobody's really sort of doing it backed by science in a
in a way that we do it. And they they were fascinated, and they loved
the results. And that's why they said this year, we'd love to have a couple
of researchers, and and do you have anything else? So we've got this idea. And
so when they were researching previous studies and things out there, there's
nothing like it being done. And I think that's why it's been,
I'm gonna say, it's so hard to get off the ground because to get
approval from all the working parties, education
system, more importantly, from ethics approval at Latrobe
Uni for something that's never been done like this before has been crazy. And there's
been so much work gone into it. Yeah. I'm I'm so
excited to see the outcomes, particularly what they'll look
like in a primary school setting where the grade sixes run it for
the rest of school. But then also in a high school setting where student
leaders from year 10 to 7 will then go and lead it with other groups
within the school. I think the scope of it's amazing. And the best thing about
it is like everything, it's not one size fits all. There's so many different options,
and you can use it however you like. So, yeah, we currently
got 7 schools on board, which is really exciting. Exciting. Early days. Early days. Yeah.
It'll grow. It'll grow. It'll grow, which we're really excited about. So, is that something
that you're you're listening and you think, well, I wouldn't mind maybe obviously, this
podcast isn't just a sell. We're we're probably, more of anything, really excited
about what we've created, and we're still tweaking it and figuring it ourselves
because, yeah, as we said, each school we go to each day is different,
and we get different feedback or they use it in a different way, and it's
it's really cool to see. Yeah. It is. I think that's the great thing about
it. So, yeah, if you you're keen on that, let us know and and reach
out. But more importantly, what, what's been your highlight so far? We've
obviously done a number of gigs. We've done a few corporate ones. We've traveled,
interstate. What have, is there any memorable moments so far
from, your first three weeks at the school play?
The road trip up to Sydney was a hoot. Yep. That was great. And, obviously,
working with the great girls school in the Saint George, you know, girls school up
there, elite school. But for me, it was Ballarat Grammar. Oh, yes. You know what
I mean? Like, what what an elite amazing school that was to work
with, just the grounds, the the staff there. But that shooting group,
you know, year 9 is typically a a pretty tough student
cohort to wrangle and manage and and have, you know, working with for a
good hour and a bit and Have 200 of them in a room. 200 of
them. Yeah. And to have 200 of them engaged and listening. And
when you set them the challenge of the task of connecting with each other and
answering those questions, it's just so powerful to hear
those conversations and then the thank you's afterwards. You know what I mean?
Like, the thank you for that opportunity to give us that chance to connect with
my friend. And we never ask each
of those questions. No. You know, they just don't. And and adults don't. You know
what I mean? Adults really ask themselves each of those questions as friends. So,
yeah, that I walked out of there pumped. And then I walked out of there
going, we're making a real difference. And and that was a really cool that didn't
feel like work at all. You know what I mean? Like, pass on that knowledge,
but just guiding. Yeah. That was that was awesome for me.
Yeah. I couldn't agree more. Couldn't agree more. So, looking forward
to a year's time, what do you reckon you'll look back
on and and be really proud of? Obviously, taking
the plunge to leave a secure job and, because I know when I obviously did
it, yeah, it's scary as hell. Like, and it takes a long
time to figure it out and things like that. But what do you reckon, you
know, sitting back here in a used time when we do episode 378
or whatever it's gonna be? I know it's made that up the top of my
head. What do you think you're gonna be most proud of for your 1st 12
months? Yeah. As you said, being
brave, I'll be proud of that. You know, being brave and and
getting in that comfort zone and, you leave a a
very well paid and ongoing role in the department of education with, you
know, good holidays, etcetera, etcetera. Let's let's be honest.
Right? It was what I knew my whole life, and was always
gonna be there. So leaving that and being brave is something I'll definitely look back
and be proud of. I'm also gonna be proud
of of just getting creative. You know, I think we've,
you know, you and I have got a great relationship going on and we work
well off each other and just the opportunity to get creative and create these new
style of programs and continue to evolve along the way. I can't wait to look
back and see the growth of our programs that we've put together initially now, and
then we're gonna keep tweaking them, working on improving them. And I'm really
looking forward looking, you know, down the barrel in 12 months going, yep, that's come
so far. And now look at the product we've created and then seeing the
impact that product has, you know, hopefully on schools across Australia.
Yeah. That's that's gonna be a really exciting time. Yeah. So true.
Well, Cambo, first podcast as well. Didn't mention that
before, mate. Did very well. And some listeners, yeah, they just finished eating his
soup. And, like I do with so many things, I just put a microphone in
his face and said, we're doing a podcast. He's like, what? Mate, there was
no no time. No no questions, no no pre worded
questions, no script. Literally, Sadi just said I'm just
gonna throw some questions at you. So here we go. I think it was the
best way to do it. Oh, okay. You should be good. He did the same
within my first filming stints for the school of play,
socials and and gave me no chance to think about it, which was daunting, but
we made it through. And once again, you know what I mean? Get you out
of your comfort zone. Right? And even this, like, I got a smaller face. Like,
I'm I'm I'm a grown adult and I'm getting out of my
comfort zone. I've been telling people that the whole time. You know what I mean?
So if you're out there listening and there's something you've always wanted to do or
there's something that tweaks your interest and you want to give it a go, just
mate, step into it, give it a go. And, and just
never stop learning. Like having the love of learning super important. You
obviously run a run a pod now called the, you know, energetic what is it?
Energetic radio. Energetic radio. Find that
energy. You know what I mean? Find that energy. Get out there and and we're
we're creatures of habit. So find that energy whether it starts with 5 minutes a
day, but find that energy to get there and do something for you that will
benefit your life because then in turn that impacts on all those around you that
you love and you care about. Oh, that's good. That'd be mic drop opportunity if
it wasn't set up so nicely on a on a stand, you know, if it's
old. Now that is episode number 333, Campbell. Thank
you very much. And for listeners, I do apologize. The last 10 episodes,
I had lost the passion and motivation, and they were not up to standing.
I can say that now. I needed this break, and more importantly,
sorta realign the direction that we're going in, and particularly what we wanna try and
achieve on this podcast. So some weeks will just be Paul and myself chatting like
what we are now, and we'll have other guests on there. But more importantly, it'll
be lots of different ideas that you can either use at work,
school, place, or at home to improve your well-being in a fun
way. Yeah. Because one of the things, there's so many people out
there teaching well-being or telling us what to do, but it it's not
fun. If something's not fun, we're not going to do it. So, yeah. We hope
to, obviously, unlock new ideas and things that you can try. Yeah.
And also connect with some, really cool people because there are so many
people doing wonderful things in this space. So, Paul Campbell,
first podcast, episode 333. Well done, mate. Thank you, Dale Sullivan. Thanks for having me,
and thanks for welcoming you to the school of play. Camel mate to get around
it. Enjoy your day, everyone.