A Wake Up Call

If you have ever wondered:

“How do people actually do hard things when I can barely find the energy for mine?”

“Why does every achievement seem to cost me so much?”

“Is pulling back going backwards, or is it the smartest move I can make?”

- this episode is for you.

Sam Gash was a corporate lawyer when she decided to test the limits of what she was capable of. That decision made her the first woman, and the youngest person at the time, to complete the legendary Four Deserts Grand Slam: 1,000 kilometres across some of the world's harshest environments. She has since crossed India on foot to support education initiatives, traversed Nepal's Great Himalaya Trail, played Australian Survivor and become an AIA ambassador. But this conversation is not about running.

Layne and Tess sit down with Sam for a conversation about what it really takes to keep moving when life gets real hard: where unwavering self-belief actually comes from, why she stopped waiting to be invited and backed herself first, and what she learned when a natural disaster left her stranded for 12 days on a 50-day expedition. Sam is disarmingly honest about the cost side of achievement, the invisible rules she is still uncovering, and why she now walks on stage without a bow to put on the story.

At its heart this is an episode about capacity and self-leadership: honouring the person you are today rather than the person you were a year ago, finding an easefulness to effort, and using the power of the pause to catch your default settings before they run your day.

You will hear about:
Why resilience is being adaptive, quicker and with greater ease, and why the reflection after a hard thing (not the hard thing itself) is what builds capacity
What the Four Deserts Grand Slam actually involves, and what carrying everything on your back teaches you about your real baseline
Why you should not wait to be invited: how Sam sponsored herself when nobody else would, and why action builds confidence rather than the other way around
The 12 days Sam spent stranded on the Great Himalaya Trail, and how it rewired what success and finishing mean to her
The AIA Do It For Life toolkit: the power of the pause, uncovering your invisible rules, and closing the gap between the person at home and the person in the outside world

Links text

Connect with Sam Gash https://www.samanthagash.com
Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales
Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869
Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley
Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer
Follow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academy
Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact
Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When You Can’t Be Bothered: Motivation, Overwhelm & the Juggle

If you’ve ever thought:

“Why can’t I motivate myself, even when I know what I need to do?”

“How do I keep everything going without burning myself out?”

“Why does it feel like everyone needs something from me?”

— this episode is for you.

This week, A Wake Up Call is back with another listener Q&A, and Tess and Layne are tackling two questions that will feel very familiar if life has been feeling a little too full: how do you find motivation when you simply can’t be bothered, and how do you juggle everything without losing yourself in the process?

First, they unpack why losing motivation isn’t necessarily a sign that you’re lazy or failing. Sometimes you’re overwhelmed. Sometimes you’re depleted. And sometimes your body is asking you to stop pushing and start paying attention.

Tess shares the “bare minimum” approach that helped her move through a winter slump — including the 3km-a-day challenge that taught her just how loud her excuses could become — while Layne explains why action often has to come before motivation. Start with five minutes. Take one step. Make it achievable. Then let momentum do the rest.

Then the conversation turns to the juggle.

Layne opens up about a season when she was caring for her dad, chairing Surfing Australia, running a charity, building a business, speaking, filming and still competing — and the moment someone reflected back to her: that’s a lot.

What looked like capability on the outside was costing her time with the people she loved, her health and her wellbeing. And underneath all that busyness was an even bigger question: what was the juggle giving her?

Together, Layne and Tess explore why being needed, being busy and being the person who can “handle everything” can become part of our identity — and why sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is step out of the middle and realise the world will keep turning without you.

You’ll hear about:
Why motivation often follows action, rather than the other way around
The “bare minimum” tool for days when everything feels too hard
How accountability can help create momentum
Why losing motivation can be a signal to look deeper
How to tell when your busy life has become unsustainable
The hidden emotional payoff we can get from being needed
What to let go of, outsource or delegate when you’re overwhelmed
Why structure can create more freedom
A simple physiological sigh to help regulate your nervous system in moments of overwhelm
The questions to ask when the juggle starts costing you more than it’s giving you

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses:
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales
Get Awake’s transformative book, Know Yourself, Grow Yourself, to live a happier, more purposeful life:
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869
Follow Layne on Instagram: @Laynebeachley
Follow Tess on Instagram: @tesscbrouwer
Follow AWAKE on Instagram: @awake_academy
Awake’s TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Sponsor our podcast:
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact
Book us for a workshop:
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey — not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.
Help is always available. Call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text 0477 13 11 14.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have ever wondered:
“What do the most decorated people in the world actually do differently when no one is filming?”
“How do you stay present with your own kids when your job is showing up for everyone else's biggest moments?”
“What does your mother know about you that no highlight reel ever will?”

- this episode is for you.

For more than 20 years, Hamish McLachlan, sports broadcaster, journalist, commentator and AIA Ambassador, has held the microphone while other people have had their biggest moments, sitting just a few feet from Olympic champions, AFL greats, prime ministers and Kobe Bryant. This week Layne and Tess flip the format. Instead of interviewing the broadcaster, they interview the student, taking Hamish through what he calls his own life MBA: the lessons picked up over two decades of watching greatness up close.

It opens with a voice note from Hamish's mother, Sylvia, introducing her own son, and from there Hamish works through the people who shaped him: his mother's total absence of hierarchy, his brother Gillon as the first call in any crisis, and the professionals who let him inside their preparation, Bruce McAvaney's ritual before air, Dennis Cometti's scone and tea debrief after every broadcast, and Kobe Bryant choosing his own interviewer from four audition tapes because he refused to leave the last three percent to chance.

It becomes a conversation about presence over performance: the sixteen months he took his family travelling instead of chasing the next broadcast, trading FOMO for what he calls JOMO, and the daily habit of choosing good units over bad ones with his own kids. It closes with Hamish reading a message back to his mother, live.

You will hear about:
Why Kobe Bryant asked to choose his own interviewer from four audition tapes, and what it revealed about leaving nothing to chance
The “good units, bad units” habit Hamish uses with his kids to spend each day well, and the day his ten-year-old called him out on it
Why Dennis Cometti's post-broadcast scone and tea ritual is a masterclass in presence
The difference between a “deal friend” and a “real friend”
Why the family took sixteen months off to travel, and the line from his daughter that reframed what happiness actually looks like

Links text

Follow Hamish McLachlan @hamishmclachlan
Watch: Hamish's AIA talk, “The Last Time I Cried”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ny9Y9B5xic
Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses: https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales
Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life: https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869
Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley
Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer
Follow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academy
Awake's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Sponsor our podcast: https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact
Book us for a workshop: https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer

The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you're experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you've heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you. Help is always available, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text on 0477 13 11 14.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have ever wondered:
💭 "Why am I gaining belly fat when I am doing everything right?"
💭 "Why does the diet that worked at 30 stop working at 40?"
💭 "What should I actually ask my GP for beyond the standard blood panel?"
- this episode is for you.

This week Layne and Tess sit down with Kate Save: accredited practising dietitian, clinical exercise physiologist and founder of Be Fit Food. Kate sits at a rare intersection. She reads food through metabolic flexibility, cognitive output and physical longevity, not weight loss, and she is on a mission to treat food as our most powerful daily performance tool.

Her own wake-up call came early. Emergency surgery at 20 for a rare congenital condition doctors said she would not live past 30, after 19 years of being told it was in her head. Years later she found her mum dead at home, after emergency departments sent her home three times with a bowel cancer nobody caught. If you look well and present well, you do not get seen.

Then the conversation gets practical: why fat arrives at the waistline after 40 even when you are doing everything right, how insulin resistance builds for 10 to 20 years before a standard test flags it, why muscle is the sink for glucose, how much protein you actually need and in what form, and how busy people fuel for energy, focus and the long game. Layne even hands over her own blood results for Kate to read live.

You will hear about:
The two blood tests that reveal insulin resistance 10 to 20 years early: fasting insulin and the HOMA index, and why your GP will not run them unless you ask
Why muscle is the sink for glucose, and the three-times-a-week strength habit that protects your metabolism as you age
Protein done properly: 1.2 to 1.6g per kilo, whole food first, supplements second, and the 2025 trial that showed whole food lifts 45 beneficial gut bacteria
The perspective tool Kate uses with her intensive-care doctor best friend on the hardest days
The Do It For Life toolkit: vegetables of every colour, leftovers packed the night before, and one health check that predicts your next 10 to 20 years

Links text

Follow Kate Save on Instagram @katesave and LinkedIn (Kate Save)
Be Fit Food: https://www.befitfood.com.au
Listener code: WAKEUP35 for $35 off Be Fit Food orders over $100
Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales
Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life. https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869
Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley
Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer
Follow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academy
Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact
Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Disclaimer
The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.

If you’re experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you’ve heard on this podcast.

Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you. Help is always available call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or text on 0477 13 11 14

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you have ever thought:

“How do I get better at being selfish when I always put everyone else first?”

“Why is saying no so uncomfortable, even when I know I should?”

“How do I set boundaries without the guilt, or without letting everyone down?”

- this episode is for you.

This week A Wake Up Call is a solo listener Q&A (Part 2), and it goes deeper than Part 1. We asked the Dream Team what they were wrestling with, and the theme was almost unanimous: people-pleasing. One question said it all - “my generosity is my greatest strength and my greatest weakness. I put everyone first and my own health and finances last. How do I get better at being selfish?”

Layne and Tess reframe the whole thing. Selfish is not the enemy - selfless is. When you say yes to everyone and no to yourself, the people you love get the fried, depleted, running-on-empty version of you. Showing up “selfish” - protecting your time, energy, health and finances first - is what lets you show up for anyone at all.

They get honest about why saying no is so hard: the three fears underneath every yes (letting people down, losing your relevance, and the shiny fix-it version everyone expects), and the three types of expectations - including the stealth ones we quietly place on ourselves. Layne shares how selfishness became a privilege that got her to the top, the story of her dad calling her “a bloody idiot”, and winning seven world titles - five of them in fear - and asks the real question: fuel, at what cost? Tess opens up about being “Tess from Virgin”, performing on a fragile foundation, and what changed when she started filling her own cup first.

You will hear about:
Why people-pleasing is fear wearing a helpful face - and how to show up “selfish” so you stop reserving the worst of you for the people you love
The three fears that stop you saying no: letting people down, a scarcity mentality around relevance, and the expectations you place on yourself
The three types of expectations - yours, other people's, and the stealth ones you assume - and why the stealth ones are the most toxic
Fill your cup first: do one thing you love every day (15 minutes is enough, and it has to be tech-free)
The boundary tool: “no, not now” and “no, not me”, why the guilt is a stepping stone, and knowing your recovery rule (one day is fine, three days is a warning sign)

Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales
Get Awake's transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869
Follow Layne on Instagram @Laynebeachley
Follow Tess on Instagram @tesscbrouwer
Follow AWAKE on Instagram @awake_academy
Awakes TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@awakeacademy_
Sponsor our podcast https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact
Book us for a workshop https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact

Mentioned in this episode:
Viktor Frankl - Man's Search for Meaning (the one thing that cannot be taken from you is your choice of how to respond)
Dr Kristy Goodwin - researcher on digital overload and focus, and past AWUC guest (“infobesity”, ~74GB of information a day, and the case for micro-breaks)
The Seven Doctors 7-Week Challenge - Awake's gentle nervous-system reset program (sunshine breaks, micro rest, the science of why), linked in the show notes

Disclaimer
Awake Academy is not a licensed mental health service, and this podcast is not a substitute for personalised mental health advice, assessment, diagnosis or treatment. What we share here is general in nature and is designed to offer reflection, insight and practical tools for everyday life.

If you are experiencing a medical or mental health condition, please seek guidance from a qualified healthcare professional. Never ignore or delay seeking professional advice because of something you have heard on this podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.