Over the Back Fence – Details, episodes & analysis

This week’s episode is a little bit different as it’s a chat with Nicola and Di in the studio about their recent trip to LA. We get all the highlights from the Summit Of Greatness event they attended, hosted by Lewis Howes - one of the most inspiring and successful podcasters globally, who has an audience of millions.  

We hear about the key lessons they took away from some of the incredible speakers at the event, including scientist and teacher Dr. Joe Dispenza and relationships psychotherapist Esther Perel. Both Joe and Esther are New York Times best-selling authors and their work has touched and changed the lives of millions of people - we’re excited to share some powerful moments from both of them with you. 

Nicola and Di also share their favourite moments from La La land and the ways they’ve been inspired to keep learning, growing and making positive changes in their lives. We hope you’ll feel uplifted and inspired by this conversation.  

Follow Lewis Howes on IG here

Listen to the School of Greatness podcast here

Follow Dr. Joe Dispenza on IG here 

Follow Esther Perel on IG here 

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the genuine and inspiring Ronni Kahn AO. Ronni is a social entrepreneur who founded the food rescue charity, OzHarvest. She is a passionate advocate and activist and her mission to fight food waste and feed hungry people is supported by some of the world’s finest chefs. Ronni is an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) and was named Australian Local Hero of the Year in 2010. Her journey is the subject of a feature film,  Food Fighter and her memoir, A Repurposed Life, has recently been published.

In this conversation, Ronni tells us the remarkable story of a trip back to South Africa to visit an old friend that uncovered Ronni’s purpose and changed the course of her life forever. She shares how it all began with OzHarvest, and how her passion is fuelled by purpose and Ronni considers it a privilege to be able to do the work she does in the world and make an incredible impact. 

As well as Ronni’s passion to feed the hungry, we also talk about her activism around food waste and the little-known fact that food waste is the second biggest contributor to global warming, and costs the Australian economy $36.6 billion dollars a year. Ronni shares with us some simple ways that we can all reduce our food waste and help her achieve her mission for Australia to halve their food waste by 2030. 

Ronni is a great storyteller and we hear all about some of the incredible people she’s collaborated with - from top international chefs to the patron of UK Harvest, none other than Queen Camilla herself. 

To celebrate the 20 year anniversary of OzHarvest and bring awareness to the fact that 10 million Australians on any given day are in need of food, Ronni and her team are holding a Unite To Feed Australia concert on the 7th of November in Sydney, and she’d love for you all to be thaere! You can buy your tickets here. 

We absolutely loved chatting to Ronni in the studio and hearing her uplifting message about the power each and every one of us has to make a difference in the world, no matter how big or small. We hope you love it too and that we can sing along with you Back Fencers at the concert in November. 

Follow Ronni on IG here 

Follow OzHarvest on IG here

Buy Tickets to the OzHarvest - Unite To Feed Australia Concert here

Buy Ronni’s Memoir - A Repurposed Life here 

Find Out More about OzHarvest here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the wise and inspiring Jacinta Tynan. Jacinta is a well-known journalist, presenter, author, speaker and founder of The Spiritual Book Club. She is also a single mother to two boys, which is something she shares more about in her new book, The Single Mother’s Social Club. 

In this conversation Jacinta shares what it was like for her when she became a single mother, how lonely and difficult it can be, but why ultimately she saw it as a gift and an opportunity for her to reflect deeply on her life and grow in the ways she needed to. 

Jacinta talks about the importance of being present with your emotions and allowing them to pass through you, because the only way to process emotions is to feel them fully. Nicola and Di also open up about their own relationships ending, and what it was like becoming single parents much later in life. They were both able to move through the difficult times and come to a happier place, where they are loving life in their sixties on their own terms.  

We also hear about Jacinta’s new business, The Spiritual Book Club - an online book club for anyone who loves books about spirituality, personal growth, presence and surrender - books that expand your mind and help connect you to your higher self. Jacinta has already interviewed some incredible authors for the book club like Gabby Bernstein and Deepak Chopra, and she’s just getting started.

We loved having Jacinta at our back fence. It was like having a good chat with a girlfriend and she shared so many pearls of wisdom. We hope you love this episode as much as we did. 

Follow Jacinta on IG here

Find out more and join The Spiritual Book Club here 

Get tickets to The Spiritual Book Club in conversation with Luke McLeod event in Sydney, July 25th here

Buy Jacinta’s book The Single Mother’s Social Club here

Find out more about Jacinta’s work and books here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

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This week Nicola and Di chat with writers, podcasters, and friends Laura Jackel and Cathy O’Brien. Laura and Cathy met when they both applied for a role at Mamamia through a program called The Encoreship, which gives opportunities to women to get back into the workforce in a meaningful way. When the recruiters at Mamamia couldn’t pick between the two, they offered Laura and Cathy the chance to job share. This led to a beautiful partnership and friendship, and now Laura and Cathy have created their own podcast, The Change, to discuss the changes in life that shake, break and make us.  

In this conversation we hear what it was like to work at Mamamia, some of the funny moments in the office and the type of stories they got to write. Cathy shares more about her incredibly popular article about what it was like to be in her early fifties and feel like she was becoming invisible, and how she is now becoming more confident and finding her voice. 

We also hear about Laura’s first story that she wrote for Mamamia, which was the inside scoop on what it was like to go to an elite sex party - you’ll want to stay tuned for the juicy details on that one! 

We chat to both Laura and Cathy about the changes that they’ve been through and noticed in midlife, why they’re passionate about this topic and how their podcast came to be. Laura and Cathy also turn the tables on Di and Nicola and ask them about the big changes in their lives and what they’ve learned along the way. 

This is such a fun conversation and we really loved being in the studio with Laura and Cathy. We hope you’ll find that listening to this episode is like being in a room with a group of girlfriends for a fun and meaningful chat. Enjoy. 

Follow The Change podcast on IG here

Follow Laura on IG here

Follow Cathy on IG here

Read Cathy’s article on feeling like she’s becoming invisible here

Read Laura’s article on what really goes on at an elite sex party here

Listen to The Change podcast here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the wise and exceptional Dr. Frank Anderson. Frank is an author, psychiatrist, therapist, speaker and trauma specialist who’s spent the past three decades studying neuroscience and trauma treatment. His latest book, To Be Loved, is a deeply moving memoir that explores how Frank triumphed over trauma in his life and now he shares with us his message of love and healing. 

In this conversation, we hear about Frank’s difficult upbringing - being sent to therapy as a child for 6 years because he was gay, which at that time, wasn’t acceptable in his family. Frank shares how he learnt to completely shut down his emotions and play the part he was ‘supposed’ to play to fit into society. Thankfully, through all the work and healing he’s done, Frank now has a beautiful family life with his husband and 2 children. 

Dr. Frank breaks down what trauma really is, which is something that at least 70% of humans experience in their life. He talks about how it’s important to do the work and understand how our past experiences are influencing our current behaviour. As Frank says, you either repeat it, repress it or repair it. 

Dr. Frank shares with us a powerful framework - the 5 T’s - for how we can heal from trauma and that ultimately, love and connection is the best pathway to healing. 

This is such a moving and powerful conversation, and Dr. Frank is a true example of how anyone can turn their life around and heal no matter what they may have been through. It was so inspiring to learn from Dr. Frank and we were so grateful for his insights. We hope you love this conversation as much as we did. 

If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health or suicidal thoughts and needs support, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. 

Follow Dr. Frank on IG here

Buy Dr. Frank Anderson’s book To Be Loved here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the beautiful and bubbly Tahnee Cook. Most people know Tahnee as one of the brides in the 2023 season of Married at First Sight (MAFS). Before MAFS, Tahnee worked as a content creator and PR manager and she is now the host of her own wonderful podcast, Chuffed, where she talks all things love, career and life and interviews a variety of guests with interesting stories to share. 

In this conversation Tahnee gives us a glimpse behind-the-scenes of what it was like to be on MAFS. She talks about how it was a really positive experience for her and how she feels lucky she was matched with someone who she was compatible with at the time, and that they weren’t a couple who the producers tried to create drama with or paint them as a villain. Tahnee lets us know her theory for how they pick the couples on the show and she talks about the more awkward moments - like when they had to swap couples. 

We also hear about life after MAFS for Tahnee, her decision to go to couples therapy with Ollie, but why in the end it didn’t work out. Tahnee is very honest about how she doesn’t like the modern-day world of dating apps, the problems she has with them and then she asks Nicola and Di for any dating or relationship advice they would share with someone like Tahnee in their 20s. 

Tahnee also shares about her new podcast Chuffed, and we hear about the juicy conversation she had with David The Medium (one of our favourite podcast guests here on OTBF) and how everything he predicted came true. 

Tahnee is absolutely full of life - her energy and bubbly personality is infectious and we had such a fun time chatting with her. We hope you love her as much as we did. 

Follow Tahnee on IG here

Follow Chuffed on IG here

Listen to Chuffed here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the dynamic and inspiring Tory Archbold. Tory is a highly respected businesswoman, CEO, and founder of Powerful Steps, a global platform for women making a significant impact. Her impressive career spans over 24 years in brand building, public relations, digital media, and events, working with some of the world's most influential celebrities, entrepreneurs, and CEOs. She is also the author of a wonderful book, Self Belief is Your Superpower. 

In this conversation we hear how Tory started her first business at 24 through a coffee date strategy where she would meet with 3 different people every week. She shares how she experienced a lot of rejection, but how she sees rejection as a positive thing that ultimately shows you what it’s possible to create. Tory knew that she was capable of creating something great, so despite the rejections, she chose to believe in herself anyway. Tory grew her business to be one of the most successful brand and communications agencies in Australia, launching some of the biggest international brands like Zara in the Australian market.

We chat about what it’s like to be in flow - when you’re clear on your vision, your passion and your purpose and when you’re anchored in your values, so many opportunities and doors will open up for you. We hear about these moments in Tory’s life, and the incredible possibilities that appeared when she was living in alignment with her values. 

Tory shares the life-changing moment when she was listening to Drew Barrymore speak about her dream of one-day having a talk-show, and Tory realised that she also wanted a different life for herself and that she was finished with her career in PR. This led to Tory starting her second business, Powerful Steps, at the age of 44 which helps other women to step into their power and achieve their full potential.

This was such a fun and meaningful conversation with Tory and we could have chatted to her for hours. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did. 

SPECIAL OFFER

To get the incredible giveaway offer that Tory mentioned in this episode - access to her Network Like A Pro masterclass that gives you a series of video lessons and workbooks to help you build your profile and connect with others, go to her website here and enter the promo code POWERUP444 at checkout and you’ll get this $99 masterclass for FREE. Offer only valid until 24th July, 2024. 

Follow Tory on IG here

Buy Tory’s Book Self Belief Is Your Superpower and access free bonuses here

Find out more about Tory’s Powerful Steps Community here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the truly remarkable Julie Randall. Julie’s story is one you won’t want to miss. In 2012 Julie was diagnosed with advanced stage four metastatic melanoma and given only months to live, but she promised her heartbroken teenage daughters she would survive. Thankfully for us, her family, and the world, she did. Julie now spends her time giving back and as an ambassador for various cancer charities, she’s working hard to make as much money as possible to support more research to find cures for this insidious disease.

In this incredible conversation, we get to hear Julie’s story of survival - from the life-changing moment just after her 50th birthday when she had a brain seizure in the office, to being given a terminal diagnosis, to a fight against all the odds to find a way to stay alive for her kids and her husband Scott. 

As Julie shares each step of her journey, you’ll hear how much determination, optimism and perseverance it took for Julie to survive. It’s an uplifting story of hope and strength and we felt so inspired having this conversation with her. We highly recommend her best-selling memoir, Patient 71 and we know you’ll love Julie as much as we did. Please share this episode with anyone who needs an uplifting story of hope in their lives. 

Follow Julie on IG here

Find out more about Julie and her work here

Buy Julie’s book Patient 71 here 

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the hilarious Vince Sorrenti. Vince is one of Australia’s most successful and popular comedians, with a career that has spanned over 4 decades. As well as his incredible work as a stand-up comedian, Vince has an enormously long list of radio and TV credits and has written 2 feature films, including an award-winning environmental documentary. He’s also a big family man, and we get a glimpse into what life is like at home with his beautiful wife Kate and their 4 children. 

In this conversation we chat about how comedy has changed over the years and whether political correctness and wokeness has gone too far. Vince shares why comedy is essential and why he believes that comedy is the answer to a lot of the challenges life throws at us. 

We hear the story of how it all started for Vince - as an architecture student at Sydney University, he began doing skits in uni revues and fell in love with comedy and the stage. Vince talks about his first stand-up gig in the 80s and how he’s never looked back. We also spoke about Vince’s creative process - where he gets his ideas from and how he puts together a show. 

Vince shares a couple of stories from his latest stand-up show I’m Offended, and we were in stitches. There’s nothing quite like a good belly laugh, and we were so lucky to have a bunch of those in the studio with Vince. We hope you laugh as much as we did.  

Buy tickets to I’m Offended here 

Find out more about Vince and his work here

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This week Nicola and Di chat with the wise and down to earth Gary Gorrow. Gary is a Vedic Meditation teacher, Ayurvedic health coach, mindfulness expert and co-founder of the world renowned retreat, Soma Byron Bay. Gary has worked with thousands of people from all walks of life and is dedicated to empowering people with simple techniques to tap into their inner stillness.

In this enlightening conversation, Gary talks about what mindfulness actually is, and how it differs from meditation. He explains how meditation is a powerful tool that helps a person to go inwards and connect with their spirit. Gary also shares why he believes learning to live more inwardly and awaken our inner lives is the most important thing we can do, and how it can help us to reach the 200% value - where we have a beautiful balance of 100% outer life and 100% inner life. 

Gary talks about why we need to redefine how we think about spirituality, and that it’s really about connectedness. Our connection to self, connection to spirit, connection to nature, connection to others and connection to the moment we’re experiencing. We also talk about the 5 main causes of suffering and why it is that humans can get so caught up in negativity. Ironically though, he explains how suffering is our greatest teacher. 

This was such a powerful conversation and we could listen to Gary’s wisdom for hours. We hope you get as much from this episode as we did. Enjoy. 

Follow Gary Gorrow on IG here

Follow Soma Byron on IG here

Find out more about Soma Byron and book a retreat here

Follow Nicola and Di on IG here

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