1% Better

In this very special episode of the show, I was delighted to sit down and chat with Neven Maguire. Neven Maguire is one of Ireland’s best-loved chefs. The restaurateur and media personality is well known for his award-winning MacNean House & Restaurant in Blacklion, Co. Cavan. He is also an author and has a new Book out at the moment - Neven Maguire's Perfect Irish Christmas - which he was kind enough to give me a signed copy of! I was struck by Neven's passion and energy during our 40+ minute conversation where we cover a lot about his career, life lessons, experiences, and so much more. Just to give you a taste, some of the topics we covered are:•Earliest Memories growing up around Christmas with Family and Food.•Always wanting to work with food and cooking from the age of 12.•Being the first in his school studying Home Economics. •A view on why Home Economics should be a subject for everyone in School.•Pride of employing 65 people in his business in Blacklion.•The value of hard-work at the core of ever

In this episode, I talk with Samantha Kelly AKA TweetinggoddessSamantha Kelly is an Award Winning Social Media Strategist and a Dynamic and Engaging Speaker, Trainer and Author. She is also the founder of the Women Inspire Network. She has built a huge Twitter following and presence over the last few years and continues to go from strength to strength. I was delighted to get to talk to her and record this episode back in late October. In our conversation, we cover a broad range of topics and learn a lot about Samantha’s approaches, focus, and of course we discuss twitter and how you could become more than 1% Better in the area of Social Media. Please enjoy and SUBSCRIBE to my podcast on iTunes or wherever you listen so you don’t miss out on the full episode Monday or any future shows that come out!Some of the topics we discuss on the show: •A typical day and week in the life of a Social Media Strategist •Planning for the week ahead •The best times to tweet on a daily basis •Getting Tweets from Mark Hamill AKA

In this episode, I talk with Shane Cradock. Shane has many roles. He is a Business, Life & Sports Performance Coach, a Consultant, a Public Speaker, a Playwright, an Author and a self-professed Messer!From the very start of the conversation, we dived into interesting topics from Shane’s work life and personal journey. Shane very openly and honestly talks about some of the struggles and challenges he faced in his early twenties that changed his direction in life which has lead him to his life’s work of helping others.In 1995, Shane had a change in direction and started to focus on doing what he enjoys, making an impact and taking action. Over the next few years, Shane worked towards leaving the corporate world and set up a practice in helping others.Shane has become obsessed with learning and personal development ever since, improving his mental and spiritual awareness. He notes he’s spent over $300k on personal development over the last two decades.Shane believes that we are only scratching the surface o

In this episode, I go on location to meet with Lt. Cdr. Roberta O’Brien at the National Maritime College of Ireland. Roberta has made Irish Naval History a few times in her career, so far! She became the first female to join the Irish Navy when becoming a cadet in 1995. She went on to become the first female Lt Commander to take charge of the LÉ Aisling a ship in 2008. And that’s just a couple of the firsts that we talk about during the very interesting and enjoyable conversation we had back in October. Another first for Roberta was when she played hurling with the boys’ team when she was in school. She learned a lot these skills from her brother and she took a great interest in the game, along with Tennis at a young age. Growing up Roberta was big into sports but she always enjoyed studying so PE teaching was an early aim. It wasn’t until she was in Fifth year before a spark was ignited in the Navy when she heard a Captain of a Ship give a talk. From here, Roberta started to set her sights on joining the Na

In this Episode, I interview Andrew Montague. Andrew is an Irish Labour Party politician and member of Dublin City Council. He is a former Lord Mayor of Dublin. He proposed the Dublin Bike Scheme in 2004 which was launched in 2009 and credited as one of the most successful public bike schemes in Europe. During our hour+ long conversation, I learn a lot about what drives and motivates Andrew Andrew is the first politician on the show and it was a great treat to talk with him. You will very clearly see how much of a genuine, humble and warm guy Andrew is and I’m sure you’ll enjoy his story. What really struck me from the conversation was the real palpable reward that Andrew gets from his work in politics as he’s working on issues that are facing all of us. Andrew talks about launching his campaign to run in the next general election in October and discusses the official launch and working toward this goals and objectives with Social Welfare, Crime, Housing just to name three. Some of the topics we covered were:

In this episode, I talk with Niamh McCarthy. Niamh has collected Olympic and World Championship Silver medals over the last few years in the Discus in the Paralympic games. During the conversation, she talks about how her life has changed since discovering a talent for the Discus. The last few years have been a whirlwind for Niamh as you’ll hear and she’s setting sights on the future and the bar is high! We discuss:•Earliest Memory of painting rocks and being creative as young child•Being part of a Skydiving group and attributing this to her maturity and growth in confidence•Comparing the feeling of skydiving to the feeling of throwing a discus in competition•Living in France between the ages of 9 to 16 and learning lots there•Returning to Ireland and immersing herself in the Leaving Cert years •Learning the Piano growing up and finding it as a good outlet •Constantly learning to adapt •The story about how a chance meeting and conversation with a local solicitor made the connection with a talent scouting even

So, I've decided to do another solo run in this episode and confront the imposter syndrome (it's a think & I touch on it in the show) full on by talking about 11 practices I apply, some every day, and some for the bigger picture, that helps me get stuff done! Some are obvious, some might be new ones you haven't heard before, but all take discipline. From time to time I get asked how do I manage to do the day job, release a weekly podcast, blog every now and then, exercise, and keep a few other balls in the air. My first two answers are I'm not married and don't have kids. That means I might have a little more time to play with. However, I do like to think I make good use of the time I have. I hope you enjoy the listen. Feel free to reach out to me via the socials or email if you have some hidden gems of your own that you'd like to share. I do have another few that I didn't include on this show, so could release these in another episode or on the blog post of this on this topic in the near future. I was ke

In this episode, I share a great conversation with Podcaster, Author, Entrepreneur, and Lead-singer from the Band Sunspot, Mike Huberty. He hosts a podcast called See You On The Other Side with his co-host Wendy Lynn Staats. He’s from Maddison, Wisconsin. The area of Paranormal, Afterlife, UFOs, Ghosts and Conspiracy Theories are of interest to me and when I heard Mike's podcast, I reached out to see if he'd be willing to discuss his career and share some fun stories from his journey. Full Show Details check out the episode page on www.robofthegreen.ie/episodes/ep41-mikehubertyThanks,Rob

In Episode 40 of the Podcast, I talk with Micheál O’Mathúna.Micheál is a Journalist, Facilitator, Coach and is also the founder of The Health Zone, an organisation set up to empower and educate people to be healthier, happier and more authentic in their lives. He conducts one-to-one coaching, group coaching and delivers transformative workshops in various areas of health and wellbeing. One of Micheál’s missions is to inspire, empower and educate people on all matters of health and wellbeing. He has a commitment and a passion for a healthy world. His mission is to build community and to inspire conscious awareness, positive change, and transformation in people’s lives. A significant part of this purpose is to create meaningful connections among people and empower them to live a life of health, happiness, authenticity and realise their full potential. During our conversation, we focus in on a number of topics that are of great interest to Micheál and he shares openly his own personal journey over the years and

Hi all,Welcome to another episode of the 1% Better Podcast. I have the full show notes with all links to Colin on the episode page on my site here - www.robofthegreen.ie/episodes/ep39-colinobrady/Thanks for listening,Rob

Hi all,Delighted to be sharing this episode with you. Full show notes of this episode can be found at www.robofthegreen.ie/episodes/ep38-norahpattenEnjoy,Rob

Hi all,I believe we all have an interest in, or maybe even a little bit of wonder for Magic. Something about it for me, brings me right back to being young and remembering the first time I saw a trick performed. Most likely watching Paul Daniels on TV. When I saw Gerard Kearney perform earlier this year, I knew I had to try to get him to come on to the podcast to hear about his journey so far. I was delighted when he agreed. Gerard is a a past champion of The International Brotherhood of Magicians (the worlds largest magic organisation), and is a native of Cork. He specialises in close-up magic and mind reading!As you'll hear in the introduction, Gerard started out as a Actor (he played the role of Big Con in 'War of the Buttons' and later had a role in 'The Wind that Shakes the Barley') but once he saw his first trick, he was hooked and has never looked back. Gerard shows that practice, dedication, focus, and self-belief are key ingredients to becoming successful in this world, as well as having a talent for

This episode is one I’ve been really keen to release since recording it as I’ve been reading about what AI could mean to us in the short and longer term so had a bunch of questions to put to John. The ethics around AI is only something I started to consider about a year ago when I heard some of the considerations that need to be factored in when designing self-driving cars. When John agreed to come on to the show, I was delighted.John C. Havens is Executive Director of The IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems. The IEEE Global AI Ethics Initiative has two primary outputs – the creation and iteration of a body of work known as Ethically Aligned Design: A Vision for Prioritizing Human Wellbeing with Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems and the identification and recommendation of ideas for Standards Projects focused on prioritizing ethical considerations in AI/AS. Currently there are eleven approved Standards Working Groups in the IEEE P700

In this Episode, I talk with world renowned fitness and nutrition consultant Jenni Rivett. In her career so far, she was Lady Diana’s personal trainer for 7 years, she’s been an author, fitness journalist, and creator of many DVD’s on fitness. Jenni was once voted Britain’s top fitness trainer by the ‘Best of British’ publications.During our conversation, we talk about Jenni growing up in South Africa where she attributes her passion for health and fitness to her Mother. Shortly after moving to the UK, Jenni had a stand out moment when she realised that office work wasn’t for her. She then decided to pursue a full time career in Exercise & Fitness. In the early 90s, Jenni was invited to be a fitness presenter all around the UK, which was another big break. She was studio coordinator in Bodies in Chelsea and started to work with high profile clients like Liz Hurley, Imran Kahn, and Fergie. We talk about how the opportunity to work with Lady Diana came and some of the experiences she had during this time, w

Hi all,The podcast is 6 months old today. In this shorter episode, I share some learnings, ideas, magic, motivation and other plans for the future. Back to normal format with interviews next week but wanted to share this one and hopefully you enjoy it. Thanks for listening to all\some of the 34 so far. If it's your first, you have 50+ hours of content to catch up on.Have a great day/week,Rob

Denis Collins is an Renowned Visionary Thought Leader in Business and someone that likes to get things done. He is the CEO Smarter Dynamics, Former IBM Global Executive, Chairman of Smarter Senses (Shine Ireland), and widely acknowledged as a significant contributor to building /shaping the global brand/collaborative model in Munster. He has now been asked to help lead the National Strategy for economic growth in multiple regions via his IDA appointment to Chair IDA RDC (regional development committee). This is just some of the great roles and contributions that Denis has behind him. He's a New Yorker too. We chat about all of this and more during the show. During our conversation, Denis talks about his Primary motivation of bringing together Social and Commercial that leads to greatest impact.We talk about Denis’s background. Coming from New York originally, and his IBM career of over 20 years. When Denis was growing, he wanted to be NYPD cop. Finding a passion for computers, he joined with IBM straight fro

In this Episode, I talk with Adrian Barry. Adrian is an Award winning sports presenter (PPI radio Sports Broadcaster of the year 2011), previously Sports Editor for Newstalk and, most recently, the Group Head of Sports Programming for Communicorp (which includes radio stations such as Newstalk, TodayFM, 98FM, and others). He’s regularly heard on Off The Ball, Ireland Number 1 sport show, and, of Most significance, he’s from Athlone, Co. Westmeath!In our chat, Adrian very honestly and openly talks about his career journey so far. He explains he was not one that had a clear view of where he wanted to go during his school days, and almost picked Journalism by default. We talk about Career Guidance during the leaving cert and not getting a great perspective on what to do Next. Unfortunately, Polymer Engineer wasn’t of interest at the time despite it being the hot course. Adrian talks about his move to Hull University which was, as he says himself, an uninformed decision. He quickly moved to Glamorgan and got his

Hi folks,In this episode, I have a great conversation with Lorna Quinn. Lorna is an Actor (I’m going with Actor not Actress – we clarify why on the show) that has a built up a great portfolio of work over the last number of years since graduating from ‘Drama and Theatre Studies’ in UCC. She has been in Theatre (‘Private Lives’ most recently at the Gate), on TV (‘Fair City’ & ‘Love Hate’) and even on the big screen (‘Dare to Be Wild’). She’s also from Longford which is how I know her and how I was able to entice her to come on to the 1% Better Podcast We talk about her career, growing up, being in Longford girl-band AS3 (which is due a re-launch in the near future we hope– make it happen, Lorna). She was also voted Best Actress at the ‘Stellar Shine Awards’ in 2016.Just some of the areas we talk about include:Starting drama classes quite late, growing up in Longford & having great fun which helped Lorna grow in confidenceJoining the Longford Musical SocietyBeing in the Longford Girl Band, AS3, at 16 wh

In this episode, I talk with Grattan Donnelly. Grattan does a number of different things in his portfolio but mainly working with people using Coaching and Mindfulness. He works as part of a Danish company called Potential Project. Grattan also does training and facilitation. I met Grattan through the IMI Diploma in Executive Coaching. He delivers an 8-week course on developing mindfulness as well which is really highly fulfilling for him. Grattan has always been fascinated by human behaviour and has always had a sense of adventure. Graduating from a B.Comm, Grattan was now free to follow his sense of adventure. He went to Australia for year and came back 12 years later. Grattan said it took him 53 years of his life to figure out what he wanted to do so that message is clear that it’s never too late to find this. We talk about values and one that is most prominent for Grattan is freedom and this matches well in his work. We talk about his journey during these 12 years travelling and many learnings along the w

In this episode, I talk with Evan Desmarais, who is a Comedian from Toronto. He’s been a comedian for around 10 years during which time he's been touring across the US, Canada, Australia and the UK.This was a fun conversation as we talked through how Evan got in to comedy, modelling as a young boy and becoming a complete diva at age of 9.Evan started to get into improv at high-school and really fell in love with this form of comedy. We talk about the structure, rules and games with improv. He had a big hero in Jim Carrey, also Canadian, so he was very keen to become an actor. In drama class in final year in high-school, stand-up was a part of the course and it was here Evan did his first stand-up piece. It was the start of his journey. For the first while, Evan says he was a terrible stand-up comedian. He tried really hard but couldn’t buy a laugh.During the conversation we touch on a lot of stand out moments from his journey so far, we talk about hecklers, fear, and the impact if people don’t laugh. We touch