Deany Jaghdour’s visit to Max’s Island was a long one … she stayed longer than most guests … But there is a good reason why… she has a story that has many parts.

So, it is split into 3 chapters … each will be released separately.

They are individual experiences in their own right … but all form part of a bigger story from a time in her life that has certainly opened her to exciting opportunities, personal and business challenges and confronting emotional highs and lows.

These interconnected stories begin with Chapter One, where she meets a man…and moves to Jakarta to be with him … on an impulsive hunch that seemed to be the right thing to do at that time. This all happened within a couple of days of meeting him.

Ultimately, they met, they married and started a family within a short space of time.

As a returning visitor to Max’s Island, Justin Davies was keen to share the latest story of how he has embraced the creative passion of creating, playing and recording music for all the world to hear.

As an acoustic singer-songwriter, he’s known for his lyrical honesty, dry wit, and ability to connect through the strings of his guitar and the stories in his songs. They’re all rooted in real life — drawing from personal experience, observations, and a sharp sense of the world around him.

On his last visit to the island, Justin explained how a chance meeting with someone, he initially didn’t know, heavily influenced the trajectory of his career.

But on this episode, we’ll learn that his evolution into music has been a much longer and more determined process.

Elena Brand chose to embrace the Japanese concept of Ikigai to inspire a career ‘shift’ … This was not going to be a full blown change … but more of a re-framing of her existing passions to guide her life’s vision.

However, it was not until she began to have vagal faints that her actions became more deliberate. Especially after she fainted into someone’s lap, on a train journey home from work.

So, during one of her regular ‘future self meditations’ … an annual course correction … used to inform her thinking for the year ahead and to adopt a very much forward looking lens … things became more obvious. Additional clarity followed with the strong influence of her mentor, who was a leader in nature sustainability.

He challenged her with the saying … “If not you … who! If not now … when?”

Now living in Osaka, Japan with his partner, Dylan is teaching English to young Japanese students and helping them to develop the language skills to enhance their career opportunities. …and, doing this without any formal teaching qualifications.

But that’s not all … he spends his leisure time organising, hosting and performing English spoken, “stand up comedy”. This is not necessarily unique in Osaka, but it is different, especially taking into account the Japanese cultural influences that inform the audiences.

Eve Lameks now lives in a small town in south-west France with her husband Rickie. On the surface that may not seem dramatically special, however, to go there not only satisfied a long-term dream but it also was important for their England based business.

Their transition story began following the passing of their dear, 100 year old Aunt Tatiana, who they had been her primary carers for eight years. On a previous episode, Eve had shared with the listeners of Max’s Island, the loving but sometimes challenging task of caring for an elderly relative, in a foreign country, as a pair of 30 years olds. This period of time was a significant influence in the way they appreciated life, and was an experience that actually reinforced their dream to follow a way life that really suited them.

They saw first hand how this way of life could be achieved, by observing others whilst on a surfing holiday to the south-west of France … and then Eve thinking “ we’ve got great jobs in central London…we’re making really good money … why are we not as happy as these beach bums … hanging out … surfing all the time … somethings wrong”

This episode features a classic example of a person who totally adopted the Max’s Island way … and made a deliberate decision to change everything.

As we say on Max’s Island, that moment in life where you made a decision … for yourself.

However, in this case … for a range of reasons, it didn’t end there. In fact, it eventually ended back to where it all began.

Darren Green made a decision in 2018, after 15 years of running his own successful mortgage broking business … and within a week of him sharing that decision to walk away, with his bosses … it was abruptly over.

Waking up on the next Monday morning, he was a free man … or so he thought.

Danny Allen and his mates used getting together, over a few beers, as a way of keeping close and yakking over things that mattered to them.

A chance meeting with a podcast producer and content creator … at a pub in the Perth northern suburbs … just as they were thinking about starting a podcast for themselves, was the moment of truth for them.

They mused over a Podcast name … loosely formulated a plan … and then just relied on the connection they had between themselves … to create 4Beerzin.

The natural evolution of this creative endeavour has been strong, consistent and pushes the edges of topics their listeners enjoy.

Previously, we learnt how Brad’s passion and commitment was pivotal in starting a successful community radio station.  

In this episode we continue to peel back the layers of person who has achieved so much…as an elite sportsman, talented media personality and a genuinely good bloke.

Brad shares his involvement in the Nollamara Primary school basketball phenomena, the passion for surfing and the diverse media experiences he had on both radio and TV. 

The many faces of Brad Cecins…Sports star, media personality, school teacher and community radio entrepreneur.

This is part 1 … of a two part series … of Brad’s visit to The Island.

Whilst sharing his primary journey of starting a community radio station, Brad unearths a story that has a multi-faceted message of commitment, perseverance and self belief. Without this focused drive, the ability to connect with others and be supported along the way by his family, he would not have achieved the amazing outcomes that have occurred.

His engaging personality genuinely reflects the Max’s Island value of “daring to be human - being unique”.

Simon Carabetta openly describes himself as a typical arrogant, egotistical 20 year old, back in the early 2000’s. He joined me on Max’s Island to speak about these times and his early introduction into the local ‘pro-wrestling” scene in WA.

After a chance meeting with a group of guys of a similar age, he was drawn into being involved in an emerging organisation at the heart of this ‘pro-wrestling’ scene. His strong ego put him front and centre of this group and he immediately took on the roles of ‘marketing/PR guru’ and ‘event night referee’.

He was now in the scene and ready to ride the wave of growth with this enthusiastic band of wrestling brothers. And, then following an event mishap to one of the groups wrestlers, that attracted significant media attention, he was thrust into the public limelight as the spokesman for the group.

We all aim to set ourselves “Everest Events” … those personal quests that when completed, provide internal fulfilment and a sense of achievement. The impact we create for ourselves can be huge … or, it just may be the start of a series of smaller achievements that build momentum and meaning in our lives.

But, they don’t need to be as grand as scaling the world’s largest mountain or crossing the largest oceans.

Lois Keay-Smith used the motivation of completing the Cape to Cape trek in the South West of WA, and then striking it from her ‘bucket list’ … all at a time where health had become very important for her and living life to the fullest … became a priority.

Paul Skewes admits that over his life he has regularly chosen the road less travelled and this has shaped him. From this, there have been experiences … some intuitively driven, some pragmatically driven and sometimes even driven by nothing other than a feeling for what is the right thing to do.

Paul now realises the significance of taking this journey and how important this approach is toward leading a life … in his words … of just “being me”.

So, Paul’s story, philosophy and life acquired wisdom, fully align with the Max’s Island value of “Daring to be human – unique”

Tara is passionate about bringing the beauty and power of Australian Sign Language (Auslan) into early childhood education. This passion is obvious in her emotionally powerful description of the venture she has created with her partner. Called Tiny Hands Signs, it has a purpose to introduce sign language as an additional method to aid the communication development of all children.

Tiny Hands Signs supported community is growing and they are taking the learnings from the lived experienced examples being witnessed every day.

To find out more, connect with Tiny Hands Signs:-

https://tinyhandssigns.com.au/

tinyhands_insta

Raff Di Bartolomeo has spent a career helping others and guiding them to find what’s important for them. Particularly, those with an interest in looking at how collaboration, connection and intentional action can address social need and elevate the voices of those most impacted. Ultimately, he has focused on others and embraced social innovation to make their lives better.

When the effects of a set of physical challenges began to impact on his own professional perception of himself, he eventually had to realise that there were resulting mental health pressures as well. The lived experience from recurring situations, over a period of time, gradually led him to a place where he could manage the process of recovery, identify trauma informed positive action and just acknowledging the importance of the values he lives by.

On Max’s Island, we’ve spent the holiday period reviewing our purpose and taking the time to really connect with our creative reason for being.

It’s been exciting to re-discover that each story shared by guests to Max’s Island, can be aligned to one of the 5 values that guide our purpose.

In the new series for 2025, we will be highlighting this connection and the meaningfulness of each story … they all really matter.

John Meacock has had an extensive business life in consulting and professional services. This has taken him to the boardrooms of many companies and organisations around the world and allowed him to interact with senior C-Suite executives and influential world leaders.

Whilst John is well skilled, has extensive technical knowledge and is focused on achieving outcomes, his use of sound human principles of trust, honestly and building genuine relationships has been the key to success.

Jamie Larson has always been one to travel afar from his native New Zealand, challenge himself and find new ways to connect with people.

At one significant moment, with only a ‘basic’ high school level of Spanish, he made a decision to relocate from England and go to Argentina. With little expectation and not much of a plan, on arrival he set about using his instincts for meeting people as a way of fitting in and looking for work. He had immediate success … but then the pandemic hit, and Argentina was completely locked down … and his world of opportunity vanished overnight.

Shannon Ziegelaar has had some grass roots experiences in the various levels of local and federal politics. This included supporting a close friend in the City of Perth Lord Mayoral elections and then being a volunteer for Kate Chaney as she entered federal parliament at the last federal election as a successful independent community candidate.
The collective views and values of a group of like minded community focused citizens, who were also inspired to think there was a better way for effective representation, has led to the formation of Voices of Moore.

Shannon tells her story of being part of the establishment of this group and how it has evolved into a movement that has engaged many aspects of their community, created some common aspirations and is now positioned to find the “ideal” candidate to represent them.

Davy Rowe was back at square one … his business was gone!

So what next … especially when the advice from his brother was … "You know, realistically mate ... you've got to forgive the guys that cheated you"

Was he really ready for that?

The first step toward accepting any change, occurred when he went with his brother to a “men’s retreat” for a weekend in the USA. The realisation of who he was, and what he wanted to be, was uncovered…along with an interest in “plant medicines” as a way to help his self discovery.

Next was a trip to Costa Rica, where Davy experienced the mind influencing and soul discovery effects of ayahuasca. It changed everything.

"Drive the van off the road Davy … and the pain will stop"

These words came from a voice in the mind of Davy Rowe one morning, as he was travelling down the freeway in Perth. It took him many years to share this experience with anyone … but it formed a catalytic moment for drive and purpose in his life from the moment he ‘heard’ them.

He had arrived in Perth from the UK in 1990 with a wife, two young kids, and a determination to build a business from scratch. The business was beginning to grow when he heard this message, and he was able to use it as motivation for success.

He went on to establish Vortech, a successful air-conditioning installation company — it was the biggest in Perth — and Davy was busy. Busy with work, busy with family, busy raising his kids.

Then his world collapsed when a trusted contractor refused to pay nearly $1 million in work Vortech had completed.