Gina Gardiner & Friends - Pulk & Peak Cold Fronteer Expedition

0:00It's time now for Gina Gardner and friends. The show that shares stories from inspiring people from a wide range of expert guests all focused on helping you live a happier, more successful, and fulfilling life. Gina Gardner is a multiple number one international best-selling author, motivational speaker, business coach, and trainer. She's the founder of Genuinely You. It has over 30 years experience of helping people step into their genuine, authentic power, personally, and professionally. Matthew. Oh, sorry. It's okay. I just need you to listen to me. I know that a lot of times, mom, it might not seem like I'm listening to you, but I am. I hear you. And what you say really does matter to me. I mean, let's be honest. No kid likes rules, but I get why we have them. I hear you, and I know it's because you care. It's for more information about talking with your kids about underage use of alcohol and other drugs. Visit underagedrinking.samsa.gov.

1:02And now, here's your host, Gina Gardner. Hello there, and a huge welcome to today's episode of Gina Gardner and friends. It's a very special episode. I'm joined by three great friends who are going to be taking part in the pulp and peak called Frontier Expedition to raise money for their charities. I have with me Michael Collins, Speedo Mick. He is the founder of the Speedo Mick foundation, which works with mental health, disadvantaged people, and people who are homeless. And with Fatima Wittbred MB, as you know from all of our radio shows that we work together, she's the founder of the Fatima's UK campaign charity of which I'm the vice chair. And David Little, who's no stranger to the show, he is actually the team leader of this. I have a feeling it's going to be a little bit like Herding Katz, but he's also a mortgage broker. He's a leader in the scouts, and he's been on the show a couple of times too.

2:03Welcome to the show, everybody. Thank you very much for joining me. Yes, thank you, Gina. It's lovely to be here with you. David, I'm going to start with you. Please can you talk us through, you know, what is a pulp and peak expedition? So, a pulp is a sled, so a pulp is the sled that we'll be pulling, and we've had some cracks with the tyre, but basically it's a sledge. And the peak, because we're going over hills, not necessarily mountain peaks, but it will be hills. And the idea is basically to, there's 80 of us going out to Norway for six days, and we're going to be pulling sledges and camping in the snow. And what sort of distance will you be covering? Depends on the weather. So the idea is a minimum we're looking to do 25 kilometers a day, but it will significantly depend on the weather. So if the weather's horrific, we might be sitting in a tent all day. If the weather's beautifully sunny, we could do 40 kilometers a day, so it'll just depend. So, talk us through the sort of conditions that everybody's likely to experience, because

3:07for most people, you know, the Arctic has a certain field, you know, you think you know what you're talking about when you're going to the Arctic Circle, but most people don't go walking and camping in it, do they? No, it's so the landscape will essentially be effectively Arctic tundra. So what you'd think, if you think kind of penguins and pullabers, there isn't penguins and pullabers, but essentially it will be white, slightly crusty, very, very dry, obviously completely white, very dry snow, so it's slightly sandpapery to pull a sledge over, so it's not kind of wet, slippy, slidy that we'd have in this country. So it'll effectively be very, very dry, potentially minus 20, and then obviously plus the wind chill. So that'd be good. So interesting environments to be camping. And tell us about the team that you've got eight very different people, haven't you? We have. It's very much. I'm a slab. Get me out of here.

4:08But without that. So we have, we've got two very, two charities who have a huge amount of common, the underlying theme effectively is helping vulnerable people with two slightly different takes on that, but there's a huge amount of commonality between the charity values. So the two charity partners effectively we've got along is Mick Cullen, who I know from the 7th time swimming club, so no stranger should cold weather or cold water. And he is, he'll be raising money for the speed on Mick Foundation and fat whip red, as you've already mentioned, who I know through you, who is going to be raising money for a Fatems UK campaign. So the idea is that we'll split all the money that's going to be raised between the two charities, two very, very worthwhile causes, but with a huge amount of commonality between them. And then, in addition to that, we've got five other people. One skating leadership volunteer, who, who I know, who, who I skate with, and the rest

5:10are property friends, basically. So it'd be interesting. What makes people who are just property friends, I can see the way, Michael and Fatima want to come and do it and raise money and raise the profile of their charities, I can almost see why, you know, another scout leader would want the adventure, but for this property people, why on earth would they come on something like this? Because it's something different, it's, it's not just a case of comfort zones, it's going to be, it's something completely different, it's something that you wouldn't normally do, it's something that a lot of people think they couldn't do, it's very much a stepping stone to do something like, like a walk to the pool, for example, so it's a great introduction for that kind of thing, that's where I'm coming from from this. And it's just, it's a different challenge, you know, it's something that is completely achievable, yes, will be at the mercy of the weather, et cetera, the conditions, I think

6:13teamwork will, teamwork is definitely going to be a thing, I mean, joking apart, if the weather's horrific, it could be interesting being able to put tents up, so it'll be interesting. As Ian McDermott would say, it will be an interesting experience, it'll be a great experience, it'll be good, it's a team concept has to be because of what we're doing. And so again, it's something different. Thank you, Fatima, talk us through why you've joined the expedition. Well, I'm a person that loves the challenge, as you know, I've never got any more intelligent and sensible, whereas I've got older, I've got worse actually, and I always say life begins at 60, so I love a challenge, and when I was talking to David this summer, when we were doing our portal edge challenge down Snowden, we decided, maybe this might be the next, the next opportunity to get together and get a group together to do the Arctic, and I think,

7:16you know, why not, it's not as David said, it's not the norm, it's something that you really wouldn't really put on your bucket list, but at the same time, it's always been something that I've wanted to do. It's very, very different to my other challenges, Everest, Mont Blanc, Grand Paradeizo, and of course, my walk from Istanbul, from Vienna to Istanbul, I've done many, many challenges, but I think for me, this one is right out there because when we don't know what to expect, the temperatures can be anything from minus 20 to minus 40, and yeah, I mean, I guess, you know, we're going to be completely outside our comfort zones, well, I will be because I've never put skis on, I've always loved watching the Olympics, I've loved watching all the skiing, no, it's not skiing, it's more cross-country, and that's where my heart lies in cross-country, where skis are concerned, so I'm hoping that's going to be quite fruitful, and, you know,

8:18and give a whole lot more experience to, you know, put a different slant on what challenges is all about, because I won't be in my comfort zones, so like everybody else, we've got a good team rounder, so I think we'll support one another. I mean, you've talked about the, you know, why you're doing it at a personal level, but why are you doing it at a charity level? Well, I mean, it's always to do a challenge for charity, it's really important, the charity first is family's UK campaign, and it's all about trying to improve the life outcomes for children in the care system, and that's borne out the fact that I was abandoned as a baby, and for those of you that may not know, I was abandoned, left to die, some would say, in a flat in London, and a neighborhood, the baby crying, hadn't seen anybody coming or going in a couple of days, so she called the police who came and banged her door down, rescued the baby, which was myself, then I spent the next seven months recovering from malnutrition, and whilst you in that period,

9:20I was in hospital, I was then made a wall to court by Hackley-Burrow Council, which saw me then incarcerated in the care system for the next 14 years of my life. Now, anybody that goes through trauma or neglect, you know, it's a sense of loss, you understand it well, you understand the grittiness of wanting to succeed, you know, and that for me was really important, you know, to come through that adversity, then the recall, and there was a recall, I don't know, it's probably stopped now, Gina, sorry. Right, do you want to start that bit again? Yeah, just remind me where I was. You were talking about the fact that you had been left as a baby, yeah, so coming from the care system, one of the greatest things that the strength and resilience side is always about for me to try and achieve, you know, different challenges that I put

10:20set myself, and as life's gone by, obviously, I've been involved with quite a few of the Everest, Everest, Mon Blanc, and the ones that I've said, the Grand Parodies, of course, the Portal Edge that we did together, David, you know, these are not your norms, but more and more as we see people do tend to love a challenge, they set themselves targets, and this is one that hopefully that we'll be able to raise great awareness for the campaigns, both Mick and I, we're similar in our causes for young children, and obviously try and raise some funds as well, so if there's anybody out there listening, go online, give to just give in page or go find Mick for Mick, and as rightly as David has said, we are sharing the proceeds of what we bring in, and both those two charities hopefully will be better off for you. Brilliant, thank you. So Speedo Mick, that's a really interesting title. Tell us about you, and why Speedo Mick?

11:26Well, first I'll tell you a little bit about myself before I'm in recovery at the moment, and I have been, not at the moment, but I have been for the last 23 years, so after coming into recovery and I got the support that I needed, I've seen that there was a lot of childhood trauma and mental health issues through that, and then addiction, so that all carried on until I was 36 years old, you know, carrying that trauma, and not known how to, how to manage that, or to live a productive life, basically, and it all changed like I said, 23 years ago, when I came into recovery, and I couldn't believe me, not to be honest, I did basically start, so what happened when I did come into recovery is the people who supported me said, look, we don't want

12:27anything from you, all we want you to do is give back what we've given to you to others, and that was it, there was no, you know what I mean, there was no sign of any contact or anything like that, it just asked me to do it, if I was going to do it, if I wasn't, then that's fine, that was fine with it all, and I did, and that's what I continue to do, and I've done that for some time, now it's time to give back to the community, and I have come become a, you know, responsible, I'd hold, basically, now, that has to give myself the love and the compassion, that I couldn't give to myself for a very long time, you know, and that all come through, all come about to me start to challenge myself, and take myself out to me comfort zone, and that started with some off-marathons, and actually it starts with the marathon, it wasn't an off-marathon, it was an off-marathon, and every time that came in my life, or an off-marathon,

13:29I just thought, I'm going to do it, I was smoking at the time, as well, joining me and go over that, yeah, anyway, so we've done a few marathons, and I just love the challenge, I was always, I was, I was, I wasn't very good at school, with sports, I could never kick a ball, and even if you're in a Liverpool, you need to be able to kick a ball, to be a person that's eager to do it for me, and so I've never felt any of that, I've never felt any part of the scene, or included, you know, because possibly, maybe, yeah, as it, you know, as it was, it was played, that was in my life, you know, me, and it become a difficult child, you know, but, yeah, so, I started to challenge myself through, through, through sports, and then I'd done some, a few marathons, and then I'd done some triathlon, and I mean, he got a little bit worse, and I, and I started to, at all, as I'm going to swim in the English Channel, so I've never been, and I've never been in

14:30the pond, or even in the bats, since I was 10, you know what I mean, but this is, this is what the challenges gave me beforehand, you know what I mean, the, the marathons, and it gave me the belief in myself that I could achieve stuff, you know, because I never believed in myself and, and just, and just doing that stuff, and the given back process, which is massive, man, the given back process is, it's magical, and it fills your spirit up, you know, and then the whale takes it back off you, and then you've got to get back, and then it fills your spirit back up again, so, so then that led to the channel, and, and I was fundraising through, through all this stuff, the marathons, the triathletons, and then, and then the English Channel, and obviously, I had to wear a pair of speedos when I swam the channel, and that's when, things, that's when the speedal mix ends up, basically, and yes, that goes to all the games in my speedos. So, you know, and it's a bit, you know, but, well, then I started doing, I was raising

15:33the loads of charities up and down the country, and then I started my whole charity, which is the speedal mix foundation, which gives to small, grassroots charities that don't see very much money at all, you know, and I get supported a lot by the, by the, by the whole country, basically, which is being fantastic, you know, and I've managed to raise over a million pounds, which is still going out to charities up and down the country, and it's for this advanced jungle people, homelessness, I met with all of which I've suffered from myself in the past, you know, and I'm interested, you could place it at the moment, and I'm so excited about, because I do all my walks and stuff, I've been walking, I do big walks, lands-entry, general growth, it's 2005, I do all in the cold, I do all in my speedos, that's why it's a speedal mix. I just want to stop, I just want to stop, it's for people who are listening to this, it's very easy to gloss over that you've walked the length of the country, wearing speedos and footwear. Yeah, yeah, just to pay the speedos, basically, you know what I mean, that's,

16:39it's not just the length of the country, it's not just the length of the country though, he did a tour of the country. Oh right, it wasn't even in a straight line. Yeah, I've done a 2500 mile walk, that was to hit to the four capitals in England, Ireland, Scotland, the Wales as well, you know, I mean, that went into a different season, that went into the summer by the time I'd finished that one, that was a six-month walk, you know, and yeah, and you know, I climbed a few, the only mountains that climbed in England by the way, but I've done it in the winter, and it was, it was minus three, at the bottom, I've been nervous when I climbed that and meeting nothing but my speedos, and it was minus 18 with the Wales windshield at the top, and I made that, you know, so I think what I am is, I think I'm driven, I'm driven, and the, and the drive that I'm given is because I'm given back, you know,

17:40aren't there, yeah. Brilliant, we've got to go for a short break now, but when we come back, David, I'd like to start with you all to talk about the importance of teamwork, particularly on something such as this expedition, don't go away so much more to come. Life is filled with many paths, but for Native American children, the most important path is the one that leads them out of poverty. It's a path that led me here to St. Joseph's Indian School. Learn more at stjo.org today. Welcome back. So David, you're the leader of this expedition. What for you is the importance of teamwork? A leader instigator, or am I potentially better word? So, so teamwork, teamwork's an interesting one, because essentially we've got, we've got eight very clear individuals going, and it's a very different challenge. If you look at what mix done, and a lot of this on its own, and similarly, what back to most done, you know, standing in an arena,

18:42winning gold medals, that's a, I know there's a team around you, but that is a very individual delivery on the day. So this, this will only really work with teamwork and simple things like putting a tent up, you know, you can't really put a tent up on your own in bad weather. So on a simplistic basis, it's that things like making sure we've got enough water melted for the day, making sure that's somewhere where it's going to stay water, because of his mind is 20, it's going to be frozen fairly quickly, and making sure we've got, you know, usable losing things. Now that will be an interesting slant on teamwork. That's I guess for we're going to get to know each other fairly well. But you know, it's, it only works when you have a team of people. The difference, the difference I think with this is going to be that the only person I've actively camped with in any kind of adverse weather is, is will. So it'll be interesting, the first, the first night when we get there and get the tent up, it'll be, it'll be a,

19:42a bit of a swift learning experience. I think everybody's going, recognizes the need to work together in some way, shape or form. And I think we'll, we'll find our, we'll find our space fairly quickly, I think. Yeah. So within the team, so for example, you've got eight people, is that one tent, is that several tents? How does that work? No, so the eight of the eight of us will have four tents, and the simple reason for that is so we've got enough space to fit everything in. But it also means we've got enough space that if we lost a tent, we could do that without, without too much of a problem. Not they were planning on losing a tent, but we've got, you know, enough scope to be able to do whatever we need to do. And just on a practical level, how do you manage to cook and feed yourself in that sort of situation? Oh, easily, in a plant, in a, in a planned manner. So the things like you, you cooking an tent needs to be ventilated, but we'll need to cook under cover if it's windy. Otherwise, the, the stoves won't work,

20:45they'll just blow out. But it won't, that won't be too much for a problem. It's, it's just temperature, and as long as things are, as long as things are kind of planned in advance, it'll be pretty straightforward. What do you see as, as somebody who's organising this, what's the, the biggest challenge in issue? I think the things, it'll be interesting to see how long it is before tarnished creeps in. Okay. So tarnished cold, you know, there, there's gonna be, there's gonna be times where people are looking for somebody else to quit first, so they don't have to quit first. You know, if the, if the weather's really bad, they'll, everybody will be looking for someone else to stop first before they do, definitely. And, you know, it's a, it's the, it's the thing everybody sits and says, I never, I don't want to quit. But at some point, they'll, they'll be things that come up, which are a team decision that we, we get together and say, right, that we, we have to stop here because the weather's too bad or it's too cold or whatever. And that will be

21:45that, that's when the team will become a team, basically. And that's, you know, I don't think you can necessarily force that point. It'll all, it will happen. Naturally. That's what you've been on a couple of, a reality TV programmes where a team is all about team, actually. I'm living against what one another and, you know, extreme conditions. So you've done SES who dares, where you're taught by the army or you're challenged by the army and you've also, I'm a celebrity, get me out of here. What experience, what, from that experience, are you going to take forward into this expedition? Well, first of all, I mean, we're not going in cold, which, well, it will be cold, but what I'm saying is metaphorically speaking, we're met each other. And it's great because the team's great and it's, it's going to, I think, I do think it will work. But you can never be sure how people are going to react to the extreme conditions. Look, the first few days is going to be a suck it and see, isn't it?

22:45Because at the end of the day, for a few of us, I don't know, Mikkels speak the same. We're not been used to going on skis, all right? So, and pulling the Polk, you know, it can push you down the slopes. And then when you're going up the hills, then you've got to pull the, the, the Polk up as well. So it'll take a couple of days, I would say, to get used to that. And also, the conditions itself, I mean, it's going to be cold. So I'm guessing that, you know, expect the worst and be happy with whatever, you know, that comes along. So get comfortable with, with being uncomfortable, as they say. And this is something that these programs taught me about, never, you know, just go with the flow, as it were. And usually speaking, if we've got good people that empathic, they support one another and that's what it's about. Because there's going to be times when you get tired, cold or you sort of irritable, hungry. And frustrated as well, I think

23:47frustration will be the biggest one where we're trying to expect more of ourselves. And then, we give credit to, you know, the fact that respecting this is, it's not going to be an easy task, particularly in view of the fact that, you know, you've got to go against the cold weather. And like we said, anything minus 20 to 40 degrees. But the beauty about it also will be when you have those lovely sunrises on the horizon, they have their beautiful views. There's like nothing else, you know, I'm sure that, you know, that will make up for everything. And yeah, the team, I guess, will, will all be able to support one another, that I, you know, have no doubt at all. And yeah, it was, of course, it's going to be a challenge. That's what it's about. And that's why, you know, I, I, I want to go because there's not something that I can do every day of the weekend. And I'm sure I'll feel that I've done deep enough to learn from the experience and it'll shape the way I move forward. Brilliant. Thank you. Michael, you've done these challenges that

24:50they have been on their own, on your own. Have you had a support team when you've done these, or have you done these entirely by yourself? Well, while I've been on the road, basically, it's just me on your own. I have a, I have a friend with me in from time to time, you know, putting as far as the organization before and the, as they get help, get help with me social media, for as far as the walk is works and that, because it's saying that it's just been myself dealing with, you know, the elements and trying to get in before I got hired with them here, basically. So this is going to be really interesting to me as well. But we've all met up, of course, and we went to the new forests and everyone just seems to be great, you know, in the name, because they can be challenging if people, to a couple of people are clashing, you know, in the name, you've got the dynamics isn't quite right there, but we seem to be

25:52really all okay and all on the same page. And that's, I'm really excited about that. I'm excited to both go on and being in the team, basically, you know what I mean. What do you think that the experiences that you've had in terms of all of those challenges have had that you're going to take forward into this particular challenge? Well, I think right the way through me life, really, and not just on them challenges, it's the adversity that I've gone through that is going to help me get through the next challenge, you know, and I know that I believe in myself now, I believe that I can finish something that I've started and I never believed that for a very long time, you know, so this is all important, stuff that I've built up over the years, you know, the self-belief and you know, the endurance, and as well, I suppose it's the so-for-un, we go through when we go through these challenges,

26:52physically, mentally, spiritually, even, and yet we still come out to the side, so there's always hope on the other side of the struggle, you know, so yeah, there's, yeah. I think for people listening to this, you know, who may be going through struggles at the moment, you're recognising that going through the discomfort and recognising that there is light at the end of the tunnel, you know, if you keep going, you'll get through it. I think it's a really important thing for people on the outside listening and engaging with you. David, I know you're a scouter and the part of the people sending their children to be part of the scouting movement is about giving them safe challenges, the opportunity to try things that are different, and to find out about their capacity to do things when things go perhaps not to plan. Are there particular lessons from your scouting that you're going to bring to bear when you are

27:55engaging with people in the run-up to the expedition and during the expedition? The practical stuff, isn't it, really? I think a lot of the time I take a lot of the skills I've got completely for granted. Absolutely. I absolutely think about it again anymore. I mean, I can tell you right now, I will turn up with the biggest bag with the most kit and I'll have all the it's not because I need a lot of kit, it's just, wherever I go, I've always got like a back-up bag with all the silly little things that make a difference. From now on out of you, David, you think of every eventuality, so that you cover in all the bases and not just yourself, but for the team as well. Yeah, so it sounds like a challenge to me, I'll be bringing the kitchen sink. It's silly things like having a spare water bottle or having gaffer tape to tie up a rip in someone's jacket. It's the thing in a head. Without being negative

29:02and it's not about being negative, it's about the horse going to be being prepared to make sure that everything that can be done is safe and sensible and fun as it can be because I mean, realistically, what's the worst that's going to happen? We're going to get really chilly, we're going to be hungry, we might get a bit ratty with each other, but I mean, other than that, as long as we're properly prepared, you know, we should, it'll be a really, really great experience. And you do have people who know the area, not just landing up are you in the opposite? Yeah, so we have, yeah, we have, because one of the places that we'll be camping is on a frozen lake, we have got, we have, apparently the ice is thick enough, but clearly we'll be testing that. Well, we're going to need to bring an ice hole to get in, because that's a photo that has to be taken. But yeah, we've got two guides who are very experienced in the area. If people listening to this want to know more about this as you go through, where can people

30:03find out about what you're doing and how to contribute to the funds? I mean, we're not finishing the programme, but I think it's important for people to understand how they can contribute, but also they want to find out how things are going, where can they find out on the time of the exhibition, you know, how you're doing? Easy, if you, if you use the hashtags, either the easiest ways, the hashtags, speedermake or the speedermake foundation, alternatively Fatima Whip Bread or Fatima Jouka campaign, you'll find loads, you'll find links through all social media easily. Okay, that's lovely, thank you. We're going to go for a short break in a minute, but one of the things I want to talk about when we come back is that sense of purpose, and you are three who have a very significant sense of purpose, and although there's great alignment that there's something different and Mick, you started to talk about this before, but my own experience is that when we have a

31:04sense, strong sense of purpose, you can achieve anything, you know, most difficult circumstances become possible. So don't go away, we'll be back in just a minute to talk about how purpose has made a difference to these three, and their choice to go to the Arctic in the middle of winter, and experience conditions that the most normal people will be things that they'd avoid like the plague. Don't go away, we'll be back in just a minute. Brushwood, median at work. Meet Norm, he lives with anxiety, but with the help of this latest innovation from be normal, he can be normal, just like everyone else. With the swipe of a finger, you can project happiness, confidence, muchismo, why settle for being real when you can be normal? The normal maker, new from be normal. This item doesn't really work because there's no such thing as normal, we're all different, what we like, our brains work, in fact one in five of us live with mental illness, don't filter who you are, start by talking to someone you trust, and remember there is no normal.

32:05Welcome back, Fatima, what does purpose mean to you? Purpose is when I'm self-driven, in respect to something that I'm passionate of. For me, as a child in the care system, becoming then world champion and coming around in a full circle now, in my late, early 60s, and being an advocate for children in the care system, that gives me a sense of purpose, and it's also a passion which helps to drive me forward. It's not just about helping young children today, but it's also changing the system, which is broken, in order to improve those life outcomes for future generations to come, long beyond our time. That's important when we all have that opportunity to use our platforms to do good for others, and that's the purpose, really. Whenever I talk to students, when I go

33:08around, I always say to them, look, it's great to use your skills, but don't forget, you must have humanity too. It's not just about the skill, it's bringing a sense of passion, to what you do, and that, for me, is giving me a purpose. I'll take it back a little bit further, Gina, when I was in the care system, and I remember my auntie where I called my bright shining star, and you remember this little Gina, it's called my bright shining star, it's all about a young fat in the care system, it's less my auntie where I use my bright shining star, every child needs somebody who they can has a good role model, and I remember Auntie Ray, she was a 42-hour lady in the care home, and I would always think, where does Auntie Ray live, and I'd run upstairs, and I'd look at that poor window, and I'd hear a clip clopping up and down the road, and I thought, oh, there, she lives down at the end of that road, and of course, as a 10-year-old, I picked all these daffodils around the children's home in people's gardens, and I walked down to

34:12Auntie Ray's, and I knocked on her door, and I hit the flowers behind the back, and when she opened the door, I said, will you be my mummy? And she said to me, our fat, she said, come on, let's talk about this, and Auntie Ray taught me two really important things. The first one, she said, fat, she said, I can't just be your mum, she said, I got to be mum told those other children too, she said, but here's the thing, she said, I'm not always there, and you are. Therefore, I started to think about this, because she said, why don't you be their mum when I'm not there? So I started to step up, call out any injustice, which mainly quite popular, and popular as a 10-year-old, but in doing so, what that gave me is the purpose. It fulfilled the emotional needs of those other children, so like reading bedtime stories to them, waking them up when they're having nightmares, you know, drawing matchstick men on, steamed up, winders playing, pillow fights, that kind of thing. And in giving them, and fulfilling their emotional needs, I received it, and the second thing what it did for me, it swiveled the lens, so instead of growing up feeling victimised by my

35:16circumstances, the purpose that I had enabled me, my lens to swivel outward, and not be stuck here in my mind, and help those other young children become, you know, fulfilled in their way. So, purpose to me, that's what those two things mean, you know, being able to help use my platform to help others, to change and bring change to the care system, but also, you know, it's important that you've, every now and again, you do things for yourself as well, and fulfill yourself, which is my purpose in doing the challenges both too far, really, to help with the charity, if that means you can campaign, but also because I was quite tough on myself as a kid, and I would always punish myself because we were in a care homes, children's homes, and I'd always say, well, challenge myself to do things, or if somebody says you couldn't do it, I'll prove them wrong that I could. So, I love a challenge, and that's my purpose, but this one I think is beyond my,

36:17my limits in as much that I don't know what to expect. I think it would can be quite brutal with the weather, but at the same time, we've got a great team, and I the camaraderie between the team and supporting one another is going to help us greatly to succeed. Brilliant, thank you. Michael, what's purpose mean to you? Well, when you, when you brought that subject up, Jean, you said you started to speak about purpose before the brief, I got a little bit too full, to be honest, because it's, and it always gets me that, it gets me, you know, emotional, because I never had a purpose for so long, you know, just get blown about like dust in the setting getty in my life, I never had no direction, no one to look up to. And that's not a victim state, that was just the fact, you know what I mean? Even now, actually, I did become, I was a victim, and I carried that into me throughout my life, for a long time, you know, and I'm purpose,

37:21as made me, it fills me spiritual purpose, you know, especially when you're doing it like Fatima was saying, it just fills you, it fills you up, it saves you, you're not saving anybody else where you're just giving them an option to do something different as well, but yeah, it's a big drive, and like he said, about the given bad process, which is my purpose, is his second and on foot, to feel whole as a person, you know, and that purpose, that's what that gives me, you know, the main thing, I'm not looking to get anything out of it, I'm looking to give, but because you, that's all you do, you're looking to do, it's so Malcolm's back at it, two folds, you know, I mean, and as far as the challenges and all that, that I've taken on, I can say, and I think the ADHD has a lot to do with, with me getting through that stuff as well, through the pain,

38:25and the suffering, and just to keep going type of thing in my hands, you know, and put your purposes massive in my life today, and I all day close to me, you know, I mean, I'm not always looking for the papers, you know, sometimes the papers is me, sometimes looking after myself, and that's what I've just learned over the last year, I've had a few struggles with me all mental health, and I need to look after me first before I can start giving the love out, you know, in the name, in dollops, you know, so yeah, papers, people's lives. I think, Qing, I mean, I guess I've got a lot of empathy with, with Mick, because ultimately, you know, we've only met a couple of times right Mick, but because we come with sort of a chip off the same block, and we've gone through adversity in a way we have, and I get on really well with you, and I've got, you know, we have a lot of laughs, and I mean, the one thing that I understand with you is, and it's the same for me,

39:30healing work is really important, we're constantly in that healing work, and, you know, and our sole purpose in life is to look after the soul, because ultimately, you know, if we're not right, nothing's right, and we're only surfing about a blink of an eye, really, so it's great to do what we can to support others in their course, but also ultimately, you've got to make sure that you look after yourself too, because, you know, you're serving your soul, and that's really important. The information you get when you're on aeroplane, which is, in the event of an emergency, put your own oxygen mask on first, so you can then help other people is very true, but it's interesting how challenging it can be to do that, and I just come off an interview Fatter and I both going to be in a book very soon about the power or the strength of resilience, and we're talking about purpose. Again, I'm someone with a very strong sense of purpose about

40:32helping people lead their lives effectively and lead others with heart, compassion, courage, and with integrity, and I think, for me, purpose is one of those things that gets you up in the morning on those mornings when you'd rather have a duvet day, that keeps you going when things get tough, and if you have that really strong sense of why that can act as a real motivator, and something that greases the rails, if you like, that keeps things going when things get sticky. David, what does purpose mean to you? Just to find that question, can I just stick you one thing? I've already said this to me, but I wrote an article a while back on the gift of adversity for collaboration global, and it was interesting, because this was done a good couple of years ago, and I've kind of bumped into Mick in a variety of times over the last couple of years. Basically, I was writing about different people who've achieved different things,

41:36not necessarily through illness or anything else, but just people who've done different things, and Mick was one of the people that I included in there, and one of the things that I'd said was, at the time of reading, he's currently walking a thousand miles, which obviously turned into, well, two in a bit, and basically, I was just commenting on the facts that a lot of people don't really think about what he'd actually achieved, and there was somebody in the press made some comment about he should put some clothes on, and my comment on that was that in the arena of cold exposure, I mean, there's only really two international people who would come up. One is Wim Hof, and one is Mick, and if that was an Olympic sport, he would be a gold medalist, literally, and the other thing I wrote was the incredible things that Mick's life mission was to make people smile, raise money for charity, and he's turned the engagement of adversity into force for good,

42:38and is literally changing lives from the ground up, and he's been doing that for a long time, SS Fatima has to be fair, but it was interesting that I picked that up, like, a good two or three years ago, before this came up, and so there is a kind of an ongoing, what's the following the ripples as to where? Yes, that there certainly is, but purpose, what does it mean? So purpose for me is what do you mean my purpose, or what does purpose mean? Well, initially, what does purpose, what's the relevance, what's the importance of purpose having a reason to do things, you know, I think it's, I think it's incredibly important to not to, I think it's more important to have a selfless reason to do something, because I think that gives you more back than necessarily doing something where you get something back in return. It's not transactional, you're paying it forward, which is what Mick said, isn't it? Yes, and indeed what Fatima and Mick are both doing in spades, and you, because when you give up your time for the scouts,

43:42it's a voluntary position, you get from that, not only your own children have been through it, but you were a scout, weren't you, as a child and a young man yourself, weren't you? A long time, you know. Also, Gina, it was really lovely to see David bring the scouts to our summit, the harness in the power one voice summit, April, which was to quite a historic moment to bring in together the four nations to improve the life outcomes for kids in the care system. And you were playing a very instrumental part there, David, when you brought the scout leader as well, Dwayne, and also quite a few scouts. So, you know, you've got a big heart, and you know, your purpose, I would say, is to, often, you would put others in before yourself, and yeah, I think you're, you're called by, called by. So, it's what, six weeks till you go, maybe less. I want to know what each of you are doing in

44:52preparation for going on this expedition. So, Michael, let's talk, start with you. What preparation are you doing to get yourself into a mental place and a physical place to actually do this expedition? Well, I'm actually in a really, really good place, as far as me, mental health kids gets concerned at the moment, you know, which is very important, because I think the start at me last challenge with me, mental health was like, well, it was, I was, it was really low. Yeah, no, me last walk in challenge that was, and it never held me at the end of the thing, you know, at the end of the challenge. It was difficult for me to combat from that. So, this time, I mean, it really, really good place mentally, physically, not so good. I'm not so good, because I've got a need, I've got a bit of a, anything going on, a bit of a back thing going, I've got to show the thing going. There's a few things going on, you know, so on, and I'm in the gym, I am in the gym, and I'm in a, I'm in a, I jump in there to talk, which is to say,

45:54up in time, in the pond area, like every, about three times, two, two, three times a week. But I'm in the gym at the moment. So, doing a few walks as well, just trying to keep myself a little bit, like you said, like that, where do we use before you use it, use the, the papers to grease the rails, man, that was brilliant, that was brilliant. So, that's what I'm doing, with my body at the moment, trying to keep myself so clean off to get through this, this next feeling, physically, you know, I've just turned 61 yesterday as well. You look great on that, you look great on it. Happy for the rest of the body. Yeah, happy for the rest of the day, mate. Yeah, you'll have to tell me, buddy, that we bodies, like that one, will you just sit down, everybody say, just pack it in. That begins at 60, mate. Yeah, it's 16. It's yours, it's yours, yeah. So, yeah, it's all been in the gym, been doing a few, few, few, few, a bit of walking, and I'm jumping, I'm jumping into the air into

46:56a couple of times a week as well. Yeah, yeah, I'm up to it mentally, anyway. Swimming in the serpentine at this time of year, cold water swimming, it really is cold water swimming. Fatima, what are you doing to prepare? Well, life is, it's a lifestyle to me. Life is always about being at the ready. A very big part of who I am is always being, you know, playing on the fitness side. Mental health is really important, so my well-being is also something that I work hard on as well. So, I called out the wholesome. So, at this stage, I would say there's not a huge amount of difference of what I would bring to it, because you can't pre-judge what you're going to actually come up against. But some things are just, you know, once you get there, you have to dig deep and go along with the flow. For me, it's about controlling the nerves and being positive about, you know, the outcomes of what it, it's going to present,

48:00you know, in terms of whether it's doable or not. And I'm sorry it is because so many people do it. But because I've never been on skis, that's probably my biggest fear if I'm going to have, if I'm going to have a fear about something, this whether or not I'm capable of staying up on my feet. But I'm sorry I will, I'm sorry I will. Now, fitness wise, I've always said it's like walking a tight road. If you're a fit, you've got to be very careful in as much that you can fully either side, fall foul of illness or injury. And that's the thing. I mean, I'm ready. I'm as ready as I can be. And I think, you know, just throw your hat into the ring and just get on with it. I'm looking forward to some seeing some being with some beautiful people are in beautiful surroundings, you know, and at the end of the day, you know, it is going to be hard work. Don't be under any illusions. But if you've got a good mindset, the right mindset, then there's no reason why you can't achieve what it is that you're setting out to do. So I'm looking forward

49:03at the end of it, turning on and saying, yes, we did it. And that right, Mick? Yeah, my own. Just share your normal physical routine because for many people, that would be huge preparation for a big expedition, but you do it every day. Every day, yeah, I mean, I do three times, three hours a day, different stuff. And I'll make sure I get up really early. Sometimes I'm up at five o'clock just so I can get a couple hours cardio in and then later in the evening or midday, if I get dependent on what my meetings are, whether they're virtual meetings or in-person meetings or whether it's up and down at that for breadth of the country, I'll always take my kit with me and I'll never miss my training because it's all about who I am in terms of that's important to me. And that's how I deal with my wellbeing. And that's my, a lot of what I used to do as a, in my primary care, is as my healing

50:06work. You know, sport was my saviour and that's something that I became very good at. But ultimately, as we talk about purpose, that's important to me. My purpose is to make sure that I get up and I'm able to face the world and go out and do what I need to do. And yes, you know, we all struggle one way or another, but to start yourself, you know, when you get up in the morning, what must I do? And I call it the three ends movement, mindfulness and mindset movement because when you get up in the morning, sometimes you feel frozen and stuck in a place where you don't want to be and think thinking about something that's coming up or whether you're doing, whether something that's affecting you at that moment in time. As soon as you start moving around, you're getting those good serotonin, the hormones that kicking in. Great to get out, whether you swim in a certain time, which are lucky enough to do with Nick and David. That was a fantastic, exhilarating experience. Those kinds of things are what give you good mindfulness, you're mixing with different people as

51:10well that you wouldn't normally mix with. You're seeing life differently for a different lens. And then of course, mindset is telling yourself that it is a positive, you know, you're able to do it. If you're so easily not going to do it, chances are you won't. So mindset is 95% of everything. And that's the way I look at my life in as much that I'll bring some different skill sets to my day, whether it do my artwork, whether I do my, you know, obviously sport is a lifestyle, my training, general fitness, but also my mental health, you know, I like, I call it my homework, Gina, podcasting and, you know, and I go out four hour walks in the morning. So those things are really important to me to feel good. So the brilliance behind my mantra has always been strength, love, and happiness is what completes my world. But the question is, it's not who's going to let me,

52:10but who's going to stop me? And that's the way I go from my life. Brilliant, thank you. David, what preparation are you doing for this, both as a contributor, but also as a leader? I learned skiing avid more when I was three. So I'm very, very comfortable in really bad snowy weather. Anybody who's skiing in avid more will know that it's good for one day a year, the rest of the time is horrible. Just to say that avid more is in Scotland when there is a pretty great interest at most at the time. Yeah, it was great. So I'm going to be making sure all the kits right. That is almost like a meditation for me. I do love my kit. And it's getting all the stupid little things that make the difference. It's the squirreling away some harry bow because I know that'll make a difference to somebody at some point. Fitness, I've done the half marathon distance twice this week. It's really important that I'm fit enough to enjoy it. I know what that feels like.

53:12I know what it feels like to struggle. I know what it feels like to leave it to the last minute and then pretend I'm fitting and the outcome of that's never pretty. So fitness is incredibly important and cold exposure. So I'll be swimming a lot and be outdoors, you know, in the cold the wet. I think that's really good for you because it just prepares you for pretty much anything that you're getting. And then most importantly, checking in the rest of the team, making sure it's really funny some of the things that people have come up with as concerns. But we all think of different things. You know, different things. One of the team has said is it going to be cold. It's like, yeah, mine's been concerned about the tent. One's been concerned that other people don't think about how much food they need to take. You know, so I think it's making sure that it's ensuring that everybody's concerns are honoured. And when I say honoured, acknowledged as something that they think about because they really shouldn't be anything that

54:13anybody is particularly, you know, anxious about it. But yeah, it'll be it'll be what it'll be on the day. It's certainly well. And I have to say that would be one of my concerns is what do you do when you're in the middle of the Arctic in terms of going to the Lou? You dig a hole. You dig indeed. Yes. You know, you was a you you were a keen skier yourself, weren't you? You know, I was, but there were always places to go to the Lou. Now, I loved skiing and I, you know, sadly I can't do it anymore. But despite not liking heights and not liking the cold, I loved to ski. And I, you know, we've got the last few minutes of the show and one of the things that I want to ask you as listeners to do is to support this. The causes are amazing. If you think about the life chances of young people who've been put into care for no fault of their own, that they certainly in the UK, and I know the situation is very often the same in other countries, that they're moved around at the convenience of the people who are supposed to protect and care

55:19and love for them. And that when they leave care in the UK, particularly at 18, they're just cast off with just two visits and a small amount of money unexpected to to do well. And many of them struggle and within two years, a third of those young people living care are actually homeless, which brings me to mixed charity, which is around helping people with their mental health. By the age of 14, a significant proportion of young people who will go through the care system are already diagnosed with mental health conditions. But that can happen to anybody. You don't have to be in care to have a problem with your mental health and helping people with their mental health, with addiction, with homelessness, all of those things that mixed charity helps. That could happen to any one of us. We were talking Fatima and I to somebody who runs a charity for the homeless, and these days with inflation and with all of the problems and getting work and so on, we've now got people who would never have been homeless, who are facing the challenges of homelessness.

56:24And so you can make a difference, and whether you can give a pound or a dollar, or you're somebody who's got lots of money and can really put your hand deep in your pocket and make a difference. Leave a legacy, one that you know is going to be spent well, it's not going to go on big wages, none of us get paid. It's not going to be spent on huge administration. It's going to go where it really, really matters. And so please give generously and support these people who are putting their time and their lives on the line going off to the Arctic to make a difference. So David, to finish this up, please can you give people the places that they go to if they want to give? Yeah, if you look for either speedomic or Fatima Whitbread on any of the social media platforms, the links for both charities are posted in most of the posts that mention this event. So it's really, really super easy to find on, you'll be able

57:27to see it on any of the social media platforms. And presumably if they go to go fund me in putting speedomic or if they go to just giving and they put in Fatima Whitbread there, you'll find it there as well. Easy. Just Google either, you'll find them. Brilliant. And we've just got time for one more comment from each of you before we finish the show. Mike, let's finish with you. What one thing would you like to say to the audience? Part of the thought would be, if you can, doesn't matter. And what do you, even if it's a minute, if you take five minutes, if you take just listening, so just give back, if you can't give something back and you will get to all back in New Zealand, you know what I mean? And to give back process is a really precious thing. It is indeed. My dad used to have a saying, if you spread your, cast your bread upon the waters and it'll come back 10,000 fold and it was very much about giving first without condition

58:31and surprise what comes back. Fatima, you're parting thought. I would say that, take yourself a challenge for this year. Look at something that's outside your comfort zone and don't be afraid to put your best foot forward and give it a go. And in the meantime, also do it for worthy calls that can help others. And as we've always said in giving you receive, so you'll be doing something good calls for somebody else, but you'll also get a fulfilment from that yourself. So don't be afraid to set yourself a target. Go ahead and jump in. Thank you. And David, I say give it, give adventure a go. Get out and meet some positive like-minded people. You'll be staggered at the doors that it opens. You'll never know what the next door is, but you'll be amazed at what it introduces you to. Yeah. I just like to say a huge thank you to we all wishing you the very, very best of luck. And I hope it goes well and I shall be following

59:34it closely. Thank you very much for joining me. I look forward to seeing you on the next show. Bye bye now. Thanks for listening to Gina Gardner and friends. The show that helps you live a happier, more successful and fulfilling life. To learn more about Gina Gardner, go to genuinely-u.com. If you would like to work with Gina or book hers a speaker, email her at gina at genuinely-u.com. you