The mental, physical and social benefits of meditation are far reaching and long lasting.

I can think of few things where such little investment can deliver such large rewards.

That’s why I was so interested to speak with someone that has a passion for meditation. 

And who better than Asher Packman, a meditation teacher the President of the Meditation Australia.

I hope you enjoy this conversation and maybe even take a few minutes afterwards to meditate.

You can find out more about Meditation Australia here: https://meditationaustralia.org.au/ 

I’m a little like that myself and while we canvass one passion at a time on the podcast I thought it would be interesting to have a guest come back on to share a second passion.

In season one we heard from Oliver about his passion for cars, unsurprising to those of us who know Oliver, it’s been a listener favourite.

So I thought we’d invite Oliver back on for season 2 to share another passion of his.

This time a passion he’s managed to combine with his professional life, the passion for aviation.

Wine is grapes, little more than grapes.

But the reason we find it so interesting is because it's so different.

The exact same variety of grape, grown in different soil or a different climate, or even in the same place but a different year tastes so different.

You can't replicate it, what you have in that bottle is a one-off, its unique.

It's why it's so romanticised, why people collect it, why it's so expensive. 

And if you think of wine that way, it's no surprisethat people have a passion for it.

I was so lucky to meet one such person, Maritza, she lives and breathes her passion for wine and just can't get enough of sharing it with others.

I just had to have her on the podcast, I hope you enjoy, maybe even over a glass of wine.

If you want to enjoy Maritza's passion first hand, check out her wine tours: https://www.countryescapetours.com.au/ 

Reading and writing has been a big part of my life, from school and university and well into my career.

I’m sure that’s the case for so many of my listeners. 

But there’s something special about tapping into a passion for writing.

Not writing because you have to but writing because you want to.

Better yet, writing to share your passion and to support others.

Our next guest has taken his passion for writing and is doing exactly that. 

Listen to hear more and be sure to check out Men with Manners on Instagram. @men.with.manners 

That’s the power of passion and the power of hearing someone share the things they are passionate for.

Motorcyles and racing are not the things I’m ordinarily drawn to, but hearing this week’s guest, I find my self totally captivated.

There’s something so electric about hearing people share their passion and something infectious too.

I hope you enjoy this conversation and find it as engaging as I did. 

You can find more about Jerry and his passion project here: https://motorcyclewarsofficial.com/ 

I haven’t always loved it but during university. I started to jog in the morning.

I found it cleared my head and as a student I found I had to do something to stay healthy.

It was in Canberra I really began to run, it’s a beautiful place to run and where I did my first half. 

Now in Sydney I’m spoiled, morning runs to the Opera House, Mrs Macquarie’s Chair and my personal favourite Rushcutters Bay.

I’m not the fastest nor can I run the farthest but I really do love it.

So I couldn’t resist when an email landed in the podcast mailbox about a passion for running.

Not only that, but for running with a purpose.

Janelle da Silva has been running for an incredible reason and I can’t wait for you to hear more.

You can hear more from Janelle here: https://youtu.be/O40_NCImGZQ  or at: https://www.janelledasilva.com/. 

I’ve enjoyed every single one of our interviews with our passionate guests on topics as diverse as cars and education through to travel and social impact.

I’m so lucky to be surrounded by the most incredibly passionate people.

And while usually we just get to talk with one of them per episode. 

I thought for this final episode on 2021 we’d try the very first My Passion Mixtape.

You’ll hear a diverse range of topics throughout this episode from reading, fishing and speech pathology to racing and gymnastics.

They come with different experiences, philosophies and accents.

But there’s one thing they all share: that golden thread of passion that’s been woven across every guest we’ve heard from this season.

Before we kick off, I just want to extend a huge thanks to all our guests who have participated in this podcast.

And of course, some 2,500 listeners that have made this all worth while.

Stay passionate! 

You cross paths for a few years, take a few photos and leave with some memories.

But there are a special few that you form a particular bond with.

The people that stay a part of your life, even when there’s space in time and geography.

For me, todays guest is one of them – Ash Peplow Ball.

I value having Ash in my life for many reasons.

But above all I know when Ash is in my life, my life will have more impact.

She’s always challenged me to do better and supported those around her to do what needs to be done.

Ash has a longstanding passion for social impact, community activism and making a difference.

I think you’ll understand exactly why I consider myself so lucky to still call her my friend.

When I first thought about who I wanted on this podcast, Patrick Keyzer right up there on my list.

He was my constitutional law professor, I worked as his research assistant and he’s just such an incredibly passionate individual.

Now  a Dean of Law and an esteemed barrister, he's also earned a reputation for outstanding legal research.

So when I first asked him to come on I fully expected this to be a podcast about the law.

But when I asked him about his passion the conversation turned to music and it was clear that’s where his passion lay.

I’m not sure if it was a painful experience of a formal, rigid program or just a bad fit early in my career but there’s something about it that’s always jarred with me.

But while I don’t love the term, I do love the idea. 

And if a mentor is some one you trust, you go to for guidance and counsel, the first referee on your resume and the last person on your speed dial. 

Then today’s guest is one of my mentors. 

She played a huge part in my early career development and has supported me through some pretty significant career changes since. 

When I asked  what her passion was, it was no surprise to me that she said empowering others. 

Because that’s exactly what she’s done to me and I hope by listening to this episode you might find yourself a little empowered too. 

I’ve lost count of how many people have been in touch to tell me it resonated with them.

I thought it would be good to look at the other side of the coin and dedicate an episode to the passion for learning.

And who better to talk to about learning than a student?

I’ve been so lucky this year to participate in an alumni mentoring program set up by my alma matre. 

It’s given me a chance to connect with Jackson Miller, a current student at Bond university. 

We’ve talked about many things over the past couple of months but my favourite conversation has been around passion, and his passion for learning.

Jackson’s creativity and enthusiasm shine through in every meeting we have.

And I’m so pleased that you’ll be able to listen in to our conversation today. 

Maybe I’ve got a good sized vegetarian audience or the time we’ve spent at home in lockdown has us more interested than ever in plants.  

But whatever the case, that passion struck a particular chord. 

So I thought today we’d discuss a related passion for growing your own food. 

My guest today is Monique Collins, a home gardener who is passionate about growing food.

Not only is Monique passionate about growing her own food, she’s committed to sharing her passion with others.

That’s why she founded The Edible Garden Co. to inspire, educate and support others to grow their own food too.

There are so many benefits to growing your own food and it’s something that we can all think about doing, even if you live in an apartment like me. 

I hope you enjoy today’s podcast and maybe you’ll find yourself inspired to give your own edible garden a go.

Monique’s work can be found here: https://www.theediblegardenco.com/ 

He is passionate about diversity, multiculturalism and community.

He brings to this his unique mix of creativity, humility and humour to raise awareness and promote inclusion.

I’ve got to admit I was nervous about this conversation, I’m a straight, cisgender, Caucasian, Catholic. 

What can I say about diversity?

But really it’s not what people like me can say, it’s what people like me can hear.

These can be hard conversations to have and sometimes I find myself tripping over myself having them. 

But I really wanted to talk to Thinesh because if we don’t talk about the things that need to change they tend to say precisely the same.

I’ve learned so much from Thinesh over the past ten years and even more today.

I hope you enjoy our discussion and maybe learn a little too. 

The first thing you see when you turn into their street is their beautiful rose garden.

Often you’ll see passers by stopping to admire them or lucky visitors taking a few flowers home.

They’ve become something of an icon in the neighbourhood and a source of daily joy.

Plants can bring us great joy and today’s guest is living proof. 

Within a broader passion for finding those things that bring her happiness she’s turned her time and attention to flora. 

You can hear this zest for life in every thing Olivia has to say. 

Just like the plants she adores, Liv is caring, bright and you just feel better having shared her company.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. 

And if you want to hear more from Olivia be sure to check out her Instagram page at https://www.instagram.com/diggingwithdodds.  

 I mean you’ve got to be, right?

Think of a PhD – studying the one specific, narrow for three to four years of your life.  

Or scientists who work day in day out on the one experiment, often for decades without result.

But sometimes what one person researches might not be that interesting to those outside their field. 

When you’re in luck though, you come across someone doing interesting research in a really interesting space.

Today’s guest is doing exactly that with their research into conspiracy theories and misinformation.

Whether we like it or not, we’re living in an age of conspiracy theories and now more than ever we’re seeing the impact that can have. 

Tatiana Carter’s passion is looking at what’s been going on but also what we can do about it.

Tatiana’s work can be found here: https://www.tatiana-carter.com/ 

Some of my guests so far are people I’ve studied, travelled or worked with. 

But I think it’s fair to say, I’m not as close to any of them as I am to today’s guest.

Because in this episode I’m speaking with my big sister Shannon Kennedy.

Some of my earliest childhood memories are Shan drawing or painting in our childhood home.

To this day, some of her incredible work has pride of place in our family home back in Newcastle.

She’s incredibly passionate about design, and the positive impact design can have right across our community.

And while I’ve always known this was something she’s interested in, I’ve got to say it was the first time I really had a chance to talk with her about how passion, how it came about and where she sees it going.

If a picture tells a thousand words, I hope this podcast on the passion for design tell a few too 

And when I first thought of the passionate people I’d like to speak with, Conor Ashleigh was one of them.

But I knew it could be a hard interview to lock in, because Conor is literally anywhere and everywhere.

For much of the past decade he hasn’t slept in the same bed for longer than 2 weeks.

But with his international travels on hold for now, I was lucky to find some time with him.

Before you listen in to our conversation, I’d highly recommend you take a quick look at his passion in action.

Check out www.conorashleigh.com to see some of his work and for a glimpse of Conor as a story-teller.

You can talk to many people about many things but there nothing quite like talking to some about their passion

Whether it’s the work they do, a side hustle or something completely outside the box

Passion profoundly infections and profusely interesting.

My name is Matthew McLean and this is My Passion Project.

The podcast where we’ll be talking with interesting people doing interesting things.

This season we’ll be hearing from some incredible people about their passions.

From education and travel to cars and diversity. 

I can’t wait for you to join me and I hope you enjoy these conversations as much as I have.