There comes a time when we know we need to act, but nonetheless find ourselves blocked by fear, or inertia, or confusion, or some other unnamable emotion.

It is then when we must take a leap of faith - despite the possibility that we may fail. In this talk I discuss how I have taken a leap of faith and offer guidance on how you can do the same.

If you are struggling to do what you know you must, this one is for you!

It feels like every tradition has a prescription on how you should sit; where to hold your hands, what to do with your eyes, and how you should handle sleepiness and pain are all prescribed.

If you keep turning up, you wont fail - provided you learn from past mistakes.

It is important to remember that every successful person kept turning up. They just kept going, pushed though, put in the work. They started from the same place as all of us. They had many reasons not to put in the work. Yet they did.

They took advantage of their natural attributes and upbringings of course, but they worked. If they can do it so can I - and so can you!

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The books you read, shows you watch and the company you keep literally shape you. They will change how you think, feel and ultimately behave ...

So choose them wisely.

Maria Phillips joins Zachary, to provide a follow up on how they are now finding parenthood. Recorded at three months in, they cover the joys and challenges that they have faced, as well as provide advice as to what information and purchases were useful and which were not.

"Protect your mental state, that way you are in the best place to help others.

It is important to realise that your mental state is the lens in which you view the world, if it is compromised, so to is your ability to judge the people, events and actions of your life..."

In this episode you will hear about Zachary's experiences with depression, the symptoms and impact on his day to day functioning.

"When I am depressed people want to cheer me up, which is a nice sentiment of course, but it doesn't address the issue completely. It is analogous to complaining that you cant understand a radio and to help, people keep raising the volume. You can hear it just fine, it is the tuning that is the problem"

"When somebody is in a down mental state there is a tendency for them to feel like they have always been in that state.

Personally, when I am going through a bout of anxiety, depression or disociation I feel like I have always been suffering from it. It taints every memory of my past and makes me feel like it will be there for each instance in my future.

To combat this, I have written a 'mental health check list' that outlines that things have and will get better (they always have). As well as lists the activities that have worked for me in the past . 
I leave this on my wall as a reminder and promise to myself that I will try to get better, even if it feels like I can't. 

In this episode I go in depth, explaining what I do to pull myself out of a down mental state..."
 

Detachment is vital for success - it involves stepping back and observing a situation without the emotion of the moment. This enables you to see the situation for what it really is and therefore make better judgement calls.