I was thanked by Tracey, and left Mandurah Catholic College a happy man. It was time for lunch so I did my usual vegan search before a 2 and a half hour (I think) drive to Dowerin.  I found a spot called Chris' Kitchen which was pretty far from where I was, but afterwards reading the reviews thought it would be worth it. I wasn't wrong! What an amazing place! The lady serving me (I'm thinking it was Chris) had a bright and beautiful smile and took my order as she explained some of the dishes. It was that good that I grabbed the same to save for the next day in Dowerin. I also bought two of her deserts to have one straight away and save one for the next day. They were that good that I had both :-)

 

A long drive on tour allows me to reflect on the previous sessions and also plan ahead for the next day. 

I arrived at Dowerin short stay and Caravan park and couldn't have been happier with the place! Large rooms, it was clean, homely, and had a beautiful bathroom, great water pressure, and a comy bed! Perfecto!

The next morning I woke early, had my coffee, went over the day ahead, and drove to the location. I met the organiser of the event, principal of Dowerin, and absolute legend, Barb Garner, out the front. I had met Barb a few years earlier when I spoke with her students. She's one of those incredible people that loves her job role, students, staff, and she just gets shit done! I can't speak more highly of her.

 

I had a little giggle to myself as I walked in the hall. A whole bunch of school students & their teachers from around country WA are about to watch me speak. I often have these moments or reflection and feel happy & thankful. 

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The resilience speakers for schools talk for everyone went incredibly well. It's a cool little balance act when being speakers for primary schools students and high schools speakers at the same time. I want to get deep into my story and content and connect with everyone there. Happy to say it went exactly as I wanted to. Plenty of questions at the end and it set up a big day for everyone.

After that talk I had to get to the nearby club to speak with parents/community. I love these talks! Don't get me wrong, I love all my presentations, but my mental health event speaker talks for parents/community is something I really love! I connect so well with the audience and it's great to give the parents some motivation and inspiration to help themselves. They put so much effort into their families which is great, but a lot of the time they forget about themselves.  The talks are about them. They always work incredibly well. This one was no different. After the talk we had a good chat, a heap bought copies of my book, Stabbed Ego (GRAB YOURS HERE), before Barb grabbed me to get back to the students for their workshop. Scoffing down a feed on my way to the workshop, I chatted with Barb and she motioned how successful the morning had been.

There were other speakers and facilitators who I enjoyed meeting; Tim Lowther from Helping Mind , and Claire Eaton, who is an author, speaker and youth & parent mentor. Her books ROC - Resilience, Optimism, Confidence have great reviews and are connecting with students across Australia. It's not often I get to see the other speakers present during events, because I'm usually speaking at the same time.  This time however, in the evening, I'd get to see Claire speak after my talk. I was excited for that!

 

The two workshops for high school students and workshops for primary schools, were fantastic.  A heap of the students gave their insight and asked questions. The teachers also bought copies of my book.

I needed a snooze after the 4 sessions, so happily headed back to my magical room at the Dowerin short stay and Caravan park. After a shower,  I got a good snooze in and woke fresh before getting ready for the evening event.

Arriving at the event, my homegirl, Barb, had my dinner pre ordered and I sat at the table with herself and some of the teachers and other members of the community. The feel in the room was really light and bubbly, and I could tell the evening was going to be great! I wasn't wrong... My guest speakers for events talk went amazing and afterwards I sold out of books (gotta start taking more copies!!) and got to kick back to watch Claire speak. I could see why she was so successful at what she does... her insight, knowledge, and connection with youth was obvious as she presented and gave advice on dealing with little peeps. I took a lot out of it myself.

 

A big day done, and I headed back to my spot to crawl into bed after another nice shower.

Waking early the next morning I packed the car and checked out of the crib before heading to Dowerin high school to be speaker for high school students. Arriving at the school, I met with my good friend, Barb, and was taken to the science room where I'd present. Walking over to the room, it all came back to me about my last visit there in 2018. I remember it was my final talk back then during 4 days of 16 gigs! 

It's so interesting the feeling, memories, and emotions that come up when we revisit places. I vividly remember feeling excited to talk but also pretty run down the last time I was there. 16 gigs in 4 weeks isn't a feeling you forget quickly. 

This time I was fresh as a daisy & everyone involved, including myself, was very happy with the talk. The students sat and listened intently and felt a great connection.  I also received some emails from them afterwards!

 

I had to get ready pretty quickly for my drive to Dalwallinu, and also grab a quick feed. It's pretty tough finding a vegan feed in small country towns, so I have to resort to the supermarkets. I found a can of baked beans and a few nibblies which would have to do. 

I had the same flash backs when arriving at Dalwallinu and met with another amazing person, Patrina Bean. We chatted about the students and also how successful the leadership conference was (some of her students and herself attended).

I spoke with her special students who did their school proud at the leadership day and also for their own talk at the school. Well done!

I then was then facilitator for my reducing stress & anxiety workshop for the teachers. This session is one I also love delivering! It was epic! So many laughs, ahhhs, nodding of the heads, and personal insight. That's what's it's all about. 

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I looked at my map and my next talk for the next day was in Yerecoin which was about an hour away. I was starving! I couldn't find anything online that would suit so I decided to drive an hour and 40 mins past my destination to stay in Perth. Having big days speaking, my energy and food intake is priority, so the extra drive was worth it. I decided to book in for 2 nights because I was flying out of Perth the day after last gig in Yerecoin anyways. All up it was a 3 and a half hour round trip out of the way, but again, it was worth it. I went back to the Vegan buffet spot but the buffet wasn't being served so i ordered a gluten free base vegan pizza, and a vegan peanut skewers for entre. I scoffed it all down in record time and left happy with a full belly. 

The next morning I wanted to prepare better for food so I headed back to Chris' Raw foods, and grabbed brekky and a coffee and ordered take away for lunch.

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Arriving at Yerecoin after an hour and 40 min drive, I met organiser of the event, and principal of Yerecoin Primary School, Joeley Howard. I haven't met Joeley before, but when approaching her she made me feel like we were old friends. What a beautiful soul. She commented on my bright smile (I loved it), and also about the success of the leadership day. 

We had the best chat before the day started, and she gave me some insight on her school and the community of Yerecoin.

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I'm guest speakers for primary schools a lot, and have a great connection with the students, this time was  a little different though. It was extra special. The small class of yrs 3-6 sat well behaved, asked questions when they wanted to, shared their thoughts, and we had plenty of light hearted laughs. The great thing about it was Joeley would jump into the talk as well and contribute to the messages of my presentation.  I can say it was one of my favourite primary school talks I've done. You guys rock, Yerecoin Primary School!

I'd like to give a mention to a man who funded the talk, and who Joeley had nothing but positive things to say about, Nathan Ebbs from Bennett & Co (pictured below) He was a past student of Joeley's and after hearing I was in the area, Joeley reached out for funding to get me to visit Yerecoin.  Nathan jumped at the opportunity to help out, and it's really fulfilling to see a young and successful man giving back to his community.  Respect my brother!