If you have ever wondered:
“Why do I feel guilty every time I take an hour for myself?”
“I know exactly what I should be doing. Why can I not make myself do it?”
“How do I back myself when the results have not been going my way?”
- this episode is for you.
Episode 50 is a milestone and a launch. For six years Layne and Tess have surveyed every AWAKE workshop room before and after, and one question kept coming back: what do you need right now? 1,750 responses later, across around 100 businesses and everyone from CEOs to the frontline, five answers stood out. Inspired by Bronnie Ware’s top five regrets of the dying, they flipped it. These are the Top 5 Needs of the Living, the research behind AWAKE’s white paper, The Capacity Debt.
Need one was time, and it never arrived alone. It came wrapped in guilt, and the barrier was confidence, not calendars. Need two was to feel alive again, with most people arriving at a workshop near empty and nothing left for the people they love. Need three was purpose: the quiet why underneath the busyness. Need four was something that holds on the hard days, small enough to survive a real week. Need five, the quietest in the room, was self-belief.
Along the way: Layne on the post-event comedown and the two days off every leader should mandate, Tess on the family at the beach who cancelled Saturday sport, Julia Gillard’s cones of silence, why breath is the most portable tool in the room, and the moment the masks come off in a room full of leaders. The line that holds the whole episode: it is not a knowledge problem, it is a capacity problem.
You will hear about:
- The number one need in six years of data: more time to myself without guilt, and why the barrier is confidence, not hours.
- Culture writes the permission slip: how leaders build the trust that makes asking for rest possible, and why two days off after a big delivery is not optional.
- The capacity debt: the visible output and the invisible borrowing underneath it, and why depleted people cannot drive growth.
- Why purpose was the second thing people named, time after time, and how agency and gifts build ownership faster than another values statement.
- One size fits one: breath as the simplest regulator under pressure, compounding micro-habits, and why recognising self-doubt is how you shorten it.
Mentioned in the episode:
The Top 5 Needs of the Living and The Capacity Debt white paper, published at https://awakehumanperformance.com (copyright Awake Academy)
Bronnie Ware, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying
Book Layne and Tess to present the Top 5 Needs of the Living or run a workshop for your team: wakeup@awakeacademy.com.au or https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/contact
Join the Awake Collective Community for monthly masterclasses
https://www.awakeacademy.com.au/awake-collective-sales
Get Awake’s transformative book: Know Yourself Grow Yourself to live a happier more purposeful life.
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/awake-academy-9781761345869
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Disclaimer
The A Wake Up Call podcast is created for general informational, educational, and inspirational purposes only. The stories, tools, and insights shared are designed to support your wellbeing journey - not to replace professional medical, psychological, or therapeutic advice. In fact, we believe therapy is non-negotiable in life.
Your wellbeing matters. Take care of yourself, stay curious, and remember the real wake-up call is listening to what your body and mind are trying to tell you.
If you or someone you know needs support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (24 hours) or visit lifeline.org.au.
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18 Oct 20261 u. en 6 min.