Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome everyone to 100 Breaths, the podcast with Gavin McGahey. Open raw and empowered conversations that can help everyday people to learn techniques to deal with the challenges of everyday life. And just like most of us out there, I am continually processing the daily challenges that life and business throws at us. So I welcome you to ride with me on this journey of discovery and personal development. Today's special guest is Ocean Reeve. Ocean Reeve is the founder of Ocean Reeve Publishing. Through writing and publishing, we establish our message, our stories, our legacy Ocean's 25 year career in the creative arts has been one he has great respect and gratitude for following four years in film and television in New Zealand. Ocean spent a year end entertainment promotion before beginning his publishing journey. Ocean is committed to facilitating the creative process in all who are willing to express themselves and establish their footprint.
(01:05)
Ocean operates a defined, dedicated, and determined process to bring a book to life and build a sustainable future as an authority in your space. Change agent or simply creative expression. Ocean has spoken at over 150 seminars and conferences and is regularly booked to speak about publishing, creative expression and leadership. Also workflow and sales, and inspires with his popular keynote from adoption to Awesome, one Man's Journey to Liberation. He believes that success is a journey, not a destination. And that to find our greatness, we need to discover our purpose. He is trained in workflow management. Ocean also offers a groundbreaking system that can increase our sales by over 60% and improve productivity and staff engagement within any industry and corporation. Some of the noted authors Ocean has had the pleasure of working with include Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor, William Shatner, Emmy award-winning musician. Tony Childs bestselling author, Lindy Chamberlain. Google's number one Activational speaker, Eric Bailey, workshop psychologist, Dr. Pete Stebbins, Ray White, c e o, Carrie Smith, bestselling author, and medium. Jeanette Wilson, bestselling author and wealth success coach, Andrew Barar and radio DJ and former Channel seven news reader, Liam Renton. Welcome Ocean Reeve to 100 breaths with Gavin McGee. Let's start with where did it all begin for you? What would you like to share with us about your life as a young boy growing up, and what did your parents stand for? Speaker 2 (02:49):
Well, okay, one of the things, and I share this with my authors, one of the things that I've always felt about creative expression is that as a kid, you want to be something, right? You've got this vision of what you want to be you, you're playing, you're free. And I wanted to be an ice cream truck driver or a cowboy, and I wish I should put my hat on. Hang on a minute. Speaker 1 (03:14):
An ice cream truck driver or a cowboy now. Yeah, there Speaker 2 (03:17):
You go. So I'm a big fan of country music like yourself, gfe, and just love that country feel. I come from a part of New Zealand that is pretty country. But yeah, I really thought to myself, I, because I'm 48, I still can have fun in my life and working in creative expression and working with authors, I could help other people bring that out. I've been very fortunate for the last, what, 25, 30 years that I've always worked in the creative industries. Now I'm very grateful that I've had the opportunity to do that. The part of what my parents did, they never gave me a, you've got to do this, you've got to go to uni, you've got to do this. And they're all New Zealand family, white picket fence family. So they were quite supportive of whatever decision I made in my career, which was great. And they still are, which is awesome. But yeah, I don't know. I took a leap of faith and didn't really worry about it. And now I'm sitting here loving life and helping other people tell their stories. It's so cool. Speaker 1 (04:24):
That's certainly a interesting aspect of what you wanted to be. An ice cream driver. Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah, ice cream truck driver or a cowboy. Seems the cowboy thing fits better. Speaker 1 (04:37):
And we don't have any of the ice cream trucks driving around the streets anymore. No, you do. Speaker 2 (04:41):
Used to do. I'm in Jacobs well, and with Green Sleeves, that's it. And maybe once a month I hear 'em cruising up there and you've got young kids and grandkids and I can't wait till it happens. And my grandkid recognizes that tune. And you're out there with Mr. Whoopy or whatever they call it over here. Speaker 1 (05:03):
Well, we certainly don't get Mr. Whoopy driving up down the streets of my little village for sure. But that's really cool. So then you went from those types of options, but now you're known as Superman. Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah. Look, when I've worked in the publishing industry for over 22 years and all elements of it, and when I got to a Australia, specifically in Queensland, was before I started my own business, I was working for another publisher and there was a author that came into my office one day, and I just happened to have a Superman t-shirt on, and I was doing a marketing mentorship session with him, and he came in for the next session the following day, and he asked me where my shirt was, where my superman shirt was. First response for me was, well, it's a bit weird, is noticing what I'm wearing. But then the second thought was, well, maybe there's something in this. I want to create superhero. I want 'em to see in their own ability to be creative that they can help change people. So I adopted the Superman and it seemed to take off pretty well, which was good. Some people look at it and raise an eyebrow, and I don't mind at the end of the day, I'm still a kid at heart. But the essence of what it stood for resonated with so many, and not just here in Australia. It was international. So yeah, it was a really good move to do that. And it was fun too. It was fun to adopt the superhero Speaker 1 (06:31):
Well, and staying in that creative space once again, isn't it? And be using and just being that kid at heart. And you're Superman, I want to wear a cape. I want to fly off a building. And you've got other characters that you've bought into your team that the likes of th war. And who else have you Speaker 2 (06:49):
Got? Well, we've got Valkyrie and Gomorrah and Shadow and jj, and obviously Lois Lane, my wife. But there's also the thing with the superheroes where each of these superheroes always stands for something of really prominent like justice and truth and all of those sort of things. And I think as an author, you want your authenticity and the essence of who you are to come onto the page in a really profound way. So there's underlying messages with that as well. And that's also been quite obvious with a lot of the authors we've worked with. Our mission statement is to bring stories to life that inspire positive change in the world. And the end of the day, I, I'm open to publishing pretty much anything and there is a line, but I want to work with authors that have that presence in mind. So whether you're there to entertain or educate, inspire, whichever we want to be a facilitator of that and help authors achieve that we have with you with this one. Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yeah. Awesome. So how did you get into the world of publishing? Speaker 2 (07:50):
Well, like I said, I was in the creative industries my whole career. And I worked in film and television for a long time over in New Zealand when I was a program director for a regional TV station. And when that came to an end, I went and worked as a promotions manager and a nightclub. There's a problem with that though, because if you want to start a family, and at that time I did, and I was, your hours of work were four in the afternoon till three in the morning, and that would be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, then Sunday you were write off, and then you got meetings during the day on Monday. So it was very difficult to function as a father and a husband in that time. So I made the decision I needed to get out of that lifestyle. And there was a job that was, and I'd never done a job interview in my life, Gavin, my whole life.
(08:39)
Every job I had was, I got approached, it was through people I knew, but there was a job going literally five minutes walk from where I lived at the time. And it was as a digital production manager at an educational publishing house. And I went down and you got to think I was pretty young. I was in my early twenties. I'd worked in film and TV and in nightclub promotion, I had an ego and an arrogant ego. And I'm open to admit that. Not so much now, which is great. But back then I did. So I walked into this interview and I said, you might as well stop looking. You found the best. Now, I had absolutely no idea what this job was. I didn't have a clue, but it was a husband and wife, but something clicked with him. And anyway, the interview carried on.
(09:24)
It was about five, six minutes. And then he goes, okay, well we'll let you know. And I'm walking back home, I'm going, yeah, maybe I should get some interview skills. Cause I think I just blew that. But they ended up calling me up that afternoon and said, yep, I'd like to bring you on. And he told me very early on, he goes, your future's not here and isn't in the production department. Your future ISN in working with people, because if you can walk into an interview and speak like that, then there's obviously a skill set you have here. And yeah, I started that journey, printing and binding books, dispatching them to schools, and the career evolved into traditional publishing in the same company, then into self-publishing. Once I felt that I'd reached the top that I could in New Zealand next step was to come here.
(10:07)
But I knew as a Kiwi, you don't come over here and have all the accolades from New Zealand and bring them over and expect the Australians to just go, come on in. You have to prove yourself here. And yeah, I worked my guts out so that the authors and emerging authors in this country knew that I know my stuff, knew that I could be trusted and knew that I could support them in their journey. And best decision I ever made was coming to this country. And the stories that I've worked with since been here have been groundbreaking, unbelievable. And the authors I've met too. Amazing people. Yeah, Speaker 1 (10:41):
That's quite a journey. What did you notice about the world of publishing as you began your career and compare it against the world of publishing now? Speaker 2 (10:53):
Well, that's a really good question because when I got into it, which was the year 2000, the internet was really starting to grab hold maybe a year or two after I'd started the music industry and streaming and downloads and all those sort of things, especially the ping. That was the big thing that had started to occur in the music industry. Then the film and TV industry, and then the publishing industry also got hit, but in a different way then the buying power moved to being online. So the bookshops and library, well bookshops especially, they suffered immensely with the growth of the internet. And we were right there when that happened. So the traditional way of how a book is brought to life, and that process changed a bit. We adapted our model back there in New Zealand to be more online, to have that online portal where people could connect and actually sell their books.
(11:50)
So we were kind of watching what was happening and making moves very early. I think the biggest change that I saw back then though, was the growth of self-publishing in a sense that in a negative way, just because you've brought a book to life does not make you a publisher. And I have seen so many authors who've gone through this process and thought, well, that was easy. And then they've gone and started a publishing company, and I'm like, what are you doing? I mean, you actually need experience. You can't, I'm a teacher, I can edit a book. No, no, no, no, no. You need to have the qualifications to be able to touch a manuscript to that standard. But globally it just blew up and it became a very negative space. And where we are now is that there are a group of us out there that we don't want to be associated with that term because self-publishing to me is very close to Vanity publishing.
(12:45)
If you don't know what you're doing, there's a lot of fantastic independent authors out there that do know what they're doing, and they are very successful. And they're not the group I'm talking about. But there are companies out there that take advantage of people, take their money, produce a substandard product, and it's not regulated. The industry's not regulated. So that that's scary. The traditional publishers stand in eight count. Gavin, to be honest, I think they didn't see the change in the internet coming. I don't think they adapted quick enough. The online buying change, I think they missed the boat on that. And now they, it's even harder to get a contract. You get less royalties, they market you for less, and they still hold the rights to your work. So I mean, it is an ever-changing industry, but the power is becoming more in the author's hands more now than ever, Speaker 1 (13:33):
Which is great. Thanks for that explanation, because it certainly would've been an industry that has gone through significant change. And I can relate it a little bit too. Sort of like Kodak paper, photography, photography paper. And they didn't move into that world of digital. They still had that belief in film and just taking the film and sending it into 'em and getting the prints printed were, and that came back and bit them on the backside deep time. Speaker 2 (14:10):
Look, there's always going to be those developments in technology that is going to make certain things obsolete. You remember back in the day, we'd go to the video store and we'd get a vhs. Yeah, and then the DVDs, and then they're all closed because now it's Netflix and Stan and all these streaming options. The same with the music stores, you know, have records. I used to love my records at Cass. Yeah, I mean, eight tracks. Did you have eight tracks? Gfe, Speaker 1 (14:37):
But that, I did have a couple, my alcohol had a couple of eight tracks. I used to jump in his old jalopy with him, and he was a surfer and he threw this massive big thing, it was almost the size of the book on the table there and put it into his player as we're driving to the beach. Yeah. Speaker 2 (14:53):
So see all of those things which have been ever evolving through the years, well, I don't think anybody thought at one point that those things would become obsolete, but they just develop. Thankfully with music, I mean, you get, still get Tim McGraw puts out collector records, mate. So I don't think you're always going to eliminate them. But tape cassettes are gone. Eight tracks are gone because of downloads. And in the publishing industry it's a little bit different. Yes, we've got audiobooks. Yes, we've got eBooks. But to hold a physical book in your hand, and this isn't just a generational thing, this is my kids who are in their twenties, they still would rather hold a book in their hand than download one. So I don't think the printed book will ever disappear, which is a great thing. But technology creates change and we've just got to be ready to adapt to it. Speaker 1 (15:40):
And it's personal choice as well, isn't it? Like some people, I prefer to listen to an audio book, but I also, I've, I've never adapted down the road of getting the Kindle reader because I've liked the feel of a book in my hand as well. So I'm either listening on audio when I'm in that car, traveling, et cetera. But I like to actually hold that book and feel the book and just put it down and know that I'm going back to it when I go back to it. Speaker 2 (16:07):
Well, it's touchy Speaker 1 (16:08):
Feely to me. Speaker 2 (16:09):
When we were talking about doing the embossing on your cover. I mean, we wanted something with the genre of book. Its the messages you've got in it. We wanted something that was going to just pop out a little bit. Like it's about noticing and the way that you've done the design. That element you can't see on an ebook, you can't see on an audiobook, and you want people to experience that feel because it's a connection piece. Yes. So yeah, I love printed books. Absolutely love them. Speaker 1 (16:35):
And I had that picture in my head when the book came to me. I had the picture in my mind of what I wanted it to feel like. I wanted it to feel worthy. I wanted it to feel that it was fit for that space. I wanted it to feel that it can sit on any coffee table in anyone's house anywhere in the world. And it has a value about it, value that just connects with the reader. Speaker 2 (17:02):
It does. And yeah, your book now has that value because of the way that we've presented it, let alone the content that you've put in there, which is great. Speaker 1 (17:11):
Yeah. Awesome. So when did you actually start your own publishing company, and what was your vision for how you wanted your publishing company to be connected to the community? Speaker 2 (17:24):
I started, excuse me. I started, well, this is my seventh year of operation. So yeah, seven years ago. And I started it out of frustration because I knew authors didn't go to one place and get everything they needed from assistance in writing the publishing journey itself, editing, design, production, eBooks, audiobooks and marketing and distribution. I just knew if there was a place to go to get all of that, it's just going to make it a lot easier for an author. Also, like I said earlier, I just felt that there were too many places out there that didn't have the experience, or their intentions weren't as authentic as others. And that needed to change. And I wanted to be somebody that could make that change. So the purpose of me coming and start, cause I never wanted to start a business at all my thing's. Working with you guys, I get more of a kick out of that.
(18:17)
And I learned about bass and I always thought bass was a fish. And then I find out that every three months or so, the government want money of you. And I'll say, what the hell? So yeah, I've learned a lot as a business owner. My connection to the community was when I started O R P, I got out there a lot. I, I'd run free seminars all around the country. I was in Perth, I was in North Queensland, up in Kens throughout the southeast, Sydney, Melbourne. I even did a tour back in New Zealand because no one else is out there sharing the information I have about, and it wasn't about me, it wasn't a sales seminar, it was an informational seminar where I'm going, here's the kind of hybrid model that we do and others do. Here's trade publishing, here's the goods, the bads and the uglies. Here's the process, here's some great stories. Now you have the information, go and make a choice. And that's what I wanted to do. So I didn't want to be a face on the computer. I wanted to be out there. I wanted to be tactile and relatable. So my connection to the community is about being someone that can sit down and hear a story from a 92 year old grandmother or an eight year old kid wanting to write a fantasy story and know that they'd be listened to. Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah. Awesome. Thank you. And what about your team? How have you grown your team and how have you connected with your team so that they feel the energy of what Ocean Reef publishing represents and that energy can help them evolve in their own evolution? Speaker 2 (19:53):
The remarkable thing with the team is that, and when I started O p, it was just me and I had a series of contractors that managed the editorial design, but I didn't have actual staff as such. The staff came to me. I have not advertised for a position. Everybody that has worked with me over the last seven years came to me. And I think the reason they did that was the authenticity and the fact that to bring stories to life to inspire positive change. I mean, we all want to be a part of something good, and we all want to be a part of something that can make another person's life better. So I feel that the team really resonated with that and saw an opportunity that they could work in an industry that they loved and also make a difference every day they went to work.
(20:38)
So that was very important. Creative leadership is also something that I'm a big fan of. I'm not an authoritative leader, so I give a lot of freedom to the way the team work and the way they communicate. And I have an open door policy. So I've had times when I've had a team member walk into my office and hold me accountable for something and they don't feel uneasy or that, oh, I'm saying this to the boss, or whichever, that doesn't exist with us. So I like that kind of very even level team environment. And it matters when you're dealing with the authors, you know, can see that there's a very strong bond between those team members and that gives them a lot of confidence that they're in the right place going forward. We were talking about this earlier before we came on the podcast. I have a vision and when I started this company and my, it's my vision and I know where I want it to be and I know how many authors I want to work with.
(21:40)
And when I get to your age, I want to tick have ticks and boxes along the way. When you bring on team members, number one, they may resonate with your vision. They may want to be a part of it, but at some point in time they have their own vision of what they want to do. And it might differ from where they currently are, especially when your team members are in the younger age group in their twenties or thirties. And so what I've learned over the past six years is that you've got to keep that. The open door policy in my office is actually an open door policy in the company. And I would rather be supportive and endorse as I am with the authors, a team member to follow their creative vision as well. Sarah, one of our coordinators just launched her book and I, she'd asked me to host it and interview her at the launch, which was fantastic.
(22:31)
And great turnout was awesome. She had the best time. And one of the things I said to her is that, do you know how many people that work in this industry have actually done what you've just done? People that work in publishing and actually write and publish their own book? And I'll tell you now, it's, it's very, very few. So it's a huge achievement for her. And who knows that book could take off the next thing. She's a full-time writer and she can't work with me anymore. There'll be a sad day when that happens, but you've got to be supportive and endorse that change and that impact, because that's what we're trying to do with you guys as authors. That's what you are trying to do. So I'm learned over the last six to seven years to allow for that evolution, which is really cool. Speaker 1 (23:16):
Yeah, I can relate to that. Even with my team. I try to encourage them to pick me up if they feel that I'm letting the team down in some way or I haven't stepped into what I needed to step into. So I encourage them to, Hey, we're a collective here and we have ebbs and flows and there's ups and downs. So we need to just be able to say, right, I need you, Gavin, I need you to get this done by then and you got any challenges or how can we help you and be open and comfortable with having that conversation? No fear-based conversations going on. Speaker 2 (23:55):
Yeah, I mean, you're not doing yourself as a leader any favors by closing your door to that. And if anything, it's helping you evolve into a better leader and a more trusted leader. In this day and age. There is so much change happening in regards to social construct. There's my politically correct way of saying something, and I'm sure your listeners will understand what I mean. You can't actually say certain things. And in my mind, I don't find them offensive and I don't think I'm offending anybody. But now there's rules and barriers around these things, and now they've been introduced to a workplace, which I feel actually is quite constraining something that we as leaders need to be aware of and be conscious and empathetic towards. But at the same time, you've got to allow your team to grow in the most organic way possible without constraint. Trust them, respect them, give them opportunities, allow them to be them. At the same time you sit back and watch how that respect comes back to you, to your clients, to your business, and so on. If you play the woke game, all you are doing is starting to close doors. Speaker 1 (25:12):
Yeah. And you used one word there that's at the top of my tree. And that's the trust, because I just trust in my team to do what they're here to do Speaker 2 (25:23):
Here for a reason, though they Speaker 1 (25:24):
Trust in me to do what I'm here to do. We're all here for that collective reason, that collective energy. Now they say that for a person to make a massive transformational shift from who they are, that it usually takes a major event or an accident or a certain situation that triggers a realization that their current reality is no longer serving them. Would you agree with that? And have you ever experienced anything like that? Speaker 2 (25:50):
1000% agree. And yeah, there there's one. And most people, you probably actually know this cause in the mentoring workbooks with the book marketing program, my history has been colorful. And even though I've had the career I've had, the person that I was was not honest. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I was a liar and a thief and a cheat, and I was a manipulator. I was a very good manipulator that I would get people to give me what I wanted. And they believed that's what they wanted to do too, was at the time I was just an ignorant dickhead because you don't see the damage you're doing to people.
(26:37)
When I was in Sydney, there was a change that was made and the change was made because of my wife. The support she shows me and has shown me for 20 odd years has been unbelievable. She's my best friend and she's everything to me. And I can't see my life on this planet without her. But for me to have the happiness I wanted, and I knew how big a part she played in it, I had needed to make some very big changes and that I knew the journey was going to be long. So I began this kind of, I guess growth and personal development where I was also, I'm looking at some of the books here. Eckhart is there, Tony Robbins, these are some of the authors that I fell back on when I had to make this change. And I came to Queensland and I was still trying and it was getting better.
(27:30)
And I could see the universe was giving me more positive experiences because I was making this change. And then maybe a year into the ocean ary publishing, I had a meltdown. I just completely on the couch, pretty much crawled up in a ball. One of my kids were here, and I just remember her saying to my wife, I've never seen ocean like this. What do we do? And she said, I don't know. Cause she'd never seen me. This went on for about three or four days as far as the business went. My team kept things going without me, which was great. Just after a while I said, I've just got to get out of the house. I've got to get out of the house. And I organized for me and my wife to go up to Brisbane and just stay at a hotel in the middle of Brisbane City.
(28:20)
We had two nights there. So we went up there and right on 36th floor. It was a huge apartment. It was great. And I walked in, I put the luggage down, I flicked on the tv, and this Tim McGraw guy came on who I'd never ever heard of before. And he was singing the song. And I remember standing there luggage beside me and v Vicky was walking around checking out the apartment, and I'm listening to the lyrics of the song, and I get goosebumps still telling this. And something just shifted in me. It was physically massive, let alone the spiritual and mental state that it created. But in those words, in those lyrics, he says, don't steal, don't cheat and don't lie. And always be humble and kind. And I just was far out, man, this is too much. And then it all went away.
(29:10)
Oh, what did, I held me down that darkness. I was just out of it. And that actually was the catalyst of me finding the ease of being honest. Never lie. I don't have to lie. It's just a little white lie. No, piss off. It's a lie, don't do it. I don't stolen anything for God decades, and I don't cheat on my wife, and I don't do any of that with any of the people I'm around. And I love Tim McGraw because of the messages in his music, and he helped me discover country music. But that was huge. Speaker 1 (29:42):
That was a pivotal point. Yeah, that was that awakening, massive. So how did you step into that new reality once you had that moment there? That was sort of a, and that was ay synchronistic event, by the way as well. It wasn't a coincidence. No. So no. How did you step into that new reality and what did you change about yourself? Speaker 2 (30:02):
I found that when I decided in Sydney I was going to make that change. It was hard, Gavin, it was really hard. And it was only hard because of the limitations I was putting on myself. After that day of hearing humble and kind, I realized how easy this was and that there were no limitations. So that change actually happened a lot faster. I got more excited about who I was, who I was to my family, who I was at work, who I was to the authors. And it was like I was just constantly, I don't know, I had a fire mass or something. It was massive. And yeah, I just started passing on how I felt about life and about creativity in a much larger way. And I had this huge event in Singapore. We kept doing events around here. The numbers were huge. It was the business went through the roof.
(30:55)
We won all these awards. Just the universe went, finally, you dickhead, you've got it right. Here you go. And there are times when things are tough, and I will not do, I'm a Wiccan as a faith goes, and I have a big feel about how nature contributes to your soul and the universal alignment. And part of being a wcan is that you do need to show gratitude and homage pretty much daily. There's times I don't do it. And if things are tough at the time, I, I'll go and spend some time with wika in the universe and then the next day it'll changes and I get frustrated with myself because I'm saying, if I just did this every day, if I was more consistent, then I would never have had those hard times. It would've all been sweet. So it's that undoubted knowledge that I have now. That's been the best thing that's come out of that. No one can tell me that the universe can't change your life if you are allowed to. Speaker 1 (31:51):
Yeah, absolutely. Well said and well shared. It takes a lot to open up and be vulnerable and share those types of big transformational moments. And especially when we hit our lows. I know myself, I've been in the hole myself and had those transformational shifts, and I came to the realization that only I can change me. And once that happened and I had to get out of that world of ego and bullshit as well, and come down to some truth and respect and value in myself, because I just didn't have that value in myself. I was looking for it to get validated externally. So now, and that part that you said about the lying, I ask people that I say to them, is there any difference between a lie and a white lie? And that always brings different types of feedback to me, and I just point out them that they're all the same. Speaker 2 (32:40):
Absolutely. Speaker 1 (32:41):
So if you want to work live in a world of truth, you've got to live in a world of truth. Speaker 2 (32:46):
It's ridiculous to go there as scales of lie. Speaker 1 (32:50):
Yeah, Speaker 2 (32:51):
No, you're not telling the truth. Yeah. What you were saying is incorrect and doesn't exist. Don't care how big or small you may see it. It's a freaking lie. Speaker 1 (33:00):
And you've got to mirror yourself in that respect as well. Because if you are prepared to do it, even if you only have in your mind a belief that it's a little white lie, then be prepared to accept it from others. Speaker 2 (33:13):
Absolutely. And also be mindful when people get into the habit of telling lies. And usually you see it with younger generation, but it's not exclusive to them. I experienced this maybe about seven, eight years ago where this person would lie constantly. And then something happened and she ended up in court and she got to the point where she, she'd lied so much. Not only had she forgotten, which was a lie, which was the truth, but she actually believed her own lies. And she really genuinely did believe they, that's what happened. And I mean, you start creating your own reality that doesn't actually connect with who you are and where you are. It's a dangerous place to be, and it's very difficult to get out of there. So just don't lie and you won't have a problem. Speaker 1 (33:59):
Yeah. Don't lie. You won't have a problem. And even if you have that situation in yourself where you do tell lies, just focus on one day just saying, can I just be aware of what I'm about to say? And maybe hold off or don't say it just for, just try it for one day or one hour or 15 minutes and start to look for that transformational shift in the power that the truth can bring. Speaker 2 (34:32):
It's huge, isn't it? Especially, I like the idea of doing it maybe for a few hours when you're out and about just a general conversation with someone making you coffee and they ask you a question going, oh yeah, I went to that. Or what? Very being aware, like you're saying, being self aware and conscious and taking a moment and then realizing you've just done that and you are honest, that shift is massive. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 1 (34:56):
So right. That's a shift. That's a huge shift within what inspires you to rise and shine each day. Speaker 2 (35:06):
Be a facilitator of other people expressing creativity, my grandchildren, my children, my wife, and I've got a limited time on this planet, mate. I'm not going to spend it curled up in a ball. Speaker 1 (35:23):
Do you ever have periods where rise and shine feels like lay down and give in? Speaker 2 (35:26):
Yeah. Yeah, I do. I think we all do. We're human, we're fallible. We are going to have days of low energy. And sometimes things do get on top of us. I mean, you went through a massive thing a couple of years back with the floods, and every time I saw you on a video, I knew that you had pulled a lot to turn that camera on and do what you did. It was not an easy step for you. But the reason you did it is that's where that energy came from, is to give other people that hope that, Hey, come on guys. We we're going to get through this shit happens G. Yeah. And life is hard, but you are here to leave a legacy. You're here to make a mark. And everybody's lives have the same ability to do that, whether it's for other people or it's for this planet. So you can't ignore the highs and the lows, but you can work towards getting out of the lows in a quicker, more efficient way. Speaker 1 (36:24):
And then that sort of, I relate that to the number four principle of the art of noticing is always look for ways to feel good, even when you're not feeling so good, or even when you're feeling really shitty. You can always look for a way to feel less shittier than you actually are feeling right now. And that can just move you back into that good feeling state sooner Speaker 2 (36:47):
You did on. And that always there. And I was saying earlier that I had a team member recently who just wasn't clicking with an author, and the way that they were talking to each other was, and I said it to both of them, I said, that's kind of really rude from both of you that you find it to speak like that. And since taken this author over, but I was sort of saying to her that, to my team member, you put so much weight and so much focus on this negative experience, and you're in a state of despair right now and struggle. Why don't you go and read the reviews that other authors have written about you? And why don't you give that same energy and focus and just sit there in that for a minute and see where that takes you. Because I think as humans, for some strange reason, we tend to put more energy and focus into the negatives than we do the positives, man. I mean, why? Why do we do that? So yeah, they're all, they're there. They're everywhere. Those things that make us happier and help us get through those tough times. You just got to act on it, don't you? Speaker 1 (37:54):
And that comes back to the gratitude ness of things. There's gratitude in everything in life, and you can find it everywhere. If you're open to look for it, run a gratitude check every single night. And that's one of the stories in the little book of noticing, turning my ants to gifts. So instead of having another negative thought crawling all over me in the shape of an ant, I turn it into gifts, which is gratitude in frigging things small. And once you start to list out your gratitude in frigging things small, you can have a gratitude list that's a hundred points long. And before you know it, you've gone off to sleep. Your reset in your internal system reset is then being charged on positive energy, not negative energy. So you will wake up in a positive reframe. And if I can help people to just understand that how you go to bed is how you reset. So if you're going to stay up and watch TV and you're going to watch a movie and it's all about war and crime and this, and then you're going to watch the late night news before you go to bed, that is your reset. So you need to have an awareness around that to say, I, what reset do I want? Well, maybe if I watched something on might be Netflix or YouTube or whatever, I watch a lot of music videos, so we will just list watch and listen to music videos. Speaker 2 (39:18):
But that's country music. Yeah, Speaker 1 (39:20):
Country music. No wonder you're so happy every day. And then people say to me, well, country music, they just talk about divorce and people being sad and everything else. I said, but Well, that's your perception in your mind. Absolutely. Of a couple of songs that you may have heard. But there's some feel good factors in there as well. And a lot of feel good factors in there is, and a lot of these country music artists that will put their hands up and go, well, country music has kept me in the life that I'm in to be the person that I am now and create that space. Speaker 2 (39:55):
But there's so much of that. But what you're saying about going to sleep, I have this thing in the, it's just become a, it's not even a routine, it's just part of my day. There's two things that happen. One is that I reflect on my interactions throughout that day and I ask myself, can I put my head on the pillow tonight? Have I done the right thing by that person? And when I've gone, then there's a kind of Serena serenity. And the other thing is that I've just, what is the point of waking up unhappy? So I tell myself, I've got to get up tomorrow. I've got to be happy no matter what. And I still have not woken up shitty or negative for a long, long time. But they start off as routines, then they become habits, then they just become part of who you are and the gratitude that's so important that you find what makes that work for you. Speaker 1 (40:46):
And the way you've just expressed that is what we teach people through the breath work that we do. We go in and we change the subconscious programming so that now these My to gifts is now my current program, that's my subconscious program. So I've moved any limited negative beliefs and programmed positive energy into my subconscious. And that comes through repetition. And that's how the subconscious mind learns. And the subconscious mind is 95% of how you live your life out. So if you can change that program and replace it with some new programs, the subconscious conditioning is you can live in a future created now just by how you've programmed the subconscious. Speaker 2 (41:34):
It's that for years people would say, oh, people can't change Lipper can't change the spot absolute trash because you've just outlined, it's just reconfiguring. Everybody can change if they're prepared to if they want to. And they're open to it. And the tools that are out there, like what you are saying with the breathwork, there's, there's tools out there that are actually very accessible for people to get their hands on. And if you want it, then go and get it. Want to have a happier bit of life than start creating one. Speaker 1 (42:08):
Yeah. It's the creator of your own reality. Yep. Alright, couple of questions for you. Sure. Introvert or extrovert? Speaker 2 (42:15):
Extrovert. Speaker 1 (42:16):
Extrovert. I You already knew Speaker 2 (42:17):
That. Speaker 1 (42:18):
Yeah. Yeah. Pessimist or optimist? I know this one. Optimist. Yeah. Lover Speaker 2 (42:22):
Of country music. Country change. Speaker 1 (42:25):
Country music. Yeah. Yeah. Believer of Speaker 2 (42:29):
What you put out comes back to you. So always mind the law of three. Yeah. So like the Wick and Read talks about how you treat other people and what you put out in the universe, you put out shit, it'll come back to you threefold. You put out good, that'll come back as Speaker 1 (42:41):
Well. Exactly. Right. Yeah. It's thoughts become things. So if you are think whatever you are thinking, whether that's a negative or a positive is exactly the result that you're going to have. So what would you say is the hardest lesson that you've learnt about business? Speaker 2 (42:59):
Oh, mate. The hardest thing that I've learned about business is that there needs to be, you need to ask for help. You got to be really skilled at what you do. And even if you're the best in the world at it, in running a business, there are elements about that that you will not be the best at. And if you don't ask for help, then that's going to affect your business in a negative way. So ask for help. Yeah, ask for Speaker 1 (43:30):
Help. Awesome. Look, I like to finish my conversations with a question to my guests and Ocean Reeve. That question is, who are you breathing for today? And why? Speaker 2 (43:41):
Who am I breathing for today and why I'm breathing for myself? Because I know how important I am to the people that love and care for me to be in this planet and to be the positive influence that I am. And I think that's every day, Gavin. I think I breathe for myself every day because of those connections. Speaker 1 (44:00):
I love them. And that comes down to self-love and valuing yourself and internalizing that. Love yourself. Because you need to have that, and I've learned this over the years that I've been doing this work down the wellness road, that once you can become 100% congruent with yourself, all other things will just be, they'll surround you. Yep. Because how you're expressing yourself, it has no other way but to impact things in a positive manner. When you have self-doubt, others will have doubts about you because they can feel the self-doubt that's coming from you. So when you can step into who you are being as a human being, that determines what you do as a human being, which will determine your outcome as a human being. So if you want to be doing great things for yourself and loving yourself first, then you'll be doing good things that then affect people and draw people to you. And then the outcome of that will be a positive, powerful experience. Spot Speaker 2 (45:11):
On, brother. I mean, yeah, because the people that have been drawn to me from my experience, when I have that self-care and self-love, they're there because I need them there. That the universe has put them there for a reason. And every time they've been the right people, the toxic negative people just aren't even in your frame. They don't see, you don't see them because you just don't have that. Speaker 1 (45:38):
You don't hold that space. Speaker 2 (45:39):
Yeah. No. And it's really inspirational to look in the mirror every day and know that that's the connection that you have with people. Yeah. So I love that. Who do you breathe for every day? Yeah, that's wicked, bro. Yeah. Speaker 1 (45:54):
Yeah. That's a good, that's one of our catchphrases here at 100 breaths. Who are you breathing for and why? And so Ocean Reeve, that brings us to a close on this episode of 100 Breaths with Gavin McGahey. And we thank you for joining us in the studio today. It's been awesome to have you here. We'll put all your contact details up on our socials and share the love the way that you've shared the love with assisting me to get my second book out into the big wide ether. And we'll be in touch soon to kick off book number three. Speaker 2 (46:27):
Sounds good, Gavin. Love it. And make sure you get your copy of Little Book of Noticing available at Gavin McGahey. Here's website or at Ocean Publishing. Speaker 1 (46:35):
Awesome stuff. Thank you Ocean. And bye for now.
Welcome everyone to 100 Breaths, the podcast with Gavin McGahey. Open raw and empowered conversations that can help everyday people to learn techniques to deal with the challenges of everyday life. And just like most of us out there, I am continually processing the daily challenges that life and business throws at us. So I welcome you to ride with me on this journey of discovery and personal development. Today's special guest is Ocean Reeve. Ocean Reeve is the founder of Ocean Reeve Publishing. Through writing and publishing, we establish our message, our stories, our legacy Ocean's 25 year career in the creative arts has been one he has great respect and gratitude for following four years in film and television in New Zealand. Ocean spent a year end entertainment promotion before beginning his publishing journey. Ocean is committed to facilitating the creative process in all who are willing to express themselves and establish their footprint.
(01:05)
Ocean operates a defined, dedicated, and determined process to bring a book to life and build a sustainable future as an authority in your space. Change agent or simply creative expression. Ocean has spoken at over 150 seminars and conferences and is regularly booked to speak about publishing, creative expression and leadership. Also workflow and sales, and inspires with his popular keynote from adoption to Awesome, one Man's Journey to Liberation. He believes that success is a journey, not a destination. And that to find our greatness, we need to discover our purpose. He is trained in workflow management. Ocean also offers a groundbreaking system that can increase our sales by over 60% and improve productivity and staff engagement within any industry and corporation. Some of the noted authors Ocean has had the pleasure of working with include Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor, William Shatner, Emmy award-winning musician. Tony Childs bestselling author, Lindy Chamberlain. Google's number one Activational speaker, Eric Bailey, workshop psychologist, Dr. Pete Stebbins, Ray White, c e o, Carrie Smith, bestselling author, and medium. Jeanette Wilson, bestselling author and wealth success coach, Andrew Barar and radio DJ and former Channel seven news reader, Liam Renton. Welcome Ocean Reeve to 100 breaths with Gavin McGee. Let's start with where did it all begin for you? What would you like to share with us about your life as a young boy growing up, and what did your parents stand for? Speaker 2 (02:49):
Well, okay, one of the things, and I share this with my authors, one of the things that I've always felt about creative expression is that as a kid, you want to be something, right? You've got this vision of what you want to be you, you're playing, you're free. And I wanted to be an ice cream truck driver or a cowboy, and I wish I should put my hat on. Hang on a minute. Speaker 1 (03:14):
An ice cream truck driver or a cowboy now. Yeah, there Speaker 2 (03:17):
You go. So I'm a big fan of country music like yourself, gfe, and just love that country feel. I come from a part of New Zealand that is pretty country. But yeah, I really thought to myself, I, because I'm 48, I still can have fun in my life and working in creative expression and working with authors, I could help other people bring that out. I've been very fortunate for the last, what, 25, 30 years that I've always worked in the creative industries. Now I'm very grateful that I've had the opportunity to do that. The part of what my parents did, they never gave me a, you've got to do this, you've got to go to uni, you've got to do this. And they're all New Zealand family, white picket fence family. So they were quite supportive of whatever decision I made in my career, which was great. And they still are, which is awesome. But yeah, I don't know. I took a leap of faith and didn't really worry about it. And now I'm sitting here loving life and helping other people tell their stories. It's so cool. Speaker 1 (04:24):
That's certainly a interesting aspect of what you wanted to be. An ice cream driver. Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah, ice cream truck driver or a cowboy. Seems the cowboy thing fits better. Speaker 1 (04:37):
And we don't have any of the ice cream trucks driving around the streets anymore. No, you do. Speaker 2 (04:41):
Used to do. I'm in Jacobs well, and with Green Sleeves, that's it. And maybe once a month I hear 'em cruising up there and you've got young kids and grandkids and I can't wait till it happens. And my grandkid recognizes that tune. And you're out there with Mr. Whoopy or whatever they call it over here. Speaker 1 (05:03):
Well, we certainly don't get Mr. Whoopy driving up down the streets of my little village for sure. But that's really cool. So then you went from those types of options, but now you're known as Superman. Speaker 2 (05:15):
Yeah. Look, when I've worked in the publishing industry for over 22 years and all elements of it, and when I got to a Australia, specifically in Queensland, was before I started my own business, I was working for another publisher and there was a author that came into my office one day, and I just happened to have a Superman t-shirt on, and I was doing a marketing mentorship session with him, and he came in for the next session the following day, and he asked me where my shirt was, where my superman shirt was. First response for me was, well, it's a bit weird, is noticing what I'm wearing. But then the second thought was, well, maybe there's something in this. I want to create superhero. I want 'em to see in their own ability to be creative that they can help change people. So I adopted the Superman and it seemed to take off pretty well, which was good. Some people look at it and raise an eyebrow, and I don't mind at the end of the day, I'm still a kid at heart. But the essence of what it stood for resonated with so many, and not just here in Australia. It was international. So yeah, it was a really good move to do that. And it was fun too. It was fun to adopt the superhero Speaker 1 (06:31):
Well, and staying in that creative space once again, isn't it? And be using and just being that kid at heart. And you're Superman, I want to wear a cape. I want to fly off a building. And you've got other characters that you've bought into your team that the likes of th war. And who else have you Speaker 2 (06:49):
Got? Well, we've got Valkyrie and Gomorrah and Shadow and jj, and obviously Lois Lane, my wife. But there's also the thing with the superheroes where each of these superheroes always stands for something of really prominent like justice and truth and all of those sort of things. And I think as an author, you want your authenticity and the essence of who you are to come onto the page in a really profound way. So there's underlying messages with that as well. And that's also been quite obvious with a lot of the authors we've worked with. Our mission statement is to bring stories to life that inspire positive change in the world. And the end of the day, I, I'm open to publishing pretty much anything and there is a line, but I want to work with authors that have that presence in mind. So whether you're there to entertain or educate, inspire, whichever we want to be a facilitator of that and help authors achieve that we have with you with this one. Speaker 1 (07:46):
Yeah. Awesome. So how did you get into the world of publishing? Speaker 2 (07:50):
Well, like I said, I was in the creative industries my whole career. And I worked in film and television for a long time over in New Zealand when I was a program director for a regional TV station. And when that came to an end, I went and worked as a promotions manager and a nightclub. There's a problem with that though, because if you want to start a family, and at that time I did, and I was, your hours of work were four in the afternoon till three in the morning, and that would be Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, then Sunday you were write off, and then you got meetings during the day on Monday. So it was very difficult to function as a father and a husband in that time. So I made the decision I needed to get out of that lifestyle. And there was a job that was, and I'd never done a job interview in my life, Gavin, my whole life.
(08:39)
Every job I had was, I got approached, it was through people I knew, but there was a job going literally five minutes walk from where I lived at the time. And it was as a digital production manager at an educational publishing house. And I went down and you got to think I was pretty young. I was in my early twenties. I'd worked in film and TV and in nightclub promotion, I had an ego and an arrogant ego. And I'm open to admit that. Not so much now, which is great. But back then I did. So I walked into this interview and I said, you might as well stop looking. You found the best. Now, I had absolutely no idea what this job was. I didn't have a clue, but it was a husband and wife, but something clicked with him. And anyway, the interview carried on.
(09:24)
It was about five, six minutes. And then he goes, okay, well we'll let you know. And I'm walking back home, I'm going, yeah, maybe I should get some interview skills. Cause I think I just blew that. But they ended up calling me up that afternoon and said, yep, I'd like to bring you on. And he told me very early on, he goes, your future's not here and isn't in the production department. Your future ISN in working with people, because if you can walk into an interview and speak like that, then there's obviously a skill set you have here. And yeah, I started that journey, printing and binding books, dispatching them to schools, and the career evolved into traditional publishing in the same company, then into self-publishing. Once I felt that I'd reached the top that I could in New Zealand next step was to come here.
(10:07)
But I knew as a Kiwi, you don't come over here and have all the accolades from New Zealand and bring them over and expect the Australians to just go, come on in. You have to prove yourself here. And yeah, I worked my guts out so that the authors and emerging authors in this country knew that I know my stuff, knew that I could be trusted and knew that I could support them in their journey. And best decision I ever made was coming to this country. And the stories that I've worked with since been here have been groundbreaking, unbelievable. And the authors I've met too. Amazing people. Yeah, Speaker 1 (10:41):
That's quite a journey. What did you notice about the world of publishing as you began your career and compare it against the world of publishing now? Speaker 2 (10:53):
Well, that's a really good question because when I got into it, which was the year 2000, the internet was really starting to grab hold maybe a year or two after I'd started the music industry and streaming and downloads and all those sort of things, especially the ping. That was the big thing that had started to occur in the music industry. Then the film and TV industry, and then the publishing industry also got hit, but in a different way then the buying power moved to being online. So the bookshops and library, well bookshops especially, they suffered immensely with the growth of the internet. And we were right there when that happened. So the traditional way of how a book is brought to life, and that process changed a bit. We adapted our model back there in New Zealand to be more online, to have that online portal where people could connect and actually sell their books.
(11:50)
So we were kind of watching what was happening and making moves very early. I think the biggest change that I saw back then though, was the growth of self-publishing in a sense that in a negative way, just because you've brought a book to life does not make you a publisher. And I have seen so many authors who've gone through this process and thought, well, that was easy. And then they've gone and started a publishing company, and I'm like, what are you doing? I mean, you actually need experience. You can't, I'm a teacher, I can edit a book. No, no, no, no, no. You need to have the qualifications to be able to touch a manuscript to that standard. But globally it just blew up and it became a very negative space. And where we are now is that there are a group of us out there that we don't want to be associated with that term because self-publishing to me is very close to Vanity publishing.
(12:45)
If you don't know what you're doing, there's a lot of fantastic independent authors out there that do know what they're doing, and they are very successful. And they're not the group I'm talking about. But there are companies out there that take advantage of people, take their money, produce a substandard product, and it's not regulated. The industry's not regulated. So that that's scary. The traditional publishers stand in eight count. Gavin, to be honest, I think they didn't see the change in the internet coming. I don't think they adapted quick enough. The online buying change, I think they missed the boat on that. And now they, it's even harder to get a contract. You get less royalties, they market you for less, and they still hold the rights to your work. So I mean, it is an ever-changing industry, but the power is becoming more in the author's hands more now than ever, Speaker 1 (13:33):
Which is great. Thanks for that explanation, because it certainly would've been an industry that has gone through significant change. And I can relate it a little bit too. Sort of like Kodak paper, photography, photography paper. And they didn't move into that world of digital. They still had that belief in film and just taking the film and sending it into 'em and getting the prints printed were, and that came back and bit them on the backside deep time. Speaker 2 (14:10):
Look, there's always going to be those developments in technology that is going to make certain things obsolete. You remember back in the day, we'd go to the video store and we'd get a vhs. Yeah, and then the DVDs, and then they're all closed because now it's Netflix and Stan and all these streaming options. The same with the music stores, you know, have records. I used to love my records at Cass. Yeah, I mean, eight tracks. Did you have eight tracks? Gfe, Speaker 1 (14:37):
But that, I did have a couple, my alcohol had a couple of eight tracks. I used to jump in his old jalopy with him, and he was a surfer and he threw this massive big thing, it was almost the size of the book on the table there and put it into his player as we're driving to the beach. Yeah. Speaker 2 (14:53):
So see all of those things which have been ever evolving through the years, well, I don't think anybody thought at one point that those things would become obsolete, but they just develop. Thankfully with music, I mean, you get, still get Tim McGraw puts out collector records, mate. So I don't think you're always going to eliminate them. But tape cassettes are gone. Eight tracks are gone because of downloads. And in the publishing industry it's a little bit different. Yes, we've got audiobooks. Yes, we've got eBooks. But to hold a physical book in your hand, and this isn't just a generational thing, this is my kids who are in their twenties, they still would rather hold a book in their hand than download one. So I don't think the printed book will ever disappear, which is a great thing. But technology creates change and we've just got to be ready to adapt to it. Speaker 1 (15:40):
And it's personal choice as well, isn't it? Like some people, I prefer to listen to an audio book, but I also, I've, I've never adapted down the road of getting the Kindle reader because I've liked the feel of a book in my hand as well. So I'm either listening on audio when I'm in that car, traveling, et cetera. But I like to actually hold that book and feel the book and just put it down and know that I'm going back to it when I go back to it. Speaker 2 (16:07):
Well, it's touchy Speaker 1 (16:08):
Feely to me. Speaker 2 (16:09):
When we were talking about doing the embossing on your cover. I mean, we wanted something with the genre of book. Its the messages you've got in it. We wanted something that was going to just pop out a little bit. Like it's about noticing and the way that you've done the design. That element you can't see on an ebook, you can't see on an audiobook, and you want people to experience that feel because it's a connection piece. Yes. So yeah, I love printed books. Absolutely love them. Speaker 1 (16:35):
And I had that picture in my head when the book came to me. I had the picture in my mind of what I wanted it to feel like. I wanted it to feel worthy. I wanted it to feel that it was fit for that space. I wanted it to feel that it can sit on any coffee table in anyone's house anywhere in the world. And it has a value about it, value that just connects with the reader. Speaker 2 (17:02):
It does. And yeah, your book now has that value because of the way that we've presented it, let alone the content that you've put in there, which is great. Speaker 1 (17:11):
Yeah. Awesome. So when did you actually start your own publishing company, and what was your vision for how you wanted your publishing company to be connected to the community? Speaker 2 (17:24):
I started, excuse me. I started, well, this is my seventh year of operation. So yeah, seven years ago. And I started it out of frustration because I knew authors didn't go to one place and get everything they needed from assistance in writing the publishing journey itself, editing, design, production, eBooks, audiobooks and marketing and distribution. I just knew if there was a place to go to get all of that, it's just going to make it a lot easier for an author. Also, like I said earlier, I just felt that there were too many places out there that didn't have the experience, or their intentions weren't as authentic as others. And that needed to change. And I wanted to be somebody that could make that change. So the purpose of me coming and start, cause I never wanted to start a business at all my thing's. Working with you guys, I get more of a kick out of that.
(18:17)
And I learned about bass and I always thought bass was a fish. And then I find out that every three months or so, the government want money of you. And I'll say, what the hell? So yeah, I've learned a lot as a business owner. My connection to the community was when I started O R P, I got out there a lot. I, I'd run free seminars all around the country. I was in Perth, I was in North Queensland, up in Kens throughout the southeast, Sydney, Melbourne. I even did a tour back in New Zealand because no one else is out there sharing the information I have about, and it wasn't about me, it wasn't a sales seminar, it was an informational seminar where I'm going, here's the kind of hybrid model that we do and others do. Here's trade publishing, here's the goods, the bads and the uglies. Here's the process, here's some great stories. Now you have the information, go and make a choice. And that's what I wanted to do. So I didn't want to be a face on the computer. I wanted to be out there. I wanted to be tactile and relatable. So my connection to the community is about being someone that can sit down and hear a story from a 92 year old grandmother or an eight year old kid wanting to write a fantasy story and know that they'd be listened to. Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah. Awesome. Thank you. And what about your team? How have you grown your team and how have you connected with your team so that they feel the energy of what Ocean Reef publishing represents and that energy can help them evolve in their own evolution? Speaker 2 (19:53):
The remarkable thing with the team is that, and when I started O p, it was just me and I had a series of contractors that managed the editorial design, but I didn't have actual staff as such. The staff came to me. I have not advertised for a position. Everybody that has worked with me over the last seven years came to me. And I think the reason they did that was the authenticity and the fact that to bring stories to life to inspire positive change. I mean, we all want to be a part of something good, and we all want to be a part of something that can make another person's life better. So I feel that the team really resonated with that and saw an opportunity that they could work in an industry that they loved and also make a difference every day they went to work.
(20:38)
So that was very important. Creative leadership is also something that I'm a big fan of. I'm not an authoritative leader, so I give a lot of freedom to the way the team work and the way they communicate. And I have an open door policy. So I've had times when I've had a team member walk into my office and hold me accountable for something and they don't feel uneasy or that, oh, I'm saying this to the boss, or whichever, that doesn't exist with us. So I like that kind of very even level team environment. And it matters when you're dealing with the authors, you know, can see that there's a very strong bond between those team members and that gives them a lot of confidence that they're in the right place going forward. We were talking about this earlier before we came on the podcast. I have a vision and when I started this company and my, it's my vision and I know where I want it to be and I know how many authors I want to work with.
(21:40)
And when I get to your age, I want to tick have ticks and boxes along the way. When you bring on team members, number one, they may resonate with your vision. They may want to be a part of it, but at some point in time they have their own vision of what they want to do. And it might differ from where they currently are, especially when your team members are in the younger age group in their twenties or thirties. And so what I've learned over the past six years is that you've got to keep that. The open door policy in my office is actually an open door policy in the company. And I would rather be supportive and endorse as I am with the authors, a team member to follow their creative vision as well. Sarah, one of our coordinators just launched her book and I, she'd asked me to host it and interview her at the launch, which was fantastic.
(22:31)
And great turnout was awesome. She had the best time. And one of the things I said to her is that, do you know how many people that work in this industry have actually done what you've just done? People that work in publishing and actually write and publish their own book? And I'll tell you now, it's, it's very, very few. So it's a huge achievement for her. And who knows that book could take off the next thing. She's a full-time writer and she can't work with me anymore. There'll be a sad day when that happens, but you've got to be supportive and endorse that change and that impact, because that's what we're trying to do with you guys as authors. That's what you are trying to do. So I'm learned over the last six to seven years to allow for that evolution, which is really cool. Speaker 1 (23:16):
Yeah, I can relate to that. Even with my team. I try to encourage them to pick me up if they feel that I'm letting the team down in some way or I haven't stepped into what I needed to step into. So I encourage them to, Hey, we're a collective here and we have ebbs and flows and there's ups and downs. So we need to just be able to say, right, I need you, Gavin, I need you to get this done by then and you got any challenges or how can we help you and be open and comfortable with having that conversation? No fear-based conversations going on. Speaker 2 (23:55):
Yeah, I mean, you're not doing yourself as a leader any favors by closing your door to that. And if anything, it's helping you evolve into a better leader and a more trusted leader. In this day and age. There is so much change happening in regards to social construct. There's my politically correct way of saying something, and I'm sure your listeners will understand what I mean. You can't actually say certain things. And in my mind, I don't find them offensive and I don't think I'm offending anybody. But now there's rules and barriers around these things, and now they've been introduced to a workplace, which I feel actually is quite constraining something that we as leaders need to be aware of and be conscious and empathetic towards. But at the same time, you've got to allow your team to grow in the most organic way possible without constraint. Trust them, respect them, give them opportunities, allow them to be them. At the same time you sit back and watch how that respect comes back to you, to your clients, to your business, and so on. If you play the woke game, all you are doing is starting to close doors. Speaker 1 (25:12):
Yeah. And you used one word there that's at the top of my tree. And that's the trust, because I just trust in my team to do what they're here to do Speaker 2 (25:23):
Here for a reason, though they Speaker 1 (25:24):
Trust in me to do what I'm here to do. We're all here for that collective reason, that collective energy. Now they say that for a person to make a massive transformational shift from who they are, that it usually takes a major event or an accident or a certain situation that triggers a realization that their current reality is no longer serving them. Would you agree with that? And have you ever experienced anything like that? Speaker 2 (25:50):
1000% agree. And yeah, there there's one. And most people, you probably actually know this cause in the mentoring workbooks with the book marketing program, my history has been colorful. And even though I've had the career I've had, the person that I was was not honest. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that I was a liar and a thief and a cheat, and I was a manipulator. I was a very good manipulator that I would get people to give me what I wanted. And they believed that's what they wanted to do too, was at the time I was just an ignorant dickhead because you don't see the damage you're doing to people.
(26:37)
When I was in Sydney, there was a change that was made and the change was made because of my wife. The support she shows me and has shown me for 20 odd years has been unbelievable. She's my best friend and she's everything to me. And I can't see my life on this planet without her. But for me to have the happiness I wanted, and I knew how big a part she played in it, I had needed to make some very big changes and that I knew the journey was going to be long. So I began this kind of, I guess growth and personal development where I was also, I'm looking at some of the books here. Eckhart is there, Tony Robbins, these are some of the authors that I fell back on when I had to make this change. And I came to Queensland and I was still trying and it was getting better.
(27:30)
And I could see the universe was giving me more positive experiences because I was making this change. And then maybe a year into the ocean ary publishing, I had a meltdown. I just completely on the couch, pretty much crawled up in a ball. One of my kids were here, and I just remember her saying to my wife, I've never seen ocean like this. What do we do? And she said, I don't know. Cause she'd never seen me. This went on for about three or four days as far as the business went. My team kept things going without me, which was great. Just after a while I said, I've just got to get out of the house. I've got to get out of the house. And I organized for me and my wife to go up to Brisbane and just stay at a hotel in the middle of Brisbane City.
(28:20)
We had two nights there. So we went up there and right on 36th floor. It was a huge apartment. It was great. And I walked in, I put the luggage down, I flicked on the tv, and this Tim McGraw guy came on who I'd never ever heard of before. And he was singing the song. And I remember standing there luggage beside me and v Vicky was walking around checking out the apartment, and I'm listening to the lyrics of the song, and I get goosebumps still telling this. And something just shifted in me. It was physically massive, let alone the spiritual and mental state that it created. But in those words, in those lyrics, he says, don't steal, don't cheat and don't lie. And always be humble and kind. And I just was far out, man, this is too much. And then it all went away.
(29:10)
Oh, what did, I held me down that darkness. I was just out of it. And that actually was the catalyst of me finding the ease of being honest. Never lie. I don't have to lie. It's just a little white lie. No, piss off. It's a lie, don't do it. I don't stolen anything for God decades, and I don't cheat on my wife, and I don't do any of that with any of the people I'm around. And I love Tim McGraw because of the messages in his music, and he helped me discover country music. But that was huge. Speaker 1 (29:42):
That was a pivotal point. Yeah, that was that awakening, massive. So how did you step into that new reality once you had that moment there? That was sort of a, and that was ay synchronistic event, by the way as well. It wasn't a coincidence. No. So no. How did you step into that new reality and what did you change about yourself? Speaker 2 (30:02):
I found that when I decided in Sydney I was going to make that change. It was hard, Gavin, it was really hard. And it was only hard because of the limitations I was putting on myself. After that day of hearing humble and kind, I realized how easy this was and that there were no limitations. So that change actually happened a lot faster. I got more excited about who I was, who I was to my family, who I was at work, who I was to the authors. And it was like I was just constantly, I don't know, I had a fire mass or something. It was massive. And yeah, I just started passing on how I felt about life and about creativity in a much larger way. And I had this huge event in Singapore. We kept doing events around here. The numbers were huge. It was the business went through the roof.
(30:55)
We won all these awards. Just the universe went, finally, you dickhead, you've got it right. Here you go. And there are times when things are tough, and I will not do, I'm a Wiccan as a faith goes, and I have a big feel about how nature contributes to your soul and the universal alignment. And part of being a wcan is that you do need to show gratitude and homage pretty much daily. There's times I don't do it. And if things are tough at the time, I, I'll go and spend some time with wika in the universe and then the next day it'll changes and I get frustrated with myself because I'm saying, if I just did this every day, if I was more consistent, then I would never have had those hard times. It would've all been sweet. So it's that undoubted knowledge that I have now. That's been the best thing that's come out of that. No one can tell me that the universe can't change your life if you are allowed to. Speaker 1 (31:51):
Yeah, absolutely. Well said and well shared. It takes a lot to open up and be vulnerable and share those types of big transformational moments. And especially when we hit our lows. I know myself, I've been in the hole myself and had those transformational shifts, and I came to the realization that only I can change me. And once that happened and I had to get out of that world of ego and bullshit as well, and come down to some truth and respect and value in myself, because I just didn't have that value in myself. I was looking for it to get validated externally. So now, and that part that you said about the lying, I ask people that I say to them, is there any difference between a lie and a white lie? And that always brings different types of feedback to me, and I just point out them that they're all the same. Speaker 2 (32:40):
Absolutely. Speaker 1 (32:41):
So if you want to work live in a world of truth, you've got to live in a world of truth. Speaker 2 (32:46):
It's ridiculous to go there as scales of lie. Speaker 1 (32:50):
Yeah, Speaker 2 (32:51):
No, you're not telling the truth. Yeah. What you were saying is incorrect and doesn't exist. Don't care how big or small you may see it. It's a freaking lie. Speaker 1 (33:00):
And you've got to mirror yourself in that respect as well. Because if you are prepared to do it, even if you only have in your mind a belief that it's a little white lie, then be prepared to accept it from others. Speaker 2 (33:13):
Absolutely. And also be mindful when people get into the habit of telling lies. And usually you see it with younger generation, but it's not exclusive to them. I experienced this maybe about seven, eight years ago where this person would lie constantly. And then something happened and she ended up in court and she got to the point where she, she'd lied so much. Not only had she forgotten, which was a lie, which was the truth, but she actually believed her own lies. And she really genuinely did believe they, that's what happened. And I mean, you start creating your own reality that doesn't actually connect with who you are and where you are. It's a dangerous place to be, and it's very difficult to get out of there. So just don't lie and you won't have a problem. Speaker 1 (33:59):
Yeah. Don't lie. You won't have a problem. And even if you have that situation in yourself where you do tell lies, just focus on one day just saying, can I just be aware of what I'm about to say? And maybe hold off or don't say it just for, just try it for one day or one hour or 15 minutes and start to look for that transformational shift in the power that the truth can bring. Speaker 2 (34:32):
It's huge, isn't it? Especially, I like the idea of doing it maybe for a few hours when you're out and about just a general conversation with someone making you coffee and they ask you a question going, oh yeah, I went to that. Or what? Very being aware, like you're saying, being self aware and conscious and taking a moment and then realizing you've just done that and you are honest, that shift is massive. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 1 (34:56):
So right. That's a shift. That's a huge shift within what inspires you to rise and shine each day. Speaker 2 (35:06):
Be a facilitator of other people expressing creativity, my grandchildren, my children, my wife, and I've got a limited time on this planet, mate. I'm not going to spend it curled up in a ball. Speaker 1 (35:23):
Do you ever have periods where rise and shine feels like lay down and give in? Speaker 2 (35:26):
Yeah. Yeah, I do. I think we all do. We're human, we're fallible. We are going to have days of low energy. And sometimes things do get on top of us. I mean, you went through a massive thing a couple of years back with the floods, and every time I saw you on a video, I knew that you had pulled a lot to turn that camera on and do what you did. It was not an easy step for you. But the reason you did it is that's where that energy came from, is to give other people that hope that, Hey, come on guys. We we're going to get through this shit happens G. Yeah. And life is hard, but you are here to leave a legacy. You're here to make a mark. And everybody's lives have the same ability to do that, whether it's for other people or it's for this planet. So you can't ignore the highs and the lows, but you can work towards getting out of the lows in a quicker, more efficient way. Speaker 1 (36:24):
And then that sort of, I relate that to the number four principle of the art of noticing is always look for ways to feel good, even when you're not feeling so good, or even when you're feeling really shitty. You can always look for a way to feel less shittier than you actually are feeling right now. And that can just move you back into that good feeling state sooner Speaker 2 (36:47):
You did on. And that always there. And I was saying earlier that I had a team member recently who just wasn't clicking with an author, and the way that they were talking to each other was, and I said it to both of them, I said, that's kind of really rude from both of you that you find it to speak like that. And since taken this author over, but I was sort of saying to her that, to my team member, you put so much weight and so much focus on this negative experience, and you're in a state of despair right now and struggle. Why don't you go and read the reviews that other authors have written about you? And why don't you give that same energy and focus and just sit there in that for a minute and see where that takes you. Because I think as humans, for some strange reason, we tend to put more energy and focus into the negatives than we do the positives, man. I mean, why? Why do we do that? So yeah, they're all, they're there. They're everywhere. Those things that make us happier and help us get through those tough times. You just got to act on it, don't you? Speaker 1 (37:54):
And that comes back to the gratitude ness of things. There's gratitude in everything in life, and you can find it everywhere. If you're open to look for it, run a gratitude check every single night. And that's one of the stories in the little book of noticing, turning my ants to gifts. So instead of having another negative thought crawling all over me in the shape of an ant, I turn it into gifts, which is gratitude in frigging things small. And once you start to list out your gratitude in frigging things small, you can have a gratitude list that's a hundred points long. And before you know it, you've gone off to sleep. Your reset in your internal system reset is then being charged on positive energy, not negative energy. So you will wake up in a positive reframe. And if I can help people to just understand that how you go to bed is how you reset. So if you're going to stay up and watch TV and you're going to watch a movie and it's all about war and crime and this, and then you're going to watch the late night news before you go to bed, that is your reset. So you need to have an awareness around that to say, I, what reset do I want? Well, maybe if I watched something on might be Netflix or YouTube or whatever, I watch a lot of music videos, so we will just list watch and listen to music videos. Speaker 2 (39:18):
But that's country music. Yeah, Speaker 1 (39:20):
Country music. No wonder you're so happy every day. And then people say to me, well, country music, they just talk about divorce and people being sad and everything else. I said, but Well, that's your perception in your mind. Absolutely. Of a couple of songs that you may have heard. But there's some feel good factors in there as well. And a lot of feel good factors in there is, and a lot of these country music artists that will put their hands up and go, well, country music has kept me in the life that I'm in to be the person that I am now and create that space. Speaker 2 (39:55):
But there's so much of that. But what you're saying about going to sleep, I have this thing in the, it's just become a, it's not even a routine, it's just part of my day. There's two things that happen. One is that I reflect on my interactions throughout that day and I ask myself, can I put my head on the pillow tonight? Have I done the right thing by that person? And when I've gone, then there's a kind of Serena serenity. And the other thing is that I've just, what is the point of waking up unhappy? So I tell myself, I've got to get up tomorrow. I've got to be happy no matter what. And I still have not woken up shitty or negative for a long, long time. But they start off as routines, then they become habits, then they just become part of who you are and the gratitude that's so important that you find what makes that work for you. Speaker 1 (40:46):
And the way you've just expressed that is what we teach people through the breath work that we do. We go in and we change the subconscious programming so that now these My to gifts is now my current program, that's my subconscious program. So I've moved any limited negative beliefs and programmed positive energy into my subconscious. And that comes through repetition. And that's how the subconscious mind learns. And the subconscious mind is 95% of how you live your life out. So if you can change that program and replace it with some new programs, the subconscious conditioning is you can live in a future created now just by how you've programmed the subconscious. Speaker 2 (41:34):
It's that for years people would say, oh, people can't change Lipper can't change the spot absolute trash because you've just outlined, it's just reconfiguring. Everybody can change if they're prepared to if they want to. And they're open to it. And the tools that are out there, like what you are saying with the breathwork, there's, there's tools out there that are actually very accessible for people to get their hands on. And if you want it, then go and get it. Want to have a happier bit of life than start creating one. Speaker 1 (42:08):
Yeah. It's the creator of your own reality. Yep. Alright, couple of questions for you. Sure. Introvert or extrovert? Speaker 2 (42:15):
Extrovert. Speaker 1 (42:16):
Extrovert. I You already knew Speaker 2 (42:17):
That. Speaker 1 (42:18):
Yeah. Yeah. Pessimist or optimist? I know this one. Optimist. Yeah. Lover Speaker 2 (42:22):
Of country music. Country change. Speaker 1 (42:25):
Country music. Yeah. Yeah. Believer of Speaker 2 (42:29):
What you put out comes back to you. So always mind the law of three. Yeah. So like the Wick and Read talks about how you treat other people and what you put out in the universe, you put out shit, it'll come back to you threefold. You put out good, that'll come back as Speaker 1 (42:41):
Well. Exactly. Right. Yeah. It's thoughts become things. So if you are think whatever you are thinking, whether that's a negative or a positive is exactly the result that you're going to have. So what would you say is the hardest lesson that you've learnt about business? Speaker 2 (42:59):
Oh, mate. The hardest thing that I've learned about business is that there needs to be, you need to ask for help. You got to be really skilled at what you do. And even if you're the best in the world at it, in running a business, there are elements about that that you will not be the best at. And if you don't ask for help, then that's going to affect your business in a negative way. So ask for help. Yeah, ask for Speaker 1 (43:30):
Help. Awesome. Look, I like to finish my conversations with a question to my guests and Ocean Reeve. That question is, who are you breathing for today? And why? Speaker 2 (43:41):
Who am I breathing for today and why I'm breathing for myself? Because I know how important I am to the people that love and care for me to be in this planet and to be the positive influence that I am. And I think that's every day, Gavin. I think I breathe for myself every day because of those connections. Speaker 1 (44:00):
I love them. And that comes down to self-love and valuing yourself and internalizing that. Love yourself. Because you need to have that, and I've learned this over the years that I've been doing this work down the wellness road, that once you can become 100% congruent with yourself, all other things will just be, they'll surround you. Yep. Because how you're expressing yourself, it has no other way but to impact things in a positive manner. When you have self-doubt, others will have doubts about you because they can feel the self-doubt that's coming from you. So when you can step into who you are being as a human being, that determines what you do as a human being, which will determine your outcome as a human being. So if you want to be doing great things for yourself and loving yourself first, then you'll be doing good things that then affect people and draw people to you. And then the outcome of that will be a positive, powerful experience. Spot Speaker 2 (45:11):
On, brother. I mean, yeah, because the people that have been drawn to me from my experience, when I have that self-care and self-love, they're there because I need them there. That the universe has put them there for a reason. And every time they've been the right people, the toxic negative people just aren't even in your frame. They don't see, you don't see them because you just don't have that. Speaker 1 (45:38):
You don't hold that space. Speaker 2 (45:39):
Yeah. No. And it's really inspirational to look in the mirror every day and know that that's the connection that you have with people. Yeah. So I love that. Who do you breathe for every day? Yeah, that's wicked, bro. Yeah. Speaker 1 (45:54):
Yeah. That's a good, that's one of our catchphrases here at 100 breaths. Who are you breathing for and why? And so Ocean Reeve, that brings us to a close on this episode of 100 Breaths with Gavin McGahey. And we thank you for joining us in the studio today. It's been awesome to have you here. We'll put all your contact details up on our socials and share the love the way that you've shared the love with assisting me to get my second book out into the big wide ether. And we'll be in touch soon to kick off book number three. Speaker 2 (46:27):
Sounds good, Gavin. Love it. And make sure you get your copy of Little Book of Noticing available at Gavin McGahey. Here's website or at Ocean Publishing. Speaker 1 (46:35):
Awesome stuff. Thank you Ocean. And bye for now.
