From his sailboat off the Queensland coast Mark shares insights from working in 162 different countries. Insights about conversations with strangers, building relationships and becoming a better listener. We also celebrated New Zealand and his Global Travel Channel podcast and the fascinating things we can learn when we connect and listen well. We loved this episode and we’re sure you will too.
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Mark Philpott 0:00
It’s still ongoing practice of mine to become a better listener. I’m always focused on becoming a better listener. The podcast gives me the perfect platform to continue that journey that I started all those years ago in the corporate world to become a better listener.
Kerrie Phipps 0:18
Welcome to connect with confidence and Kerrie Phipps and I am so excited to jump into today’s conversation. So I have on the line with me Mark Phillpotts. Mark you I’m gonna let you do your bio because I’ve got like such a list and you have such an extraordinary life. And you still have like so much extraordinary life ahead of you. So I’m gonna hand over to you how do you want to be introduced?
Mark Philpott 0:42
Um, hi, everyone. My name is Mark Philpott. I live on a sailboat with my puppy dog, Oscar. There you go. How did I go?
Kerrie Phipps 0:50
Good morning, Oscar. Good morning, Mark.
Mark Philpott 0:54
Thank you very much for having us on your show. And we’re both here because Oscar sitting right next to me Kerrie so He’s inthralled and what that he’s talking about today.
Kerrie Phipps 1:03
Oh, that’s fantastic. Now, one of the first things I want to do is recommend that people go and check out your TED Talk. And where was that? Exactly?
Mark Philpott 1:12
That was in Hong Kong. And, you know, I really like to, you know, I’m a, I’m a fan of TED talks and all the rest of it. And, you know, it’s a great experience to do something like that. But the reality of it is, it was 10 years ago. And as I keep saying to people, a lot has changed in my life since I got up and said that talk. So take it in context for what it was 10 years ago. And yeah, it was an enjoyable time and experience.
Kerrie Phipps 1:35
Yeah. And you know, in that you reflected on, you know, your 22 years of corporate work, but the opportunities that you had to travel in that time and the people that changed you as you connected around the world, which really intrigued me, and now you’re the the global business podcast host, a global travel channel, which you so generously invited me on. Just a month or so back, which was amazing. you’re interviewing people all over the world. So I’m excited to ask your questions about how you’re connecting. What are you learning from people? What are you learning about yourself in this journey? And I’ve listened to your podcast a number of times, Mark, and you asked so many great questions
Mark Philpott 2:21
oh Thank you.
Kerrie Phipps 2:22
And I thought I have to be aware that mark might just turn the tables on me today.
Mark Philpott 2:27
I have a list prepared Kerrie.
Kerrie Phipps 2:30
Because you know, you get so into the conversation and that I really do want to hear your stories today. So maybe take us back to your first first trip, your first adventure into connecting with people from a different place.
Mark Philpott 2:46
Well, I probably can’t remember the very first one, but I think you’ve been very insightful in talking about my journey through the corporate world and I was very fortunate I ended up in a company I was instrumental about global business and the company is called DHL, the world’s largest logistics and supply chain management organization. And it was through that career path that I was given the opportunity by working hard and getting promoted into different positions within the company that I was able to experience the world, I guess in a very different way than what a lot of people get to experience it and that is traveling to over 160 countries around the world and doing business meeting new people, making new friends seeing cities and countries like I’d never seen them before. And also doing business in those countries. And I think when you add the dimension of doing business as well, it gives you a completely different insight to how that country operates as a nation, and I thoroughly enjoyed that at the time. It was like every day was a massive learning curve. Back in the day, I used to love flying. It became a chore I used to I used to love and I used to love the excitement of walking out of an airport into a new place and going ride, what have you got to offer me? And, and just really embracing everything that that was there. So there were a lot of common traits that I saw in humanity as I traveled and I think that was the first one is our desire and our appetite for connection.
Kerrie Phipps 4:23
Yes.
Mark Philpott 4:24
I think people just love to, first of all, people love to talk about the place where they live, and where they work. People love to showcase the great things about their country, their city, their town, their village, their community, their even their office, and the company they work for that was something that I really learned a lot. And let’s face it, a lot of people are defined by their identity linked to the job and what they actually do. And I think that’s really a fascinating part of humanity. Because underneath that, and I’ll give you the analogy where you, you spend all day doing business together in a foreign country. And then you go out for dinner at night. And the experience is completely different because people start talking about their personal lives, they start start talking about their families, whereas during the day, it was all business business or for the majority of the time. And I loved that transition. And humanity used to call that a smorgasbord of love because the love started to permeate across the dinner table about, you know, my family and what I was doing and what my hobbies were, and my, my little girl went to a soccer tournament in the weekend and did this and I still love that kind of stuff, because it made me feel more connected to those people. And because I was going back to these places on a regular basis, it wasn’t a one off trip. I used to go to these countries all the time. And therefore those relationships would evolve. And you know, some of them would go into lifelong relationships, like I’ve got with many of those people today still, and, and some of them would be one or two trips, and that would be the end of it. Because you know, we all come into each other’s lives for a reason in a season, right? So yeah, yeah, I found that part of what I did. What I was doing around the world fascinating because it was just such an amazing richness that I knew that I wouldn’t have got any other way if I’d stayed in one country or my life and just worked in a job. And it was a completely different experience.
Kerrie Phipps 6:13
Yeah, that’s beautiful. And Mark, when you’re saying people love to share about their place, their their residents, their country, their office, I heard you say that. And I thought, there are some people who might be reluctant or they might not see the value of their place. But what you’ve taken is an appreciation for what they have. I think if you ask them questions about their place with enthusiasm and appreciation, then they’re so happy to share because you start to highlight to them how valuable that is. But sometimes people don’t actually value their own place. Do they? Have you seen that too?
Mark Philpott 6:46
Yeah, I have. And it’s an interesting point. You talk about there because I think it comes down to the art of communication.
Kerrie Phipps 6:52
Yes. And that’s what I see that you know, that that interest in people which is powerful,
Mark Philpott 6:58
and I think that during that time I was a bit of an oxymoron because I, the role that I played within the company was a very extroverted commercial development guy. So I was out there doing presentations to big companies and all that sort of stuff. But when I put myself in that personal space in that dinner environment, I used to practice my listening skills. And I used to shut up and just listen to people. And that was something that I was conscious of, I wanted to improve that skill set in myself as a human being. Because I felt that I got more out of that interaction, the better listener I became. And when you listen to people intensely, and they know that you’re genuinely listening from my experience, they will open up and they will give you more and more deep information. And that’s what I love to get out of people. So I felt, I found myself sitting at a table where, you know, many men were telling me their problems when their relationships and women were telling me all the problems with the man and the life and what the boss was saying and doing and all these sorts of conversations. Were going on. And it was happening at times in different languages. And yeah, it was really, really amazing.
Kerrie Phipps 8:06
Wow. You know, and that listening is what I hear on your podcast, too. You really listen to people at a deep level. And you know, we don’t see each other’s faces when we’re on a podcast. It’s just like a phone call. And we hear things and we hear support. We, we hear that, that somebody wants our story. And so I hope that I can save you in that way today, too, as you do for your guests. So, Mark, I’m just wondering when you said you had this extroverted role. Did you always see yourself as an extrovert? Can you take us back to your early days?
Mark Philpott 8:38
Oh, yeah, sure. That’s, that’s a great question. In fact, I’m writing a new book at the moment. And I just wrote a chapter last night that talks about this because I’m actually a really introverted guy, and you wouldn’t really know it and some levels because yeah, I put myself out there on social media and do all those things. But I’ve been a loner for a lot of my life, and I grew up grew up in a family environment where I spent a lot of time by myself, I played a lot of sports and they were very individual sports. So I did things like you know, cycling and playing tennis and things like that, where I was always by myself. And when I started the journey in the corporate world, although I had responsibility for a lot of people, I did a lot of my travel by myself. So I found that I had to push myself out of my comfort zone to be the guy that stood up in front of a boardroom of people and talked about you know, global deals and all the rest of it. And some people looked at me and said, Wow, that just comes so naturally to you. I can tell you it didn’t it took a lot of years of building self confidence and working on myself and getting mentored by people as well. That was the other thing learning from others and picking up little bits and pieces of skill sets and how to overcome those things that I felt were holding me back so yeah, quite a quite an interesting perspective and even today on on the podcast, you know, I get a lot of You will say to me Well, you know, you come across as very confident and understanding about a lot of things, but put a lot of hard work into that a lot of reading a lot of research a lot of time alone to delve into people, because I’m genuinely interested.
Kerrie Phipps 10:12
Yes. And I think when we’re really interested in somebody, when we’re when we have this purpose, to connect to, to share stories, you know, whatever you would articulate as your purpose. When that is clear, then that nervousness that inhibition, you know that that falls away, doesn’t it? Because you get you get intrigued.
Mark Philpott 10:32
Yeah, I think we’re in a fascinating period of history right now, if you look around the world, in particular to the subject you’re talking about carry if you look at the leaders around the world at the moment, how are they dealing with their countries on this pandemic level, and you’ll see leaders who have embraced their nation as a community of people and, and people, people who are at one with them, and then you’ve got the author, authoritarian type of approach. This is what you shall say and do and we you’ll go and at what time. And, you know, I can’t help but say, you know, you’ve got to look at New Zealand, my home country where, yes, there is really a family spirit behind what they’ve been able to achieve with taking on this, this virus. So I think that’s what it’s all about if leaders and people have in those positions are able to get the audience to really buy into whatever messaging they’re trying to communicate. That’s the key to success for me I think.
Kerrie Phipps 11:30
I’m absolutely and I wanted to take a moment to celebrate New Zealand and I was thinking this morning What is it about New Zealand? You know, there are some people in the world might not even really know where it is or, but there are so many extraordinary people that come out of that place. You know, they’ve got like award winning filmmakers, and then people come from all over the world to New Zealand to make films and to to celebrate the nature and the people there. So what is it about New Zealand
Mark Philpott 11:59
I think there’s two things Kerrie. I think the first one is that, you know, back in the day in my generation, I think it’s still the case today that you know, when you get to that ripe old age of, you know, 16 or 17, you throw a backpack on and you take off out into the world. And the kiwi appetite for travel is immense. And it’s always been something where, okay, we want to get out there and see what’s happening. And New Zealand is very adventurous, but they’re also great inventors. And if you look back through the history of the world, you’ll see that a lot of inventions have happened in New Zealand. Yeah, and you know, there’s been extraordinary things done by New Zealanders because of that. The other thing is because we do in live at the end of the world, so to speak, there is this mentality of survival of the fittest, and as a result of, you know, New Zealand’s got a, I wouldn’t say it’s got a harsh climate, but it’s got a climate that makes you fairly rough and rugged. It’s got an agricultural background, so there’s a lot of farmers and a lot Have people connected to the land, whether it be fishing or whatever, New Zealand and I think that’s part of the DNA of it as well. So I think when people have, you know, had a had a fairly difficult life and upbringing, they get out there and they see the world or how other people are living and what they’re doing that all molds into a wonderful recipe, I think for the things that you see coming out of New Zealand.
Absolutely. And you just reminded me of a movie that I insisted my dad come and see, because he doesn’t. He’s a farmer. He doesn’t go to the cinema. And I said, but you have to see this movie called The world’s fastest Indian.
Oh, Burt Munro?
Yes, he’s my absolute role model is Bert. In fact, I met Pete when I was a young guy. And it was absolutely by chance. I didn’t know anything about him at all. I was down in Invercargill, where he’s actually from at the time and I was taking a ferry across to Stewart Island, which is at the bottom of the world. Yeah, we ran into him literally. And what an incredible film I I think everyone in the world should watch that film because it’s got some So much about humanity. It’s got so much about desire and courage and determination and achieving your goal in life no matter what gets put in front of you. It’s it’s really a brilliant movie.
Kerrie Phipps 14:12
Yes. And I will never forget the scene where he’s sitting in the car. And his he quotes is about the man in the arena.
Mark Philpott 14:20
Yes.
Kerrie Phipps 14:21
Well, he just stopped saying it’s not the critical accounts. And you don’t realize that it’s actually a quote until he’s, you know, it’s the poetic nature of that. But it’s just his story in that moment. Yeah, he’s in the arena. He’s not caring about who’s criticizing and he goes in next history. So yes, I’m with you in recommending that everybody.
Mark Philpott 14:43
And going back to what you just asked me about, you know, what, what is it that makes New Zealanders what they are, I think Burt Munro is just absolutely a typical of that. I think that you know, the determination that he showed to and you know, what that record that he said still holds today.
Kerrie Phipps 14:57
Yes,
Mark Philpott 14:58
And that’s extraordinary in itself to say But no one and all these years afterwards What is it 760 years or so since that happened that no one’s even bitness record, which many records then for 60 years, you know,
Kerrie Phipps 15:10
incredible, incredible. And my dad was actually a skydiving meet in Arizona shortly after we’d seen the movie and he met this New Zealander. And he said, Ah, I watched this movie recently. And he said, yeah Burt Munro
Mark Philpott 15:25
I think everyone in New Zealand knows Burt Munro, right? Oh, by the way, so
Kerrie Phipps 15:28
yeah,
Mark Philpott 15:29
thing. Yeah. What do you say? It says, neighbor run, you know, whatever.
Kerrie Phipps 15:32
Yeah, well, that that skydiver did say that he. He said, See, sit on the beach and watch him, you know, riding up and down the beach. So just going back to you know, these moments where you were teaching yourself to really listen and to connect and to present yourself confidently. You mentioned mentors as you know, one of the supports but I wanted you to take us through some other tips even in the moment kind of tips when people They’re stepping up pushing themselves out of the comfort zone as you did.
Mark Philpott 16:04
Hmm. I think in terms of being a trailblazer in that space for yourself, I think everybody’s a trailblazer in their own life journey when it comes to that, because you’ve got to try trial things that work for you. I think there’s no use. You got to be a little bit careful with this mentoring thing. Because I think in terms of mentoring things, sometimes mentors can give you great technical advice and give you framework and structure. But at the end of the day, the implementation and the sustainability comes down to yourself, you know, how accountable are you to practicing new things and doing things that work for you? You’ve only got to look at social media today. There’s so many different strategies out there that people use for social media. And what’s everybody trying to achieve as it’s saying, you know, notoriety Hi, here I am, this is who I am, what I’m doing blah, blah, blah, isn’t isn’t ego? What is it that’s actually driving some of that? And I think in terms of when I was focusing on as I still do, and if I go back to your question, Why I do the podcast is still ongoing practice of mine to become a better listener, I’m always focused on becoming a better listener. The podcast gives me the perfect platform to continue that journey that I started all those years ago in the corporate world to become a better listener. And it served me so well in all aspects of my life, whether it be relationships, whether it be even even to my dog, you know, my dog sits there and looks at me we have these stare off competitions. He’s looking in my eyes I’m looking at his there’s no communication obviously going on other than that, but we’re we’re actually listening to each other. And I find it fascinating with animals as well. So yeah, I think some of the tips that I got from other people were, I used to love carry spending time with elderly people. Yeah. I just love the wisdom and also the, the non ego based communication that they’re about elderly people. I used to get so much from my grandparents. My grandfather was my hero when I was growing up. Yeah, and I would sit and listen to him for hours and hours. Now talking about all different aspects of life. So I think it was kind of embedded in me when I started this journey of, you know, living, living and working and traveling around the world for my entire life, I got into this mode of connecting with people that were like my grandfather, were able to sit down and talk to me at a level where one I felt as though I was connected on a on the same level. And two, they weren’t about expressing their views in an egotistical way. They’re about sharing their experience in a way that was both beautiful, but also take it or leave it you take from this what you want to take, and, you know, leave the rest. So I found that those people and when I, you know, we label them as mentors, but really everybody we come across in our life as a mentor and why we’re in one way or another. And no matter what form of communication we have with someone, whether it be like on a podcast, whether it be face to face walking down the street, I’ve had some amazing conversations here with sailors that I bumped into from all different parts of the world, who have a different perspective. On sailing, and, you know, I’m learning to sail through other people’s eyes and experience. So that’s a beautiful thing as well.
Kerrie Phipps 19:07
Yeah, that’s so valuable. And you mentioned like when you were saying trying things for yourself. Yeah. And you mentioned sustainability. So let’s have a chat about that too. Because, you know, if we try and connect like somebody else does, if we try and do anything like somebody else, it’s exhausting, isn’t it?
Mark Philpott 19:23
Yeah.
Kerrie Phipps 19:23
So trying to tell us more about what sustainability in your connecting looks like?
Mark Philpott 19:28
You I guess I asked the question back in terms of what’s the point of copying someone else that’s already being done right. People are already doing it. Like, you know, not everybody has to be a Joe Rogan on podcast, right? Because Joe’s doing a great job of being Joe. And I want to do a great job of being Mark Philpott, whatever that means in the context of of the world, right.
Kerrie Phipps 19:46
Yeah.
Mark Philpott 19:47
So I think in terms of sustainability is, look, I’ll share something with you, Kerrie, that a lot of people don’t know for the last 10 years, I haven’t earned $1 of income from anything in my life.
Kerrie Phipps 19:57
Wow.
Mark Philpott 19:58
Okay, so I’ve been doing Everything in the last 10 years that I’m passionate about for no financial reward because I got to a stage in my life where I didn’t want money to drive what I was all about. Hmm. So, I’ve turned down a lot of offers to do lots of different things to make money. But what was more important to me was to create the lifestyle that I have today and do the things that I get out of bed and do every day because I love doing it. And I know through doing that, that the sustainability and when I talk about sustainability, right, I don’t talk about it from a financial point of view. I talk about it is this what I’m doing today gonna drive me to get out of bed and have a smile on my face tomorrow? And as long as I can honestly authentically answer that as a yes to myself every day, then I know I’m on the right track. Hmm. So yeah, in terms of I’m not suggesting that people need to live without money and I don’t live without money. I’m comfortable with what I’ve made in the past and done and created and invested in all the risks. But so what all I’m just saying is I’m sharing that I didn’t allow money to be the key driver of my sustainable life going forward. I wanted to create the life that I wanted with the passions that I’m passionate about, and do that as my mainstream life everyday.
Kerrie Phipps 21:16
Mm hmm. And something that I’ve noticed recently in your social media, you know, is your health journey of being sharing more about that? And you know, that energy, you when you said, you wake up in the morning, you know, ready to go? It sounds like you are really looking at sustainability and being your best. It’s been a focus for some time now.
Mark Philpott 21:40
Well, at the end of the day, health is all we have, right? So again, in writing my current book, it’s about the last 25 days of my father’s life and watching his demise through poor health, and sitting by his bedside 24 hours a day for the entire period of time. And what that lesson taught me was, you know, I can run around and make 1000 podcasts and do all this and do all that, but if I’m not healthy, and if I’m not enjoying that process so, you know, a lot of the journey that I’ve been on carry has been about not establishing myself as a as a podcaster. Not establishing myself in any context in a business sense, but becoming more of the your phone, authentic person that I want to become. And that means spirituality, it means good health, looking after myself and also developing loving relationships, because if I talk about my back to my corporate life that we spoke about before those memories and those relationships and those connections that I have, I have a global family of connections that I have, which have mean everything to me, they will always be more important than what I do every day, if that makes sense. You know? Yeah. So yes, I’ve been putting a lot of emphasis into that part of my life and I will continue to do so when I go forward because I just think it’s all we have really at the end of the day is that’s what we have
Kerrie Phipps 22:59
And how do you feel It impacts your connecting with others.
Mark Philpott 23:02
Oh, positively. You know, I’ve since I’ve been and look again, I was really reluctant to put myself online talking about this health thing that I’m going through because there’s a zillion videos out there about people doing health stuff, and there’s so much more, you know, intellect than I do about that subject. But I just thought, look, you know, I’m 55 years old, I was obese, I was angry, I was frustrated with who I was, I was getting lazy in different areas of my life. And I woke up literally one morning and said to myself, this is not you might get yourself together, and you’re the only one that can hold you accountable for this. And the chord denominator for me was sugar because I had been addicted to processed sugar all my life. And I knew that and I had been living with that addiction. And I’d been living in denial. And I thought, right Hang on a minute. If you get on these podcasts, and you listen to all these people doing amazing things, and they inspire you in all sorts of different ways, but you’re not living the best Possible version of yourself, why not? Why aren’t you, right? So all those things came together in a crescendo of a moment. And you know, people call that an epiphany or whatever. But I woke up and said, Hey, you got to change this. And as a result of doing that, now, I’m getting emails from all over the world with people saying to you saying to me, oh, how did you get started? And you know, what do you What are you cooking every day? And how much exercise do you do? And? And well, yeah, I can share that. It’s again, it goes back to what are you prepared to do for yourself?
Kerrie Phipps 24:32
Yeah, so you had a conversation with yourself? Yeah.
Mark Philpott 24:35
Oh, yeah.
Kerrie Phipps 24:37
But yeah, I appreciate that. You I encouraging other people to have that conversation with themselves as well, like, what are they going to try for themselves, and not just take on somebody else’s?
Mark Philpott 24:48
Yeah, we have to be careful that we’re not preaching to people. That’s what I think. I think once we get up on the pedestal and we start saying, hey, you should do this. I think that’s dangerous territory. And I think it’s a case of I’m, I’m only putting myself out there and a speaker saying, Hey, this is what I’m doing. It’s working for me. I’m feeling fantastic. And leaving it at that. And if people want to, you know, take something from that. Fantastic.
Kerrie Phipps 25:13
Absolutely. Thank you so much mark. And I wanted to ask some special people in your world that you’d like to acknowledge or give a shout out to.
Mark Philpott 25:21
Oh, the list is the list is huge. Um, the list is huge. Actually. I want to give a shout out to my dad who’s passed away and yeah, he’s, he’s inspiring me at the moment to write my book that I’m writing. And there’s a lot of there’s a lot of internal Mark Philpott built into that. So I want to thank him for giving me the opportunity to be his son. Oh, and to allow me to become the person that I am.
Kerrie Phipps 25:53
That’s so beautiful mark. And what was your dad’s name?
Mark Philpott 25:56
Barrie.
Kerrie Phipps 25:57
Barrie So
Mark Philpott 25:58
Barrie Philpott Yeah.
Kerrie Phipps 26:00
Awesome.
Mark Philpott 26:00
That’s Barrie with a B A R R I E not a BARRY , which meaning people’s stone
Kerrie Phipps 26:08
I appreciate the IE.
Mark Philpott 26:11
Yes, you do.
Kerrie Phipps 26:14
That’s a That’s beautiful. Mark, thank you so much for sharing. And yeah, I want to encourage everyone who’s listening to find and follow Mark online. We’ll have all the links in the show notes. And I just start with every conversation that we’ve had mark. There’s been a couple of quick Facebook voice messages and then the podcast interview that I did with you for the global Travel Channel. You asked me great questions, unpack things that I think I haven’t shared before. And I hope that you’ve enjoyed sharing today with our audience, with our listeners, friends around the world and I know I have really found it very inspiring and useful. So thank you. Is there anything else that you’d like to add?
Mark Philpott 26:54
There is Kerrie, I would like to wish you all the very best with your podcast journey. You’re a phenomenal person. And I know you love helping people and I know through this particular platform, you’re going to go on to change many people’s lives. So I want to wish you all the very best for that and thank you for having me on your show.
Kerrie Phipps 27:11
Thank you, Mark.
