Hacking Happy with Penny Locaso
168 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 month ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsWelcome to the Hacking Happy podcast. I'm your host Penny Locaso and I'm the world's first Happiness Hacker with a bold mission to teach 10 million women how to flourish on their terms by 2025 without guilt.
This podcast is designed to help you reignite your spark so that you can channel it towards injecting more balance, presence and connection into each day without burnout.
If that sounds like something you could use a little more of let's get started!
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Episodes
Zoomed Out?
June 26, 2021 04:52 - 22 minutes - 20.4 MBZoom fatigue is real! Are you zoomed out? I recently spent 24 hours across three days on Zoom undertaking a training program thanks to another Melbourne lockdown. By end of it, I felt like my soul had been sucked out. I had a massive headache, and my brain wouldn't take in any information even though I was hugely passionate about the content. Have you ever felt like this? This experience (whilst an extreme example) made me curious about how our dependence on Zoom in the Covid world is im...
Happiness Is Not A Destination
June 20, 2021 23:34 - 21 minutes - 20.3 MBHappiness is a state of being: I was recently asked if I find it stressful trying to be happy all the time? And I wondered what your thoughts might be on this? I liked this question so much I thought I would use it as the topic for this week's podcast so that together we could dig a bit deeper into... •how you define happiness, and how that impacts your ability to experience it and not be stressed by it •where happiness is commonly found so that no matter where you are at on this crazy C...
When The Guilt Never Ends
June 11, 2021 00:53 - 18 minutes - 16.7 MBUsing guilt for inner peace. Here in Melbourne, I've been immersed in lockdown 4.0, and conversations with clients and friends have centred around the guilt of not being able to get all the things we want to be done in a day. Feelings of not being able to keep up seem pervasive and it has me questioning the long-term impacts of not dealing with feelings of constant guilt? Can you relate? In this week's podcast I want to explore with you how you can use your guilt to be kinder to yourself a...
5 Questions To Amplify Productivity
June 06, 2021 04:16 - 20 minutes - 18.9 MBDo you ever wish you had the time to press pause on life and gather your thoughts? Want more productivity and happiness? Hundreds of peeps who have taken the HH Assessment have told me the one thing that would be most helpful in enabling the change they seek would be the time to reflect and collect their thoughts on a regular basis. So, in this week's podcast I'm sharing a simple weekly reflection practice I use that only takes 15 minutes and can help you amplify your focus, your productivi...
From Surviving To Thriving
May 30, 2021 07:35 - 39 minutes - 36.2 MBParenting to thrive: Enabling teenage girls to build skill in thriving rather than surviving is no easy job. But FlourishGirl.org founder Mandy Dante has stepped up to the challenge with a whole lot of heart. Having now impacted the lives of nearly 6000 young women with trans-formative right of passage social and emotional wellbeing programs, Mandy has some powerful insights to share. This interview is a must for parents wanting to support their kids in enjoying the journey that is life. M...
WTF Now?
May 24, 2021 03:08 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBAny chance you're feeling burnt out, overwhelmed by the scale of change, and distracted by the question WTF now? I hear you! The reality is the past year has shifted our perspectives on what is possible in a short time frame. The pain of the pandemic has gifted us the opportunity to open our eyes to the magic of possible and it's left many of us asking WTF now? In this week's episode I'm digging into: •why this is a healthy question to explore... providing you don't let certainty hold yo...
The Gift Of Listening
May 15, 2021 03:19 - 42 minutes - 39.3 MBGain 4hrs and more happy: What if practicing 3 simple things consistently could not only make you happier but could also gift you 4 hours back in your week? Curious? In this week's episode of the Hacking Happy podcast, I'm talking to what I term the global guru on listening, Oscar Trimboli to explore how listening can help us lead happier, healthier, and more productive lives. Together we discuss how listening is perhaps not what you think it is, why so many of us struggle with it and how ...
Embracing Your Inner Imperfect
May 10, 2021 04:00 - 17 minutes - 15.9 MBImperfect experimentation: What's the cost of not embracing imperfection? Is it an unrealised dream, relationship, career... perhaps it's your inner peace? Today I want to talk about perfectionism and why it's a barrier to realising the happiness and the potential that you have that you don't even know you have... if that makes sense. I want to explore with you how I learned to let go of perfect, claimed the title of recovering perfectionist and learned to love the magic that sits on the ot...
Defining Happiness On Your Terms
April 30, 2021 08:43 - 21 minutes - 20.2 MBChoose your happiness: The language you use determines your ability to make change! We rarely create the space to reflect on how we define the words that enable us to shape our lives in a way that is meaningful... and trust me, it matters. That's why in this week's podcast I'm creating the space for you to reflect on how you define happiness, whether that definition is serving you, and if not, how you can redefine happiness on your terms. Why? Because how you define happiness is foundation...
Podcasts Make Me Happy
April 09, 2021 07:00 - 24 minutes - 22.5 MBNourish Your Soul & Brain: My little Hacking Happy podcast has just clocked over 10,500 downloads and I wanted to say a huge thank you to all the budding Happiness Hackers out there. I created this podcast with the simple intent of enabling you to inject more of what makes you happy into each day. To celebrate I thought I would do a podcast on podcasts because when I think about it, podcasts make me happy, they inject that little something extra into the day whether it's a story I can relat...
Rose, Bud, Thorn
April 09, 2021 06:45 - 43 minutes - 40.4 MBGratitude for good and bad: We cannot control what life throws at us, but we can control how we choose to show up. My Mum is my Hacking Happiness mentor and I could not be more proud of where I've come from. She was a farmer who raised three children on her own and then retrained as a yoga teacher at age 60. She went on to start her own yoga business teaching the elderly and youths with disabilities. 2020 was a tough year for many of us, but for mum, it was exceptionally challenging with he...
Is Success Making You Sad?
April 09, 2021 06:30 - 25 minutes - 23.7 MBDefining success on your terms: Have you ever stepped back and considered how you define success and whether that definition is making your happy? Is it possible that your definition of success is not your own and your pursuit of it is actually sidelining your happiness? In this episode of the Hacking Happy podcast I want to explore with you •Why the societal definition of success is flawed and more often than not, creates feelings of overwhelm and not being good enough. •What you can do...
If The Dead Could Talk...
April 03, 2021 04:56 - 16 minutes - 14.9 MBInject happiness in death... What if there was a pro-active way to inject a little happiness into grief? This week I want to share with you a beautiful happiness hack that still puts a smile on my face and brought so much joy to others when my beautiful grandmother passed. This is a hack with a difference, it brings together a unique combination of happiness and sadness, provides a beautiful support mechanism to process grief, not to mention an intentional means to connect with those we lov...
If the dead could talk...
April 03, 2021 04:56 - 16 minutes - 14.7 MBInject happiness in death... What if there was a pro-active way to inject a little happiness into grief? This week I want to share with you a beautiful happiness hack that still puts a smile on my face and brought so much joy to others when my beautiful grandmother passed. This is a hack with a difference, it brings together a unique combination of happiness and sadness, provides a beautiful support mechanism to process grief, not to mention an intentional means to connect with those we lo...
I've Failed Massively & It May Help You!
March 27, 2021 05:11 - 27 minutes - 25.6 MBHow to learn from failure: Last week I experienced a huge failure in my business, it is still extremely raw, real, and uncomfortable but I wanted to share it with you for the following reasons: •It's through failure, reflecting on it, and sharing it that we grow and inspire others to do the same •It's my duty as a happiness hacker to show you the good, the bad, and the ugly of my journey and the value of imperfect experimentation. If I don't you may struggle to find the courage to lean int...
Journaling For Growth | Episode 17
March 21, 2021 06:11 - 29 minutes - 27.1 MBExperience the magic of journaling: One of the questions I am asked most often is how do I journal and what prompts do I use to process thoughts, energise myself and inspire creativity in life. That's why this week I'm sharing how I journal for growth and providing you with a little one-on-one journaling session. Together in this episode of the Hacking Happy Podcast we will explore: What journaling is The scientifically-proven benefits The diverse range of ways in which you can use jour...
Journaling For Growth
March 21, 2021 06:11 - 29 minutes - 27.3 MBExperience the magic of journaling: One of the questions I am asked most often is how do I journal and what prompts do I use to process thoughts, energise myself and inspire creativity in life. That's why this week I'm sharing how I journal for growth and providing you with a little one-on-one journaling session. Together in this episode of the Hacking Happy Podcast we will explore: •What journaling is •The scientifically-proven benefits •The diverse range of ways in which you can use j...
Why You'll Never Be Ready - Part Two with Sheree Rubinstein
February 27, 2021 03:28 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBand why it doesn't matter... In part two of our series, Why You'll Never Be Ready... and why that's the reason you should jump into the change you long for NOW, I've invited my good friend Sheree Rubinstein in to share her story. Sheree is a former corporate lawyer turned entrepreneur. She is the Founder of One Roof, which pre-covid, was Australia's leading co-working space dedicated to women. If you've longed to make a change in your life and you haven't taken action because you're 'not re...
Why You'll Never Be Ready - Part One
February 14, 2021 00:27 - 13 minutes - 12.4 MBand why it doesn't matter: Ever asked yourself what is the cost of never being ready, the cost of never realising the life that I know could make me happier? I asked myself this question six years ago and in my view, it was too much. I came to the realisation that ready and all that goes with it was holding me back. Is it holding you back? If you've longed to make a change in your life (for I'm guessing around 2 or 3 years) and you haven't taken action because you're 'not ready', then this...
The Tech Sabbath Experiment
February 13, 2021 23:57 - 29 minutes - 26.8 MBSwitch off to switch on: Imagine being without your phone for 24 hours... worse still, imagine if your laptop or your Apple watch was gone too. Now imagine if this happened every week and it was an intentional choice... welcome to the Tech Sabbath Experiment. A 4-week experiment where my good friend Lisa Leong and I decided that every Friday night from 5.30pm we would completely disconnect from all technological distractions in order to rest and recharge our brains and reconnect with oursel...
Bounce Forward With Boundaries
February 05, 2021 03:50 - 29 minutes - 27.6 MBAmplify energy with Intentional boundaries: How would it feel and what impact would it have if you were to make more intentional choices each day that clearly articulate (to you and to others) what you value through your action? In this podcast, I want to challenge you to look at boundaries through a new lens and consider how critical they are to amplifying your energy, your mental wealth, and your happiness. This podcast is for anyone looking to find the time for more of what matters, anyo...
How To Build The Confidence To Say No
January 29, 2021 03:37 - 32 minutes - 29.7 MBSay NO without guilt: When was the last time you said yes to something you didn't want to do? How did it feel, how long did it take, what did it take you away from? For most of the people I meet, saying yes to things they don't want to do because they'd prefer to avoid the discomfort a NO brings is a daily practice. A practice that impacts our happiness, and our ability to live the life that we want. In this podcast I want to explore with you: •the word NO and how using it more often ca...
Busy Is The Enemy Of Happiness
January 24, 2021 22:30 - 34 minutes - 31.9 MBDitch Doing Embrace Being: I've been thinking a lot lately about time and how our use of it impacts our level of energy, anxiety and our happiness. Why? Because if I had a $ for every time I sat down with a smart, successful woman who told me her dream and then told me she didn't have the time to make it happen because she was too busy... I'd be a wealthy woman. My aim in this podcast is to help you take back control of your time so that you can eliminate the distraction and create the spa...
Put A Dream In Your Drawer
January 18, 2021 03:21 - 34 minutes - 31.7 MBTurning dreams into reality: In 2014 I turned my life upside down in pursuit of happiness and started my own business. At the time I had no idea what I was doing or where it was going to take me. All I knew to be true was that I wanted to positively impact the lives of others, be more humanly connected and live more in each moment. At the time I also had a dream that one day my work and its impact would be validated. I would write an article for the esteemed Harvard Business Review on how ...
2021 Where To Start?
January 10, 2021 22:31 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBMake 2021 your year: Longing for 2021 to be different? Know you could be happier in your work, your relationship, your life (or perhaps all three) but not sure of what it looks like or where to start? Start here! In this podcast, I share a simple framework I use to set the tone for how I want my year to feel. The framework provides the space to embrace uncertainty, spontaneity, and flexibility all within the service of moving you closer to the life you long for. So what are you waiting for...
The Fastest Slow Year Ever
December 21, 2020 02:59 - 24 minutes - 22.3 MBNothing happened, yet everything happened. Feel like it's been the fastest slow year ever? You are not alone. Take a listen to this live stream podcast and learn a really simple reflective practice to close out 2020 with joy... rather than write it off. Resources •Want More Hacking Happy? •Take the HackingHappy Assessment at hackinghappy.co and discover where your opportunities lie for injecting more of what matters into each day •Grab a copy of my new book Hacking Happiness •Take a lo...
Harnessing Your Everyday Creative In Adversity
December 02, 2020 02:07 - 38 minutes - 35.5 MBHarnessing Your Everyday Creative In Adversity. In this weeks episode of The Hacking Happy podcast host Penny Locaso is joined by everyday creative Mykel Dixon. Mykel is an award-winning speaker, learning designer, event curator, musician, and the author of Everyday Creative - a dangerous guide to making magic at work. On this will ride of conversation Penny and Mykel explore: •Why joy is an act of rebellion •How to open your mind to what's next when COVID has stripped away all that was fa...
Fear(less) You
November 11, 2020 02:57 - 53 minutes - 49.1 MBFrom paralysis to possibility: What if I told you this fear that you feel is not your barrier, it's the doorway to the growth and expansion you seek in your life? Off the back of the hugely successful Fear(less) You Webinar, we've decided to take the audio and turn it into a podcast. We want to provide as many of our tribe as possible with the tools to look at fear through a different lens. The objective of Fear(less) You is not to teach you how to get rid of fear - that's neither possible ...
Permission To Dream Again
November 10, 2020 03:42 - 47 minutes - 43.7 MBPermission To Dream Again. If fear or overwhelm has you feeling stuck or a little sad at the moment then this conversation with the amazing Milo-Arne Wilkinson is a must listen. Together we explore: •The science behind why we feel more exhausted, more afraid and more triggered than ever and what we can do to bring our mental wellbeing into balance. •Why now is the time to give yourself permission to have hope for the future and dream again how to use your internal conversation to turn fea...
Inside The Journal Of A Happiness Hacker
October 26, 2020 00:46 - 22 minutes - 20.6 MBAwkward, uncomfortable and cathartic. In today's episode of The Hacking Happy Podcast I'm trying something different. I'm taking you inside my inner thoughts and opening up my journal to demonstrate the power of leaning into vulnerability and small acts of courage. This felt awkward, uncomfortable and cathartic all at once. The tribe has spoken and asked me for hacks on being more courageous and I felt doing this was a great way to show you what it looks and feels like. I share a recent even...
When You're Sitting In Your True Self, Who Are You?
October 14, 2020 07:49 - 53 minutes - 49.3 MBAlison Rice's true self: How do you shift your life into alignment when you realise the stories you're telling are not the ones you want to tell? This was the question Alison Rice confronted as a distinguished and multi award-winning digital publisher. This week Offline Founder, conscious coach and tribe leader Alison Rice joins Penny Locaso on the Hacking Happy couch. Alison shares how she walked away from what appeared to be it all, only to unlock the door to surrender, alignment, and a li...
When You’re Sitting In Your True Self, Who Are You?
October 14, 2020 07:49 - 53 minutes - 49.2 MBAlison Rice’s true self: How do you shift your life into alignment when you realise the stories you’re telling are not the ones you want to tell? This was the question Alison Rice confronted as a distinguished and multi award-winning digital published. This week Offline Founder, conscious coach and tribe leader Alison Rice joins Penny Locaso on the Hacking Happy couch. Alison shares how she walked away from what appeared to be it all, only to unlock the door to surrender, alignment, and a l...
Hacking Happiness In Stage 4 Lockdown
September 26, 2020 08:19 - 1 hour - 60.5 MBHow do you amp up your happiness when you can only leave your home for one hour a day of exercise and physical connection outside of your home is cut off? This week, reformed corporate lawyer and the host of ABC Radio National's show and podcast, "This Working Life" Lisa Leong joins Penny Locaso on the Hacking Happy couch. Lisa shares how she structures her day to nourish her soul and dial up her energy. Penny and Lisa also get real and raw around: •How happiness is about a commitment to j...
The Journey Of A Happiness Hacker
September 26, 2020 07:10 - 40 minutes - 37.5 MBThis is the first episode of The Hacking Happy Podcast so I felt it would be fitting to share the back story with you. I want to give you a feel for who I am, what I'm about and where I intend to take you with this podcast long term. In this episode I share openly my journey towards becoming a happiness hacker and the key lessons I've learnt along the way. Together we'll explore: •How happiness is found at the intersection of what you long for but are avoiding. •How being an imperfect ex...
Falling Through The COVID-19 Cracks
May 25, 2020 07:00 - 33 minutes - 31.1 MBAdapting to support asylum seekers: Have you stopped to consider who might be falling through the cracks of COVID-19? Penny Locaso joins Asylum Seeker Resource Centre Innovation Leader Abiola Ajetomobi as she shares the effect of COVID-19 on those seeking asylum. There is no safety net for those who have contributed to our society whilst their visa applications are being processed, which means they are just one of many groups of humans falling through the cracks. This Week We Explore: •Emb...
Adapt At Any Age
May 12, 2020 02:40 - 31 minutes - 29 MB71 and Teaching Yoga: To celebrate Mother's Day and share a story that has already inspired 8,000+ people on LinkedIn, I decided to invite my amazing Mum, Sandra Reed, onto the Human First podcast couch. Since COVID-19 hit I have been committed to sharing stories that uplift and encourage a little more joy into our days. This week is no exception. At age 60 my mum (who had been a farmer) decided to reinvent herself and become a yoga teacher. She went on to start a small business that provide...
The Artists Way
May 03, 2020 07:59 - 38 minutes - 35.8 MBCreativity In Crisis: How important is creativity and it's expression to humans? This week Penny Locaso is joined by Actor, Singer & Producer Blake Bowden. Blake shares the effect of COVID-19 on the arts industry and the unconsidered implications for a workforce that is casual in nature. This Week We Explore: •How this time of pause can deliver magic if we allow ourselves to lean into it •How many artists are falling through the cracks in terms of financial support to meet their basic hum...
Virtual Leadership In Crisis
April 29, 2020 02:41 - 40 minutes - 37 MBLeading when certainty doesn't exist: In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso is joined from the COVID-19 epicentre by Leadership Guru and one of the Top 50 Business Thinkers in the world, Dorie Clark. Together they discuss what it really feels like for the average person on the street in New York, the role of the leader in this new normal, and how to challenge reactionary behaviour that may not serve you. As a true illustration of Penny's comment in this episode "every day ...
How Has This Crisis Changed The Scientific Community?
April 23, 2020 03:30 - 42 minutes - 39 MBThe science of humanity: The way science is being done around COVID-19 is vastly different from anything before. In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso joins biologist Tiffany Vora as they discuss how cultural habits and the way of doing science has been turned on its head. Tiffany also shares how she and her family are navigating the complexity of the current situation, simple hacks to get through the next 24 hours in a full house, and how this crisis in many ways has been ...
Surviving The Next 24 Hours
April 10, 2020 05:25 - 41 minutes - 37.8 MBMaintaining Mental Health In Solitude: Welcome to the launch of Season 3 of the Human First podcast. This season, we will be talking to interesting humans about how they are personally navigating the complexity of the current situation, the opportunities this challenge presents, their hopes for the future, and any simple hacks to not only get through the next 6 months, but also the next 24 hours. In this timely episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso joins behavioural scientist Milo...
The Pursuit of Happiness
January 14, 2020 02:51 - 24 minutes - 22.2 MBWhat does happiness really look like? What if your version of happiness and success isn't what you thought it was? In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso joins Beth Lepely as she shares how a move from US to Australia forced her to re-assess who she is as a human being and what defines happiness. This episode will make you re-think about what actually drives your happiness. This Week Explore: •How improv comedy can help you build the skills to thrive in the future •Why ...
Crushing The Stigma Around Mental Health
December 16, 2019 06:31 - 23 minutes - 21.4 MBA better way to finding your happy. What does it mean to be human? To Aaron Williams, it means being present, surrounding yourself with family and friends, and enjoying the simplicity of life. However, sometimes finding your happy place is not as easy as it sounds. In this powerful episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso joins Aaron Williams to talk about their shared passion for mental health. In response to Aaron's own struggles with depression and suicidal thinking following the ...
Building the Next Generation of Innovation Leaders
December 08, 2019 06:34 - 33 minutes - 30.8 MBHow do we lead teenagers into this complex age? In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso talks role models, real innovation, and selfies with Madeleine Grummet, an authentic human being that shows up as she is. As a co-founder, investor, and startup mentor, Madeleine works across the innovation ecosystem bridging the gap between education and the tech industry. This Week We Explore: •What innovation actually means, and is it solving real problems •To whom do young girls lo...
How To Be A Dreamer, Wanderer, and Wonderer
December 02, 2019 08:07 - 36 minutes - 33.5 MBRaising your visibility to realise your potential. In this week's episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso sits with Sarah Anderson as she shares her fascinating path from art history at Melbourne University, to running social and digital communications at ANZ, to starting her own business, and to becoming a yoga instructor. What is the mindset that has helped her along her journey? This Week Explore: •How social media gives people, especially women, a voice •What lies at the inte...
Finding Wobbly Balance in Life
November 24, 2019 01:15 - 36 minutes - 33.4 MBForget about finding balance in life, find tilt instead. In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso interviews Brooke McAlary, author of the book 'Slow', and discusses how she is imperfectly embracing being an author, being a mother of two children, and trying to live mindfully. This week we explore: •How Brooke lives more mindfully by 'Tilting', rather than 'Balancing' her life •What is 'Wobbly Balance' and how that helps her •What's got Brooke curious at the moment •The ...
Reviving The Lost Art Of Letter Writing
April 15, 2019 01:38 - 33 minutes - 31 MBWhen was the last time you wrote a letter? In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso talks about the power of creativity and our inner muse with Melanie Knight, a human being who is passionate about human connection and spreading safe spaces around the world for people to be creative and social in subtle and playful ways. Melanie is reviving the lost art of letter writing through two big projects - Dead Letter Club and The Library of Letters. This week we explore: •Why her ...
Accidental Entrepreneur With A Human Focus
April 08, 2019 03:03 - 27 minutes - 25.4 MBCome to s p a c e ... What happens when unlikely people connect humanly? In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso talks about the power of shared ideas and cross-sector collaboration with Cj Holden, a genuine, down-to-earth human being who is building engaged communities through immersive experiences. Having been in Australia for only 18 months, Cj is about to launch a first-of-its-kind event with hundreds of unlikely people with a similar vision of being a force for change. ...
How Bravery Drives Real Change
March 31, 2019 22:38 - 25 minutes - 23.5 MBHow do you effectively drive change? In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso talks bravery, gender equity, and the advantages of being difficult with Dr. Francesca Maclean, a passionate advocate for diversity and inclusion in STEM. As a champion, mentor, sponsor, and multi-dimensional human being, Francesca is breaking barriers for gender equity in STEM and encouraging people to be brave, step up, say something, and do something. This Week We Explore: •Francesca's honest p...
Making Work More Human
March 25, 2019 08:06 - 27 minutes - 25.7 MBWhat is your infinite unfinished goal? In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso talks purpose, failure, and the journey of self-discovery with Steven Ma, a curious person whose purpose is to make work more human. As Chief Purpose Officer and Agility Executive at No Moss, Steven co-designs organisations for empathy and agility, emphasising a more human purpose to work. This Week We Explore: •Steven's best failure •The radical thing he makes every employee do when they first...
Curiosity and Cultivating Creativity
March 18, 2019 00:00 - 19 minutes - 18.2 MBWhat could you do to be more creative? In this episode of the Human First Podcast, Penny Locaso talks curiosity and creativity with Stephen Gates, a designer and someone who loves to teach, coach, and help the world get more creative. As Head Design Evangelist at Invision, Stephen helps teams elevate the impact of design inside their organisations. What could you do to have better ideas? This Week We Explore: •How to summon your creativity on demand •Why creativity is no different than sp...