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Welcome 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 humans how to realise happiness on their terms by 2025. This podcast is designed to help you reignite your spark and supercharge your energy so that you can channel it towards injecting more joy, presence, calm, and meaningful work into each day. If that sounds like something you could use a little more of let's get started!
This episode of the Hacking Happy podcast continues where we left off last week and forms Part 2 in my series entitled What a real 8-year business journey looks like. In case you missed Part 1 I highly recommend you venture back and listen to Episode 82 first to get the full story. In short, it's 8 years since I turned my back on a crazy salary in …
This month I celebrate a milestone of significance in my journey as what I endearingly term a Lifestyleprener. It’s eight (8) years since I turned my back on a crazy salary in a global giant, registered my business name and stepped into the great unknown that comes with building a business from absolutely nothing. When I reflect back, I remember th…
I know I’m not alone in my conflicted relationship with my body because it’s a conversation that often comes up with coaching clients when we’re exploring what’s holding them back. This is why in this podcast, I want to explore with you how our greatest inner struggles can pave the way to unlocking our Moxie, our potential and what it is that light…
Ever wondered what a retreat is, why you would invest in one and how they provide you with an opportunity to shift and make the change you long for when you can't do it in your every day? If so, then this podcast is for you. My dear friend and upcoming reTREAT co-conspirator Laetitia Andrac (AKA the business doula) and I connect on why we believe r…
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Hacking Happy with Penny Locaso
Imagine shaving off parts of who you really are to fit in and how over time, that would impact your ability to love what you do and who you are. Meet Alex Bakowski, a successful executive who, at the top of her game, decided to walk away from her safe career so that she could add back those shaved-off parts, show up as her true self and shape a fut…
How alive do you want to feel in 2023? I want to feel as alive as I do right now. I’ve filled my days over the past month with the life ingredients that matter to me; family, movement, nature and positive impact. These are the basic elements that guide what I consider a wholehearted and meaningful life. So given where we are at in this week's podca…
In this week's episode, I want to support you in creating the space for reflection at the end of another year and provide you with some powerful hacks on how to step into 2023 with intention, calm, and presence. I also throw in some brilliant reflection prompts courtesy of the amazing James Clear, author of Atomic Habits who I had the good fortune …
Sophie is a young successful lawyer with a clear purpose to be a voice for equality and integrity in her profession. A little while back she found herself running on adrenaline, busy was her specialty and it came at a cost. "I didn’t make time for anything that’s just for me. I didn’t know who I was when I’m not ‘Sophie the lawyer”. I knew somethin…
Greetings from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. A place encapsulated by magnificent jungles, underground rivers and the Caribbean sea and a culture that dates back to BC. I’m trying to put into words how this place makes me feel and it’s difficult but let me try. As I sit and soak it in, I realise how being surrounded by such an abundance of nature…
I felt compelled to create this podcast because my research with over one hundred beautiful working women this year has exposed a consistent theme when it comes to feeling like you’re existing rather than living. This podcast episode is for anyone who feels like they're letting everyone down and like nobodies getting the best of them. If that sound…
My brain is bending in ways I never imagined. I’m currently buried in Neuroscience. It’s blowing my mind around what I’m learning about the biology of the brain and how it is impacted by our behaviour and our environment. Connecting dots as I do I partner this feeling with something else that I keep hearing from my early-stage coaching clients. It’…
We are experiencing a human energy crisis. Can you feel it? We have to ask ourselves how did we arrive here? Arrive in a place where productivity has become our disease at the expense of healthy and happy high performance. How is it that we now use the label quiet quitting for people who do the job they are paid to do without sacrificing their live…
Imagine you're a highly successful executive in investment banking managing a global team but secretly, you're unfulfilled, sleepless, and laid low by migraines. Held back by expectations... mostly your own you find yourself frightened to leave. Instead you settle for a sabbatical to create the space which is where your journey into what's next beg…
I’ve just had the biggest month I’ve ever had in my business by more than double. I smashed my monthly target that I set as a goal at the start of the year completely out of the park. I never considered that I, with just an assistant who works a day a week for me and a social media support person, could achieve such a result and yet here we are. It…
In this podcast episode, I thought I might take a little time to share what I’ve been up to over the past couple of weeks and share a perspective on a concept I call the space for self-disruption. A concept that has changed my life and continues to inject joy, presence, connection and unbelievable opportunities into my life. Subscribe & Review The …
Has productivity become your prison? The prison of productivity means calm feels elusive, and presence with loved ones feels like a struggle. We've literally wired our neural pathways to believe that being still and present is unproductive because all actions should result in a task ticked off a to-do list. Being a human being is no longer valued, …
What if you stopped living by the rules and made your own? Mona and I met at a co-working space we used to share. We used to enjoy an informal chat and she was always asking questions about how I'd turned my life upside down in pursuit of happiness and stopped living by the rules and instead made my own. | I left the coworking space in 2018 and our…
Melissa Hamilton, was once a successful CEO leading teams of over 5,000 employees until life surprised her with a career pause and a breast cancer diagnosis. She's now the Founder of Brave Feminine Leadership and is on a mission to inspire 100,000 women to take the next intentional step in their careers. This is Melissa's story of letting go of the…
I wondered what can I share that will be in service of those who long to live their days differently but don't feel worthy or confident enough to just start. In this podcast, I want to share with you how to step into your self-worth and claim it wholeheartedly because you are worthy of feeling energised by the day before you, worthy of feeling pres…
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Hacking Happy with Penny Locaso
Are you burnt out? In last week's podcast I spoke about the trends I am seeing in my Psychology research around burnout in working women and specifically how it's impacting working mums. In this week's episode, we continue this conversation but shift focus toward what the psychology says about why you feel so exhausted, why it needs your urgent att…
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Hacking Happy with Penny Locaso
Working mums are burnt out. I'm pissed off.I'm frustrated.I'm sad.And I'm not going to be silent any longer. What I am seeing in my work with professional working mums is disturbing and something has to be done. I have spent the last eight weeks interviewing dozens of women who have reached out to me off the back of social posts I have shared aroun…
Real stories from real people. In part 2 of our series on stories of transformation, we connect with a beautiful soul who was a successful Joint Venture Manager in a global giant and walked away from it all so as to raise his son. Aden Murphy is a unique human and dear friend with a compelling story of transformation and self-discovery. This week's…
Real stories from real people. What comes to your mind when you think of the word transformation? For me, it's a visual of a little caterpillar one day deciding its time, so she spins her little cocoon to encase herself and soon after reappears as a beautiful butterfly. Transformed into the next iteration of who she wants to be, it's intentional an…
Make progress towards possible. I've been spending a lot of time reflecting of late on what in my transformation journey has been most impactful in propelling me forward. Moving me closer to what I term a growth lifestyle. A lifestyle that is in alignment with how I want to show up and enjoy this wild and wonderful experience that is life. It's tha…
Using science to elevate confidence. Back early on in my career at the ripe old age of 20, I got my first job in a corporate environment working for a woman who I looked up to as a role model. She seemed kind and helpful through the interview process, but not long after I started, I felt like every task I undertook was under a criticism microscope.…
Define flourishing on your terms. It took me 40 years to define and start living flourishing on my terms. How long will it take you? Today I want to gift you the clarity of what flourishing looks like on your terms so that you can realise the benefits of injecting more of it into each day. Enjoy! Subscribe & Review The Hacking Happy Podcast Thanks …
Find the Time to Transform. Do you ever hear yourself say: "If I had more time I'd change""There's just not enough time for me to make the change""I wish I had more hours in the day then, I'd change" One of the most consistent barriers my clients share to transforming into the life they long for, is time... This is why in today's podcast I want to …
This year will be different. There's something about a new year that gives us that mojo to want to shift gears into freedom mode. Do you find yourself saying things like... "This year's going to be different" Or "Fuck it, I'm not going to do life this way anymore" ... then this episode is for you. I'm not going to go through grand plans for 2022, g…
An opportunity to reflect. It's almost the end of the year, and whilst many people race around I always find myself pressing pause at this time. Creating the space to reflect on the year that was, and the lessons it has to offer. So, whilst I've been playing in this space I thought I would share with you in this week's podcast a beautiful reflectio…
Sidelining should. You should, I should, we should. What does this word should mean to you? How does it make you feel? I've been noticing it in my vocab a lot lately, moving through my day thinking I should do this, I should do that. It has me thinking about how this word makes me feel... which is often shitty, depleted, and like I'm not doing enou…
Find your zen. We are in the lead-up to Christmas. We're out of lockdown and it feels a bit like turning 18 years old or 21 in the US and being able to get out and party legally. We feel like we can make plans again without them being pulled out from under us at the last minute, and on the work front, there is always a race to get things done befor…
Gratitude for wellbeing. It's Thanksgiving this week in the USA and Canada. This beautiful day is a celebration of the harvest and other blessings of the past year. Just thinking about it makes my heart light up. Because my daily gratitude practice is one of the things that helped me mentally get through 6 lockdowns. It's why in this week's podcast…
The science of IAQ. In case you missed it in last week's episode, I shared how my intentional adaptability tool has now been scientifically validated as a psychological psychometric that can predict and elevate change readiness and life satisfaction. In this week's episode, I want to share with you as an individual and equally as a leader, if that'…
Intentional Adaptability as a science. This past week I have realised a major milestone in my business and equally in my life. I've achieved something that I never dreamt of, and it's come off the back of experimentation and intentionally adapting. Off the back of being true to who I am and practicing what I preach and teach. Allow me the indulgenc…
The soulful business doula. The Mums In Lockdown series continues this week as we explore firsthand the challenges of navigating a disrupted life with Laetitia Andrac. She calls herself a Soulful business Doula and has a gift in providing a sacred space for women willing to create soul-aligned businesses, careers, and lives. She's also the Mumma of…
HR professional, mother of four. Welcome to part three of our special series Mums In Lockdown. This is where working Mums in lockdown share firsthand their challenges, how they are navigating life, and any hacks they have discovered that enable them to inject more of what matters into each day. This week we speak to Ali Smith, a Human Resources pro…
A mother and C-Suite Coach. Welcome to part two of our special series, Mums In Lockdown. This is where working Mums in lockdown share firsthand their challenges, how they are navigating life, and any hacks they have discovered that enable them to inject more of what matters into each day. This week, we speak to Lisa Stephenson a high-impact leaders…
Off the back of the literature review I recently undertook for my psychology studies on how COVID-19 restrictions have accelerated mental health and wellbeing issues in women, I decided to create an interview series with Mums in lockdown. I wanted to share firsthand their challenges, how they are navigating life, and any hacks they have discovered …
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Hacking Happy with Penny Locaso
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How COVID-19 restrictions are accelerating mental health and wellbeing issues in Australian women
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Women struggle to keep up. Over the past 18 months, I have watched a shift, a visible shift in mental health, in wellbeing, and a particular shift in women. I've felt the shift in myself. I couldn't ignore what I was seeing. It's the reason I have gone back to university to study psychology and why I chose to do my first assignment on how social is…
Lessons at 46. This week I turned 46, clocked over 235 days in lockdown and counting, watched Melbourne tradies in their thousands protest against the right for freedom of choice, and experienced the biggest Melbourne earthquake in 50 years... all the while feeling truly abundant. In this episode of the Hacking Happy podcast, I want to share with y…
Thinkology is your advantage. If I asked you "What would be most helpful to you right now in making the change you seek?" what would your response be? One of the number one responses to this question, when it's posed at the end of the Hacking Happiness Assessment, is "the time to think, the time to reflect." Creating the space to be alone with one'…
Deliver a NO with confidence. When was the last time you said "yes" to something you didn't want to do? For many people, I meet this is a daily practice that affects our productivity, our impact, our happiness, and our wellbeing. In this week's episode of the Hacking Happy podcast, I'm going to share with you 5 simple steps to help you start practi…
What scares you shapes you. What would be possible if you could unlock your most courageous self? How would that make you feel? This is the exact question I asked myself at the beginning of my hacking happiness journey and it provided the catalyst for cultivating a courage practice that transformed my life, and now enables me to support others in d…
Behind every fear lies growth. When I say the word 'fear', what comes into your head? It's the one thing that feels pervasive at the moment here in Melbourne and I suspect in many other places experiencing long-term lockdowns. In this week's podcast, I want to challenge you to imagine what it would look like for you to make fear your friend? The re…
Adaptability is your friend. Another week, another lockdown. Here in Melbourne, we are at No 6. I'm starting to feel like a bit of a lockdown expert, whilst wishing I wasn't. For me, it feels like so much can shift from one day to the next. Amazing opportunities get turned on, and shortly after, turned off. It's a little like a roller coaster ride …
The Lonely Century Is Alive... I'm lonely. 5 Lockdowns and cutting off a massive human connection energy source will do that to you. I'm not alone in the traditional sense of the word, I'm surrounded by people who love me, be it most of the time virtually. But I feel lonely and I know I'm not the only one feeling this way. In this podcast, I wanted…
What have you said Hell Yes to in the last 12 months? What does this list tell you? Ever wondered what would happen if you used the insights from these two questions to create a Hell Yes list and used it to evaluate opportunities? This is exactly where we are going this week. Why? Because it's helped me navigate uncertainty, enabled me to keep myse…
Processing feelings is powerful. I don't know about you but this time, since nature decided to send us a clear message, feels blurred around the edges, it's this weird combination of fast and slow, loss and awakening, grief and joy all mixed into a melting pot with the dial turned up to high. In this week's podcast we explore feelings: •what they t…
Unlock possibility through rejection: How often do you let fear of rejection of the answer being NO, stop you from asking for what you want? What if rejection actually held the key to possibility? Have you ever considered that you can't get a YESs unless you get NOs? That unlocking the door to what you want, to opportunity, is a numbers game. Unles…
Stories connect us. "Where passion meets pain, we find purpose." Danielle McApline Johnson lives and breaths this mantra through her inspiring work as a documentary maker. Her most recent Directorial accolades include: •Beyond The Fire, a documentary series following the unsung heroes of the Black Summer Bushfire Crisis as they recreate life from a…
