Aaron Tait · 56 min
From enforcing sanctions he came to question as a teenage sailor in the Persian Gulf, to living in a Tanzanian slum and surviving a murder plot, Aaron Tait's journey from war to peace is a masterclass in turning guilt into global impact and restlessness into deliberate living.
Hear this story
Aaron Tait joined the Australian Navy at 17 chasing a blue beret and a life of service. Nine days after 9/11, he was deployed to the Persian Gulf as an 18-year-old, running aggressive night operations that enforced a siege on a country. He came home decorated but haunted, convinced that the work he'd done was wrong. Studying economics and politics at the Defence Force Academy, he latched onto a statistic: 250,000 women and children had died because of the sanctions his unit had enforced. He decided he had to help that many people to right those wrongs.
At 24, Aaron and his wife Caitlin sold everything and flew to East Africa with a one-way ticket. They moved into a shack in a Tanzanian township to run a school for 100 street kids. Six months in, malaria had hit them five times. A group of young men plotted to kill him. The threat forced a reckoning. Aaron and Caitlin had arrived as white saviors, and the work wasn't theirs to do. They handed control of the school to the local young people, letting them set the rules and goals. That shift changed everything. Over the years, Aaron co-founded YGAP and backed local entrepreneurs across Africa. The work eventually touched 1.6 million lives. But Aaron learned the difference between chasing a number and knowing a person. He thinks about Frank, the goalkeeper who thanked him, not the statistic.
Now a father of two, Aaron has stepped away from the nonprofit world. He sold a business, left the large-scale work to others, and is at peace with that chapter closing. His job now is to be a good husband and father, and that is enough. His message to Australians is simple: get outraged about the state of the world, then act on it. Donate monthly to a cause. Volunteer. Show up. Anything but a comment online.
“It's like 1.6 million lives, but I think about Frank. And I won't ever forget him.”
“I came back from that traumatized of course, but with my medals on my chest.”
“I've got to do a lot of good in the world to right the wrongs that I've done as a young man.”
The hero, today
Aaron came home from military service traumatized and guilty, and that weight shaped his decision to dedicate decades to helping others, but the specifics of the guilt and the drive can change as you grow. When Aaron stopped doing things to the people he was trying to help and instead backed their own ideas, the work scaled from affecting one school to 1.6 million lives. Aaron learned that the difference between a macro goal and a life lived well is remembering the people: he thinks about Frank, the goalkeeper, not just the number 1.6 million. Aaron went through plant medicine and asked what the next 20 years should look like, and came out realizing his job right now is to be a good husband and father, and that is enough. Aaron believes that outrage about the state of the world only matters if you act: donate monthly to a cause, volunteer, show up, anything but a comment online.
Yes. Aaron Tait is a real person who shared their own story in their own words. Kintsugi Heroes is a not-for-profit that shares first-person stories of overcoming adversity, told with the person's consent.
Kintsugi Heroes, a registered Australian not-for-profit. Every story is shared with the hero's own consent and reviewed under Kintsugi Heroes' trauma-informed content standard before it goes public.
Aaron came home from military service traumatized and guilty, and that weight shaped his decision to dedicate decades to helping others, but the specifics of the guilt and the drive can change as you grow.
When Aaron stopped doing things to the people he was trying to help and instead backed their own ideas, the work scaled from affecting one school to 1.6 million lives.
Aaron learned that the difference between a macro goal and a life lived well is remembering the people: he thinks about Frank, the goalkeeper, not just the number 1.6 million.
Aaron went through plant medicine and asked what the next 20 years should look like, and came out realizing his job right now is to be a good husband and father, and that is enough.
John Milham (Host) · 00:05
Welcome back to Kintsugi Heroes, helping people tell the stories they need to share so you can find the stories that you need to hear.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 00:15
Today, John Millum meets Aaron Tate.
John Milham (Host) · 00:17
Aaron grew up in a family that encouraged him to help others and explore the world.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 00:22
He joined the Australian Navy at 17 and was quickly sent overseas where he saw the impact of conflict firsthand. Aaron realized he wanted to make a real difference, so he and his wife Caitlin moved to Africa to help run a school for street kids.
John Milham (Host) · 00:39
Their journey taught them to support local leaders and listen to the community. Aaron went on to help create projects that have improved millions of lives. Now he is a father, a writer, and continues to inspire others to live with purpose and kindness.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 00:56
We hope you enjoy Aaron's story. Ladies and gentlemen and listeners, Kintsugi Heroes.
John Milham (Host) · 01:02
We've got another wonderful story, uh, Stories That Matter episode. Um, this is, uh, this is going to be fun. Like, I kind of say that, you know, often it's a privilege, right, Aaron? But I can already tell from our, um, our brief introduction that, uh, this is, uh, I apologize to the listeners, this is going to be about more about me having fun than them. Right. So because there's so much I already want to explore with you, Aaron. So ladies and gentlemen, Contiki Heroes listeners, welcome to Aaron Tate.
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This conversation includes far horizons and a blue beret, joining the navy at 17, deployed to the persian gulf the morning after 9/11, coming home traumatized with medals on his chest, a number: 250,000 and moving to kenya with caitlin, one-way ticket.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 01:40
Thanks, John. Lovely to be here.
John Milham (Host) · 01:43
Fantastic, mate. Now, by way of a quick intro, right, you've traveled to 70 countries, right? So, and at some point I'll find out why you've missed the others out or if it's just not time, you haven't caught them up yet. You've served in the military, you're a social entrepreneur, you're a budding author soon to be published, you've got, right, you're a graduate of Cambridge University, which is kind of daunting, right, since I couldn't graduate kindergarten, right, but 3 master's degrees and you're focusing on giving back, of creating aid projects and so on. Without, you know, I haven't gone into specifics. Aaron, tell the listeners what on earth you're up to now and how you ended up getting there, right? Just briefly by way of bio.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 02:43
Thanks, John. Well, I'll go straight to my parents. My parents, Ian and Ingrid, still together, lovely people. Christians, actually. Um, so I grew up in a Christian family and two big things were put into me very young. One was that we help other people and make the world better than we found it. And also one thing that my dad particularly gave to me was this idea of far horizons. So he was, he's always challenging me as a young man to, there's a, there's a world out there, there's possibilities and opportunities, and I want you to go after them. Left home as a 17-year-old to go and explore those far horizons, really.
John Milham (Host) · 03:26
So you weren't running away from home, you were running towards an adventure they encouraged in you.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 03:31
Yeah, absolutely. I wanted to leave the suburbs of Perth and I wanted to go live an interesting life and I wanted to help people in some way. And I'd grown up, you know, I'm born in 1983. I grew up in the '90s seeing, you know, on the SBS News, Dad would have it on in the evenings and you see these UN peacekeepers with their blue berets on, and I thought, oh, that looks great, I want to do that. I want a blue beret like that. And, um, looked like, how does a suburban kid from Perth get to do that? And, um, I found out that if you join the military, you have a chance to do it. So I joined the military, thought I'd get a free degree at the Defence Force Academy in Canberra. Then I thought I'd get some travel, and one day maybe I'd get my blue beret. Um, but I joined in 2001 and Australia, other, East Timor was a very serious conflict, but other than that, hadn't seen much action for the sort of the decade before. Um, and then I was, did officer training in Jervis Bay with the Navy, went to, was tapped on the shoulder to do the beginning of, um, Navy diver course or clearance diver course, which is the elite forces of the Australian Navy. And then the last night of that course, 9/11 happened, and I was deployed to the Persian Gulf the next morning as a 17-year-old.
John Milham (Host) · 04:50
Wow.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 04:51
So that's sort of the—
John Milham (Host) · 04:53
so the clearance divers, they train— were you— did you train in Pipewater? Is that the—
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 04:57
yeah, it's people with a lot of, um, a lot of the selection stuff happens there. And, um, but HMS Penguin is the base as well, and then the different teams are at various bases across Western Australia.
John Milham (Host) · 05:08
What, what is a, you know, a, um, a famous hill, the Awaba Road there, right?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 05:13
So yeah, yeah, Awaba or Chinaman Steps.
John Milham (Host) · 05:16
Yeah, yeah, no, um, all crazy stuff. Um, so impressively fit, um, stupidly courageous, right? So, you know, and you're off at 17 to a war zone. My goodness, that, that's Far Horizons Plus.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 05:34
Yeah, and I, I think they send us so young because we have no fear at that age, and also we want prove there's something in some boys and some men that says, I need to prove that I've got the right stuff. You talked about rugby, maybe you did it in rugby. You want to prove that you're, I don't know if you've got the cauliflower ears if you're a forward, John, but you need to prove that you've got it. And in the military, that's very strong. You want to prove that you're tough enough to the 13 guys on your course and then the 14 in your unit and then to get to the ship and you want to prove to them. So I was wrapped up in that. I was excited to go. I couldn't believe I got the text message and went up. And I thought, I'm pretty young, very young. I turned 18 as we were heading north to the Persian Gulf on HMAS Sydney. Um, but I was like, I've done basic officer training, I've done basic diver course. I'm not a, I'm not a warrior yet. I'm not a fighting man. Officer training, you know, you iron your uniform and you, you learn etiquette, how to, how to push peas on the back of your fork in the mess and And so I'm thinking like, I'm just, I'm just making up the numbers on HMAS Sydney, but there's 229 other people on board. But then I get on board and they tell me, you're going to be in the, you know, right on the front line. You're in the non-compliant boarding unit, which is mostly qualified clearance divers and special forces guys and some engineers and weapons guys. And I'm thinking, I'll be a reserve though, right? Like, cause I'm, look at me, I'm still young and skinny. And, but then it's like, bang, I'm straight in. And then we're just doing mission after mission after mission. And they're very aggressive. They're at night. Enforcing a siege on, on a country, nothing in or out. And, um, so I came back from that, um, traumatized, of course, um, but with my medals on my chest. And then I go to the Defence Force Academy and everyone's, wow, is it his first year at the academy and you've already got medals? How good. And let me buy you a beer. And, and now I start to, like, I had some moments in the Persian Gulf where I actually would start talking with the terrorists or the smugglers that were, that were just caught and apprehended. I started to get a sense of like what's going on in that country. And then I come home and I'm studying economics and politics and I start to get a sense of, I don't think what we did was good actually. I, you know, the war is not official until a couple of years later. We're there well before that. My medals don't say Iraq, they say Afghanistan. So this was, kind of from a global diplomacy thing, this was kind of interesting. Um, and then I decide pretty abruptly as a 20-year-old, I'm like, I don't agree with this anymore. Um, and I've got to do a lot of good in the world to right the wrongs that I've done as a young man.
John Milham (Host) · 08:18
Right. So a sense of, um, making amends.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 08:23
Yeah. Like assuaging the guilt. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 08:26
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 08:26
Wow. Heavy thinking for a young man. Yeah, too heavy.
John Milham (Host) · 08:30
That's a lot of weight you've just put on yourself, right?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 08:33
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 08:34
How did you, you know, how did you think you were going to get into that? Like, what was the thinking saying, well, I've now got to save the world, the world that I contributed to making, you know, dangerous. What am I going to do?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 08:46
I was like, 250,000 women and children died because of those sanctions we enforced. Madeleine Albright, the Secretary of State for the United States, has asked in a 60 Minutes interview. 250,000 dead, more than Hiroshima in World War II. Was it worth the cost? And she said, yes, it was. Yeah. So that became my number. I've got to help that many people.
John Milham (Host) · 09:07
Wow.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 09:08
Um, and I, I'm still in the military and I'm like doing like weapons classes, but then I'm like sneaking an Oxfam report into the next class. And I'm like saving up my money to travel around India in the Christmas holidays. And then I go to South America and and then I meet this beautiful girl and intelligent girl called Caitlin in, in Spain because I take 6 months off because I'm so traumatized by everything. I'm so at ease with what I'm doing in my life and I don't want to be sent back to Iraq or Afghanistan. I don't want to finish my explosives course and put on my bomb suit and be disarming bombs because I'm seeing my friends do that and they're not good. They're not coming back well.
John Milham (Host) · 09:51
Did you have anyone to talk to? Was this something you were sharing with someone?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 09:57
I was sharing it with a schooner of Tuīs Niu and then throwing my fists around if someone didn't, you know, said something that I didn't like. So a lot of fighting, a lot of drinking, a lot of trouble.
John Milham (Host) · 10:11
So standard men's support processes then.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 10:14
And like zero support from the military. I hope it's better now, but this is 2001, 2002, 2003, nothing. Nothing. No one talks. We'll come back from missions and no one talks. And then you start to see, you hear rumors that someone's suicided, and then you hear rumors that that marriage is broken up, and that you're in a nightclub in the Cross and you see someone who's a mess on, on substances, and you think, oh, they're not doing well. Um, but Caitlin and I bonded over this desire to be good. So I served out my military time. We're doing— that's when we're studying all these master's degrees. Caitlin and I were living in Kirribilli, I'm still in the Navy, and we just want to just prepare ourselves to go and change the world.
John Milham (Host) · 10:54
So you have 3 master's degrees, right? International affairs, um, like this is preparation. You've just gone from training in boot camp to training in boot camp, right? But, um, you know, with a different, yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 11:08
Well, I'm, I'm working full-time in the military the whole time. I'm, so I'm, there's a sort of an image I have of my best mate alongside and in Malaysia and it's 2 in the morning and I'm sitting in the captain's chair on the bridge writing an essay and I'll sort of get up and go out for a cigarette and my best mate is in the ship next to us in the captain's chair writing the same essay that he's doing. So I had him too and we were both like, let's just do the military stuff, but we know we're going to live this big life. He's gone on to Stanford University. He's doing amazing stuff in California. And so, um, but then I just, I'd served my time and then we packed up everything, sold everything and moved. Took a one-way flight to Kenya when we were 24. Um, and they were like, okay, let's do it.
John Milham (Host) · 11:51
Finally, you and Caitlin have decided to take on the 250,000 goal together. Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 11:59
And like, we have these aspirations to sort of do a couple of years in East Africa, but then go to the General Assembly in New York. That's where it all happens. And, um, we arrive in Kenya and Kenya is kind of easy. You think, oh, it's an easy African country. But Kenya decides not to be easy. They have a presidential election that's overthrown. Kenya goes crazy with smack in the middle of tribal violence. But then we were there for months, but then we get a job offer to go down to Tanzania and, um, and run a high school for street kids in Tanzania. Um, so that's where we go. And, but that township is highest rates of malaria in Africa. AIDS is half the population. No foreign, you know, very few foreign nonprofits in there. And we decided to go live in a shack in the slum for the next year and run this school basically. And there's like 100 kids at the school. So 250,000 is the target, but we'll start with these 100. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 12:55
Yeah. Fab. You know, to be honest, I've never had that experience of overseas and so on. And there's this sense of worthiness, of virtue, right? Like you're like this, you know, we, you come in and you, you're sitting in all of that danger. Is it like that? Are you part of a community or do you feel like you're a target that's ducking the sort of concerns and aggravation of the population that are going through this?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 13:25
Yeah. So one thing that we would do is we'd buy our bar, because we were living on a dollar a day ourselves. You buy a bar of soap from this merchant and then your salt from this merchant and then your flour from this merchant. So everyone kind of likes you. Because they're like, oh, he's my mzungu. Mzungu means crazy white man. And he's like, oh, that mzungu likes me. So I've got a relationship with him. So we had that. Um, but you're living in a slum and it's, and no one speaks English and, um, it's full of malaria. And so things start to go wrong, you know, 6 months in, we've had malaria 5 times. The mayor's kind of, uh, threatening to, to kick us out. The police are investigating me because they think I'm a spy. Why, um, I've got 8 curses on me from witch doctors because I've upset people. Um, and I could kind of handle all of that because I had this feeling of what we're changing the lives of these kids. But then I got to the point where, um, a group of the young men, uh, banded together and were plotting to, to murder me that night in front of my wife, Caitlin. Um, and a very real threat, you know, something that had happened to a teacher at a school down the road. The month before. Tough kids, tough young men with knives, not, and they were not happy with me. And that was a turning point. Uh, I write, I've, I've got a book coming out, John, and that's a moment in the book. But after that, um, we just completely changed how we did things because we did come in as these white saviors. We came in with our Make Poverty History bracelets. Coldplay in our ears, you know, um, ready to come and change the world. A couple years in Africa, then we'll go to New York and we'll change it from there. And, and we just got it wrong and, um, flipped the whole thing on its head. Let this, let the young, let the young men and young women, and they took over the school. They set the rules of the school. They set the goals. They just, It's all theirs. And we were just there as their support crew. We took that idea back to Kenya and did another year in Kenya and just, we built banks and agricultural projects and women's projects, always led by Kenyans. And, um, then we started a nonprofit that was called YGAP. We co-founded that with Elliot Costello and a bunch of other friends. And, and, um, and that. That went on to change the lives of 1.6 million people. And by backing local chains, our theory was, can we go into the toughest places in the world, find genius-level local innovators and back their ideas? So that's what we did. So we went straight well past that 250,000 number.
John Milham (Host) · 16:12
So it sounds like, well, you talk about a turning point, right? That night, right? So A, well done on surviving that night. So I have this image of you standing at the doorway saying, hang on, I've got another idea before you kill me. Right. What about this? Right.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 16:27
So what I did, John, was I stood up in front of them. I got them all together and I said, the rumor is you're going to kill me tonight. Well, I don't want Caitlin to see that happen. So kill me now instead. That's true. And they didn't. So that's why I'm here.
John Milham (Host) · 16:42
Well done. Right. Inspired bravery again, maybe a little silly, but you know, like, I love the outcome. So the idea of nothing for me without me, is that what we're talking? Is that like you going, hang on, these people, you know, the dignity of risk, you guys are, you know, this is your life, so don't let me tell you what, what do you need for me to, to walk with you to change the circumstance?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 17:07
You, the way you say that again, I like the way you said that. What was the line?
John Milham (Host) · 17:11
Nothing for me without me.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 17:13
Yeah, it's, I mean, my mantra ever since has been the only thing more powerful than ownership is authorship.
John Milham (Host) · 17:19
Yeah, fact.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 17:19
When they come up with the plan, geez, they're going to make it happen.
John Milham (Host) · 17:23
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 17:24
But it's the same idea. Yeah, absolutely. People with a lived experience of the problem will be the best person to solve that problem.
John Milham (Host) · 17:30
Yeah, I'm with you. The interesting thing is this idea of the angels of the West coming in and so on, it's been a ubiquitous concept, right? So, Um, you know, did you encounter resistance in, in NGOs and, you know, or people, funders and so on?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 17:54
That we'd flipped it?
John Milham (Host) · 17:55
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 17:56
Yeah. Well, it was a pretty radical idea when we started. It was like, we're going to go into these townships and find these brilliant people. And they're, they're running on less than $5,000 a year with their idea and they've impacted less than 100 people and we're going to invest in them.
John Milham (Host) · 18:11
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 18:12
And people were like, oh, it's too early stage and it's too risky. And I, I, this is shocking. Someone said, do you think these people have the brain capacity to do that kind of thinking? And I went, far out, yes. Um, they have the same brain in their head as you do, mate. Yeah. So we did hit some pretty shocking stuff, but we, we said, if we can do this and we can We can change the lives of a million people in this way, then that's going to show people, hey, this is exciting, this is real, and this is interesting. It's now very normalized. I'm not saying we're the only people who did this. We didn't come along as the saviors and show that it could be done, but we were part of that process. Very normal now to say we're going to find a brilliant local entrepreneur or social entrepreneur back then. Um, completely normalized these days.
John Milham (Host) · 19:02
They have an acronym for it now. So it's called ABCD, Asset Based Community Development. Yeah. Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 19:10
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 19:11
Which is like, yeah, good on you. But I love that idea. In every community, the lodestones are the key, right? So I often think even here in Australia, we need to find and back those people to stop from building infrastructure and trying to get people to you know, find the doorway when we just, you know, hand the key to the people in the community already.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 19:38
So it's like if you're trying to save the rhinos in the savannah, like hire the poachers.
John Milham (Host) · 19:44
Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 19:46
Yeah, yeah, yeah. They know what they're doing.
John Milham (Host) · 19:47
Yeah, they know exactly where they are, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Brilliant. Um, so huge, right? The, the 1 million, the 2 million, the 1.6 million. Were those numbers important to you?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 20:01
So I had a kid the night that we left Tanzania. We were packing everything up and we were sort of giving away our clothes and we just want to travel light and our t-shirts are really popular and this young girl sort of comes over and she's sweeping our house for us and you can tell like, oh, she wants a t-shirt.
John Milham (Host) · 20:21
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 20:22
Caitlin takes her necklace off and puts puts it around her neck and says, hey, the necklace says Rafiki, which is friend in Swahili, and I want to be friends with you forever, and I hope you remember, we remember this friendship. And here's this necklace. And Donata looks at Kaelin and says like, oh, the necklace is nice, but can I have a t-shirt? And like, we're a bit like, oh wow, is it, is it that transactional? Um, are they seeing us as like, oh, these guys provide us with t-shirts? And yeah, yeah. Stuff. And, um, Caitlin was pretty thrown by that. And, and, you know, we're packing up for the night, we're going early in the morning, we get another knock on the door. And I opened the door and it's this kid called Frank. Frank's an amazing kid. He's off to university, he's our goalkeeper in the football team, just tried so hard. And I, um, he just, he couldn't even speak English at the start of the year and he just literally changed his life. And, and I opened the door, I'm like, Frank, out of t-shirts, mate, time for bed, sorry. And I'm kind of angry. And he interrupts me and he says, I'm not here for a t-shirt. I've come to thank you and Caitlin for changing my life. Right. And it's like 1.6 million lives, but I think about Frank. Yeah. And I won't ever forget him. Yeah. So it's like the micro, there's the macro thinking and then there's the micro thinking. I'm a father now of two kids. Yeah. Um, and I, my, right now, this chapter in my life is very micro. It's like, they are the, the love of my life with Kaylin and I, I'm doing everything I can to care for them and I want them to have far horizons. We're, we're off in a couple of months, John, to travel the world as a family for a year. Um, and there we're taking them to Southern Africa and they'll see Soweto and they'll see the townships and they'll meet their godmother in, who lives in, in Johannesburg and Um, and, and they'll see South America and they'll see the world. And I've got, yeah, very micro. Obama was once asked, what are you most proud of? Barack Obama, this is. He said, oh, my girls.
John Milham (Host) · 22:26
Wow.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 22:27
Like, really? I couldn't understand until I had kids. And, um, so yeah, like life's pretty micro right now and that's okay. Um, because the big macro stuff was really important and we, But we did it for a while, and there's now other folks that are doing that, and that's awesome.
John Milham (Host) · 22:44
That's such an interesting, um, you know, perspective, right? Like, um, it's— do you feel like that's maturing? Like, you know, like the energy of youth perfectly aligned, and the courage of youth, you know, to dive into slums with malaria and, you know, and, uh, gang and kids who want to, you know, want to kill you. Um, but that, you know, being more cautious now, understanding legacy, building capacity in your own family and, you know, letting them, yeah, preparing them for their youthful vigor, right?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 23:23
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 23:23
Do you reckon that's growing up?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 23:26
Yes, I think so. I also did, um, there's a lot of research that's being done. Actually, Australia is leading the way in this and using psychedelics to support, um, trauma. Yeah, I went through some plant-based ayahuasca ceremonies. I hope this is appropriate for the podcast.
John Milham (Host) · 23:44
Yeah, absolutely. We have discussed this before with the, with people who have, um, had that journey, right, and, and found how, um, you know, how powerful and, um, and beneficial the process was.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 23:55
Yeah, yeah. Well, I went into that with my intention of, it's been a big 20 years, Aaron, and what's the next 20 years? What's that going to be like and how big is that going to be? What's And I just had my ass kicked, like kicked. And I came out like, I'm going to be a good husband and a good father. That's what I've got to be right now. Um, I want to be that for the rest of my life, of course. And there's other things that will emerge. New chapters will come for Aaron Tate, but right now it's like, it's, it feels, I feel at peace, you know, being a father, being a husband and being right now a writer, being an author. Yeah. Means a lot. So I'm spending time doing that.
John Milham (Host) · 24:35
And of course the world will tell you, you know, if you're doing something they like or not. So do you feel like they're saying, yeah, Aaron, we like you at this stage? Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 24:46
I mean, my kids and my wife like me being around and the book is coming out in a couple of weeks, but those pre-readers are sending me messages going like, oh, Like, I read this in 24 hours and I'm, I'm actually a bit of a mess. Can we talk? Like, I want people to finish the book. It's a memoir. It's my story. I want people to finish the book and just go like, huh, I want them to make that noise. And then go to dinner and be like, I can't even put words together because my mind is just like going and I, that's what I want. And Bryce Courtney, The Power of One did that for me.
John Milham (Host) · 25:21
I remember it, uh, reading that, um, like the you know, the, um, you know, living through PK for an entire month, right? You're liking this?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 25:33
Yeah, well, I'm friends with Adam Courtney, Bryce's son. He's written a beautiful book called My Father Bryce. Um, get him on the podcast, it's a great memoir.
John Milham (Host) · 25:41
But, um, yeah, I had, um, it was Bryce Courtney did it again with Matthew Flinders' Cat. I don't know if you've ever read that, right? But yeah, completely different, right? One was you know, like another universe. And one was my little universe in Macquarie Street, you know, Sydney, right? So, and linking them was just the magic. He is a very gifted man.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 26:02
Oh, we called him, um, Mr. Christmas, because every year he put a book out and you go, what can I get for Dad this year? And I was like, I'll get him Bryce Courtney's new book.
John Milham (Host) · 26:09
Well, because he was a marketer, advertising agency guy, so, you know, he knew that.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 26:14
Him and Singo.
John Milham (Host) · 26:15
Yeah, which is, which, you know, brings me back to that, you know, your journey, the growing up, the You know, the world telling you you're doing something worthwhile. What, here's a bigger question, right? What do you think is the purpose of a man? Like, what is the, what's the best expression of a man?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 26:38
Hmm. Um, we are, I've, every year I get a group of 10 men together. I'm, I put, I just feed them dinner and at my house. And we break bread together. And, um, we, someone asked this because one of the men was about to have his first kid and he's like, what's my job? And, um, someone said, your job is to make sure they know that you will always be there for them and drop everything and you'll support them. And I went, oh, I don't know about that because I feel like at 17 I was off. My parents, I knew they were always there, but I haven't really called on them in the last 25 years. So I said, I think my role as a man and as a father is to prepare my men for the world. And when they push off that shore, it's like, I don't have much more that I could do for them. I'll keep loving them. And when they want to give me a call, they might not call me for quite a while, but when they're ready, I'm here for them. So, um, I just, I guess I've answered that. In regards to being a father. Um, but maybe if I can do that for other people as well, even if I wasn't a father— and it was the time where I didn't think I could be a father health-wise, but my wife and I went through IVF and we could make children together, which was a miracle. And oh wow, I, um, I've done that. I happily mentor people and I coach, you know, soccer players in Byron, and I love being a good force in someone's life that, you know, you can help them prepare for the world.
John Milham (Host) · 28:12
I love that idea, right? Because when we bring it back to you as a man, right? So, you know, we have roles— father, husband, you know, we can be our best expression of those. What do you think you were put on the, on the earth to do, right? Yeah, what is your individual challenge?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 28:30
Yeah, I mean, this is a really interesting point because I I came to the end of a chapter a couple of years ago, John, where my challenge was to live deliberately and live this big, fascinating life. And then, and then the challenge was to help as many people as I could and right my wrongs. And, and then I sort of, I did it and I'm at peace with it all. And, um, like I, I left the nonprofit that I started a couple of years ago with full love and they're doing great. I sold a business that I started 3 years ago and that did really well financially. It set me up for life financially. Um, all these things kind of came to a, a nice close. And then, um, now I have the freedom to A, rest and just sort of take a breath and B, do some being rather than doing. Yeah. And, um, you know, next year we're going traveling for a year and that feels really important. Um, getting my book out in the next couple of weeks feels really important and there's not much more than that right now. And that's okay. I sort of know that I don't know what's next.
John Milham (Host) · 29:48
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 29:49
That's all right.
John Milham (Host) · 29:50
Sounds like a wonderful place. The study of being is ontology, believe it or not, right? So there's actually an ology for it. And I love that idea that just being is actually a journey in and of itself. You know, we, you know, you know, men are doing, being, doing beasts. Sometimes, you know, sometimes it's a struggle to know who we are to be.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 30:14
You're absolutely right. My, if I go home and spend time with my dad, he's doing stuff. And then Caitlin's like, you're being like your dad again.
John Milham (Host) · 30:22
Like, yes.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 30:23
Just hang with the kids. And, um, yeah, it's— you're right, we need to be sort of pulled up that, you know, we could, we could be doing our whole life and then we die and then they're like, well, what did he get up to? He's like, I did a lot of stuff. And, um, but I don't think living a full life is doing lots of stuff necessarily, um, or constantly doing. It's like, I think about a good life is that I lived, which is I ran in the rain and I fell in love with I met the love of my life and I had fun with my friends and I traveled to these places. That's a big thing for me, um, that I loved and, and got love back. And that there's some kind of legacy. And I don't mean that in a plaque naming a library after me kind of way, but the world is a little better because I lived. Yeah. Um, they're, they're the ways that I think about life at the moment.
John Milham (Host) · 31:15
That's beautiful. I love the idea of, you know, you're about to launch in, you know, but bringing, you know, more people along with you, your kids and them. What do you hope to see?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 31:33
I want to see how they change, how the boys change. I want my 7-year-old to have his first crush in the little village square in a Brazilian village we're going to stay in for a month. I want, um, I saw him, we travel a lot already with our kids and I, but when he, he's a little artist and he saw the Michelangelo, the David, and he was like, wow, look at that. So I'm excited to see how they shift. Um, and I'm excited to see us do it as a family. As a team and a unit and a squad. You know, our last name is Tate and they absolutely love soccer right now. We have our fights and our bickering and of course we do, like we're normal people. And we've started to frame, it sounds so cheesy, John, you're going to laugh, but we're like, we're calling ourselves Tatenham FC. It's like, we're a team, we work together, we win, like how does this happen? And okay, someone's interested.
John Milham (Host) · 32:32
It'd be nice if Adam Reynolds buys you, but like.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 32:37
No, but it's just, I have far horizons. It's what I titled my book. I've gone and seen them. I want to see more of them, but I also want to get that in their spirits. And my wife's the same. She wants that for her, for her boys too. So just seeing that we live in paradise, we live in Byron Bay, John, and it's like you could have a great life right here. And, um, and we want to break out of that and, and leave our beautiful home and our comfortable life and our comfortable cafes and like, um, dude, make life a bit tougher again and get more resilience and some real learning to come. I don't know if, I don't know if we'll come back after you, to be honest. We might just keep going.
John Milham (Host) · 33:19
Um, well, you know, you don't know, right? So, you know, I kept, you know, it could be, could be not, you know, who knows, right? So I love that. Uh, of course I love that. But, um, I also want to know, uh, what do you, what do you hope, um, you guys will find out?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 33:42
Um, we're, we're going at the moment for a year, and, um, we're going to be spending about a month in each place. So, um, town in Uruguay, then a town in Brazil, and town in Costa Rica, and, um, we'll head back down to Zambia and Botswana and South Africa and Madagascar. And I want all of us to learn, um, how other people live and what they value. Um, there's a really good book that we bought when our kids were babies, which is How Eskimos Keep Their Babies Warm, it's called. And it was just sort of talking about, you know, other cultures have ways that they raise their kids and other cultures have ways that they love each other and are in community together and share food and dance and celebrate and mourn. And I wanted to show the boys and learn myself and, and for Caitlin as well, there are many ways to live a life. And here are 12 of them, you know, in these 12 different locations. Um, we're sort of, we call our little adventure Casa Nomad, like the home of the traveler. And, um, it's like, let's live in some different environments. And so that when we come back here, we appreciate it even more, but I don't want my kids to hang around in Byron when they're 18, 19 years old. I want them to, I'll be kicking them out of the nest and saying, there's a big old world out there. I love you, but time to go.
John Milham (Host) · 35:14
Yeah. So they've been uniquely prepared. To serve the world. Is that something you, you know, you see possible?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 35:22
Yeah, we talk about this. So we, you know, um, they're young, 7 and 4, but at the dinner table we might talk about what's happening in Palestine and, and how sad people are equally in Israel or, um, Ukraine. And then we talk about it and say, what do you want to do? And, um, we have a swear jar. So every time I swear, I'm the worst swearer because I'm an ex-sailor, a dollar in the swear jar and it got pretty, pretty lucrative, that swear jar. And we said, okay, well, where do we want to direct this? And we decided as a family, like, okay, well, we're going to donate monthly to the World Food Program. I don't want to admit how much we're donating because I swear so much, but, um, but they, they get that and they get the updates now and they appreciate it. So it's little things like that. Um, I don't know if I could have this wrong. It could be way off, but my brother told me about the, an emu. So the male emu actually looks after the eggs and then the chicks and then gets the little baby emus to a certain point. And when the dad, the mum's long gone by then. And when the dad realizes, I think they're good for the world, he bolts. He just runs and runs and runs for 2 days. And I think he mates within those 2 days as well and has his next family. But this idea of the dad kind of going left and then right and then go and then leaving them to it. Sounds pretty primal, but there's something really interesting about it, I think.
John Milham (Host) · 36:44
Yeah, I love the idea, you know, we're sort of, we have a, the world seems to be at the moment seeking answers in the primal, but I always go, yeah, look, there's, you know, that's a great way to understand humans, but we also have, so, you know, we've done our, done quite a bit of work since then, right?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 37:01
Yes.
John Milham (Host) · 37:02
So you can, you can add a bit to it. You don't have to just be primal, you can be primal plus, right?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 37:09
Yeah, exactly. Maybe we're taking two steps forward, one step back at the moment.
John Milham (Host) · 37:12
So you've seen so much of the world, 70 countries, right? You've embraced people's perspective. And I'm imagining since you went in and you empowered people, right? You changed, you twisted the paradigm. So you're giving people the support to shine. Do you appreciate, love people? Like, is this something about you just like being connect— connected to these people? Do they impress you?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 37:42
Oh, absolutely. Like, heaven for me is, uh, a shebeen, which is a bar in a township in Southern Africa on a Friday night, having beers with people that I've been working with that last week, helping them on their ideas. And just like, oh, you're the best people. You're so great. For me, I just think they're fantastic. And just clever and interesting. Now there's one story of, her name's Navelayo and she comes to us and she gets into our program in Kenya and she says, I'm launching Kenya's first tennis academy. She goes, yeah, we're going to have a Wimbledon champion from Kenya. I mean, interesting, cool, why not? And we We live in a house with 10 other entrepreneurs for the week and halfway through the week we say to them, there's $10,000 in the house this week and you'll decide who gets it, not us. And you think, oh, that'd be like Lord of the Flies stuff, but actually they're collaborating in amazing ways and supporting each other. So she gets halfway through the week, bang, comes last, 10th. It's the end of the week. Her peers rank her last. She pitches to a room full of philanthropists and investors. No one talks to her. Absolute fail. And the whole way through the week, we're like, we love you, but it seems like people don't love that idea, but you're awesome. And you know where we are. Here's our details. Get in touch when you have an idea. And she reaches out like 3 months later and she's like, Navillera here. We're like, great. Are we talking tennis still? Is this still a thing? And she's like, no, I got a new idea. I met someone on that end day, a guy in the room. We've had a chat over the drinks and we've stayed in touch. I was like, cool, pitch us your new idea. And she said, we're going to get Kenyan Olympic gold medalists in the marathon and they're going to design running shoes and we're going to then make those running shoes in Nairobi, Kenya. And we went, there you go, that's good. So here's $10,000, bang, straight into that idea. And they did it and the shoes were great and the business succeeded and created jobs and it was just awesome. Purely local idea. Everyone hears it and goes, makes total sense. Yeah. Why were they not getting Kenyans to design the shoes in the first place? Because they're the best runners by far. Maybe the Ethiopians second. But yeah, I just hear that and I'm just like, I'm so happy for you, Nabila. That's such a great idea. And I love you. And we have deep love. We worked with 1,500 entrepreneurs over the years and I have such a deep love for so many of them. Some of them are godparents to my children now. Um, and yeah, just people operating at the right of the, you know, forefront. There's one person once I was like, are you making this call at 10 o'clock? And she's like, well, the gangs are shooting at the moment. There's guns firing and I'm just waiting for the bullets to die down, but then I'll be in the office. And I was like, hey, take your time. Like, yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 40:32
Oh yeah. My goodness. It's a different, yeah, it's a world, isn't it? What do you want Australians to know? That you've learned from being engaged with all of these amazing people?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 40:45
The old Amnesty International line, right? It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.
John Milham (Host) · 40:50
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 40:51
So, like, you can see the Israel-Palestine thing kicking off and be furious about it for either side or sad about it. And it's like, you know, when you're, the traffic's really bad and you see those people that are letting people in. Yeah, but be that person. So when things are going bad, be twice as good. So if you're sad about something that happens in the world, go online, get your credit card out and just become a monthly donor to the cause that appeals to you in that moment and then stay as a monthly donor for a decade. I think more and more people are becoming outraged and they can quickly put a comment in a, in a chat on an online thing, but it's like, Unfortunately, that comment or that thumbs down isn't going to make much difference, but you throwing some money or volunteering or getting, getting off your ass and doing something like that's, that's where it happens. And I love the Australians. You know, I'm ex-military, John, but I believe Anzac Day should be celebrating any Australian who does something good for this country.
John Milham (Host) · 41:58
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 41:59
If you hold a fire hose in the voluntary fire brigade, if you're a surf lifesaving volunteer, you should be out there marching. We should give you a medal. Good for you. Um, so I just encourage Australians like be outraged, be sad, be worried about the state of the world and then just do something and you don't have to start your own organization. Just support, just donate, just get involved.
John Milham (Host) · 42:24
I love that. There are 15,000 organizations created in Australia each year.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 42:29
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 42:29
Wouldn't it be awesome if instead of seeing 14,500 of them disappear in 12 months, that every Australian joined one that they liked and we kept them going? I love that idea. The idea, like an organization, there's one I was just bumping into called BlazeAid, which is they build fences that are burnt down in bushfires. And they're just Australians who go out, volunteer and build fences. Such a hard job, such a ridiculously kind of boring and sort of unglamorous. That's so essential. It makes such a difference, right? I love that.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 43:10
Sometimes the best organizations as well, that's the stuff that's amazing. And then sometimes it's just, there's a group called GiveDirectly. So you just go like, Hey, you're in big trouble, here's $1,000.
John Milham (Host) · 43:20
Wow.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 43:21
Yeah, it's like, yeah, you're a big boy, big girl, you'll figure it out. And of course it doesn't always work. Some folks are going to spend that money poorly, but, um, often they've found, studies have shown, actually works pretty damn well.
John Milham (Host) · 43:32
Um, yeah, back to the evidence that you found, right? They're like, at the risk of your own health and safety, right?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 43:39
Yeah, that's—
John Milham (Host) · 43:40
yeah, it works here too. I, I— yeah, I love that idea. What, what do you, um, Get angry, but get engaged, right? Should our young Australians follow your lead? Should they go out and they, should they go to far horizons?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 43:55
I mean, there's a big old country right here as well. Yeah. Yeah. Um, I've got a little Airbnb room that I rent out in my house and we welcome travelers. And, um, I'm always amazed. They're like Swedish or French or Belgian and they're like, I'm going to this place and this place and this place. I'm like, you've seen more of the country than most Aussies have.
John Milham (Host) · 44:13
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 44:13
Um, so yeah, see Australia, uh, be shocked by what you see in Australia, be saddened by what you see, be inspired by what you see. And there's, there's so much need here and opportunity here. If your heart is calling you to, to go abroad, um, follow your heart. But my big mantra in life is live deliberately. Yeah. So it's the Emerson line. I went to the woods. I went to the woods to live deliberately. Also Thoreau. It's like, you choose how you want to live your beautiful finite life because otherwise everyone else will just choose for you. Your parents will tell you what to do or your boss will tell you what to do or society will tell you what to do or the bank will tell you what to do. But it's like, just you choose what you want to do. Um, so yeah, I guess any encouragement to any young Australian is whatever's in stirring in there, just say like, I'm going to go do it. Um, and don't think like, oh, I can't do it because I've got to save for my house, or I've got to do this, or I better get my 3-year degree. It's like, yeah, do all these things. I've got a house and I've got degrees as well, but, um, but there's times where I just went, you know what, I'm just going to go and do this. And everyone's like, why are you doing that? I'm like, because it's all I can think about. Um, Catcher in the Rye is one of my favorite books, and there's Holden Caulfield is at the end of that book, and he has this dream and he's in the rye fields and he's catching these people who are running, these little people running off the cliff and he wakes up from the dream and he's trying to explain it to his sister. And, um, she's like, I don't get what you're saying. He's like, yeah, I was in the rye fields. I just want to catch these people. I want to be the catcher in the rye. And she's like, you're mad. And he's like, I don't know what that was, but it felt so good. And I kind of can't live if I can't do that. And that's the feeling I've had in moments where I'm like, I just am obsessed with this idea and I have to go after it. So I think young Australians and old Australians, all Australians get obsessed with an idea and then just make it happen.
John Milham (Host) · 46:08
Talking purpose, like you talked about living with purpose, that's been your mantra at times for organizations and sharing your story. Why don't we have more purpose in us? We live in a lucky country and we often have a lot of resources. How do we find it? How do we find a purpose?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 46:33
Books can help.
John Milham (Host) · 46:34
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 46:35
You know, like reading and getting off devices because devices is like the opposite of living deliberately. It's like living in the algorithm. So stop letting Meta and Google and other people tell you what you should be doing with your money, your life, your time, you know, doing this and buying this and swiping this and playing this silly game and getting little credits. I'm actually genuinely worried about this at the at the moment. Um, my friends have got young children and they're saying, my 10-year-old, my 11-year-old has no ambition, no purpose, and I'm terrified and I don't know what to do. And I sort of say, well, how did that happen? And what do they do? And they say they spend their time on a device playing Minecraft or Roblox. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 47:18
Wow.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 47:19
And it's terrifying. Um, because these kids are just sort of connected in and it's, it's just binary code going into the internet and it's like, zombies. And so let's break them out of that and go, rather than consuming stuff, create stuff. So, um, if you love film, like, make films, make crappy films. I saw a thing today of Chris Hemsworth doing his first ever film, and it was shocking. And now he's worth megabucks, you know. Like, if you, if you like, um, you know, K-pop, it's like Great, start making it. So yeah, just make stuff. Go and play cricket. Don't just watch it. So don't consume, go and do stuff is a big thing.
John Milham (Host) · 48:06
I loved what you said, get outraged, right? And but outrage then direct into solution, not trolling, right? So yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I think we should be outraged that, you know, and take control of our future where we, you know, our future is being, is being sucked away by all of those kinds of distractions.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 48:29
And I think on that, um, I met this amazing lady once in South Africa, Nora Tega, her name was, and she was in her 90s, great social entrepreneur doing great things in South Africa. I was like, how do you do this? And she's like, I harness the rage. Yeah. And, um, but I find division so boring at the moment. Um, I'm way more curious about uniting people. So it's like, I think Matthew McConaughey said it, he's like, he's like, come and hang in the center, like come and hang in the middle. And, and I was like, it's the, everyone's on the left or the right, but it's wide open in here.
John Milham (Host) · 49:05
Yeah. Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 49:06
All right. All right. Yeah. Someone's like, the only thing in the middle is, is people who are chicken, who are yellow, like, cause yellow lions in America. And he's like, nah, man, you got to be brave to hang in the middle. Yeah. Um, so I'm way more interested in, in unity rather than division. Division's boring to me because it's so easy.
John Milham (Host) · 49:24
I love that take because I was just thinking today, I was talking to a, a person who was like, you know, oh, the, you know, trolling and all that, you know, it's so getting so bad. I said, well, yeah, but you know, like, it's now boring. Like, that's the everyday, right? We are— what's exciting and different is making someone smile, not hurt, not cry. So maybe we should embrace the challenge of doing something different, making people smile.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 49:48
So yeah, like my son was in the bath the other day and he's like, we hate Donald Trump, don't we? And I was like, hate's a strong word, man. Like there's some things about the guy we don't love and there's some things that, hey, maybe we need to admit, you know, he's done okay. Like a piece, he signed a peace deal between, you know, Israel and Palestine. It's not perfect. Was he trying to do it to win the Nobel Prize? Maybe. But he got it done. So like, actually, good job, Mr. Trump. Um, I'm not a Trump fan, but I can at least say like, you know, go away and rest on your laurels. Yeah. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 50:18
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 50:18
Give him a certificate, you know, if he wants to give it to him. But, um, no, so we're big in that in the family of like, we hate this dumb woman. It's like, well, hang on, it's nuanced. Um, you can love someone who disagrees with you.
John Milham (Host) · 50:30
And it's a, it's an interesting challenge because, you know, this whole energy of conflict and, you know, and, um, you know, power and, you know, aggression, right, as being the right place. How do you balance that? How do you, who has actually, you know, faced, um, conflict, uh, put yourself at risk for in that process, how do you now balance the knowing that, you know, that is a part of life in some fashion Right. But you don't then have to give up. You don't, it's not weak to, you know, to concede or to recognize the humanity of people.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 51:13
Yeah. I love people who are earnest and sincere and it's kind of gone out of fashion to be earnest and sincere. Yeah. Um, Ocean Vuong is a great author in the United States and he had a great little piece in the ABC recently where he said. He's terrified of this idea of cringe, something cringe. It's like, oh, don't do that, that's cringe.
John Milham (Host) · 51:33
Yeah.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 51:34
And it's wording that a younger generation is using and they want earnestness and sincerity and they just wish they could put it out there, but they're nervous about being cringe. And I think people are also nervous about saying the wrong thing or coming across as ageist or racist or sexist. And yeah, maybe they are, but We all get things wrong. Um, so I'm just, I just wish sincerity and earnestness was back in fashion. Um, I'm putting out this book and I know that not everyone's going to love it and people will be upset by parts of it and that's okay. You know, that's fine. Um, and I'll learn from that. If someone says, I think you got it wrong here, I'll say, I'm sorry. Um, thanks. That's the lesson for me.
John Milham (Host) · 52:20
Which is real strength and, you know, real courage, you know, just to apologize, right? Just to, you know, to be in someone else's space without needing to dominate or protect, right?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 52:31
And so, yeah, if someone says like, hey Aaron, that was racist, and you go, well, I'm not racist. Yeah, yeah, I've done this and I've done that, how dare you. It's like, as opposed to like, oh my God, I'm so sorry. Yeah, like, this is a moment for me to learn. And I apologize, and I'll try to be better.
John Milham (Host) · 52:48
Beautiful. So your book, um, it's called Far Horizons, is it?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 52:53
So that's the book, Far Horizons: A Journey from War to Peace.
John Milham (Host) · 52:57
It's a beautiful, uh, cover, mate.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 52:59
Um, yeah, thank you.
John Milham (Host) · 53:00
Yeah, so what, what do you wish— what are you hoping for that, like, uh, talk shows? Um, you, you're stuck with me on at the moment, right? So where are you going to go from here, right?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 53:11
No, this is I'm eager to talk to folks all over the place. You know, I'm a raconteur, a storyteller, and I want to tell stories. If it's 5 people around a table at a pub, if it's you, John, for the hour and your community, that's amazing. We are looking at, we're traveling around the country with the book and we are looking at television and radio and events and newspapers and just going out there with sincerity and earnestness and saying, this is the story. It's It's my story. It will connect with some of you. And if it does, you know, buy it and maybe buy it for your dad for Christmas or your mom or a partner. And, but yeah, there's, we need to support storytellers in this country. There's lots of, there's all sorts of books that go into the stores and they've all got merit. But there's some real stories that are out there at the moment. My friend has put out a book called Field Notes from Death's Door, Katie Treble. She's a MSF Doctor, and it's just a magnificent book. And if you're listening, go grab a copy of that. And yeah, um, I mentioned Adam Bright and Courtney's book, uh, My Father Bryce, is just a great Australian story as well. And there's so many good books out there, so go out there on the weekend and support your local bookstore and buy a book.
John Milham (Host) · 54:29
I'll throw mine in. I was just talking to the author of Man Unplugged, which is, uh, you know, you know, a modern way of, um, helping men Navigate the New World, right? So, um, which is germane to, uh, the energy. I hope your book launches a thousand, a million adventures, right? So, because, uh, your adventure has been, um, incredible to hear. Thank you for taking some time storytelling, um, and story sharing for, uh, Kintsugi Heroes. There's so much. It's been inspiring, mate. I, uh, I personally We'd love to chat for hours, but maybe I'll just wait for you to call for me when you're in some village somewhere, right? You go, hang on, I know John needs to be here one day, right?
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 55:21
So he was a rugby player.
John Milham (Host) · 55:23
Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 55:24
Born in New Zealand, John, so I still support the All Blacks passionately, but I'm happy to see the Wallabies coming back.
John Milham (Host) · 55:31
Yeah. Well, that, yeah, well, you know, the beautiful thing is it's, uh, it's about, uh, the lessons rugby teaches, not the games you win. So that's it. But it's been amazing. Thanks, brother. Uh, all the best on your journey. I'm gonna, I'm gonna track, uh, track you living vicariously through your travels. So, uh, mate, it's been absolute pleasure on behalf of Kintsugi Heroes. Thanks, Aaron.
Aaron Tait (Guest) · 55:54
Thank you. It's a Friday afternoon, so have a wonderful weekend, John.
John Milham (Host) · 55:57
Magic, brother. Thank you for listening to this episode of Kintsugi Heroes. Thank you to Colin Lilly for permission to use Broken as our theme music for this series. If you enjoyed this conversation, share the podcast with a friend and let us know by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you wherever you get your podcasts. If you'd like to support Kintsugi Heroes and the stories we share, head to kintsugiheroes.com.au and follow the instructions to make a tax-deductible donation. Thank you for listening, and we'll see you next time.
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