Cameron Lyndon James · 60 min
Recorded weeks before his death, Cameron Lyndon James's final interview is a masterclass in how to face the unthinkable with grace, humour, and an unbroken commitment to giving.
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Cameron Lyndon James was 55 when he sat down to record this conversation, weeks before his death from stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma. He had known for five years that the disease would likely return. It did, and when it came back, it came back hard. His doctors gave him between two and six weeks to live. Instead of falling apart, Cameron did what he had always done: he decided to make life interesting while waiting to die.
He had already written his own funeral service card. He had already started the long, slow conversations with his two daughters, now 25 and 23, inviting them into his treatment from the start so they could grieve alongside him rather than face sudden shock. He had already planned the music, the photos, the memorial seat by the beach where they could sit and talk to him. He was still giving, still organising, still making sure the people he loved would not suffer the weight of major decisions in their grief.
But before all that, Cameron was a single father who raised two girls on the northern beaches of Sydney. He was a salesman, an entrepreneur, a businessman. At 43, he woke up and decided to become a pilot. He did it. He called those years flying the best time of his life. He learned to accept what he could not change while refusing to accept no as an answer to anything that mattered. And now, facing the end, he had landed on what he believed mattered most: learning humility, respecting that every person is different, staying true to yourself, and showing respect. Nothing else. Just that.
⚠️ Content advisory: this episode discusses grief & loss, which some listeners may find distressing.
If you need support, you're not alone. Help is available: • Lifeline (24/7 crisis support): 13 11 14 · lifeline.org.au • GriefLine: 1300 845 745 · griefline.org.au
“As a man, as a dad, you feel that you're letting your family down. There's no question about that.”
“I remained determined to live in the cracks of the footpath where conventionalism couldn't live. I made sure I didn't follow the bland road of life's expected normaly.”
“I've just accepted the outcome of what's been delivered to my human. It's been decided. This is what's going to happen. I can't change it.”
The hero, today
Cameron has written his own funeral service card because he was determined not to let his wife and daughters suffer the burden of major decisions in their grief, and he will keep giving right up to the last moment. Cameron learned to accept his diagnosis not by giving up the fight, but by recognising he cannot change the outcome and choosing to work with what he has rather than fall apart. Cameron prepared his daughters for his death by inviting them into his treatment from the start, introducing difficult information slowly and in stages, so they could learn and grieve alongside him rather than face a sudden shock. Cameron achieved his dream to become a pilot at 43 years old because he refused to accept no as an answer, and those years of flying were the best time of his life. Cameron believes the most important thing in life is learning humility, respecting that every person is different, and staying true to yourself with integrity, not accumulating achievements or possessions.
Yes. Cameron Lyndon James 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.
Cameron has written his own funeral service card because he was determined not to let his wife and daughters suffer the burden of major decisions in their grief, and he will keep giving right up to the last moment.
Cameron learned to accept his diagnosis not by giving up the fight, but by recognising he cannot change the outcome and choosing to work with what he has rather than fall apart.
Cameron prepared his daughters for his death by inviting them into his treatment from the start, introducing difficult information slowly and in stages, so they could learn and grieve alongside him rather than face a sudden shock.
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.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 00:16
Some people live 100 years and barely scratch the surface. Cameron Lyndon James has lived his time fully, even after doctors told him his time was running out. Single father, salesman, even achieving his dream to become a pilot Cameron has refused to let a terminal cancer diagnosis define the time he has left. Instead, he chose to focus on caring for his loved family, his friends, and his community, staying connected and involved despite all the challenges. He has shown us how to stay present and to squeeze every last drop out of life. He shows us what it really means to be brave and what it means to love. Ladies and gentlemen and friends of Kintsugi, great to see you again. It's this John Milliman. Welcome back to another Stories That Matter Kintsugi Heroes podcast. And as always, we bring you the great guests. And today is extra special. A man who is someone from my local community, someone who's done many of the— has grown up with the same community groups and programs that I'm involved with. So it's particularly poignant because Cameron, Cameron Lyndon-James, welcome to Kintsugi Heroes.
John Milham (Host) · 01:42
Thank you for having me here today, John.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 01:44
Mate, fantastic. And of course, you've got a big challenge today. So to start out, right, you're a local lad and you've got a whole raft of stuff in your background. But I'd like to ask you to introduce yourself to the audience, uh, with something you shared with me a couple of days ago, just something you've written. Uh, would you mind? Uh, it's about where you are at the moment facing a terminal illness. Would you, would you be okay reading that, mate?
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Cameron achieved his dream to become a pilot at 43 years old because he refused to accept no as an answer, and those years of flying were the best time of his life.
This conversation includes opening, the quote that sums it up, good days and bad days, the kidney stone that changed everything, round 1: the stem cell transplant and the thing lingering in the background.
John Milham (Host) · 02:14
Yeah, sure. So I've been working on and lining up my own funeral service with my family, and I've been— I started to commence writing up the service card. And on page 2 of the service card, I had a particular quote that was sort of important to me so people understood, I guess, who I was and what I was about. And they really sort of got to understand the Cameron that was being buried that day. And I'll read it now to you. And it reads as this: Author quoting Donald Trump after his first book release on his success in business and real estate. Mr. Trump, 'You have enough money, you're successful, and you have everything you want in life. Why do you want more?' And Mr. Trump's response: 'Because you have to make life interesting while you're sitting around waiting to die.' So that was the statement, and this is what I write. So it says, 'Cam writes: No, this is not a Republican Party fundraiser, but a quote that pretty much sums up how I wanted to live my life. I never wanted life to be dull. I always had to have a challenge and I couldn't be told. No was never an option. I was always poking the bear, always stirring the pot, and there was always a gag to be played on somebody. I remained determined to live in the cracks of the footpath where conventionalism couldn't live. I made sure I didn't follow the bland road of life's expected normalcy. My sometimes embarrassing sense of wit provided a smile on my face 'At other people's expense, never going to be normal, and I surely wasn't going to follow life's rules. If I ever made fun of you, it was because I dearly loved you. A lot of the time I was misunderstood, but I was just being myself as I was comfortable in your presence.' And it goes on to say, 'I'm tremendously blessed to have you all here today.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 04:12
Thank you for everybody, blah blah blah, from my wife and children.' Wow, mate, I have to say, I've never, um, I personally have never spoken to a bloke who's written his own welcome to the service on his service card. Yeah, so, um, what was— you used the word was, obviously you wrote it with a sense that you won't be here. What's that like?
John Milham (Host) · 04:42
It's challenging. There are good days and bad days knowing that you have been told that you've got literally anywhere from 2 weeks to 6 weeks maybe to live. Wow. You know, I've got some fairly serious challenges at the moment with my cancer, of which, you know, treatment again attempted to continue today, attempts to continue all week, with words from specialists that we are only buying you time. So there's no doubt that There is no doubt that every day as I wake up, it's a challenge and I face new adversity. And some days are good. Some days you have a really lovely day and other days, you know, you just got to push on because I've got things to do that are important to fit into place for my family as I'm about to depart.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 05:31
Yeah. Wow. So for us listening, mate, it's quite confronting the idea that almost every day you're having a conversation that most of us would dread to have. Yeah. What does it— does it— is it your mindset or is it just as surreal to you as it is to us?
John Milham (Host) · 05:54
It's, it's, it's, it's, it's weird thing to talk about. I've just accepted the outcome of what's been delivered to my human. Yeah. It's been decided this is what's going to happen. I can't change it. And it's a little bit surreal and I've just got to work with what I have. I'm realistic. I don't want to sugarcoat it. I don't want to fall in a heap in the corner. I want to remain strong. Men do that. Men sort of can mask a lot of things, but it's my job to remain strong right to the last second, fight as hard as I can, and never give up. Never give up the good fight.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 06:32
And it's— these are, you know, it's quite impactful hearing that because they're not these, you know, often the halftime speech, the you know, the, the, you know, rah rah, you know, the motivational speech. But this is a— this is real life, mate. Like, you know, it doesn't get any more serious or precipitous than, than where you are at. When you tell yourself you've got to fight, you literally got to fight, right?
John Milham (Host) · 07:00
Got to fight every day.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 07:01
Yeah. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 07:03
I've got a particularly interesting disease that's deciding to go on any course it wants to go. And yeah. It's just going to do its own thing. So touch wood.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 07:14
Let's fill in the gaps a little bit for everyone, if it is okay. So you are currently sitting here with a diagnosis of cancer and a number of complications and sort of other things going on, and you've been given a suggestion that you perhaps have up to 6 weeks or so left. To, to before you pass away. What, how did you get to this place? You know, what, you know, what did you know, you know, you were sick? Did you ex, you know, did you lean into it or did, did, you know, the diagnosis come as a shock after something that didn't feel right for you?
John Milham (Host) · 07:54
The diagnosis came after a shock exactly 5 years ago when I passed a kidney stone and a general routine blood test was performed, right?, and, um, you know, nothing— I mean, although painful, nothing particularly to talk about passing a kidney stone. A lot of men do, do pass them, but the comments—
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 08:14
they're painful.
John Milham (Host) · 08:16
Apparently they are painful. Yeah, I wouldn't, I wouldn't suggest you go and try one for fun, let's just say that. Uh, but, um, you know, the, the doctor's comment as I'm leaving the hospital is, uh, you need to go and see a cancer specialist about you your, your leukemia. As flippant as that. And it's just like, what?
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 08:36
What?
John Milham (Host) · 08:37
This is post-COVID and, you know, my, yeah, my career was well underway and then it's like, I don't, you know, what do you mean? He said, yeah, you, you're in a bit of trouble here. So it was as flippant as that. And, um, one thing led to another, of course, going to do further blood tests and scans and PET scans and MRI, you know, all the goodies. Yeah. And it resulted in, uh, hey, you've got, uh, stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma. Um, you may know someone very famous in Australia that has it. Um, Magda Szymanski, she, she's one of the females that has the same disease. Wow, wow. Interesting enough, just for the audience, it attacks mostly men in the southern hemisphere, this leukemia, but in the northern hemisphere, in Europe and EU and all that, is very popular, 50/50 across men and females. But in southern hemisphere, it's just men. It's a very aggressive, nasty leukemia. Another word for blood cancer. Yeah, yeah. And it's just grown and grown and grown and it just can't be stopped. This one can't. Some others can, but this one can't.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 09:36
So you, you get given a diagnosis flat out, right? You do the test. That's all pretty active and hard. You know, you're just waiting for someone to come up with something firm, I'm sure. Yeah. You've always been an active guy. You've been involved in heaps of stuff around the place. So did you like— did it hit you? Like, does someone walk up and say, all right, we've got a diagnosis for you and it's a— it's got some, some grim challenges attached to it, right? Was that like being hit with a 4B2 or were you like in the right space for it? I'm just fascinated at how, you know, you keep yourself together in that situation.
John Milham (Host) · 10:22
Well, again, the practicality of facing something that, you know, you're at the hands of someone else to fix you up. Comes through, you know, you're the doctor, you know, this is what I do and this is what this gentleman does. What do I do to fix it? You know, what are your symptoms? You know, I was overheating at the time. I was sleeping a lot. I was sluggish. I was showing signs of some level of, you know, sickness. Yeah. And they say you're going to start at position number 1 and we're going to take you through to position number 6 and you follow a global regime, a global protocol. On how to fix this. And when we do a stem cell transplant for you— again, not new words, these are— this, this technology is very old. Uh, we'll do a stem cell for you, and, um, in about 6 months you're going to pop out the other side feeling like a bunch of rubbish, but you'll get better.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 11:12
Wow.
John Milham (Host) · 11:13
And I followed the program and I got better. Wow. Round 1, I got better.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 11:19
So round 1, you had a, um, remission?
John Milham (Host) · 11:23
Yeah, so I did the stem cell transplant. It's called an autologous, if I spelled that right, uh, where I actually took out my own stem cells and I put them back into my body and I regrew my own bone marrow and all the goodies that it needs to do. Yeah. And that puts you back into, I suppose, a position of remission for a period of time.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 11:41
So there you go. Like, um, did you buy back in, say, I've conquered this bit and I can go back to sort of resuming things, right? The normal everyday challenges. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 11:53
Well, that's actually a really good comment because every day they said, you'll get to be stronger and you'll be able to walk to the letterbox, and the day after you'll be able to get down half the street. Yeah, well, with the rules and I got stronger and then I resumed life's path, whatever that was for myself at the time.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 12:10
Yeah, yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 12:11
To a point where, you know, coming from an aviation background, I was able to gain my aviation medical again and start flying planes again. Um, which kicked me down the can a couple of roads until I fell out of remission.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 12:24
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 12:24
And we started again about a bit over a year ago with this whole program again.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 12:29
It's a bit of a breather, right? But so, you know, did you imagine yourself as being free and clear? Right, it's a couple of years there, mate. It's like, um, you know, it's a fair, uh, break to have, right? You know, like, you know, you can start to say, oh, this is back to normal, then I can, you know, I can go and worry about the normal things.
John Milham (Host) · 12:49
Yeah, there's two things that are floating around your brain at this time, and the first one is, I'm clear, I'm free. Um, I guess Dr. Google or the world says some people can make 10, 20 years. Uh, and then there's also this little thing lingering in the background that, you know, you, you actually only have— you know, they did make it very clear with this particular disease of leukemia, you have 5 to 8 years left to live, but you hope for the best.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 13:18
Yeah, yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 13:19
Still just chipping away, just tapping you, going, hey, don't get too, you know, don't get too cocky here, uh, something may happen.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 13:26
Did that change you? What, what was different post, uh, you know, going through the chemo and then coming out and slowly getting back into, say, normal things and going flying again and so on? So what, what, what was different about you after having that experience?
John Milham (Host) · 13:42
Stopping, you know, that cliché that we, uh, that we use, stopping to smell the roses a bit more, stopping to appreciate society a bit more, and thinking about, okay, maybe this will come back, and what do you— and making the most of everything and really taking a different view and a different eye to where you're going in life with friends, family, community, loved ones, etc., because you kind of knew that it was probably going to come back, but yeah, how are you going to spend that time and make use of that time? Yeah, and that was kind of what was at the back of my mind a lot of the time.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 14:17
Do you think you, um, you did cover, you know, make good use of that time?
John Milham (Host) · 14:23
Yeah, I think you and I used the word the other day that, uh, I felt very blessed. I was lucky to return, and I use flying. I mean, people have other hobbies, right? I'm very blessed to actually see at the tail of my career, um, and be able to do with the support of my family because I feel complete. I feel whole. I've got friends who have, or colleagues that have not, haven't achieved much in their life, and I've jammed a lot in.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 14:49
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 14:49
And that last little bit that I jammed in for those few years, it was the best time I ever had.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 14:54
Wow.
John Milham (Host) · 14:55
Yeah.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 14:57
So let's put some context around this because, uh, I wanted to start with where we are now. But go back to the young beaches boy, mate. What was it? What was childhood like?
John Milham (Host) · 15:08
It was fantastic living on the beaches, on the northern beaches of Sydney, Australia, belting around surfing, rowing surfboats, football, squash, sailing on our waters, you know, being in the water. It was a lovely experience. I mean, it's been a beautiful time growing up here on the beaches and I've been here my whole life.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 15:28
And, you know, you went to the— you and I went to the same school even, right? So Yeah, it was, you know, it's a beautiful place. What, what was your expectation about life when you were looking forward? You know, you've had this, you know, there's a lot to do as a young person out here and so on. Nothing's ever perfect, but you can get, you know, you can get some places that try to be. What, what, what did you look forward to? What was your sort of teenager where thoughts turned to? You know, being a productive person in the world, what were you thinking about?
John Milham (Host) · 16:06
Career, family, the usual things, you know, making the home, the typical '80s expectation of going to university and studying and just enjoying life as best you can, really, honestly.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 16:17
But did you have a career in mind?
John Milham (Host) · 16:20
No, I kind of fell into it. I had a couple of goes at trying to be a pilot with the airlines, which didn't work out at whatever time it did. But I fell into natural entrepreneurial traits at a very young age and started my own companies from 20-odd years of age and just pursued those paths while filling in all the edges that made me tick.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 16:44
Well, so what makes you tick?
John Milham (Host) · 16:46
Right.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 16:48
That must be interesting.
John Milham (Host) · 16:50
What makes me tick is often putting a smile on my face at other people's expenses. Right. You know, there's just so many things from business success to success in life with my wife and my family, to being part of the community and just being full and being whole and just chasing goals. And, you know, I think I used the word never take no for an answer. Like, you know, no, you can't do that, Cameron. No, no, no, that's not an answer. You can't. You can do whatever you want. Go and do it and find a way to achieve your goals and set yourself those goals. And that's what I did. I've done that my whole life.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 17:28
Where did that expectation of yes come from?
John Milham (Host) · 17:34
It just, it just comes from within. It's born from within. It's, it's not something you learn. You don't go to university to learn it. You just turn up and you just go today or this year or next year, whatever it may be. I want to be X and I've become X and I set myself the goal and the task and I achieve it.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 17:54
So up to say the cancer diagnosis, how would you describe yourself then? What, what would you have said what were your achievements that you wanted other people to know about when they said, who's Cameron?
John Milham (Host) · 18:09
Well, the big one was really personally for me was raising my two girls and being a father. I was very, very proud of doing that without going into the particular personal details. I had the, again, a beautiful opportunity to raise my two girls from 3 and 5 years of age. And that really was Cameron. That was Cameron having that unique opportunity as a single father.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 18:33
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 18:33
To raise two girls, to be responsible, to give them the life that they needed to have, to live here on the beaches, send them to a good school, to feed them good food, to work hard and show that you're a decent, humble fellow. That was, that was me for a very long part of my time. And I was very proud of that. And still am to this very day. Yeah.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 18:51
There's not much support for single dads, right? So doing it, alone. That's a pretty significant achievement. What did you know? I don't— I think I love that perspective. I don't think I've ever, ever heard someone, you know, sort of be so grateful to be a single dad. It's hard work.
John Milham (Host) · 19:10
It's very hard work. It's very hard work. It's very fulfilling work. But, you know, when a magistrate says, look, I think the best interests of the children are with the father due to whatever reason, it doesn't really matter. You sort of go, well, that's the cards. That I've been handed. That's what I've been given. And you go, okay, and a doorway closes, maybe if you ask that, and a doorway opens and you step through it, and that's your new, that's your new life, that's your new career. And being part of it as a single dad was very, very rewarding and challenging, as I've just spoken about.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 19:48
Yeah. What would your, you know, for other single dads in that situation, what would you, what would you offer? That you've learned from that process?
John Milham (Host) · 19:59
How to reset yourself and realize the most valuable thing in life is the role that you chose, which is being a father. Whether you have a partner or not, if you've been given that opportunity, you step up, um, and you move forward. These children rely upon you so much in so many ways, and they're sponges, and they're watching, and you just need to step up and go, this is my job now. I have to make it work. I don't have any backup. I don't have any support. Let's go. I mean, you have the support from other men and family and friends, but it's really just a matter of giving yourself— I mean, I'll use that word— give yourself an uppercut and go. And that's so true though, because they're staring at you going, Dad, I'm hungry. Dad, I need to get to school. Dad, I need some money for school fees, you know. And you've got to go and you've got to perform., and you're gonna be very dynamic and work on your feet very quickly. And it comes from within. And I firmly believe that if most men are handed this opportunity overnight due to tragedy or whatever it might be, that they would be able to do that. Um, and that's my perspective.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 21:07
Yeah. How old, how old are the girls now?
John Milham (Host) · 21:10
Uh, they've, uh, they're 25 and 23, same birthday.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 21:16
Wow, interesting. And that age, you know, they're growing up, but these days there's a long tail about growing up. So, you know, they're still around and engaged with needing their dad. So how have you prepared them for you for this situation? You know, what's been involved in—
John Milham (Host) · 21:44
yeah, this one, this one's a big one. This one will probably bring a few tears and a bit of emotion to me. As a man, as a dad, you feel that you're letting your family down. Yeah, there's no question about that. You know, here I am destined to depart, and communicating those words is incredibly difficult because as they're getting older and as they're starting to mature their young brains they are needing their dad more and more now, and unfortunately I won't be around. So the conversation and preparation has had to start pretty early when I knew that it was— I was sort of someone approaching terminal. And you just start slowly, you just start communicating with them and going, look, you know, I might not be around, and this is what it's going to look like, and I will be with you. And we talk about all those things and 'But it's going to happen. And the more that we work on this together as a family, the more that we can soften the blow of grief or enter into the first grief cycle.' And it might become just that tad little easier. I'm not saying you won't suffer from grief later on. But, you know, tragic loss of a parent overnight is one thing, but knowing that maybe a parent's going to go is another. And if you communicate long and slow and give them the space and maturity and, you know, that they need to talk. They're doing okay. They're doing okay. We're getting there. It's sad, but we're working on it together as a group.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 23:21
You know, I don't need to, you know, I asked these questions. I was interested in the communication. You're happy to, you know, just tell me if we want to move on, but Those conversations you talk about, long and slow. As a father, I'm interested— isn't the right word, but it works. I'm interested in the process. You've sat down and you've looked at these kids that you've dedicated yourself to and have this long, this long and important connection and then you've had to say, wow, we've got something big to talk about. Yeah. How, you know, did you, you know, do you frame it up beforehand or do you just allow it to work out or you just say something and then give them some time to take it in and then say something else like, What the logistics of that is just blows my mind. What do you have any sort of—
John Milham (Host) · 24:37
Yeah, it's the long slow burn. It's the long, the long slow burn. It started off with them coming to the clinic to see me have my first chemo and to sit with me and to talk about and just to slowly introduce what's going on. And you know, you might slowly introduce, say, this, you know, might not last forever. And you know, and we just— it's just stages, it's just steps, stepping stones.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 25:00
So you invited them into your process as well?
John Milham (Host) · 25:03
I did. Yeah, 100%.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 25:05
Yeah. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 25:06
Yeah. I invited them into the process. I mean, they haven't sat in front of a doctor and heard the actual final prognosis or I guess diagnosis or timeline, but they've been part of the cancer treatment and journey and sat with me and given me strength and brought me food and held my hand and, and just slowly, you know, year by year, month by month, That's how it's gone on.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 25:31
So they were on the journey as much as you were, as you went, they went. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 25:36
Yeah.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 25:38
I hadn't thought about how to do that. It's like quite revelatory to hear you say, like, it's almost there, you know, they're taking that, learning those things as you learn them. Right. So that must be very, you know, it must be very, yeah, it makes sense that it would be the way to sort of unlock things. Do you think? You know, like, I wouldn't have even thought of that. Did you have that in your mind? Was that your plan, or did someone talk to you about it? Or—
John Milham (Host) · 26:07
it was kind of my plan. It was also a little buffer. No, I would like to point this one out. You know, our brains really aren't that mature at a certain stage of our life, right? And what you got to do— pardon me for sniffing— um, what you got to do, John, is introduce the key information at the right time when it is factual or it is final or it is becoming final. You know, we don't play with data. Hey, I'm really sick, but then, oh, hang on, I'm all better. And, you know, you kind of got to release it when it's important to release. That's, that's what I'm trying to say to you.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 26:42
Yeah, mate.
John Milham (Host) · 26:43
Um, an example is, you know, they know that the timeline is precarious now, as you and I have talked about. Yet this weekend, we enjoy a nice weekend up here on the Northern Beaches, and they go, look at Dad, he's so strong. And from the outside looking in, and you would probably conclude as well after our little meeting, you go, look, the guy looks okay, but what's not working is what's inside. And you've got to rely upon what you're being told by the professionals and look at the, you know, the medical scans, and you go, okay, you, you, you're pretty— you're in a bit of trouble, buddy. I know you look well, but there's also a bit of a brave face as well that you're putting on for the last, you know, a period of time.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 27:25
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 27:25
Um, that's kind of how I've been dealing with it. But pick the information that's important.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 27:29
Yeah, yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 27:30
Pick it.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 27:32
Yeah. Well, you know, a huge challenge, of course. And then you're, um, uh, you, you know, you, you've got your wife traveling with you. How, how does that relationship roll out? You know, do you share everything or, you know, do you try and sort of hide stuff in? How, how do you deal with that?
John Milham (Host) · 27:50
No, I, I have the most wonderful wife that has been by my side through thick and thin, and I'm very blessed. I'm very, very lucky, especially after what I had been through in my life, is what you and I talked about. But she's— we're thick and thin. We're doing this together. This is our journey. You know, she's very sad about what's about to happen. She's accepted it, but we do everything together. She'll run me to my clinic appointments. She'll drop me off, you know, tomorrow. I've got radiation therapy, very intense radio. She'll drop me off. She's made her— she's made my final— well, she's made her life my life, if that was the right word. But we just do everything together.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 28:30
But, um, uh, what's it like physically? You know, are you— does it— do you hurt?
John Milham (Host) · 28:37
Not at the moment, but that's the next stage of what's coming up. Uh, I'm about to go from a position of, due to the disease growth, a position of discomfort where I'm sitting here right now. I am in discomfort. I can feel things are going on, and I don't know how to explain that. But the next round of, uh, of— it's not even the word treatment, but for me is pain. And I've been referred to the, um, palliative care unit, ready for the next stage. I'm out of the hospital environment, and but pain is coming, and pain medication is coming. And that's what's next for me. But I am in discomfort right now. I can feel it as I sit here.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 29:20
Wow. Um, I've been fascinated, like, this idea of accepting that you're sick, right? Not, not, you know, the, the bigger implications, just the fact that things aren't working properly. Did that make you angry? Or no? What, how do you accept that your body's not working the the way, you know, like you've been through it and you got, you know, and you regained your strength, then it hasn't hung on. How did you feel about that?
John Milham (Host) · 29:52
Please allow me to use these words, John. I'm just a bit of a weirdo. I accept what life has chosen to give me. This is what— this is my path. I don't have a choice in the outcome. I can fight and attend to medical things as much as I like, but part of my personal journey of acceptance is just to go, this is what you've got. Yeah, this is it. And it's not like I can just go, okay, well, I'll just dig in there and fix it myself. You know, I can't do anything about it. So I choose to accept fate and, you know, of course fight, which is what we've talked about. But I just accept it and I just run with it. I run with the ball, mate. You know what that means? We're running with the ball. Okay.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 30:35
Yeah. So there, there, there's a, a, you know, like you, you grew up believing and, you know, taking on challenges where anything's possible, right? And yet have learned also to accept what is, is, right? So that seems—
John Milham (Host) · 30:52
exactly.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 30:53
Now, are you that, like, are you— is this a guru, or is this an outcome of your journey, mate? Is it, you know, have you got this wisdom, this equilibrium, because of what you've been through?
John Milham (Host) · 31:04
Well, I've been thinking a little bit about our words that we spoke the day. And I think you used the words, you know, um, um, Cam, you know, you might be one of the stronger elders of our community, and, you know, from a spiritual sense or whatever we were talking about. And then I dug back when I went home from our meeting and thought about your words, um, and I realized that I look back at my life and, you know, having lost my first wife who passed away when I was very, very young, it toughens you up. It just I remember saying to you, okay, life, you know, what else have you got for me? Just keep bringing it in because I'm strong, I can take it. And when you start getting a few hits in life, such as, you know, losing your first wife who passes right next to you, and you start getting some real solid, you know, punches to the head, you get to a point where you go, bring it on, what do you got? And you just become hard, you become toughened.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 32:00
Yeah, yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 32:00
And that's my journey. That's what I've been given.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 32:02
Right. And yet in that hardness, right, it's not about, um, uh, being lost to humanity because, you know, you were able to connect with two young girls and raise them. But, um, it, you know, how, like, how do you keep your heart open when, you know, stuff like the loss of your partner, you know, your wife, in neck lying next to you, waking up there. I cannot imagine what that was like. And now, you know, you've got your own, you know, they then ask you to say, well, you go through this, you have this experience.
John Milham (Host) · 32:40
So because at a very, at a young age, um, I learned that doors close and doors open, and the adjustment of life is all part of our journey as we navigate while we're here on this planet. And you've just got to allow the doors to open, allow the door to close, and just keep going through them because you don't get the choice of closing it behind you. You've got to step through and keep going. And you just learn resilience and toughness and, you know, humility also creeps in at the same time as you become, as you become hardened. You become more and more appreciative of friends and family and surroundings and community and loved ones. And but the doors. As I'm teaching my girls now, you know, they're facing a few of their first doors closing now, which is it could be partners or jobs or a change of scenery. But girls, doors are going to close and doors are going to open and you've got to step through. Those who stay behind the doors will be left behind. Let's get through the door and see what the next part of life has for us.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 33:44
But sounds very, you know, like it sounds like a connection to something spiritual. You know, has that grown in you? Do you have a spiritual self?
John Milham (Host) · 33:57
Uh, I, I have a spiritual self in the sense that when I first saw a medium or a clairvoyant to try to understand my first wife's passing, you know, why was I given this, you know, why was I handed this, um, this journey? And when another human being, um, could replicate and discuss individual situations, events, um, memories, I started to look and went, hang on, there's something more to what we're doing here. And then you start reading and you start educating. And again, we have talked about the higher self and the higher path and the higher journey, but, you know, I firmly believe about this transition that we do as a physical state to it, back to our original soul state, uh, as we transition out of our body. And that time is set. I'm not so sure about this being set, but I think there's a timeline for us all here. And our studies and our bodies are actually— our souls, sorry, are actually returning to their natural state. And that's what I firmly believe in. You know, I'm coaching my girls and my wife and my friends that, hey, just reach out. I'm only just— I'm right next to you. You just can't see me on this plane. And without going too into it from a religious perspective, That's what I believe in, and I believe that I'll be able to love them from another position, just not physically sitting here in front of us.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 35:24
It's a really nice thought that you won't be far away. So does that help? Like, you know, is that something that you go, well, that's not a bad thing, I'm looking forward a bit to, you know, crossing, you know, stepping into another place?
John Milham (Host) · 35:40
Yeah, I tell you what, I'll grab my phone, I'll take it with me, and I'll give you a call when I'm on the other side, and we'll have a chat, and we'll see how the rats are playing. Okay.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 35:49
Um, yeah, I'd be happy to keep you informed. Right.
John Milham (Host) · 35:54
A little local humor. Um, look, it's comforting to know that there is just too much evidence. Uh, again, whatever the higher authorities that we feel or we seek to believe in, it doesn't really matter. There's too much evidence to say that, um, your soul is still an alive being and you still have a connection to your loved ones and you can send the messages in some capacity.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 36:17
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 36:17
And, you know, maybe that's what I'm hanging on to.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 36:21
Yeah. Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 36:23
No, maybe that's my, maybe that's my, my reward for being so strong. I don't know.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 36:31
I hope it is. I look forward to staying in touch, right? It's like, you know, it's like, hey, um, speaking about strength, right? Do you, do you now you know, review things? Do you go through your life and say, oh, that was good, that was bad, you know? Oh yeah, I was top of my game then, or a bit under the, you know, bit short of expectations here. Is that— do you give that any time, or are you just focused on the work you've got to do to close things off?
John Milham (Host) · 37:02
I've got to say, that's a really good question. Most of my time at the moment is spent on closure and closing things out, as you'd imagine, or trying to lay down some rules. Sorry, trying to lay down some footprints so when I cross over, the grieving is somewhat minimized, or the workload. But you do look back, and you do look back on your life as a young man, you know, between your 20s and your 30s, and we all think that we know everything. Yeah. And you look back and you go, gee, that mind was immature then, and I wish I hadn't have done that. I wish I hadn't— I mean, I can go back and recall sentences that I said to people want to sort of go, gee, that was dumb. You can't beat yourself up because I guess we all go through it. Yeah. You know, I don't have any regrets on anything I did. You know, there's always some better choices that we could all make as adults. There's no question. And that's both male and female. But no, I've got no regrets. But you also realize how long it does take for your brain to mature into life. It takes time.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 38:09
Takes a while to grow up for some. I'm hoping to finish mine soon. Um, the— which brings me to the idea, as you do that, do— were there moments where you just, you, you, you just think, wow, that was, you know, I'm proud of that, or that was just, that was top, top class, you know, first team stuff, right?
John Milham (Host) · 38:33
Look, I mean, the two, the two biggest things in my life that we, you know, I've talked about. One is the ability to be a father and to raise my own children. There's no questions. I'm the proudest dad in the world, man. You know, we all are as fathers. But I tell you what, I'm on top of the world regarding that. My two girls are everything to me. Second is achieving, I guess, all the things I wanted to achieve. And I look back and go, good on you, buddy. Yeah. You know, I mean, an airline pilot at such a late age or achieving a particular goal that you thought your whole life on doing. And you haven't let life stop you. You've said, no, I'm gonna do this. And somehow against— well, I can't use the word somehow because I'm always gonna make it work. But against odds that are stacked against you, I've chosen to make it work. So I'm proud of myself and we can all do it. Everybody can do it.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 39:22
Yeah, it's a fair effort, you know, from young bloke, you know, primary school, you know, where you imagine flying and then you get to do it and then get paid for it. That's pretty impressive, right? So what's so nice, what's so good about pilots, you know, being flying it, you know, pilots seem to be a breed apart. Is there, you know, when you're sitting up front steering a plane, what are you getting out of it?
John Milham (Host) · 39:50
It's a very good question. I just want to start by saying if everybody, anybody wants to become one, don't do it. You're about to be very, very broke. Yeah, that's the first thing. But it really is. I mean, for me personally, part of it is apart from the views and what your eyes can see, because enough no one else can see what's out the front. But it's the responsibility of having 228 lives behind you and that they're relying on you to see them safe back to their families and their loved ones. And you've got to make very short technical decisions. So it's a very technical job and you've got to keep everybody alive. And that's very satisfying knowing that, that you can do that and make decisions based on— and an airline says, here, here's my $120 million aeroplane, can you please keep those 228 people live in, can you please bring it home unbent? Focus in your, your career and your studies go on for years and years and years to be able to do that, and that's very satisfying. And that's a very common thing about amongst, amongst, uh, guys who fly.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 40:54
That doesn't explain why you get in a Cessna and do it though. You know, you, you work your way up to the airline, right? No, you know, and the, you know, the 220 people. So what's, what's so, what's so uplifting about flying? What's so captivating about flying?
John Milham (Host) · 41:17
Because you're only a handful of people that have been chosen to be able to do it, and you've studied that hard and you work that hard to do it. It's a real gift, and it takes a long time to get there. As I explained to my doctor or my hematologist, you know, you're kind of a bit lucky. You've got to look after one by one, you know, one at a time. You know, we've got 240 people behind us. Yeah. So it's just once you, once you fall into it, you can't get out of it. It's one of those dangerous careers. You just keep pouring money into over and over again.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 41:52
Definitely.
John Milham (Host) · 41:53
Which is—
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 41:53
and it's a huge achievement getting there. And as you said, you were, you know, late into that whole thing. How old were you when you started? Your last studies, my last push for, you know, airline pilot.
John Milham (Host) · 42:09
Well, again, it came from within. I woke up when I was 43 years of age and I decided now's the time. The girls were stable and at 43 I went off to a flying school and I went, I'm now going to become a pilot. I didn't have any expectations. I needed my brain exercise. I had been an entrepreneur and a businessman all my life and I just went, that's it, that's the end of that.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 42:30
It's just like some people choose Sudoku and you said, no, I'll go for something a little more active and engaging, right? And dangerous, right?
John Milham (Host) · 42:38
And dangerous.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 42:39
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 42:39
Yeah.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 42:41
Yeah. Fabulous. When you do look back, right, is there anything you felt you didn't fully, you know, achieve? Or is that just something not worthwhile thinking about?
John Milham (Host) · 42:56
I don't think about it like that. I think about every decision I've made. It's all fallen into place for a reason. I've set myself a goal and I've carried out the goal. And then generally, oh, this is actually, this is a better answer. This is the way I work. Okay, John, I would like to learn how to go scuba diving. You're a scuba diving instructor. Thanks, John. And John takes me scuba diving and I become an open water. I become an advanced. I become a dive instructor. Yeah, I become a whatever. And then I get to the end of that journey and I go, yeah, I love that. That was great. Thanks, John. Bill, what do you do? Oh, I teach people how to do hang gliding. Excellent. Let's start hang gliding. And I have all these little mini goals that I want to achieve from being, you know, I love cooking and feeding people and entertaining and sports. And, you know, we, not you and I, built around playing rugby together. But, you know, all those things, once I achieved the goal, you know, playing state squash, for example, Finish with that now. Let's move on. And that's how my whole life's been. No is never an answer. I will be the best at it and I will do it.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 44:03
So the real issue about, you know, where you are now, right, having the, you know, the defined time left is you were just too energetic and achievement-focused, right? If you left everything undone, you'd probably get more time to finish it, right?
John Milham (Host) · 44:18
Probably. Could very well be. Yeah, it could very well be.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 44:21
It's the idea of seasons. Have you thought about that? You know, like, you know, you seem to pocket something up, get it done, and then move on. Is that your season?
John Milham (Host) · 44:31
That was my very early start of my life. You know, you sort of, you pocket, yeah, you compartmentalize hobbies or techniques or something like that. There's always something going on behind the background in business, but, and running a business. But yeah, I'd pick up hobbies and techniques and season them and just complete them and move on. Yeah. To a point where you sort of grow out of that and you start to settle down and grow up as a young man. I think that's which— that's where you're going with that one.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 45:00
What, what, you know, have you ever— have you given any thought to what you— what, you know, what the future without you, you know, what are you going to miss about— miss, you know, what, like, what, what will carry on that you won't be there to enjoy?
John Milham (Host) · 45:18
Well, children, my wife, my family, seeing out a reasonable time length. Um, a good response to that that I came up with recently was that— and I have seen a lot of sick people in hospital, and they don't have a great quality of life as they get to the end. And then I look at my life and I go, okay, well, I'm 55 years of age, about to go 56 in April, and you've jammed a lot in. And if I had 75% of 100 of a long life and I've jammed it all into 55, I go, pretty good, mate, you've done a good job. Yeah, I don't feel like I've missed out. I don't feel— I mean, I'm going to miss everything about our human connections and our friendships and our community and all our loved ones and my wife and my children, but I don't feel like I've actually missed out. I feel like I put a lot in. I'd be very disappointed in life if I got to this age and I hadn't, and I'm waiting to my first ever holiday or my first trip to Hawaii, or I don't know, whatever your fancy, I'd be pretty disappointed. But I've chucked a lot in, so I'm actually at peace. And remember, all up until now, I've had the chance to— I hate to use the word control. I've had the chance to control the outcome via dedication and commitment.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 46:38
It's not easy going through the health system. What have you, um, how have you found that? What do you, what did you learn about navigating sort of being ill and dealing with, you know, doctors and, you know, hospitals and things?
John Milham (Host) · 46:55
And the first real big takeaway there is, um, this is a bit more of an Australian thing, but how lucky we do have it here in Australia with our health system and Medicare and being able to, you know, access hundreds of thousands and, as I told you, up to a million dollars on one of my American therapies of treatment, and it doesn't cost us a cent. It's been nothing but brilliant. But the care, love, and giving by our Australian health system has been absolutely superb. Uh, I, I just, I just can't, I can't fault any of these human beings. It's been fantastic. It's getting tiresome now. Yeah, I've only been going for 5 years. Some people are in a much worse position than me, and that's thankful— something I'm thankful for, because some people have 10 years in hospital fighting for their lives. 10, 15. I've gone 5, and I am exhausted. Interested. Yeah, I really am tired. But, um, you always gotta think there's always someone worse off than you. And when you adopt that mentality, life's pretty easy.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 47:58
What, um, what if I was to ask you what your philosophy is now that you, you know, now that it's like fairly poignant to think about what, you know, your life You mentioned like, you know, never accepting no as an answer for what you're dreaming about. How would you describe you as a person?
John Milham (Host) · 48:23
Well, it's a very broad one. I really feel that the opening card of my service card really nails me to a tee.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 48:29
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 48:32
I'm just determined to make the most of everything that has been given to me every opportunity.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 48:38
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 48:40
You know, we use the word go-getter and this and that, and they're all pretty much bundled into the same thing. But I was just determined to live a life that was slightly outside of the norm and not follow the footpath of normalcy, right? Just to allow, to let life happen the way it happens and go. That's, that's, that's me.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 49:01
It's certainly not unusual that you've taken such an active role in the process of the end of your life, right? So you've not only written your welcome and sort of farewell in the service record, you're involved in planning, making things complete. Closing off stuff for your wife and family. What's that, you know, what's that bring to you and what are the challenges in that process, right?
John Milham (Host) · 49:36
So it brings to me a sense of, I like to give, I'm a giver. I will never stop giving. I'll be, we talked about, you know, the technique around voluntary assisted dying and they go, well, okay, today at 1 o'clock he's gonna push the button and we're gonna kiss everybody goodbye and it's gonna be done. At 12 o'clock I'll still organizing something for somebody because that's the human being that I am. Yeah. Um, when you're a giver and when you want to see someone succeed and do better, it just comes from within. Uh, I'll be going right through the last minute. I really will. And I know that sounds odd, but it's just who I am. I like to be involved in the final outcome of, um, my, my, uh, final days for two reasons. One, because having been through the grief of myself, of losing my first wife, and, um, our community has lost some very cherished loved ones of late, and I've been involved in all the wives there. And knowing how difficult it is for that one week you've got as a wife to put together a, um, a funeral or something is very challenging. And if I could just lift a little bit of the load where I'm capable and do something I feel like I've actually helped out a bit because they're gonna be in tremendous grief.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 50:57
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 50:58
And you're gonna make big decisions in that week before you bury someone and, or whatever it may be. And I didn't wanna see them suffer and I thought, hey, if I've got a bit of capacity, let's, let's set it in. Let's do a bit. Let's make it a bit easier. That's the part about the giving.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 51:14
Fantastic. What, what's your, what's your song choice?
John Milham (Host) · 51:20
I'm gonna keep that one special, but there's the— I'll just give you a little bit of a framework, um, because it's about to come out. But there's a bit about my children. I've broken it into stages. There's one that's very special to my girls. There's one that reflects, um, you know, my first wife's passing. That's important. Um, doesn't really touch on us as a couple because a long time ago. And then of course there's my wife and I and all the things that we achieved together in our life. And then finally it's about what life's all about and, you know, having the best time ever. It doesn't take long, but there's lots of lovely photos of the girls, and everyone's going to pull together and see me off as best they can.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 52:00
I was talking to a fellow, he puts together videos for funerals, right? And I was— I asked him about, you know, do you— does he get guys like me who want to actually MC my own funeral, right? And he said, no, he says most people are pretty sick of you by then. So they just go. So do you know how, are you making video or, you know, now technology, technology such that you can record little moments and so on. Are you, do you think you're gonna, you know, keep, you know, keep some of those things available or leave some of those things for you? For your family, or—
John Milham (Host) · 52:42
I am. Yeah, yeah. There's only one more thing I've got to do, and I'm a pretty good typer and a pretty good writer. Um, I'm having a little bit of trouble getting to the farewell from the other side, you know, uh, myself. Yeah. Um, that's not flowing, so I'm just letting that one just sort of sit there at the moment. Uh, it'll come out when it wants to come out, but I've only got one real message and one, one more broadcast, uh, out to the world to go.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 53:06
My goodness.
John Milham (Host) · 53:07
Thanks everybody. It's been a blast.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 53:12
And it like, as you, as you, you know, you mentioned, you, you believe there's, you know, the change is more a change of kind of dimension than it is of, you know, a change of state. Do you think you'll, there are, you know, the other souls that you'll connect with back again, family, friends? Absolutely.
John Milham (Host) · 53:36
I have no, I have no question. Um, I'm getting, uh, and this is only my experience, so I can only talk from my experience. Um, I'm getting early messages now and just touches and signs and images now going, we're getting ready for you to come, buddy. Um, yeah, I'm firmly, firmly of the belief I'm at peace getting ready to change over. Really at peace.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 53:59
It's a good thought, good thought that, you know, you'll be greeted, right? A couple of logistics, and I don't mean to sound flippant, but a couple of essential questions like, what's the— where do we put the plaque? Is it a chair by the beach, or is it, you know, down by the pitwater? Where, you know, is it a memorial tree? How do we How do we mark it?
John Milham (Host) · 54:27
Like a huge Trump-like statue placed on the top of Newport Hill.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 54:32
The Golden Cam, right?
John Milham (Host) · 54:35
Golden Cam. I think the family's planning on, because we walk our dog, you know, very a lot locally around here, I think that'd be very special. That was chosen by the family that they might do one of our typical park seats and they'll have somewhere to go to and sit and talk I love that, mate.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 54:53
I love, I'm happy to sit on your chair. Yeah. And have those kind of bloody moments. That's when you can pass me the lottery numbers for the next week. That'd be fine.
John Milham (Host) · 55:04
I've got them all. So just reach out to me at, just look up my name and I'll send it to you.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 55:11
But, you know, if there's a, in a Conan movie, Conan the Barbarian, He's the head of the village, you know, looks at Conan and goes, Conan, what's best in life?
John Milham (Host) · 55:27
Right.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 55:28
And Conan has a particular response, something about smiting your enemies and driving them before you. If I was to ask you what's best in life, what would be your perspective? From the perspective of someone who is genuinely, you know, contemplate, you know, sitting at, at a, a terminal point, right? As you look back at life and your life, what's best in life?
John Milham (Host) · 55:57
Learning how to be humble.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 56:01
Wow.
John Milham (Host) · 56:01
Learning how to accept that every human being is different.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 56:04
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 56:05
Learning how to navigate that. Learning how to respect people's views and wishes. Being humble, being true to yourself and try to be in integrity in everything that you do.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 56:15
That's huge.
John Milham (Host) · 56:15
There's nothing else. There's nothing else in life.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 56:18
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 56:19
You know, we're here for a short time. We're, we're human beings. We're, we're souls. Um, show respect. That's, there's, I don't have any other words for you. I mean, there's lots of words for the same thing, but being humble.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 56:33
Yeah.
John Milham (Host) · 56:33
Being appreciative.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 56:37
Did you, is there people you would like to acknowledge as being important to your journey?
John Milham (Host) · 56:47
Normally I would have a list, uh, or a couple of people that I might be able to throw in there. Um, I'll reserve on that. Um, but I, I had been— again, I use the word blessed very strongly. Um, you know, I found the love of my life who was there, and she passed next to me, and that was at a very young age. So I'm very, I'm very lucky I had her. And then at a later stage in life, of course, you know, you know my current life and how lucky I'm there. So I just couldn't have played it out any better, honestly.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 57:20
That's beautiful, brother. Yeah, man. I don't know, nothing I can say, you know, to sort of contribute in any meaningful way to the challenge you've got ahead. But I just, you know, it's very inspiring to talk to and hear your level of understanding and acceptance. And I just want to thank you for, you know, for open, you know, going there. It's really, you know, it's a really tough and important thing you do, brother.
John Milham (Host) · 58:02
And thanks, John.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 58:03
And I know that this is going, you know, people people in their own struggle can, you know, can listen to you. And, you know, it's one of those things where they will be helped. You'll continue to offer, to give, in, you know, in whatever place you are. So I just want to thank you, mate. Thank you for sharing with me, and thank you for showing us the way. Thank you for the life you've lived. And I just wanna also say all the best on the next journey, my friend.
John Milham (Host) · 58:40
Thoroughly enjoyed talking to you all. Uh, thank you John. And remember we're fighting the good fight. Okay?
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 58:46
Hehe!
John Milham (Host) · 58:47
Fight the good one here.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 58:49
Here. And remember— and I'm, you know, I'm still a fan of miracles and anything's possible. So whatever happens, my friend travel well.
John Milham (Host) · 58:58
Just going to keep on going. Thank you very much, John.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 59:00
Thank you, mate. Thank you for being with me and with Kintsugi Heroes. I really appreciate it, Ken.
John Milham (Host) · 59:06
I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thank you, John. Good afternoon, everyone.
Cameron Lyndon James (Guest) · 59:09
Cheers, brother. Bye-bye.
John Milham (Host) · 59:17
Thank you for listening to this episode of Kintsugi Heroes. Thank you to Colin Lilley 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 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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