“One of the most motivating and inspirational speakers who we have worked with in 10 years.”
stress fitness
= Resilience meets performance
Watch Paul in action
Neuroscientist, physiologist and former British Armed Forces Officer delivers impactful keynote talks and facilitates powerful workshops for corporate clients looking to enhance their performance and Stress Fitness.
Stress-fit
Stress-fit
“The way we are currently working isn’t working, with high levels of stress, a chronic lack of employee engagement and increasing levels of presenteeism.
To achieve peak performer in challenging times, it's necessary to adopt rituals that integrate and optimise the mind, body and brain to move up the Stress Fitness continuum (pictured below). Having high levels of Stress Fitness enables you to adapt positively to the inevitable challenges that life throws at you and ultimate emerge stronger and better.
Knowledge alone isn’t enough. Our proven tools and methodologies help to close that gap and transform good intentions into great results.”
Paul Taylor
How’s the health of your team?
stress fitness continuum
Power-Packed Keynotes
-
Becoming Stress-Fit
Why would you aspire to be ‘resilient’ when human beings are capable of so much more? In this thought-provoking talk, Paul will explore the human stress response and how developing high levels of Stress Fitness enables you to adapt positively to the inevitable challenges that life throws at you and ultimately emerge stronger and better. The talk will then go through a range of evidence-based rituals that integrate and optimise the mind, body and brain to move you up the Stress Fitness continuum. This keynote can be adapted and personalised for 3 groups: The Stress-Fit Leader, The Stress-Fit Salesperson and The Stress-Fit Individual.
Note – a breathwork masterclass can be added to this keynote.
-
Wellbeing – A Biopsychosocial Approach
Western medicine has historically employed a reductionist, dualistic, biomedical model, where there is no role for the mind in physical ailments. This notion is slowly being challenged by the emergence of a new Biopsychosocial approach, which recognises the body-brain connection and the impact of both psychological and social factors in both wellness and disease. In this stimulating talk, Paul will examine the Body-Brain connection through a review of Placebo science and explore the impact of exercise, sleep, nutrition, gut health, resilience and social connectedness on overall physical and mental wellbeing.
Note – a breathwork masterclass can be added to this keynote.
-
The Big 4 of Mental Toughness
In this session, Paul will use his unique combination of research and practical experience in stressful situations to explain both our stress response systems and the concepts of resilience and stress adaptation. He will then present the ‘Big 4’ practical tools used by US Special Forces that will help us not only survive - but thrive - in the face of modern stressors, and move beyond resilience to being
stress adapted, where we grow because of stress exposure.Note – a breathwork masterclass can be added to this keynote.
-
Shift Happens
Behaviour change is a much-studied concept, but still remains the elusive holy grail for many people, who know what to do but aren’t doing it. In this keynote talk, Paul will explore change from a neuroscience perspective, examine the science of habits, and present a model of behaviour change that he has formulated over the years and successfully used successfully with thousands of individuals to help them close the knowing-doing gap.
Note – a breathwork masterclass can be added to this keynote.
Workshops that make a difference
-
The Forged Mind
HALF TO FULL DAY
Enable employees to thrive under pressure in a sustainable way. We explore the science of resilience and teach peak performance tips from the military and elite athletes.
-
High Performance Teams
FULL DAY
Unlock the DNA of high performance teams. A unique blend of personal experiences and cutting edge research into both team dynamics and social neuroscience.
-
The Executive Athlete
HALF DAY
Turn good intentions into great habits. Combining research from the fields of neuroscience, physiology, psychology and nutrition with practices of elite athletes and military special forces units.
-
The Neuroscience of Leadership
HALF TO FULL DAY
Outcome-based workshop (information and facilitated groups) to optimise adoption of peak performance principles. Combining leadership, resilience, neuroscience, physiology and psychology.
The Forged Mind
Half to full day
Invest in your employees
As businesses transform and adapt it increases the stress and tiredness of staff. When physiological, psychological and emotional resources are insufficient to meet demand, fatigue, impairment and burnout can result.
Forging ahead as an organisation without forging the resilience of your people is futile.
Build rituals that allow your workforce to:
thrive under pressure
use stress to their advantage - move away from managing stress toward ‘mastering’ stress
induce long-term productive adaptation
improve performance.
This workshop is designed to enable employees to thrive under pressure in a sustainable way. We explore the science of resilience and teach peak performance tips from the military and elite athletes to provide participants with new insights and daily practices that will move them beyond risk mitigation to performance improvement.
High Performance Teams
Full day
Unlock the DNA of high performance teams
Paul decodes and distills wisdom learned from working closely with senior executive teams in large organisations such as Medibank, Goodman Fielder, Iselect, SAP and CISCO, as well as local governments.
This workshop is a unique blend of personal experiences and cutting edge research into both team dynamics and social neuroscience.
Paul blends his insights from completing a Postgraduate Diploma in the Neuroscience of Leadership and the practical applications of high performance teams.
Participants complete a pre-workshop questionnaire to identify which areas to focus on in the workshop and additional coaching is provided if required.
The Executive Athlete
Full day
Turn good intentions into great habits
Includes a proven method of behavioural change.
Examine high-performance through the lens of four pillars:
Mindset
Movement
Nutrition
Recovery
Thriving in the modern work environment requires us to optimise and renew our physical and mental resources in order to create a state of sustainable high performance. This is challenging in the reality of long work hours and high-stress environments, particularly given the challenges of personal lives.
It combines research from the fields of neuroscience, physiology, psychology and nutrition with practices of elite athletes and military special forces units to give insights and rituals that will positively impact performance as well as physical and mental health.
The Neuroscience of Leadership
Half to full day
optimise adoption of peak performance principles
Outcome-based blend of information and facilitated group and individual tasks that is designed to optimise adoption of peak performance principles.
The program combines military research on leadership and resilience with cutting-edge social neuroscience, physiology and psychology.
There is also a strong emphasis on behaviour change, with a number of proven tools used to foster self-determination and long-term success of the participants.There are 5 complementary parts that comprise the Neuroscience of Leadership and these are explored over 2 days:
Know Thyself
Optimise Energy and Decision-Making
Thrive Under Pressure
Engage/Influence Others
Driving Change
A number of optional tests are available to assess mind, body and brain performance, including BioAge testing and functional brain assessments.
This workshop can also be delivered over 1 day.
Don’t take our word for it. Listen to our clients.
"We enlisted Paul to deliver a webinar which was packed full of practical and relatable proven strategies and research about resilience. Paul holds the attention of attendees as he presents digestible information that we can all implement to improve our wellbeing."
Tony Warner – Humour Foundation
"At first, I was thinking “great some t*#t” is going to lecture me on leadership and how to be a “better version of me”. F*%k me! how wrong could I have been? I’m a 45-year-old Male and have worked for IBM, Microsoft, and a few other large organizations, and the three hours with you was by far the most powerful, useful, real information I have ever heard in a training/ corporate coaching event. You have had such a profound effect on my immediate and future life."
Michael Dean – Youi Insurance
"Probably the best corporate/personal leadership training workshop that I have attended anywhere in the last twenty years! The messages around maintaining a healthy work-life balance, good nutrition, rest, and regular exercise, all leading to an improvement in performance, individually and as a team, have been life-changing to the participants. We started the training with a small group of Finance executives and their enthusiasm from the workshop is spreading throughout the organization...a great way to bring about change. Real, positive, productive change!"
Colin Sampson – CFO SAP, Asia Pacific
"Paul’s rare combination of expert knowledge and credible background is presented in a fashion that makes people thirsty for more. It has done more to motivate individuals and galvanize our management group than any other initiative we have attempted."
Garry Davis – Ballarat Council
"Tennis Australia recommends Paul Taylor for any organisation. Paul’s use of an evidence-based approach that drew on socially interesting research insights had a diverse crowd very engaged. Paul is an outstanding leader if you’re looking to both engage and challenge people on a personal level and as a group. Since Paul’s presentation we’ve found our staff referencing Paul’s presentation time and again – his impact is ongoing."
Robin O'Neill–Tennis Australia
"Paul gave one of the most popular presentations at Happiness & Its Causes 2018, inspiring an audience of over 1,500 delegates. He has a wonderful ability to summarise scientific research in an easily accessible way and combines humour and anecdotes from his life to bring the research to life. Paul’s enthusiasm is infectious and his interaction with the audience was very engaging – it was a marvellous session!"
Beth Phelan – Conference Director
"My leadership team and I participated in the Executive Athlete workshop. Fun, stimulating and confronting, it offered pragmatic and practical solutions to dealing with the modern-day commitments of executive leadership and competing tensions of work-life balance. This program was exceptional."
Adrian Hanley – NAB
"The team were captivated and 5 weeks later they are still talking about the effect it has had on their lives. As a result of the session, we have all changed habits which has improved our wellbeing markedly."
Jacqui Campbell – Public Transport Victoria
"I was sold on the idea of 30 second cold showers in the morning during the presentation but I can honestly say without Paul’s guidance around the ritual board (which I set up within a couple of days) I wouldn’t still be doing them. It’s one thing to be inspired at the moment. It’s another to put systems in place that create reinforcing positive habits. Week 5 now and I’m still doing it (if not every day then every second day)."
Has Razwi – NAB
"Paul Taylor is a fantastic presenter - funny, down to earth but most importantly ENGAGING! The content was so interested, easy to understand for ‘most walks of life’ and he always backed it up with the relevant research. I particularly love the ‘tangible’ actions that we can take off the back of it (that are small and manageable), especially compared to all the other ‘wellbeing’ sessions we go to. The brutal honesty was great - no fluff just a realistic approach. Our team rated Paul as excellent 89.5% - rated 10 out of 10 & 10.5% - rated 9 out of 10. Over 84% of people rated ‘Extremely likely’ when asked if they will make changes (big or small) to their health and fitness."
Rachel Edwards – South West Tafe
"Paul conducted the 2-day ‘Neuroscience of Leadership’ training program for the Cisco Capital Asiapac/Japan Leadership Team. I personally found it extremely beneficial and six months later, I’m still practicing what I learned –proof of a very good program! The messages and numerous practical tips were outstanding and several members of my team commented that this was the BEST training they had ever received."
Rajiv Menon – Cisco Systems Capital
"Paul Taylor is one of the most inspirational speakers we have ever had work with our team. I have met very few people who have had such an impact on my staff. They are always asking “is he coming back” following the seminars we have conducted. My staff has made positive life changes to both their personal and work lives through adopting behaviours that Paul has to recommend, and we look forward to doing more with him in the future."
Craig Towers – Johnson & Johnson New Zealand
"One of the most motivating and inspirational speakers whom we have worked with in the past 10 years. His energy, passion, and style are very engaging and our leadership team received great insight and practical techniques to help balance work-life in a challenging market. We will work with Paul going forward to help us to become great leaders."
Scot Fyfe – Country Road, CEO
"Paul and his neuroscience backed approach to personal and team performance should be pre-requisite training for anyone wanting to be their best version and live life to the fullest. The combination of research data and his common-sense approach not only makes for deeply enlightening knowledge exchange but also left me with very practical next steps that I regularly use to this day. I thoroughly recommend Paul and look forward to finding an opportunity for Paul to take my team through their paces in the future."
Clyde Fernandez – Salesforce
“We recently had the pleasure of having Paul Taylor present as our keynote speaker at our Annual team conference which this year was themed “thrive”. Paul was the critical final speaker of the day and he had the audience captivated from the get go and the way he held them interested, amused and motivated was fantastic. His message was loud and clear about how the physiological and physical stresses we place on ourselves play out on our physical and mental wellbeing and how it is in our control to change the outcome. And to them explain the why, what and how of what we can do about it was brilliant. I am currently reading Paul’s book to ensure to action the learnings. I could not recommend Paul highly enough.”
John Cunningham – Owner, Cunningham Real Estate
"Have sat in leadership development seminars, motivational presentations, and other management courses with companies like McDonalds, Suncorp, AAMI, USQ, UNE, USC, this by far, outshines them all.
Paul was raw, authentic, honest. Practical application of theory, backed with applicable and relevant psychological and scientific sources. We were engaged and completely riveted for the entire session.
You walked away knowing that what you had just sat through would be holistically applied to your vocational and personal spheres, and be a game-changer for your life. And not one mention of SMART goals! Brilliant."
