Barnaby Howarth will tell you that his success is all luck but for the resilience speaker and podcaster, it was as if he was born for this.
Howarth has lived an extraordinary life - surviving a gang attack and stroke, losing his first wife to cancer and living as a diabetic - but he's more interested in the people who are quietly and perhaps are ordinarily making the world a better place.
In season six of his podcast Everyday Greatness (filmed in the facilities at Sydney Swans HQ), Howarth speaks to everyday people who are tackling issues of racism, women's rights and inclusivity for the LGBTQ plus community. It bids the question: has the fighting been worth it?
In the latest episode he speaks with former Swans co-captain and Half of Famer Brett Kirk on racism within Australia. Listen below.
To celebrate season six, Sydney Swans Media speaks with Howarth on his own personal fight to always be a better person.
You emphasise that you’re a REAL human on your website. Why is that important?
“It’s not a marketing thing, it’s a human concept. There are too many people out there who pretend to be strong and confident that are really just not sure about themselves or their place in the world. Being a real human, whether you’re the CEO of a company or a famous sportsperson or just an everyday Harry sack of rolls who sweeps the broom closet. Just being who you are is a real strength, regardless of how high you’ve got to.”
What made you want to share your story and become a resilience speaker?
“I interviewed Tom Harley for this podcast, and I asked what made him successful – captained a premiership winning side and now runs a football club – and he said, a lot of it comes down to luck. I think that’s where I was. I was lucky that I had a really supportive family and good friends who made me feel confident that I could do something like resilience speaking. I also got a job at the ABC doing auto-queue so I need another stream of income. I wasn’t sure of my abilities so I wanted to get a stream of income where I didn’t’ answer to a boss. I thought, I’ll just become a resilience speaker and if it sucks, it sucks and if it tanks, it tanks.
"My father is a really intelligent business man so he helped me set up the business. I have good friends that would do my tax. I’ve got a digital marketing team and a technical team that have come on board and are guiding me through the stuff I have no idea about. I think it’s flat out luck. I would love to say it was planned and that’s what I wanted, but that’s how it all turned out.”
You have a wide range of guests on season 6 of “Everyday Greatness”. What do you look for in your guests?
“The podcast is about trying to help people realise that everyone has greatness in them – even if they don’t think they do. Who I aim for is people who don’t think they have a story to tell. We talk about if the fight has been worth it. People that are putting in the hard fight for equal rights for LGBTQ people, for racism, women’s equality.”
What do you hope listeners take from your podcast?
“I hope they realise the small things they do every day, the things that are no big deal, are making a massive difference. It’s shaping who they are and the people around them as well.”
Can you recall one of your favourite podcast episodes? Who were you talking to and what were you talking about?
“Drop of a hat, I was speaking to a young diabetic girl Caitlin and her confidence was dropping pretty dramatically since her diagnosis. She was getting bullied at school and dropped out of high school in Year 9 at a dark point in her life. Her mother Sharyn saw her daughter at wits end and home alone. She decided Caitlin needed help, so Sharyn quit her high paying corporate job to stay home with her on the couch. Every day they sat together and built that mother-daughter strength. Caitlin turned her life around and got up at karaoke one night on a cruise ship. I could see in her eyes that she didn’t think it was a big deal but as she told her story she realised how strong she was.”
You provide inspiration to people every day. But who do you look to for inspiration?
“I look to people who do things when the rest of society think they shouldn’t or can’t. The best example is the Sydney Swans 2005 premiership team. They were just a bunch of good, honest, hardworking blokes from different walks of life that all bought into the grit mentality from Brett Kirk and they won the bloody AFL Premiership for the first time 72 years. That’s the people I like. People who just chip away, thinking they’re not changing the world but the world around them changes, and they don’t take any credit for it.
"So them and my family. I can’t look past my family. The love of wife and daughter. The relationship the three of us have is beautiful. My mum and dad and brothers and sisters and their families and their kids.”
After your accident you worked so hard to return to football. What do you believe sport provides to building resilience?
“I think sport is so much more important than people realise when they’re playing it. The friendships I had in all of my sporting teams, you don’t think it’s doing anything for your strength, personality or resilience. But that’s the stuff that helped me go through my challenges. It’s the sort of stuff that makes you not dwell or get too down in the dumps. Those friendships help you realise that you may not get through it but you’ll at least try.”
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?
“My greatest achievement (laughs). Far out. If I want to look after my personal safety I’d say marrying my wife and becoming a father to our daughter. If I’m talking about a non-relationship one, I’d say my 100th game at Pennant Hills… that’s one of the proudest things I’ve done in my whole life.”
What would you tell people who are sceptics to what you’re trying to teach?
“It’s not something you see results of overnight
"I’m not saying it’s guaranteed for success but it’s what I’ve done and it’s worked for me and I’ve seen it work for other people. All you can do is try. It doesn’t cost you anything. What do you have to lose?”
Barnaby Howarth recorded Season Six of Everyday Greatness using the Sydney Swans HQ studio. To hire facilities, visit here for more information.
