I would like to acknowledge the Chancellor,
the Honorable Robert French,
Deputy Vice Chancellor Professor David Sadler,
graduates and most importantly, their guests,
the support network that has allowed them
to get to this very important day.
It is almost 20 years since I graduated
with my MBS from UWA.
As I'm sure is common for the people
who have stood up here addressing UWA graduating classes,
preparing this speech has led me to reflect on my career.
And in doing this reflection, it has become apparent
that my career has been built on three core pillars.
It's these three pillars that I would
like to share with you today.
The first pillar is listen more than you speak.
If you're in this room, you're a really smart person.
And I don't mind generalising here
because I'm gonna lump myself in with what I'm about to say.
We smart people, we really like other people
to know how smart we are,
(audience laughing)
which means a lot of what we call listening
is actually waiting for the other person to finish speaking
so we can respond.
What we need to remember is this:
when you listen to someone, proper listening,
you are giving them the gift of feeling both seen and heard.
And you are giving yourself the gift of learning
because every single person you meet in life has something
to teach you, if only you're willing to stop and listen.
Better still, listening and showing interest
in people sparks curiosity.
Curiosity leads to questioning.
Questioning leads to innovation.
And importantly for the industry you're about to enter,
innovation leads to better patient outcomes.
The second pillar on which I built my career is being brave.
I'm not talking about the going swimming with sharks
or go climb Mount Everest kind of bravery here.
For high achievers, which all of you are,
it's easy to get caught up in the narratives
and expectations of others.
Choosing to be true to yourself and walk your own path
might be the bravest but most rewarding thing you ever do.
Bravery also looks like vulnerability.
Admitting you're wrong, admitting you don't know something,
admitting you're struggling and need help.
Vulnerability is one of the most powerful ways
to create lasting connections with other human beings.
So while it's scary, it's also worth doing.
Being brave can also be something as simple as
showing up for work and life in general
even when you don't want to,
when your energy levels are low,
when the challenges are coming thick and fast,
and most importantly, when you're wondering
what's the point?
I know from experience that countless small acts of bravery
have gotten you to this point here today.
I'm excited to see where future tiny acts of bravery
take you in the future.
And now, for the third and final pillar
on which I've built my career.
When in doubt, let curiosity be your guide.
When I completed my MBS, sitting where you guys are today,
I had no idea what my career ambitions were.
I knew I wanted to be a doctor, and that was about it.
It can be easy for highly driven people
to feel huge anxiety when there is
no clear path, no clear next thing.
I definitely felt that anxiety.
I definitely felt fear at making the wrong decision,
at embarking a path and investing time in something
only to find it didn't suit me.
In the end, I resolved to let curiosity be my guide.
And I'm glad I did because there are three great things
about coming to work, and life for that matter,
with a attitude of curiosity.
Firstly, it pretty much guarantees you're
investing your time in something that's interesting to you.
Secondly, it ensures that you never stop learning.
And finally, an attitude of curiosity brings with it
a flexible mindset, a growth mindset.
You're always open to the idea that things
may not turn out the way you expected,
and you know that that's okay.
In 2014, I was rung by the CEO of
St. John of God Mt. Lawley Hospital,
and offered the role of Director of Medical Services.
I had served on the Medical Advisory Committee
for five years, and been Chairman of Mead Medical
for 18 months.
But to that point of time, I had never thought
of being an administrator.
I was a clinician.
But I did have an interest in system design
and improvement in quality of healthcare.
So I thought why not?
Within three months, I was up to my neck in system change,
and perceived that embarking on an MBA would help me
become a better administrator.
So off I went to do that.
While I was in the middle of doing that MBA,
we were asked to write a marketing plan for an idea
we wanted to implement in the next 12 months.
I had an idea for changing the way
we provided obstetric care.
So I spent the rest of that module,
actually the rest of my MBA,
teasing out and developing that model.
Eventually, I couldn't ignore the curiosity
I had about whether this model could work in the real world.
It became an itch I just had to scratch.
So I left the well-paid, highly secure,
some would say cushy medical administration path I was on,
and stepped out into the unknown.
I founded One for Women, a maternity and obstetric startup,
a business that would allow me
to put my proposed model to the test.
And that's where you find me today.
To make the jump into a startup,
you need to have a secure platform
from which to dive off into the unknown with the knowledge
that you do not know how deep the ocean is
that you're diving into, but importantly,
you need a support network to stop you from drowning,
to provide reassurance and support when
the self-doubt and difficulties inevitably emerge.
Through my amazingly inspiring wife, Kay,
family and friends, I have been saved from drowning
on several occasions in the last 18 months.
I encourage every single one of you
to develop your own support network.
Find your Kay, and once you find it,
value it, nurture it, and never take it for granted.
I'm sure you're familiar with the term sunk costs.
It refers to the cost that has already been incurred
and cannot be recovered.
It would've been easy to look at my years
as an administrator as sunk costs.
You too will experience moments in your career
where you'll be tempted to think,
"Well, that was a waste of time."
But here's a beautiful thing about an attitude of curiosity.
It pretty much eliminates any regrets or feelings
about sunk costs from your life,
because when you're following a path
that is interesting to you,
learning everything that you can while on that path,
while also being open to the idea
that this path may not end up being
quite what you hoped it would be, you never have regrets.
And a life with no regrets, only learning,
is a really beautiful thing.
Throughout the course of your studies here,
you have been encouraged by your lecturers and tutors
to write your future.
There are few things that allow you
to write your own future more than
allowing curiosity to guide you.
I don't know what my future holds,
but I know if I continue to listen,
continue to be brave, and continue to be led by curiosity,
then it's a future I definitely want to be part of.
I hope it's the same for you too.
(audience clapping)