One True Measure

Dr Dan Pronk is a former Australian Army Special Forces combat doctor, author, entrepreneur, and leadership speaker.Dan originally pursued his goal of competing professionally in Trialathon before gaining an Army scholarship to study medicine. Following his medical training, Dan then went on to complete the demanding SASR selection course before joining special operations.During his military career, he served alongside both the SASR and the 2nd Commando Regiment, providing frontline medical care in high-risk combat environments on four deployments to Afghanistan. On his second deployment, he was awarded the Commendation for Distinguished Service for leadership in action.Following his military service, Dan transitioned to civilian medicine, working in emergency departments and medical leadership roles. He is also a part-owner and Medical Director of TacMed Australia, starred as the on-set doctor for the hit television program SAS Australia, and regularly delivers presentations on resilience, leadership, and high performance.As an author, Dan has written several books, including The Combat Doctor, a memoir about battlefield medicine and the psychological effects of war; The Resilience Shield with his brother Ben and Tim Curtis, which outlines practical strategies for building resilience; and Average 70kg D**khead, which shares lessons on goal setting, discipline, and personal development.Dan has spoken openly about his own struggles with post-traumatic stress and the challenges of transitioning from military to civilian life.Through his writing, public speaking, and clinical work, he advocates for evidence-based approaches to resilience, mental health, and performance for veterans, emergency responders, and the wider community.Dan holds a Bachelor of Exercise Science, A Bachelor of Medicine, a Bachelor of Surgery, A Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, a Master of Business Administration, and an Associate Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of Medical Administrators.Dan is married to a very tolerant wife, the proud father of three boys, ice bath officnado, car enthusiast, and owner of three businesses and counting.

Mark Direen is a former member of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) who served for 20 years in the Australian Army.Mark enlisted in the Australian Army in 1993. After completing infantry training, he was posted to 1 RAR. While serving as an infantry sniper, he completed the demanding SASR selection process in 1997. Mark deployed on operations, including: Security operations during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, East Timor and five deployments to Afghanistan.In 2007, while serving in Afghanistan, Mark was seriously wounded by an improvised explosive device (IED). Despite his injuries, he recovered and returned to operational service, completing further deployments.In 2009, Mark worked as a security team leader at the Australian Embassy in Kabul, but later returned to the SAS to train new operators before deploying to Afghanistan once again. Mark spent almost two decades in Afghanistan, both with the SAS and as a security contractor and has a deep understanding of the people and culture.After leaving the Army, Mark became an expedition guide leading remote expeditions in places such as Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, and Tasmania. He also founded a leadership and resilience business called Point Assist. Wrote the thought-provoking book What’s the Point?, and created a Whiskey company honouring the sacrifice and service of those he served with, naming it Dog Tag Whiskey.Mark has become a respected speaker on leadership, teamwork, resilience, and high-performance decision-making. Through interviews and public appearances, he has discussed both the demands of Special Forces service and the transition to civilian life, emphasising continuous learning and adapting after adversity.

Julian Pace is the Founder and CEO of Happiness Co, a Perth-based social enterprise dedicated to improving mental health, wellbeing, and human connection. Inspired by his personal journey through profound loss, Julian has transformed adversity into a mission to help others build happier, more fulfilling lives.Since founding Happiness Co in 2017, Julian has become one of Australia's leading voices in happiness, emotional wellbeing, and lived-experience mental health. An award-winning speaker, he has presented across 10 countries, reaching more than 63,000 people through keynote presentations, workshops, schools, community programs, and corporate events.Julian has been featured on Sunrise, Today Tonight, SCA radio, multiple Seven West sites, and several other highly regarded channels on the topic of happiness. Known for his authentic storytelling and practical approach, Julian empowers individuals and organisations to take ownership of their wellbeing, develop resilience, and create positive change.His work has earned recognition as an Australian of the Year Local Hero finalist, Mentor of the Year award winner, and National Small Business Champion. Happiness Co was also named as a finalist in the Telstra Business Award for the Social Change Maker category and is Perth’s Optus Stadium’s official “Purpose Partner”.Today, Julian continues to lead Happiness Co's mission to create happier, healthier communities through education, coaching, events, and mental health initiatives across Australia, with the goal of positively impacting 10 million lives over the next 10 years.Julian has also recently returned from hiking to the Everest and Annapurna base camps, raising awareness and over 165k for charityWhen he is not all of these things, Julian is a husband and proud dad who is striving to balance family life and his passion for helping others live a happier life.

James Jensen is a former Australian Army soldier and Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) Patrol Commander with more than 20 years of service in the Australian Army.After graduating from the Australian Defence Force Academy and the Royal Military College, James changed his career path, deciding instead to serve not as an officer but on the front line as an infantry soldier. He served in the infantry at 1RAR, deploying on operations to East Timor and Afghanistan before successfully completing SAS selection in 2010.Over the following 14 years in the SAS, Jensen undertook multiple operational deployments, including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, eventually rising to the role of Patrol Commander. James’s evolution from a junior leader in East Timor to leading some of Australia’s most elite teams at the SAS reshaped his understanding of what true leadership means.Today, as a sought-after consultant, James works with organisations across various industries, helping leaders unlock their full potential and inspire greatness in their teams. His leadership expertise is still highly valued by the SAS, where he continues to train and mentor the next generation of SAS leaders. Following his military career, he founded K6 Consulting, where he helps organisations develop resilient leaders and high-performing teams.Jensen is a widely recognised keynote speaker, with presentations that specialise in leadership under pressure, decision-making, accountability, and translating the principles of elite military units into practical strategies for business and organisational success.

David Flanagan is one of the most influential figures in Australia’s mining industry over the past three decades. David began his career as a geologist, building deep expertise in mining and resource development. In 2004, David founded Atlas Iron and grew it from a junior explorer into a major Pilbara iron ore producer valued in the billions, in the process helping to challenge the dominance of the industry's larger miners.Known for his energetic leadership style, David prioritised strong relationships, collaboration, and loyalty to his staff and contractors. He also spoke publicly about mining’s role in the Australian economy, commissioning The Miners: Stories from the industry that drives modern Australia in 2013.After leaving Atlas in a strong financial position in 2012,  the iron ore price collapse of 2014/15 triggered David's return to Atlas as managing director to lead a major restructuring effort, including profit-sharing agreements with contractors. His leadership helped stabilise the company in a highly volatile moment in the industry before stepping down again in 2016.David is credited with helping democratize access to Pilbara mining opportunities and building Atlas Iron into a symbol of entrepreneurial mining ambition in AustraliaOutside Atlas, David became heavily involved in education, science, and innovation. He served as Chancellor of Murdoch University and became a strong supporter of technology and space-related initiatives in Australia.He has received a multitude of honours: - Western Australian of the Year (2014) - Member of the Order of Australia (AM) - Eisenhower Fellowship recipient - 40under40 “First Amongst Equals”; this particular award exemplifies leadership, innovation, and community contribution.Outside of his work, David contributes across a wide variety of not-for-profits, Youth Focus, GivingWest, Kalparrin, Many Rivers Microfinance and the Leukaemia Foundation and is an ambassador for the Fathering Project.

Ian Prior is a professional rugby union player born to Zimbabwean parents. Ian spent part of his childhood in Zimbabwe before returning to Australia, a duality that would define one of the most extraordinary late-career chapters in Australian sporting history.Ian made his Super Rugby debut for the Queensland Reds in 2011, becoming part of the championship-winning squad that year. He went on to play for the ACT Brumbies, including the historic 2013 side that defeated the British & Irish Lions, before joining the Perth-based Western Force in 2014.At the Force, Ian became a legend of the franchise and one of only three players to achieve 100 appearances. He captained the side through its most turbulent period: the axing from Super Rugby in 2017. Under his leadership, the Force claimed the 2019 National Rugby Championship title.After 14 years of professional rugby and over 200 first-class appearances across the globe, retirement was a real possibility, but fate had other plans. Ian answered the call of the Zimbabwe Rugby Union. What followed was extraordinary: back-to-back Rugby Africa Cup titles in 2024 and 2025, a Player of the Tournament accolade, and historic qualification for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Zimbabwe’s first since 1991. Perhaps the proudest moments in his rugby career is yet to be written representing Zimbabwe in the World Cup in Australia in 2027.Off the field, Ian is a sought-after keynote speaker and facilitator with Mettle Global, working with organisations focusing on leadership, building resilience, developing high-performance teams and crisis management.Ian holds an impressive education record, including a Bachelor of Exercise & Sport Science, a Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology (Rehabilitation) and is currently completing his Master of High Performance Sport.Above all else, he continues to be driven and inspired by those that matter most: his wife Lizzy and kids, daughter Riley and son Jack.

Ben Franks is one of the toughest and most respected front-row players in world rugby, and one of the very few who can claim to be a two-time World Cup winner with the New Zealand All Blacks.Ben and his brother, Owen, formed one of the most powerful front rows in international rugby and became symbols of toughness and consistency in the All Blacks forward pack. Ben attended Christchurch Boys’ High School, a famous rugby nursery. Ben’s rise was steady and built on hard work; he was admired for his strength, discipline, and relentless attitude to improve.His professional career began with the Canterbury Crusaders. The Crusaders years shaped him into an elite tighthead prop, one of rugby’s most demanding positions. For context, Tighthead props absorb enormous physical punishment while anchoring the scrum and protecting the team’s possession.Ben earned his first major All Blacks recognition in the late 2000s. His combination of scrummaging power, work ethic, and experience made him invaluable in high-pressure matches.The peak of his career came during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Playing on home soil, Ben helped the All Blacks end a 24-year World Cup drought.Four years later, Ben achieved something even rarer. He was part of the squad that won the 2015 Rugby World Cup, defeating Australia in the final. Winning back-to-back Rugby World Cups, which placed this All Blacks generation among the greatest teams in rugby history.After retiring in 2020, Ben became a professional coach, now based in Japan with the Mitsubishi Dynaboars in the Japanese Division 1 league.An accomplished public speaker, leader and expert on the importance of structure and preparation in building great individuals and elite teams. Proving his strength is backed by a keen and well-rounded intellect.If you want to find out more about David, please see the attached links.https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-franks-3a440144/

In 2007, as an infantry platoon commander, David served in the Solomon Islands, which began a lifelong career in international relations. Following this, David began working with Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He was soon overseas on his first Diplomatic posting to the Australian High Commission, Islamabad, at the height of the international coalition’s efforts to bring stability and peace to Afghanistan and Pakistan. David then went on to work as part of the international coalition to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Iraq.In 2019, David was given a leadership challenge unlike any other in modern history, as the Station Leader at Davis Station, Antarctica, he was leading a team of just 24 through the isolation of an Antarctic winter when the COVID-19 Pandemic broke out. The impact of the pandemic on Antarctic operations saw David's team without a ride home as planned and facing one of the longest periods of isolation in modern Antarctic History.David's book, '537 Days of Winter: Resilience, Endurance and Humanity while stranded in Antarctica during the Pandemic' tells the story of what it was like to lead a team through unprecedented uncertainty and how to find resilience in the most extreme environments.Combining his experiences from war zones and his six different Antarctic expeditions, David now works as a professional speaker. As a speaker, David's unique story also helps organisations and individuals understand the importance of environmental awareness and works with schools and corporations to better understand humanity's impact on climate and the planet’s most remote wilderness in Antarctica..If you want to find out more about David, please see the attached links.https://davidknoff.com/ 

In this episode, Blake sits down with Dr William von Hippel. Bill is a renowned psychologist, author and expert on human behaviour. Bill has spent over three decades as a psychology professor in the United States and Australia.Today, he writes books and conducts research for private companies. Bill has published over 150 academic articles and chapters across a range of psychological topics. His work has been cited over fifteen thousand times in academic literature and widely reported in the media, including The New York Times ‘100 Ideas of the Year’, The Economist, USA Today, Le Monde, Il Mundo, Der Spiegel and The Australian.Bill is the author of The Social Leap: The New Evolutionary Science of Who We Are, Where We Come From and What Makes Us Happy, a critically acclaimed book that explores how the challenges our early ancestors faced continue to influence our decision-making, relationships and happiness today. ‘The Social Leap’ has been translated into a dozen different languages and received the annual Book Prize from the world’s foremost social psychology society. Bill’s second book, ‘The Social Paradox’, was published in February 2025 to crtical acclaim.Bill has also been a guest on several of the world’s biggest podcasts, including The Joe Rogan Experience, The Diary of A CEO,  London Real and Modern Wisdom with Chris Williamson.Known for his ability to connect evolutionary theory with everyday life, Bill’s research delves into the cognitive and social mechanisms that influence our relationships, decisions and overall well-being. His talks are insightful and engaging, offering audiences a fresh perspective on how ancient evolutionary pressures continue to mould our lives today.When he is not doing all of these things, Bill can be found spending time with family and friends, climbing, golfing, and skiing.If you want to find out more about William, please see the attached links.Instagram - www.instagram.com/williamvonhippel LinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-von-hippel/

In this episode, Blake sits down with Peter Scott. Peter Scott joined the Royal Australian Navy as a seventeen-year-old Midshipman and, over three decades, rose to become the professional head of the Navy’s elite: the Submarine Arm. During that journey, he served among the dedicated crews of the most highly specialised capability in any Navy in the most complex and demanding environment on earth: the undersea battlespace.He survived and led others through at-sea fires, floods and explosions, and passed the most demanding military command course in the world, Perisher. Peter commanded the longest deployment ever conducted by an Australian submarine and led the Arm through an unprecedented period of expansion.In all, he served in ten submarines and twenty different command and leadership appointments over thirty-four years. A veteran of multiple Special Operations with the Submarine Arm, he also saw active service in Iraq, the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan during 2006 and 2007.Peter was awarded a Commendation for Distinguished Service in the Australia Day Honours List 2008, having previously been decorated with the Conspicuous Service Cross for achievements in command of HMAS Collins. Peter holds a Master’s degree in Coaching Psychology from the University of Sydney and now works as an executive coach, helping leaders develop, perform, and succeed. He has recently authored a memoir, published by Fremantle Press, on his naval and submarine service - ‘Running Deep. An Australian Submarine Life.’When not writing or coaching, Peter can be found on the trails running ultramarathons or relaxing at home with his family.If you want to find out more about Peter, please see the attached links.www.peterscott.au

In this episode, Blake sits down with Dr Jenny Brockis is a Medical Practitioner, Lifestyle Medicine Physician and Health and Wellness Coach committed to reshaping the future of healthcare toward a focus on prevention and reduction of chronic disease.Having no idea what she wanted to do after leaving school, Jenny initially trained as a Nightingale Nurse at St Thomas’ Hospital in London before realising medicine was where she really wanted to be. After qualifying at Bristol University, she commenced specialist GP training before migrating to Australia, where she set up and ran her own highly successful group family medical practice for many years.Burnout was the freight train Jenny never saw coming. She lost her practice and sense of identity. If she wasn’t a doctor, who was she?In 2009, Jenny founded her consultancy Brain Fit, working in the corporate sector, providing workplace health and well-being services, and becoming an international and award-winning keynote speaker. She retrained in Lifestyle Medicine, gained her Fellowship in 2019, and has continued to indulge her passion for learning by studying the neuroscience of leadership, nutritional and environmental medicine, positive psychology, menopause management, and nature-based therapy at a postgraduate level.A prolific writer, Jenny has written a weekly blog since 2009, has had countless articles published in print and online, and is the author of six books, including the best-seller Future Brain and her newest book, The Natural Advantage.Having discovered, thanks to burnout, that there is life beyond work, Jenny is an avid hiker, kayaker and owner of two nutty Vizsla dogs, wife and parent to two amazing young adults.If you want to find out more about Jenny, please see the attached links.www.drjennybrockis.comThe One True Measure:Follow us on:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/onetruemeasureLinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-o-connell-a829b369/Website - https://www.onetruemeasure.com.au/

In this episode, Blake sits down with Ben Pronk, a leader and specialist in risk, resilience and process improvement.Ben’s first career spanned 24 years in the Australian Army, with the majority of this time spent in the Special Air Service Regiment. In this capacity, Ben served on multiple operational deployments and was decorated for leadership in action, for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. The culmination of his service was serving as the Commanding Officer of the SAS.Ben is a highly regarded thought leader and sought-after public speaker, a faculty member at the Australian Graduate School of Management and a Patron of the Military Art Program Australia. Ben holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Defence Studies (with Distinction) from King's College, London, and a Master of Business Administration (with Distinction) from the University of Western Australia. He is also a graduate of the AICD Company Directors Course.Alongside Tim Curtis, his business partner, Ben co-hosts the popular Unforgiving60 podcast. In 2022, Ben co-wrote the best-selling book The Resilience Shield with Tim and his brother, Dr Dan Pronk. Ben also has a new book due out on June 30 titled ‘ We are all going to die’ Practical Happiness for the time you have left. When he is not all these things, he is the Managing Partner at Mettle Global, a marathon runner, an artist, a husband, a father of two, and a true Renaissance man.If you want to find out more about Ben, please see the attached links.https://resilienceshield.com/ https://www.benpronk.com/ The One True Measure:Follow us on:Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/onetruemeasureLinkedIN - https://www.linkedin.com/in/blake-o-connell-a829b369/Website - https://www.onetruemeasure.com.au/