Episode 39
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Hugh van Cuylenburg is the founder of The Resilience Project, an organisation that provides mental health and wellbeing programs to schools, businesses and individuals.
In this interview, Hugh explains how the key concepts of Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness (G.E.M.) can be applied to fatherhood and why being a parent is a great test of your resilience.
Hugh also shares stories about his family, his relationship with his dad and what’s on the horizon for the Resilience Project.
This is a fascinating chat with an inspirational person, who is also a passionate father of two young children.
For any parents out there, I hope you enjoy this discussion as much as I did.
What you’ll learn
- How dads become part of a brotherhood
- The challenges of managing a ‘threenanger’
- How being a father has tested his resilience.
- How being a father has changed Hugh’s relationship with his dad
- Hugh’s dad’s story – immigrating from Sri-Lanka to Australia by boat
- How men can either follow in their dad’s footsteps or choose to take a different route
- Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness – the three key tools for resilience
- How Hugh practises gratitude with his 3-year-old son each night
- The results of the Resilience Project’s schools program
- The Imperfects Podcast with Ryan Shelton
- What’s on the horizon for The Resilience Project
- Hugh’s next book – a sneak preview into what it might be about
About Hugh van Cuylenburg
Hugh van Cuylenburg is the founder of The Resilience Project, a Melbourne based organisation that provides mental health and wellbeing programs to schools, businesses and individuals.
Hugh has been working in education for over 15 years, teaching both primary and secondary in a range of educational settings. The highlight of his teaching career was the year he spent in the far north of India volunteering and living at an underprivileged school in the Himalayas. It was here that he discovered resilience in its purest form.
Inspired by this experience Hugh returned to Melbourne and commenced working on his own program for schools. ‘The Resilience Project’ was born. Having completed his post-graduate studies, looking at resilience and wellbeing, Hugh has developed and facilitated programs for over 900 schools Australia wide.
In 2015, the National Rugby League asked Hugh to run workshops at every club in the competition. Since then, he has worked with the Australian Cricket Team, the Australian Netball Team, the Australian Women’s Soccer Team, The Jillaroos and 10 AFL teams. Beyond the team environment, Hugh has been lucky enough to work one on one with individuals such as Steve Smith, Dustin Martin and Billy Slater. He currently works closely with the Port Adelaide Football Club.
In addition to his work in schools and elite sport, Hugh has presented to over 500 corporate groups as a keynote speaker and developed comprehensive programs for a range workplaces across different sectors.
Hugh is a best selling author and co-host of the popular podcast, The Imperfects.
He lives in Melbourne, with his wife Penny and their two young children.
- Website: theresilienceproject.com.au
- Instagram: @hughvancuylenburg
- Facebook: @resiliencep
- Podcast: The Imperfects
- Book: The Resilience Project: Finding Happiness Through Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness
Quotes by Hugh van Cuylenburg
“Nothing has demanded resilience more than being a parent, because it is relentless. And you are constantly coping with challenges.”
On being a father – “it is a brotherhood – it changes everything”
“Empathy can be a bit of a double-edged sword”
“There’s no better picture of gratitude than Darryl Kerrigan sitting around his dinner table”
“We are all hardwired to pay attention to the negative, that’s a survival thing”
“The challenges that parenthood have brought me has forced me to be a lot more vulnerable than I’ve ever been”
Great interview and important topic, enjoyed it very much. So glad you remember fondly your father teaching you about Gratitude.
Very proud of the service you are providing fathers and looking forward to future podcasts.
Hahaha – I thought he also taught me modesty? Thanks Dad!