Meet the others
Daniel Carlin - Founder/Director
Daniel heads up Elevate Performance and Health. Daniel's passion and drive makes him a valuable asset to his clients. His down to earth personality, combined with his dynamic approach is a breath of fresh air and proven to see great results.
Interview with Daniel Carlin
(Taken from the book "Switched on Health Professionals - Volume 2")
1. What does health mean to you and how do you achieve it?
My definition of health can be summed up in two words, SUSTAINED PERFORMANCE. Friends, family and clients often comment on my endless supply of energy and drive. Typically, my day starts at 5am, from the moment my feet hit the floor I operate in overdrive until go to bed around 10pm, I enjoy being busy and living my life to the absolute fullest. The only way I stand a chance of keeping up this frantic pace long term, is to consistently maintain a high level of health and fitness. By maintaining my health week in week out, year in year out I can sustain my performance long term and live life the way I love to, all out. These days, we are all expected to operate in overdrive most of the time, whether we like it or not. It is our mission at Elevate to show people how to sustain their performance for the long term.
2. What is the biggest mistake/s people make in relation to their health and wellbeing?
Coaching people from all walks of life, I see the same mistake being made over and over. People overcomplicate health, often sabotaging their efforts before they even begin. Today we are bombarded by information on health and wellbeing, everything from the media to the endless supply of information on the net. While it is great to have access to so much information, it is easy to be misguided and confused. At Elevate we do the work for you, sorting through the resources available to deliver our clients the most practical and current information. The material is delivered in an interactive format, using a unique, dynamic fresh approach. At Elevate we keep health simple, the way it should be.
1. What is the future of corporate health and wellbeing programs? How do you think the landscape will look a few years down the track?
Corporate wellness programs will need to become much more comprehensive in Australia in the coming years to help reduce the $8 billion a year spent on health issues. In the United States a survey by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) in 2007 found “83% of large companies offer health surveys, 74% offer weight management programs, 60% provide health coaching and 29% have on site health centres”.
With a staggering 3:1 return on investment, 50% of smaller companies are following the trend. Many US companies pride themselves on their wellbeing programs, actively advertising the fact when looking to recruit employees.
Some forward thinking Australian companies are already following the trend. I am regularly approached by organisations to implement a wellness program that will help them become an "employer of choice".
Many Australian companies offer elements of wellbeing, such as fruit baskets in the tea room, five minute massages and some form of outdoor fitness session. While these "token offerings" assist to create a healthy culture and are appreciated among staff, they do little to create lasting change among some 7.5million over weight and burnt out people.
At Elevate we provide "effective wellness programs" to ensure sustained increases in performance are achieved.
I’ve seen you talking more and more about "Sustain and Retain". Can you please explain what this is and how you teach it to the large organisations you consult to?
Sustain and Retain is the message I teach individuals and organisations. Apart from sounding cool because it rhymes, these three words sum up what wellbeing is about for us at Elevate.
For individuals we must sustain a high level of wellbeing consistently to be able to retain a high level of performance in all areas of our lives.
For organisations, by actively working to sustain wellbeing, they will retain their most valuable asset, their people!
At Elevate, we provide practical, current information. We use simple, catchy phrases, models and metaphors to get the message to stick. Our programs show people that being healthy isn't rocket science, and can be achieved by implementing some personal strategies, goal setting and accountability.
