Keeping It Real with Jac and Ral

Hosted by Jac and Ral

Business Careers

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Episodes

130

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-AU

About the show

Be entertained, hilariously challenged and profoundly inspired by the very REAL podcast duo, Jac and Ral! Podcast drops every Monday morning 7am

Listen to episodes

60 recent

August 16, 2026Episode 12432 min

Is It Time to Leave Your Career Behind…?

This one’s all about career reinvention and designing your next chapter. And why the word and associated feeling behind "retirement" needs a serious rebrand, because the idea of doing nothing for 20 years is nobody's dream. Jac and Ral unpack the real reasons people stay stuck - money fears, the terrifying question of "who'd actually pay me for this," and the myth that “certainty’ exists anywhere. Jac shares how she planned her own exit and why a bit of desperation is your new best friend. Together they also get into the rise of portfolio careers and fractional executive work, the data behind why more people are building multiple income streams, because it turns out the best boss you'll ever have is staring back at you in the mirror! ---- Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon. https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreon Future Fluency Index https://www.futurefluencyindex.com/ Our upcoming Immersion https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rmj2y6e84oqn1983mlc37/BROCHURE-Design-Your-Next-Chapter-2026.pdf?rlkey=na9zr13y1mhapzgd9wefm8cqq&st=uu6s7dj5&dl=0 New Episode Every Monday Follow the show https://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/ https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPg Follow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/ Follow Ral https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/ https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

August 9, 2026Episode 12328 min

The Gen X Exit

Gen X is 1 in 5 Australians and roughly a third of the workforce, and they're leaving. Not always retiring either. Stepping down, going portfolio, consulting, or just saying "I'm done." Jac and Ral are Gen X and together they unpack why Gen X is leaving en masse… Is it the manager? Is it missing purpose? Is it the micromanagement? And for those who don’t leave (but wish they could) what are the convenient stories they’re telling themselves about why they can't move, for example "it's too late," "I can't afford to" blah blah blah. If you're 46 to 61, or you lead people who are, this one's for you. ----Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon. https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreon Future Fluency Index https://www.futurefluencyindex.com/ Our upcoming Immersion https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/rmj2y6e84oqn1983mlc37/BROCHURE-Design-Your-Next-Chapter-2026.pdf?rlkey=na9zr13y1mhapzgd9wefm8cqq&st=uu6s7dj5&dl=0 New Episode Every Monday Follow the show https://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/ https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPg Follow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/ Follow Ral https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/ https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

August 2, 2026Episode 12225 min

Difficult Career Decisions

Should you take the big promotion? Walk away from a bad leader? Move overseas? Facing tough career decisions can feel overwhelming. In this episode, Jac and Ral tackle a question from a Keeper - How do you navigate high-stakes career decisions? From turning down top-tier roles due to leadership clashes to balancing major international promotions with family life, Jac and Ral break down a practical, step-by-step framework to help you list, prioritise, and reframe your choices. Tune in for candid stories, coaching tools, and the mindset shift you need to make confident career moves. ----Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon. https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreon New Episode Every Monday Follow the show https://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/ https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPg Follow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/ Follow Ral https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/ https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

July 26, 2026Episode 12124 min

Give Your Career Potential A Fighting Chance

Inspired by the Keepers who attend our immersions along with a few Jac is currently coaching, we share stories about women stepping beyond their comfort zone to seek out their number (salary) they want, achieve the promotion they deserve and take on new reimagined career opportunities in a changing workforce. The thing that stops people in their careers, especially women, isn’t their capability, potential or their experience… it’s simply a lack of self-belief. Everybody is born with huge potential but most of us don’t have huge self belief. Learn how to change this. Jac & Ral share a critical tip…the first thing you need to do to grow your confidence. Will you do it? ----Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon. https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreon New Episode Every Monday Follow the show https://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/ https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPg Follow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/ Follow Ral https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/ https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

July 19, 202622 min

Die With Zero

*Warning* This could be a confronting episode! Jac & Ral discuss the tragedy of the traditional retirement model…. If you die with money in the bank, you’ve essentially wasted life energy it took to earn that money. A theory also shared by Bill Perkins who wrote the book Die With Zero. Ral convinces Jac (and herself recently when booking expensive accommodation!) when you spend money on an experience early in life, you don’t just enjoy it in the moment. You get to reap the rewards of those memories for the rest of your life. Jac is sold! She says your wealth should actually peak before you retire, usually between ages 45 and 60 depending on your health and goals. After that peak, you should actively start spending down your wealth to fund those experiences while you still have the health and vitality to enjoy them. Agree or disagree? Either way it’s about balancing health, time and wealth and that’s keeping it real 😊 ----Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon. https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreon New Episode Every Monday Follow the show https://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/ https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPg Follow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/ Follow Ral https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/ https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

July 12, 202629 min

What Is a Leader?

Everyone has an opinion on what makes a great leader and Jac and Ral say most of them are wrong. In this episode they cut through to land on one definition: leadership is unlocking the potential of others. Everything else is just the work. They get stuck into what actually costs a leader who doesn’t do the “leading work”, why trust is now the real competitive advantage (not AI), the $7 return on every $1 spent developing leaders, and why hiring good people means getting out of their way. And Ral gives us advice we all need to remember at least once as a leader… step up, or step of! ----Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon.https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreonNew Episode Every Monday Follow the showhttps://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPgFollow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/Follow Ralhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

July 5, 2026Episode 11821 min

Career Lessons from Kylie Minogue

…How did she talk me into this one??? Kylie Minogue's documentary on Netflix dropped and Ral decided we should do an episode on it. Not for the sequins, but for the sparkling career strategy Kylie has put in place! Turns out the girl next door built her whole reinvention playbook on advice from two bad boys: Michael Hutchence and Nick Cave. Not exactly who you'd expect to hand out career wisdom. But they did. And it changed everything. We unpack why Kylie ditched a hit-making machine to find her own voice, why she kept going after critics called her new sound "too raunchy," and the killer line she used to shut down a journalist who thought tabloids counted as research. This one's about mentorship from unlikely places, having the guts to evolve past what's working, and the simple truth that you cannot please everyone. So don't try. Ral reckons you should be so lucky to give this one a listen. ---- Find out more about our next immersion: https://tinyurl.com/vd83zhyn Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon. https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreon New Episode Every Monday Follow the show https://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/ https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPg Follow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/ Follow Ral https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

June 28, 202626 min

Letting Go to Move Forward

Ever held on to something which wasn’t working because you felt you’d “invested” and your fear of what was next outweighed your current shitshow? In this episode Ral shares some personal stories of letting go and how it helped her to go forward way more than if she’d stayed put! Jac reminds us hope isn’t a strategy and why we should all embrace uncertainty because it’s not about our mistakes… it’s about what we do next that counts. - ---- Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon. https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreon New Episode Every Monday Follow the show https://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/ https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPg Follow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/ Follow Ral https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

June 21, 2026Episode 11621 min

The Most Destructive Career Advice Ever!

"Follow your passion." Sounds inspiring, right? Wrong. Jac and Ral reckon this might be the worst career advice and they're not sorry about it. In this episode, they unpack why passion is wildly overrated as a career compass, what mastery has to do with it, and tackle the two big questions: What's the difference between loving your job and being passionate about it? What happens when you turn your passion into your job and then hate it? Find out why following your talent is smarter, why it makes sense to put the hours in, and like what you do and keep the passion for… other things ----Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon. https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreon New Episode Every Monday Follow the show https://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/ https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPg Follow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/ Follow Ral https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown

June 14, 2026Episode 11526 min

The $1M Leadership Tip

Find out why cancelling this one thing as a leader loses you the most money… In this episode Jac & Ral dive deep into a massive blind spot for many leaders: the appreciation gap. While nearly 60% of managers believe they regularly recognise their team, just over a third of employees say they actually receive that recognition. Ral and Jack unpack why traditional leadership styles have taught people with power to express gratitude less, and why treating great work as "just doing their job" is a fast track to losing your best people. And since talent is an organisation's ultimate competitive advantage, leading with genuine gratitude isn't a "soft skill" - it’s the way to win! And make you and your company $$$ ----Your support helps keep this show going — join us on Patreon. https://tinyurl.com/jacandralpatreon New Episode Every Monday Follow the show https://www.instagram.com/keepingitrealwithjacandral/ https://open.spotify.com/show/5yIs5ncJGvJyXhI55Js0if?si=aCNOdB68QnOGnT0vCTPcPg Follow Jac https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacphillips/https://www.instagram.com/jac.phillips.coaching/ Follow Ral https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabrielledolan/ https://www.instagram.com/gabrielledolan.1/ Produced by Keehlan Ferrari-Brown