Passing the Torch: George’s Dad on the True Cost of Success

Send us Fan Mail A builder’s world used to be simple: do the job, get paid, move to the next one. Now a “small” task can mean permits, traffic management, insurance docs, inspections booked weeks out, and a council timeline that turns days into months. We sit down with our guest Steve Passas and get brutally honest about why the Australian construction industry feels harder than ever and how red tape, delays, and rising compliance costs force good builders to charge more just to do the work properly. From there, the chat widens into the kind of perspective you only get from someone who has lived a few lives. Steve shares how he came to Australia young, worked his way through the food industry, then used that hustle to fund his way into building and development. We also talk about Greece, his village on Lesvos, and why he measures “wealth” as quality of life, real friends, and the ability to feel at home in more than one place. Then we hit the big one: artificial intelligence, robotics, and the future of work. Steve explains why AI makes the internet look like a warm-up, why people fear change, and why ignoring tools like AI assistants is a fast way to fall behind. We debate robot labor, Tesla Full Self-Driving, robot taxis, and what happens to society when transport, warehouses, and even entry-level professional roles get automated. If you care about construction, AI adoption, job disruption, or where the next decade is heading, this conversation will stick with you. Subscribe, share this with a mate, and leave a review with one job you think AI replaces sooner than people expect.