Criminal justice lawyer, Michael Kuzilny is bursting with positive vibes. From his self-funded tv show Tough Times Never Last, down to his daily voicemail of well wishes and spreading of sunshine, Michael says sharing a little bit of kindness goes a long way.

Starting off his career in the police force, Michael says his exposure to death and crime opened him up to the amount of suffering that goes on in the world. After ten years of service, Michael became one of Melbourne’s leading criminal justice lawyers, serving those who have had personal struggles through crime due to circumstances in their life or their “turbulent” minds.

The suffering of people and their journeys out of difficult times inspired Michael to start up his own self-funded community tv show “A life in crime”. Originally interviewing former policemen, magistrates and legal ombudsman, people started to contact Michael with their own stories of hardship wanting to share them.

“I used to be very judgmental when I was in the police force but over the past 25 years I’ve come to realise that good people do make mistakes. So many people end up in the court of law which is sometimes due to the circumstances in their life or anxiety, stress and depression.”

Now, called “Tough Times Never Last” Michael draws in talent from all different backgrounds with diverse stories to tell. The importance of sharing these peoples stories are what have kept Tough Times going for over six years, winning Michael a ‘Best Male Host’ Antenna award.

“I think it’s so important to have tv shows like this because in the last 8 years I’ve had so many phone calls from people who have watched somebody on the show and whatever that person said saved the viewers life.”

But with the end of community television around Australia, the future of Tough Times was at a standstill but, Michael says instead of broadcasting on channel 31 he will move the medium of his show to live interactive seminars where he will bring in guest talkers, similar to the show.

“It’s a sad shame that community television around Australia is coming to an end. It’s such a commercialised world now. A lot of things we see on tv are fabricated and pretentious. Not many shows are about real people are real stories. Community tv has authenticity and a lot of people enjoy it.

With his positive outlook on life Michael says over the years he has learned the key to happiness is a great attitude and self-acceptance.

“I think happiness starts with inner peace and knowing one’s self. A lot of people need groups around them and are influenced by others opinions but once you make friends with yourself you will never again be lonely and you will start attracting beautiful people in your life”.

From his online following and passionate people who volunteer on the show its clear Tough Times draws a large audience facing the real realities of life. Through the sharing of personal tough times in life, audiences experiencing similar circumstances realise any obstacle is achievable.

All it takes is a positive attitude. As Michael often says, “Tough time’s never last but tough people do.”

Tune into Tough Times Never Last on Thursday at 7pm on Aurora, or Channel 31 Friday 9pm.