Rest and Recreation

Building self confidence and self-awareness is the key to recovering from trauma and mental illness. Anu Verma has lived experience of numerous different types of abuse. Anu now works to support other survivors to understand their experiences and learn how to develop the confidence and self-awareness so that they can regain their individual power and live authentically. WARNING This episode of Res...

Sometimes it takes a kick in the teeth for us to start living our best life. Amie Yaniak has a successful career as a music therapist, until the COVID lockdown. Then Amie received a stage four cancer diagnosis. That news was the catalyst for Amie to change her life for the better. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, Amie and host Michael Millward explore...

Friends are hard to find, but when life gets busy, friends are very easy to lose. That is the reality for many people. Regardless of our age, life throws all sorts of demands on our time, it is often if not usually our friendships that get left on the sidelines. That was the predicament that Daniella Granzotto was in until she discovered the Wednesday Waffles concept and decided to turn the weekly...

B. Able stands at the forefront of a new narrative: one that challenges stereotypes and demands that the world “see the able, not the label.” Revolutionary recording artist, songwriter, actor and saxophonist B. Able blends hip-hop, R&B, soul, and jazz influences to create music that awakens awareness as much as it entertains. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and R...

A fascination for facts led to a curiosity about the people behind the facts Rashad Woods is the host of T.R.O.N. the hit podcast that developed out of his fascination with facts and the people who worked on the projects that resulted in the fact. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation, Rashad describes to host Michael Millward how having the encyclopaedia Br...

Exploring empathy and understanding how to teach empathy. After a career in paediatric health care Roxanne Daleo decided to focus on helping children and the adults who care for them to manage their stress levels by understanding themselves and other people. That explains Roxanne in this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation is a good summary of what empathy is. Rox...

Exploring how LBGTQ+ people experience life and how we can all ally to be more supportive. For Zach Randles-Friedman podcasting started as a hobby, but the success of his two podcasts, Everything & Anything… and a Bit Gay, a long-form interview podcast and the daily short-form LGBTQ+ new programme Listen Up Girl provided him with the opportunity to consider becoming a full time podcaster. Zach...

Exploring what we mean by work life balance and considering if there might be a better way. Cindy Koehler is a transformational business and life coach, and founder of Mind Garage . In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation Cindy explains to host Michael Millward that we are wrong to view success in life as the achievement of a good work life balance. Instead, C...

Karen Rudolf introduces the tool she has developed to help people live their authentic life. Karen Rudolf is the founder of the Tranquil Soulution and creator of the Mind Mosaic Clarity Tool. The Mind Mosaic Clarity Tool helps people to understand how they can avoid the pressures to just follow the crowd and instead live their authentic life. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podca...

A.I. could be the secret to you having more successful dates and finding your ideal partner. Rakesh Naidu is the founder of Fate, a connection app that uses Agentic AI to bring empathy and authenticity back into how people meet. Fate users don’t have to engage in endless swiping. Instead, Fate users engage in voice-first interactions and adaptive matching guided by AI that learns from human tone,...

The way we work impacts how much leisure time we have and how well we can enjoy that leisure time. Jessper Maquindang is the founder of Familead Consulting a specialist in improving employee productivity and engagement. The expression is, work life balance, but many people believe that the order should be reversed, life work balance. This they argue is because life is more important than work. The...

Successful entrepreneur Aaron Christy describes how he spends his leisure time Aaron Christy is the founder and CEO of the Indianapolis based roofing company Indy Roof and Restoration . In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation Aaron describes to host Michael Millward how he likes to spend his leisure time and the how his leisure time decisions impacted the way...

Myla is a Ukrainian American DJ and producer of rave music. In this episode of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation Myla and host Michael Millward discuss Myla’s career and how she likes to relax. Myla has an international profile on the dance scene. She has played on specialist rave Caribbean cruises, in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and the Netherlands, as well as the United St...

When something unexpected happens, it is amazingly useful to have the key information in one place. As Suke Ridler lay in hospital listening to a doctor saying that they could not do anymore to help her, her first thoughts were not about herself. Suke was worried about the mess that she would be leaving behind for her family to sort out. Administering modern life is complex. Just like Suke very fe...

Why do high achievers find it so difficult to adjust to life in retirement? Elizabeth Zelinka Parsons was a high achieving lawyer in a big firm, until the day she decided that she didn’t want to be. Moving into retirement was hard work. Once settled into a new lifestyle Elizabeth wrote the guide for transitioning from work to retirement. That book is Encore A High Achievers Guide to Retirement. In...

Dylan Garcia, uses funk and neo-soul music and his smooth vocals to tell stories about the emotional side of being a man Dylan Garcia is a successful singer and songwriter of songs that tell the emotional rollercoaster of life from the perspective of a man’s man. His lyrics evoke the inner strength of an honest man who is not afraid to show his vulnerability as he deals with the highs and lows of...

Exploring a user's guide to your life, with lessons from the life lived by Peter Samuelson. Peter Samuelson is a successful Oscar winning film producer and founder of seven not-for-profit organisations including the Starlight Children’s Foundation and First Star . Peter is also the author of Finding Happy. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Peter de...

Sometimes the most difficult thing you can do is working out how to be you G Scott Graham is an author of more than 30 books, a career coach, business coach, and psychedelic support coach based in Boston, Massachusetts. Scott volunteers as an EMT instructor, firefighter, and Master Gardener in his community. Scott also runs a farm animal rescue centre. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the w...

Me First Darling – a conversation with author Cheri Darling Meet Cheri Darling the author of Me First Darling A Sacred Guide to Healing, Boundaries, and Becoming Your Own Rescue. Cheri Darling is the hostess of the Ta Ta Darling, a one-of a kind wellness Airbnb nestled in the heart of Temecula Wine Country in California, USA. Cheri is also a military spouse, professional photographer, wellness adv...

Looking back on twelve months of Rest and Recreation Michael Millward the founder and managing director of Abeceder marks the first year as host of the Abeceder work life balance podcast Rest and Recreation. Find out more about Michael Millward at Abeceder.co.uk . Audience Offers – listings include links that may create a small commission for Rest and Recreation Travel – Holidays can play an impor...

A faith-based self-improvement book that defines four truths that can help us be successful, and the dangerous lie that can stop anyone from succeeding. By any standards Terry Tucker has had an extraordinary life. He has been a family carer, police hostage negotiator, and high school sports coach, amongst many other things. So, Terry was destined to deal with being diagnosed with a rare cancer in...

Children of immigrants can be caught between cultures, or they can embrace both and build a business that is inspired by their heritage. Wendy Jensen was a corporate executive who became an author , artist, and the founder of Scandinavian Hearts . What started as a passion for sharing her family’s Scandinavian traditions has grown into a business built on meaningful stories, handmade gifts, and cu...

Your hobbies and how you contribute to your community can shift—and that’s okay. It doesn’t have to stay the same every year (or even every month). Seasons change, and so do we. Gaby Estrada works in a start-up alongside working on her own business Poquillo as well. That coupled with volunteering in her community and a wide range of hobbies and fitness activities means that she is a busy person. I...

If you feel lonely more often than you feel connected to people, this episode of Rest and Recreation is for you. Surviving childhood abuse made Sharon Rolph crave invisibility. Later in life she realised that invisibility didn’t really suit her. In retirement Sharon Rolph discovered passions that led to her becoming a coach helping retired people enjoy a useful, seen and relevant life. In this epi...

Understanding how to sleep in a healthily Bart Henderson was set on a legal career, until he started looking at how he was contributing to society. The ensuing thought process resulted in him setting up the Agora Guild , a community for men that is built on kindness, strength and chivalry. In this episode of Rest and Recreation, the work life balance podcast from Abeceder Bart and host Michael Mil...