Another Door Opens

"One of the main things you can do to be happy is to have a purpose in life. If you don't have a purpose, you're not going to be happy."   Speaker and happiness expert Richard Clarke joins me to talk about navigating the emotional transitions of selling his company, what years of studying workplace happiness has taught him, and why we should ignore clichés and get practical about what really drive...

"Having it all for me means being in control of the trade-offs I'm making and splitting my time amongst the things that I find important rather than chasing somebody else's dream of this… superwoman who's doing everything and still being a mum and a worker."     Author, commercial leader and speaker Fiona McDonnell shares what maternity, careers with brands like Amazon, Nike and Booking.com, and a...

"Bravery for them is, well, I can sack 12,000 people and I can do it in an email at 9:30 on a Monday morning. That's not bravery, that's cowardice. I would look them in their face and go, you're a coward. Just because you've got the power…it doesn't make you brave at all."   When is a "brave" decision really just avoiding humanity? David McQueen, leadership consultant, speaker, and author joins me...

"I'm speaking from proof, from experience…I do believe, if you really, really, really want to do something, you can."   What happens when doors open to unimaginable fame, and then close again, leaving you to find a new way forward?  In this very honest episode, Anthony Hutton, Big Brother winner, barber, and founder of Never Throw in the Towel joins me for a conversation about navigating extremes:...

"Multiple things can be true. There's nothing binary about life."   What happens when you step into the unknown, let go of predefined paths, and allow yourself to be messy, vulnerable, and unfinished? In this episode, Ada Parris artist, storyteller, and author of Leadership Legacy: A Manifesto to Create a Mindful Future and a Thriving Planet, talks about about paradox, transformation, and intentio...

" The sort of door that closed for me was not necessarily somebody else shutting a door, but me shutting the door on putting work above everything but my health. "   What happens when the drive for success, identity, and achievement gets shaken by something that stops you in your tracks? In this episode, Stefanie Sword-Williams, founder of Fuck Being Humble and author of Career Comedown, shares he...

"I ended up losing that business. And not only did we lose the business, but we had self-funded it. So we lost our home, all our savings, my pension, everything... So that was a door that closed that I was not anticipating." What do you do when multiple doors slam shut all at once, career, home, health, identity?  In this episode, Andrea McLean, broadcaster, author and former Loose Women host, sha...

"We, as adults, go from seeing the world as a playground of possibilities to a proving ground, the need to prove to 'myself and to others that I'm worthy'. And when you have that mindset, the playfulness goes away because you're not seeing the world as something that is playful that you can experiment with."  What happens when your life's defining door suddenly closes, not just once but in a casca...

"Confidence is the first step of protest. And whether that is a protest where you make a sign and you go and stand outside down the street, or whether it's a protest when you're in a doctor's surgery room and the doctor's not listening to you, or whether it's a protest at the school gates because your kid's teacher's not taking your kid's needs seriously. Confidence is the first step of that self-...

"I have found, when I've shared my fails as well as the journey to getting to my wins, the people who are there with me at the winning line, that finish line, are more involved in that story because they've come with me on the journey. And more often than not, the fails on the journey have led to more opportunities landing for me because people want to talk to me about the fails more than the the...

In this heartfelt conversation, Anthony Kavanagh shares the ups and downs of his journey from aspiring pop star to author, exploring themes of resilience, vulnerability, and authentic self-expression. This episode is about overcoming personal challenges and embracing life's unpredictable twists.   Key topics we cover -  Anthony's early dreams of music and the drive to succeed in the 90s pop scene...

"Don't confuse comfort with alignment. Just because something is familiar, stable, or impressive on paper doesn't mean it's meant for who you're becoming or what the universe has in store for you." What happens when you land the job that seemed perfect only to find, deep down, it isn't right at all? In this episode, Cara-Lyn talks about the daunting process of leaving a high-profile role that simp...

Ever wondered what happens when you say "yes" to life's weird coincidences and let them lead you somewhere completely new?  In this episode I talk to Joy France, a retired teacher turned poet, performer, and battle rapper about her wild ride into creativity and adventure… all by simply following unexpected doors as they opened.  Joy shares her story of evolving after retirement: from socially anxi...

#168: Paying attention to endings, the power of closing things well with Philip Atkinson "Keep moving, keep learning, keep investing in your own development. Don't hang on to the value that you used to have that's no longer relevant, no longer fit for purpose." Have you ever felt the seasons of your own life shifting, nudging you to find the courage to start anew? That's exactly what we're explori...

"Life's been tough over the last couple of years not just for me, but economically, for a lot of businesses. If I can bring joy into business owners' lives and make them feel better about what they're doing, that's brilliant." Ever wondered how to reopen doors (or even build brand new ones) after life throws you a curveball? This episode is all about finding the spark of joy, even in your darkest...

"Be brave enough to say yes even if it wasn't in your niche or part of 'the plan'. That's what keeps you moving forward before you're ready for that next door to open." Ever wrestled with the idea of turning down your "dream job"?  This episode is exploring the tricky decisions we have to make in moments of change and how to solve leadership problems that are really just life problems in disguise....

"It's not a tick box exercise. It's a genuine need to care for people and other human beings. Ultimately they'll thrive again given the right support…and bring a whole new level of compassion and empathy if they're nurtured the right way." What happens when your life changes in an instant, not by choice but by tragedy? In this episode I'm with Caroline Roodhouse, who shares her incredibly moving s...

"No matter what you do in life, you're gonna get judged. You may as well just embrace exactly what you want to do at that moment in time. Open that door. Go through it. You'll be a bit scared. It'll be new, it'll be novel. You'll definitely learn a lot about yourself. You will be challenged, you will be supported."  What happens when you choose to walk away from what society expects of you and ste...

"If you look for them, glimmers, these little micro moments of joy, are everywhere."  What if being lost isn't a problem to fix, but a path to joy and self-discovery? In this episode, I speak with Gavin Oattes author, speaker, creativity advocate, and former stand-up comedian for a conversation about closing doors, moving forward, and how letting go can be the bravest thing you do. Gavin shares hi...

"Start to not tolerate things, and the bigger things will become easier." What if the hardest (and most transformative) endings in our lives are the ones we choose ourselves?  In this episode, I chat with Elizabeth Aldana, Breakup Artist, coach, and advocate for navigating change on your own terms. Elizabeth shares her story of moving across the world from LA to Singapore in a whirlwind week, not...

"Change is messy, but it's also fertile ground. Pause. Rest. Play. Try. Restart. The five steps aren't a life 'hack' , they're a thinking space to get you through so that you can find joy, calm and opportunity amongst the chaos." How good are you at navigating change? What happens when life throws you out of your comfort zone and into the unknown? How do you let go, rest, experiment, and eventuall...

"If you look back on your life and see that you would have done something differently, that means you're wiser now than you were then. And that means, by definition, the best thing you've ever done is ahead of you and will always be ahead of you."   What happens when you walk away from the thing that defined you, your job, your identity, your sense of success and step into a space of not knowing? ...

"Are you at least willing to push through the discomfort so that the team can win, so that your family can win, so that the mission can win and ultimately perhaps so that you can win?" Have you ever had life slam a door in your face maybe even in the most public way possible? What if, in that moment, you could hit pause, dig into the mess, and come out the other side with fresh lessons (and maybe...

"When you're too comfortable, when you have space to overthink, then nothing happens... But when there's fire under you, you have to move, or you die." In this episode, we are joined by Mike Morrison, entrepreneur, founder of Membership Geeks, and a true veteran of life's unexpected detours.  Mike shares openly about the many doors that have closed throughout his career and personal life, includin...

"Resist that urge to jump right into job applications and start applying. You want to give yourself some space to process what you've been through and maybe avoid making any big decisions." In this episode, we have Steve Jaffe, author of The Layoff Journey: From Dismissal to Discovery. Steve has been laid off four times during his career each time making space for reflection, resilience, and ultim...