Living Inside Out with Toks

Raising our teens today in this digital age can be quite challenging, but Celia shows the world that it can be beautiful and fun. Chances are that you have had someone say something negative about raising teenagers. Every generation is different and has to navigate the world in a way the previous one didn't. In this episode, I chat with Celia Toks and her adorable teenage daughters about how there...

One thing we know is that trials have a clarifying effect on us. Things start to make sense, solutions to long-ago problems emerge, and we create new resolutions. But this only happens if you have a mindset of expectancy, one that is looking for precious gems. And we can only get into that mental space if we are resilient. In this episode, I share some tips on building your resilience. If it has e...

Meet Kiki! She is on a mission to see the male child raised into world-class leaders, while encouraging a healthy relationship between fathers and their sons. As a mum to four boys, I subscribe wholeheartedly to this mission. I believe girls should be empowered, but Kiki says this has translated to the empowerment of our sons being ignored. Listen and let's chat about this on social- @toksaruoture...

Does it feel like we, the citizens of the world, can't catch a break? In this episode,  I share three steps for navigating uncertainty. The world has been shifted out of its comfort zone, and many of us feel unsettled, unsure and unwilling to accept that this season may be here to stay.  From the pandemic and lockdown to talks of a financial crisis which kept us on edge, waiting for the axe to fal...

I sit down for a tete-a-tete with the beautiful Beverly Adaeze, content creator, lifestyle, beauty and travel influencer. We chat about growing up, African parenting (of course!), life as a content creator, and our shared affection for fried plantains! Oh, and why did she move to Columbia? Plus, our Christian Faith.   Is there someone inspiring you'd like to see featured on Living Inside Out? Drop...

Have you been wondering if your new year resolutions will last? It's the start of 2023, and we are surrounded by more inspiration and motivation than ever. It would appear, actually, that we are in an incubator, and you may be feeling unbelievably optimistic. Or perhaps you feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable as you struggle and fail to get into the new year, new me vibe. If that's you, you're not...

Has your dream taken a detour? Dreams and visions are invisible, a preview of what is to come, but how can you ensure they manifest as a physical reality?   In this episode, I share a powerful concept that God taught me to believe in and manifest my dreams. Too many of us embark on a path with joy and certainty only to give up halfway because the journey does not resemble what we imagined. We ofte...

You know what it's like to discover somebody whose life inspires you greatly? And you are so moved by them that their life becomes your classroom. In addition, these are not necessarily motivational speakers who speak and share their knowledge; these are people whose existence in themselves is a lesson for all. In this episode, I share some people who have impacted my life simply by living theirs....

To understand where you stand today and how you got there, you've got to know where you've been. In this episode, I catch you up on the last three months; I have been on hiatus for that long. It has been a trying season, and while I am still physically in that space of lesson learning, challenges, mentally, I have departed, which is good.   Our difficulties come to teach and stretch us. I believe...

Down memory lane has many benefits, but only if you know to navigate your way to the right spots. There are gems hidden in the dark places we left behind. We shy away from going back there because of the painful memories, but do you know that you displayed incredible strength in that space?   How else would you have been here to tell the tale? Yes, it was hard, but you survived. Yes, it was dark,...

No doubt you have heard and perhaps used the adage, Seeing is believing. This suggests that you cannot deny what you can physically see. It also means that if you can't see it, it doesn't exist.   In this episode, I challenge you to reverse that thinking; you see what you believe. The unseen world is superior to the seen; everything we see today started in the mind- either in the mind of the Creat...

The Middle Ground. The Neutral Zone. Mediocrity. In this episode, I share my thoughts on what mediocrity looks like.  Because it can show up looking like ambition. Years ago, after losing everything, I went from aiming for the stars to aiming for normalcy. The story of the temptation of Eve in the Bible forms the backdrop for this episode as I recently found myself on shaky ground. And I needed to...

In this episode, we carry on from last week, reviewing powerful lessons learned this year. Lessons are like breadcrumbs that show you the way forward; if you don't learn them, you'll soon find yourself going through the same challenge again.   April: I learned that taking action in one area often results in a blessing being released in another. We tend to plant a seed and watch for it to grow on t...

We are officially in the second half of  2022, and in this landmark Episode #60, I look back at the year thus far.   I believe life is jam-packed with lessons, and those lessons come to help us navigate the onward journey.   So I thought I'd bring you into my sacred space, my journal, to see some life-changing lessons that didn't make it into the podcast- or my social media platforms. If living in...

Everyone talks about going for your dreams, don’t hold back, being resilient, etc. these are well-meaning phrases repeated by motivational gurus, but just how easy is it to go for your dreams? We can all agree resilience is necessary if we are to keep going, but how do we build strength when we get knocked down before we can stand straight up again?   By having a non-negotiable why.   In this epis...

In this Episode, I take you back in time to my early days in business; because the good stuff is always readily available to see. Let's face it, I am more likely to post a link of a press interview that shows me in a good light, than I am if the article said some not so nice things about me. Life, business is hard. This isn't just a cliche but a statement of fact.   But just because it's true does...

In this episode, I share my thoughts on taking ownership of three areas of your life that can place you in the driving seat of your life.  No one likes pain and disappointments; no one wants to be the bearer of mistakes. If we could choose, I’m sure we’d choose the good, the pleasant all the time, or at least more often than we currently experience it.  I believe life is a balance between pleasant...

Years ago, I learned to stop searching for the exit door whenever I found myself in a dark place. I considered the possibility of there being a lesson, a hidden gem and I was supposed to find it. I believe every challenge comes to teach us something, and we will learn the lesson when we stop running and start seeking.   In this episode, I share the mindsets to adopt when going through the fire to...

Have you ever been in a place where you are clear on what you want, but unseen forces seem to stop you from achieving it? In this episode, we look at how our response to our emotions can determine whether or not we manifest our dreams.   Once you have a clear picture of where you are headed, and you can get yourself to believe that the picture is valid and you deserve to enjoy it, you now need to...

Did you know that the pieces of your dream are scattered on your path? Signposts and suggestions, directions and instructions, are all snippets or at least indications of the complete picture of your life, and as you journey, you are meant to pick them up.   In this episode, I pull out lessons from the early days of running my business and how I learned to recognise the pieces of my imagined futur...

"How well do you work under stress?"   This is a question asked during interviews, and if you answer in the affirmative, you score some brownie points.   In our society, working and living under stress is almost celebrated to the point where we question ourselves when life is going too smoothly. In this episode, I share a discovery I made during my recent vacation; the possibility of living and gr...

Cynicism is ugly. It will steal opportunities from you by whispering in your ear that the opportunity is here to take advantage of you.   Your  comfort zone's boundary line  is made up of limiting beliefs holding hands in a circle. If you are going to break into new territory, you have got to confront such mindsets, cynicism is one of them.   Cynicism is doubt or disbelief in the professed motives...

If like me you are feeling somewhat heavy from all the bleak news around, this episode is for you. There's a well-known saying that says a boat does not sink because of the water around it, it only sinks because of the water that gets inside it.   If we are going to thrive and fulfil the purpose we were created for, we've got to fortify our insides, while at the same time, making sure the water ar...

In this 50th episode, I share three observations on the differences between an abundance and a poverty mindset. People who live with an unrestricted mentality as it relates to provision share some traits, three of which I discuss in this episode.   Abundance is often associated with material wealth- especially by people who live sensually; i.e they experience and understand life primarily by their...

Episode #49 is packed with many gems. I am excited to share some more on the abundance mindset in this episode, following on from the previous one. To recap;   Abundance is a mindset. It is not the things you own There's a difference between an abundance mindset and a lack or poverty mentality.  Poverty hides true wealth. And by this, I mean your mind and body can only accommodate so much. By free...