The John Borland Podcast

John is joined by Jessie Perkins to talk about the transition from childhood to adulthood. It's a journey that all of us undertake and yet it can be incredibly difficult to navigate. Becoming a grown up is a process that many of us find trickier than we perhaps expected. John and Jessie talk honestly about their experiences, a generation apart, of becoming a grown up. The fails, the successes and...

John is joined by Michael Carr to talk about the nagging sensation that something is bound to go wrong. Michael shares his story of realising just how much this feeling has impacted his life and his leadership. John and Michael discuss how this thinking lingers even through success and achievement, the pros and cons of feeling this way, and where these negative thoughts may have come from. Michael...

John is joined by Claire Mackenzie to discuss the idea of 'Finding Your Voice'. Sharing personal experience of times when they have both struggled to feel heard, John and Claire talk about how vital a sense of being understood is to all of us. In the process, revealing the importance of belonging, finding our tribe and stepping away from places that stifle our voice. Claire MacKenzie is a Career T...

John is joined by his very good friend, Mark Oliver, to talk all things Cancel Culture. In an age where people are being 'Cancelled' and ostracised for opinions they voice and actions they have taken. John and Mark discuss the rights and wrongs of Cancel Culture, how we balance accountability with grace and whether it is Cancel Culture itself that perhaps needs cancelling? Mark Oliver is a sports...

John is joined by Jessica King to talk all things ego. Jessica shares her story of discovering her ego, getting to know it, and recognising how much it has affected her life. She opens up about her struggles to be aware of her ego and how she is learning to lessen its influence. John and Jessica discuss the negative impact that ego has on all of us and how we can best start to understand and deal...

John is joined by Chris Baker, to talk about what it is like to work a 'Thankless Task' and to do a job where the successes and rewards are far and few between. John and Chris discuss their own experiences of dealing with disappointment, learning to stay motivated and constantly looking for the 'small wins'. From the struggles to the rewards, they share their own stories of finding ways to keep th...

John is joined by Annie McKinnon, to talk about sexuality, pronouns, and gender identity. Annie shares her journey of understanding and accepting her own sexuality, how she has embraced who she is and why she is now such an active member of the LGBTQ+ community. John and Annie discuss their thoughts on how to make sense of these topics and how as a society we can all expand our understanding. Anni...

John is joined by Emma Hardy to talk about her experience of ditching the life plan she had, and finding a new path in life. John and Emma discuss just how strong our life plans can be, and how often the plan we are following isn't even our plan. Understanding where these life plans come from, knowing when to ditch the plan and learning how we can find our own way forward, John and Emma share thei...

John is joined by Danielle Thomas to talk about her experience of having her first child in the middle of lockdown, and the loss she experienced of things not going as she had imagined they would. John and Danielle share their thoughts on learning to deal with life when it doesn't go the way we thought it would, and how we can flip our thinking to help ourselves flow through this unpredictable lif...

John is joined by Marie Govan to talk about the pressure of being outstanding. As a teacher, Marie shares her experience of living with the constant burden of having to achieve an 'outstanding label', and how that has translated into her wider life. John and Marie discuss the idea of letting go of the striving to be exceptional, and learning to embrace being good enough. Marie Govan is a teacher a...

John is joined by Master Stuart Usher, to talk about the life lessons he has learnt through his dedication to martial arts. From a bullied child to a real-life Mr Miyagi, Stuart shares the disciplines, principles and mindsets he has developed through his life-long passion and the difference they have made to him and his students. John and Stuart talk through the importance of discovering balance,...

John is joined by his old friend and team-mate, Chris Brass, talking about how to deal with public humiliation. Sharing his story of scoring one of the most bizarre and viewed own goals of all time, Chris describes how he has handled the pressure of such a public mistake. He describes where he has found the resilience to bounce-back from it and how he is now using the experience to help others. Jo...

John is joined by special guest, Elly Dolan, to talk about the importance of both playing and pausing. With a background in early years and vast experience of helping people to learn within nature, Elly shares her thoughts on why rediscovering the art of play is so vital for us. From letting go of the shame that so often comes with playing to learning how to truly play. John and Elly share their o...

John is joined by special guest, Jude Simpson, to discuss the idea of being confident within our own creativity. As a poet and performer, Jude shares her experiences of finding and losing confidence and how different factors in life have had an impact upon her confidence levels. John and Jude discuss the challenges of creating material and putting it out into the public domain, how their confidenc...

John is joined by special guest, Paul Edworthy to discuss the idea that life is a journey not a destination. Inspired by the thinking of Carl Rogers, Paul shares his thoughts on how he has learnt to shift his perspective from living a life of destinations to a life of journeying. In learning to be more present, discovering how to navigate life's challenges and being less goal-orientated, John and...

John is joined by old friend Derek Jones to talk about the importance of finding rest within our lives. Busyness is all around us, the hustle and bustle of our modern lives can be overwhelming. John and Derek share their thoughts on how we can step back from the rush of life, learn to slow down and find rest within our modern lifestyles. From actively planning slow moments, to taking charge of our...

John is joined by Coach and Communication Specialist, Nicola Ellwood, to talk about life as a new mum and how she's managed the transition to motherhood whilst continuing to work in her business. There is possibly no greater change we experience than parenthood which comes with untold pressures, expectations and shifts in our lives. Nicola shares how she has manged to find her own way of doing thi...

John is joined by special guest Aimee Moore to talk about her experiences of wanting so desperately to be a mum but finding it difficult to conceive. Through the hope and the hopelessness, Aimee shares her story of this often-taboo subject and how her journey took her from polycystic ovaries to life-threatening complications and a whole variety of medical intervention. She shares with John the raw...

John is joined by special guest Rebecca Hewick to discuss how we can reframe failure to be a force for good in our lives. So many of us fear failing so much that we avoid anything that might even risk the idea of falling short. Rebecca shares with John her experiences in the world of body building and how failure has played its part in spurring her on.  How she has been able to fail over and over...

John is joined by 9-year-old Charlie Smith to talk about his life with cerebral palsy. As a school pupil and part-time model, actor and voice-over artist, Charlie has some incredible insight into the impact his disability has upon him. His attitude towards his cerebral palsy is perhaps surprising but most definitely inspiring, as he shares with John his thoughts on the pros and cons of disability,...

John is joined by special guest, Elliot Needham, to talk about his experiences of being raised as an only child. There are so many myths, beliefs, and ideas around the positive and negative impacts of being raised without siblings. Elliot shares his journey through childhood and into adulthood of how being an only child has and hasn't affected him, blowing away some of those myths in the process....

John is joined by special guest, Graham Daniels, to discuss the power of culture; how we change it, build it and maintain it. As a director of Cambridge United FC, Graham reflects on how to develop culture within the cut-throat world of a professional football club. John and Graham share their thoughts on the influence that culture has within all our lives and how we can consciously build better c...

John is joined by special guest, Joe Rafter, to talk about how growth and self-development can come from loss. Joe shares his story from processing grief after the loss of his son, to finding ways forward and the choices he made to grow himself. An inspiring insight into the extreme lows and highs of life, Joe reveals his own philosophies on how growth and development is possible for all of us. Jo...

John is joined by special guest, Luke Thompson, to talk about stepping out of comfort zones and in particular the social comfort zone which we all have. Luke shares his own fears and struggles with stepping away from the known and into the unknown. Worrying what others may think and fearing losing face. John and Luke talk through the challenges and benefits of exploring life beyond our social comf...

John is joined by special guest, Janice Woodcock, to talk about the importance of communication and the impact that developing good social skills in early life has on our success, health and happiness in later life. From the '30 Million Word Gap', to 'Invisible Children' and how language plays  such a huge part in our overall development, John and Janice reveal why communication is the most import...