Exploring the creativity of the human spirit with just five simple questions. Those questions give us a window to explore the journey and life story of people that look like they have it sorted.
Episodes
Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Thursday Nov 10, 2022
Are you on purpose? Our story today is about finding a purpose and living it because sailing the waves of life without direction or a rudder is an arduous journey.
My guest with me today is Adam Duran. He was the youngest sibling in his family and always felt like an underachiever. That failure pattern was repeated at and on into high school, where trouble became his middle name. He left without graduation, and his life was on the road to nowhere.
As always, with these stories, the universe offers a hand. During his high school years, Adam’s father rediscovered his faith and encouraged the family to attend church.
So at 18 and out of school without graduation and life looking so bleak, somehow church called him. That right, this tearaway lad was called to theological college, and he had a plan, and it was ministry.
It is fair to say that plan that did run straight, but it was an adventure. Adam built a life that his 15-year-old self never thought was possible. While at college, he met a girl, and they had a child. He got a job in law enforcement as she became a drug addict. Yes, it has all of the twists and turns of a good TV drama.
Living Life On Purpose
Our conversation is lively and passionate about how his faith was tested and how he came through the tough times. It is also about living with meaning and purpose and getting what you want. For Adam, it was always about being on purpose and focused. With hindsight, he can understand why his original plan for ministry became a 30-year career in law enforcement career. Because it was where he could be the most effective minister. It was about supporting those whose lives had begun like his but did not have the breaks that he had.
Adam is now retired from law enforcement, and he has moved into his second career as an Author, writer and speaker. He has taken his skills from ministry, law enforcement and fitness and written a book called “Live Life On Purpose.”
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/adam-duran-on-purpose
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories, however the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
Sunday Nov 06, 2022
Are you living beyond? Last week I spoke about how I was limiting myself by dithering over the race this weekend.
I have had a few more thoughts and want to talk to you about living beyond. Because this aspect of limits is a far broader conversation
Limits are everywhere, from society, employers, family and culture. And, of course, reality will give us a quick reminder of our limits far quicker than we can do it for ourselves.
So I encourage you to constantly push the boundaries rather than practice limitations; when we push, it is empowering.
It is about awareness. I know that my life gets smaller when I think smaller and bigger when I think bigger. When we can think outside of physical or mental limits, it is our thinking that moves forward.
With that awareness, we can change how we move forward and start living beyond
Living beyond our limits
In this show, we look at how breathing into a limit makes it a reality and how we might look beyond it and find the resources needed to get through it.
Last week before entering the race, my dithering was that I did not want to prove I am getting older. It was my breathing into being 59 and staring at 60. I left an open question on the podcast: Can I run 10K in under 48 minutes?
Spoiler no, I did not. However, I am ok with that.
In this show, I demonstrate how I used a process to make it possible for me to get through my limiting thoughts around this 10k race. The plan worked, well, sort of. I did not make the 48 minutes. But my race time today was 50 minutes and 1 second. Gutting not to get under 50 minutes.
As I said I am happy with that and it has given me a target to explore in 2023.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Thursday Nov 03, 2022
Thursday Nov 03, 2022
We are all seeking freedom in some way or another and many of my guests over time have said that freedom was their biggest driver. In reality, we have the desire to be free to choose our own path.
For our guest on today’s show, the search for freedom began at a German international school in Hong Kong in the 1980s and continued into her 40s
Simran Sondhi is one of 3 siblings born in the UK to Indian/ English parents. Her father was in banking and a career opportunity came up which involved a family relocation to Hong Kong. It was a shift to a new country and a colonial culture, which for a six-year-old was difficult.
It was those formative years that started her on a path of struggle and a search for freedom. Of course, her daily life in HK gave her a privileged background but the path was structured and almost set for her. Growing up in Hong Kong she was always the outsider and keen to leave soon as she could.
There was no question that she would go to university, and it was her opportunity to escape back to London. She attended the London School of Economics and studied International relations and economics with a plan to be a war journalist.
However, the LSE is a shoo-in for the banking industry and they were the only interviews she was getting. So she started a career as an investment banker.
Although Banking was not what she wanted it was an exciting career and gave her much of the freedom that she was craving. However, she always felt undervalued and as a woman in banking, it was not an easy journey.
But despite the challenges, she stayed for 12 years until the fallout from the financial crash kicked her out of the industry.
The Search for Freedom
Our conversation is about her journey as her career endured many twists and turns with years in different industries from luxury hotels, to holistic nutrition, finally culminating with pharmaceuticals.
The journey took her across continents and a myriad of roles. Transformation became her nemesis; having to start again from scratch multiple times has defined her life journey. She became the renegade, discovered her power and that gave her the life and freedom she was always looking for.
Today Simran Sondhi walks a unique path. After years of experience, she uniquely blends the esoteric with the practical. She supports women, spiritual entrepreneurs and those in transition phases. Be it burn out loss of creativity to stuck in repetitive cycles.
She is an advanced Theta Healing practitioner and teacher. And uses a diverse set of modalities including Access Consciousness and Bars, Reiki, Bodytalk, Mindscape and her own channelings to craft both one-to-one as well as group experiences.
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/simran-sondhi-search-for-freedom
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories, however the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Thursday Oct 27, 2022
Saving lives, we don’t know the impact we have on those people around us with a word or a smile. My guest on the show has worn many hats. There was a time when he was saving lives for real, and today he saves life stories in the books he gets to publish. Many of them say writing a book has saved their life.
It is all about changing people’s situation or how they see it.
Our journey on the show is with Kevin long. He is a coach, book publisher, and mentor and has been the driving force behind hundreds of Amazon Bestsellers. He knows the power of mentorship because he experienced it young.
The First Mentor
As a child, much of Kevin’s upbringing was spent with his grandparents, and it was his grandfather who became his first mentor.
One of his grandads’ sayings was, “ Who am I going to make smile today” it’s a mantra that has stuck with Kevin, and he practices it daily.
Growing up in the 1970s when the phrase “personal development” had yet to be invented. But this wise grandfather gave Kevin the books, “ Think and Grow Rich” and “The Magic of thinking big.”
The entrepreneur was born, and Kevin started little micro businesses.
Life dealt a blow at 11 when Kevin developed brain cancer that stopped him from attending school. He was lucky and recovered, but unbeknown to his parents, he never returned to education and became a farmhand.
Grandad said to get a trade, so he became a carpenter. Years later, he became a fireman ( saving lives) and ultimately built a property empire. After a bit of hubris, he lost everything in the financial crash. He returned to carpentry with less than £1 in his bank account.
Our conversation is a fantastic journey. Kevin is a 2x cancer survivor who has been through a family break-up, unexpected deaths and accidents. But Kevin’s faith and confidence in the tools that he learnt so young gave him the resilience to carry him through to the next stage of his life.
Only 1% of Humanity Writes a Book.
He started the publishing company Babysteps in 2013, helping ordinary people publish books on Amazon. Only 1% of humanity gets a book published, so it is an excellent opportunity to leave a legacy and be part of a very exclusive club.
Today Kevin speaks on stages about authority through books and how everyone has a book inside them. The publishing business has a small team that supports the whole process of book creation, publishing and promotion.
Outside of that, Kevin is a grandfather building a life he loves spending lots of time exploring his other passion, fishing.
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/kevin-long-saving-lives
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories. However, the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Thursday Oct 20, 2022
Thursday Oct 20, 2022
How do we get real about money and what does that mean? Well given the current focus on Money in the global psyche I thought it was a good time to revisit the ideas around money and mindset.
We all have a money story, I have said before I remember my father trying to make the money he was counting go further. It was all the money he had and he kept moving from one envelope to the next looking to see which bills he could pay and the ones he could not. That image of there not being enough money stayed with me for years and it still comes up from time to time.
The show you are about to hear is from 2019 with Laura Powner, she is an accountant turned money mentor and she helps people get their heads straight about their money. Not just in the sense of how to manage and count it but how to receive more.
This show was in the early days of the podcast and it is so interesting to hear my voice which I think has changed a bit in the last 3 years.
Get Real About Money
Laura is a Chartered Accountant and hypnotherapist. While coming from the world of spreadsheets and numbers she is equally at home teaching clients how to build self-worth as a Mind & Money Mentor.
Do You Know Your Value
That is not a money question but it can have a bearing on how you spend and receive money. It is difficult to build your net worth if you do not think you are worth it. How many examples are there of people who get money and lose the lot?
Laura has worked with thousands of businesses over twenty years. She has helped clients launch, grow, turn around and sell their businesses by working on both the number and the mindset of the owner.
Known for her straight-talking approach, lots of humour and no “jargon. In her words, she is a lover of all things woo but balances this with a generous dose of muggle.
Laura could be a bit unnerving if you are used to normal accountants. It was a cracking conversation which went on well past the recording.
So let’s get real about money.
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/laura-powner-get-real-about-money
Sunday Oct 16, 2022
Sunday Oct 16, 2022
In this we shortcast, I am considering time and how we use it. Plus what that tells us about our values and what is important to us? It is an opportunity to explore your time.
Time is a big deal in the business world. Every so often, a post will come up on social media where someone will point out we all have the same 24 hours every day. And that we can all be the next Richard Branson.
While this is sort of true it is not helpful. Yes, we all have the same amount of time but we all have different values and reasons for how we use that time.
All time is relative to our experience. We have all been in a long boring meeting which seems like it will never end. On the reverse, we have all experienced time passing super quick, while in a flow state or that short holiday that passed in a flash.
Of course, we all think we are invincible. It is common to take each day for granted and as time passes is a fact of life. We are all on the journey until the end.
It is funny this conversation on today’s show was precipitated by a chance meeting with a friend I had not seen in many years. Two midlifers sharing notes on their life journey and the passage of time.
We had both come to the same conclusion It is how you explore your time that is a key factor in how you experience and enjoy life.
In the show, we introduce the idea of the time diary or plan and what it can tell you about your goal and desires.
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Wednesday Oct 12, 2022
Wednesday Oct 12, 2022
Explore your calling, are you on a life path that feeds your soul?
My guest on the show believes that everyone has a calling.
Richard Blank is a native of Philadelphia born to a family with more than the average means and there was a plan. He was on a path to an Ivy League education to study medicine or law.
But even at that age, he knew it was important to be inspired in his chosen career. Neither of these was his calling. He convinced his parents to let him take a different path. He went to the University of Arizona, earning a bachelor’s degree in communication and Spanish.
For his junior year at the age of 21, he took a semester at a university in Madrid. It was about absorbing the language and the Spanish way of life. While he did enjoy the party scene. He also took the opportunity to travel on trains and stay in youth hostels. He explored the art and culture of Europe.
On returning to the US he took an internship with a Spanish TV station. And for a while and another job working with an importer of Corona Beer.
He used his bilingual ability and communication skills to create opportunities for himself and built a career in telemarketer training.
The Big Break
The life-changing break came when he was 27 years old. He relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centres in San Jose.
He was hooked on the industry, the country and the culture
In his mid-30s he started his own call centre. It began with one seat in a communal office, and it was a slow and steady journey.
Today he owns a building and directly employs 150 people. Over the last 10-plus years, he has trained over 10,000 bilingual telemarketers. His hobby is collecting vintage pinball machines.
Explore your calling
What is so interesting about this interview, is that Richard has nothing to sell. He reached out to me because he was inspired by the work that we do. And the stories that we share at life passion and business. It is about our calling and why we are here.
Our conversation is not about telemarketing. It is about Richard’s life and the philosophy that has helped him move to a new country and build a successful business. It gives him the opportunity to give back to his adopted community.
He believes everyone has a calling. For him, it was to major in Spanish and explore the culture, and look where that got him. I hope this inspires you to explore your calling.
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/richard-blank-explore-your-calling
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories, however, the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Friday Oct 07, 2022
Friday Oct 07, 2022
We do not know what we do not know, this conversation is about how we see the world and how there are layers to our reality.
It is back to the stories, narratives and frameworks of society and how we are shaped by them.
My guest on the show is Morgana McCabe Allan it was her PhD that put her on the path to explore the patterns and constructs that we created for ourselves, which lead to her developing her model on the concept of radical wholeness.
Morgana was born in Pasley Scotland, at the time an area was in server industrial decline, it become one of the poorest regions, with the associated drugs and poverty. So humble beginnings, she also endured a lot of childhood illnesses that kept her out of early education.
In these situations, families either buckle and sink or rise above it. Morgana’s parents were able to model how to be better, it gave Morgana the support and resilience she needed.
Stated her first business at just 8 years old breeding small animals and went on to volunteer work as soon as she was old enough before starting work in retail.
Exploring Radical Wholeness
On leaving school she tried university but it was not for her, however, she went back as a mature student at the age of 22
She chose archaeology anthropology and Hispanic studies because it allowed for loads of fieldwork and travel. Now in education, she did her undergrad, master’s and PhD back to back over 13 years.
It was here that she lay the groundwork for her book Unbecoming and explored the ideas around radial wholeness.
It all lead to a multi-disciplinary PhD, she knew it would be accepted without corrections or rejected. As it happened it was acclaimed and the path into Accademia was open for her. But she knew she would never stay.
Our conversation is a look at the construct of society and how we can move beyond them.
For Morgana the work she has started in her PHD needed to be taken out into the world. She left college and worked with a charity for a year before going on to start her current project. Today Morgana is a business mindset, manifestation mentor and the author of the book Unbecoming, Your Unorthodox Guide to Radical Wholeness
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/morgana-mccabe-allan-radical-wholeness
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories, however, the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Thursday Sep 29, 2022
Talk about global impact. My guest on the show creates stories with her words and has captivated audiences worldwide with her powerful presentations.
But how that all began is one of those stories of the unexpected.
What does a girl do when some money arrives out of the blue just before her birthday? For my guest, that would normally have meant a party. But this year was different, it felt like there was a reason for this money to arrive.
Moira Ní Ghallachóir was born in Donegal but left to explore the world. She was living the London Life as a youth worker. From her Instagram feed, she was having a ball. But in reality, it was draining her soul, and there was a desire for something more.
When the money arrived with a birthday coming up, she saw it as a gift and packed a small bag, her journal and took the Eurostar to Paris.
Sitting in a cafe, with coffee, croissant and a journal, mulling over her future – the phone rings. On the screen comes up the word ‘Home’. That is the moment that changed Moira’s life. It was the signal to go home to Ireland.
On returning to Donegal she saw the place with new eyes and wanted to share it. She told the story and became a one-woman tourist development agency.
Our conversation is about her journey from uninspired Youth Worker to Irish Tourism to Business Mentor and International Speaker. And as she explains, success is reflected in the transformative experiences.
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/moira-ni-ghallachoir-global-impact
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories, however the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
Wednesday Sep 21, 2022
My guest on the show calls himself a “journeyman entrepreneur” he has built many businesses some worked some did not and he has worked in 20 minimum wage jobs.
If there is a core thread in the life of A. J Lawrence, it would be curiosity as it has driven most of his ventures.
When AJ was 11 one of his friends’ Dad bought a home computer for the family. This was the 1980s no one could use it. AJ was instantly hooked, it came with a stack of manuals, he read the lot and helped his friend’s family set it up while bartering time for his own use.
In the 1990s while at university he got a degree in Chemistry but it was logic where that attracted him, in his spare time he coded bulletin boards, while the internet existed it was not one that most of us would recognize. There was no google, firefox or Sarafi to surf the web.
His first business was seeded from an overheard conversation about the first piece of viral news that made the national papers. It lead him to create a tracking service for companies to see when their name was mentioned online. We would recognize this today as google alerts.
Although a part-time project it found some success but struggled and was costing more than he was making, it was an interview with a local paper that shifted his fortunes.
“ Local Boy Builds Web Technology sites “ was the headline and then the phone just kept ringing.
That little venture went through $1,000,000 in just 9 months, it caught the attention of a company that offered to buy him out. He accepted they went bust within months and he ended up with nothing.
That was his first of many business lessons.
It took a few years for him to get over that loss, in the meantime, he took on various project management roles and realised that his web business had given him a unique insight into the problems of web design and marketing.
Fast forward a few years and working for a digital agency it was a call from a client that encouraged him to step out on his own and start something better.
He built a digital services agency to over $ 7 million in annual billing when a crisis caused him to downsize, restructure and shed staff. He took a hit to the ego and lost his passion for the business.
When an offer came to buy the company he said yes to a 7 figure sum and this time it was different he got to keep the money.
Our conversation is about his entrepreneurial journey, it is about how he chased 8 figure success and looked at failure. AJ is very candid with us about his personal challenges. We look at the agency model and life after the big job. What it means to find balance with family and what is possible beyond the generation of money.
Today A.J. is a serial entrepreneur with multiple exits, an angel investor, growth expert, and host of the Beyond 8 Figures podcast.
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/aj-lawrence-beyond-8-figures
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories, however the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Wednesday Sep 14, 2022
Wednesday Sep 14, 2022
Beyond Grief Reprise. I am taking a break this week, so thought to reprise an episode from last year that seems relevant.
With Queen Elizabeth passing last week, many people are experiencing grief that they were not expecting. How does that work? Hence the reprise of my conversation Beyond Grief with Carol Henderson.
The conversation with Carol explores why we grieve and will shed some light on what people are feeling. I have not had any reaction to the queen's passing, but I have had a reaction to my son returning to University. It is exciting, its progress and opportunity for him and it has a bittersweet taste for me. Grief is everywhere.
I hope you find my conversation with Carol Henderson useful.
Carol Henderson Beyond Grief Reprise
What lies beyond grief? At some point in life, everyone dies. No matter what we do to avoid it, it's a fact. The real question is, how do we learn to live with it and how do we move on?
My guest Carole Henderson has had her journey with grief. Not only has she learned to live with it, but she has also discovered how to mourn well and support others to do the same.
But more importantly, as a Grief Recovery Educator and heart healer, the message she brings is that there are many forms of grief. From the devastating and sudden loss of someone close, right down to the grief we experience when we discover the last chocolate in the box has already gone!
No matter who you are, at some point you will have faced grief in some form or other. Join me for this educational journey about what it truly means to live well beyond grief.
Further details about this podcast along with Georgia’s website and social links are all available at:
https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/carole-henderson-beyond-grief-reprise/
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories, however the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Sunday Sep 11, 2022
Sunday Sep 11, 2022
Do you do your duty? What does that mean to you?
Queen Elizabeth passed this week, and it is the end of an era. The media is full of recognition for her 70 years of service and duty to the role of British Monarch. I wonder given a choice, how many of us would take on a job where there was no leaving or retirement?
Yes, the job had some perks, but I imagine they wear a bit thin after the first 20 years…
I have a deep appreciation for the Queen and her achievements. She has been a steady hand, and I am sure, a significant influence on leaders worldwide.
Her passing has allowed me to consider the word duty and how it impacts my life and those around me.
It is a word that gets thrown around a lot in society; the Oxford English dictionary definition is
DUTY: Something that you feel you have to do because it is your moral or legal responsibility.
Where does duty fit into your life, and do you have expectations of others to be dutiful?
All interesting questions and worth consideration.
Life Passion & Business Podcast is about finding answers to life’s big questions through weekly interviews with guest speakers. The Shortcast is my ongoing commitment to staying interested and passionate about life with whatever is alive for me each week. Follow the links below to discover what else is on offer
The Five Questions eBook: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/the-five-questions
Focus Coaching: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/focus-coaching/
Support The Podcast:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Midlife Survey: https://lifepassionandbusiness.com/midlife-challenge/
Wednesday Sep 07, 2022
Wednesday Sep 07, 2022
How did we lose our empathy for each other and ourselves? I suspect it is the race of life and the striving for success. In the hast and pace, we forget that life is a journey to be enjoyed.
My guest is Georgia Reynolds, and our discussion is about the rediscovery of empathy.
People and Hairdressing
Georgia's passion was people and hairdressing. She went to college, qualified, took a job and worked behind the chair for over ten years. It was a wonderful place to grow up exploring relationships with co-workers and clients.
Although she did not recognise it at the time, she had discovered the power of empathy. When connecting with people in the chair, it built a bond that carried over between appointments.
Life moved on; she met married and started a family
While on maternity leave, she was offered a position as a corporate trainer for a leading beauty brand. She travelled the country, training hairdressers and salon staff to promote products. She excelled in the role, was recognised for her abilities, and took on more responsibility. After ten years, she travelled the world, doing 60-hour weeks; tiredness was normal, and life had become about box ticking and surviving.
When her daughter turned 13, she suddenly realised she had missed the journey. She had forgotten what it meant to feel and experience the emotions of life.
Our conversation is about her rediscovery of empathy, bringing her life back into balance and how she is sharing those discoveries. She is teaching the value of empathy to business leaders and teams.
Further details about this podcast along with Georgia’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/georgia-reynolds-finding-empathy
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories, however the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
Thursday Aug 25, 2022
How do you deal with change?
My guest on the show is Zak Moore; he was lucky to witness change early in his career. He sees change as an opportunity to find our gifts and give them away.
In his early years, Zak was good at maths and physics, which led to university and on to Aberdeen for work in the oil and gas industry.
He was encouraged to move south with a company going into project management and consultancy. It was the mid-80s, and computers were appearing in the office. One of the first machines was given to the youngster ( Zak ) to sort it out.
Zak discovered the power of spreadsheets and witnessed how automation changed the office beyond recognition over the next few years.
It set him on a path of learning and development in the technology sector. The zenith of his technology career was in 2000, when he managed a large development team from oxford and Cambridge. Together they created a digital music system that paid artists for downloads.
That was two years before the apple iPod, but needles to say, Apple won that game, and Zak was out of a job. He went back to writing code and took on a part-time MBA course
What inspired him most was the module on creative problem solving, and he developed a methodology to support companies in agile thinking.
It went very well until 2015 when an ear infection spread to his brain and became meningitis, which put him into a coma. The condition swells the brain, leaving them with physical and mental changes if the patient survives. Sometimes it creates a whole new personality.
Zak's survived, possibly because of his ability to embrace change, which supported him through the difficult road to recovery. As you will hear in the intro, he had some beautiful experiences with synesthesia. While struggling with issues of sight, hearing and balance, he decides to take on a marathon challenge to raise money for a meningitis charity.
Our conversation is not about technology; it is about change, the books and reading that supported him. But it is wider that Zak was always a deep thinker, and meningitis has given him a new take on the world.
"When you get hit with something, you can always get something good to come out of it. "
We speak about change, how society follows trends, the coming of AI, and how gaming and gamification will change the world.
Today Zak builds and runs computer systems and supports people and companies in the techniques of agile thinking.
Let's join the conversation with Zak Moore.
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest's website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/zak-moore-embracing-change
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people's stories, however the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com
Support For Podcasters:
Running a podcast is fun, but it takes time and dedication. Whenever you enjoy a podcast please share your appreciation with comments, likes, shares and reviews. It helps other listeners find good content and supports the content creators and their guests.
Another way you can support the Life Passion & Business podcast is with small donations: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/lifeandpassion
Wednesday Aug 17, 2022
Wednesday Aug 17, 2022
In this show we explore.
Brand building, entrepreneurship, holistic marketing, health and fitness and living a life that feeds us. It is a deep conversation about the world in which we live, how to find your story, and the path towards your best life.,
Images, shapes and forms always inspired Olly Herman-Taylor. While at school, he discovered a passion for design and spent his days doodling, creating logos, and drawing.
At college, he got a degree in English; on leaving, he went into the building industry, working on-site in the family business. Carrying bricks up and down ladders made him strong and fit, giving him an appreciation for movement and using his body.
But the inspiration to design was calling; it was music or clothes, feeling he might be tone deaf he chose clothes.
Olly started a t-shirt design business producing and selling shirts on the London street markets. But T-shirts would never make him rich, so he looked to his other passion, snowboarding.
Coming up with a unique design for a snowboarding jacket, he located a company that agreed to produce them if he could sell 500 jackets. He returned with an order for 5000, and his business was born.
He was just 23 and starting a business with no plan, and it worked.
For seven years, he did some fantastic stuff, creating a lifestyle business and taking it to over a million pounds, but that journey involved compromise, and it stopped feeding his soul. Now with a young family, he sold the brand and took some time out to be with his kids and consider his next steps.
He transitioned to Health and Fitness and set about creating a natural fitness brand, and this time life did not roll so easy seven years later. He was depressed, in debt and unhappy.
Our conversation is about his journey out of the hole he had created. He discovered the darker sides of marketing in the fitness industry. As already mentioned, it is a deep conversation about this world and what the system will do to us when we allow it.
Today Olly Herman-Taylor calls himself a Bio Hacker and high-performance coach. He helps entrepreneurs upgrade their mindset, transform their health, uncover their purpose and create a life they love. He is also the host Torchbearer™ podcast and co-founder of Rare Partners, a story-based communication agency.
Further details about this podcast along with my Guest’s website and social links are all available at:
https://www.lifepassionandbusiness.com/olly-hermon-taylor-creating-a-life-to-love
Life Passion & Business is dedicated to exploring what it takes to be Extraordinary, to face challenges and rejoice in the opportunities they bring, and expand our vision into new ways of thinking and living.
There is a lot to gain from listening to other people’s stories, however, the real work begins by taking action in your own life.
For full details of Events, Resources and Services visit:
www.lifepassionandbusiness.com