Life Beyond The Numbers

#88 A Lifeline - Paul Wright

"A pacemaker is not a death sentence or even a life sentence, it's a lifeline. My role is to send the ladder down for other people. And that gives me a lot of satisfaction. Whether that's heart health, helping people who are going through the trauma of looking for work or people who've failed exams I've been there." Paul Wright
 
Paul Wright and I talk about finding purpose and how it might not always be something you are aware of early in your career. Paul had a pacemaker fitted in 2018 and he wondered about the purpose people of people who work at Medtronic ... and with some LinkedIn magic he found out! Paul shares how he has a different perspective on life and the impact that had on him personally and professionally. We chat about looking for work after 18 years in one organisation and what experience counts. Paul talks about helping others through mentoring, in communities and on LinkedIn and says if his experience isn't shared, it's just hindsight. We chat about his two keys to success (i) being brave in career choices and (ii) being yourself. And we talk about telling your story and creative writing. 
 
Paul Wright is a management accountant with over 20 years' post-qualification experience. He gathered senior leadership experience in a large, global energy company before moving into practice, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in an advisory capacity. Today, Paul continues to provide part time finance director support whilst pursuing a number of voluntary activities. Paul is married to Nicola, a head teacher, and has two grown-up daughters.
 
Connect with Paul
On LinkedIn
 
Resources Mentioned
Earl Bakken "One Man's Full Life" and Medtronic
Legacy by James Kerr
NASA purpose
Toastmasters International 
Episode 3 'Proud to be an Accountant' with Michelle Heer
 
 

#87 Susan Speaks - Susan Ni Chriodain

"I have wanted to do a solo episode for I don't know how long now. And it's something that I've really, really struggled with or battled with and found daunting." Susan
 
In this first solo episode I focus on voice, the gift of voice. I open up about my own thoughts around using voice, particularly in the service of others. I talk about the tension between the desire to do something and the challenge of doing it. And I share some of my writings on voice and the importance of speaking up, speaking out or just speaking. We don't need a loud voice to be heard. We only need to speak.
 
Numbers don't inspire us, people do. And this episode is inspired by so many people. I'm grateful to you all - those of you I've been lucky enough to meet and speak with and those of you whom I've never met but whose words encourage me nevertheless. And a special thank you goes to Kerry. You were right, I just had to start close in. 
 
Connect with Susan
Check out my website
On LinkedIn 
On Twitter
On Instagram
 
Resources Mentioned:
Greta Solomon, Heart, Sass and Soul. And guest on episode 80
Cassandra Speaks by Elizabeth Lesser
Nat Hunter, An Edge Walker, Episode 82
David Whyte and in particular his book Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning Of Every Day Words
Episode 84, Sibling Special
Coaches Rising Training 
Alison Jones, Making Connections, Episode 58

#86 Bodily Intelligence - Madelaine Golec

"We don't have enough social practices or social norms around how to deal with our emotional and bodily intelligence. It's not something that is integrated in the way that we are being. And we are seeing on one side a great awakening where people are beginning to understand, wow, there's so much here that I didn't see, feel, connect with." Madelaine Golec
 
Madelaine and I begin this conversation exploring a quote from Thomas Hübl: "Movement is intelligence in action." We are both curious about presence, consciousness and bodily intelligence. How do we tune into the wisdom of our bodies, the meanings and purpose of sensations, feelings and emotions. We settle on anger as an example and that takes us to Will Smith at the Oscars and the slap that was felt around the world. Madelaine explains why she thinks we need a new paradigm of welcoming in our emotional and bodily intelligence, not to take over from our thinking but for all of them to work together in unison. We talk about the possible implications of disconnection from our bodily intelligence. And we discuss getting curious and doing our own inner work when we might rather bypass having to feel things or believe we can think our way into feeling differently. 
 
Madelaine Golec is a pelvic health physiotherapist and owner of a multidisciplinary clinic in Mississauga, Canada. As part of her professional development and growth she dove into the realm of trauma work, Poly-vagal theory and Somatic Experiencing to help her clients discover what is keeping them from achieving their health goals. She is now interested in applying these techniques in the business realm, to support deep inner work for entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals, who want to discover their patterns of self-sabotage/blockage preventing them from achieving their goals. Her approach focuses in what she calls, BQ: Body Intelligence, which is about tapping into the wisdom of the body, nervous system and subconscious through presence, attunement and relational healing. Rather than focusing on the content of the problem (story), she focuses on the context (what is happening in the body and nervous system as you engage with the problem). What is the patterned response that shows up in the body when you have to do something uncertain and unpredictable and she supports the nervous system into more regulation where the person can be more open, trusting, innovative and creative in their responses. She believes it is time to stop giving all our power to the IQ: Thinking Mind and open up to the vastness that lies beneath the Mind. 
 
Connect with Madelaine:
Website: BQ for Business COMING SOON! Email: info@bqforbusiness.com
Podcast Living A Better Life
On Instagram
TikTok handle is @madelainegolec
LinkTree
 
Resources Mentioned:
Episode 154 with Susan Living A Better Life
Thomas Hübl website
Coaches Rising Trainings
Will Smith at the Oscars

#85 Letting Go - John Purkiss (From the Archives)

"I realised, okay, so I've done all this left-brain clever stuff like accounting, finance, languages, strategy, marketing, dah, dah, dah. I feel suicidal. So clearly I am missing something. My father was in sales, my brother is in sales and I realised there were people who were far less academic than me who were leading much happier lives and were not trying to kill themselves." John Purkiss. 
 
John Purkiss finds himself drawn to anything that helps change the world in a positive way including in business, photography and writing books. Working as a headhunter John uses his training in banking and finance every day and shares the value of going beyond that to be far more effective. We talk about being present, the power of letting go and how letting go does not mean giving up but helps you become more powerful. Work-life balance John believes is a misnomer - how can you balance one thing that is part of the other?
 
John Purkiss studied economics at Cambridge University and has an MBA from INSEAD. He began his career with The First National Bank of Chicago, Mercury Asset Management and OC&C Strategy Consultants. John then co-founded a software company and worked in sales and marketing, in the UK, Belgium and France. He joined Heidrick & Struggles, where he set up and ran the CFO Practice in the London office and was promoted to partner. John is now a partner with August Leadership. He is the author of How To Be Headhunted, Brand You and The Power of Letting Go. www.johnpurkiss.com
 
Connect with John
On LinkedIn
On Instagram
Resources:
http://www.johnpurkiss.com/books/ 
http://nithyananda.org  
A Rich Man's Secret: An Amazing Story For Success, Ken Roberts
The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment, Eckhart Tolle
Headspace - Meditation and Sleep Made Simple

#84 Sibling Special - Siun, Alan and Susan

"It's so exciting to have my two amazing siblings here to sit down and talk about something that we've talked about. We have had conversations over the years about Aoife and about how it was to have a sister like Aoife. But I feel really honoured that I can sit down with you two here now and talk about her life and about our lives with her and share with other people in the hope that other people would benefit from hearing this or maybe just be interested in hearing it." Siun Creedon Prochazka (this episode was originally released in November 2020 on the Uniquely Wired podcast)
 
Our sister Aoife was born severely mentally and physically disabled.  She never spoke a single word nor walked a single step. We never really knew if she even recognised us.  She lived most of her life in care. She died at 33. I can't say that I ever knew her, ever formed a relationship.  But of course there was a relationship and I did know my sister.  In this episode my siblings and I explore our unique relationships with our sister and our unique experiences. 
 
Listening to this episode I'm reminded of a beautiful quote by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross:  
"The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss and have found their way out of the depths.  These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness and deep loving concern.  Beautiful people do not just happen."  
There is beauty inside all of us. All of us suffer, are defeated, struggle and feel loss. And we are all capable of compassion and self-compassion. Let your beauty shine through. Keep an eye out for that beauty in others and encourage it to shine through too. The world will be a better place.  
 
Connect with Siun & Alan
Siun's website Uniquely Wired
Alan's website Endless River
 
Resources Mentioned:
Uniquely Wired podcast
The Search for Still Waters by Alan Creedon (Alan mentioned his walk several times but the book had not yet been release at the time of recording)
 

#83 The Impact of Change - Dr. Susanne Evans

"...helping people think about the impact of change on people. And a big part of it is around people feeling secure, people feeling that they understand the impact that this is going to have on them, on their relationships. Uncertainty, because uncertainty is a really hard thing for people to deal with. And I think a big part of fear of change, resistance of change are those questions about what's in it for me?" Dr Susanne Evans
 
Dr Susanne Evans and I talk about organisational change. In particular we hone in on the importance of stories. Organisational change efforts are forward and future focused but sometimes digging into the past helps shape and inform the future. We ignore it our peril. Susanne uses the analogy of an archaeological excavation to explain the importance of digging into the past. We talk about understanding people's resistance to change, managing change and the right type of leadership needed for change. We discuss how change efforts go so wrong and how leaders might make it better for people. Susanne reveals some stories (decorations, toilet rolls and chocolate biscuits) that demonstrate how things that might seem small or inconsequential matter. And we dig why what goes on in organisations is often 'all talk' without really listening or having honest, open and, at times, uncomfortable conversations. 
 
Dr Susanne Evans is an organisation change consultant, trainer, coach and researcher on a mission to change the way that transformations are managed in organisations. Having spent 10 years in Big 4 consultancy firms she saw first-hand the difficulties that leaders and change practitioners had in achieving the benefits of large-scale transformation programmes. She founded Feldspar Consulting in 2007, helping her clients lead change in a more human, effective way. Her PhD research focused on the role of stories in organisational transformation and she distilled both this research and her 25 years of hands-on consultancy experience to create the ChangeStoriesTM approach, enabling her clients to use stories, ask questions and have powerful conversations to drive change. As well as writing and speaking about organisation change, Susanne hosts open storytelling workshops, supporting organisations and individuals in writing a compelling story for themselves, and she is the host of the popular ChangeStories podcast, in which guests share ideas for improving the world of work.
 
Connect with Susanne
On LinkedIn
Through her website: Feldspar Consulting
Listen to her podcast Change Stories
 
Resources Mentioned:
SCARF model by David Rock
Appreciative Inquiry Model
Manfred Ket de Vries who talks about lifting the rug
Steve Hearsum talks about “no silver bullet”
Kubler Ross Change Curve
Susan David
The School of Life on work

#82 An Edge-Walker - Nat Hunter

"Trying to describe myself has always been really hard. I've never fitted into anything. Someone described me as an edge-walker the other day. And I thought, oh my God, that's the first time anyone's put me into a category that I can relate to." Nat Hunter
 
Nat Hunter always felt pigeon-holed, like she could only bring a small sliver of herself to work and so she co-founded her own design company, Airside in 1999. We talk about their approach: what happens if you make work somewhere where people can really show up and be themselves? We also chat about their mantra of never do something just for the money and about the eventual winding up of the company. Nat decided life was short and only wants to do stuff that has a positive impact on the planet. And as 80% of the ecological impact for products is determined in the design phase Nat talks about various approaches designers can take to have a more holistic approach. We talk about sustainability, circular economy, regenerative design, net zero, co-designing with insects and more. And we delve into how we would decide what to buy if we could only buy three items of clothing a year? 
 
Nat Hunter, a Director of Other Today, is a designer, educator and coach, currently exploring how regenerative culture and organisational behaviour can positively impact people, society and the planet. A systems thinker and agitator for change, she brings her experience in business, design and coaching together in order to create and support change. She co-founded the multi-award winning Airside, one of the UK’s first digital design studios. In 2021 Nat co-created the influential Design Council report Beyond Net Zero and is currently a Design For Planet Fellow at the Design Council.
 
Connect with Nat:
On LinkedIn
By email redfishgreenfish@gmail.com 
 
Resources Mentioned:
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World by Tyson Yunkaporta
Sherri Mitchell
Beyond Net Zero: Design Council
Rob Hopkins Transition Movement
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
Carbon Tunnel Vision Diagram
B Corp
Reinventing Organisations by Frederic Laloux
 

#81 Help Others - Mason Cosby

"When you're a professional that has a mortgage and a family, the time to help is significantly less. To put it bluntly, you have to figure out how you can help others that makes sense within the context that you are." Mason Cosby. 
 
Mason Cosby was laid off at the beginning of the pandemic. A month earlier he got engaged and bought a house. He spent the next four months on the couch applying for jobs. And we talk about how since then he has done everything in his power to help others avoid a similar fate and make sure his family is never in that situation again. Mason loves his job as the dedicated marketer of a marketing agency and is also super passionate about career building. As he says, he is on a journey and he wants to show others he is in it with them. He does this by being bullish about kindness and learning in public. We chat about how he started a podcast, The Marketing Ladder, as a scalable way to help others build their marketing career. And we talk about how when you want to improve something: quantity and consistency result in quality and confidence. 
 
Mason Cosby helps marketers grow their company and their career.  He is the Marketing Director of Mojo Media Labs and Host of The Marketing Ladder. Mason is bullish about kindness and is actively learning in public. And he is a nurse husband. 
 
Connect with Mason Cosby:
On LinkedIn
The Marketing Ladder Podcast
 
Resources Mentioned:
Storybrand 
Megan Haupt Brio Career and on Life Beyond the Numbers episode 25 Your Career Story
 

#80 Why Do I Have To Fake It? Greta Solomon

"And it was a massive learning because I thought, why do I have to fake it? Why do I have to pretend that I'm okay? And I think that point comes to many of us at some point. It came to me really early, I was like 21. It came super early that I'm not going to fake it at work." Greta Solomon
 
Greta Solomon and I talk about self-expression. We talk about how to express ourselves at work so we get our message across, the importance of being our real self and not faking it to fit in, and how using our own voice, and not a Shakespearian persona, is okay. The idea of living a divided or disconnected life comes up and how connecting to our creative energy is massively underrated. Greta explains that being able to express our own creativity is the missing piece of the wellness picture. We explore gratitude and she explains why the practice needs to come with a warning. Greta shares insights on writing at work and on the power of journaling.
 
Greta Solomon is the founder of Heart, Sass & Soul Writing School. She is a writing teacher, intuitive life coach, and journal healer. She is the author of Just Write It! How to Develop Top-Class University Writing Skills and Heart, Sass & Soul: Journal Your Way to Inspiration and Happiness. She has over 14 years of experience in training individuals in multi-million pound companies in writing skills and is particularly skilled in working with internationally diverse teams of highly skilled experts for whom English is a second language. She has a former career as a women’s magazine journalist, and also set up a thriving English and writing tutoring business and she worked at industrial business-to-business PR consultancy. She still writes for newspapers and magazines, mostly about writing, creativity and self-development.
 
Connect with Greta:
Through her website
On Instagram and on LinkedIn
Read her book Heart, Sass and Soul
 
Resources Mentioned:
Are You Living a Divided Life? Article by Gregg Vanourek
Severance on Apple TV
Object Writing - Pat Pattison
Stories are data with a soul - Brene Brown

#79 Being Human - Various

"Happiness comes from a wide variety of different sources. And actually happiness is not the one single thing that we should pursue because part of being human is the whole world of emotion and feelings. And all of them are valid." Gavin Andrews
 
Being Human is a compilation, an exploration of the mind-body connection. The body is a source of wisdom and intelligence that is often untapped. We have a tendency to rely on our mental intelligence, our rational thought and not our emotional self or felt sense. In this episode we hear from six previous guests about tapping into this other source of knowledge. And many of them talk about the importance of feeling safe and feeling a sense of belonging. 
7:30 Steve Haines on how minds and body are connected and the importance of feeling safe including with our interactions with others
13:00 Gavin Andrews on accessing the wisdom of the heart and state of coherence - an optimal state for heart and brain to be in
17:55 Rebecca Cheetham on mind-body disconnection and squishing emotions
18:50 Lisa Milnor on bringing awareness to the body
25:10 Gavin Andrews on bringing our emotional self to work
26:55 Steve Haines on how to make sense of sensations in our body
28:50 Matt Phelan on emotional data in the workplace and a sense of belonging
35:55 Jenny Ashmore on the power of a sense of belonging for teams
 
Resources Mentioned:
Coaches Rising
Episode 10, Life Beyond the Numbers, This Feelings Business with Steve Haines
Episode 38, Life Beyond the Numbers, Wisdom and Technology with Gavin Andrews
Episode 48, Life Beyond the Numbers, Baby Steps with Rebecca Cheetham
Episode 49, Life Beyond the Numbers, A Sense of Belonging with Jenny Ashmore
Episode 59, Life Beyond the Numbers, Weird & Wonderful with Lisa Milnor
Episode 67, Life Beyond the Numbers, Better Understanding with Matt Phelan