Managing change effectively

In the modern business world, the one constant is change. It’s essential for growth, adaptability, and long-term success. Organisations that embrace change with a well-thought-out strategy that involves key stakeholders are able to unlock new opportunities and overcome challenges more effectively. This was undoubtedly true during the pandemic when organisations were tested as never before. Some showed how well and how quickly they could navigate change, but many others found the fast-moving circumstances far more difficult to deal with.

Organisations that thrive are ones that can respond to an ever-changing environment but the ability to change has to be built into an organisation so it can deliver and adopt to change both in the present and future.  This requires change capability, the comprehensive and dynamic way organisations adapt, learn, and innovate, to manage change effectively. Combining leadership, culture, engagement, and strategic alignment it ensures an organisation remains resilient and responsive in an ever-changing business world.

Change capability is not just about dealing with occasional changes, it reflects a more fundamental and ingrained capacity to continuously evolve and thrive. It means an organisation can navigate its way through different types of change and respond to internal and external shifts. It shows how capable an organisation is of delivering long term change with minimal disruption to its operation and its stakeholders.

This of course makes the ability to manage and adapt to change an essential skill for any business leader. Driving change requires leaders who are adaptable and able to prepare their organisation to withstand external pressures and then come out fighting. Leaders who can’t deal with a rapid rate of change quickly lose their credibility and fail to achieve the required results. Its therefore imperative that organisations ensure that the critical capability skills of its leaders are competitive and relevant.

In today’s complex business environment organisations and leaders need the ability to navigate change. Building sustainable change capability can ensure that changes made to the structure, operation, or culture of an organisation are accepted and long-lasting, that leaders are proactive, innovative, and resilient in the face of uncertainty, and contribute to the long-term success of their organisation.

Breaking free from addiction and crime

Keywords

Resilience – Addiction – Transformation – Trauma – Positive Change - Connection

 In this episode of Resilience Unravelled Don Cummins, a transformational coach, speaker, and author, discusses his journey of overcoming addiction, rebuilding his life, and finding success in a professional career after serving a 20-year prison sentence for bank robbery.

Don shares his experiences of overcoming addiction and rebuilding his life and discusses how trauma and a desire to fit in led him down a destructive path of drug use and criminal behaviour. He emphasises the importance of self-acceptance, support, insight, and of recognising when you reach the bottom in making positive change and highlights the need to address underlying issues rather than solely focusing on addictive behaviours.

Main topics

• Why hitting rock bottom can be the turning point in making positive change.

• Why you need support, insight, and self-awareness to make progress.

• The challenges of re-entering society and finding a job after prison

• Why it’s difficult to relate trauma experiences with others who haven't been through it.

• Finding understanding and connection with people who have shared similar struggles.

• Finding true purpose and meaning

Timestamps

1: Introduction and Background - Overview of the podcast episode and introduction of the guest, Don Cummins. Don briefly shares his background and what he does as a coach - 00:05-01:41

2: From Trauma to Prison - Don discusses the traumatic experiences he went through as a youth and how it led him into a cycle of addiction and involvement with the criminal justice system. He shares that this ultimately resulted in him serving a 20-year prison sentence for bank robbery - 01:41-02:03

3: Rebuilding a Life - Don talks about his journey of recovery and the challenges he faced in rebuilding his life after being at the lowest point. He emphasises the importance of support, gaining insight, and discovering one's true purpose and meaning - 02:03-03:10

4: Unpacking the Downfall - Don Cummins reflects on the factors that contributed to his downfall, acknowledging that it is a complex process to unpack. He mentions the struggle of staying clean and employable, and the emotional challenges he faced - 03:10-05:02

5: Gaining Resilience - Discussion on the importance of support, gaining insight, and developing resilience to overcome difficult circumstances. Don shares his perspective on hitting rock bottom and how it can be a turning point for positive change - 05:22-07:05

6: Rebuilding Relationships - Don talks about his experience in rebuilding relationships and finding understanding and connection with others who have shared similar struggles. He shares how counselling and communication skills helped in improving his relationship with his partner - 07:28-09:25

7: Sharing the Journey Through Writing - Don discusses his motivation to write a memoir, "The Prison Within: A Memoir of Breaking Free," to share his story and help others who may be going through similar challenges. He talks about the impact of his book and his upcoming book, "Awaken, Connect, Transform: The Universal Path to Happiness and Success.” - 09:25-14:23

8: The Universal Path to Happiness and Success - Don explains the concept of the universal path to happiness and success, emphasizing the importance of connection and recognizing our interconnectedness. He invites listeners to explore his work and learn more about his books - 14:23-21:41

9: Conclusion and Call to Action - Final thoughts on the power of resilience and the potential for personal growth and transformation - 21:41-24:10

Action items

• Visit doncummins.com to learn more about his work and pre-order or order his books.

• Find Don on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook to connect with him and stay updated on his work.

• Don’s upcoming book is "Awaken, Connect, Transform: The Universal Path to Happiness and Success,"

• Don’s memoir is, "The Prison Within: A Memoir of Breaking Free”.

  You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.   

Renee Joyal – Living beautifully

Keywords

Resilience - Wellness – Lifestyle Change – Self-healing

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled Renee Joyal, a newly published author and wellness enthusiast shares her personal journey with lupus and how she made lifestyle changes to overcome it. She emphasises the importance of nutrition, exercise, and self-healing practices in maintaining good health and also talks about having a holistic approach to health instead of restrictive diets.

Renee discusses her approach to wellness, emphasising the importance of focusing on both physical and mental health and shares techniques for strengthening the mind, such as journaling and meditation, which can help in handling life's challenges.

Main topics

• Making specific lifestyle changes to overcome autoimmune disease.

• The functional medicine practices Renee implemented in her life.

• How being in an abusive relationship affected Renee’s health and autoimmune disease.

Timestamps

1: Introduction. The host welcomes the audience and introduces the guest, Renee, who is a newly published author and wellness enthusiast. Renee talks about her passion for helping people expand their health journey - 00:02-01:03
2: Overcoming Life's Obstacles. Renee discusses how to overcome life's obstacles, live healthily, feel good, and enrich your life to live it to the fullest. 02:12-02:29
3: Renee's Health Journey. Renee shares her personal health journey, including her debilitating illness, Lupus diagnosis, and how she made lifestyle changes to improve her health - 02:29-07:31
4: Focusing on Healing. Renee talks about her focus on healing and what she added to her life to make it better and live fully without restriction - 09:16-11:32
5: Strengthening the Mind. Renee discusses the importance of strengthening the mind and shares techniques such as journaling, meditative experiences, and empowering mind techniques - 11:32-17:56
6: Live Beautiful Book. Renee talks about her book, Live Beautiful, a compassionate balance guide to everyday wellness and well-being. She shares where to find it and discusses the rewarding process of writing and connecting with the community - 17:57-20:43

Action items 

• Renee’s book is Live Beautiful: A Compassionate Balance Guide to Everyday Wellness and Well Being

• Connect with her on her website or Instagram to learn more about her approach to wellness.

 You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.   

Thinking differently about disruption.

Keywords

Resilience - Change - Transitions - Disruption - Changing Narratives

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled, Linda Rossetti, a business leader and pioneering researcher on individuals’ experience at the crossroads of their lives discusses her work in helping people respond to disruptions in their lives. Linda emphasises the importance of thinking differently and responding with hope and expansion and explains the differences between changes and transitions. She also highlights the emotional response that accompanies change and disruption, acknowledging its significance alongside practical considerations and touches on the limitations of traditional change management approaches before suggesting a new narrative around disruption and transformation.

Main topics

• The power of changing narratives and shifting from a chronological narrative to a value-based narrative.

• Why educating people about the options and new perspectives during times of disruption can be enlightening.

• The importance of anchoring on things that hold meaning or value in times of transformation.

• Why we need to ask new questions and explore different narratives to move forward.

• The different levels of response to change.

• Focusing on the practical and emotional aspects of transformation.

• Why people should see disruption as an opportunity to engage more of themselves and amplify their voices.

• Why there is a need to change the way society responds to disruption.

 Timestamps

1: Welcome and introduction - 00:02 - 00:19
2: Traditional ways of responding to disruption - 02:06 - 06:51
3: The power of transformation - 08:03 - 10:03
4: Changing the narrative - 12:16 - 14:09
5: Leadership and change - 15:18 - 19:58
6: Empowering individuals to respond - 21:47 - 24:38
7: Addressing values and the book "Dancing with Disruption" - 26:39 - 28:48
8: Conclusion and contact information - 29:59 - 30:26

Action items

• You can find out more about Linda on LinkedIn or thorough her website

• Linda’s books are "Women and Transition" and "Dancing with Disruption".

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.   

Navigating an organisational pivot

Keywords - Resilience - Organisational Pivots - Change - Personal Growth

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled, Jason Shen, an executive coach with a focus on resilience and reinvention who is renowned for guiding entrepreneurs through crucial transitions.  A former national champion gymnast Jason faced multiple setbacks including layoffs, lawsuits, company failure, and traumatic knee injuries, so he understands what it takes to adapt and overcome adversity!

Jason talks about the importance of continuous learning and personal growth and talks about his background in the commercial world, including working in marketing roles and starting companies. The conversation focuses on organisational pivots and the importance of making changes earlier rather than later and Jason emphasises the need for leaders to adapt their leadership approach during these transitions. They also touch upon personal resilience and how taking care of physical and creative/emotional needs is essential. Cultural considerations are mentioned, such as differences between men and women's expressions of emotions or vulnerability based on Eastern/Western philosophies.

Main topics

• The concept and process of organisational pivots

• The impact of founders in organisational pivots

• The relationship between resilience and pivots.

• Cultural considerations in coaching

• Exploring different coaching approaches

Timestamps

1: Introduction and Background - 00:02-00:44
2: Understanding Organisational Pivots- 02:17-04:06
3: Navigating Organisational Pivots - 04:06-06:23
4: Developing Leadership Capacity during Pivots - 07:21-07:30, 07:55-08:59
5: Cultural Considerations in Pivots - 09:46-12:07
6: The Cycle of Learning and Support - 14:46-16:02
7: Overcoming the Fear of Not Knowing - 16:35-17:32
8: The Role of Coaching in Organisational Change - 20:37-22:19
9: The Path to Pivot Book - 22:19-23:41

Action items

Jason’s book is called "The Path to Pivot," or find out more at jasonshen.com

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.   

Using anger for positive change

 Keywords

Resilience – Anger – Change – Abuse – Personal Growth – Speaking Up

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled, Alyse Maslonik shares her inspiring story of overcoming poverty and domestic abuse to become a successful advisor. Despite facing numerous hardships in her life, Alyse maintains a positive perspective by focusing on the good people and communities around her. She discusses the importance of resilience, how anger can be transformed into a tool for growth, how past experiences shape us as people, and how women are often discouraged from expressing anger. She shares her personal experience with abuse and how she had to transform her anger into something positive.

Alyse also highlights the need for funding social programs to prevent future problems and save lives and touches on the societal pressures that prevent women from speaking up for their rights and changing the status quo. The mission of her organisation RedefinED Advisors is to redefine education in the United States, particularly for underprivileged students. The organisation raises funding for public school students who are failing due to lack of resources and provides scholarships for those experiencing financial hardships or trauma.

Main topics

• The idea of resilience and how it can be learned.

• How anger can be used as a tool for good.

• The importance of learning from past experiences.

• RedefinED Advisors, and their work in the education sector.

• The need for action and creating actionable items to create change.

• Why women are discouraged from expressing anger

Timestamps

1: Introductions Russell introduces Alyse Maslonik. They briefly discuss Elise's upcoming appearance on the news and her recent achievement. Elise talks about her background and starting her life in a domestic abuse shelter. - 00:00 to 01:50

2:  Resilience and Overcoming Adversity. Russell and Alyse discuss the importance of resilience. They talk about how people can rise above difficult backgrounds and use their past experiences to propel themselves forward. Elise shares her own story of going through a criminal trial after experiencing abuse. They discuss the idea that people should not be ashamed of their anger. - 04:46 to 13:49

3: Redefining Education and Scholarships. Alyse talks about her organisation, RedefinED Advisors, and their mission to provide scholarship funding for underprivileged students. Russell and Alyse Elise discuss the importance of education and scholarships. They briefly touch on Elise's upcoming book. - 25:08 to 29:46

4: Taking Action and Creating Change. Russell and Alyse discuss the need for action to create change. - 31:07 to 32:39

Action items

• Alyse’s book, "The Anger She Keeps," focuses on using anger as fuel for positive change.

• Find out more at https://www.linkedin.com/in/redefiningeducation/

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.  

Tired of change? How change fatigue can contribute to burnout.

In the modern business world, the one constant is change. It’s essential for growth, adaptability, and long-term success. Embracing change with a well-thought-out strategy that involves key stakeholders, allows organisations to unlock new opportunities and overcome challenges more effectively. But what happens if you become tired of change?  If there is just too much of it?

Change fatigue is a phenomenon that arises when people feel overwhelmed by continuous changes in their work or personal lives. It’s the exhaustion, resistance, or negative response that individuals or organisations experience when they are subjected to too much change, too quickly, or too frequently.

The majority of people have an innate need for stability, order, and regularity. Frequent and rapid change, whether its organisational restructuring, leadership changes, process alterations, technological implementation, or any significant modifications in someone’s work or personal life, can make them feel overwhelmed and unable to adapt and cope effectively. Constant exposure to frequent changes can also lead to high levels of stress and frustration whilst adapting and adjusting to new situations or increased job demands can be emotionally and mentally draining. It can also create an unstable work environment, with a lack of predictability and security, and decreased feelings of control over one's work. If these changes are not communicated effectively or employees do not receive adequate support, training or resources, an individual's resilience can be further depleted making them susceptible to burnout as well as to change fatigue!

Burnout of course can develop independently from change fatigue, but both can be mitigated by the creation of supportive work environments that offer resources for coping with change and provide opportunities for employees to have a sense of control and autonomy over their work.

Business change, when managed effectively, can bring positive outcomes and benefits for organisations. By addressing the issues around change with empathy, understanding, and a well-considered approach, organisations can increase the likelihood of successful change management and foster a positive and resilient workforce who remain healthy, motivated, and productive, even amidst constant organisational change.

Connecting inquiry

Keywords

Resilience – Science – Spirituality – Positive Change

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled Susan Bauer-Wu discusses her background in nursing and meditation research and how she became President of the Mind and Life Institute. This is an organisation co-founded by the Dalai Lama in 1987 that aims to bring science and contemplative wisdom together to better understand the mind and create positive change in the world. In her work with Mind & Life, Susan has championed “human-earth connection” as a priority.

Susan began her career as a registered nurse specialising in oncology and end-of-life care, and later completed PhD studies in psychoneuroimmunology. She has held leadership, teaching, and clinical positions in non-profits, higher education, and health care, and is the author of Leaves Falling Gently: Living Fully with Serious & Life- Limiting Illness through Mindfulness, Compassion & Connectedness.

Main topics

• Connecting inquiry with important issues in the world today, including climate change.

• Reversing climate crises through heart-based practices.

• Bridging science and contemplative wisdom to create positive change in the world.

• The need for resilience and political will in addressing climate change

• The challenges of changing capitalism and overcoming prejudice against women like Greta Thunberg.

Timestamps

1:  Introduction of speakers. Susan introduces herself and her role in Mind and Life Institute- 00:00-01:54
2. Mind and Life Institute.  Susan talks about Mind and Life as an incubator for meditation researchers, shares the history of the first Mind and Life dialogue and talks about the 35 years of archival footage that Mind and Life has recorded - 02:08-04:03
3. A Future We Can Love. Susan talks about the importance of connecting inquiry with real-world issues - 06:31-07:34
4. The urgency of the climate crisis - 08:34-09:30
5. Susan talks about her latest book; A Future We Can Love - 20:45-22:37
6. The Climate Emergency feedback loops videos - 22:10-22:37
7. Capacity for Change. The capacity for humans to change their behaviour - 26:40-27:34.
8. The concept of wonderment or awe - 27:34-28:22
9. Taking Action. The importance of taking action - 28:22-29:18

Action items

To learn more, please visit Mindandlife.org.
Purchase Susan’s latest book A Future we can Love.

 You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.  

Making remote management work

 Keywords - Resilience – Working Remotely – Travelling - Change - Remote Works

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled Ali Green, a digital nomad who has been traveling full time since 2017, shares her experiences of working remotely and living a life of constant change. She talks about how she learned to keep in touch with her company while traveling and how she found success as an employee, freelancer, consultant, and writer. Ali also discusses the challenges of building deep relationships while constantly on the move and emphasises that it's possible to find your tribe even when you're not physically around them. She shares her most challenging experience in Asia where being far from her support system made her feel isolated at times.

Finally, she reveals some of her top experiences so far as a digital nomad- including skydiving in Brazil and organising a trip to Japan for remote co-workers which helped deepen their bond despite never meeting again in person.

She is also the co-author of the book "Remote Works: Managing for Freedom, Flexibility and Focus," which discusses her experiences with remote work and travel. She emphasises the benefits of embracing a resilient mindset to navigate the challenges that come with this lifestyle, such as language barriers and cultural differences. The book offers practical advice for managers on how to effectively lead remote teams and maximise productivity.

Main topics

• Ali's top three experiences while traveling.

• How Ali developed resilience while traveling and working remotely.

• The future of remote work.

• How to form and maintain connections while traveling.

• The importance of having a support system while traveling.

• The challenges of working remotely and managing a team in different time zones.

• The benefits of asynchronous communication in remote work.

Timestamps

1: Introduction and Background 00:02-03:17
2: Early Childhood Experiences 03:35-04:42
3: Professional Struggles 05:52-06:44
4: Nomadic Lifestyle 06:55-08:15
5: Top Experiences 12:46-15:47
6: Remote Work 19:01-22:16
7: Conclusion 23:30-24:27

Action items

• Read Ali's book on remote working, "Remote Works Managing for Freedom, Flexibility and Focus".

• Look for Ali on LinkedIn to connect with her.

   You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.  

Contagious burnout?

No one is immune to burnout. It’s something that can affect people across every sector and discipline, and it’s also something that's on the rise.

The classic signs of burnout, mental exhaustion, disengagement, negativity, cynicism and reduced productivity are well established and, although we generally think about it as something that affects individuals, it can be contagious!  Contagious burnout refers to the phenomenon where an individual’s burnout symptoms are spread to their colleagues or team members. This type of burnout contagion usually happens after there has been some sort of organisational change such as large-scale redundancies, cuts to budgets, policy reviews or alterations to the management team. In the face of such change, employees may experience feelings of fear, confusion, frustration or anger.

If leaders do not address this, burnout may develop in team members who work closely together which can impact the entire team's wellbeing and productivity. It can also create a culture where working long hours and sacrificing personal time is normalised, creating pressure for others to do to do the same and further contributing to the spread of burnout within the team.

To prevent contagious burnout, it’s essential to prioritise self-care, encourage open communication within the team, and ensure that workload and responsibilities are distributed evenly. Employers can also provide resources for employees to manage stress and offer support for those experiencing burnout. By addressing burnout early and proactively, teams can create a culture of wellbeing and prevent burnout from spreading.

Contagious burnout is incredibly disruptive and costly for both the individual and organisation. For the employee, it can lead to presenteeism, absenteeism and a variety of physical symptoms. For the organisation it can mean high staff turnover, lower productivity and ultimately reduced profitability.  Whether looking at contagious burnout from a corporate or individual perspective, the need should be to focus on strategies that will have a deeper impact and create lasting cultural change.

Changing times. Leadership in the entertainment industry.

Keywords: Resilience – Leadership – Empathy – Entertainment Industry – Executive Coaching

In this episode of Resilience Unravelled, Dawn Kohler a writer and executive coach in the entertainment industry discusses how media and entertainment are going through cataclysmic change right now due to streaming services like Netflix and Amazon. This has kept her busy coaching leaders who struggle to develop themselves and their teams during times of uncertainty or turbulence. She discusses the evolution of leadership styles in the industry and the focus on empathy and accountability, and also touches on the importance of proper nurturing in parenting and how organisations can value the wisdom of elders while embracing diversity for growth.

Main topics

• How the media industry reflects our society and shows how it has moved forward.

• The evolution of leadership style and approach behind the screen.

• Why adults need to hold space for somebody and listen to the acknowledgment of somebody being hurt by something they unintentionally or intentionally did.

• A generational shift towards people who are resilient is happening because of leaders' great intentions with zero competence.

• Building resilience means having the ability to get things wrong and put things right.

• Why organisations should value the wisdom of the elders and have good mentoring programs.

Timestamps

1: Introduction to Dawn and her work as a writer and executive coach (00:00-01:34)
2: How Dawn found her path in the entertainment industry and her success dealing with the human dynamic during times of change (01:51-03:07)
3: The role of entertainment in reflecting society and representing different sectors of the population and emotional issues (03:38-05:56)
4: The evolution of leadership style or approach (06:01-07:01)
5: The power of communication and social media in giving viewers the ability to share their opinions and bring things to the surface (07:11-08:12)
6: The importance of empathy and acknowledging hurt when unintentionally or intentionally offending someone (12:07-14:11)
7: Dawn's work as an author and her latest book, "The Messages," which is a memoir that tells the underbelly of her own story (14:19-18:37)
8: The need for resilience and the importance of learning the ability to get things wrong and put things right (19:48-23:00)
9: The value of wisdom from elders in organisations and the importance of passing down corporate history (23:08-24:59)
10: The importance of escalation and having challenging conversations in organisations (24:51-26:14)

Dawn is also the author of three books, including her latest memoir "The Messages," which discusses her personal journey through severe abuse in childhood, which led to a shift in perspective and ultimately into the field of executive coaching.

Action points

• Learn about Dawn at dawnkohler.com

• Read Dawn’s book ‘The Messages. A Memoir’

   You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.  

Weathering the Storm: How Resilient Businesses Can Adapt to Climate Change by Katie Pierce

Adapting to the effects of climate change requires resiliency, not just from governments and businesses, but also from individuals and their everyday commuting habits. It is the only way we can build a sustainable future while weathering the storm. For businesses, adapting to climate change goes beyond protecting the environment. It also means surviving and thriving in the future. 

In this article, we will discuss how resilient businesses can stand strong in the face of climate-related challenges. 

Why Resiliency Matters in Adapting to Climate Change

Resilience is crucial in adapting to the impacts of climate change. It means having the capacity to bounce back quickly when we're knocked down.  Resilience is necessary to withstand extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, and hurricanes, and to reduce the potential for long-term harm. Building resilience can also help mitigate the impacts of climate change in the long term. Investing in resilient infrastructure, such as green roofs and permeable pavements, can protect communities from flooding and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  Resilience is not a luxury, it's a necessity if we want to adapt to the challenges that lie ahead. It is needed to create a more sustainable future for ourselves and future generations.

Risk Assessment and Management

In today's rapidly changing climate, a savvy business understands the imperative of risk assessments to confront potential environmental challenges. But it's not enough to simply check the box and move on. To truly fortify their resilience, a wise enterprise invests in analysing these risks with a discerning eye, prioritising them based on their potential impact. Only then can they craft effective risk management plans, ready to withstand even the most daunting of scenarios. Yet, it doesn't end there. A truly resilient business remains nimble, consistently updating its risk assessments as new data and insights come to light. This adaptability allows them to stay ahead of emerging risks, a crucial asset in today's ever-changing landscape.

Adaptation Planning

In the face of an ever-evolving climate, a resilient business recognises the need for targeted adaptation plans designed to suit the unique risks they face. These plans go beyond just identifying potential threats. Instead, they leverage specific changes to operations, infrastructure, and supply chains to reduce vulnerability and build enduring fortitude. With such foresight and agility, a savvy enterprise can not only weather the storm but thrive in the midst of uncertainty, carving out a path to sustainable success.

Diversification

A truly resilient business understands the importance of diversification - in operations, supply chains, and beyond. By broadening their horizons, they reduce their dependence on any single geographic region or resource, effectively insulating themselves from the impacts of climate change. This means looking for alternative sources of raw materials and energy or even exploring new markets altogether. Doing so not only mitigates risk but also sets a business up for sustained growth and prosperity. In today's ever-shifting landscape, a willingness to adapt and explore new horizons is not just smart business - it's essential for survival.

Innovation

A resilient business doesn't just rely on old strategies to weather the storm of climate change. Instead, they cultivate a culture of innovation - one that encourages employees to think outside the box and develop novel solutions to complex challenges. By embracing emerging technologies, business models, and approaches, such an enterprise stays ahead of the curve. They adapt to evolving conditions and identify new opportunities that arise as a result of climate change. Through a willingness to experiment and explore new frontiers, a forward-thinking business can not only survive but also thrive. In the process, transforming adversity into opportunity and charting a path to long-term success.

Collaboration

Resilient businesses don’t just go it alone - they understand the power of collaboration. By working hand-in-hand with other stakeholders - from governments and NGOs to local communities - a savvy enterprise can develop the effective strategies needed to tackle the long-term challenges of climate change. Fostering collaborative partnerships and engaging with relevant stakeholders allows a business to tap into valuable insights and support. In turn, this builds the resilience needed to thrive in an ever-changing world.

In short, the path to success isn't a solitary journey - it's a shared one. It’s built on the foundations of trust, partnership, and the willingness to work together towards a common goal.

Climate-Related Financial Disclosure

The disclosure of financial risks and opportunities related to climate change is known as climate-related financial disclosure. It is an essential tool for businesses to manage their exposure to climate change risks and identify opportunities for growth and innovation. Resilient businesses recognise the importance of climate-related financial disclosure as it helps identify and mitigate climate change risks. It also provides stakeholders with a better understanding of the company's exposure to climate change. Climate-related financial disclosure also helps companies demonstrate their commitment to sustainability and responsible environmental practices, attracting investment from environmentally conscious investors.

Summing Up

Climate change presents significant challenges for businesses of all sizes and industries. However, by building resilience, businesses can effectively adapt to these challenges and position themselves for long-term success. 

If you want to learn more about resiliency in business, contact QED.

Guest Author

Katie Pierce is a teacher-slash-writer who loves telling stories to an audience, whether it’s bored adults in front of a computer screen or a bunch of hyperactive 4-year-olds. Writing keeps her sane (most of the time) and allows her to enjoy some quiet time in the evening before she walks into a room of screaming kids (all of whom she loves dearly) the next morning.

Choosing joy. The life we should be living.

Connie Monroe left corporate America in 2012 and now runs her own coaching company where she helps people get through big life events. Connie had no plan to work in finance it was something she just fell into. Having put herself through university she had a lot of student loads to pay back and her cousin was working in large company with lots of vacancies. It was the dot.com boom and she thought she’d go there and then figure things out.  She didn't enjoy the first three years at all but she then became a manager and her role changed. She was actually managing people which she started to enjoy.

 She was working in client services and she came to realise that many people went into those positions for other reasons. She had fifteen people in her team and at least ten of them were there for other intensions - they wanted to go the trading floor, wanted to get into HR or didn't want to be processing every day. The other thing she found was that after two or three years people were getting lazy. Her question was why are you still here, is there a way we can we help you to move on? The most satisfying thing for her was to help someone move on and bring someone new in.

People get stuck for many reasons but life is not a rehearsal and there is no reason to not be happy doing what you’re doing. As a manager, if your people aren’t happy they are not going to do good work. Connie stayed in her role for sixteen years because she enjoyed trying to help other people through coaching and personal development. Eventually though she realised she needed to find a way out for herself. She hired her own coach in 2011 and had a session once a week for about twelve weeks. Her coach came up with some different scenarios, the favourite being to combine her love of writing with her love of mentoring to write a book.

Since that time the online sphere has really boomed and now allows us to do far more things online. Most of the people she now helps are in a career transition and she uses her Joy Method which asks where are you on your journey and what is your relationship with others. After you look at those two things, you can look at you and how you fit in.

Connie feels she had very good role models in her life. Her mother brought her up after her father left when she was nine. Her mother went back to school to become a nurse so was a huge hero to her. She also had a cheer leading coach who really believed in her so she had people in her life who put her on the path to help other people. When she came out of university, she worked with a headhunter who tried a lot of different things for her including fashion and publishing but told her the one industry she wouldn't put her in was finance. When Connie told her that was what she was going in to she was told she would be miserable which of course she was. 

Connie now lives in Costa Rica with her partner who she has been with for eighteen years. When they were dating in 2007 they went there on vacation and really loved it. They kept comparing it to everywhere else and in 2008 an opportunity came up to work there for a while. They brought a house there in 2012 and over time spent more time there until they moved there permanently in 2017.

Some people never have a sense of awakening but if you’re not happy to get out of bed and face your life then it's a sign you’re stuck. People can throw themselves into their professional life because they’re not happy in their personal life whilst others seem externally happy but know something is missing or not quite right. Some people never realise it but if you’re on the wrong path something will be tapping on your shoulder.

Often what brought you joy as a child has a thread that keeps you going back. It can be something really obvious. One of Connie’s friends was very ill as a child and now works in the medical field. There is a feeling that we should be somewhere else and if you keep this down for a number of years your brain will eventually start telling you that its OK, this is where your comfortable. However, if you start telling it I need to find a way to get out of here it can be a lot better. Most of us are living a fraction of the life we should be living.

You can find out more about Connie at http://monroecoaching.com Her book is ‘Holding onto Joy Through Abandonment & Divorce’

   You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions. 

Approaching change

Joe Caruso is a leadership coach who advises CEOs and leadership teams to optimise what they do and how they do it to get what they what in the fastest most efficient way possible. Most of the time if we are left on our own, we do more and more things that are less and less important to the customer. We become lost on our own thoughts and it becomes hard to think objectively about ourselves.

Any time we define a problem, we’ve immediately defined all the solutions our mind can’t consider just by the definition we choose. This type of thinking usually requires a candid experience assessment and a candid exchange of ideas.

Joe feels we need to move away from problem orientated thinking to solution orientated thinking and be able to think back to what could this could be or what else could this mean. These are the kind of questions that once a CEO speaks and gives their definition, people it as gospel. People will tell you that they like change but don't change anything. We tend to become too static in a dynamic world especially in market places that are changing every day.

We’re changing all the time cognitively, mentally and emotionally so the problem is perhaps management practices. The process of being changed or managed through change. Change is a problem in itself but change by its very nature is something we are very good at. The problem is how we approach change. The way we define it is the problem. The last thing people or businesses want to do is change identity.

Any time we define anything in our external world we use ourselves as the foundational context. Who you are affects how you define something. We start with the mind and a simple question is who am I or what have I become. Everything starts with how we think. Narrative is the foundational understanding of who I am. The more we learn about our own narrative the more we can recognise the narrative of others.

It’s about creating a corporate culture based on a compelling narrative that allows us to make sense of the world.  The first thing you need to do to create compelling is Identity. Something that everybody can agree with. Who are we as a collective mind? What problem are we trying to solve? What is our process? A leadership team is the best of what their profession is. But that's not a team that's just the top of the different divisions in the organisation. There has to be a trust and candor where everyone is able to talk on all areas. The CEO job is not to create excellence, it’s to create an environment where excellence can thrive.

 Find out more about Joe at www.carusoleadership.com,

  You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.

Leadership skills for the smartest person in the room

Christian Espinosa is an entrepreneur, a cyber security engineer, a certified high-performance coach, a professor, and a lover of heavy metal music and spicy food. He’s also an Air Force veteran and Ironman triathlete. Christian used to value being the “smartest guy in the room,” only to realise that his greatest contribution to the fight against cybercrime is his ability to bring awareness to the issue through effective communication and leadership training. Christian is a speaker, coach, and trainer in the secure methodology, helping to make the smartest people in the room the best leaders in the field.

Christian has spent almost 30 years in cyber security, initially in the military before forming his own company in 2014.  He found that most of the problems he had in his company were not because his staff lacked technical skills or processes, frameworks or procedures, it was because they didn't have people skills. He was hiring staff because of their technical aptitude and not looking at the cultural fit or their interpersonal skills and this opened him up to the problem or challenge that faced the whole industry. He realised that this was a recurring problem and one he needed to solve in his organisation - to bring back people skills to compliment his staffs already high IQ.

Christian feels that a lot of people want to proliferate the idea that if you are super smart, rationally smart with a super high IQ that you don't have any people skills. This idea has been tolerated for so long that it has become mainstream and acceptable but like any other skill it is something you can learn. A lot of people who are super high IQ will brag about how smart they are but, if you are super smart, you should be able to learn people skills. Somehow though they are resistant to this, perhaps because it is outside their comfort zone

When he looked back at his own career Christian realised he was trying to be smarter than other people. He realised that he was part of the problem and thought that if he could improve people skills or emotional intelligence it would help him go further in his career. Additionally, when you own your own business you have to also manage your team and use a different skill set than just hands on the keyboard. With your own business you need to be very practical, show empathy and insight, be able to explain and communicate and deal with conflict. These are often referred to as emotional intelligence or soft skills but they are not soft skills, they are fundamental to leadership.

Christian feels there should be a programme around developing leadership skills that tie into people skills and emotional intelligence.  A lot of companies will take their best engineers or technicians and promote them to a leadership position without giving them any training  - they assume that because they were good in a technical role they’ll be good in a leadership role.

They are however two dramatically different skillsets. If you are going to promote someone to a management or leadership role there should be a lot of training and awareness that just because someone is good as an operator it doesn't mean they'll be good as a leader.  Christian feels there is a difference between leadership and management. Leadership is about leading yourself first and then leading and influencing others to accomplish something whilst management is about keeping everything on track and less about influencing people.

There is also a feeling that as we skill leaders up to be more sensible and rounded, somehow their rational side diminishes as we improve one the other falls away.  In the past technical staff wouldn't want to take a leadership role because their technical skills would reduce and they would become obsolete. This needs to change. The technical skills will still be there because they maintain the high rational intelligence but they are just adding the people skills. You can pick up the technical skills again if you need to but if you add well developed people skills you will be an awesome leader because its rare for someone to have both skill sets

There has also been an idea that if you promote your best technical or sales person and put them into a management role, it’s somehow seen as a lesser career. Perhaps this is because those skills are more transferable or easier to acquire but you can always fall back into your technical side if management doesn’t work out but these things are massively important in themselves

Cultural, life and people skills and emotional intelligence has an infinite shelf life. Technical skills though have a finite shelf life because there will be new technology and updates. From a investment of time perspective, it makes more sense to learn skills that are always going to be applicable in a broader spectrum, skills that will help you across everything otherwise you are pigeon holing yourself into one specific thing.  If you develop people skills then they will applicable for the rest of your life. Dealing with conflict or having crucial conversations will be situations that will play out for the rest of your life. That’s why they have an infinite shelf life. If you get better at a specific cyber security tool or a specific technical aspect at some point that thing will change and the skill set become obsolete.

The first thing Christian learned about emotional intelligence was the awareness that he was part of the problem. We all want to be understood, appreciated and significant and in the past he felt significant by knowing more, being faster and by achieving more but he realised once he had the awareness that he was causing conflict with relationships by always trying to outdo somebody. He was never able to belong to anything because he was always trying to achieve more than everybody else. Reflecting back on his own journey was pretty sobering but he now has awareness but the awareness needs to be actionable or it doesn't really matter – knowledge is not power unless you can do something with it.

We all have unique skill sets and the goal of a leader is to work harmoniously with those skills. A lot of this requires a baseline level in people skills. We don't need to develop everybody to the maximum but if you are going to collaborate, communicate and deal with conflict it helps if we have some tools especially if someone isn’t used to having these sort of conversations. If we can communicate effectively, we are working on the solutions to the challenges, which in turn help the overall organisation.

Christian’s book ‘The Smartest Person in the Room’ is available here or you can find out more able Christian at https://christianespinosa.com/

  You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.
 

Undefeated Woman

Desange Kuenihira is the CEO and founder of unDEfeated, a non-profit organisation that provides education for underprivileged youth and supports single mothers in developing entrepreneurial skills so that they can start successful businesses to support their families.

Originally from Democratic Republic of Congo, at the age of two, Desange and her six siblings moved to a refugee camp in Uganda. In that camp, she had to fight for the life she wanted. She was told repeatedly that she was meaningless and that her only potential worth was the dowry a much older man who would pay to marry her as a pre-teen. Many of her friends were forced to marry strangers and have their children. Typically, the marriages wouldn’t last long, and soon the women returned to their parents with children, a ruined reputation, and no options for their futures.

Desange lived in Uganda for twelve years as a refugee before moving to the U.S. and becoming a U.S. citizen. Although she still faced many problems, she built her life in Utah and having people who believed in her potential meant she was able to determine her own future. She studied at the University of Utah and gained a Bachelor of Science in criminology and a Bachelor of Science in health, society, and policy, with a minor in entrepreneurship and pre- business.

Desange was one of the lucky ones and was given an opportunity to have a different future when she went to the United States but she always remembered the girls left behind. She founded unDEfeated for her friends and the countless young women in Uganda who don’t have someone valuing their worth. Her story of resilience and courage reflects the hardships faced by women in Uganda who often experience sexual abuse, poverty and child marriage and she hopes to break the cycle of poverty by creating opportunities for women to start and operate their own businesses.

Desange believes that education is the key to success and this is what will help Uganda move past being a poor country with an emerging economy and also close the significant educational disparity between men and women.

Find out more about Desange at Speakundefeated.org or her book Undefeated Woman is available at https://www.amazon.com/Undefeated-Woman-Desange-Kuenihira/dp/1956072063

    You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.

Redefinng midlife for women

Jacqueline or Jack Perez runs a digital platform dedicated to normalising ageing for women through highly curated content and women driven brands. Jack feels that ageism is the last ism left and it's the one we do mostly to ourselves.

Jack feels that it’s something that happens to a lot of women when we start to look in the mirror at a certain age and don't particularly like what is reflected back to us.  It could be a line, a wrinkle, a sag or an age spot but we start to feel ‘less than’ and to internalise bad self talk that we are not as valuable. In North America there is also a very user centric culture so it adds to the feeling of being devalued over time.

There is currently a big push in society around the science of longevity. This can be a challenge as we are often not very good at knowing how to live as we get older, primarily because we are very family centric. Kids grow up and leave home and you’re left with a relationship that's slightly festered over the years or on your own and wondering what do you do next. Both women and men in their 50’s are thinking that they could have 30 or 40 years of this, but 30 or 40 years of what?

In the UK we’ve seen what’s known as 3rd age phenomenon which is rethinking that.  There is a big zeitgeist of people who are excited by this stage in their lives, have been liberated from everything else, are old enough not to care sometimes but also to have the wherewithal to think ‘OK what could be next?’ They are looking for a source of information, a friendly face or place that relates to them where they and say ‘this is something that I could do or someone who I could be’.

At the moment we are in a unique position. The average lifespan of a white woman in the early 1900’s was 51. Although there were people who lived to their 80s or 90s this was not as a cohort or large sector of the population. Now is the first time that there is a very large number or a high concentration of people in this space. The Baby Boomers, the Gen X’s and now even the older Millenials are all entering this space and the exciting thing is that we get to define what that seed change looks like and the new paradigm. Women are hungry to look for the modeling of ‘what can my life look like in my 60s 70s and 80s?’ This is why Jack built the platform and brought together global thought leaders on the topics that are important to women in the extra years that they didn’t get 100 years ago.

The idea of having a community of liberated free thinkers seems to be quite exciting. Every day a new article gets pushed out about a relevant topic. It doesn’t shy away from the tough subjects but deals with them in an empowering, kind and productive manner. It’s not about shaming or scaring anyone rather its about providing valuable information that's actionable in the different areas. For example, if you’re looking in your closet as a 55 or 58 year old and asking ‘can I wear any of the stuff I used to wear when I was in my 30s or 40s?’ There are articles about fashion in mid life and beyond and article about skin care and makeup. The best place to start is the About page. Just scroll down so you can access articles from women around the world and find the topic that's relevant to you.

Jack found that when she was going through menopause herself she couldn't find any positive relevant information to help her so she started the platform because she didn't want other women to feel alone or scared. Loneliness and isolation are leading indicators of longevity – you will live longer if you have connections with other humans. Neither smoking, drinking nor being obese are not as dangerous to your health as being isolated and lonely.  They are also major causes of depression and also dementia. In a world where we are more connected we are increasingly isolated.

Jack earned her MBA from the University of Chicago and was then hired by Hewlett Packard in San Francisco where she worked for several years. She wasn't really corporate material though so in 1999 she left the corporate world and started a PR and marketing business with her then husband. It was the heyday of the late 90s with .com bubble and lots of venture capital money. It was a very buoyant environment but not at all sustainable in the longer term. Jack became a single mum late in life so started working in smaller companies in fractional executive roles that helped her spend more time with her child. She then went through the menopause and that's when she realised she needed to do something not for her but for everyone else!

There does seem to be a reappraisal of ones life at the time of menopause and there is science behind this. It's a time when women lose a lot of the hormones that make them maternal and want to take care of people. Post menopause many don't feel as maternal as they used to. Jack didn't realise just how tied she was to that feeling, need, drive or biological imperative. She had no idea how critical, crucial or all encompassing it was until it dissipated. Women can also become more vibrant at this time of life so if there is a mismatch in a relationship it can become more evident and, in the US, the highest number of divorces are issued by women aged 50 and above. There seems to be a lot of women who at 50 just say ‘I don't want to be married to you any more’ perhaps because the dream has changed or been fulfilled in a way.

The idea that we should be empowered to go out and start a new life is exciting. The problem and opportunity with a youth culture is that older people are often seen as wiser and are used as mentors. Younger people want to gain an edge and this often comes from people who have been there and done it before. Interestingly, the platform attracts younger people as well as the target market with half of the audience being under 45. Jack feels that this is because they are curious about what is coming so they are empowering themselves by learning.

You can find out more about Jack at www.kuellife.com or info@kuellife.com

    You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.

Beyond addiction. Science and kindness for positive change.

Jeff Foote is a clinical psychologist who has been involved with addiction treatments and programme development and research for over thirty years. He now runs treatment centres and a foundation for families of people struggling with substance issues. He has also written some books aimed at families to amplify the messages about evidence based approaches that families never hear about when they are helping their loved ones with their substance issues.

Jeff’s work has not always been based around families. For the first twenty-five years of his career he felt that he, along with many other clinicians, downplayed the role and involvement of families when it comes to mental health issues and peoples psychological struggles. During the first two thirds of his career he ignored families and focused on the person struggling with the addiction. Over the last ten years through, he has been working with organisations geared towards helping families.

Jeff had a pivotal experience talking with fifteen parents who he was just about to start training to coach other parents. Their kids had had terrible substance issues and they wanted to help other parents through evidence-based ideas rather than the things they had been told for years and years. That series of interviews changed his view and helped him realise the huge pain families go through, the levels of motivation they have to help and understand and the huge resource they are in helping to produce change.

Jeff has spent the last ten years shifting his focus and trying to make the tools and information more accessible to families so that they can see that they do this, both themselves and in the community, that they don’t need professionals and that they can take this up and be effective.

The US has been a blaming society when it comes to substance abuse. This is gradually changing but it is still there. One message has always been that you have to detach. If your loved one is struggling you need to step away and take care of yourself. The tough love idea that you have to let someone hit rock bottom before they will change. This has nothing to do with evidence or effectiveness and is an approach that is heartbreaking for families who come scared, concerned and asking for help.

The 12 Step Programme is often considered to be the only solution for addiction. Jeff feels that it has helped many people and many families over the last seventy years. The problem is that it's a ‘one size fits all’ process. If it doesn’t help you then there must be something wrong with you and it’s your fault. It's a programme that has been both helpful and harmful because of its demand characteristics rather than an invitational approach.

The approach Jeff has been working on over the last ten years is called the Invitation to Change‘ which is an invitational idea rather than a command one. Its basis is in community reinforcement and family training, an approach called CRAFT which is the most powerful evidence based approach for helping families help loved ones. Before that, it was a case of letting go/detaching or confrontational interventionist approaches. What we know from CRAFT and other psychological based approaches is that you can take care of yourself and stay connected to them and that this is actually the most powerful way to help someone to change.

Jeff’s process starts by having to have an understanding of what the person you are trying to help is going through, to ‘Open the door to change by viewing your loved ones substance abuse by viewing it through another lens’. By shifting your perspective and starting to understand that you can step into their shoes. People do things because they are reinforcing. They act and behave because there is something in it for them. Substances are very reinforcing and they are reinforcing in different ways for different people.

Family members need to sit back and understand that their loved one is doing this not because they are morally reprehensible, lazy but because it makes sense to them in a powerful way. This creates an entirely different relationship and atmosphere – I still feel scared, I don't like or agree with it but I can understand it now. You’re a human being and these things mean something to you. This changes everything – what you’re doing makes me want to turn away to what you’re doing makes me want to turn towards you. The thing that changes is the understanding of their motivation.

The person struggling with the addiction is the one whose behaviour is not acceptable. The family is involved in a blame way. Studies about family support and family health show the barriers to are practical and economic but the major one is stigma. When a family member steps into the change process or treatment system they get blamed, ‘why didn't you see it earlier’ and there is shame and blame. It rips the family fabric of trust and safety apart and how you reengage is different for all families. Their values are different but most are invested in staying connected, of being loving and bringing safety, connection, respect and collaboration into a family unit that might have been damaged by the substance abuse.

Jeff feels Science and Kindness is what helps people change and that although strategies, understanding and data related research trial concepts are powerful without kindness the uptake and effectiveness is much less. Kindness is an evidence-based strategy as well.

You can find out more about Jeff at Center for Motivation and Change Foundation or The Beyond Addiction Workbook for Family and Friends: Evidence-Based Skills to Help a Loved One Make Positive Change, 

   You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.

A journey of awakening.

Beth Bell spent over fifteen years in strategic brand management in the pharmaceutical industry and which took her around the world. Eventually though she realised she wanted to do something more with her life. She loved her job but knew there was a bigger mission so she left her corporate life behind and moved to Bali, originally thinking she’d be there for three months but ending up being there for five and half years.

In total she spent seven and a half years in Asia and returned to the US in 2018 where she did her own shows ‘Pollenate the planet with love’ and  ‘Empowering peer love and purpose’.  She has now launched a book to on how we can stop the suffering of the mind by giving in to our souls plan and living the bliss that is our abundance and birthright.

Big pharma does not seem to be a place of great purpose and meaning. A lot of people get feelings that there is more so what was happening to you? What was going on in your head?

Beth is not really a disgruntled corporate person, but there is a soul seeking aspect of working for any big company. She always had the idea that there was something more that I’m here to do, something more that I want to contribute. After going though a tumultuous divorce which was also one of the biggest spiritual awakening moments in her life she just walked up the stairs of her corporate life and realised things had to change because she really wanted to do something different. She didn't really know what it was or where she should go but the idea of moving to Costa Rica came to mind. Within one week she had five people tell her she should go to Costa Rica and she took that as a sign. She started looking at the airfares and told herself that if the ticket was cheap enough she would go. It was and she took that as the last validation sign so bought the ticket and then realised she would have to quit her job.

Beth’s employer’s offered her a three-month sabbatical but after one month she realised she want to go back any time soon. She didn't want to leave her team without a leader so she decided to give them notice and not take the three months. She kept travelling and this started to accelerate her spiritual journey. She ended up going back to the corporate world after two years which turned out to be a great opportunity with many more things unfolding from there. Beth feels she was divinely guided to leave her corporate life, to return to it and finally leave it for good many years down the road.

You had an idea but you acted on it. lots of people don't act on. You de-risked it but there is a difference between people who act and those that don't. What is it that makes you take action?

Beth feels that she developed intuitive risk taking. It was a risk to leave her corporate life and pay check and it did take a lot to make the jump but intuitively she knew she wanted to follow her heart and didn't want to be a person who said woulda shoulda coulda. She wanted to be the person that lived her life to its fullest and not in fear. She read a book called ‘A Course on Miracles’ which told her that life is either based on love or fear. She choose love and that meant she was going to go where her heart said she should go. To Beth intuitively doesn’t mean doing something on a whim rather it means listening to the feeling in your gut and then finding some validation points to make it make sense.

Beth’s divorce was painful. She fell in love with someone who was a great companion and had a lot of things in common with. She also fell prey to the white picket fence fairytale of romantic love. They both had different ideas about who they were as people and what they wanted to represent. She spent a lot of time enjoying her marriage but ended up lying to herself, not intentionally because didn't know she was lying to herself but she was not seeing the relationship for what it really was and how it was holding it back. She doesn't think her ex wanted to intentionally hold her back but we all have fear in relationships and in love. We want to protect ourselves and we all have ideas of want a relationship should be.

They started to part but then Beth hadwhat she refers to as an awakening kiss at 30,000 feet. Someone woke her up and she realised that she wanted more and that she could be in a relationship that gave her more. It was an awakening kiss because it wasn't a relationship that then was heavily pursued, it was an awakening to say there is so much more in a relationship that she was capable of. It was difficult because she had been with her husband for ten years and it wasn't something he wanted. It created a challenge and it took five to six years to settle the divorce.

Beth is still very grateful for the relationship because it was good in a lot of ways and taught her a lot of things. It was a challenge to get of though and she spent a lot years going under every rock, nook and cranny to make sure she healed from all the things that had come about from the relationship.

Beth’s new book is called Angels, Herpes and Psychedelics. She was encouraged by many people to change the title but she feels the title was spirited to her.  She breaks it down by explaining that Angels are always around to guide us. They appear in many forms but surround us everywhere. Everyone is an angel and we need to be open to the people in our lives so we can listen to the lesson they are here to help us with. Herpes refers to the different traumas that appear in life. Beth feels that viruses of the mind are the biggest trauma in life. These mean different things for people but we need to unravel the storyline of our mind to stop suffering.

Beth always had an absolute no go drug policy with just an occasional use of alcohol but she now feels that after twenty years of building her spiritual toolbox, psychedelics have helped her to completely embody the intellectual concepts she had with all her spiritual learning in a completely new way.

Beth came to psychedelics because at one point she was a flower whisperer. In her corporate world she could not meditate so she started photographing flowers and fell in love with the vibration and energy of flowers and this became her meditation. This led her into her being more interested in plant based medicine because she understood the power of flowers and plants. Coming from big pharma she finds it interesting that there are no over 250 pharmaceutical psychedelics companies all studying different molecules. A number of them are featured on the New York Stock Exchange so are seen as legitimate companies and it is likely that approvals for some psychedelics will be given in 2023.

There is lots of research and testing of psychedelics and the early results on their effect on trauma, anxiety and performance enhancement shows great promise. Conventional medicine is often reluctant and slow to take up new ideas so it’s often at the boundaries where you find advancements. However, the use of psychedelics is to be taken very seriously.

Beth feels it provides a great ability to help you work through trauma to expand your consciousness and that in an appropriate setting you can have an experience where you can understand the way that the universe works and who you really are and also unravel all the storylines in your mind that you don’t know are there. These can be ancestral or programmed from your parents, community or media and they can cause suffering.

Until you get into the depths of unraveling them to know who you really are, you will experience suffering. Psychedelics have the ability to give you a northern star that shows you where you’re headed, where you want to go and what your souls plan is.  

You can find out more about Beth at BethBell.me or her new book Angels, Herpes and Psychedelics, shares her journey of awakening and provides a spiritual toolbox others can learn from.

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
Find out more about our innovative Resilience and Burnout solutions.

Lean in and learn. Finding the purpose to change.

David Richman is an author, public speaker, philanthropist and endurance athlete whose mission is to form more meaningful human connections through storytelling. He wrote Cycle of Lives, which shares the interconnected stories of people overcoming trauma and delves deeply into their emotional journeys with cancer.

David was on a quest to try to find out from real life experiences what are some of the difficulties people are encountering, how they navigate those conversations and what we can learn from them and bring to our own lives. He found that when many people try to navigate the emotional facets of the journey, they are not well equipped to have hard conversations or have deep authentic connections with people even their closet loved ones.

When David was at a super low point in life in his mid to late 30’s. He was overweight, a smoker, miserable, stressed and in an abusive marriage with an alcoholic wife.  He was also the father of four-year old twins. It was a destructive lifestyle going nowhere when he got the news about his sister ‘s terminal cancer diagnosis. He realised he had chance to change his life and live for the better but his is sister didn’t.

It wasn’t that easy to make changes. It was tough especially as he set out to find answers without little context – you can hear something fifty times but its not until you hear it the fifty-first that you get it. David heard his inside and outside voice as well as other people telling him that he needed to stop trying to find people to fix and to create problems to get out making changes. He knew he had no self-awareness or self care but he was aware of who he was and didn't like it. He saw himself for the first time and then he saw himself in reflection to his sister and their potential journeys. He had choices but she didn’t.

Someone then said something to him that didn’t make the transformation any easier but it did make the realisation that he had a lot of work to do easier. He was at a low point in his life, complaining about being tired, angry and having to watch his sister die. A friend told him that he’d been listening to him complaining for years and that he should look in the mirror and fix himself, that he needed to realise he was the problem not everyone else. It didn't make it easy but it opened his eyes about what he had to do and that he had to do it fast. The fact he needed to do it fast helped. He felt he didn’t have that much time and he wanted to live on purpose, to see himself for who he really was, to free his mind and forgive himself for his bad choices, the wasted time and the problems he had created. He wanted to lean in and learn. 

He didn't know what a sense of purpose was but he wanted to figure it out. He knew he was a good dad and a hard worker but what gave him purpose was to be present, to be in each moment, to spend time, make a choice that you want and are aware of and be open minded so you can live on purpose. You need to free your mind and let it go. This is your day one now so what can I lean in and learn?  David started with athletics – if he started by becoming healthy where would that lead him? What it led David to do was athletics, triathlons, ironman, 100-mile runs and a 5000-mile bike run. It has given him a lot of focus and purpose and helped solve problems that have crossed over into other areas of life.

In his book, Winning in the Middle of the Pack, he discusses how to get more out of ourselves than we ever imagined. Many people spend too much time thinking about winning or leading or being the best. Sometimes its enough to be yourself and be in the middle of the pack and make the best of yourself rather than being the best of the best or the best against anyone else. There are a lot of people who grow up looking for approval, thinking that other people see them in a different way or do they do things to please people because they think that’s who they need to be. When you think of people at the top such as Roger Federer they don't really care about what anybody thinks they care about what they think. They aren’t driven by outward approval they are driven by what they want to achieve. 

If you’re in the middle of the pack nobody is watching or cares because they are more focused on their own stuff. The only thing that matters is that you care and that you’re doing the best that you can do and that you make good choices – the only one who cares is the one you look at in the mirror.  

David is now leading very moving and transformative Expressive Writing Workshops geared towards people affected by all manner of trauma. He combines traditional expressive writing techniques with elements of both narrative and creative writing so that the participants will be well equipped to continue their expressive writing practices well beyond the workshops. Mental health is such an important topic and David brings his passion, skills, and unique approach to help people connect with their emotions in a whole new way and begin a healing journey.

You can find out more about David at https://david-richman.com/

In his book Winning in the Middle of the Pack, David discusses how to get more out of ourselves than ever imagined and in Cycle of Lives, he shares the interconnected stories of people overcoming trauma and delves deeply into their emotional journeys with cancer.

You can listen to the podcast in full and find out further information here. Our upcoming guest list is also available along with our previous blogs.
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