Moxiecast

This is the final episode of MoxieCast! (sniff, sniff). I'm closing out this series of nourishing, soulful conversations with David Taylor-Klaus, coach and author of Mindset Mondays: 52 Ways to REWIRE Your Thinking and Transform Your Life. I have something new in the hopper! Please stay subscribed and watch this space! On today's episode, David and I talk about some really practical ways to: Shift our beliefs to fulfil our potential; approach problem solving in a juicy new way; and how we can quit being hardholics, already. Not everything has to be difficult to be worthwhile. Some of my favourite bits of the show include: Paranoia vs. Proanoia (say what?) How to shift the sucky belief that if success is easeful, the outcome can't be any good An instant 3-step process to handle a challenging situation (it works!) Grab your cuppa and join us! David is SO wise, uplifting and fun.     Links and Resources: David Taylor-Klaus Mindset Mondays by David Taylor-Klaus Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peopl

Because duct tape isn't an option...I've created an episode to help you handle a challenging boss. Today's guest is Parissa Behnia, formerly a challenging boss herself, who now specialises in working with what she calls 3D leaders (difficult, dismissive and divisive). She shares three strategies for you to try next time you're about to lose your shiitake at work. Learn... Why labels and name calling can strain communication (okay, okay...begrudgingly letting go of the term 'bosshole') How empathy can be a game-changer How having a few key interventions in your back pocket can shift a tense moment Grab your cuppa and join us. Links and Resources: Parissa Behnia on LinkedIn Parissa Behnia’s Website The Asshole Survival Guide by Robert Sutton Hogan Assessments Mandy Lehto Mandy Lehto on Instagram Review MoxieCast on iTunes Quotes by Parissa Behnia: “A 3D leader is difficult, dismissive, divisive. They are high-value, high performers, have high positions in an organization, but because of being that 3D leader

Excuses are always available. And yet there are people who just go for it in life. They have a spark about them. A knack of creating a big, juicy life, not just reacting to a never-ending to-do list. Danusia Malina-Derben, is one such woman. She's an entrepreneur, academic, and organizational behavior and development expert. Oh, and she's a mum of ten. She's also the host of the School for Mothers and School for Fathers podcasts, and the author of two forthcoming books in 2021.  I asked Danusia to share about being brave and handling her insidious inner critic. How does Danusia set and accomplish unreasonable goals? How does she live a created life on her OWN terms? Our conversation covers: Changing your inner critic's diet (SO good!) Why unreasonable goals and falling on your face is necessary Doing vs Being How do you play the cards of failure when you're on your face? The power of a bold request - you can't get what you don't ask for Grab your cuppa and join us! Links and Resources: Effective Leadership

As the world grapples with Covid-19, deep presence and the ability to create a sense of calm and groundedness feel more important than ever in leadership. I'm not just talking about VIP's in the business world. I'm talking about self-leadership too. Today's guest says a leader is someone entrusted with holding the heart of an endeavour or a family. It's someone who inspires us "to hold each other well." (I mean, how beautiful is that?) Kelly Wendorf is a coach, mother, spiritual mentor and founding partner of Equus, an 11-acre experiential learning & discovery campus in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Horses are co-facilitators in their work at the ranch, and much of Kelly's wisdom on leadership has emerged from her life-long observations of the horse herd, a 56-million-year-old system. Kelly's also the author of the forthcoming book, Flying Lead Change, published by Sounds True this autumn. In this episode, we discuss: What it means to lead from behind  Leadership the equine way - tapping into the wisdom of the h

Ever run yourself ragged hosting a party, and yet DECLINED offers of help (while seething silently)? Or maybe you agreed to watch a friend's gaggle of unruly kids for the weekend (while your own bandwidth and energy were already non-existent), and yet declined her offer to reciprocate next weekend. You have a huge portal for giving, and a teeny pinhole for receiving.  Sound familiar? And if so, what the heck is going on there?  Today's guest, April Boyd, a psychotherapist, says not receiving can be a way of protecting yourself in relationships. After a traumatic event in her own life, April learned that receiving help - and even more, ASKING for it - was riddled with complexity. She says it's vulnerable to receive. Asking for help is even more of a challenge. And yet, declining it blocks connection. If you regularly utter, "No, it's fine, I've got this," this episode will help you get better at saying, "Thank you, that would be really great." We discuss: Why receiving feels risky How to determine if you want

Ever feel like your relationship with pleasure, sensuality and the feminine is a bit of a Rubik’s cube? For years, I heard the phrase “get out of your head and into your body,” and never really understood it. I mean, duh, where else would I be? I clearly had a lot to learn… Today’s guest is Alexis Artin, owner of a globally renowned female empowerment company who’s on a mission to help women connect with their bodies. Before you do a U-turn Gents, this episode isn’t just for women. There’s some real insight here for you too… We discuss: Feminine and Masculine Energy: What’s the difference? Why should we care? Embodying the feminine: Awareness, appreciation, and experiencing feelings/senses  Practical ways to access our feminine – and what that can mean in our lives (pure goodness) Links and Resources Alexis Artin Alexis Artin on Instagram The Female Brain by Louann Brizendine Why Gender Matters by Leonard Sax Mandy Lehto Mandy Lehto on Instagram Review MoxieCast on iTunes Quotes by Alexis Artin: “I really

How would life change if you could shift your relationship with the negative voice in your head? Submit to it less. Lighten up a little. Do what you want anyway, even if the voice threatens you with public humiliation and epic cringey-ness. Honestly, we can be such dicks to ourselves. If you're as sick of that as I am, grab your mug of something hot and hit . Suzy Reading - author, coach, and champion of all things self-care-related - is back on the show by popular demand. Listen to our popular previous episode, "Win at self-care and willpower," HERE. Today we talk about: Worthiness - stories we tell ourselves about not being good enough Self-worth is a choice (never thought about it like that!) HALT Check-in - You need to know about this... Are you successful in spite of yourself? Permissioning ourselves to honour boundaries and feelings - it's essential Join us! Links and Resources: Suzy Reading The Little Book of Self-Care Stand Tall Like a Mountain: Mindfulness & Self-Care for Children and Parents

"Is this all there is?" Maybe you've asked yourself that question after achieving something - a promotion, a degree, a level of success - that you were convinced would fulfil you. And when you get there, it feels kinda meh, empty even. Then there's the guilt about how you're feeling, when, to the outside world, you've MADE IT, baby. It's depressing, yet alienating (I mean who'd complain at having your embarrassment of riches, hey?) So you shut up, and suck it up. That's what makes it the head screw of all head screws. Meet today's guest, Shelley Paxton, former chief marketing officer of the badass brand, Harley-Davidson. She rode choppers in some of the coolest places on the planet; had a swoon-worthy wardrobe; had people hanging on her every word. I knew her back then. She seemed like one powerful mofo, a woman with her life together. The reality? Shelley was holding on by her manicured fingernails, numbing nightly with food and a bottle of wine. She felt empty and full of self-loathing, unsure how she could

Today's guest craves failure (not chocolate like the rest of us). Most people will run a mile to avoid failing and looking bad, lest folks point and laugh. Not Dr. Erin Baker. She's a leadership coach with a PhD in social psychology. In her previous career, Erin held senior roles at Microsoft and Facebook (READ: lots of pressure to perform and get things right). With a big brain and a stellar career, you might find yourself thinking, "Say what?" if I told you that Erin was terrified of failing. Or rather, she used to be. Instead of living in fear, Erin geeked out on it, examined it like a scientist, and came up with some fascinating conclusions that you want to know about.  If you've got bullet-proof confidence and eat fear for breakfast (with a side of spiders), this episode is NOT for you. Have a lovely day. Bye now! But if you've ever felt like a weenie, doubted yourself, or played small because you're afraid to splat, then tune in my friend. You're in for a treat. Here's a few things we play with in this

I first met Harriet Minter when she was giving a talk at the Festival of Doers this summer. One of her lines stuck with me as she described her career path: "Proceed until apprehended." I knew straightaway that I wanted her on the podcast. Harriet is a woman who understands that if you want something, no one is coming to present the object (person/job/opportunity) to you on a silver platter. There's no Harry Potter wand involved, no booming Charlton Heston voice from the clouds permissioning you to go for it. You proceed until apprehended. Life lesson right there. I'm excited for you to meet Harriet, who has been a journalist for nearly fifteen years (with six of those at the Guardian). As a freelance journalist she has written for The Times, The Telegraph and The Sunday Times, as well as many leading magazines. She's the host of the award-winning Badass Women's Hour and regularly appears on the BBC and Sky News as a commentator. Oh and she's also a qualified coach and facilitator. In today's episode Harriet

Wolves don't go around worrying about how many wolf things they got done today. They're into being, not doing. They're not over-identified with their output. They also don't cling to old hurts forever. They remember, but they move on. For these and other reasons, wolves are brilliant teachers for humankind. And if we want to continue as a sustainable civilisation, we urgently need their help, says today's guest. Teo Alfero is an author, spiritual teacher and owner of Wolf Connection, an educational sanctuary and wilderness retreat centre in California. His fascinating new book The Wolf Connection: What Wolves Can Teach Us About Being Human is available for pre-order on Amazon. Teo never intended to be 'the wolf man.' The wolves, he says, chose him.  It started with Tala, the little wolf-dog pictured below, who opened Teo’s heart. Teo went on to rescue a pack of 16 more wolf-dogs, before making the wolf-human connection his life's purpose. Today's episode is about what we, as a civilisation, can learn from the

Today we're talking adrenal fatigue and burnout with Susi Hately, yoga teacher, burnout expert, and registered kinesiologist. Though she's knowledgeable and friendly, she says her burnout clients don't seek her out willingly. In fact, she's often a last resort. Many of her clients are driven, successful people in their 40s and 50s who have hit the wall. They've pushed through symptoms like brain fog, non-restorative sleep, digestive issues and constant exhaustion. They've come because they've tried all the usual crutches - more caffeine, more exercise, more carbs - and nothing works. In this conversation, Susi talks to those of us high-achievers who have a tendency to deny our symptoms, or who want to get rid of them. Instead, she encourages us to listen to those symptoms. They're messengers attempting to communicate vital information. What I love about this conversation is that Susi helps us to start thinking about what would be possible for us if we worked WITH the body and listened to the messengers. What

You lie to yourself. We all do. You do things you don't really want to do, then resent it. Agreeing to things (especially if they're far in the future), means you don't hurt someone's feelings in the moment. You get to avoid the awkward conversation where you say 'No.' Then the occasion comes and you face palm, asking yourself, 'Why did I say yes to this?' Because you lied to yourself! You avoided momentary discomfort. That's one reason your diary is over-full. But it's more than just the people pleasing. It's the speed, the hustle, the seductive lie that the faster and harder you push, the more successful you'll be. It's the lack of clarity, too, around what success even means. What can shift this is having clear criteria around what is allowed to take up your time and attention. It's striving for Effectiveness vs. Efficiency. It's putting practices into place that help you decide if something belongs in your life. Simple, but not easy... Today’s guest is Mark Silverman, author, master coach and speaker. Als

In 2016, singer-songwriter Monique DeBose was diagnosed with a tumour. She did something deeply creative after that. She dialogued with it. She asked what it wanted to teach her. It replied, "You need to be expressing authentically in a way that really has you be fulfilled.” So she asked herself, “What am I really not saying in the world that I need to be saying? And what am I afraid to say, but feel the need to say?” This year, Monique released two creative projects, both edgy and highly personal. One was an award-winning play, Mulatto Math, that sold out in New York and Los Angeles. The other was her chart-topping album, The Sovereign One, which hit #2 on its iTunes debut. In today's episode, Monique and I play with the tension between expressing and playing safe. How do we allow ourselves to be visible, to be seen, when what we're saying feels vulnerable? What if it hurts, or shocks someone? What if people we care about don't like it? What if they think about us differently? How do we speak up anyway, even

You can't achieve your way to self worth. You can't force the squinchy part of yourself into submission - the part that feels weak and less-than and shameful. You can't exercise it into oblivion, or smother it with success or any other form of doing. You can't hide it behind shiny things. Not for long, anyway. It's an inside job. Ask Hazel Gale. She's a former world-champion boxer and kick boxer who drove herself to breaking point, ignoring the physical signs that she was burning out. She numbed her fears of weakness and not-enoughness with punishing workouts. Her body had other plans, but Hazel didn't want to listen. It was a fight she couldn't win. "I had to crash," she says. "You can't wage war on yourself and emerge victorious." Burnt-out and unrecognisable to herself, Hazel met her most formidable opponent yet, her fear of weakness. Hazel shares how she let go of old coping mechanisms, and how she befriended her "Mind Monster," the part of herself that she'd thrashed against for decades. Now, as an autho

I'm fascinated by resilience, particularly how some people demonstrate extraordinary bounce-back-ability, and humour even, when something devastating happens. Maybe it's a redundancy or a medical diagnosis. Maybe a long-term relationship breaks up. You know those people who thrive in spite of their challenging circumstances? They have every reason to become jaded and cynical. Instead they're insightful. Funny. Wise like Yoda. How do they do that? Meet today's guest, James Shone. At 39 years old, James was at the pinnacle of his career. He'd just received a prestigious Headship at a school and was about to move his wife and four children into their new home, when disaster struck. Two words changed his life forever: brain tumour. James tells his story in the episode, but I wanted to pre-share this here. Most of us don't have" enough air in our balloons," he says. So when the unexpected happens we can't spring up as easily. We have a choice in adversity, he says, (quoting Winston Churchill): Do we give up, or do

"I'm giving up caffeine," you say, all gung-ho and fist pumps. Then 4pm strikes and you've got an axe in your head, or so it feels. You're standing at the coffee bar, eyes like spirographs, remembering your promise to give up your afternoon espresso with two sugars. "Tomorrow. I promise I'll start tomorrow..." And if it's not coffee, maybe it's starting the gym, or cutting the insidious habit of checking your phone 500 times a day. Why is it so darn hard to change a habit, even if we feel it'll serve us? Today’s guest is Dr. Heather McKee, behaviour change psychologist and habit coach. Forget willpower, she says. Skill power's where it's at. Some show highlights include: Understanding the “Why” of your aspired habit (game-changer!) How habits are formed - and why knowing this matters Identifying the cues and rewards associated with the behaviours you're trying to change Starting a "Temptation Tracker" Willpower is like the battery on your mobile phone - it wears down throughout the day. Don't rely on it! The

You walk into a social event where you don't know anyone. Everyone's mingling - everyone but you. You're at the buffet, scoffing vol-au-vents, holding your plastic glass of pee-warm chardonnay. You glance around, wiping crumbs from your lapels. Nope. Still no one you recognise. You look at your watch, wondering how long to subject yourself to this low-grade humiliation. The temptation to pull out your phone is intense. It'd make you feel like less of a plonker. Five more minutes, you tell yourself. So you stand awkwardly next to the potted plant, reading the fire escape instructions. Dum-de-dum-de-dum. Moment by moment, you're emitting more desperate signals, and shockingly, no one swans over to engage you in conversation. You give a passer-by a watery smile, but no dice. I'm outta here, you say to yourself. I'm just not good at this socialising thing. That was as fun as a root canal. If any part of my intro rings true, today's conversation is going to be a game-changer. Karen Baker is a professional people-p

Social media is full of memes encouraging us to "be ourselves," and to "be authentic." That could be the least helpful advice ever. How do we do that? What does it even mean? Enter Sarah McVanel, today's guest. Sarah had a wake-up call when her son had a mental health crisis and ended up on antidepressants. She left her job and simplified the family's affluent lifestyle to focus on her son's recovery. This challenge helped to crystallise Sarah's own greatness, and a new career was born... Nowadays, Sarah helps others to recognise and grow their greatness by FROGGING them. It can be hard to see our own zone of genius, or how compelling our quirks and idiosyncrasies really are (so often we try hard to hide the very things that make us groovy.) One of Sarah's method is to "Forever Recognise  Others' Greatness." You can start using FROG too. It's surprisingly uplifting.  Show highlights include: The difference between wanting and deciding How choice is an antidote to passive living Afraid to fail (or succeed)? P

You know that old chestnut, "Go big or go home"? There's an implication that it looks a certain way to go BIG. It's usually shiny and far-reaching. There's loads of travel and champagne involved. Big success is seductive. So seductive, that we often we leave parts of ourselves (the creative part, for instance, or sometimes the kind part) in order to pursue it. Yet here's the bonkers thing: Do you even want that? Do you know what success means for YOU? Today's episode is about how we can stop leaving ourselves. How do we start listening to that deep inner whisper that wants to make us whole again, especially if it's whispering something that feels inconvenient? (Like 'quit your job'). Today’s guest is Kendra Cunov, founder of Fierce Grace: Practices of Embodied Wholeness for Women. Kendra studies, facilitates, and practices authentic relating, embodiment practices, and deep intimacy work.   Some highlights of our conversation include: How to get back into integrity The link between adrenal fatigue and leaving