#125 Closing a door when you are (in the eyes of others) at the peak of success
Release Date: 07/03/2024
Another Door Stories
“Sometimes the doors closing are not just physical things. Sometimes it is about closing the way we do something, the way we think, so that we can step into a different space for ourselves.” Have you ever felt the weight of certainty pull you down, trapping you in a life that doesn’t truly fulfill you? In this episode I sit down with Suzanne Penny, a transition and career coach, who shares her own transformative journey of leaving behind certainty in favour of embracing the unknown. Suzanne shares key turning points in her life that could have easily anchored her in fear and...
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"I thought, if dressing people and making people look good makes them happy, then I would love to do this." Have you ever felt the weight of questioning your career path and wondered if there might be something else out there that's truly meant for you? In this episode, we take you on a journey with Taiwo Meghoma, a lawyer-turned-fashion-stylist. From a young boy in Nigeria discovering his love for fashion by helping his mother with her outfits, to sitting front row at major fashion weeks alongside his idols, Taiwo's story is about boldly opening new doors even when the world might tell...
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"When you have kindness in the culture, you build psychological safety. And from there you have high performing teams, better staff retention, creativity, resilience, like it really stacks up in terms of all the different benefits that you get by increasing levels of kindness and empathy in your business." Kindness can transform not just your personal well-being but also the landscape of work and leadership. In this episode, I reconnect with Graham Allcott, productivity expert, author, and now a passionate advocate for kindness in the workplace. We share the inspiration for his new book Kind,...
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"The biggest thing was I wanted to be more responsible as a thought leader. And in a world where we have so much information, misinformation, disinformation, it was important that I went through a process of acquiring knowledge and creating new knowledge and it was the PhD." Ready to lead a curiosity rebellion? We have the inspiring Yemi Penn as our guest. Yemi is a trailblazer who has navigated and embraced change across continents, careers, and personal transformations. From her early beginnings in engineering to becoming a documentary creator and author, Yemi has followed her...
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"We tell stories in times of transition because in good times, bad times, lateral movements, figurative movements, we need to make sense of the world. Stories help us help us process. This is what makes us human." Can six words help you process change, and tell your life story? On the podcast Larry Smith shares how a simple Twitter experiment 15 years ago turned into a global storytelling movement - the Six Word Memoir project. Our conversation is not just word count. Larry shares his closing door life moments, from divorce, to relocation, to career change....
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“I grew up watching the Olympics and you see these athletes from around the world marching in the opening ceremonies. And then one day, you are setting foot in that stadium. 50,000 people screaming and you look to your right and you see more cameras than you can count. And in that moment that you are on TV around the world and some little kid is probably looking at you the way you looked at some other athlete." How do you find the courage to push forward when fear and uncertainty stand in your way? In this episode, I speak to Devon Harris, member of the legendary Jamaican bobsleigh team that...
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“My new mission in life...is about helping women be seen, heard, and valued in their space, whether that's in work and beyond” In this episode, I talk with Aimee Bateman, an incredible entrepreneur and advocate for women in the workplace. Aimee shares her story of how experimenting helped her through a closing door after selling her business Careercake. She had spent 10 years building a successful company, then sold it, which was the plan all along. But after the sale, she faced a new challenge: What’s next? She was also adjusting to life as a new parent,...
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"For me opening the door was the same door that had shut in my face previously. But going back there and thinking, well, what am I able to do? …I tried many things, but I realised it's music. So I sat down with a blank piece of paper and thought, I've got to make my way again." Imagine being at the height of music stardom in the 90s, performing on Top of the Pops, being helicoptered between gigs, and having fans waiting outside your house. Then suddenly, there is silence. In this episode Lee Murray shares what happens when the music stops. Lee was the drummer in the band Let Loose, which...
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"It's okay when you fundamentally change your perspective, and it makes different anchors in your life to what you had up to a certain moment of a door closing. I think the door closing on me was about not wanting to be an employed person anymore and wrestling with it.” Ever felt the whisper of your dreams urging you to make a change but hesitated because of the safety net of a steady job? In this insightful episode, I sit down with Dr. Claire Handby as she shares her transition from a 25-year corporate career to embracing entrepreneurship. Of course, there is a lot to be said...
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"I made the decision to jump off that entrepreneurial ledge, which was incredibly intimidating at the time… But, I was so compelled to see what was on the other side of fear, which was leaving full time, gainful, fantastic employment and chase a dream" In today's episode, we have Ant Duckworth, the co-founder of Dear Coco. I’ve been following Ant’s journey and the evolution of ‘Dear Coco’, his award winning coffee truck, since the dream started. We all have these tiny ideas, small dreams, but how many of us decide to take action and step into trying, and giving it a go. Ant...
info_outline“Starting something new is really exciting, and closing one door on something that doesn't serve you or make you happy anymore is very good for your mind, body, and spirit.”
Claire Winter is the creative force behind the Creatrix Journey and Winter Audio and she shares her journey of embracing joy and ease in her work after closing the door on a successful but exhausting content marketing business to curating walking and creative writing experiences and co-founding a podcast production agency.
We talk about tricky mid-life transitions, surviving burn out, and testing new ventures.
Get ready for a deep conversation about finding freedom, the messy bits in between, and the intentional shifts we can make to close a door with no regrets.
"So all the things that I've built and learned, storytelling, how to write great headlines, how to express yourself, how to find what your unique talents are and share them with the world. I'm able to bring them to the work that I do and all of it feels aligned. It feels joyful."
Or
“Creating for the joy of it, not because you have to."
Here are the highlights:
04:02 Self-employment journey involves many twists and turns.
07:02 Being self-employed has it challenges.
12:43 Transition from content marketing to soul-led creativity.
14:11 Creating and holding space for others to create
18:26 Listen to the body's signals, find fulfillment in work.
20:53 Consider what you need and overcome fear.
25:32 Create and share your unique content, and amplify on socials.
Claire Winter’s Another Door go-tos
The things that helped Claire navigate change.
Books: The Artist's Way, Julia Cameron
Music: Go Your Own Way. Fleetwood Mac
The one piece of advice: “Go for a walk and do some writing after your walk to get clear on why you're closing that door and explore the opportunities of the new doors that you could open.”
About your host Eleanor Tweddell:
Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s 121 coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training. Eleanor’s work centres around how we, as humans, work through change, embracing the messy bits, the role of playing, with the aim to see opportunity. “Too often we get stuck in the change happening to us, when just through that next door is an exciting next chapter.”
Eleanor is the founder of Another Door, and Get-Recommended.com and the author of Why losing your job could be the best thing that ever happened to you.
Connect with Eleanor:
Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/
Website: eleanortweddell.com
Are you looking for speakers with a fresh voice for your next workshop or conference? Check out www.get-recommended.com
About Claire Winter: Claire is a creativity and writing coach, award-winning podcaster, and co-founder of production agency Winter Audio. She uses a blended coaching and mentoring approach to ignite her client's creativity so they can share their authentic voice and story with the world. She is a former journalist and started her career at ITN in radio and television,
She also curates walking and writing experiences with her business the Creatrix Journey and loves to share her knowledge about powerful storytelling, nature connection, walking, and creative writing with organisations and individuals. You can download her free Creative Writing Guide here: https://creatrixjourney.com/free-writing-guide/
Connect with:
Instagram: @clairewinteruk;
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-winter-writer/
Website: creatrixjourney.com; winteraudio.co.uk
Produced by winteraudio.co.uk