Welcome to Generation Exceptional, the podcast for Gen X women navigating midlife like pros! Hosted by Bev Thorogood, a late-diagnosed ADHD entrepreneur who knows a thing or two about embracing life's twists and turns, this podcast is your go-to source for stories, teachings, and conversations covering everything from career transitions and business ventures to managing ADHD, health, wealth, and overall wellbeing. Join Bev and her guests as they share their experiences, insights, and lessons ...
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Ep 129 - 5 Business Norms to Ditch if You Have ADHD | My Take on Entrepreneur 'Advice'
19:36
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In this podcast I’m calling out some popular business advice that just doesn’t work for my ADHD brain. You’ve probably heard these so-called “must-dos” from countless business gurus, but I want to share with you why they might be doing more harm than good. I’ll break down the five business norms that I've ditched and why you should consider doing t…
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Ep 128 - Reaching a Turning Point in Midlife and Changing Career Direction
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Last week I did a live stream over on my Youtube channel talking all about changing career in midlife and how I have a theory that we all reach a midlife turning point - but perhaps we don't all make the turn. Here's an edited version (without all the chit chat and waffle) where I share my experience of changing direction in my 50s and what I'd do …
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Ep 127 - Affirmations for Midlife Entrepreneurs - Success Mindset
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The hardest thing we have to do when we start a business isn't learning how to manage a business, but learning how to manage what's going on in our head - our negative self-talk. Affirmations are a powerful way to reframe negative self talk into positive, motivators that can keep us pushing through when things feel tough. Let me know if you are a f…
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In this episode of the Generation Exceptional podcast, I'm talking with ADHD coach and content creator Caren McGill. How do you stay focused and productive if you have ADHD? Especially if you're late diagnosed and you've never been taught how to get stuff done. Caren is sharing her transformative journey from a late ADHD diagnosis to becoming an in…
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Ep 125 - Empowering Women Over 50 to Shine on YouTube
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48:43
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Should you start a youtube channel if you're a woman over 50? In this video I'm sharing my thoughts as a 58 year old YouTube creator with a relatively new channel - the good stuff and the not so good stuff - and why I think everyone in business should have a YouTube channel as a marketing tool. Equipment Mentioned: DJi Wireless Lavalier Mic https:/…
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Ep 124 - ADHD and getting help through Access to Work
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After more than 6 months I've finally been offered some support from Access to Work - Join me live as I'm going to be sharing my experience of the process and what happens next. Hi, I'm Bev and as a late diagnosed ADHDer I finally plucked up the courage to tackle the minefield that is applying for help from the government! I'm not great a asking fo…
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Ep 123 - Brain Exercises To Help Prevent Burnout
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58:43
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Imagine if you could prevent burnout just by doing some simple brain exercises each day. How about if taking just a few moments to take a pause could help you and your team get more done, feel less stressed and be more profitable? It is absolutely possible and that's exactly what I'm discussing with my guest on the Generation Exceptional podcast to…
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Ep 122 - Bridging the Gap between Gen X and Gen Z with Mayira Thomas
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41:25
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Are Gen Z really so different to us Gen Xers? Are their needs, fears, desires and dreams really so different to what ours were when we were their age? Do they have more pressures to contend with in life than we did? I'm discussing all this and more with ex-teacher and careers coach Mayira thomas in this fascinating podcast episode. Mayira is someon…
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Ep 121 - How I Try to Be Intentional With My Time
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In today's episode of the Generation Exceptional podcast I'm talking about how to be more intentional with your time to help you be more productive, stay on track, reduce overwhelm and avoid time stress. These habits will help whether you have ADHD like me, or not. 🧐🧐 Learn more about my Working with Corporates Project Membership Programme helping …
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Ep 120 - How to Be a Networking Ninja - Tops Tips to Network like a Pro
20:31
20:31
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Business networking is an essential pastime for small business owners, but for most of us it's not a natural or comfortable thing to do, especially when we first get started in business. It is, however, a learned skill and once you get the hang of it you'll probably find it can actually be a great experience where you get to make some great connect…
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Ep 119 - Getting off the Content Hamster Wheel
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If you feel like you’re on an endless hamster wheel of content creation, posting everywhere and not seeing the results you want, I completely get you. So today I’m going to share why I’m choosing to make YouTube my main focus for content creation and how it fits into my broader marketing strategy. Check out Justin Brown's Primal Video Channel https…
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Ep 118 - Phoenix Rising - The Relaunch of Generation Exceptional
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Well, I'm a little bit excited about this! I'm relaunching the Generation Exceptional podcast! After more than a year since I put the podcast to bed, it's time to resurrect it and get the conversations flowing again! But this time, we're going visual! Video podcasts are a growing 'thing' and I'm excited to be relaunching the podcast on Youtube as w…
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Ep 92 - A Bloody History Of Menopause
1:05:43
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History definitely hasn't always been kind to older women, words like hag, crone and witch weren't uncommon, and women were described as hysterical, "bleare eyed, pale and fowle", although always, it would appear, by men. Dr Helen Foster is a historian and a creative writing practitioner working at Leicester University, and in this episode, recorde…
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Ep 91 - In Search of the Red Dot - How I Got To Do A TEDx Talk
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If you've ever wondered what it's like to stand on the famous TEDx red dot to share your ideas with an audience, I'd love to share with you my own experience of how I got to give my TEDx Talk in Sep 2022. You might be surprised at how long the process can be and you might also be surprised to know that you don't have be all that special to get chos…
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Ep 90 - Making Legal History with Social Worker, Maria Rooney
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My guest on the podcast today is Social Worker and Activist Maria Rooney. Maria worked for Leicester City Council for 12 years before taking them to Tribunal for menopause discrimination including constructive unfair dismissal, sex discrimination and disability discrimination. It's been a long and stressful journey, but Maria has already won her ap…
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In this MenoChat I'm joined by Lea Campbell who is another lovely member of my Facebook Community, Your Best Midlife. Lea and I chat about some of the positive elements that sometimes get overlooked when we focus on the menopause. Even having been hit by some of the many disruptive symptoms of menopause, Lea proves that there is another side to thi…
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There are some symptoms related to perimenopause that we just don’t like to talk about. Let’s face it, it’s personal and embarrassing. But maybe we should. Maybe it’s time to take any embarrassment and shame away from being a woman and acknowledge that our bodies don’t always behave the way we want them to and it’s not our fault! In my 4th MenoChat…
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How do you know if what you're experiencing is menopause related? What if you're not ready to hear that it is menopause? What if you don't have a womb so you don't have those obvious signals that your periods have ended? That's how it was for my 3rd MenoChat guest, Lyndsey Byrne. Having had a hysterectomy with very few symptoms, Lyndsey was convinc…
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One of THE most controversial areas of menopause is around whether or not those who have been treated for breast cancer should be 'allowed' to take HRT or not. Often there is a blanket no from medical practitioners, but what about personal choice? What if an individual decides that it's their body and therefore their decision about whether or not t…
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Ep 85 - Meno Chat No 1 with Sue Ladbrook - Celebrating Menopause Awareness Month
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Welcome to the first of my Meno Chats where, in celebration of World Menopause Awareness Month, I'm going to be joined by some of the lovely women from my Facebook group, Your Best Midlife, as they share with me their personal menopause journey. There's something hugely inspiring and reassuring about hearing the stories of normal, everyday women, s…
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Ep 84 - GENX Shorts - Staying Visible through the Menopause Transition
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How do you deal with the feeling of becoming invisible as you move through the midlife transition? It's a story I hear all the time from women who feel they're withdrawing, stepping back, shrinking into themselves. Looking back I think I tried to combat it by losing a load of weight and becoming obsessive about exercise. I went back to teaching exe…
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Ep 83 - GENX Shorts -Summary of the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee Report Menopause and the Workplace
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The Women and Equalities Committee was appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Government Equalities Committee. The Committee has just published it's First Report of Session 2022-23 in July this year, and I'm joined today by my colleague Helen Hutchings who has summarised the report for us toda…
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Ep 82 - Using the Vaginal Microbiome to Diagnose Perimenopause
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We're all pretty familiar with the idea that we have bacteria in our gut called the microbiome and that a healthy gut leads to better health. But did you know that we also have a vaginal microbiome and that it's possible to detect changes in hormone levels by monitoring the relative number of different microbes in the vagina? My guest on the podcas…
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Ep 81 - Life After the NHS with Helen Hutchings
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I can't think of a more challenging place to work while trying to navigate the emotional and cognitive symptoms associated with perimenopause than a busy hospital as a front-line nurse. Knowing how hard I found the brain fog, anxiety and sheer lack of energy when I was working a full time job, I at least had the benefit of being behind a desk and o…
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Ep 80 - Menopause and Employment Law with Emma Swan
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The number of employment tribunals relating to discrimination where menopause is the reason being cited are on the rise. But where does menopause sit in terms of UK employment law? What should employers being doing to ensure they don't fall foul of the law? What protection do those experiencing menopause have under UK employment law? These are just…
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Ep 79 - ADHD in Women and the link with low Oestrogen with Hayley Brackley
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I've recently discovered that I almost certainly have ADHD which has come as a bit of a surprise at the ripe old age of 56, but it definitely answers a lot of questions for me. It would also appear that my ADHD symptoms have become much more pronounced with the onset of peri-menopause, which got me wondering if there's a link between ADHD and low o…
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Ep 78 - Making Your Social Media Look Amazing with Nicky Pasquier
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Whether you're a business owner or just someone who loves to share on Social Media, great looking graphics are going to entice your friends, followers and potential clients to engage with your content. And it has never been easier to create professional looking graphics, even for those of us with the creative skills of a shovel. My guest today has …
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Ep 77 - Getting to Know Your Pelvic Floor with Caroline Carty
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56:33
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What if everything you've been told about how to look after your pelvic floor was wrong, and all those endless kegel exercises were actually doing you more harm that good? I'm joined today by Caroline Carty, lawyer turned somatic yoga teacher who very candidly shares her story of struggling with a pelvic prolapse. Despite spending many years teachi…
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Ep 76 - Do You Have A Good Money Mindset with Samantha Bradford
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My guest on the podcast today is Samantha Bradford. Sam is a financial advisor and money mindset coach and has a long pedigree in the corporate financial world. But when she made the jump to setting up her own business, Simplicity Financial Planning, she found that mindset, especially for women, was a big hurdle to independent wealth and financial …
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Ep 75 - Sharing our Menopause Stories with Becky Webber and Kim Gowing
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There's something amazing happens when women come together to share their stories. You suddenly feel less alone. You feel a part of something bigger. You get that reassurance of knowing we're in this together. Today I'm chatting with two wonderful, inspiring women who are sharing their menopause stories to help breakdown the stigma of being a midli…
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Ep 74 - Creating a Menopause Revolution with Kate Muir
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42:00
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Kate Muir is a journalist, author, documentary producer, activist and an advocate for women going through menopause. She's the author of the book 'Everything You Need to Know About Menopause, but were too afraid to ask', which pulls no punches in shining a light on the inequalities and shameful lack of understanding when it comes to women's reprodu…
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Ep 73 - How Do Female Entrepreneurs Define Success with Dr Hayley Lewis
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Have you ever wondered how women in business define success? As a woman who started my business in my 50s I don't think I see success in terms of the traditional financial measures. And it turns out I'm not alone! My guest today is Dr Hayley Lewis, an organisation psychologist who has recently completed her doctoral thesis delving deep into the psy…
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Ep 72 - Managing Menopausal Insomnia through CBTi with Tracy The Sleep Coach
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53:13
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You know what it's like if you don't get enough sleep. You end up grouchy, stressed and struggling to concentrate. We all have times when our sleep is poor, but when it goes on for an extended period, it can have a massive impact on quality of life. Whilst good sleep hygiene can help, sometimes we need to get to the root of what's interrupting the …
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Ep 71 - Why It’s Never Too Late to Make Real Progress in Your Life
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How would your friends and family react if you told them you were going to give up your well paid corporate job, at the age of 48, in the middle of a global pandemic, to start a company, without any experience of running a business? Well for my guest today, Katy Walton, the director of the training and coaching company MAKE REAL PROGRESS, that's ex…
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Have you ever wondered why it's so much more difficult to lose weight and get fit over 40 than it was in your 20s and 30s? That's because the strategies you've used in your 20s and 30s simply don't work for women in their 40s and beyond. Our hormones are changing, our stress response is changing and as such our previous strategies might actually ma…
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Ep 69 - Managing Midlife Weight with Tanja Shaw
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48:30
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Do you struggle with midlife weight gain? Maybe you've been in a constant seesaw of diets where you've lost weight, gained weight, lost weight and gained weight. It can feel like all you ever think about is food - then comes a cycle of pleasure followed by guilt, followed by pleasure, and then more guilt. And the horrible cycle continues. What if i…
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Ep 68 -Taking Control of Your Financial Situation for Women over 40
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42:23
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My guest today is financial planner Steph Smith. Steph helps women to improve their financial wellbeing through a blend of regulated financial advice and coaching. In today's episode we're discussing the cultural and mindset barriers that can often leave women feeling under confident when it comes to taking control of their financial wellbeing as w…
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Ep 67 - Taking Control of Your Boundaries
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If you ever find yourself getting overwhelmed dealing with 'stuff' that isn't even your stuff, then chances are you've got a boundaries problem. If you find yourself saying yes when you really want to say no, then getting angry and resentful at being taken advantage of, then chances are you've got a boundaries problem. If you find yourself weighed …
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Ep 66 - Menopause and Getting Your Head in the Right Place!
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Sadly when I ask the question 'what comes to mind when you think of menopause' many of the women I speak to use really quite sad and negative language. Washed Out. Over the Hill. Miserable. Past It. Old. Dried Up. I really want to try and change the mindset around how we approach menopause, and getting older in general. So in this Gen X Shorts epis…
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Ep 65 - Cutting through the Misinformation to get the right Menopause Diagnosis
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38:22
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Recently menopause specialist GP and menopause education advocate Dr Louise Newson, who runs the My Menopause Doctor website, surveyed over 5000 women to find out their experience when it came to get a diagnosis of menopause. The results are quite shocking and also pretty saddening especially for the women who were left waiting often for years simp…
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Ep 64 - With Colin Nottage - Menopause and Health and Safety at Work
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One of the questions I get asked frequently by managers is 'how do I put a risk assessment in place to cover the menopause?'. I'm not a H&S expert, but I know a man who is. I'm joined today by H&S expert and podcaster Colin Nottage who hosts the award winning Interesting Health & Safety Podcast, and is the owner of IMG, a health and safety training…
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Ep 63 - Domestic Abuse and How Businesses Can Help with Julie Randall
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My guest today is Julie Randall, a Female Empowerment Coach and Domestic Abuse Trainer and the owner of 'Enlivened' coaching and training. 1 in 4 women will be affected by domestic violence during their adult lives. In the past 12 months over 500,000 working women in the UK experienced domestic violence and abuse. These shocking statistics, as well…
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How confident are you that your business, or the organisation you work for, would be on the winning side of an employment tribunal if one of your employees took action for menopause discrimination? Were you aware that menopause discrimination was even a thing, or that tribunals have been won where employers have unfairly treated someone because the…
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Ep 61 - Sex and Menopause with Dr Claire Macaulay
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I'm joined today by Dr Claire Macaulay. Claire is an oncology doctor who treats people with breast cancer. She is also a sex science geek who is passionate about supporting people to create the kind of sex life that is right for them. Throwing away ideas of what people “should” be doing, she concentrate on what is meaningful and nourishing to you a…
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On this International Women’s Day 2021 with the theme #ChoosetoChallenge this is a gem X shorts episode, so just me, sharing my thoughts on how we can choose to challenge our perceptions of the role of older women in society. I'd love to get your feedback on your perceptions of how older women are seen in the Western World and what stories you’re t…
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Ep 59 -with Emma Rose, Solution Focused Hypnotherapist
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My guest on the podcast today is solution focused hypnotherapist Emma Rose. Emma has her own hypnotherapy practice, Inspired to Change, in South Lincolnshire and today she's sharing her story of overcoming severe anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) through hypnotherapy before retraining as a hypnotherapist herself. Emma explains exactly…
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Ep58 - Looking and Feeling Great Over 50 with Style Coach Philippa Guy
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Today I'm chatting with life and style coach Philippa Guy as we discuss how to look and feel your best by wearing colours, styles and shapes that make the best of what you've got despite bodies that seem to have a mind of their own as we head past 50. We talk about finding what works for you, and whether the 'style rules' for the over 50s actually …
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Ep 57 - Creating a ’Stickier’ Business with Bizjuicer’s Andy Goram
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In our first episode of 2021 (and at the start of a 3rd lockdown) I'm delighted to be chatting to the founder of Bizjuicer, Andy Goram all about keeping our people happy and engaged and why that simply makes damned good business sense. Andy is a business strategy and employee engagement consultant, but as someone who considers himself a hybrid of M…
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Ep 56 - Personal Branding and Marketing Yourself in Midlife with Catherine Maskell
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I was joined last week by Catherine Maskell of TPD Marketing in my Facebook group 'Your Best Midlife' to talk about personal branding and marketing ourselves as we hit midlife. Often midlife is a time of change - our identity is being redefined as we move into the next chapter of our life and this catalyst for change can be empowering and scary as …
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Ep 55 - Imposter Syndrome with Katy Walton
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If you've ever felt like you're not good enough, that at some point your colleagues, your boss or your customers are going to find out that you're a fraud and you don't actually deserve to be where you are in your business or career - you're probably suffering from a dose of Imposterism. It's estimated that 70% of the population, male and female, e…
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