The Happy Entrepreneur

Vanessa Bell discusses the importance of authenticity and belonging in the workplace. By embracing self and celebrating differences, we can create a sense of community. Inclusivity and empathy are key to fostering genuine connections for success in business.

Our previous episode covered the theory along with Laurence, Carlos and Lana’s own stories of change, both small and large. On this episode, we invite some of our now 120-strong Vision 20/20 alumni – aka the Vision Tribe – to share their stories.These 3 amazing humans have been living their excite strategy by working out loud. Others have connected with their story, and helped them to reach their own goals.Ray Martin is an author, coach and explorer who just just published a book – Life Without a Tie – about this 13 year (yes thirteen) adventure around the worldBeccie D'Cunha is the founder of Courage Lab, a mediator and coach who launched her Courageous Leaders group coaching program after graduating from the programSerena Savini is a beautiful soul who has turned adversity (a life changing illness) into her superpower, creating I'm Back: a podcast and community of people that have also experienced challenges going back to work after such an experienceLinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

The master storyteller. One of the most valuable things we’ve learned from him is about stories of change and how stories can motivate our own action and mobilise others.Story of Self, Story of Us, Story of Now.This approach to stories is a way to activate change in the world that is aligned to who we (entrepreneurial changemakers) are and what we need.In the world of business we can spend too much time and energy talking about what we do and how we do it, and don’t give enough thought to who we really want to serve and why it’s important to us.Crafting great stories helps us refocus on what matters. And it's always best done in community.By telling our stories and hearing the stories of others we gently discover our place in this world and create connections with people who can support us.Powerful stories, well told, define purpose, inspire possibility and nurture deep relationships. They invite people to imagine and to contribute, and they offer a sense of belonging to a bigger narrative of change.What story are you telling yourself, and what story will you be telling the world? And how will these stories benefit your work... and your life?On this episode, Laurence and Carlos are joined by Lana Jelenjev, to share their Story of Change Canvas. It's a tool they’ve developed for their Vision 20/20 programme to help participants get more clarity and confidence about the directions they're embarking on.Hopefully it will inspire you to bring more storytelling into your life so that you can connect more with yourself, with others and with the purpose you've been in search of.LinksDownload the Story of Change CanvasJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Discussing the importance of creative destruction in innovation, the speakers share their journey of ending one venture to focus on another. They reflect on personal transformation, embracing new beginnings, and the challenges of transitioning to a new business model. The podcast explores the mindset shift needed for self-employment, simplification, and the value of a supportive community in motivating change.

At Summercamp 2020, coach David Papa gave a personal, entertaining and vulnerable talk about how to be scared.He believes that the only thing that can stop you living the life you love is not the fear, it’s believing the fear.Fear is just a thought and a sensation in the body. But when you add belief to it, then it’s energy that controls your life.In this week's episode, David shares how this has manifested throughout his own life and how our relationship to fear needs to evolve in order for us to make the impact we crave.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohortWatch David’s Summercamp talk

In a complex fast paced world it’s all too easy to think that we’re unable make any impact. But this isn’t true.At Happy Startup Summercamp 2022, Liana Fricker, founder of Inspiration Space, gave an empowering talk about turning apathy into action.Liana believes that if we harness our inspiration we can inspire others and these small ripples can turn into tidal waves of change. To start we just need to ask ourselves two simple questions:What do I really care about?What can I do about it from where I am?Liana talks about the inspiration flywheel and how we can go from being activated, to elevated, to motivated and back again.We can then start with a small actions that inspire us to make bigger and bigger moves.Think big. Start small. Stay committed.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

The podcast explores lessons for living a fulfilling life, including the power of helping others, the beauty of failure, and the importance of intentional inputs and meaningful friendships. The speakers also discuss their new book, friendship, and their vision 2020 program.

Lizzie Penny and Alex Hirst are the cofounders of Hoxby, a community and social enterprise that provides companies with the best talent and helps people work in a way that best aligns with their chosen lifestyle.They're both advocates of what they call Workstyle, and have just published a book called Workstyle: A revolution for wellbeing, productivity and society.They also consult with companies to help them be more resilient and inclusive by learning how to take advantage of the rich diversity of talent across the whole of society.During this episode, you’ll learn more about their ideas, how and why they built Hoxby and what it takes to create organisations designed to cater for individualised ways of working.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

“We are all part of this massive wood wide web. We are all connected, we are all entwined.”Life is full of changes, some are unexpected and traumatic and others can be intentional and nourishing. Coach and Vision 20/20 mentor Lana Jelenjev would like you to help you navigate change by thinking of your life as a tree – whether ripped from the soil or mindfully re-rooted.Re-rooting means digging carefully around your existing roots, gently shaking away old unwanted soil and looking for fertile ground for future growth. Through sharing her own story, Lana invites you to consider how you can consciously make nourishing changes yourself.LinksLana JelenjevWatch Lana’s talk in fullJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

"When you’re writing something about your business. Anything. If it could be used – intact and just as coherently – by any of your competitors. It’s not good enough. Say something that only you can say, instead."Mychael Owen is an enigma. He started his first business at university, won a few awards and by 25 was advising other people how to start and grow businesses By 30 he'd started his first agency, employed 30 people with a turnover of £1.5m.On the surface everything looked great. But soon he started meddling. He was bored, restless and distracted.At 45 he realised that he craved being truly creative again, doing something he felt he was born to do. in short he was rudderless.So he did something drastic – over the next 6 months he closed all of his businesses. The change included'Wasting' (by the old rules) £100k on a business he didn't understandA couple of minor breakdownsChoosing to seek out a new tribe because his old tribe didn't understand him any more andThe unearthing of a four step journey back via 1. generosity, 2. value, 3. confidence, 4. preeminence.Mychael now has something that makes him money and makes him happy because he stops businesses becoming boring, and through his various other projects he meets his needs for writing, designing and hosting.Despite years of entrepreneurial experience, by his own admission he's still winging it and regularly has doubts and fears like we all do.But one thing he knows for sure is this: that the stories we tell matter. And that we should all tell more stories that other people can't tell.Join Carlos and Laurence to hear what Mychael has to say about telling authentic stories that connect with others.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort