The Happy Entrepreneur

In this episode of the podcast Laurence and I were given a masterclass in empathy. As part of our Friday Fireside series of webinars we were joined by Christine Raine, empathic coach, entrepreneur and founder of Conversable, a transformational movement on a mission to share how empathy can transform human relationships, and therefore the world.It was a very timely conversation given how the world seems to have turned upside down over the past few weeks. Fear, division and blame are driving behaviours more and more. And so we explored how can use empathy in our lives and work to be able to address the challenges we face and the inequality that exists.According to Christine empathy starts by being fully present with people; serving as a mirror to what they’re saying and feeling; and reflecting what their feelings and needs may be to help then connect with their own inner wisdom. It’s about helping people move from a head-centred approach to communicating to a more heart-centred one.At the centre of Christine’s work is teaching Non-Violent Communication and she teaches us what it’s about and where it comes from.I found this an incredibly empowering conversation that touched on empathy and privilege and how we can use our deeper understanding of both to contribute to the changes that need to be made in society to make it more equitable for all.

This episode is a departure from our normal format and is an experiment suggested by one of our longest standing members and a big advocate of our work, Peter Krishnan. Peter has been to every Summercamp and is also the leader of our Happy Startup London group. During this episode Peter shares his story of startup along with 3 music tracks that have been important to his journey.

In this episode of the podcast we’re in conversation with John Parkin the author of F**k It: The Ultimate Spiritual Way.We hear about his journey of self healing and how saying f**k it was core to it. It’s about not holding on so tightly to ideas and concepts and being more aware of the unfair expectations we place on ourselves, situations or events.When it comes to saying f**k it to fear John talks about accepting the feelings rather than pushing them away.He says “we’re scared of sadness, pain, vulnerability and grief… in normal times we’re all too busy and we don’t experience significant pain or joy and so the nervous system is almost frozen. But when you allow people to be more vulnerable and relaxed the ice starts to melt and they get to feel that pain and joy again.”There are so many gems in this episode and so if you struggle with dealing with the high and lows of the entrepreneurial journey then listen on and learn how the f**k it way can show you the path forward.

When faced with a crisis how do you respond? When your mind is filled with anxious thoughts and worries it’s impossible to find the right answer. But if you let your mind settle and be at peace then that’s when insight arrives.In this episode of the podcast we’re joined by Elizabeth Lovius, entrepreneur, leadership coach and wisdom teacher. She shares her own insight about where inspired action comes from and how we can find it within us. We relate this to our own experience of handling a crisis when we discovered just 3 weeks before our annual signature event that we didn’t have a venue.According to Elizabeth, no matter what we might be experiencing on the outside, inside we are safe and we can claim the peace we need at any time. This is our spiritual side, the side of us that we need to be using more in business, particularly now.

"The whole world is suddenly in a state of total improvisation, and no-one has any idea what will come next"In this episode of the podcast Laurence and I talk to our good friend Laurence Shorter. He’s a coach, comedian and author of The Lazy Guru’s Guide to Life.We be explore the idea of not having any idea. For Laurence, this is the essence of true creativity and from where clarity emerges. When we settle into a space of doing nothing we give an opportunity for our inner voices to quieten and stop. We stop thinking and we start feeling into what's needed next.For many of us this is a scary place to be. We’re so used to going somewhere, achieving something and doing work. We believe that we can think and do our way out of any problem.But what if the situation becomes so complex that you truly can't think of what to do next? At that point maybe "doing" is the last thing you should do.If you’ve been looking for an excuse to do nothing then make sure you listen to this episode.

In this episode of the podcast I talk to the lovely and super positive Gayle Berry, business mentor and founder of Blossom and Berry.Gayle has been running her own business for over 18 years now. When she first started Blossom and Berry, her baby massage school, she was sending out binders and CDs to people via the post. She's now transitioned everything online and has clients across the world.We talk about what it takes to run a sustainable business and the importance of authenticity and love. She believes that by being intentional about what you want and making sure you align your actions accordingly you'll build a business that you'll love.

This is another recording of the live webinar that Laurence and I are hosting during lockdown in the UK and across the world.We're joined by Christina Kisley, our long time friend and Alptitude alumnus. She’s co-chair of Conscious Capitalism in Atlanta and is an executive coach for leaders, executives and entrepreneurs with 20 years of experience.For this episode we talk about loss. When we downplay loss and don't allow ourselves to grieve we store up that emotion so that next time we have a loss we feel exponentially worse. This is because the new loss, even if it's relatively smaller, lights up all the grief that's still in our system.We're all currently suffering from a loss of some kind whether it may be as tragic as the loss of a loved one or even the loss of a dream.Rather than push those unpleasant feelings away we need to lean into them and just feel. We can't think our way out of grief we can only feel our way through it.Many people try to "silver line" the loss and try to find something positive from the event. But there's no actual need to do so, it can just feel bad, and that's okay.With the help of the amazing Christina Kisley we share the Kubler-Ross model on the different stages of grief and relate them to what we're seeing around us and experiencing ourselves.We hope it helps you deal with any loss that you're experiencing in your businesses and personal lives and gives you a way to process what's going on.

Georgee Low is a sales and marketing coach from Vancouver and she helps purpose driven entrepreneurs build their businesses and make them profitable. She works with people who really want to make a difference in the world but struggle with marketing and sales.During this podcast we talk about what it takes to be authentic when selling as well as what it means to be an entrepreneur.Most people think that to sell well you need to be an extrovert and if you’re an introvert you’re going to suck at it. But Georgee believes that it doesn’t matter what your natural personality is. What’s important is whether you can listen and whether you care. Those are the qualities of great sales people.Be curious, ask questions and don’t take offence if they don’t want to work with you. It’s fine, it just means there’s someone else out there who’ll be a better fit for them and a better fit for you.I also talk to Georgee about her own entrepreneurial journey and what it means to her. According to her, making money is all well and good but if that’s all you’re here to do then you’re just taking up space.She became an entrepreneur because it was the only way she could get what she needed: to always be there for her children; to put a roof over their heads; and to make a difference in the world.She also says that being an entrepreneur is the best personal development program you could ever follow.

This episode is the audio recording of the live webinar that Laurence and I have committed to broadcasting every Friday during the lockdown period in the UK.We were joined this time by one of the funniest and kindest people we know. His name is Shamash Alidina and is the author of Mindfulness for Dummies as well a being an ACT trainer and a keynote speaker on wellbeing and resilience.ACT, also known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy or Training, was around before mindfulness became a thing. It’s a highly flexible evidence-based model that can be used by everyone from coaches and consultants to school teachers to therapists and doctors.At it’s core ACT is about feeling the feelings rather than pushing them away. As Shamash says during the webinar the more we try to push unpleasant feelings away the more they’ll grow. If we’re able to accept these feelings and give them space the less likely they’ll hijack our actions.Understanding how this works is essential for first time entrepreneurs. When you’re launching a business fear and self-criticism are your worst enemies. By applying some of the principles in ACT we believe you’ll be better equipped to deal with the highs and lows of entrepreneurship.I hope you enjoy this episode, particularly the little meditation Shamash shares towards the end.

Every Friday Laurence and I have been hosting live discussions about what's been going on this week for us and our community.It’s our opportunity to process what's going on in the world right now and tackle some crunchy topics around life and business, and the overlap of the two.Each week we have a different theme and for this episode we were joined by the amazing Charles Davies, one of our teachers & guides and also the founder of How to Be Clear. Charles has devoted most of his working life to trying to understand what clarity is and how it works.He joins us to talk about money and what it means to us. Not in terms of the mechanics of value exchange but about how our relationship and attitudes to it gives us insight into our inner world.During these uncertain times our relationship to money is going to manifest itself more strongly in the way behave and the decisions we make. Learning more about how that works will help you make better decisions.