'Meant for More' Mindset

Phylisia Rushà is an entrepreneurial midwife who helps people birth their passion projects and business ideas. She helps entrepreneurs through birth and infancy stage of their business helping them push pass their points in business. Phylisia is a devoted follower of Jesus Christ and an entrepreneur. She started her own boutique virtual assistant agency in 2021 when her baby was just 8 months old. She currently has a growing team who are devoted in assisting people with excellence.

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Cleopatra Olukanni is an optimist with strong ties in her Christian faith. As a mother, soon to be wife, and budding project manager, she has had her fair share of experiences which has made her the woman she is today.

What others deem as “setbacks”, Cleopatra sees as challenges she has spearheaded to build a stronger and resilient mindset.

As she continues to navigate these spaces, old and new, Cleopatra loves to connect, share, help and motivate those she comes into contact with, to help encourage them and give them hope, far bigger themselves, as she understands that the journey of life isn’t a straightforward one.

Sandra Harewood has worked for the last 14 years as an experienced psychotherapeutic counsellor and Jungian coach, assisting women and couples in crisis and feeling stuck at a crossroads in their marriage. With over 10,000 client sessions under her belt, she firmly believes that relationships are precious gifts that offer both the opportunity and potential for growth.

Sandra knows that healing is possible for couples and individuals emerging from crisis. In addition to being deeply knowledgeable and passionate about her work with relationships, Sandra's skill lies in balancing honesty and directness with care and compassion.

Rianna Price is a vibrant 30-year-old who's been rocking the education scene for the past decade!

From juggling different roles to now spreading motivation and knowledge as a lively lecturer at Arden University, her journey has been anything but boring. The challenges? They were just stepping stones to making her the dynamic speaker she is today. She's had a blast traveling and connecting with over half a million individuals speaking about everything from mental health to academics. 

Natalie Dinning is a mum to two amazing boys and the owner of Lesley’s Sauces - named after her mum - a Caribbean sauce company.  

Lesley’s Sauces started out as a family business, originally set up by Natalie’s dad who owned a street food stall at the Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium called The Jerk Kitchen. Her dad wanted to see their Jamaican culture better represented in the local area and at Arsenal football games. It was a big success and had queues all the way down the road. It was a really great hub for the community because they cooked amazing food with passion and love. 

Natalie’s mum created their infamous Jerk BBQ Sauce that was used on their stall, alongside her dad’s generations' old family recipes in Jamaica. They were always asked by customers to buy their sauces. Eventually, with her mum's permission, Natalie, along with her dad and brother launched Lesley's Sauces, adapting their family recipes from Jamaica. 

Lesley’s Sauces range from mild to hot, adding that touch of flavour to every meal and for every occasion. Natalie says “the flavours are from the hills of Jamaica from our family to yours”.

Lolita Sanders began her career working in the corporate world of Central London. After some drastic personal changes, she decided to create her own restorative hair care product range. This is how Umthi Beauty was born. Umthi won numerous awards in its first year of trading including best product of 2021/22 with Marie Clare. Umthi products are natural, organic, cruelty free with recyclable packaging.

Tameka Koranteng understands the importance of resilience in the face of adversity. She believes in the power of overcoming challenges and using them as stepping stones toward personal growth and success. With a visionary approach, Tameka is reshaping the landscape of insurance, bridging the gap between people and coverage through innovative strategies and unwavering dedication. Defying stereotypes and expectations as a young, driven black female, she breaks barriers and sets new standards of excellence. Her pioneering spirit and commitment to change are closing the knowledge gap, one conversation at a time.Tameka’s journey is a testament to her unwavering determination and ability to thrive in the face of obstacles, inspired by her deep faith in God, which is the core of her being. She holds a passion for financial freedom and on her relentless pursuit of personal growth, she embodies a growth mindset, constantly seeking to improve herself and inspire others along the way. 

Links and resources:

Links and resources:

Links and resources:

Links and resources:

Links and resources:

Links and resources:

Links and resources:

Ann Varney is an award-winning ex-Bridal Designer with over 30 years in business. After three massive burn-outs, she pivoted and is currently an award-winning spiritual teacher, author, podcaster, and personal and business mentor. She works with her clients to help them meet their goals in life, work and relationships through intuitive assessments and powerful practices for success.

Links and resources:

Episode 38: Claudia Romero | Being Efficient and Productive

Claudia is a time efficiency, productivity and business resilience expert who helps and teaches business and team leaders how to increase the productivity of their teams by helping them reduce stress levels and overwhelm so there is less staff turnover, and the business can increase profits and grow consistently.

She is a mother of 3 boys, with one child with disabilities and one child with ASD; owner of multiple businesses and currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer, Claudia has had her fair share of challenges yet understands the importance of balance.

She leverages her research and knowledge in the field shining a light on various ways time can be optimised.

Also, she has been working with entrepreneurs and her proven and easy-to-follow methods and non-traditional productivity approach have helped them overcome overwhelm and burnout, simplify their lives and achieve the results they want - growing their businesses and having time to have fun in their personal lives without feeling guilty nor having any regrets.

Claudia is a captivating speaker who will deliver a first-class masterclass for achieving success in each area of work and life without stressing or overwhelming.

In this interview, Claudia talks about time management and time efficiency. She is a very organised person and has used this skill to help others.

Claudia wants us to have clear priorities and to know our focus. She believes we are more efficient we make discipline a habit.

She emphasises the importance of balance so we can make time for work, family and most importantly ourselves. She talks about the importance of planning in advance and creating boundaries wants us to do the things that are urgent, delay the things that can wait and eliminate the rest.

Claudia encourages us to do things for ourselves not to be selfish, but for our self worth because the best investment is in ourselves. She believes that it is on us to decide how to live life and that we overcomplicate things when the solution is simple. Simplifying is not laziness, it just means that you are in control of things that you can control and do not worry about the things you can't. And by knowing this, she believes that we can live a more joyful life.

Stephanie Ward is a Business & Marketing Mentor for business owners who want to transform their business for more ease, fulfilment & profit. She started Firefly Coaching in 2002 and serves clients all over the world. Stephanie has an undergraduate degree in Business Management and a Master’s degree in Communication in addition to years in non-profit and corporate jobs prior to starting her business.

In this interview, Stephanie talks about how she discovered coaching 20+ years ago. She felt stagnant and unfulfilled and wanted a job that was in-line with her passion and joy. So she hired a coach to help her figure out what she wanted to do next. After realising how powerful coaching was for her, Stephanie wanted to help others to experience the same transformation so she decided to become a coach, and the rest is history. 

Stephanie also talks about being a calculated risk taker and leaving her job in the US to move to the Netherlands with her partner. She believes that all relationships are what make life meaningful and enriched. She strongly emphasises the importance of trust with people in and outside of business. To her, trust is built in tiny moments over time and building relationships takes time, investment, love, care, energy and attention. She compares trust to plants – we have to nurture them in order for them to grow.

Stephanie shares the importance of her personal values, how she uses them to run her business, and supports her clients to do the same.
She stresses the importance of having the right support and resources; this includes people, partners and books. It is okay to ask for help because nobody knows everything.

Stephanie believes that we all have brilliance inside us and need to trust ourselves to take the next step. People are always there to help and support us, so don't  hesitate to take action!

*****DISCLAIMER*****

This episode touches and discusses sexual assault/abuse.

Sexual assault/abuse is a sensitive topic for many people to discuss and for some it can trigger intense emotions and thoughts. If you or anyone you know are struggling with these topics, please contact a health care provider immediately.

And if someone's safety is in immediate danger, please dial the emergency number for the area you live in. In the UK, it’s 999.

Glecie Caballero is a Pleasure Reclamation Coach & Energy Healer to Survivors of SA. She helps Survivors reclaim their pleasure and embody a life they desire.

In this interview, Glecie describes her profession as a Pleasure Reclamation Coach & Energy Healer as something that is not necessarily achieved through intimacy (like many think), but rather it is about allowing ourselves to find pleasure in day to day activities and following our desires.

Through her work, Glecie helps reclaim their power. One of the method she used is Reiki energy healing. She claims that this energy healing helps her clients physically, mentally and spiritually to connect to themselves and their body.

Glecie also talks about dealing with her childhood trauma and how this has transformed her to be the calm and collected person she is today. She shares the effects of sexual trauma and blockages that she experienced and how she has overcome this to connect with and help her clients.

Glecie has a desire to be a vessel of love and healing to serve and her clients and help them to heal.

Alanna O'Garro is the co-founder of Rivers Coaching, where she is a Liberation Pedagogy and Systems Coach. Her work uplifts and centres the knowing of black, queer, crip, womanist radials. Her guiding mantra is, “I am not free until we are all free”.

In this interview, Alanna shares why she is so passionate about the liberation of all people – she wants us all to be free and thrive. She also talks about the pedagogy (method and practice of teaching) of the UK education system and how it relates to liberation. Because Alanna understands the limitations caused by her own oppression, she is committed to liberating all people. 

According to Alanna, we need to stop and listen to people affected by everyday oppression; to people adversely affected by politics; and people who are experiencing sad and unfortunate circumstances. She believes the best way for us to truly liberate each other is to help each other with resources we have, even if they are limited. 

Alanna is motivated by the people and organisations around her to keep going and to keep pushing for everyone's liberation.

Vee Roberts launched her business with just £100 in 2013 and is a multi-award winning Brand and Marketing Practitioner, Author and Coach.

A mother to four children aged 8 to 27, she is also dedicated to teaching, serving and empowering business owners – developing credible, consistent brands and monetising them, using online and offline strategies.

As the Director of Insight@Marketing and Founder of InspireUrBiz networking events, Vee regularly shares her knowledge on marketing, branding and social media as Guest Speaker and Trainer.

Being made redundant led Vee to take a leap of faith, become self-employed and she started her own business. Working on contracts within local government and bigger public agencies proved to be something she really enjoyed. But still something was missing. She wasn’t free to do as she pleased.

Vee decided to become her own boss working on her own terms. It was a risk she was prepared to take, fed up with office politics and bureaucracy. With less than £100, she successfully set up her own business from scratch, using her own knowledge of affordable marketing solutions to make it happen. She was able to grow her business brand online and offline successfully. And, she now uses her 19+ years of ‘planning and hands on’ experience to make it happen for other business- owners too.

Her ethos is “working smarter not harder, whilst remembering that baby steps are better no steps.”

In this interview, Vee talks about not being afraid to take risks in business because there are lessons to be learnt. She uses the mistakes she has experienced in her career as a tool to resonate with her clients because she has been through the same things they have. Her passion and motivation is fuelled by her clients and, she feels inspired and empowered when she sees them succeed.

Vee stresses the importance of investing in herself and her business through coaching. She was initially reluctant to invest in herself because of the cost, but then realised it turned out to be more costly, in the long run, not to make the investment. 

Vee believes the three key points to success are readiness, accepting responsibility, and commitment to work.

*****DISCLAIMER*****

This episode touches and discusses sensitive topics including sexual assault and suicide.

These are sensitive topics for many people to discuss and for some it can trigger intense emotions and thoughts. If you or anyone you know are struggling with these topics, please contact a health care provider immediately.

And if someone's safety is in immediate danger, please dial the emergency number for the area you live in. In the UK, it’s 999.

Sybil Ah-Mane is a filmmaker based in East London. She founded Flexible Films with her partner, Russell Hall in 2002 and they specialise in producing commissioned films on health, education and community.

She came to England at the age of seven from the Seychelles. She has been both a psychiatric student, nurse and patient. Her experiences in the psychiatric system have shaped and enhanced her work.
Film enabled her to explore challenging issues and she believes it can be a therapeutic tool for growth and development.

In this interview, Sybil talks about the childhood trauma she experienced  that manifested later in her life which led to being  a psychiatric patient. Despite this, she didn’t give up. Sybil went to get a degree in Cultural Studies,  started to explore filmmaking and later earned an MA in Television. Having experienced a mental health breakdown, she developed a passion in creating films about mental health to help others.

In 2019, Sybil and her partner created a breakthrough innovation: the Magic Video Box, where those being filmed only see a reflection of the interviewer. This creates a safe space to talk openly and confidently to the camera. Magic Video Box won a Gear of the Year award in 2022.

Sybil believes her most challenging experiences are the ones she learned the most from and it's important to talk about it because that’s how we learn.

Chelcie Whitmore is a self-proclaimed 'Specialist Generalist' - she has a wide range of skills that she applies to business problems. She is mum to a three year old daughter and is in her last trimester of her second pregnancy with another daughter (who runs the world...?!).
Chelcie is passionate about mental health and wellbeing and generally about making the workplace a happier and positive space to spend our time.

In this interview, Chelcie talks about her professional journey and shares her story going from a rough start at university to currently working at Transport for London. She is a mental health advocate at her workplace. She believes it is important to build trust between coworkers so they can maintain good mental health for themselves and each other.

Chelcie also highlights the importance of self-awareness and self-reflection. She believes that we should reflect, maintain a balance, and enjoy the little things in life. From her experience, she learned that we must all slow down and learn to rest for our mental health and wellbeing.
Love and kindness are the two most important values for Chelcie. As she says so beautifully: “it’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice.”

Alisha Lehman is an American User Experience (UX) Design Manager living in Dusseldorf, Germany with her husband and daughter. She is a self-made professional with 25+ years of UX design experience and her focus today is mainly on UX strategy for one of the largest telecommunications companies in Germany.

In this interview, Alisha talks about her struggles early on in life and how this affected her belief systems. She shares her journey of how she became the confident woman she is today - she is an advocate for doing what she wants and and making things happen.

Alisha's life was dramatically changed in June 2021 after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Two weeks prior to the diagnosis, she had discovered Eckhart Tolle's book, The Power of Now. The combination of the teachings in the book and her belief that death was imminent had a transformative effect, which catapulted her into a profound shift in consciousness.    She was inspired by the book’s message of staying anchored in the present and not dwelling on the past and future. This helped her to focus on the NOW and in the moment. She believes that the cancer was an awakening event for her to accept and surrender to the NOW. Alisha has made a full recovery and today she is now more peaceful, more easy-going, and more rooted in the NOW.

With this newfound awareness of the "Eternal Self", Alisha now aims to bring love and light into all corners of her life, privately as well as professionally. Alisha wants us all to believe in ourselves, stay in the NOW, and live life fearlessly.

Returning for a second time, Dionne Akoto has grown so much since her interviewed last year. She is very passionate about learning - she learnt to listen to her body and move according to what it needs and wants. This has made her more present and aware.

Dionne's faith and family are still the driving forces in her life, and with her understanding of her Enneagram type, she has learnt to create a happier and healthier life that allows her to be more productive.

She put her company, Love Learns on hold while she focused on her well-being, exploring self-love so she could be greater in love to those around her. Dionne believes in filling her own cup first before filling up others.

Today, Love Learns is back and running, providing counselling sessions for single women, helping them to be present and breaking through their limiting beliefs.

In this interview, Dionne talks about her childhood trauma and her journey to recovery. According to Dionne, we should not keep our traumatic experiences to ourselves, instead we should open up and only then can we heal from it.

Due to the stress she experienced in her early life, Dionne developed lupus. She shares her struggles living with the autoimmune disease.
Because of this, she stresses the importance of listening to our body and taking care of ourselves. She says that we must learn to say ‘no’ and need to make time for ourselves. She believes that our body speaks to us and if we don’t understand what it is saying, we should ask for help.

Dionne also talks about faith and why she sees love in everything.

Chaneé Momoko is a former Fitness & Nutrition Expert & Retired WBFF Bikini Pro turned Master Life Coach & Reiki Practitioner for Fitness & Life Coaches. Her mission is to help coaches master the power of energy & heal their inner world so that they can transform into confident, authentic leaders who take action & run their business with ease.

She’s the host of the Intuitive Blueprint podcast and founder of Intuitive Blueprint Institute, a board certified NLP, Coach & Reiki Certification Training that intersects mindset coaching and energy healing.

When she’s not coaching, you’ll find Chaneé reading, boxing, gardening, and fostering orphaned kittens with her husband, 4 Min Pins & 4 cats in Northern California.

In this interview, Chaneé talks about femininity, balance, self-care, self-love and building a strong positive mindset.

Chaneé discovered fitness and bodybuilding during her senior year in university and shortly after began competing. However after some years, competitive bodybuilding started to affect her mentally. This inspired Chaneé to become a life and fitness coach and healer, helping others reach their goals and still be compassionate to themselves.

She also talks about the importance of balancing her femininity and masculinity and, how this relates to self-care and self love. Chaneé believes we must learn to value ourselves - this is a combination of self-worth, self-esteem and self-leadership.

*****DISCLAIMER*****

This episode touches on and discusses suicide.

Suicide is a very sensitive topic to discuss for many people and for some it can trigger intense emotions and thoughts. If you or anyone you know are struggling with suicidal thoughts or behaviours, please contact a health care provider immediately.

And if someone's safety is in immediate danger, please dial the emergency number for the area you live in. In the UK, it’s 999.

Ioana Podina  grew up in Transylvania and now lives in London. She is a published author & blogger. She has written four books: two young adult novels and two children's books.

She is also the Founder of tgeneration, a platform and a podcast that aims to inspire teenagers in their faith and remind them that no matter what they face, there is hope for a better tomorrow. In 2021, she partnered with her best friend, Laura Safta, to launch Neos Publishing House. Together they want to encourage and help new Romanian writers on their publishing journey.

In this interview, Ioana shares her amazing journey as a published author, podcaster, blogger , wife and friend. 

She believes that her faith in God has kept her going in life, and that the life that she has now is what she prayed for as a teen. To Ioana, life is like a big treasure hunt and God gives us little clues to show us where to go.

She also talks about her passion for helping the community through inspiring teens and young people. Ioana writes novels to inspire the younger generations because values working with the young people and it has been a theme in her life for many years.

Being goal-driven, Ioana discusses how she balances her work and home life. She says, ”everything is a priority, but not everything is a priority today.” She strongly believes that we must find balance in the things that we do as well as enjoy life.

Esther Bangura is a financial educator who is passionate about all things personal finance and business. After losing 55% of her income, owing £18,000 in debt, with no savings and £800 short every month, Esther was able to bounce back! Using her unique pay yourself first budgeting method and side business income, she became debt-free, started saving and investing, and purchased her first property. Esther now helps women and couples master their budgets, save money, become debt-free, and use their side businesses to achieve financial freedom on their own terms.

In this interview, Esther discusses how her financial difficulties and personal situation inspired her to become passionate about personal finance. This led her to start her own business and pursue a new career. She also talks about all of the changes she needed to make in order to achieve her goals and dreams.

Esther believes it's important to make a personal commitment to yourself in order to achieve your goals and to understand that it is entirely up to you whether you succeed or fail.

To create a mindset shift – moving away from poverty/scarcity and towards abundance – you need to have clarity so you have a clear vision and know where you want to go. Having clarity and vision are essential for you to progress and grow. As you do, you become more resilient, you overcome obstacles and challenges, and go to your next level. This is how you develop a growth, and thus an abundance mindset.

Ultimately, your mindset is a direct result of what you believe. It is easy to fall into the scarcity/poverty mindset and believe in the lack of things, like money or time. This is why it is important to build and maintain an abundance mindset. You can do this by creating a virtuous cycle. You must be consistent and follow-through, otherwise the virtuous cycle can become a vicious cycle if you do not maintain it.

In this episode, I talk in detail about ways to maintain and build on an abundance mindset.

As part of the his bonus podcast, I am gifting you a FREE guide: Your Next Best Step: Shifting Your Mindset from Scarcity to Abundance.

To overcome limiting beliefs and a fixed mindset, you need to have a mindset shift and develop a growth mindset. This is when you believe that you are continuously growing and developing, and your potential is unlimited.

This leads to an abundance mindset - you believe that the world is full of possibilities and opportunities to create your best life.
You see problems as gifts because they give you the opportunity to grow and overcome your challenges.

In this episode, I talk in detail about the importance of having a growth and abundance mindset.

Links and Resources:

Pain points are caused by a scarcity/poverty mindset which is created by  a fixed mindset and  limiting beliefs. Limiting beliefs are bad belief structure that holds you back and disempower you.
Your mindset is the sum of your knowledge, beliefs and thoughts about how you see the world and yourself in it. It is your filter for receiving and reacting to information.

In this episode, I talk in detail about what causes a fixed mindset and how to identify our limiting beliefs

Links and Resources:

If you want to move to your next level, but keep getting stuck and feeling overwhelmed, I am willing to bet that you are experiencing one or more of the following:

• lack of self-worth;
• lack of self-confidence;
• people-pleasing;
• putting other people first.

When interviewing guests for my podcast, I found these were also the four main points that kept them stuck before they decided to take control of their lives and level up.

I believe these pain points often come up when you want to move to your next level, but they can be so debilitating that they stop you in your tracks and prevent you from making progress.

In this episode, I talk in detail about these pain points and what causes them in detail.

Links and Resources:

Welcome!

This will be a four-part series looking at the common themes my podcast guests have overcome to achieve their dreams and goals.

Over the next four episodes, we will be looking at:

• Week 1: Four Pain Points - the pain points that many of us have and what causes them.
• Week 2: Mindset - how these pain points creates a scarcity mindset that leaves you feeling stuck and overwhelmed.
• Week 3: Mindset Shift - changing your mindset and shifting your thinking to overcome your barriers.
• Week 4: Moving Forward - the benefits of having and maintaining a mindset shift.

Links and Resources:

Naomi Smith is CEO of Home-Start Camden & Islington, an organisation that offers emotional support and practical help to parents of children under five who are struggling.

She is also the Founder of Wordsmiths: Writing for Wellbeing, a social enterprise which aims to improve confidence, creativity and self-expression through a series of cathartic writing workshops.

Naomi is a mental wellbeing advocate with a bachelor's degree in Creative Writing and masters degree in Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology. The combination of these two disciplines form the basis of Wordsmiths.

In this interview, Naomi talks about her worries and challenges as a CEO and business-owner. She shares her big leap of faith from manager to CEO ,and how she was able to achieve this because of her experience in business and not being afraid to fail.

Naomi talks about experiencing imposter syndrome and being worried others will think she is not good enough. When she feels like this, she always looks at her CV to remind herself of how far she has come.

She has a charitable heart and being able to help people motivates her. Naomi believes when you help others to grow and be better, it in turn helps you to grow and be better too!

Jernine Russell describes herself as a daughter to a King (in regards to her faith and relationship with God), a wife and mother of three.

For 19 years, she worked in the Criminal Justice System in varied roles within the courts, youth offending teams and prisons and probation service. Her focus was on providing holistic and therapeutic interventions that equipped individuals with the skills to make life-affirming decisions for positive changes in their lives.

Jernine is the Founder of She Reigns and Take the Reigns CIC, organisations that work to promote self-identity, empower, uplift and motivate women through self-development, affirmations and building self-esteem. She does this through delivering events, workshops, programmes and one-to-one work with women through coaching and mentoring. Jernine also uses her own experiences as a woman, mother and professional to inspire others.

Lynnora Stedford is a beautiful light that loves to shine and inspire others to be the best they can be.

In 2001, Lynnora secured a role in I.T. at BBC Worldwide where she uncovered her passion for helping and being of service to others.
She was awarded the BBC Worldwide Central Person of the Year in 2009 and Technical Person of the Year at Immediate Media Co. in 2012.

By 2019 Lynnora had been headhunted for a customer service role in Banking and currently works as a Customer Engineer for SWIFT.

Vicki Wusche started investing in property in 2008 and has been named in The Telegraph’s top UK’s 25 most influential people  in property. She is an inspiring speaker, mentor and author of five books including finalist in the Business Book Awards in March 2020. In March 2020 Vicki moved from public speaking to being invited as a regular on podcasts across Europe, the Middle East, Australia, America and Canada as well as the UK.

Vicki surprises her clients with her take on money, wealth, business and property. Since first recognising property as the best strategy to create her financial security. Vicki would tell you that being successful in any business, especially property investment, takes commitment and hard work. All business success is based on a good understanding of the market and an even better understanding of the maths involved. Understanding how she retired at 48 by quadrupling her money is a story worth listening to!

In this interview, Vicki shares her story: where she started, her failed marriage, bankruptcy, how she got back up and discovered property investing. Vicki’s positive mindset that are key to her success – she is resilient, self-aware, focused, resourceful and practises gratitude.

Vicki’s passion is to help people have a better understanding of money. She works with people to help them recognise what a wealthy life would mean for them.

She believes that there is no failure in business, only an opportunity to learn, and wants to make the most of the opportunities presented to her.

Vicki believes that most women in business do not value themselves enough and allow others to undervalue them. She believes that we all need to recognise our value and know that we are worth it.

Christine Kinnear is the Founder & CEO of With Insight Education, a not-for-profit organisation created with the social mission to empower black-heritage students with the confidence, knowledge and ability to successfully apply to the UK’s leading universities as a gateway to a more prosperous future.  A future where they have fairer access to professional employment and social mobility.

Since setting up the venture in 2018, her organisation's structured mentoring programmes have supported hundreds of pupils to secure places at top universities and is now increasingly working with companies who are keen to nurture a pipeline of black talent.

In this interview, Christine shares that her passion is working with young people and providing them with the same opportunities as those who are more privileged . For her, education was a gateway to opportunity and it pains her when young people are not given the best opportunities because of a lack of knowledge and awareness.
It is not about the lack of potential but the societal structures that limit access and opportunity. She is determined to remove these barriers and help young people be the best version of themselves.

Christine also shares a near death experience that changed how she viewed her life. It is easy to think that we have got so much time but  the incident showed her how precious time really is.

She talks about the doubts and regrets she had when deciding to go to university and what she did when her daughter experienced the same doubts. To silence your doubts, Christine believes you need to have faith in your capabilities, know you can do whatever you put your mind to and, you don't have to do anything alone - there's always support to help you along the way.

Rebecca Gibson is passionate about self-development.  Having experienced a lot in her life, at a young age, she realised that your thoughts create your reality. Because of this, she has developed a positive and abundant mindset with an insatiable hunger to grow in all areas of her life.

She is a mother of 2 little angels, whom she adores. Rebecca also has a high-powered job as a Senior Project Manager, has her own business, is a health enthusiast, and the list keeps growing along with her passions.

In this interview, Rebecca talks about developing a positive mindset after overcoming hardships in her life. Rebecca shares how overcoming stage 4 lymphoma cancer in her early twenties greatly impacted her life.

When you have cancer you have two options: to fight or to give in; and she chose to fight! Rebecca did not want to be a victim of her circumstances, so she developed a positive mindset to help her deal with having cancer. Rebecca believes that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. Whether we suffer because of pain is a choice and we can choose how to process it.

Rebecca believes that self-reflection and making time for yourself are forms of self care. You need to be able to give to yourself before you can give to others.

Vivien Conacher is an experienced event producer, music programmer, and critically-acclaimed mezzo-soprano who is passionate about creating meaningful connections through music.

She has starred in, organised and delivered staged opera performances, gala concerts, and music recitals in venues throughout the UK. She also runs a not-for-profit organisation — Songhaven — which delivers professional concerts and workshops specifically designed for people living with dementia.

In this interview, Vivien shares her experience as an opera singer and as a director and organiser of Songhaven. She talks about how music  affects people and brings them together. She believes  music is an incredibly powerful universal human language and a part of human expression.

Vivien wants to break down barriers for people who don't readily experienced opera music because she believes there is something miraculous about hearing an amplified human voice singing over an orchestra.

Her talent, compassion for others and love for community inspired her to create Songhaven, her not-for-profit organisation and build a community for both the audience and the performers. To Vivien, community is about meeting up, socialising and being of service to others.

She believes that there is no one right path in life, and that failure is essential for growth and shaping your path in the world.

Vivien believes that having a 'meant for more' mindset is about setting goals, looking at where we want to be and taking the steps to make that happen!

Mel Larsen is an internationally in-demand small business coach with a proven track record of helping her clients get amazing results. She coaches women entrepreneurs to finally trust their BIG vision and joyfully grow the business of their ultimate dreams. She’s delivered coaching, training, public speaking and consulting across the world including Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Ghana, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, the Netherlands, Greece, Scandinavia and South Africa.

As a passionate active local contributor, Mel has founded 3 community-led festivals in Streatham (London): the Streatham Arts Festival, the Streatham Food Festival and the Little Big Peace Event. She was also Director of the Streatham Business Awards for three years. All these festivals have now been handed over to new leaders and continue to flourish over a decade later.

In this interview, we get to know Mel, a woman who radiates positivity and has a heart for generosity. She believes that being generous is a new way to grow your business and there is a total joy in giving.

Mel talks about her early days when she first started out and, how working in the arts, in marketing and on her own personal development led her to becoming a great coach. Today, she feels inspired and excited to be a business coach and still enjoys the challenge it brings.

Mel believes “no matter how insignificant, how afraid, and how under confident we feel when starting out, it has nothing to do with what we’re capable of”. She knows there is fear every time you go to the next level. It’s never going to be comfortable, but you’re not going to grow if you don’t push yourself.

Mel sees potential in everyone, she sees the star in each one of us and she would love to help us solve our puzzles.

Kassandra Bacon is a Vice President, Senior Product Manager at  Barclays Bank. Her passion for fitness and wellbeing has led her to a love of bodybuilding where she has achieved Pro status, competed internationally and she won Overall European Championship Female Pro in 2021.

Being also a two-time cancer survivor and a neuro-diverse individual with dyslexia, Kassandra “aspires to inspire”, showing others that they can achieve anything their set their heart on...they just need to believe in themselves!

In this interview, Kassandra talks about her bodybuilding career and, creating and maintaining a growth mindset. She also talks about how she has turned neurodiversity from being seen as a disability into a superpower.
According to Kassandra, she stays motivated by making discipline a habit. Being a cancer survivor, inspires Kassandra to keep going because she knows she has “made it through 100% of her bad days”.

Kassandra believes that in order to achieve your dreams and goals, you must break them down into smaller actions and take it one step at a time.

Kassandra isn’t afraid of failing, in fact she welcomes it. She believes that if you are failing at something, it just means you are trying to do something you can’t do YET!

Dr. Deborah Threadgill Egerton, Founder and President of Trinity Transition Consultants, is an internationally respected psychotherapist, author, and executive coach who is often described as an unforgettable thought-leader. Her work in the inclusion, diversity, equity & anti-racism space is legendary.
“Dr. E” as she is affectionately known is an inspirational Enneagram JEDI (justice, equality, diversity, inclusion) who teaches the Enneagram for introspective self-discovery.

Additionally, she has become a trailblazer in developing ways to integrate the Enneagram into her work as a social justice warrior. She facilitates career growth and personal development with individuals and organisations by focusing her efforts on respecting the uniqueness of every individual and honouring their humanity. She says “working with the Enneagram has enabled my clients to get “unstuck” and to move out of self-defeating negative behavioural patterns. My goal is to cultivate a worldwide community of socially responsible cultural allies.”

She holds a BA in Mass Communications from the University of Texas El Paso, MA in Counselling Psychology, Webster University, and a Ph.D. in Health Sciences from Saba University, Netherlands Antilles.

In this interview, Dr Egerton talks about faith, gratitude, grace and love. She believes there is an unlimited access to grace, but when you are not grounded, you block your access to it. Her mother once told her “don’t pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure whatever life brings to your door”. She says you get stuck when you lose your sense of self because you are trying to live up to the idea of who you think you should be.

Dr. Egerton describes herself as a “matriarch, mystic and mentor”.
Get to know more about Dr. Deborah Egerton in this interview as she shares some positive thoughts and energy!

Lauren Johnican is a Health, Fitness and Life Coach and Owner of SteelRose Performance. She is a NASM certified personal trainer, NASM nutrition coach, and NLP Practitioner.
Additionally, she’s a military and commercial pilot. Lauren helps career women regain their energy and balance life’s demands while building resilient and healthy bodies.

In this interview, Lauren discusses the importance of intention, self-awareness and discipline. Lauren doesn't believe you should just  blindly follow other people's advice, you need to also listen to your body and trust your intuition.

She says that you should always be asking yourself “what do I want?”.

There was a point in her life where she lived to the ‘extreme’. This led to sleep deprivation which almost caused the end of her career as a pilot.

After careful thought, Lauren realised the importance of health and balance which also includes socialising and maintaining great relationships with friends and family.

Sola Okusaga is a highly accomplished senior leader with over a decade of experience providing services that support and empower young people to fulfil their potential. Her work involves leading, motivating and supporting teams to deliver impactful and innovative programmes for young people aged 14-25 years. This involves supporting young people to acquire skills that enable them to be financially independent and resilient future leaders.

She has a commitment to young people and their lifelong learning which is at the heart of her professional working life. Her goals are to develop and implement a bespoke employment service that sources opportunities for young people aged 14-25 years in the London borough of Westminster.

In this interview, we get to know about Sola, a woman with a great positive outlook on life. She is a confident, self-reliant woman with a great personality and great mindset!

She believes it is okay if you don't know what you want to do in life right now because eventually it will come to you. According to Sola, negatives should be acknowledged, but we should not dwell on them. With her rich experience in life, there are  a lot of life lessons to learn in this episode.

Monika Agoston is the Founder of Egos Are So Yesterday, a cycling/sport & casual apparel & clothing business that encourages people to enjoy sport. Her apparel and designs reflect who she is and how much she enjoys being outdoors.

Monika wants to show people, especially women, that being active and doing sports has nothing to do with over-exerting or getting a 'personal best' every time you head out for a run or ride. She believes that people should exercise for enjoyment and what it provides us i.e. switching off, meditation, fresh air, improving brain function, giving you feel-good endorphins, and not to mention socialising.  Exercising should not only be for your physical but mental health too. Don't move so you can burn the cake off, move and have the cake.

In this interview, Monika talks about her  personal journey. She shares about losing old friends, and also finding new friends who understand, appreciate and embrace her personal growth and maturity. She talks about the importance of surrounding yourself with a support system of like-minded people who are also on their own personal development journeys.

Monika is courageous and bravely faces uncertainty everyday. She believes that you never regret trying something, but you will regret never trying it!  Although it is not always easy, Monika is now committed to her growth and development.

Barbara Imenšek is a marketing specialist who has pivoted her expertise to LinkedIn and has helped thousands globally.

Her career journey started 24 years ago in customer service. She went on to  be an Assistant Marketing Manager for Eastern Europe and then International Account Director for the marketing agency, J. Walter Thompson.

Over the years, she worked has for and with the best companies and brands such as Unilever, Mazda, Bayer, Ferrero, Spar and Reckitt Benskiser, helping them to build strong brands, become market leaders and increase sales. And although Barbara loved what she was doing, it wasn't fulfilling and suffering from burnout, she decided to take a long sabbatical and ended up unemployed.

In this interview, Barbara talks about being unemployed and broke. She felt lost. Although Barbra didn't feel like getting another corporate job, she  knew social media was essential and believed that LinkedIn was important, but only for job searches. So she started updating and optimising her LinkedIn profile. And then BAM! A whole new world of possibilities opened up to her and she started How To LinkedIn with Barbara. helping clients to tailor their LinkedIn profiles. With Barbara’s extensive background in marketing, research & development, and sales roles, she realised she had found a Holy Grail.

Barbara also believes in power of giving and understands the more she give, the more she is rewarded with goodness. 

Hazel Griffin has worked at TfL for 8 years, moving from an operational role within Passenger Data to her current position of Service Delivery Manager at Victoria Coach Station.

Hazel has a passion for creating positive change by fostering meaningful relationships with her team that centre on open and honest communication, people development and creative problem-solving. In her free time Hazel loves to travel, listen to live music and spend time customising her 600cc motorbike.

As a creative person, she loves to learn new things experientially and hone her musical talent as a bass guitar player, music producer and singer songwriter.

In this interview, Hazel talks about how she has been given great opportunities in her career by building good relationships and having a great work ethic. She is willing to go above and beyond and do whatever it takes to get to where she wants to be.  If this means doing work experience in her own time, then so be it. While she values her time off, she also understands the value of self-development.

Hazel also believes in the power of mentorship, and always seeks out good advice and guidance.

She always starts her day with gratitude and is motivated by her passions. 

After a failed relationship, she realised that she is the prize and needs to take care of herself first in order to be able to take care of others.

You don’t want to miss:

• How building good relationships and having a great work ethic has helped her progress in her career
• Why her family and friends are her best resources
• How her job roles have facilitated her passions outside of work
• How she has learnt to become more discerning of relationships
• Why being late is her greatest fear

Links and resources:

Venetia David, after 10 years in corporate marketing, sales and communication, found Alternatives after reading a book called Conversations with God in 2007.  Having met some of the volunteers at an event she became part of the event team a few years later, then Head of Marketing and now she runs Alternatives with her co-director Richard.   She has expanded the programs offered at Alternatives to include international retreats, an event at The Royal Albert Hall, and the online digital events platform.  
She would describe herself as the ‘quintessential spiritual seeker’.

In this interview, Venetia discusses her life journey: how she lost friends, despaired, and then came back up stronger than ever. She talks about spirituality, mindset and individuals who helped her along the way..

She is a firm believer in uniting as one to build each other. Among her greatest reflections is spirituality being embedded in everything we do.

Venetia is a bold, passionate, open minded and caring individual. She wants to help people grow and become their best.