Some people thrive - even when things get hard. How can we succeed in any situation and develop greatness, creating optimal performance in all areas of our life? Today’s guest became obsessed with better understanding what differentiates those who succeed from those who fail - and everything related to optimizing human performance.  Rich Diviney has more than 20 years of experience as a Navy SEAL Officer. He completed more than 13 overseas deployments (11 of which were to Iraq and Afghanistan),  achieved multiple leadership positions (including the Commanding Officer of a Navy SEAL Command), and since retirement in early 2017, has worked as a speaker, facilitator, and consultant Through years of observation, Rich learned to identify a successful recruit's core Attributes, the innate traits for how a person performs as an individual and as part of a team. That same methodology can be used by anyone in their personal or professional lives. In his book The key Attributes for success, Rich shows how understanding your own attributes and those of the people around you can fast-track optimal performance in all areas of your life. I loved diving deep into the mindset of a Navy SEAL and learning all the leadership principles, techniques, lessons, and wisdom that Rich shared with the highest level of humanity and humility.  I was honored to have Rich on the show - This is another fascinating episode and will leave you wanting more. Enjoy :-)

My guest in this episode is a wonderful lady - a friend and inspiring mentor.  Melanie Richards. With large-scale general management, board and advisory experience, Melanie is based in the UK and was until September 2020 the Deputy Chair of KPMG UK and a Board member. Melanie was heavily involved in its continuing transformation in areas such as risk, culture, diversity and inclusion, reputation and ESG. She ensured the voice of the firm’s key stakeholders was reflected at board level and worked with KPMG’s highest-profile clients and key stakeholders. She has almost 40 years’ corporate finance and capital markets experience. She was awarded a CBE for her contribution to business and to the diversity and inclusion agenda in 2019.  In September 2017 she was named #1 in the Financial Times’ Female Champions of Women in Business list.  She is a founding member of the 30% Club Steering Committee, sat on the Steering Group of the Hampton Alexander Review, and won the Outstanding Contribution to Social Mobility Award in 2018. We cover various topics ranging from career advice, leadership, inclusion & diversity, the future of work and more. Enjoy!

One of the core tenants of personal development, from ancient wisdom including Stoicism to modern science, and disciplines from coaching to cognitive behavioural psychology ... is that our mind is a powerful tool - but does not have to run the show of our life: we always have the power over our thoughts. Every time we have a thought about something, we have a feeling associated with it - which triggers actions and results.  It is not what is happening in the world (our circumstances) that causes our feelings, but our thoughts about our circumstances.  We can therefore become conscious about the thinking that causes the unwanted results … and create new thoughts patterns to trigger different feelings, actions and results.  There are smaller and bigger examples every day of this principle in action ... In this episode, I am speaking to someone who embodies the power of the mind in a BIG way ... Garrain Jones! For over 2 years, Garrain lived out of his car and was over $300,000 in debt. If life was not hitting rock bottom enough, he then spent 2 ½ years in prison - in France- for selling heroin.  But through these challenges, and many other tragic events in his life, Garrain found his purpose and was able to completely change the trajectory of his life. And the wake-up call to change his life came unexpectedly. Today, he is a transformation coach, business coach, speaker, author, health and wellness advocate, and serial entrepreneur who has motivated and inspired thousands of people around the world.  He is living proof that our circumstances can change, IF we are willing to change the way we think.  In his bestselling book, he shares his proven process for removing lifelong struggles (starting from within), and gives the tools to attract prosperity and passion in all areas of life. In our conversation, you will get to hear his powerful story of “rags to riches”, and how he overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We also talk about the power of mindset, how he turned his life-long pain and struggle into passion, and why anyone (regardless of their current circumstances) has the power to live a happy and abundant life! Enjoy :-)

From digital disruptions to global pandemics, we are witnessing a seismic shift in the employer-employee relationship across the board.  If the past 18 months have taught us anything, it’s that employees crave investment in the human aspects of work. A record number of employees are quitting or thinking about doing so. Organizations that take the time to learn why—and act thoughtfully—will have an edge in attracting and retaining talents. This is what Steve Cadigan calls “Workquake”. What employers need and what employees want has evolved; however, we have yet to build a model and a contract that feels safe and inspirational to both parties. Steve has been at the forefront of global talent strategy and company culture for the past 30 years. Most famous for scaling Linkedin from 400 to 4000 employees in 3.5 years, Steve also led the development of LinkedIn’s legendary company culture and was at the helm of the Talent function for its period of the highest growth and through their IPO. This episode is an empowering conversation for those seeking to understand how to navigate careers and life in a rapidly changing world. Steve argues that being human has never been more critical, that we have more agency in applying our talents than at any other time in history and that we need to have more real and honest conversations about how to build a better model of the future of work, one in which both employers and employees feel safe and energized. Enjoy :-)

For years, companies have been implementing programs that promote social responsibility and improve employee health, both of which benefit the financial bottom line.  Research shows that authentic, trust-based relationships increase job satisfaction, engagement, productivity, and retention - and even decreased healthcare costs.  In , Jen Fisher & Anh Nguyen Phillips, two experts from Deloitte explain how working remotely, over-relying on digital communication, and always being “on” is fast-increasing feelings of isolation and burnout - and how a work culture driven by quality relationships can reverse these trends. In this episode, our guest is one of the two authors, Anh Philips. Anh is a researcher, author, and former management consultant who has dedicated her career to exploring the interplay between technology and humanity. As the research director for Deloitte’s Global CEO Program, Anh directs research teams that help executives and other leaders navigate a changing world. In this conversation, Anh walks us through how to fuel a much-needed corporate movement towards humanity in the workplace to meet today’s employees’ most urgent needs, while benefiting organizations in real and measurable ways.   Enjoy!

It is no secret that COVID-19 has created high levels of stress and even burnout for many individuals. Maintaining personal vitality in the midst of the increasingly disruptive changes happening to our world of work is crucial.  If we are not also tending to your personal pulse, efforts to work harder or smarter will flatline.   Dr Jacinta M. Jiménez, is an award-winning Psychologist  and Board-Certified Leadership Coach with an over 15 year career dedicated to the betterment  of leaders.  In her book, The Burnout Fix: Overcome  Overwhelm, Beat Busy and Sustain Success in the New World  of Work, Jacinta introduces a research backed framework to ensure that we can  achieve success without compromising our vitality, health, and well-being in the process.   In this episode, Jacinta provides a compelling and timely message for individuals, teams and organizations about what it means to thrive in today’s complex and rapidly changing world of work by introducing  pro-resilience skills, behaviors, and mindsets. Enjoy!

Do you know the saying, some people come into our lives and leave footprints on our hearts and we are never ever the same?  Well - then this episode with Pinky Lilani might leave these footprints in you.  Pinky is an amazing lady, who I cherish as a leader, mentor, friend and fairy god mother she has been. Beyond exited to share such a beautiful person with you. She is an author, motivational speaker, food expert and women's advocate. She is the founder and chair of several awards recognising influential women and excellence in leadership, including the annual Women of the Future Awards and the Asian Women of Achievement Awards, as well as Kindness in Leadership Awards. Pinky was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2007 for services to charity and as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2015 for services to women in business. In this episode, Pinky shares with us her inspiring journey into business and how kindness has shaped it. We talk about empowerment, how we can build meaningful relationships including connecting over cooking. We go on to reflect on purpose, entrepreneurship and leadership, some of the challenges Pinky has overcome, putting emphasis on being authentic to yourself and not fearing failure.  It is full of wisdom and energy, with the love of people at the heart of Pinky’s ethos - enjoy!

Our guest today is Nicholas McCarthy - such a remarkable man - fantastic artist and human being. Nicholas was born without his right hand and only began to play the piano at the late age of 14 after being inspired by a friend play Beethoven. Nicholas was told he would never succeed as a concert pianist. Of this experience, he said: "It was soul crushing because that's all I wanted to do - I could feel it would be an uphill struggle, but it made me more determined, I'm quite a stubborn character" . Fortunately, the doubters were wrong. His graduation from the prestigious Royal College of Music in London in 2012 appeared in press around the world, as he became the only one-handed pianist to graduate from the Royal College of Music in its 130-year history. Nicholas since then performed extensively throughout the UK including major venues such as The Royal Albert Hall, as well as internationally. In this episode we speak about Nichola’s journey, willpower, tenacity to overcome challenges and hurdles along the way, how he thinks about negativity and failure, his rituals including to optimize his energy, why he believes anything is possible with hard work and tenacity playing the long game - and more! This was a mind-blowing - and fun - interview, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks for listening! Episode notes:

Our guest today is Emily Groden, Founder of Evergreen, a clean, frozen waffle brand. Emily has one of these very impressive backgrounds: undergrad at Yale, law school at Harvard, and a career in M&A Law, all going according to her life's plan. As a competitive college swimmer, she knew about the importance of fueling herself with nutritious ingredients. She started a career in law at Kirkland & Ellis where she focused on Private Equity deals. Then, one night, Netflix led her to Chef's Table and an episode about Alinea, a three-Michelin star restaurant in Chicago - and it inspired her so much that she sent a cold email to Alinea's founder Nick Kokonas asking if he needed a lawyer. Long story short, Emily joined them a week after. She learned the importance of being innovative and following her gut, asking why things "had" to be a certain way.  You will hear how that expansive mindset led to her founding Evergreen in September 2020, right  in the middle of Covid. In this episode, we are going to cover her story and lessons learnt, so you can apply these to your OWN life and career. Episode notes:

In this episode, my guest is Cyril Benzaquen. Cyril is not only five-time World Kickboxing and Muay Thai champion, but also holds a Masters in Management from the prestigious Dauphine University in Paris, is a model and an entrepreneur. Very young, Cyril understood that his defeats were often linked to a lack of mental preparation, and he began to visualize his future victories from his first steps in the ring. His physical strength and agility were thus quickly solidified by mental toughness, and thanks to a training routine which includes amongst others meditation, visualization and breathwork. His sporting discipline now allows him to also be a successful businessman. We dive into Cyril’s rituals, tips and tricks to build mental fitness and self-belief. Whether you are a CEO, leader, Corporate athlete or sport athlete, this episode is full of inspiration - enjoy :-) Episode notes: