"The whole time I could have left but I just wanted to believe so much that it was the right thing for me."

What happens when you don’t get joy from your job anymore? I’m talking to Claire Fitzsimmons, co-founder of ‘If lost start here’. She shares her journey of closing a door on what was perceived as a ‘dream job’ in the art world and following her heart into the well-being world. We also talk about her Mum’s struggle with mental health and how it led Claire to starting a business where they create a unique "well-being prescription" designed to navigate life with creativity and joy. She also opens up about her struggles fitting into traditional roles and redefining what is important. Her story offers us invaluable lessons on embracing change and finding fulfilment.

“I just love the feeling of walking through a gallery and then being around the art and I still love that. I think that's why it was so hard to let go of because it felt really good, but what I hadn't understood was what my role in it would be, and who I had to be in that environment.”

Here are the highlights:

05:41 The struggle of leaving a beloved art world job

12:12 Monetising passions can diminish the joy

13:39 Prioritising personal curiosity over external expectations

17:57 Exploring my mother’s story to understand my own

23:53 Navigating external advice vs. internal connection

27:54 Creative spaces make therapy accessible and engaging

34:42 Different needs: nature connection, and a spiritual practice

37:09 Create your own life guide with support

The things that helped Claire navigate change.

Book: "Tiny Beautiful Things", by Cheryl Strayed

Music: "My Favourite Coffee House" playlist on Spotify

The one piece of advice: “Feel your way through change and I say that because I often do work around emotions with people and it's often the missing piece.”

About Claire Fitzsimmons:

Claire Fitzsimmons helps people to have more good days by developing an everyday life practice that meets them wherever they are, with whatever it is they need. Claire draws from positive psychology, transactional analysis, somatics, neuroscience, Positive Intelligence, emotions coaching, and the science of well-being to help people understand what it means to be a person in this world, and how we can possibly do life with all that life now needs to contain. Claire also works with women in mid-life, particularly negotiating shifts associated with (peri)menopause. She is one of the world’s first certified Emotions Coaching Practitioners (with In Good Company), an ICF Associate Certified Coach (ACC), and earned her Certificate in Counseling and Psychotherapy from London’s CCPE.

Find out more: https://www.ifloststarthere.com/

Connect with Claire:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/claire-fitzsimmons

Substack: https://moregooddays.substack.com/

About your host Eleanor Tweddell:

Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s 121 coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training. Eleanor’s work centres around how we, as humans, work through change, embracing the messy bits, the role of playing, with the aim to see opportunity. “Too often we get stuck in the change happening to us, when just through that next door is an exciting next chapter.”

Eleanor is the founder of Another Door, and Get-Recommended.com and the author of Why losing your job could be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Connect with Eleanor:

Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/

Website: eleanortweddell.com

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

“If it's consulting for forever, then it's consulting for forever. But at least be the captain of your own ship and being curious about what it would be like to be the captain of my own ship.”

I am talking to Dr. Enya Doyle, known as the ‘Harassment Doctor’. Enya’s closing door was the moment she decided to leave academia and start her own consultancy. Enya shares her career journey, starting from her academic roots in gender and classical music to becoming a leading consultant in anti-harassment and inclusion.

The conversation is about seeing opportunity when it feels like there isn't, see something that needs addressed and decide to do something about it. I found it empowering to listen to her motivations and drive. Enya talks about the ‘Finding yourself’ moment - after spending so long living in the identity of ‘being smart’ to deciding to do ‘smart’ differently, bringing with her all that curiosity and love for learning into her next door opening.

Enya discusses the pivotal moments that shaped her path, from completing her PhD and confronting the challenges of the COVID-19 lockdowns to navigating personal health struggles and eventually establishing her own consultancy. Her story is a testament to the power of curiosity, adaptability, and the importance of doing "the next right thing."

And an impressive reference to Disney films the whole way through our chat!

"Focus on doing the next right thing for yourself, rather than being overly concerned with long-term plans or others' expectations."

Here are the highlights:

04:54 Academia fosters curiosity and lifelong learning.

11:14 Grew up during the Northern Ireland conflict.

15:58 Surround yourself with supportive, like-minded people who uplift you.

21:28 Assume the best; people have diverse perspectives.

24:14 Arts organisations must protect freelancers and contractors.

29:17 NHS is thorough; many people often misunderstood.

31:03 Embracing self-employment; flexible, and fulfilling work journey.

The things that helped Dr. Enya navigate change.

Book: ‘The Year of Yes’ by Shonda Rhimes

Music: Moana Soundtrack

The one piece of advice: “In Frozen 2, there is a song called ‘Do the next right thing’. I think we spend a lot of our lives being told about five year plans. For me, you just got to do the next right thing. Take the next step. Do the next thing that's right for you.”

More about Dr Enya Doyle

Raised in Ireland and now based in London, Dr Enya Doyle’s unwavering commitment to driving social change has been recognised nationally for almost fifteen years. Enya has a powerful track record of providing effective and insightful training as well as thoughtful, evidence-based guidance. She collaborates with companies of all sizes across the world to prevent unwanted behaviours amongst colleagues and helps People and EDI teams respond better when it does happen. Enya specialises in challenging gender-based discrimination, sexism, and sexual violence.

enyadoyle.com

@theharassmentdoctor

www.linkedin.com/in/dr-enya-doyle

About your host Eleanor Tweddell:

Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s 121 coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training. Eleanor’s work centres around how we, as humans, work through change, embracing the messy bits, the role of playing, with the aim to see opportunity. “Too often we get stuck in the change happening to us, when just through that next door is an exciting next chapter.”

Eleanor is the founder of Another Door, and Get-Recommended.com and the author of Why losing your job could be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Connect with Eleanor:

Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/

Website: eleanortweddell.com

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk

“What if I could author my life the way I want it to be? What would that look like? And the more I started to think about that it was, you know, not working for anybody. It was creating my own spaces, creating my own company where I get to do the things I really care about, and where I can structure it”

Join me talking to Glenn Block, whose journey from corporate life to entrepreneurship is packed with valuable lessons and insights, and stories of how getting it wrong on the first go can turn out to be OK! Glenn shares the moment he decided to close a door on working in ‘big tech’ and launch not one but two of his own businesses. We discuss the magic of having unfiltered conversations with people when you first have an idea, our love of books and the importance of watching out for your mental health during life changes.

"Leaving corporate politics felt like closing the door on a toxic relationship; it was a necessary step towards reclaiming my mental health and professional integrity."

Here are the highlights:

06:47 MBA led to realisation: Leave the corporate for new opportunities.

20:39 Enjoying flexibility and fulfillment outside corporate environment.

22:30 Launched business in 2023; in a struggling economy.

30:01 ADHD's hyperfocus can lead to extreme productivity.

33:10 Learned more being self-employed than in a corporate job.

42:07 Seeking music to inspire hope during change.

51:57 Runway provides security and focus for success.

The things that helped Glenn navigate change.

Book: “Leadership and Self Deception” by The Arbinger Institute

Music: "My Life" by Billy Joel

The one piece of advice: "Planning is crucial. Having a financial runway, for me it was a year-long plan, gave me the stability I needed to make the leap from corporate life to self-employment with confidence."

About Glenn Block

Glenn is a product and innovation leader with almost 30 years of experience in the tech industry. Throughout his career he has been at the forefront of building innovative enterprise solutions and advancing cloud computing. He has led initiatives at a number of top tech companies including Microsoft, Docusign, Auth0, and Splunk. After many years of witnessing the deep systemic inequities in the tech industry and how that impacts product development, Glenn started ProdSense where he advises organizations on how to build more inclusive products.

Glenn’s mission is to create a more inclusive and safe environment in tech. He invests a large amount of his energy in mentoring, advising, and sponsorship especially for black women, women of color, and the LGBTQ community. He has also worked in multiple organizations to change culture and policies, and has collaborated with several non-profit organizations as part of his mission including TechBridge Girls, Tech2Empower, and Code Nation.

He is a lifelong learner and received his executive MBA in leadership and social justice from Seattle University

Find out more: https://prodsense.net

Connect with Glenn:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gblock/

About your host Eleanor Tweddell:

Eleanor supports individuals, teams and organisations through change. Whether it’s 121 coaching or large scale organisational change through communications and training. Eleanor’s work centres around how we, as humans, work through change, embracing the messy bits, the role of playing, with the aim to see opportunity. “Too often we get stuck in the change happening to us, when just through that next door is an exciting next chapter.”

Eleanor is the founder of Another Door, and Get-Recommended.com and the author of Why losing your job could be the best thing that ever happened to you.

Connect with Eleanor:

Instagram:instagram/anotherdooruk

LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/eleanor-tweddell/

Website: eleanortweddell.com

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk