James is a legend. In his own words he describes his Instagram story as accidentally building a personal brand. At nearly a quarter of a million followers that's no surprise really. He's shown up consistently and made content over several years on IG. He's been a brand and logo designer for 17+ years, and repeatedly says there's very rare overnight successes. His growth and success has been incremental and steady. What makes James' story inspirational is the backdrop to what happened before he got the design bug. James talks to me about what shook his world. At age 11 his life imploded - whic ..read more

Kate and I go way back. We met in our 20s in our first proper job during the dot com boom. Kate went on to flourish working in digital media as a marketing director. She's held roles with plenty of responsibility in fast paced environments. One of the things I adore about Kate, is she wears her heart on her sleeve. Kate chats openly and honestly about a breaking moment that came not long after she lost her Dad. She describes her hectic routine like groundhog day and at some point it had to give. Keep being courageous, Rachael x WHO'S BEHIND THIS PODCAST? I'd ridden pretty high on the creati ..read more

Nathan is a mental health advocate and vocal pioneer. He's showing up consistently in the men's mental health space online. Nathan started the blog mybrainsnotbroken.com in 2017. He's been super committed and written twice a week about all manner of subjects that span depression, anxiety and men's suicide prevention. We talk about Nathan's commitment and passion for this cause plus his creative process and the inspiring things that have happened when he's shown up online. Nathan is a writer and content creator by trade so blogging became a natural habit and practice that he felt committed to ..read more

Tyler is a modest and hardworking artist. His illustrations are intense, rather bonkers and saturated with bright and flouro colours. He's posted everyday for many years and built up a following of 297K on Instagram. When I asked him about how he had the creative stamina to be so prolific, he told me he had a punk attitude to his work. Tyler creates regardless of whether he feels like it or not and doesn't overly perfect his images - some pieces only take him a minute. It certainly challenged my approach to making something new each day! Tyler's commitment to making something new everyday for ..read more

I heard Bella's story first time at an event in Manchester. I was taken aback. Bella told her story about being the survivor of sexual assault, and I knew I needed to ask her to share with me on the podcast. Bella does so brilliantly and bravely. She's honest about her healing journey and the varying steps and challenges in putting her life back together after trauma. Bella started Consent for Breakfast (orginally known as To Whom It May Concern) as a means of amplifying the issues around consent, rape and sexual assault. We talk today about how this has created a whole new sense of purpose a ..read more

This man is full of courage. I had the total honour of discovering Kris' story through a mutual friend and couldn't quite believe what this man has been through. Up until 2020 Kris had been doing life at a certain pace. In his own words, a corporate man, working hard and providing for his family. He'd been having ongoing issues with sciatica pain in his leg. Eventually Kris got a scan and the shocking news he wasn't expecting: a large tumour mass had grown in his upper leg and pelvic bone - the only way forwards was for his whole leg to be removed. Kris' surgery is known as a hemipelvectomy ..read more

I met Mike where most great friendships start - in the DMs of Instagram. I gently, yet patiently explained to Mr Janda that British comedy was more than Monty Python... and from there the back and forth went until I had the delight to interview him today. Mike is a creative leader who built an agency of 70+ staff with a roll call of tech and entertainment clients, Disney, Google, NBC, ABC, National Geographic and Warner Bros to name a few. Mike now travels and meets creatives all over the world in his coaching business. In this conversation he generously shares his pearls of wisdom around wha ..read more

Wait til you hear this story. Micah and Delana hail from a small rural town in Alabama called Hamilton. Through a series of dreams and conversations with friends, they felt God spoke to them specifically about moving to Manchester, UK. Without a ton of detail locked in place Micah and Delana felt an increasing desire and necessity to follow their call. Even when it meant relocating their four children and starting over in quite a different culture. The Wood's story is one of courage, faith and purpose unfolding. It's a powerful conversation if you feel you've got a crazy dream that you're not ..read more

Mark is an Irish illustrator based out in Melbourne with his family. He creates dreamy, Matisse like surreal portraits and illustrations. His work might be whimsical but don't be fooled by the dreaminess of it all - Mark works hard and has built a consistent following of 200K+ followers on Instagram. He's also done work for Etsy, Airbnb, Coca Cola and The New York Times. We chat about what it takes to flex from a traditional design role to becoming an illustrator. Mark chats to me about creative stamina, where he draws ideas from and keeping going in spite of anxious moments. Be inspired by ..read more

What a delight to interview a courage expert - I need one of these in my life! Sandra is a ray of light, shining everyday courage on people's mindsets and habits. She's not in the business of bravado or feats of bravery. Her passion is grounded in research and writing. Sandra breaks down the word courage to its heart and spirit level meaning. From that position she applies her skill and expertise in seeing people grow and flourish. We had a great conversation, talking about Sandra's principles, ways of working and books: COURAGE The Heart and Spirit of Every Woman and Face it! Sandra is someo ..read more