The Every Year Itch Podcast

She had always known about her love affair with chocolate, but little did she know it would turn into a passion, a purpose, a business venture, complete with tasting and festivals. Nicola walked away from a career in conventional teaching to teach people about her love of chocolate.

Coach, speaker and author of the Lipstick Principles Amanda Brown had a great start in the corporate world when she was overcome with imposter syndrome. It lead her to take a huge leap of faith to leave a steady job behind to follow her calling to coach.

From photojournalist to PR, consulting and public speaker and futurist, Stefan has ‘jumped ship’ a number of times as he prefers to jump rather than be pushed. Motivated by wanting to learn, the love of freedom and wanting to affect change, Stefan has carved out his own path for working differently.

Gera started a journey of living more consciously with less 8 years ago, spurred on by a school project of one of her children. It resulted in a huge life change for the whole family (of seven!), freeing themselves of clutter, to collect experiences and not things, as well as slow living. The minimalistic lifestyle even resulted in a business, a book and a new vocation.

Kim Adele wanted to be a hairdresser. In fact she tells anyone with pride that this is the only NVQ she has. But life took many turns and she now runs a business as a executive coach and laughs as she recalls they sometimes say "help they've let a hairdresser on the board!" How to overcome adversity and love yourself, how to allow people to 'borrow belief' and how to deal with the imbalances of life and stay -beautifully- true to yourself.

Dr Karen Freeberg understood the importance of social media before it reached its current popularity. She followed her "itch", pushed through the resistance and became a clear voice in a world of change.

Another amazing 6 interviews, this time with Samatha Kelly, Paul Ince, Jon Ferrara, Esther Jacobs, Joseph McQuire and the Pepperhustle girls Lynn & Martina, with an overarching theme of "don't be limited by the rules". All these amazing interviewees are in business but found extraordinary ways of getting to success in the -sometimes- most unconventional of ways. Enjoy this round up of great advice and inspiration.

Esther felt it came down to a choice between Time and Money. She chose Time. Whilst most peple carried on studying and rolled into junior and then senior positions, Esther grabbed entrepreneurial opportunities anywhere in the world. At one bizarre point, she was effectively "fired" from her home country the Netherlands for having been away too much. It led to a difficult three battle with out of date and slow changing systems. She is now officially a digital nomad, never held back by rules and proud to be the odd one out.

Paul had a safe job in the corporate world and didn't plan to start a business. But he grew increasingly unhappy working and earning money for other people and just coming away with the pat on the back. In this Podcast Paul describes the highs and lows of running a company, but concludes to have a better life and to be a better person as a result of it. He is in charge of his time and able to be present as a single parent. Above all, he says people want you to succeed and it's amazing what help you get when you ask for it.

Life wasn’t perfect for Jon Ferrara but navigating across certain roadblocks in his life made him stronger. From early on he decided to walk the path of truth and knowledge. Jon achieved great entrepreneurial success and developed great ideas for the future of business, which he compares to keeping an ecological garden. Despite all he’s experienced and encountered, Jon feels his journey is about growing the soul and walking to his own drumbeat.

As a small child Joseph was acutely aware of the adults around him. Through receiving some complimentary therapy Joseph had a lightbulb moment which spurred him onto learning about complimentary therapy and face reading. It was a journey of ups and downs in which some of the greatest struggled turned out to be the biggest blessings.

Becoming a mother cannot be underestimated. You're told you will cope but nothing truly prepares you for that adventure. You're supposed to be in that perfect earth-mother bubble of bliss. Many mothers -Martina and Lynne included- struggle coming to terms with their new identity, a new life pattern and in many cases new requirements for your body and health. Pepperhustle aims to turn those struggles into doing life differently health and wellness successes for every mum at every stage.

An inspiring journey from lone parent to being the much loved Tweeting goddess and social media expert. Samantha Kelly tells her story how she found her talent almost accidentally and now helps many people across the world.

Listen to the takeaways of the interviews with Danni Tabor, Sharyn Kearns, Dan Furlong, Aoifa O'Brien, Bill Liao and Matt B Davis. Every one of these stories are about being adaptable and having the courage to start something authentic, whilst overcoming obstacles. In the end each of these business people followed their purpose and expressed their talents in many successful ways.

For years Matt feared the question where he went to school. Now he knows that disliking school doesn’t equal a bad life. He googled how to start a business and founded a successful staffing company. Then he found his passion, in mud. Today Matt writes, produces Podcasts and is recognised as the obstacle course industry expert.

With a background in and passion for technology, successful entrepreneur Bill Liao actually believes that social transformation is the driving force behind technology. He is dedicated to creating a life that works for all life and says it’s our responsibility to fix the planet. Bill is the founder of the Coderdojo and Weforest amongst other initiatives. Instead of just striving for financial gain in business, the most important question is “what is life all about?” Design a purpose and do the work, because all purpose needs fuel. The hardest obstacle to overcome is fear, as well as the fear of fear. In order to win this game it’s important to handle the emotion and to be free around failure. There are just three rules in entrepreneurship: don’t die, don’t suck, don’t quit.

If you want to see the world and not be tied to one place, then you need to take initiative. Breaking the mould and common perception, Aoife left her secure employment and travelled from Ireland to London and Sydney and took a Masters in Organisational Behaviour. During her travels she made the decision to never return to the rat race and realised she could have a different kind of life. Aoife now assists others in companies to find meaning in their work. as we spend so many hours working, it’s imperative that it has purpose and flexibility to it. According to Aoife everyone has a choice in life. Be inspired to write your own script.

After a 20-year struggle with mental illness, Dan got help and decided to no longer be a victim of the past. He’s now turned his life into a meaningful journey, not just as a successful entrepreneur, but also because he dedicates himself to charity work, raising awareness for mental well-being (male anxiety and depression) and by being an inspiration to others. His openness is heart-warming, starting a truly honest conversation about those aspects of mental health still often ignored and hidden. Dan is a thought leader who believes that we should all stop taking the path of the least resistance. Today he is grateful for his struggles, which have led to great insights which will hopefully touch many lives.

Every aspect of business can be turned on its head and be redefined. Sharon didn’t believe in work/life balance, but as a business owner she decided to work round her life and her clients. Who said that a finance director had to be present full time in an office? Sharon created a successful company where financial services are outsourced to her by companies worldwide. It gives her (and her clients) the adaptability and flexibility needed in today/s climate. Her story describes the long road, the ups/downs and the tenacity of creating a business fit for your life.

When you leave the acting world after many successful but hard years, your ego might trick you that you should stick at it. Instead Danni free flowed into a career she loved, when she realised she could be happy not acting. By being her own boss, doing something that made a difference to others her work suddenly felt so natural, it didn’t feel like work at all. Danni helps people have “Ah-ha” moments; no big meal/exercise plans, but a process of tweaking and doing what feels good. According to Danni, she learned to forgive herself, listen to her body and still do things that “tickle her taste buds”.