Dream Chasers

di Alison O'Leary | The Dream Chasers Show

EP021 | Business Ideas Can Get Better with Time, Reflection and Fresh Eyes, with Paul Spiers

In this episode:I’ve asked one of my favourite people, my awesome friend, Paul Spiers, to share his entrepreneurial journey with us. Paul and I met about 10 years ago, when we worked together in our old lives, and I’ve always been massively inspired by his creativity, his thoughtful perspectives, and his tenacity. Paul is a serial entrepreneur. He’s founded and experimented with different businesses over the years, including a marketing communications agency and a surf clothing brand. Today, he’s a passionate advocate of principled leadership and powerful purpose, working as a global keynote speaker, a conference and panel moderator, and he’s the founder and host of The New P&L® podcast, which is an internationally respected, top 5% business podcast series that covers the intersection of leadership, culture, people and purpose. Come join us as Paul shares the reality behind his entrepreneurial journey, how he ignites his creativity to come up with ideas and pivot when necessary, and why it’s never too late to act on an idea that you’ve had for years. I’d love to know what you think after you’ve listened to this one. - - - 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢: A serial entrepreneur, Paul Spiers is the founder of The New P&L® Institute and host of the internationally respected top 5% podcast series, The New P&L® – Principles & Leadership in Business. He is a speaker, trainer and consultant, and works at the intersection of leadership, culture, people and purpose. A naturally creative storyteller, he’s a highly engaging and inspiring speaker, panel moderator and roundtable facilitator. Paul delivers keynotes and workshops filled with insightful and thought-provoking observations and offers practical examples of how to apply the true power of purpose, creativity, principles and leadership in business. He helps senior leaders, employees and companies better prepare for the more complex Future of Work by advising on how they can transform and align their leadership, vision, strategy and culture to elevate business performance. 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E21

10 ott 2024

28:55

EP020 | How to Reboot Your Fun Quota, with Alison O’Leary

In this episode:I’m covering the subject of FUN! Because frankly, many of us are not getting enough of it in our daily lives. This episode has been inspired by the BBC TV series, Race Across the World. I’m obsessed with it and love the life insights gleaned from watching the experiences the contestants have while competing. On the celebrity version of the show, I was touched by the relationship between Jeff Brazier and his 19-year-old son, Freddy, and the lessons coming through from Freddy about how to build fun back into life. If you feel like you could do with an injection of excitement, play, joy, laughter and just a general zest for life, stay tuned as I’m going to share four simple ways to reboot and amp up your fun quota, as inadvertently taught by Freddy himself! Sound good? Excellent. Click and listen in now. - - - 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E20

26 set 2024

12:28

EP019 | How to Remove Imposter Syndrome for Good, with Alison O’Leary

In this episode:I tackle something that a lot of people really struggle with and that’s IMPOSTER SYNDROME. If you suffer from: …persistent self-doubt and second-guessing yourself …feeling like a fraud (and afraid you’ll be found out soon) …regularly questioning your intelligence or abilities …a perpetual fear that you aren’t good enough …or your daily lived experience involving relentless worry, anxiety and overthinking Then this episode is for you. Imposter Syndrome does nothing except get in the way of you fulfilling your true potential. It stops you going after your personal and professional dreams (and it feels bloody awful to boot!) Join me in this solo episode where I delve into: what imposter syndrome looks like (so you can judge if it’s something you personally struggle with); why it isn’t something that you were born with and therefore stuck with; where imposter syndrome actually comes from (with some brain science to explain it), and really importantly, why it is totally possible to remove it once and for all. Sound good? Excellent. Click and listen in now. - - - 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E19

12 set 2024

23:10

EP018 | How age is on my side. Starting a new career journey in my 50s, with Anna Perkins

In this episode:I am joined by my fabulous former client, Anna Perkins, who (and she won’t mind me telling you) has started a new career journey in her early 50s. Anna has been a marketeer for 25+ years, and while there’s a lot about this role she still really enjoys, she knew that if it’s all she continued to do until the end of her working days, it would kill her soul (her words, not mine!) After some deep, introspective work to dig out her innate strengths, skills and passions, and identify what would deliver a true sense of meaning and purpose for her, Anna is now immersed in the world of mental health, and is training to become a counsellor. In this episode, I chat to Anna about how she came to choose this new career path; the steps she’s taking towards it; how she’s found being back in the classroom and what she has learnt about herself through that process, and importantly for a lot of people, how age is actually on her side. Come join us. - - - 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢: After a short spell as a secondary school teacher, Anna Perkins has spent 25 years in Marketing. She’s worked for some of the world’s biggest brands as well as small start-ups leading teams with a passion for brand development, messaging and clear communications. Anna has always had an interest in knowing what makes people tick and, in more recent years she has got involved in mental health, both through formal training as well as being the champion and MH team leader in her current role. This started the journey she is now on, which includes working as a mediator, volunteering with Cruse Bereavement and Papyrus, and training to be a counsellor. This has brought together her passions for psychology, helping people and supporting them in their toughest times. 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E18

29 ago 2024

37:59

EP017 | Burnout Recovery, Finding Balance & Customising Your Life, with Sarah Allison

In this episode:Have you ever experienced burnout? How did it look and feel like for you? Did you know that it can be experienced differently – person to person? I have invited my old work colleague and friend, Sarah Allison, to come and share her burnout and recovery story, which saw her redefine what her life and work looked like in major ways. Sarah has had a rich and varied career, working for global companies to charities and start-ups, mostly in the technology and environmental sectors. But, after experiencing serious health burn out, she has customised the way she lives and works, and has forged her own incredible path – one that sees her living half the year in the UK, and the other half in India, and mixing corporate consultancy work with holistic healing work through shiatsu and qigong. In this episode you will hear Sarah talk about what the burnout catalyst was for her, and what it taught her about what she needed and wanted. We chat about her portfolio career and how she manages it, and how she found the courage to follow her own path, despite the negative societal connotation that she’s living like a “hippy”. Come join us. Sarah’s story is fascinating. - - - 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Sarah Allison is part corporate geek, part holistic health worker who has taken seemingly radical steps to find balance in her life - steps that she believes anyone can take. She now lives between a sleepy village in southern England and the jungles of tropical Goa. In 2019, she left a 15-year corporate PR career working with some of the world's largest technology companies, to pursue a new chapter that saw her recover from burnout, find her own rhythm and live through the global pause for 2.5 years in India. During this time, her holistic Practitioner work flourished and she re-defined the ingredients for health and happiness, on her terms. She finds peace and fulfilment in nature, and now pursues work that nourishes her mind, energy and soul.  If you would like to know more about Sarah or would like to connect with her, please do go to her website at energymoves.one, find her on Facebook, or join her on Instagram. 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E17

15 ago 2024

35:09

EP016 | Four key signs, warning of a disconnection from your happiness path, with Alison O’Leary

In this episode:In this episode I’m coming at you solo to talk about the notion of HAPPINESS. It’s something we are all seeking, but it’s a nebulous term, and for many, working out what it actually looks and feels like for us is really hard to pin down. Personally, I spent a lot of years in the dark, with no idea what happiness genuinely looked like for me, and now I have a lot of clients who come to me because they’re in a similar position – feeling really disconnected from what makes them happy, either from a work or personal point of view, or both. In this episode I talk you through what causes this disconnect; the signs to look out for that will indicate that you’re veering away from your own happiness path; and I share an idea for how to reconnect more deeply with your own intrinsic happiness drivers. I hope you enjoy it! - - - 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E16

1 ago 2024

13:39

EP015 | City life to Rural Wales. A couple’s career and life change story, with Alison O’Leary

In this episode:A slightly different episode for you this time! My fabulous friend and podcast strategist and producer, Shelley Röstlund, interviews me about what drove mine and my late husband’s own huge career and life change. Back in 2012, together, we made the decision to throw everything up in the air and totally reinvent what our work and personal lives looked like.   It saw us leave a central London lifestyle for a home in the Welsh mountains, and big careers we’d invested years in for new jobs in completely new fields. Several people thought we were mad and quite a few thought we were making a huge mistake, but 12 years later, I’m sharing the story, warts and all, about what happened, how we made the transition, and what it did for us.  Shelley helps me unpick our story. I hope it gives you some inspiration if you’ve been feeling less than enthused about where life and work sits for you right now. - - - 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Shelley Röstlund is a systems-led personal brand strategist working with knowledge experts… those who teach, educate, consult, advise or mentor others. Her specialism is in uncovering her clients’ marketable genius – their unique gifts which they were born to bring into the world. South African born and British-grown, Shelley has worked with 150+ brands across 30+ industries through her consultancy and agency work. She leads Harbour 32, a family-centred marketing agency which focusses on personal brand strategy and podcast show positioning and production. 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E15

18 lug 2024

29:24

EP014 | Making Feel-Good Changes. Philosophies on Luck and Risk, with Michael Taggart

In this episode:I talk to my long-time friend, Michael Taggart, who has had a really interesting career path with numerous twists and turns - some chosen by him, and some forced upon him by forces outside of his control. Through a mix of employment and self-employment, he’s been a journalist on national newspapers, a comms guy for city councils, a PR for financial services companies, he’s built and run his own content marketing agency, and he now co-owns and manages a gourmet tea business with his wife Helen, suppling tea to hotels, restaurants and cafés, and running an actual bricks and mortar shop in Brighton. In this episode you will hear us talk about the different career shifts that Michael has made during the course of his life, and why he had them. Plus: we delve into the fascinating philosophies that underpin his courage, resilience and attitude to risk as he continues to chase his dreams.  This stuff is provocative and engaging in equal measure, so without further ado click, play and come listen. - - - 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Michael Taggart started his professional life in the 2000s as a journalist, rising through the ranks, at first, of local and regional newspapers. Following a stint as deputy editor of a group of newspapers in Spain, he went on to work on Fleet Street for several national titles (“all the worst ones”, he says!), finally hanging up his notebook in 2005 to switch to local government communications. After six “mostly enjoyable, mostly productive” years at three city and county councils, Michael moved to Brighton, fell in love, got married and began a 10-year career in finance and tech marketing. In perhaps his most eyebrow-raising professional move, he took the reins at his wife’s tea company, MDTea, just over a year ago, (at the time of recording) and describes his current managing director role as “the most satisfying so far”. 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E14

4 lug 2024

42:22

EP013 | From Daily Fatigue To Energised Joy. My Career Change Saved My Health, with Amy-Beth Mellor

In this episode:Join me as I talk to a former client, Amy-Beth Mellor who I’m personally super inspired by. Amy-Beth spent 20 years working in the NHS as a Dietician in pretty senior roles, whilst battling a number of physical health issues that she’d had since childhood, as well as an inexplicable level of exhaustion that left her unable to function during her time off. Then, in 2020, she got a late-in-life diagnosis of Autism and ADHD, which finally shed some light on her long-held work struggle, and started her journey to understanding her own requirements for a right-fit career and lifestyle. In this episode you will hear us talk about Amy-Beth’s very real and detailed experience in trying to operate in a role that wasn’t right for her and the impact it had. We also talk through how she determined the criteria for her ideal career and the path she navigated to finding the kind of work she loves doing today – which she still can’t believe she gets paid to do every day! (HINT: puppies are involved). - - - 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Amy-Beth Mellor hails from a 20-year career working as a Registered Dietitian in the NHS service, which included the areas of Acute and Community Dietetics, and extensive experience in Home Enteral Feeding in both adults and children. The pandemic in 2020 caused a big change for people worldwide and for Amy it kicked off her journey to discovering why she was so heavily fatigued every day and was not enjoying her work. After a late-in-life autism and ADHD diagnosis and career coaching with Alison, Amy has now found her permanent adventure in happiness - working with dogs. She runs her own dog walking and pet sitting business called Furry Popins, based in the Wirral, UK. 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E13

20 giu 2024

37:28

EP012 | Overcoming Relentless Setbacks to Achieve my Dream Book Deal, with Claire Frances

In this episode:The amazing and highly inspirational Claire Frances joins me. Claire is a professional writer and soon-to-be published author, who also happens to be my fabulous cousin. Claire has come on to share her pretty incredible journey to having her first novel published.  Despite her experience as a journalist and freelance feature writer for publications like BBC Countryfile Magazine and Devon Life, and as a host blogger for The Huffington Post, the road to securing a publishing deal has been anything but easy. But what I have wholeheartedly admired in Claire throughout the past few years is her unrelenting tenacity in continuing to work at it, despite monumental hurdles and setbacks, and her steadfast belief that the universe has her back, which has helped her trust her instincts and make massive decisions that others would have considered too risky. In this episode you’ll hear us talk about Claire’s very relatable experience of trying to make this dream of hers work. We unpick how and why she didn’t give up, and hear about her challenging and tenacious journey to gaining her first book deal with One More Chapter, an imprint at Harper Collins, who publish “unputdownable fiction”. Come join us. You won’t regret it! - - - 𝗚𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Claire Frances has worked as a journalist and freelance feature writer for BBC Countryfile Magazine and Devon Life and has been a host blogger for The Huffington Post.   With a rich hands-on experience with professional writing, she also has a Masters in Professional Writing, specialising in fiction, a diploma in Print Journalism and Radio, and studied Creative Writing at university. Claire’s first novel, ‘Someone Like Pearl’, is being published by One More Chapter, an imprint at Harper Collins in early 2025. She lives on Dartmoor with her family, and finds her ideas for books come most naturally when she's out walking with her dogs. 𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗡 𝗢’𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗬 𝗕𝗜𝗢: Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate. She’s the founder and designer of the Work Wonderland™ process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals. Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales. Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change. When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed. ================== All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

E12

6 giu 2024

34:23

3 di 5