“It was a phenomenal time looking back, of anxiety at the beginning and disbelief that this was going to do anything for us, to finally being acquired at the end of 2021 in a life changing deal.”

In this episode, I speak to David James about the reality of walking away from a, on paper, dream corporate role in search of something else.

David left the Walt Disney Company and joined the startup world, he shares the story of facing into the setbacks, the moments of wonderful serendipity, the moments of deep, dark doubt (my words, not David’s!).

We talk about the emotional highs and lows of career change, what it means to redefine success, and how sometimes, failure can lead to the most valuable opportunities.

If you're navigating change or just curious about what happens when you take a leap, this one’s for you.

Here are the highlights:

03:17 The quiet build-up to letting go

07:45 Push vs pull: What drives us to change

09:38 Starting a business from scratch

12:21 Facing failure head-on

16:14 The free fall: Losing identity after leaving corporate

22:01 A serendipitous conversation that changed everything

29:19 Finding your voice and your value in something new

33:10 Learning to focus on the real problem

40:54 Adjusting after the business was acquired

David’s ‘another door opens’ go-to list -

Book: Broken Open, How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow by Elizabeth Lesser

Music: Saint Cloud by Waxahachie

The one piece of advice: “Own your own narrative.”

More about David:

David James is the Chief Learning Officer at 360Learning and a highly respected voice in the Learning & Development industry. With a focus on harnessing technology to drive impactful learning strategies, David is recognised as one of the top 10 global influencers in the L&D space. His expertise lies in helping organisations modernise their approach to workplace learning, ensuring measurable results and business alignment.

David is also the host of The Learning & Development Podcast, which has amassed over 500,000 downloads and ranks in the top 1% of podcasts globally. With nearly 30,000 LinkedIn followers, he continues to shape the conversation around L&D innovation and best practices, drawing on his deep experience, including his time as Director of Learning, Talent & Organisational Development at The Walt Disney Company.

Find out more: https://360learning.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjameslinkedin/?originalSubdomain=uk

About your host Eleanor

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 the author of Another Door Opens - Five steps to navigating change in work and life

Instagram:instagram/anotherdoor_opens

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

Website: www.anotherdoor.co.uk

Produced by winteraudio.co.uk