Episodios

  • Reporting to a Younger Boss? 7 Dignified Ways to Stay Relevant & Respected
    Oct 1 2025

    When your new boss is 20 years younger than you (and possibly owns trainers your teenager wants), the emotional whiplash is real.

    In this episode, I respond to a listener who's just landed under the leadership of someone they could have taught to drive. I share seven very practical, very real strategies for navigating this shift—without bitterness, without sarcasm, and with all the self-possession you've built up over decades.


    This isn't about sucking up or staying silent. It's about dignity, relevance, and choosing to lead in a new way. Whether you're simmering with frustration or simply unsure how to proceed, this one's for you.


    You’re not too old, and it’s not too late.


    Join the Midlife Unstuck Community → https://midlifeunstuck.activehosted.com/f/3


    🔗 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
    • 7 Dignified Strategies for Working with a Baby Boss
    • Case Study Series on Midlife Career Redesign


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    11 m
  • Humour at Work: Why Laughter is a Leadership Superpower
    Sep 24 2025

    This week I’m joined by Caroline Clark, a leadership coach, performance psychologist, and analogue space astronaut. Caroline recently spent five days locked inside a simulated space mission in Poland—with no windows, no phones, and no escape. What she discovered is that humour isn’t just “nice to have” in high-pressure environments—it’s a survival tool.

    Together, we explore how laughter connects us, regulates stress, and creates resilience at work. Caroline shares why humour builds trust, strengthens teams, and even makes leaders more effective. We also talk about what makes humour appropriate (and what doesn’t), and how to bring more playfulness into our everyday working lives without losing professionalism.


    If work has started to feel heavy, this episode is your reminder that joy, play, and humour aren’t distractions—they’re powerful ways to thrive.


    👉 Curious where joy is showing up in your own life? Take my Derailed Life Satisfaction Assessment—a 30-minute guided programme that helps you explore what’s bringing you joy and what’s bringing you down: https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/derailed


    Connect with Caroline Clark:

    • Website: carolineclark.coach

    • Substack: Liftoff with Caroline

    • LinkedIn: Caroline Clark


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    10 m
  • The Truth Behind a Messy CV and What It Really Says About You
    Sep 17 2025

    Have you ever looked at your CV and thought, “This is a total mess”?

    You’re not alone—and you’re not wrong. But that doesn’t mean your career isn’t valuable.


    In this short and powerful episode, I unpack why non-linear career stories can actually be your superpower, especially during interviews.


    Whether you’ve made instinct-led choices, followed opportunities based on relationships, or simply changed direction a few times—you’ve got a story to tell.

    And it’s not about explaining every twist and turn.


    It’s about highlighting the single thread that shows who you are, what you bring, and why you’re a fit for that role.


    If your CV feels messy, this one’s for you.


    👉 Curious what joy might look like for you?

    Join the Midlife Unstuck community here: https://midlifeunstuck.activehosted.com/f/3


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    6 m
  • Are You Holding Your Breath While You Work? (The Hidden Stress of Email Apnea)
    Sep 10 2025

    Have you ever realised you’re holding your breath while answering emails? I hadn’t—until I did. This episode of Joy At Work dives into a phenomenon called email apnea, and trust me, once you notice it, you won’t stop noticing.

    I’ll share how a former Microsoft exec stumbled on this strange breathing pattern, why it matters to our energy, focus, and joy, and what I’ve been experimenting with to breathe better—even while emailing.


    You’ll hear:

    • The origin story of email apnea
    • What dancers and test pilots know about breath that we don’t
    • Six small, weird (but wonderful) experiments to reset your breathing
    • How movement, breathing apps, and even watching a dog can help!


    This one’s short but mighty. If your workday feels heavier than it should, this may be why.

    🎧 Prefer video? Watch all my Joy at Work Experiments on YouTube:

    🔗 Watch the Experiments on YouTube


    🔍 Explore more episodes on joyful movement & breathing:

    • Pain-Free Work with Rune Abo
    • Movement is Medicine with Jon Field
    • Lawrence van Lingen on YouTube


    🌬️ Curious to experiment more?

    👉 Check out all the Joy At Work Experiments


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    10 m
  • Sabbaticals in Midlife: Risky Move or Smart Strategy?
    Sep 3 2025

    Ever felt the urge to just stop? To hit pause on work, travel a bit, try something new—or just breathe?

    In this episode, I answer a question I hear often: "If I take a sabbatical, will I ruin my career?"


    If you’re in midlife and considering stepping off the treadmill—even briefly—you’re not alone. I share stories of people who’ve done it (including me), talk about why the old model of work is crumbling, and offer a perspective that might help you rethink what a meaningful, joyful work life can look like.


    We explore:

    • Why sabbaticals are no longer career suicide
    • How midlife reinventions are reshaping what "career success" even means
    • What actually makes a work life feel worth returning to


    And I’ll introduce you to the kind of rethinking we do inside my Fierce Emporium programme—where the first thing we redesign is your idea of work itself.


    🎯 Learn more about Fierce Emporium:

    👉 https://www.midlifeunstuck.com/the-fierce-emporium

    Mentioned in This Episode:
    • 📘 X Change – Lucia's Book
    • 🎧 Returning to Uni in Midlife


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    8 m
  • Why Returning to Uni Isn’t Always the Answer in Midlife
    Aug 27 2025

    When a listener wrote in about leaving their job to return to uni for a post-grad, I had flashbacks to my own midlife university adventure — and all the mistakes I made.

    In this episode, I share why I rarely recommend a full-blown post-grad as the first step in a career redesign, plus the three red-flag scenarios where it’s usually the wrong move. I also tell the very real (and slightly messy) story of my own year back at university, balancing motherhood, academia, and a dwindling supply of energy.

    You’ll hear the rare situations where post-grad study does work beautifully, the key questions to ask before you enrol, and some low-risk ways to test your interest without draining your savings or sanity.

    If you’re considering going back to uni, this one’s for you.

    👉 Join the Fierce Emporium and work through my exact clarity process before you invest your time, money, and self-worth in a huge leap. Explore The Fierce Emporium.

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    9 m
  • The Midlife-Friendly Way to Test a Career Idea Without Risking It All
    Aug 20 2025

    If you’ve got a half-formed career idea that just won’t go away—but you’re afraid it might fail—this episode is for you.

    I’m sharing the story of “Cliona,” a client who tested her dream career idea in a way that didn’t blow up her finances, relationships, or confidence. She discovered her idea wasn’t the right fit—but that clarity freed her to find a path that doubled her salary, increased her time off, and fit beautifully with her life goals.

    You’ll learn my approach to testing career ideas without taking blind leaps, the key questions to ask before making any move, and why getting clear on your values, superpowers, and life goals is the best insurance against career regret.

    Mentioned in This Episode:

    • Case Study: Cliona’s Story
    • Video testimonials from Fierce Emporium clients (scroll to the bottom)

    Learn more about The Fierce Emporium:

    If you’re ready to redesign your career with clarity, confidence, and a proven process for testing your ideas, explore The Fierce Emporium.

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    9 m
  • Why I Strongly Dislike Informational Interviews (and What to Do Instead)
    Aug 13 2025

    If you’ve ever been told to “just do some informational interviews” when exploring a career change, this episode is for you.

    I’m sharing exactly why the traditional approach to informational interviews drives me up the wall – from the selfish ask, to the hidden job request, to the way it distracts you from the real work of figuring out who you are and what you want.

    Instead, I introduce my philosophy of “networking like a midlife human” – a generous, human-centred way to connect that honours people’s time and builds genuine relationships.

    Mentioned in This Episode:

    • Networking like a midlife human

    Join the Midlife Unstuck Community:

    You’re not too old and it’s not too late. Here’s your invitation to a space where we talk about career redesign, joy at work, and living a life well-lived.

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    9 m