Dogs are zen-masters and intrinsically know how to unconditionally love and live big, juicy and creative. So, having just got a puppy, I've invited a coach who uses dogs to help people grow personally, professionally and spiritually - especially men.

Dogs and Men founder Michael Overlie is author of 'Let your dog lead -musings on how to create an exceptional life' and also describes himself as an energy healer.

He thinks dogs are the perfect way to help men express themselves better, open up to their feelings and – wince -show some vulnerability. He talks very openly about how dogs have helped him personally through some really tough moments in life such as his brother dying.

I love Michael's mission and the sooner we can get more emotionally intelligent men in touch with their empathy and caring side, the better. After all, if world leaders could be coached by dogs, I'm sure the world would be all the better for it.

For more on Michael and his work see:

https://linktr.ee/SpiritDog

This includes links to blogs, his own podcast Dogs and Men, his book and coaching information.

Email [email protected]

https://dogs-and-men-podcast.captivate.fm/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/michael.overlie.52

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

Twitter: @suzybashford

contact Suzy: [email protected]

I've wanted to have a big juicy chat with someone who has transitioned gender for a while now. My two sons talk very openly about gender, and about people they know that don't feel right in their skin.... whereas this was never talked about when I was young.

I wanted to talk to someone who would talk honestly about what this experience is like - and Jo Sutherland absolutely doesn't disappoint on this front.

Jo first had surgery to transition from male to female in her early 20s – the story she tells of growing up as a boy is so insightful, so touching, so honest and, at times, heartbreaking.

She takes pains to point out that self-acceptance doesn't magically happen when you transition, even if it's absolutely the right thing to do for you. And even if it isn't totally botched up, as hers sadly was.

As she says, we are all works in progress. In fact I soon realised that – while I wanted to learn about gender – talking to Jo ended up being so relevant to my own situation because it's about being human… about seeking and finding and evolving your identity. It's just a bit more challenging if that identity doesn't feel right in the skin you're born in.

It helps that Jo is also an endlessly fascinating character who has constantly reinvented herself, from hairdresser to prison worker to engineer to lawyer to actor and back to hairdresser! She even wrote a script about her life in lockdown.

If anyone can talk authoritatively about finding your voice and the roles we play, it's her.

For more about Jo:

Twitter Jo Sutherland @JoSutherland13

https://www.instagram.com › jo_sut...Jo Sutherland - Instagram

Organisations she supports:

Mermaids, assisting gender divers children and families https://mermaidsuk.org.uk/

Awkward branch Productions: http://Www.awkwardbproductions.com

City Lit (she thoroughly recommends their range of creative courses):

Ad·https://www.citylit.ac.uk/browse/coursesCity Lit Courses - Weekday & Weekend Courses

Royal Central School of Speech and Drama

https://www.cssd.ac.uk/

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

Twitter: @suzybashford

contact Suzy: [email protected]

Big Juicy Creative podcast is available on all major platforms, such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or directly from my website: https://www.bigjuicycreative.co.uk/podcast

Verity Price beat 30,000 other aspiring speakers to become Africa's first Toastmasters world champion, and the 6th woman in 80 years to win the prestigious accolade.

In this funny, honest, sometimes toe-curling episode, Verity tells us her 'scarytale' of going from a ragged life, to a rich one.

She explains how NOT ticking all the boxes society expected of her by 40 (husband, kids, career, own house, etc) was actually – eventually – the making of her… once she'd figured out how to build her resilience and find her voice. Oh, and ditch the dream of being a Hollywood actress/ popstar. A tricky, but wholly worthwhile road. (A detour that, incidentally, also led to Prince Charming, too...).

If you've ever not done something expected of you and felt bad about it, or felt you're not living an instagrammable #winninglife, this episode will help.

It will also help you reframe painful experiences as opportunities to grow and be less outcome-based and more moment-based. And genuinely enjoy the moment, rather than kid yourself that you are.

Verity – whose name fittingly means 'truth' – will inspire you to tell yours.

You can see her brilliant award winning talk here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k24vGzEjePo

You can find her on Instagram here:

@iamverity

LinkedIn: Verity Price, WCPS

www.iamverity.com

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

Twitter: @suzybashford

contact Suzy: [email protected]

GPs have such a unique insight into what makes us healthy, and the state of a nation. And what I find so unique and fascinating about today's guest - Dr Zain Kapasi - is he couples this insight with huge self-awareness and desire to learn from his own experiences.

I was feeling a bit bleurgh when I sat down to edit this episode and, afterwards, Zain totally cheered me up and inspired me to get back to chipping away at the habits I know help me.

He also reminded me that happiness and contentment are, often, choices. And how we structure our lives, so it contains joy, is a choice, as well as a creative act in itself. Even if we're busy people with high pressure jobs, families and other responsibilities.

He talks about the habits and routines he has practiced which have made such a difference to his contentment levels – one of the game changing routines being a creative one, where he gets up early to draw.

Zain explains how he sees the difference between pleasure and contentment. And the fact he believes we're all on a bit of a rollercoaster everyday, with our mood fluctuating.

But again we've got choices about how we ride this rollercoaster. He's got so many great ideas of things to fit in your day, your week to feel better, be more creative and enhance relationships - I'm definitely going to nick them!

Zain has a zest and curiosity for life that you can't help find infectious.

For more on Zain:

You can read his blog here: https://thegeneralprocrastinator.com/

And watch the social space, as Zain is planning to run retreats aimed at medics, and also has a children's book in the making - both of which we'll shout about on Big Juicy Creative's social channels, which you can find here:

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

contact Suzy: [email protected]

I was totally awestruck when I first heard Jackee Holder speak. You could hear a pin drop in the massive room, so compelling was the way she told her story.

This generous, kind, beautiful soul refuses to let childhood trauma define her or damage her, but she constantly turns to creativity instinctively to heal. She helps others do this, and find their voices in general as she believes - as I do - that everyone has a story, their story, to tell, and has a right to do this.

Jackee's words are like a warm, comforting cup of tea and - while the word 'authentic' is totally overused - it's completely fitting for her. Whether you consider yourself a writer or not, writing is such a fantastic way to process our emotions and make sense of our lives. As she says 'the rough stuff equals the write stuff'. We can, as she does, grow from our hard experiences.

If you would like a wee nudge to get writing, or get started, this is the episode for you. Or you are processing trauma/difficulty, this will inspire you.

You can find Jackee here:

Instagram: @jackeeholderinspires

www.jackeeholder.com

You can follow me on:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook: @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

or drop me a line on [email protected]

You know that way when women are described as a 'hot mess' and it's meant to convey that, while chaotic, there is still something a bit sexy about them? Yeah? OK. Well, that is NOT me in this episode. I am just fully a mess, with sadly not the hot bit.

I describe this mental state I was in recently - which led to my falling off a creative cliff - in its full brutality and ugliness, with no glamourising. Why??!

I'm hoping that you will feel better about your own particular flavour of messiness - because all humans have some.

All humans have ups and downs, too. It's just we choose not (usually) to reveal them to the world, even to our friends, and especially not on social media. I think that's toxic for all our mental health.

So that's why I'm coming clean: because the shame that so many people feel when they have down periods, makes them much worse. And, as Brene Brown says, the way to stop the shame is to shine a light on it. Which is what I am trying to do here; channel my inner lighthouse.

I also don't believe in the tortured, anxious artist archetype who is massively productive when their mind is having a mental health moment. I think our minds are most productive and creative when we look after them and they can access some stillness- and I describe the ways I do this in this episode.

Most importantly is a sense of connection and community; I describe here the role of wild swimming with Cairngorms Wild Swimmers, martial arts at HMAC and Crossfit Cairngorms, in my recovery.

So, remember folks, while this podcast is optimistically called Big Juicy Creative - there is actually no such thing as a big, juicy, creative life 24/7. And, in REAL life, the low times lead us to the high times - often higher BECAUSE of the low times.

As you'll hear from this episode, I've learnt alot from this latest blip - and there are exciting big juicy creative adventures on the horizon because of it.

Thanks for listening and for all the messages listeners sent me in my absence. Namaste 🙏

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

Twitter: @suzybashford

contact Suzy: [email protected]

As well as a chartered psychologist, Sarah Rozenthuler is also a leadership coach and a motivational speaker and author –this episode is centred around her book 'How to Have Meaningful Conversations'.

If you've ever struggled to express yourself in a tricky situation, especially where emotions run high, then this is a must-listen. As you'll hear, she truly sees conversation as a creative process – or rather a co-creative process.

She talks touchingly about why this subject is so close to her heart, particularly in relation to the conversations she had with her ex-husband, which she says she wouldn't have written the book had she not gone through that process. She also opens up about her spiritual side, and the role she thinks telling our story plays in our happiness as humans.

For more on Sarah:

See https://sarahrozenthuler.com/

To buy her book 'How to Have Meaningful Conversations' click here

To get in touch with Suzy, host of Big Juicy Creative, see www.bigjuicycreative.co.uk or email [email protected]

Culture loves a good cat fight. Think Megan vs Kate. Angelina vs Aniston. It loves to make it seem like women are constantly hating on each other.

Besides from being bulls**t, it's really damaging to peddle these narratives (but culture, as always, has a reason for doing it which is also toxic). I talk to comms expert Beth Collier about why and we plan our forthcoming Zoom brainstorm to creatively tackle this problem! (Join us - DM me/ [email protected]).

Namely, the nasty narrative distracts from getting female voices heard - and, with all the problems with world is currently facing, we need more feminine qualities coming to the fore to solve them. Like empathy, collaboration, nurturing, listening, creativity.....

Of course men can have these too but we're not exactly seeing them in spades from our male leaders right now, are we?

Please note, no bras were harmed or burned in the making of this episode. Why on earth would we do that? Bras are bloomin' expensive.

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

Twitter: @suzybashford

contact Suzy: [email protected]

For more on Beth:

Website: www.beth-collier.com

Curious Minds newsletter: https://bethcollier.substack.com/

Beth Collier believes that when you improve your communications skills, you'll improve everything. Your performance. Your relationships. Your life.

And she helps people do that. She even has her own special acronym to help people get their messages out more effectively – PACE.

She's a curious creative soul whose curiosity has led her on many different paths and to many different countries from working in TV in Hollywood to, now, campaigning for more creativity in the financial services industry.

She's also a massive advocate of supporting other women.

In fact, to that end, Beth and I are hosting a Zoom call 2nd December bringing women together to brainstorm creative ideas of how we can support each other more, and get more female stories being told and heard.

Given how much female voices are drowned out by males, especially where it matters (did you see the sea of suits at COP26?!) this is something we both feel very passionate about.

DM me, or email [email protected], for details! The more the merrier!

For more on Beth:

Website: www.beth-collier.com

Her newsletter, Curious Minds: https://bethcollier.substack.com/

Beth has a program called Creativity for Business for corporate clients to show them that creativity is not a skill reserved for artists. She's about to launch a new workshop tailored for Internal Communicators (called Creativity for IC).

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

Twitter: @suzybashford

contact Suzy: [email protected]

Since I've come out of lockdown I've felt like life has ramped up so quickly. I'm exhausted. I know if I keep going as fast, burn out is around the corner.

I know I'm not alone. There's so much talk at the moment about people burning out. It's obvious that our go-go-go more-more-more do-do-do lifestyles of crash and burn is killing us. Not to mention killing the planet.

Today's podcast guest Anna Murray of creative company Patternity, uses nature to influence the way she lives, and the way she creates, in a much more seasonal, rhythmical way.

Anna believes this is a much better, more joyful, sustainable, fulfilling healthy way to live. And she explains why on today's episode. She also believes creativity is hugely undervalued in our culture but is actually the key to changing our lives for the better, and making them sustainable.

If you feel any craving in you to live a bit slower and more sustainably (I do!) then tune in. More than anyone I've talked to before, Anna inspired me to stop spouting about how I'm going to slow down and actually DO IT.

This was a really joyful, hopeful, uplifting conversation even though we cover some heavy topics – like the end of the planet!!

For more about Anna Murray & Patternity:

Her company website: https://www.patternity.org/about/

(Check out the Patternity gratitude journal and prints - they're lush :) )

Instagram: @anna_patternity and @patternity

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PATTERNITY

To follow Big Juicy Creative for loads of inspiration on living creatively, see:

Instagram: @bigjuicycreativeliving

Facebook @bigjuicycreativeliving

LinkedIn: @suzybashford

Twitter: @suzybashford

contact Suzy: [email protected]