Bold Moves with Jools Raye

You know your career no longer fits, but you’re not ready to make a reckless leap. Where do you begin?

In this episode, Jools shares a grounded way to explore a career change in your 40s using three steps: Awareness, Anchor and Action. You’ll reflect on what you want more and less of in work, check whether a possible direction fits your life now, and choose a small experiment that gives you useful evidence.

You’ll hear:

• Why confidence can grow through experience, rather than needing to come first

• Three questions to help you notice what fits the woman you are now

• How to check whether an idea supports your strengths, choice and connections

• A prompt to picture a believable working week that fits your real life

• Small, lower-risk experiments to test a possible direction

• Why you don’t need the whole route mapped out before you begin

Next week: The different routes you can take when your career no longer fits.

Source note: Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report says 12% of employees in Europe were engaged at work in 2025. The UK figure was 10%.

Timestamps00:00 - Starting the conversation on career change in your 40s
01:01 - Why this episode is for successful women who feel stuck
01:30 - The three steps: Awareness, Anchor, Action
02:16 - Bold Moves and the podcast’s mission
02:45 - Where to begin after identifying your career “cage”
03:42 - Why career pivots are both practical and personal
04:11 - Introducing the AAA method
05:07 - The trap of waiting to feel confident first
06:33 - Confidence grows through experience
07:26 - Step one: Awareness
08:15 - Questions to clarify what you want more or less of
08:44 - Step two: Anchor
10:11 - Using AI to picture a believable working week
11:11 - What AI can—and can’t—help you explore
11:40 - Step three: Action through small experiments
12:10 - Examples of low-risk career experiments
12:38 - Why career change is easier with support
13:08 - How to choose a qualified coach
13:34 - Learning from experiments, whether they work or not
14:03 - The full Awareness, Anchor, Action cycle
14:33 - You don’t need the whole route mapped out before beginning
15:16 - Free AAA starter guide and what’s coming next week

You can be grateful for what you have and still want more.

In this episode, I’m sharing how an old diary, a long-held dream of bringing travel and work together, and a summer spent watching sunsets with Hugo helped me see what I’d been pushing aside. A career change in your 40s can feel risky, especially when financial security matters. But you don’t have to wait for burnout or redundancy before exploring what could fit better.

You’ll hear about:

• The travel-and-work dream I found in an old diary

• Why I kept choosing the sensible option, even when I wanted more freedom and creativity

• How becoming a mum and turning 40 changed the size of the career “pot”

• What a small summer experiment showed me about the life I want

• Why your experience is intelligence, not baggage

If you haven’t heard the previous episode on the CAGES that can shrink what feels possible, go back and listen. Follow Bold Moves so you don’t miss next week’s episode on where to start with a career change.

Jools Raye explores the psychological barriers that keep women in unfulfilling careers and shares practical insights on how to make bold moves towards a more aligned and joyful professional life.

Why do we stay in careers we know we’ve outgrown?

Especially when part of us already knows something needs to change.

In this episode of Bold Moves, I’m breaking down five research-informed behavioural patterns or CAGES that can shrink our field of possibility and keep us stuck in careers that no longer fit.

If you’re considering a career change at 40, navigating a midlife career change, questioning your professional identity or wondering why you can’t seem to make a career pivot even though you know you want one, this episode is for you.

Join Beyond the Bold Move and receive your Sunday mindset shift.

www.joolsraye.com

Chapters

00:00 Introduction: Why We Stay in Unfulfilling Careers

02:05 The Five Cages That Limit Career Possibilities

03:55 Understanding the Role of Identity in Career Change

06:02 The Safety of Familiarity and the Fear of the Unknown

08:03 The Gap Between Where You Are and Where You Want to Be

09:24 Building Confidence Through Evidence and Action

11:09 Suppressing Desires and the Cost of Staying Small

12:42 Changing Your Narrative and Identity for Bold Moves

13:56 Practical Steps to Start Your Career Pivot

15:17 The Power of Small, Bold Moves and Next Steps

Stuck in Your Career? Stop Asking “What Should I Do Next?”

If you know you don’t want to do this for another 10 years, but you’ve got no clue what you want instead, this episode is for you.

I gave myself three years to work out what I wanted to do next in my career.

Six months later, I was made redundant.

Not quite the plan.

In this episode, I’m taking you back to the moment I realised I’d been building my career on borrowed ground and what happened when the decision I thought I had three years to make was suddenly made for me.

We’re talking about that restless space in between: when you know you’ve outgrown where you are, but you can’t quite see what comes next.

And I’m sharing the question I wish I’d asked myself much sooner:

What skills does my future need?

Because you don’t need to have your whole career change figured out before you start moving. You can start career crafting now.

You’ll hear:

• Why being good at your job doesn’t necessarily mean it still fits you

• How redundancy changed the way I think about career security

• How career crafting and portfolio careers can open up possibilities you might not have considered

• Why I started developing the skills my future needed, rather than only the ones my employer wanted

• The question to ask yourself when you’re stuck thinking, “What the fuck do I do next?”

Ready to take the next step?

Join Behind the Bold Moves The Sunday newsletter for women figuring out what they actually want next. One question, mindset shift or tool each week to get you thinking differently and making your own Bold Moves.

Jools Raye shares her personal journey from burnout to embracing her true calling, exploring how understanding brain wiring and neuroplasticity can help you make bold life changes. Learn practical strategies to rewire your brain for safety and confidence, and discover how small deliberate actions can lead to transformative life shifts.

Takeaways

-Your brain is wired for survival, not for bold moves

-The flicker of desire is your future calling you

-You can rewire your nervous system through deliberate actions

-Small evidence-building steps can reprogram your brain

-Understanding your brain's mechanics helps overcome fear of change

Book onto the Free MasterClasss The Confidence Curse

Chapters

00:00 The Flicker of Change

01:23 The Weight of Corporate Life

03:48 Recognizing the Life Problem

05:17 The Power of Manifestation

07:36 Understanding the Brain's Mechanics

10:00 Rewiring Your Brain for Bold Moves

12:30 Embracing Your Future Self

13:52 Invitation to Transformation

The Heartbreaking Truth We Never Talk About

Feeling lost in a life you've built? You're not alone. This episode is your wake-up call to find more meaning and authenticity.

🥡 What you'll takeaways :

• Recognise when your life no longer fits and find the courage to change.
• Move from the zone of excellence to the zone of genius.
• Make bold moves with practical steps for transformation.
• Align with your true self beyond systemic limitations.
• Embrace your "Queen Ager" energy with wisdom and passion.

Follow me on:

• Instagram
• Email

Timestamps:00:00 - Outgrowing your life00:25 - Overriding dissonance00:47 - Signs of change01:09 - Power of vulnerability01:26 - Unraveling truth01:57 - Excellence vs. genius02:20 - Systemic misalignment02:49 - Listening to your inner voice03:10 - Steps to transformation03:36 - Embracing sovereignty04:00 - Beyond limitations04:24 - Bold, authentic action04:57 - Unlocking your soul's hunger05:21 - Authenticity over approval06:31 - Tools for bold moves07:00 - Leading your revolution07:30 - Listening deeplyResources & Links:Connect with Jules Ray:Own your truth. Make your move. The time is now.

Why do so many women suddenly feel desperate for more space?

I'm not talking just bigger homes but Mental, Emotional spac and Breathing room.

In this episode, Jools sits down with interior designer and founder of Home Shape Style, Bex, to explore the surprising psychology behind the spaces we live in and why our homes affect our nervous systems more than we realise.

This conversation goes far beyond cushions and paint colours.

Together, they explore:

🦩why women often start changing their homes when they’re changing internally🦩the emotional impact of clutter, overstimulation and “not fitting” your environment anymore

🦩how motherhood changes the way we experience safety and belonging

🦩why your home is never really “finished”

🦩the hidden connection between identity, nervous system regulation and the spaces we live in

🦩how to create more calm, comfort and autonomy in your home without a full renovation

If your life looks fine on paper but something still feels “off,” this episode will hit deeper than you expect because sometimes the craving for more space… isn’t about the house at all.

Follow Jools:

• Instagram: @jools.raye
• Website: JoolsRaye.com
• Newsletter: The Sunday Pulse for workshops, updates and inspiration straight to your inbox.

About Bex

Bex is the founder of Home Shape Style, an interiors

Follow Bex here:
Instagram: @homeshapedstyle
Website: Home Shape Style

This is one my most listened to episodes because finding your path once you have kiddies is a wild ride!

And then returning to work after having children is one of the biggest transitions many women experience, yet it’s rarely talked about honestly.

In this episode of Mama’s Flight Path, Jools Raye sits down with Jessica Chivers, founder of The Talent Keeper Specialists, to unpack why the workplace still struggles to support parents and what needs to change.

They explore the reality many working mothers face when returning to their careers after maternity leave, from identity shifts and guilt to navigating expectations from employers and colleagues.

Jessica shares practical insights on flexible work, compressed hours and how organisations can create environments where parents can thrive instead of burn out.

If you are navigating motherhood and career, or wondering how to redesign your working life after children, this conversation will resonate deeply.

For years, manifesting felt natural to me.

Vision boards. Big goals. Unexpected opportunities. Even meeting my husband felt like something I had consciously called into my life (you can read the full story in this weeks Best Magazine)

Then I became a mother.

And something shifted. Not just emotionally. Neurologically.

Like many women, my brain moved into survival mode. Creativity felt harder to access. Vision felt further away. The dreams I once felt so connected to suddenly felt blurry.

In this episode of Mama’s Flight Path, I share a surreal moment that reminded me how powerful intention really is. Seeing myself in a magazine triggered a reflection on manifestation, motherhood, and the surprising ways our brains change during matrescence.

We explore why manifesting isn’t magic. It’s alignment.

When your heart, mind, and actions point in the same direction, life begins to reorganise around that clarity.

If you’re a mother in your late 30s, 40s or 50s who feels the quiet pull to redesign your life, reconnect with your ambitions, or simply remember what you want again, this episode will resonate deeply.

Because motherhood doesn’t erase your dreams.

But it does require you to rediscover them in a new way.

• Why manifesting is about alignment, not magic
• How motherhood rewires the brain and shifts focus into survival mode
• Understanding matrescence and the identity shift after children
• Why ambitious mothers often lose clarity on their goals
• How visualisation and metaphors reconnect us to our deeper ambitions
• Redesigning life and career after motherhood

Join the Flock Drop Newsletter www.mamasflightpath.com

⚠️Disclaimer: This podcast may cause breakthroughs and life enrichment ! The content shared in Mama’s Flight Path is for inspiration and education only. It’s not a substitute for professional medical, mental health, or financial advice.

I speak from lived experience, coaching practice, and research but every mum’s journey is unique. Please take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and always seek professional support if you need it. Love Jools x

Chapters

00:00 The surreal moment of manifestation
02:20 Motherhood and the shift in mindset
07:44 The Soul Goal concept
10:43 Reconnecting with intention

Key Ideas in This EpisodeChapters

In this episode of Mama’s Flight Path, Jools explores how the five people you spend the most time with are quietly shaping your standards, mindset, and even your career decisions.

After being quoted in the Sunday Times and experiencing a moment of comparison, Jools unpacks a powerful reframe: it’s not about after-school clubs or external success. It’s about the traits and behaviours being normalised in the rooms you occupy.

Drawing on neuroscience-informed coaching principles and inspired by Tara Swart’s work on social influence and mindset, Jools shares a practical visual exercise to help you:

• Identify the five people influencing your thinking
• Recognise which traits you are unconsciously mirroring
• Spot where comparison is body data, not failure
• Curate your environment to support expansion instead of self-doubt
• Make more intentional, sovereign decisions

This episode is for high-functioning mothers who feel successful on paper but quietly restless, and who want to stop shrinking and start designing their next chapter with intention.

Manifesting, in this context, isn’t magic. It’s design. It’s about choosing the rooms that raise your standards.

Chapters

00:00 The Influence of Surroundings on Mindset

06:17 Manifesting and Taking Action for Change

resources

Connect with me www.mamasflightpath.com

⚠️Disclaimer: This podcast may cause breakthroughs and life enrichment ! The content shared in Mama’s Flight Path is for inspiration and education only. It’s not a substitute for professional medical, mental health, or financial advice.

I speak from lived experience, coaching practice, and research but every mum’s journey is unique. Please take what resonates, leave what doesn’t, and always seek professional support if you need it. With Love and Kindness Jools x