What changes in someone’s life when they start reconnecting with themselves?

In this powerful return conversation, Marc Convey joins me for part two of his Different Hats journey, and this one goes even deeper.

After our first conversation explored Marc’s extraordinary story of surviving a life-changing accident at 14, this episode focuses on what came next: leaving business behind, travelling in his van, writing his book, redefining success, and asking the deeper questions about identity, values, adversity, education, and what it really means to live from the inside out.

Marc shares why success now means being decent to himself and decent to others, how discovering his core values of connection and freedom changed everything, and why so many of us are living from the outside in. We explore what young people really need, why the education system is failing to prepare them for life, the role of community and mentorship, and how adversity can become a gift when we learn how to reframe our story.

This is a deeply thoughtful, human conversation about healing, self-awareness, purpose, burnout, contentment, and the power of connection.

If you’ve ever felt disconnected from yourself, questioned the path you’re on, or wondered what real success actually looks like, this episode is for you.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 – Introduction

02:20 – “Are you alright mate?” and the zone of contentment

03:38 – Marc’s definition of success now

07:17 – Leaving business, core values, and the power of freedom + connection

18:54 – Uncertainty, discomfort, and what young people really need

26:21 – Where to start when you’re in a dark place

36:34 – Isolation, mindset, and taking responsibility for your wellbeing

53:08 – The biggest lessons Marc has learned in recent years

58:06 – AI, community, and dropping pebbles in your own pond

1:16:04 – Are people living consciously or just drifting into life?

1:24:03 – The manosphere, role models, and what young men need most

1:32:40 – What Marc would change about education if he were Prime Minister

1:36:17 – What Marc would say to his 14-year-old self

1:38:15 – How to start reconnecting with yourself

1:39:47 – How Marc knows when he’s nearing burnout

Marc brings such wisdom, depth and honesty to this conversation, and I honestly think this is one of those episodes that will stay with people for a long time.

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Marc Convey

Website: https://www.marcconvey.com/

Substack: https://substack.com/@makingamarc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-convey/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_conv

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below. Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

SPONSORED BY:

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎬 PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when grief, creativity, masculinity and mental health collide?

In this powerful episode of the Different Hats Podcast, I sit down with the brilliant Simon David Eden for a deeply moving conversation about childhood trauma, creativity, suicide, emotional expression, education, and the healing power of storytelling.

Simon shares his extraordinary journey growing up in Moulsecoomb, being expelled from school at 12, finding refuge in writing, drawing and music, and navigating the devastating loss of his brother to suicide. We also explore his upcoming exhibition Shadow Light: Songs My Brother Taught Me, a profoundly personal body of work exploring grief, brotherhood, masculinity, and emotional inheritance between men.

This conversation goes far beyond Simon’s creative career. It’s about what happens when boys and men are never given the language to express what they feel. It’s about the mentors who change our lives. It’s about why creativity matters. And it’s about the urgent need to create spaces where men feel safe enough to ask for help.

A truly honest, heartfelt and important conversation.

In this episode, we explore:

• How Simon defines success through love, integrity and hope
• Growing up in Moulsecoomb and the trauma that shaped him
• Being expelled from school and feeling failed by education
• How creativity became a lifeline
• The loss of Simon’s brother to suicide
• Why men often struggle to express what they feel
• How art and storytelling can help us process pain
• Why schools must nurture creativity and emotional literacy
• The hope behind Simon’s exhibition Shadow Light: Songs My Brother Taught Me

If this episode resonates with you, please share it with someone who might need it.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

00:40 Reflecting on the You Alright Mate? gathering

02:09 What this conversation explores

04:20 “You alright, mate?” check-in

05:22 Simon’s definition of success

07:26 Success, integrity and living true to yourself

12:39 Why external success can feel hollow

13:33 Poverty, pain and choosing a different path

18:36 Growing up in Moulsecoomb

25:24 Abandonment, trauma and survival

31:23 Being expelled from school

37:48 Creativity as escape and expression

42:13 Why education often stifles creativity

49:14 The power of mentors and being truly seen

01:00:55 The purpose behind the exhibition

01:03:59 Can creativity help prevent suicide?

01:08:19 The gift of helping others

01:09:53 Processing grief then and now

01:13:59 Will the pain ever leave?

01:15:33 The message Simon hopes the exhibition leaves behind

01:19:50 Holding space, hope and the next hour

01:21:23 Depression, demons and getting through dark moments

01:26:10 Integrity, self-doubt and staying true

01:30:44 Following dreams despite the voices that doubt you

01::34 Final reflections on hope, suicide prevention and legacy

01:41:37 Storytelling card: legacy beyond career

01:43:19 Closing thoughts

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Simon David Eden

Exhibition details: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shadow-light-songs-my-brother-taught-me-tickets-1983767367598?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Website: https://simondavideden.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-david-eden-83168817/

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below. Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

⚠️ Support note (please read)

This episode includes discussion of suicidal ideation, domestic abuse, addiction, and mental health crises.

If you’re in the UK & Ireland and you need someone right now:

• Samaritans (24/7): 116 123
• Text SHOUT to 85258 (UK, 24/7):
• If you or someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
• NHS guidance on urgent mental health help: CLICK HERE

SPONSORED BY:

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎬 PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What if the education system is failing the very children it’s meant to help?

In this powerful episode of the Different Hats Podcast, I sit down with former headteacher, educator and English Channel swimmer Dr Hildi Mitchell to explore a big question:

If we could redesign the education system from scratch, what would it look like?

Drawing on decades of experience inside schools, Hildi shares why emotional literacy, safety, belonging and play are just as important as academic achievement, and why many children are currently being asked to fit into a system that wasn’t built for them.

We talk about SATs, neurodiversity, mental health, leadership in schools, and why true success should be measured by the impact we have on others, not just grades or results.

Hildi also shares the deeply personal story of supporting her daughter through school anxiety, and what swimming the English Channel taught her about resilience, humility and asking for help.

This is an important conversation for parents, teachers, school leaders and anyone who believes education needs to evolve.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction

02:15 What does success mean in education?

10:57 Are we starting formal education too early?

19:33 The mental health cost of the current school system

39:24 Supporting children who struggle with school

56:15 If we redesigned education from scratch

1:09:22 Teaching children they are enough

1:25:04 Advice for parents

1:36:02 Lessons from swimming the English Channel

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Dr Hildi Mitchell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drmitchellswimsthechannel/

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below. Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

SPONSORED BY:

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎬 PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“I'm okay… but I’m not all right.”

What happens when strong men finally answer that question honestly?

In this game-changing episode, I sit down with Paul Jukes, leader of The Outta Puff Daddies, to explore masculinity, mental health, joy, community… and the power of simply asking:

You Alright Mate?

Paul shares his deeply personal story of living through a mental health crisis in 2018, despite a loving upbringing, strong friendships, and a seemingly “successful” life on the outside.

Daily physical pain.

Emotional isolation.

Breaking point on a family holiday.

And the moment that changed everything.

From that darkness came something extraordinary:

A brotherhood of men.

A dance crew that went viral.

A movement built on joy, humour, and emotional honesty.

And lives being saved through community.

We explore the big question:

Can movement, humour and community unlock conversations that traditional mental health messaging struggles to reach?

This is a conversation about redefining masculinity, not replacing strength, but widening it.

Not revolution.

Evolution.

And if you care about men’s mental health, fatherhood, purpose, identity or redefining success, this episode will stay with you.

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 – Introduction

03:00 – Financial pressure, identity & letting go

07:30 – Modern masculinity: Evolution, not revolution

12:20 – Teaching emotional literacy to the next generation

15:10 – What is success (and does it change over time?)

21:30 – Identity, purpose & empty nest transitions

29:45 – Who was Paul before Outta Puff Daddies?

36:00 – The shoulder injury & silent mental decline

42:50 – Breaking point on holiday

45:50 – The power of finally talking

50:30 – The “glass of water” analogy (powerful moment)

55:00 – Why community is the real toolkit

1:02:00 – The man who said, “You saved my life.”

1:07:30 – Why joy is essential in men’s mental health

1:11:00 – The Outta Puff Daddies story & viral growth

1:20:00 – 40 million views… but what really matters

1:27:00 – Self-care, glimmers & finding joy

1:41:30 – If Paul were Prime Minister tomorrow…

1:45:30 – Final reflection: Can joy unlock the conversation?

🔥 Key Themes

• Masculinity redefined
• Vulnerability as strength
• Community as protection
• Emotional literacy in boys
• The danger of silent suffering
• Why “just talk” isn’t enough without safe spaces
• Movement as medicine
• Joy as a gateway to healing
• Purpose beyond performance

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Paul Jukes

Website: https://www.outtapuffdaddys.co.uk/

Instagram: @outtapuffdaddies

TikTok: @outtapuffdaddies

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauljukes/

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below.

Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

SPONSORED BY:

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎬 PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What does success really look like when life forces you to slow down?

In this episode of the Different Hats Podcast, I sit down with founder and HERstory creator Stephanie Prior at a pivotal moment in her life, 33 weeks pregnant, scaling her business, and learning to let go of control.

But this isn’t just a conversation about pregnancy or entrepreneurship.

It’s about identity.

It’s about leadership.

It’s about redefining success beyond performance, perfection and proving yourself.

Stephanie opens up about:

• Growing up navigating identity, belonging and racism
• The turning point at 16 that reshaped her path
• From pageantry to public life, and what representation really means
• Building HERstory into one of Sussex’s leading women-in-business platforms
• The fear of losing control as a founder
• Delegation, leadership and commercialising her business
• Why success isn’t just money, it’s self-belief, gratitude and legacy

As Stephanie prepares for motherhood, she reflects on ambition, vulnerability and what it means to build something that doesn’t depend entirely on you.

This is a powerful case study in redefining success in real time.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

02:24 – Delegation, leadership and commercialising the business

07:41 – Early career, mentorship and full-circle moments

14:09 – What does success really mean?

18:34 – Identity, school, and finding perspective

21:10 – The Gambia trip that changed everything

29:00 – Belonging, racism and confidence

36:45 – Pageantry and representation

44:22 – The origin of HERstory

49:48 – Creating space in business

1:03:29 – Entrepreneurship wasn’t the plan

1:13:19 – Pregnancy, control and fear

1:25:22 – Ambition, motherhood and the next chapter

1:30:36 – What she’d tell her younger self

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Stephanie Prior

Website: https://prior-media.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/missstephanieprior/

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-prior-67903b84

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below. Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

SPONSORED BY:

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎬 PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this deeply honest episode, I sit down with Laura Beddoe (Soul Speaks) to talk about what happens behind the “successful” exterior, the stories we run in our heads, the pain we hide, and the moment you decide: enough.

Laura shares her journey from a chaotic childhood, people-pleasing and toxic relationships, to homelessness and standing on the edge… and the tiny glimmers that helped her choose life, rebuild her identity, and create real freedom, not just money and “nice things,” but freedom of mind, presence, and self-worth.

This is a conversation about mental health, addiction, boundaries, self-love, emotional literacy, parenting, and hope, and why the most powerful success is the one you feel on the inside.

If you’re struggling right now, please hear this: nothing is permanent, and you don’t have to carry it alone.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

02:16 – Check-in: Year of the Snake, shedding what no longer serves you

05:19 – Why we avoid silence (and how emotions move through the body)

07:40 – Therapy, stigma, and the generational shift around emotions

09:20 – School, control, and teaching kids emotional literacy

15:10 – Laura’s definition of success: freedom of mind & freedom of choice

19:30 – Choosing change (without needing to hit rock bottom)

28:50 – Laura’s childhood, adoption, “the naughty girl” identity & ADHD

34:57 – Breaking cycles: responsibility, boundaries, and saying “no”

39:08 – Presence, anxiety vs depression, and catching the old story returning

47:38 – Practical tools: mindfulness, journaling, EFT tapping

53:15 – Laura’s rock bottom: coercive control, debt, homelessness

01:01:07 – The moment that snapped: “This is your wake-up call”

01:05:52 – Hope, glimmers, and not knowing what beautiful future you might miss

01:15:43 – Patterns, addiction, compassion, and choosing better inputs

01:35:03 – Vulnerability vs oversharing (and asking permission)

01:41:23 – People-pleasing, self-abandonment, and new standards

01:44:10 – Storytelling card: staying emotionally present with loved ones

01:45:35 – Closing reflections + Laura’s free gift

🧠 Key themes you’ll take away

• “Uncomfortable emotions” don’t last forever — but avoidance keeps them alive
• Confidence isn’t loud… it’s self-trust
• Boundaries aren’t selfish — they’re self-respect
• Addiction often masks pain; healing requires compassion and accountability
• The future can hold what you can’t imagine — if you stay

🎁 Laura’s free gift

“The 9 Reasons Why You’re Not Getting Paid To Speak” (free download)

➡️ Email: [email protected]

🔗 Connect with Laura Beddeo

Laura references her work through Soul Speaks, and supports clients with visibility, public speaking, mindset and transformation.

➡️ Add links here:

• Website: https://www.laurabeddoe.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laura_beddoe_coach.mentor/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-beddoe-collins/

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below. Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

⚠️ Support note (please read)

This episode includes discussion of suicidal ideation, domestic abuse, addiction, and mental health crises.

If you’re in the UK & Ireland and you need someone right now:

• Samaritans (24/7): 116 123
• Text SHOUT to 85258 (UK, 24/7):
• If you or someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
• NHS guidance on urgent mental health help: CLICK HERE

SPONSORED BY:

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎬 PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this powerful and deeply human conversation, I sit down with Charlotte Ricca, performance psychologist, former journalist, sea swimmer, horse rider, and passionate advocate for emotional literacy, to explore what success really means when life feels overwhelming.

This episode goes far beyond high performance.

Charlotte shares candidly about:

• navigating burnout, anxiety, and periods of depression
• changing her relationship with alcohol
• learning to sit with discomfort rather than mask it
• balancing ambition, motherhood, identity, and self-worth
• and why choosing connection over being right can transform relationships

This is an honest conversation about:

✨ mental health

✨ parenting

✨ redefining success

✨ suicide prevention

✨ emotional resilience

✨ values, purpose, and presence

If you’ve ever felt pressure to “hold it together”, to perform, or to keep going when things feel heavy — this episode will land.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 – Introduction

02:30 – “Are you alright… really?” and showing up authentically

07:00 – Finding glimmers: joy, nature, sea swimming & presence

11:00 – Alcohol, identity & changing coping mechanisms

18:30 – Masking discomfort vs sitting with emotions

22:30 – Why confidence follows action (not the other way around)

27:00 – Anxiety, fear & reframing pressure as privilege

32:00 – Emotional literacy, parenting & allowing children to feel

39:00 – Guilt, self-care & choosing yourself without shame

45:00 – Identity beyond roles: parent, athlete, professional

52:00 – Success, money & redefining what “enough” really means

59:00 – Career pivots, purpose & living without regret

1:05:00 – Overwhelm, burnout & taking one small step at a time

1:12:00 – Depression, hope & why feelings always pass

1:18:00 – Suicide prevention: asking the hard questions

1:26:00 – Teaching kids emotional regulation & resilience

1:34:00 – Intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation

1:41:00 – Living in alignment with your values

1:56:00 – Advice to younger self

2:04:00 – Final question: choosing connection over being right

🎧 KEY TAKEAWAY

You don’t need to fix everything.

You don’t need to feel “on” all the time.

Sometimes, staying alive, staying present, and taking one small step is success.

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Charlotte Ricca

Website: https://kindabrilliant.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlottericca/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlotte-ricca/

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below. Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

SPONSORED BY:

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎬 PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I thought my 100th podcast episode was the start of my journey.

I didn’t realise it would change everything.

Recorded the day after my 47th birthday, this 18-minute solo episode reflects on the most transformative year of my life, not the easiest, not the most “successful,” but the most honest.

A year of silence.

Sobriety.

Relationships changing shape.

Asking for help.

And finally facing the question I’d spent years avoiding:

Why am I not enough?

In this episode, I share the lessons I learnt, the breakdowns, and the moments that rebuilt me.

We explore:

• Redefining success beyond money and status
• The Five Pillars of Success as lived experience
• Male mental health, vulnerability, and asking for help
• Sobriety, self-worth, and sitting with discomfort
• Why connection, not achievement, saved me

This episode marks a shift.

From building businesses to building a movement.

From push motivation to pull motivation.

From wearing many hats… to finally choosing the right one.

If you’re navigating change, feeling lost, or quietly struggling, this episode isn’t here to give you answers.

It’s here to give you permission.

Because sometimes the bravest thing you can say is:

"Help"

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 – Introduction

01:45 – Stripping Life Back: Silence & Sobriety

03:20 – The Five Pillars of Success

05:40 – When Relationships Change Shape

07:50 – “Why Am I Not Enough?”

10:20 – When It Got Dark

12:40 – Asking for Help

14:30 – Clarity, Purpose & Letting Go

15:50 – From Business to Movement

17:00 – I Am Enough

🎧 MORE EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

💡 If this resonated, please like, share, and comment, it helps spread this message and challenge how we define success.

SPONSORED BY:

Carpenter Box | Brown Bear Studios | Rivervale | Plus X

SPECIAL EPISODE PRODUCED BY:

Matt Cheney - Brown Bear Studios

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this deep, thoughtful conversation, I am joined by entrepreneur, technologist and systems-thinker Neil Witten to explore what success really means, and why so many of us feel disconnected from the lives we’re building.

Neil has spent years questioning the systems we’re told to follow in education, work, entrepreneurship and culture, and asking a more human question instead:

“What am I uniquely designed to do?”

Together, Neil and I explore:

• Why success has become overly defined by money, status and productivity
• The hidden cost of ignoring curiosity, play and soft skills
• Why many people wait for crisis before changing their lives
• The role parents, schools and culture play in shaping identity
• Why self-awareness may be the most important skill of the future

This is not a conversation about hacks or shortcuts.

It’s about listening to your gut, working on yourself, and choosing alignment over approval.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re climbing the wrong ladder…

If you’ve questioned the systems you’ve inherited…

Or if you’re quietly asking “Is this really it?” .. this episode is for you.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 – Introduction

03:30 – Why we struggle to talk honestly (especially men)

10:45 – How culture hijacked our definition of success

18:40 – Purpose, play & being wired for something

30:15 – Education, neurodiversity & one-size-fits-all systems

42:10 – Soft skills, hiring & the future of work

55:30 – Childhood, curiosity & learning outside the system

1:10:45 – Entrepreneurship, risk & waiting for permission

1:28:20 – Parenting, autonomy & enabling potential

1:45:10 – Creating your own catalysts for change

2:02:30 – Letting go, evolution & redefining your role

2:18:40 – Final reflections: living true to yourself

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Neil Witten

Website: https://www.pigsinflight.co.uk/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilwitten/

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below.

Your support helps us change the narrative around success and mental health.

SPONSORED BY

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎙️ PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you’ve done everything “right”… but still feel worthless, lost, and exhausted by your own mind?

In this deeply honest and moving episode of the Different Hats Podcast, I sit down with Matt Cheney, creative producer, storyteller, and someone who has quietly fought one of the hardest battles of all: the one inside his own head.

Matt opens up about late ADHD diagnosis, imposter syndrome, self-worth, burnout, grief, suicide attempts, and the masks many men wear just to survive. He shares how losing his father, his relationship, his career structure, his identity, and his sense of belonging brought him to rock bottom, and how a single moment, a run, and one unexpected email helped him choose to keep going.

This is not a story about “fixing yourself.”

It’s about learning how to live with yourself.

If you’ve ever:

• Felt like you weren’t enough

• Lived with a relentless inner critic

• Been successful on the outside but empty inside

• Struggled to accept love, compliments, or rest

• Wondered if it’s possible to keep going

This conversation will stay with you.

⏱️ Episode Chapters

00:00 – Introduction

01:21 – “You Alright Mate?” check-in

02:54 – Shiny objects vs investing in yourself

07:35 – Redefining success beyond money

12:30 – Loving your work… but hating yourself

16:13 – Creativity, kids & permission to try

22:14 – Childhood, belonging & emotional safety

28:51 – Rugby, leadership & fear of failure

32:58 – ADHD, masking & self-worth

40:20 – Parents, caregiving & inherited patterns

49:05 – Imposter syndrome & burnout

56:00 – Relationships, vulnerability & being seen

1:06:51 – Injury, grief & losing everything

1:18:42 – Suicide attempts & the pain beneath them

1:19:34 – The email that changed everything

1:28:56 – “You are the sky, everything else is weather”

1:35:50 – Learning to live with the inner critic

1:46:29 – Giving without needing anything back

1:53:29 – Silence, endurance & the meaning of “keep going”

2:08:20 – Advice for anyone feeling lost

2:12:27 – A life well lived

💬 Key Themes Explored

• ADHD & late diagnosis

• Imposter syndrome

• Masculinity & emotional literacy

• Suicide, grief & recovery

• Self-worth vs external success

• Receiving love & compliments

• Identity beyond achievement

• Why “keeping going” matters

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Matt Cheney

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattcheney1/

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment. Your support helps us change the narrative around success and mental health.

SPONSORED BY

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎙️ PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk

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