Dream In Public

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Zahra Ciardi is a psychologist with over a decade of experience in trauma healing and the founder of Ascendant - an intensive 21-day holistic recovery program based in Bali.

We went deep on the trauma most people don't know they have, why traditional therapy isn't working, what EMDR actually does to the brain, and so much more. Enjoy.

Follow Zara:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/zahra_ciardi/

Website: ascendantbali.com

Follow Caolan:

IG: https://www.instagram.com/kelly_caolan/

If this episode resonated, share it with someone who needs it.
00:00 The biggest misconception about trauma — big T vs small T explained

02:23 The invisible wounds you've been carrying your whole life

04:15 How to shine a light on your subconscious blockers

06:03 The hidden cost of being a high performer

11:06 The float back exercise — mapping your memories to your wounds

15:54 How childhood trauma silenced my voice for years

19:33 The Ascendant Program — what 21 days of real healing looks like

23:40 From completely shut down to hope — a real client story

29:21 Why one-on-one therapy goes deeper than group

31:38 What would you tell your younger self?

33:25 The vision — making mental health accessible to everyone

35:58 Where to find Zahra

Want help landing your first (or next) high-paying client in the next 30 days?

Apply here → https://forms.gle/d44jymFQfSvEtJLz6

Most smart people don't fail because they lack skills.

They fail because they can't turn those skills into something people will actually buy.

I sat down with Mara Pereira to break down how she went from confusion to clarity—testing ideas, throwing things at the wall, reverse-engineering her process, and eventually landing on an offer that actually sold.

Mara left a six-figure role at Microsoft and went on to build a business that surpassed her corporate income in months—not by chasing tactics, but by letting signal guide the offer.

We get into:

– Why having skills isn't the same as having an offer

– How clarity comes from testing, not thinking

– The "give them the fish vs teach them to fish" realisation

– Building demand before you build the product

– Why most people jump too early—or commit too late

– Why offers evolve (and why that's a good thing)

This isn't a step-by-step launch playbook.

It's a conversation about how offers actually emerge—and why clarity always comes after movement.

Follow Mara:https://www.linkedin.com/in/marapereira/

Follow Caolan:https://www.instagram.com/kelly_caolan/

Discipline stops working when you’re committing harder to a direction that isn’t actually yours.

In this conversation with Tom Spark, we explore identity, self-trust, and decision-making - and why confidence and clarity collapse when they’re built on borrowed rules.

This isn’t about fixing your habits. It’s about noticing when you’re enduring a life instead of choosing one.

Follow Tom:

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tomspark_

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

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https://www.instagram.com/kelly_caolan/

99% of people start building an online business without realising it’s the business that builds them.

I sat down with Darren Lee to talk about the uncomfortable reality of building something real — chewing glass, staying in the game when nothing’s working, and developing the skills that actually compound.

Darren has built multiple 7-figure businesses across agency, education, and software.

We get into:

– Why people don’t buy products, they buy the person

– Competency vs warmth (and why smart people often stay stuck)

– The early childhood moments that shape entrepreneurial drive

– Why 10K/month is a fake finish line

– Selling painkillers vs vitamins

– Why sales is the meta-skill behind every business

– Building impact first — and letting money follow

This isn't about shortcuts. It's about outlasting everyone else and building a business you don't need to quit from.

Follow Darren:

https://www.instagram.com/darrenlee.ks/

Follow Caolan:

https://www.instagram.com/kelly_caolan/

👉 Follow the show + leave a 5-star rating to help more people become shameless dreamers and turn vision into reality.

By 2030, AI could replace up to 300 million full-time jobs worldwide. But not everyone is replaceable.

Eoin Dobbin Catto went from selling horses at 13 to building a coaching business no algorithm could replicate. His story isn’t about hustle — it’s about becoming unfireable by mastering the one skill machines can’t match: agency.

This isn’t a story about technology. It’s about trust, courage, and the moment fear stops wearing a suit and calling itself logic.

🟧 In this episode, we explore:

• The death of job security — and how to future-proof yourself

• The “A4 exercise” that kills anxiety in 10 minutes

• How to make decisions right (instead of waiting for the right one)• Why comfort is riskier than change

• How to lead yourself through uncertainty

Cool guy and a cool conversation.

Enjoyed this one. Hope you do too x

Follow Eoin:

https://www.youtube.com/@eoin_dobbin_catto

https://www.instagram.com/eoindobbincatto/

Follow Caolan:

https://www.instagram.com/kelly_caolan/

👉 Follow the show + leave a 5-star rating to help more people become shameless dreamers and turn vision into reality.

He’s delivered over a thousand talks across Ireland and Europe - but the hardest stage he ever faced was inside his own mind.

Brian Downes built a career helping others lead, perform, and speak with power - all while wrestling with ADHD, anxiety, and the kind of silence that doesn’t show on camera.

This isn’t a story about public speaking.It’s a story about being seen - about turning chaos into clarity and learning that the bravest thing you can ever say on stage… is the truth.

In this episode, we dive into:

🟧 The misunderstood gift of ADHD - and how to use it as a superpower

🟧 Panic attacks, Lexapro, and the two-year war nobody saw

🟧 The “F**k It Switch”: how to kill perfectionism in real time

🟧 Why therapy isn’t for the broken - it’s for the brave

🟧 Doing hard things on purpose: how pressure builds peace

🟧 Why audiences don’t want polish - they want presence

Whether you’re leading a team or just trying to lead yourself through the noise, this one’s proof that courage isn’t found in the spotlight

— it’s forged in the shadows.

Follow Brian:

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

https://briandownes.com/

https://www.performancenerds.com/

Follow Caolan:

https://www.instagram.com/kelly_caolan/

https://open.spotify.com/show/1jMeGl3yO3JJYfPWQATbSD

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caolankelly55/

I said yes to speaking LIVE in Dublin before I really thought about it.

- No slides

- No plan

- Just a mic, and 60 strangers

(Above a pub on Clarendon Street)

The kind of night that reminds you why you started any of this in the first place...

- A new notch on the belt

- A new flag in the ground

- One for the scrapbook

—

Big shoutout to Daniel Metadjer for hosting such a great night. Looking forward to the next one.

Follow Daniel:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-metadjer/

Check out Dublin Entrepreneurs Meetup:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/dublin-entrepreneurs-meetup/posts/?feedView=all

Follow Caolan:

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/kelly_caolan/

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/caolankelly55/

👉 Follow the show + leave a 5-star rating to help more people become shameless dreamers and turn vision into reality.

What if the thing you can’t control becomes the reason you double down on the thing you can?

Gary was born with Spina Bifida and been a wheelchair user most of his life. On paper, he did everything right: degree, 30-year career in IT, stability, the life most people chase.

But purpose doesn’t live on paper.

At 45, he asked: “Is this it?”

He gave up alcohol in 2018, unlocked energy and clarity he’d never felt before, and by 2023 had left corporate behind to become a full-time coach.

Now he helps people in midlife rebuild self-trust, shift habits, and discover it’s never too late to change.

In this episode, we dive into:

🟧 Why self-belief started at home, with parents who never treated him differently

🟧 The hidden cost of 30 years in corporate (and why security can be a trap)

🟧 Giving up alcohol → energy + clarity → a new chapter

🟧 Why “burn the boats” is the worst advice for most people🟧 Awareness → action → acknowledgement: the real system for rebuilding self-trust

🟧 Why ordinary days well-lived matter more than chasing peak moments

🟧 The lie of “I’m an all-or-nothing person” — and how to flip it

Whether you’re 25, 45, or 65 — this one’s proof that reinvention doesn’t have an expiry date.

Follow Gary:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/coachgaryallen/https://thelifedesigner.substack.com/

Follow Caolan:

https://www.instagram.com/kelly_caolan/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caolankelly55/

👉 Follow the show + leave a 5-star rating to help more people become shameless dreamers and turn vision into reality.

What if society’s idea of “success” is just a golden cage?

Aoife spent years leading teams at Instagram/Meta, and before that IBM — the job millions would kill for.

Great salary, great title, great LinkedIn… and a quiet voice that wouldn’t go away. That voice got louder until it was impossible to ignore.

She left the golden cage behind and learned to fly.

In this episode, we dive into:

🟧 How Aoife knew it was time to leave, even when everything looked perfect

🟧 Success vs. fulfilment: the golden cage vs. wild bird analogy

🟧 Why “you’re so brave” often means “I’m too scared”

🟧 The heaviest hat in entrepreneurship: learning sales & marketing ethically

🟧 Stressed leaders are contagious

🟧 Food as fuel (or poison): beating brain fog, energy crashes & burnout

🟧 Testing that tells the truth: bloods, microbiome & biological age

🟧 Building a business that puts family first, on your terms

Whether you’re on the corporate ladder or plotting your exit, this one’s a compass for choosing fulfilment over optics.

Follow Aoife:

https://www.instagram.com/juvelolife/https://www.linkedin.com/in/aoife-reilly-juvelo/

Check out Juvelo:

https://www.juvelolife.com/

Follow Caolan:

https://www.instagram.com/kelly_caolan/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/caolankelly55/