Encourager

Hannah has impressively carved out her career as a physiotherapist in cancer care.

Listen to her talk about working in a hospice and creating her own business, Stronger Than, to provide safe and accessible support for people with cancer across the UK. One of the big pluses of online sessions, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is invaluable work, drawing on all the core physiotherapy skills, plus those that Hannah has developed and continues to work upon. In particular, she talks about the importance of communication and the power of conversation. 

Hannah's work is a terrific example of how you can turn your passion into a purpose, contributing to, and making a difference to people's lives. This will undoubtedly encourage many others. 

You can find Hannah on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and her website. She also wrote a blog for Understand Pain.

Damian Hall has set records and fastest known times (FKTs) on 260-mile Pennine Way (supported), the Paddy Buckley Round (supported), Paddy Buckley Round in Winter (solo, unsupported), the South West Coast Path (supported) , the South Wales Traverse (supported), and the Cape Wrath Trail (self-supported, mixed gender with Beth Pascall). That's some set of successes.

In this chat, Damian talks about his passion for running, the planet, how he looks after himself, breaking the Pennine Way record, diet, training, the importance of support, his coaching, being a parent and more. 

If you are a runner, there's so much to gain from listening from Damian. He is rather humble, and probably doesn't realise how much he has positively encouraged people to get out there and take on their own challenges. 

You can find out more about Damian on his website, his writing as a journalist and coaching. He is also on Instagram and Twitter. 

I could listen to Professor Stephen Rollnick's insights and stories all day. Co-founder of motivational interviewing (MI), Steve has focused on how it can make a positive impact in different fields: healthcare, the prison service, education, sports coaching and we even touch on pain. Currently, Steve is bringing MI to parenting. 

In essence, MI is a way to help people make changes to improve their lives. Often people are told what to do, having problems that need fixing. Further, the person can be deemed the actual problem itself. We know that this approach does not work well, resulting in resistance and 'kickback' in many cases. 

Instead, we can use MI, which is a style, an art and an approach that focuses on the person and their potential. Through skilled conversation, they themselves address their ambivalence. In fact, MI is a way that we can communicate with anyone if we want to empathise, relate, bond, encourage, be curious and to care. MI opens the door.

In this chat, Steve openly talks about his beginnings as a trainee nurse in a very harsh and dangerous environment in South Africa, before escaping to Europe and embarking on a career in psychology and MI. His passion is clear. I am not sure he realises how many people he has influenced, encouraged and inspired. Many for sure. 

Within the conversation we explore the essence of MI, healing, empathy, being present, listening, self-awareness and more. 

To discover more, visit Steve's website where you will discover his books, including the recent 'Coaching Athletes to be their Best', recent webinar series, training and contact details. Steve is also on Twitter. 

** Photo taken at an MI training event in the days when we could hug!

Jo and Caroline take time out from the We Are Girls in Sport Wellness month (free tickets here) to talk about their passion and purpose: encouraging girls to take part in sports and activities to improve their lives.

In part 1, they describe their coming together and the evolving project -- their 'why'. The second part, Jo and Caroline talk about the Wellness month and share practical tips.

You can see more on their work on the We Are Girls in Sport website, read the blog and their individual LinkedIn pages: Caroline and Jo 

On social media: Twitter, Instagram and Facebook

A conversation packed with practical tips and tools that you can use to be an encourager, to follow a positive path and help others. Perfect if you work with and care for people.

Mike inspired the name for this podcast and truly embodies Positive Encouragement -- giving, sharing and serving others. 

He talks about his journey, the principles he follows and gives examples to help you understand.

Vital listening for coaches, therapists, teachers, parents, leaders, managers, pioneers, entrepreneurs and others.

Mike has always given freely. In this spirit, his latest book is freely available on his website The Positive Encourager.

He calls himself a militant hippy.

Check it out, share and let me know your thoughts.