Have you ever looked at someone else's life and wished it was yours? Maybe you feel stuck, unfulfilled and as though you are just going through life on autopilot. Or perhaps you have a longing for something more, but think that it’s all too late for you. 

We are conditioned to think that the way to win at life is to have a 2.4 family, a stable job and a nice house with a garden, so why is it that so many of us who seemingly have all of this, are unhappy? 

It was a question that kept nagging away at my guest for this week, who at the beginning of the second half of her life, made the brave decision to leave everything she knew to embark on an adventure that many of us only talk about. 

Anne Boyd, left her career in academia and life as an empty-nester to pursue her dream of travel and being an actual, real, full-time writer and writing coach at the age of 52. So if you have ever wondered if it’s too late to change your life, then let this conversation convince you otherwise. 

Connect with Anne Boyd: https://anneboydrioux.substack.com/

Connect with me: www.flipitglobal.com

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It’s something so intrinsic to our very being, yet at the same time, almost impossible to define. 

From the moment we enter the world, to the moment we depart it, love is the one thing that we all search for. Like the air we breathe, we cannot live without it. We seek it in people, places and things, yet the purest form of love surely demands nothing in return and must be nurtured from within first. 

My own relationship with love has been complicated and was tested a few years ago, when my heart was broken in ways I didn’t even know was possible. Like a tsunami, it engulfed me and swept me up leaving me gasping for breath. 

But it also made me realise that whilst I had poured love onto another, I rarely offered myself even a drop. So when I came across Antony and Margie, I just knew that the way they described their love was something that we all needed to hear. Because perhaps love is not so much about the bolts of lightning or racing heartbeats - perhaps it’s something so much simpler and ordinary – something that is accepting and allowing without judgement. And something that is not only experienced with another but through the way we look at life. 

Connect with me: www.flipitglobal.com

Connect with Antony and Margie https://www.stoepzen.co.za/home.html

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Content warning- This episode contains mentions of eating disorders.

Welcome to Season Two of Flip It! 

It feels so wonderful to be back, and to be sharing more stories and voices, from more incredible humans. 

And so to begin the next Chapter of Flip It, I have, after some gentle encouragement from you, decided to start flip the script and begin the season by sharing my story. 

So, I hope that what you hear may give you a little insight into my own storybook and how all the chapters that came before, led me to creating Flip It, and to you. 

But more than anything, I hope that there may be a word or two that can help you to feel a little less alone in your own experiences, and to remind you that your story and voice deserves to be heard. Because, believe me when I say, it might just be the gift that gives someone the strength to face another day. 

Connect with me: www.flipitglobal.com

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I’m thrilled to share, that the new season of Flip It is here!

Kicking off on January 20th, this next chapter is filled with more stories and voices that will make you laugh, cry and offer you powerful insights to help you navigate the beautiful messiness of life.

This season, we’ll explore themes like love, surrender, survival, acceptance and success. Through heartfelt guest interviews and my personal reflections, we’ll embrace life’s highs and lows together.

It is only by sharing stories that we can help each other to look at our own experiences through another lens, and flip the narrative around for the better — so I hope you will join me as we continue to explore our shared humanity.

The first episode drops on January 20th! Subscribe now so it’s ready in your podcast feed the moment it goes live.

Let’s uncover the extraordinary in the ordinary and amplify the voices that truly deserve to be heard.

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There are no words to describe it. 

Heartbreak is like an explosion of your soul. It shatters every part of you, leaving you in pieces that you have no idea how to put back together. 

You can read, watch and listen to as many stories as you want, but nothing can prepare you for the brutality of heartbreak. You will never be the same again. Your heart won’t ever be the same again, but you will be ok and your heart won’t stay empty for long. 

In the aftermath of its destruction, you will discover a whole new chapter full of characters, who will hold your hand as you climb your way out of the rubble. And with everyday that passes, you will feel your heart growing stronger and stronger until you find it overflowing with more love than ever before. 

Love and heartbreak are meant for one another, so don’t deny yourself the magic of either. Heartbreak is the silent…hidden gift of love.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flip It, I would be hugely grateful if you could rate, review and subscribe. It really will help me to discover and share more stories and voices that deserve to be heard. 

Connect with me: www.awaywithwords.media

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Watch clips of each episode on YouTube: @FlipItwithLauraHearn 

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www.awaywithwords.media/podcast

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There has to be a reason why we risk having our hearts broken over and over again, when the experience is enough to leave you fighting for survival. 

The narrative of heartbreak is woven into our life from childhood. The cartoons, books, TV shows and films we are exposed to are littered with stories of love and loss. From Disney’s 'Beauty and The Beast' to Shakespeare’s 'Romeo and Juliet' and everything in between, we are well acquainted with heartbreak. 

But when it actually happens to you, everything you thought you knew about heartbreak evaporates into oblivion. There is nothing that can prepare you for the stabbing, then throbbing, then aching pain it leaves in your body. 

The only way to not suffer its brutality, is to never love at all and what kind of life would that be? But perhaps if we paid more attention to this unique and universal emotional pain, then maybe we could find a way to knit our hearts back together with a fragility that is even stronger than before. 

My guest for Part One of my exploration into heartbreak is the journalist Florence Williams, who went on a deeply personal and scientific inquiry to find meaning again after saying goodbye to her 25 year marriage. 

So, I hope that wherever you are in your own journey of love, our conversation will not only comfort you, but also help you to realise that not only is there is good reason for the pain you feel, but that there is also a way out of it. 

Connect with Florence Williams: https://www.florencewilliams.com/

Connect with me: www.awaywithwords.media

#flipitpodcast

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Watch clips of this episode on YouTube: @FlipItwithLauraHearn 

Sign up to my newsletter and and join the Flip It community here:

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If you have a story to share, I’d love to hear from you: 

www.speakpipe.com/FlipIt

www.awaywithwords.media/podcast

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It’s a story we could all write, it’s a script we have all read and it’s a page that all of us will turn again. The plot is centred around the universal experience of Rejection. 

Why me? 

What’s wrong with me? 

Why wasn’t I enough? 

What was it about me that they didn’t like? 

The sting of rejection can wound the most resilient of souls and can leave you questioning the very fabric of your being. But the truth is not all of our dreams are meant to be fulfilled and we are not everyone’s ‘cup of tea.’ But even more true, is that when one door closes there may just be a bigger and brighter door waiting to be opened. 

Whilst we can’t choose when, where or who rejects us, we can choose how we view it, as my guest this week on Flip It shares so beautifully. Patty LaRoche, is the author of ‘A Little Faith Lift: Finding Joy Beyond Rejection’-  who through her years as a high school teacher and as the wife of a professional baseball player, discovered the endless rewards to be found in rejection. 

My story/s of rejection won’t be the same as yours, but I hope that what you hear from my conversation with Patty, may help you to flip the script and look at rejection as nothing to be ashamed of or to fear, because when the sting fades, you too may even feel its beauty.

If you enjoyed this episode of Flip It, I would be hugely grateful if you could rate, review and subscribe. It really will help me to discover and share more stories and voices that deserve to be heard. 

Connect with Patty: www.alittlefaithlift.com

Connect with me: www.awaywithwords.media

#flipitpodcast

#FlipItwitLauraHearn

Instagram: laura_lhearn

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Watch clips of this episode on YouTube: @FlipItwithLauraHearn 

Sign up to my newsletter and and join the Flip It community here:

https://laurahearn.substack.com/

If you have a story to share, I’d love to hear from you: 

www.speakpipe.com/FlipIt

www.awaywithwords.media/podcast

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

Most of us go through moments of feeling as though something isn’t quite right - as though perhaps we have taken the wrong path. But when the path you had been walking suddenly hits a dead end without warning, it can leave you completely and utterly bewildered. 

When we feel lost, we can feel a million miles away from where we once were or where we want to be. We look for the answers in places, people and things in the hope that we will be shown the way back. 

But there is one place, a place that if we pay attention to and greet with curiosity, we can find all the answers we ever need. A place that feels like a big warm hug. A place that doesn’t judge or ask anything of you. A place that feels like home. That place is nature. 

Nature allows you to let go of the myriad of false expectations, social constructs and noise that derails you, and instead reconnects you with yourself in the purest form. It reminds you that you are nature and that by reimagining your relationship with nature, you need never feel lost again.  

So, if you are trying to find your way out of the darkness or unsure as to which way to turn next, then I hope my conversation with Tansy Dowman will help you to find a lasting friendship with nature. 

If you enjoyed this episode of Flip It, I would be hugely grateful if you could rate, review and subscribe. It really will help me to discover and share more stories and voices that deserve to be heard. 

Connect with Tansy Dowman: https://www.tansyinthewild.com/

Connect with me: www.awaywithwords.media

#flipitpodcast

#FlipItwitLauraHearn

Instagram: laura_lhearn

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Watch clips of this episode on YouTube: @FlipItwithLauraHearn 

Sign up to my newsletter and and join the Flip It community here:

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If you have a story to share, I’d love to hear from you: 

www.speakpipe.com/FlipIt

www.awaywithwords.media/podcast

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

CONTENT WARNING: This episode includes discussions about rape, sexual assault, abuse, suicide and mental illness. Please listen with care.

Not feeling like you matter, that you don’t fit or that your voice deserves to be heard is a familiar feeling to many of us. 

Afraid to stand out, we conform and squeeze ourselves into the narrow margins of societal norms. But, history has shown us that every transformative force of positive change has only ever happened with a disruption of the status quo. 

It’s not easy to go against the grain, to risk being rejected, isolated or deemed difficult. It takes tenacity, vulnerability and bravery, but everyday there are people who are doing just that. 

My guest this week is Sophia Ufy Ukor, who is one of those who has never allowed her past to define her and has gone out of her way to amplify the voices and stories of everyday ‘disruptors’ - people like you and me who took daring risks to pave the way for change.

My conversation with Sophia has reminded me that my voice matters just as much as the next person’s and that it’s only by championing each other, that we can create a space for positive change to happen. None of us need to be defined by our past or to try and fit into a hole that feels too tight or too big. There is a place for us all in this world, I hope you find yours. 

If you enjoyed this episode of Flip It, I would be hugely grateful if you could rate, review and subscribe. It really will help me to discover and share more stories and voices that deserve to be heard. 

Connect with Sophia: www.violetsimon.co.uk

Connect with me: www.awaywithwords.media

#flipitpodcast

#FlipItwitLauraHearn

Instagram: laura_lhearn

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Watch clips of this episode on YouTube: @FlipItwithLauraHearn 

Sign up to my newsletter and and join the Flip It community here:

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If you have a story to share, I’d love to hear from you: 

www.speakpipe.com/FlipIt

www.awaywithwords.media/podcast

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

Solitude has a long history and has been documented in stories, art and in real life for centuries. Perhaps our interest is not that surprising given that we spend one third of our waking life alone. 

Yet the way we view solitude today is often tied to negative narratives and preconceptions that perceive anything other than human connection as something to avoid. But solitude and loneliness, as I have been exploring, are not the same thing and according to my guest this week, the two have become confused. So how can we look at alone time differently and invest in it as something that is integral to our happiness, wellbeing and meaningful relationships?

My guest this week for Part Two of my exploration into solitude is Heather Hansen, who along with her coauthors have spent several years researching what time alone means to different people around the world. Their book, ‘Solitude, The Science and Power of Being Alone’,  presents time alone as a place of choice where we can best connect with what really matters to us - our values, interests and our emotions. 

I hope you enjoyed this episode of Flip It, and if you did I would be hugely grateful if you could rate, review and subscribe. It really will help me to discover and share more stories and voices that deserve to be heard. 

Connect with Heather Hansen: 

Connect with me: www.awaywithwords.media

#flipitpodcast

#FlipItwitLauraHearn

Instagram: laura_lhearn

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Watch clips of this episode on YouTube: @FlipItwithLauraHearn 

Sign up to my newsletter and join the Flip It community here: https://laurahearn.substack.com/

If you have a story to share, I’d love to hear from you: 

www.speakpipe.com/FlipIt

www.awaywithwords.media/podcast

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