As this episode goes live, I'm on a beach listening to Greg's book on Audible. Because if there was ever a conversation to practice what it preaches, it's this one.

What if presence isn't something you find - but something you build?

In this episode of Play It By Your Rules, I sit down with keynote speaker, world-touring performer, and author Greg Bennick to talk about juggling, serendipity, and his book Reclaim the Moment: Seven Strategies to Build a Better Now.

Greg's whole career started with a clerical error. At twelve, a school secretary accidentally signed him up for a juggling class instead of coin collecting. He walked in, saw someone juggling, and knew: this is it. By thirteen he was presenting professionally - and he has been on stages around the world ever since. The juggling became more than a skill. It became his life philosophy: you cannot juggle and think about next Thursday's lunch. You focus on what's in front of you, or everything drops.

We go deep on what steals that focus. Greg draws on Guy Debord's Society of the Spectacle: the distractions around us don't just interrupt our lives - they replace them. We watch other people fall in love, take adventures, live boldly - and stop doing it ourselves. Coming back to center, being present with the people in front of us, is the rebellion.

(And yes - this episode is audio only, on purpose. One distraction less. Listen while you walk, cook, or watch the waves.)

We covered:

Practical Takeaways:

Quick-Fire Burst:

This episode is for leaders and high achievers who are always three steps ahead - and starting to suspect they're missing the step they're on.

Because a better later is a bet. A better now is a choice.

Explore More:

📖 Greg's book: Reclaim the Moment: Seven Strategies to Build a Better Now (also on Audible - beach-tested by your host)

If this episode landed - share it with someone who needs a better now.

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

Not a Crisis. A Second Act.

What Midlife Is Actually Doing to Your Body - and Why That's Good News.

With Tamara Koval — Gynecologist, Longevity Advisor, Founder of Longevity for Her

What if the hormonal changes of midlife are not something to manage around — but something to move with?

Tamara Koval is a gynecologist by training, a serial career reinventor by choice, and the founder of Longevity for Her on Substack. She has been in clinical practice in Europe, worked in the pharmaceutical industry, advised government agencies in the US, and built her own company — all driven by one belief: that the second act of a woman's life (and a man's) is not a decline. It is a different kind of power.

In this conversation, we go into the biology, the psychology, and the practical reality of what midlife hormonal changes actually look like — and why most workplaces and most leaders have no script for it.

What we cover:

Quick-Fire Burst:

One belief she had to drop

Obedience

A place that cracked something open

Zurich

One thing she had to unlearn

Smallness

Her non-negotiable right now

Independence. Sovereignty.

Boldest risk that paid off

Reinventing herself. Multiple times.

One word for leadership in this chapter

Kindness — understanding the position of others

The ripple she hopes her story creates

Permission — to be beautiful, wise, and powerful in this stage

Resources mentioned:

If this episode landed — share it with someone who needs to hear it.

We’re getting very good at asking technology for answers.

But what if a more powerful way to use AI isn’t to let it think for us - but to let it guide our thinking? To help us sit with better questions.

In this episode of Play It By Your Rules, I sit down with entrepreneur, impact investor, and author Florian Kemmerich to explore a different conversation about AI - one that is less about productivity and automation, and more about reflection, vocation, and understanding ourselves better.

Florian believes one of the biggest opportunities of AI isn’t replacing human thinking. It’s helping us think more deeply. Through his work and his new venture, he is using AI to help people - particularly young people entering the world of work, but also people in midlife asking “what’s next?” - discover their vocation: the place where personal calling, strengths, and profession come together to create meaningful contribution.

Finding your vocation isn’t about being handed answers. It’s about becoming more conscious of your motivations, and unique contribution - so you can build a working life that is not only more fulfilling, but also more relevant in a rapidly changing world.

This conversation explores purpose, education, identity, experimentation, and how we can use technology to become more intentional - not less.

This episode is for leaders, parents, entrepreneurs, and anyone at a crossroads - especially if you’re wondering what comes next and want to stay intentional in a world increasingly shaped by algorithms.

AI can help us process more information and recognize patterns faster. The deeper work of discovering your why still belongs to us.

🔗 Learn more about Florian and his work: On Vocation

🚀 Explore Florian’s AI-powered vocation platform: Vocating AI

🎓 Join the vocation challenge: Vocating Challenge

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

Many high performers are so used to functioning under pressure that they no longer realize how much stress they’re carrying - until their body forces them to pay attention.

In this episode of Play It By Your Rules, I sit down with Dr. Lizette Warner - executive coach, keynote speaker, healthcare executive, and former Chief Science Officer - to explore the hidden cost of chronic stress in high performers.

After being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s disease, Lizette began examining not just the stress she felt in the moment - but the long-term, chronic stress running in the background of her life. That discovery became an obsession: why are smart, capable leaders so good at adapting to pressure… that they stop noticing the damage it causes?

This conversation dives into nervous systems, emotional awareness, chronic stress, and what Lizette calls “turning down the volume” — not to do less, but to increase capacity, clarity, and sustainable performance.

Because over-adaptation may look productive from the outside.

This episode is for high achievers, people pleasers, and leaders who are used to coping brilliantly - but are starting to wonder about the long-term cost of always pushing through.

Because leadership is about learning how to regulate, recover, and lead without losing yourself in the process.

🔗 Follow Dr. Lizette Warner on LinkedIn

🧠 Subscribe to Lizette’s LinkedIn newsletter: Your Growth Down to a Science

🎤 Interested in Lizette’s “Turn Down the Volume” workshop or keynote work? Connect with her directly on LinkedIn.

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

What if leadership isn’t about having the right answers - but asking better questions?

In this episode of Play It By Your Rules, I sit down with entrepreneur, speaker and curiosity champion Tyler Chisholm to explore why curiosity may be one of the most underrated leadership skills of our time.

Tyler argues that the best leaders don’t perform certainty. They practice curiosity. And in a world shaped by uncertainty, rapid change, AI, and career reinvention, that may be a serious competitive advantage.

Together we explore how curiosity helps us challenge old conditioning, run courageous experiments, build stronger relationships, and communicate more effectively - including a powerful idea Tyler shares:

“The meaning of my communication is the result I get.”

In other words: communication isn’t what you intended. It’s what landed.

That insight opens up a radically more curious way of leading, listening, and speaking up.

This conversation is playful, practical, and surprisingly deep - moving from leadership behaviours and team dynamics into mindset, identity, and what it means to experiment your way into the next chapter, rather than trying to have it all figured out.

This episode is for leaders, high achievers, and anyone at Basecamp wondering what comes next - and sensing the answer may not lie in pushing harder, but in getting more curious.

Because courage doesn’t always begin with a leap. Sometimes it begins with a question.

🔗 Connect with Tyler and explore his work: https://www.tylerchisholm.com/

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

What if your problem isn’t your pitch - but your clarity?

In this episode of Play It By Your Rules, I sit down with speaker, coach, and former teacher Danny Brassell, who has built a highly successful speaking and coaching business after multiple career pivots - and one major life setback that changed everything.

From losing everything financially to rebuilding through speaking, Danny shares a simple but powerful shift: communication isn’t about impressing people - it’s about serving them.

Because before you say anything, you need to know:

This is where many people get stuck. Instead of getting clear, they try to say more - listing experiences, achievements, and credentials - hoping something will land.

But without clarity, it doesn’t.

This conversation is practical, energising, and directly relevant for anyone navigating a career transition, preparing for interviews, or figuring out how to communicate their value in a way that actually connects.

This episode is for anyone at Basecamp - successful, experienced, and now asking: How do I position myself for what’s next?

Because the goal isn’t to say more.

🎁 Free Well-Crafted Story Guide (Danny’s framework to build powerful stories):

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

What if the reason you feel stuck or exhausted isn’t a lack of ambition — but a lack of alignment, recovery, and conscious thinking?

In this episode of Play It By Your Rules, I sit down with Dorota Kosiorek — AI startup leader, certified brain coach, and creator of Strategic Off-Season — to explore how high achievers can move beyond constant doing into more intentional, fulfilling ways of working and living.

Dorota operates in two worlds: leading high-performance teams in tech, while coaching ambitious professionals to rethink success, mindset, and energy. Her approach blends neuroscience, elite sports psychology, and real-world leadership — with a strong focus on something most high performers overlook: strategic rest.

This conversation dives into why so many successful people keep chasing “more” — and how to break that loop without losing your edge.

This episode is for high achievers, leaders, and ambitious professionals who are successful on paper — but want more clarity, energy, and fulfillment in how they work and live.

Because real performance isn’t about doing more.

🔗 Follow Dorota Kosiorek on LinkedIn: https://dorotakosiorek.com/contact/#book-a-consultation

🧠 Take Dorota’s free self-assessment for high achievers (reflection across key areas): https://elite-mind-assessment-dk.lovable.app/ 

✍️ Read Strategic Off-Season on Substack: https://substack.com/@thestrategicoffseason

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

Many leaders spend years climbing the mountain of success.

They work hard, take on responsibility, and build careers that look impressive from the outside. But at some point, the pace becomes unsustainable. Energy drops, pressure builds, and something inside begins to question whether the current path still makes sense.

In this episode of Play It By Your Rules, Meggi speaks with Rachael Edmondson-Clarke, founder of ellevar, about the moment many high-performing leaders quietly reach - the moment when the body finally says “no.”

After years climbing the corporate ladder, Rachael experienced a sudden collapse that forced her to stop and reconsider how she was living and leading. What followed was not a dramatic career leap, but a deeper process of reflection, recalibration, and redefining what sustainable leadership really means.

Together they explore why so many experienced leaders ignore the warning signs for too long - and why the moment that feels like a breakdown can actually become the start of a more conscious next chapter.

This episode is for leaders and high performers who have climbed far in their careers — and are beginning to question whether the pace, pressure, or expectations are still sustainable.

Because sometimes the moment that feels like a breakdown…

🔗 Connect with Rachael Edmondson-Clarke on LinkedIn

Your life. Your rules.

What if the real leadership crisis isn’t strategy - but consciousness?

In this episode of Play It By Your Rules, I sit down with executive coach and adventurer Martin Palethorpe to explore what happens when high achievement stops feeling meaningful.

At just 27, Martin hit what he calls an early midlife crisis. He was outperforming his peers, climbing fast in the tech world, earning well - and quietly feeling empty. Instead of pushing harder, he paused. What followed was a five-year reinvention that led him from corporate executive to conscious leadership coach, guiding leaders for the past 25 years.

This is a deep conversation that moves between boardrooms and inner worlds. We talk about conditioning, intuition, stress, ego, and even spirituality - alongside very real leadership pressures, performance demands, and health challenges. While these themes are often kept separate, this episode shows they belong together. Conscious leadership isn’t about choosing between results and reflection. It’s about integrating both.

Because leading well externally requires clarity internally.

Why success can feel hollow - even when everything looks right on paper

The difference between climbing the mountain because you want to - or because you think you should

How hidden beliefs about achievement, money, and hard work shape our decisions

Why midlife often becomes the moment of truth

The role of retreats and intentional disconnection in breaking the hamster wheel

Intuition vs. mental noise - and how to tune into deeper wisdom

Why passion is not indulgent, but intelligent

Conscious leadership and the ripple effect it creates in organizations

Health, stress, and why addressing root causes matters

Spirituality beyond religion - and why inner work is pragmatic, not “woo”

This episode is for leaders and high achievers who feel successful - but not fully alive - and sense there must be a deeper, more conscious way to lead without abandoning ambition.

Because conscious leadership isn’t softer.

Explore More:

🧭 Curious about your current leadership consciousness?

🔗 Follow Martin Palethorpe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martinpalethorpe/

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

What if exhaustion isn’t a sign you’re doing too much - but a sign you’re doing the wrong things?

In this episode of Play It By Your Rules, I sit down with career strategist and licensed therapist Rachel Spekman, founder of Made for More Coaching, to explore what happens when success on paper no longer feels aligned in real life.

After building a thriving career in the startup world, Rachel reached a moment many high-achieving professionals recognize: she had the title, the trajectory, and the credibility - but something felt off. Instead of continuing to climb, she made what she calls “the largest adult calculated risk” of her life. She stepped off the ladder, retrained, and intentionally redesigned her career around her values.

This conversation dives into what career clarity requires at midlife - and why redefining success often takes more courage than chasing it.

We covered:

Practical Takeaways:

This episode is for leaders, high achievers, and midlife professionals who feel accomplished - but misaligned - and are ready to rethink the ladder without burning everything down.

Explore More:

🌱 Made for More Coaching: https://www.rachelspekman.com/

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.