Success Matters

Facts tell, stories sell.

Business storytelling isn’t simply finding better words, it's telling the right story, with the customer at the centre.

Storytelling coach John Elbing explains how customer-focused messaging can help teams make better decisions and help businesses connect with the people they want to reach.

3 key takeaways:

• Make the customer the hero. Shift your messaging from “we, we, we” to the customer’s needs, challenges, and goals.

• Use story to create clarity. A shared story can help teams make better decisions and focus on what customers actually need.

• Connect through empathy. Facts matter, but helping people feel understood can make your message more persuasive.

Whatever your role in work or business, this episode offers a practical way to rethink how you pitch, present, and build your brand.

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When we talk about success, we often focus on momentum, achievement, and forward motion. But much of our growth is forged in the moments where life forces us to stop.In this episode of Success Matters, I had the privilege of speaking with Laurie-Ann Murabito about resilience, loss, and the journey to finding one’s voice.Laurie-Ann shares her story of moving to Japan at thirteen and experiencing profound social isolation, and later navigating the heartbreak of becoming a young widow at thirty-six.Our conversation touches on several key themes: • How unexpected disruptions shape our capacity for resilience • The subconscious triggers that hold us back long after a crisis has passed • How taking life one day at a time creates room for healing and rebuilds confidence • Why true success is less about external status and more about presence, joy, and helping othersWhether you are navigating a transition in your career or reflecting on your personal path, Laurie-Ann’s perspective offers valuable clarity on how we process life’s speed bumps.www.speakandstandout.com

We rarely talk about what we need to remove to build a successful life.

Often, progress is framed entirely around accumulation: more titles, larger budgets, and greater commitments. Yet many people reach a point where holding on to mismatched expectations or unsupportive environments creates quiet burnout.

In the latest episode of Success Matters, I sit down with life coach Catherine Clift to discuss the power of letting go.

Catherine shares her experience of stepping away from a 23-year marriage and leaving a stressful call-centre role to align her life with her true values and ultimately build a coaching practice grounded in authenticity.

Key insights from our discussion:

• Outgrowing old structures: Recognising when a stage of life or career has simply run its course.

• Releasing emotional baggage: How techniques like the Sedona Method support practical transition.

• Redefining identity: Navigating major physical and professional changes, including her diagnosis with alopecia, with quiet self-acceptance.

True success isn't just about what you build, it is often about what you have the courage to let go.

Molly Seabrook had reached the milestones many people are told to chase: a senior corporate role, a high salary, and a life that looked successful from the outside. 

But one day she found herself asking “These are the hours of my life, what happened to them?” 

In this episode of Success Matters, Molly Seabrook joins me to talk about the moment she realised life was passing her by and what it took to stop ignoring that feeling. 

She reflects on the years she spent travelling and living between cultures, the career paths that didn’t fit, and the long stretch of uncertainty between knowing something had to change and acting on it.

Molly shares how leaving corporate work led her to build Credible Ink., a publishing company that helps professionals bring their ideas to life in books. 

Along the way, she offers an honest perspective on financial uncertainty, the pressure to meet conventional measures of success, and learning to trust your own sense of misalignment.

Her story is a reminder that career changes don’t equate to failure and that success begins with paying attention to what your life is asking of you.

Feeling successful can be surprisingly hollow when the life you are building leaves little room for the people and values that matter most.

In this episode of Success Matters, I spoke with author, podcaster and self-defence instructor Sara Hathaway about resilience, purpose, family and the difference between simply accumulating things and developing the skills to navigate whatever life brings.

Sara’s definition of success is not based on status or money. For her, it is balance, peace, faith, meaningful relationships and making a positive difference in the lives of others.

Three actions from our conversation stood out:

1. Put your foundations first.Your family, closest relationships and personal wellbeing cannot always be fitted in around your ambitions. Sara shared a powerful reminder that when the foundation is not right, everything else becomes harder to sustain. Success should support the people you love, not continually take you away from them.

1. Build skills, not just safety nets.We often try to prepare for life through possessions, plans and quick fixes. Sara’s view is that real resilience comes from capability. Learn practical skills. Take care of your health. Understand your environment. Become someone who can respond calmly and helpfully when circumstances change.

1. Measure success by your impact.Sara spoke about receiving messages from people whose lives had been helped by her work. That, she said, is worth more than money. It is a useful question for all of us: who is better off because of the work, care and energy we put into the world?

Purpose is rarely found in one dramatic moment. More often, it is built through the choices we make repeatedly. The people we prioritise. The skills we develop. The contribution we choose to make.

What is the most precious thing you have had to give up for your definition of success?

Connect with Sara at changingearthseries.com

Sometimes the most painful part of a difficult conversation is realising that the person you love does not feel heard.

In my latest episode of the Success Matters podcast, educator, former principal and family coach Cheryl Wilson shared lessons that reach far beyond parenting.

They apply to our relationships, our workplaces and the way we lead ourselves through conflict.

Cheryl has spent almost three decades in education, working with children, families and school leaders. Her work is grounded in a simple belief: people learn, grow and solve problems more effectively when they feel seen, valued and supported.

Here are three actions I took from our conversation:

1. Connect before you correct.

When someone is upset, defensive or withdrawn, our instinct can be to fix the issue immediately.

1. Cheryl’s advice is to pause and connect first. Rather than saying, “What is wrong with you?”, try noticing what you see: “It looks like something has made today difficult. Would you like to talk about it?”
2. Attack the problem, not the person. Blame, judgement and criticism may release frustration, but they rarely resolve anything. Whether the conflict is with a partner, colleague, child or friend, separate the person from the issue. The question is not, “Why are you always like this?” It is, “What is happening here, and how can we work through it?”
3. Resist reacting, so you can respond. When emotions rise, we can say things we do not mean, or make decisions we later regret. Sometimes the most mature response is: “I want to talk about this properly. I need a little time to settle first.”

That is not avoidance. It is choosing compassion over impulse.

CherylWilsonTeaches.com

Are you building your own definition of success, or are you following a template designed by someone else?

In the latest episode of Success Matters, I sit down with technologist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner Ademola Odusanya to explore how to align career, personal growth, and identity without compromising personal autonomy.

We discuss:

• Adaptability & Autonomy: How navigating change early in life builds the confidence to define your own path.

• The Future of Work: A pragmatic perspective on AI, reskilling, and technological shifts.

• Process vs. Outcome: Insights from international martial arts competition on why continuous improvement matters more than external awards.

• Redefining Achievement: Moving away from traditional milestones toward sustainable growth across all areas of life.

A thoughtful conversation for anyone taking stock of their professional trajectory and looking to build a life aligned with their core values.

How do you measure your worth?

In this episode of Success Matters, Mike Cheney (co-founder of Activate Leaders) shares his journey from enduring severe high school bullying to transforming how leaders support their teams.

We unpack the subtle traps of tying personal identity to professional achievement, how to handle tough feedback constructively, and why true leadership begins by valuing people before they have proven themselves.

Key Topics Covered:

• Moving from working for significance to living from significance

• Handling criticism and building a trusted support network

• Why first-time managers struggle and how to support them

• A personal definition of success grounded in self-acceptance

  
  

Connect with Mike at activateleaders.co

How do you balance life whilst building your dream?

In this episode of Success Matters, I am joined by author, coach, and entrepreneur Janine Bolon. Janine shares her perspective on aligning business with life rather than allowing business to consume it. 

She also reflects on pivotal moments that shaped her worldview, including being struck by lightning at age ten and her subsequent initiation as a Heyoka within the Lakota tradition.

Janine shares:

• The 4-Hour Weekly Revenue Routine: Why every business owner needs dedicated time focused strictly on prospecting, follow-ups, learning, and genuine connection.

• Working ON vs. IN the Business: Moving out of daily operational friction to establish sustainable systems.

• A Lightning Strike in Perspective: How extraordinary shocks force us to reframe failure, stay present, and discard unnecessary societal demands.

• Defining Success Through Presence: Why intentionality and calendar discipline allow you to show up fully in work and life

If you are seeking a more deliberate, balanced path to growth, this conversation offers practical structure alongside quiet reflection.

Connect with Janine Bolon:

Website: janinebolon.com/connect

Many people believe that true progress requires fixing every personal weakness.

We are taught early on in school to focus on our lowest marks and correct our flaws. This carries forward into our adult life and it shows up with you spending 80% of your energy trying to master skills that drain you, simply because you feel you should.

In my current episode of Success Matters with leadership expert Gill How, we explore what happens when you flip that ratio to focus on your strengths:

• Competency is not energy: Just because you can do a task does not mean it belongs in your daily routine.

• Strengths are felt: Real strengths leave you energised rather than depleted.

• Focus allocation: High performance comes from placing 80% of your focus on natural drivers while building strategic workarounds for the rest.

External definitions of success often do not align with your values. Sustainable leadership comes from understanding where your energy naturally flows and structuring your professional life around it.

Where are you spending unnecessary energy trying to fix a minor weakness instead of expanding a core strength?

If you are evaluating your next strategic career pivot and want to align your professional performance with long-term well-being, send me a message or reach out directly at [email protected]