TesseLeads

For Sade Marriott, Podcast Host at Banana Island Living it was either make or break

It was either break down and cry. I was the only Black woman in my village. It was lonely. I had a little baby, so I volunteered, I reached out, I made connections and I cared for other people. I genuinely felt most people were positive because I am determined to find positivity wherever. I became part of my village community. Providing solutions rather than problems is key. If there's anything I've learned is humility.

When I did my PGCE my mentor who was younger than me, marked me down for interaction with the other staff. My daughter who was home from school at that time saw I was really having a hard time said, "mommy you're too well dressed. Honestly you're going to this school and you're dressed like this? You have to fit in."

Once I took my mentor on board, I began making her cups of tea, I began rolling in baggy pants. I became sloppy and her new best friend. It worked. I did what I needed to do! In light of the Black Lives Matter conversations that we needed to have. I realised the importance of making other people comfortable and being more aware and better prepared to be inclusive and supportive. It is a fine line between being aware and making excuses. I believe it is critical to treat everybody as you would want them to treat you no exclusions, everybody. "

Nadine Robson's mum's inspiration lives and is the theme of her conversation today. At heart Nadine's mum was all about love and just being a mum. That was what she really wanted to be.

She went through her own experiences of mental illness.

Unfortunately, through some of those experiences, she made some decisions that were really difficult, and she made some poor judgment calls.

The side effect of that was that Nadine was taken into care when she was 11 years old and taken out of the family home. This meant she didn't grow up with her brothers from that age. That was really tough. It was not easy to go through that experience.

Nadine Robson and Darren founded the MOE Foundation, an empowering coaching community that screams love and care.

Sarah Giles' delicate, balancing act is the constant juggling of motherhood, career and everything else. After a 15 year plus career in HR she quit in the lockdown, resigning from her head of HR position.

"Looking from the outside, I probably looked like I had it all together, but inside I didn't. I have to set clear boundaries, focus on being a mum and have time for myself as well. "When you are so busy looking after other people it's very easy to lose yourself in the process. We put our own self-care off I've learnt so much about myself. A lot of that is through my own coaching journey. I think it's things that I might not have ever done before." remarks Sarah.

Sarah constantly asks herself the question "Who am I? " She finds she is constantly evolving. As soon as she gets to a place where she thinks she is the person she wants to be, she discovers that she is growing again.

We all want to change the world with wellness, but it helps to remember that "Resilience helps us to stay grounded no matter what happens to us" - Resmaa Menakem "My Grandmother's Hands.

We close our expectation gaps by actually acknowledging each other, acknowledging ourselves. We acknowledge what we do well and learn what we do not do so well. Rather than see failure as something that is bad, we see failure as something that helps us to do even better. In fact, some people say of failure that it's the first attempt in learning. Agility is using this time as experimental space to fail forward, to succeed more, and to sustain success through purpose, intention, commitment, and impact.

Bonnie Marcus, author of Not Done Yet recalls her first big job "I had no qualifications what so ever for that job. I was barely managing my own check book, let alone running a business with 30 doctors.

I somehow did really well in the interview, convincing them that I was the right person; or let me say that I was smart enough to learn. And they hired me. And a year and a half I ran eleven centers up and down the East coast in the U S for that company. And that was the beginning of my business career.

So I often say I've always learned business on the job. And I had mastered how to show up confidently and own the value that I could bring. Not faking it by the way, because I couldn't"

"People's Precious Lives Matter" says Steve Morris, Vicar of St Cuthbert's, North Wembley.

"I made a decision when I became a Vicar that I actually would not cover up the fact that I've had problems in the past, sometimes with depression and anxiety, I just wasn't.

I was going to be honest about it, cause I didn't want people thinking that I was some kind of superhero and I found it one of the most useful parts of my ministry is just to say, if you're feeling bad, talk to me about it, tell me what's happening says the gifted Steve Morris."

His sharing with TesseLeads takes us through the highs and lows of life, his father, his wife and himself. Yet these struggles have served to strengthen his resolve and to cast a light on what really matters to him.

20 year old Presence Plumb inspired Tesse and Paula as she talked about when " it is ok not to be ok." Presence Plumb launched her podcast "It Starts with Action" in a spirit of curiosity and an intention to bring about change.

Presence charts her journey from the United Kingdom where she was born to Hong Kong. What was meant to be a short stay turned into a seven year stint, with young Presence being bullied for poor grades.

She become obsessed with fitting in and with becoming excellent. She was criticised for 'being fat'. It was no surprise that in the face of such criticism, Presence became anorexic at 14 years and had a 3 months stay in hospital.

Our guest today is David Taylor-Klaus and we will be talking about Experiencing the Magic of Thinking and Transformation.

David Taylor-Klaus (DTK) in a spirit of vulnerability, authenticity and high level of self-awareness, shares with #TesseLeads his relationship with depression, suicidal thoughts, low self-esteem, high levels of anxiety, limiting self-belief, workaholism and inappropriate diet.

Lisa Richards talks about Resilience. As a grief specialist, Lisa enables business people to thrive rather than to be weighed down by the pain of loss following any life change.

Lisa shares stories of loss and courage to give comfort to those who mourn. May those who have loved and lost be comforted.

We all suffer loss and experience grief in different ways. Life happens as we lose people through death. Covid-19 has snatched people from us.

TesseLeads was inspired by Tony Akpeki , the late brother of Tesse Akpeki. It is a safe, sensitive, supportive place and space to share, hear and tell your stories and experiences.