The Business Of Living

When life feels stuck, most of us ask: what else do I need to learn? Another course, another book, another certificate. But what if the better question is: what do I need to stop believing?

In this episode we look at the quiet beliefs we carry about ourselves: where they come from, why they are so hard to put down, and how some of the kindest advice we were ever given can keep us stuck. I also share the one belief I am still holding onto, and the small things I am doing about it.

If you have ever doubted yourself for reasons you can't quite name, this one is for you.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:37 A story from primary school

02:03 The question that changed everything for me

04:14 Where our beliefs about ourselves come from

08:30 The belief I refused to accept

13:20 Why we hold on to beliefs that hurt us

15:54 When good advice keeps you stuck

19:34 The belief I'm still carrying

22:15 Small steps to start unlearning

23:19 Where I've landed

What is one thing you've had to stop believing about yourself? Tell me in the comments.

Follow The Business of Living so you don't miss the next episode, and share this with someone who needs to hear it.

Looking Put Together While Falling Apart: The Masks We Wear

She was smiling, chatting, full of life. Then she turned around, and the mirror behind her showed a face in broken pieces.

Most of us wear a mask before we leave the house. At work, at church, in the family WhatsApp group, even at home. In this episode we talk about why we wear them, the nine masks you might recognise yourself in (I counted three of mine), and five small steps to start putting them down.

I also take one of my own masks off with you.

The nails may be done, but how is your heart?

Episode highlights

00:37 The girl in the mirror

03:04 What the mask really is

06:06 The superwoman schema

07:24 When the mask starts to blur who we are

11:34 The nine masks: give in, hide, fight back

20:24 My story

22:12 Five small steps to put the mask down

If this gave you a little breathing room, follow The Business of Living and share it with someone who is always "fine".

At seven, I told my mum, "I have nothing to say to them, so I've moved on." I had no idea what I meant. But that one sentence followed me into every season of my life, through high school, university and adulthood. Maybe it has followed you too.

In this episode, we talk about the part of adult life nobody prepared us for: friendship. Why Africa is now the loneliest region in the world. Why you were never designed to keep up with everyone. How many hours it really takes to make a close friend. And why growing apart is not the same as falling out.

I also share an idea I've been thinking about for a long time, aligned generosity: giving freely to people whose values match yours, and letting them give back. Plus six keys for building friendships that last.

Because in real friendship, you don't keep receipts. You keep each other.

Episode Highlights

00:00 Intro

00:37 "I have nothing to say to them": my story

04:01 More connected, yet lonelier than ever

06:41 Not all friendships are the same

07:57 How we're designed: 5, 15, 50, 150

11:44 From accessible to aligned

14:48 Nobody prepared us for this

21:05 Aligned generosity

24:36 The six keys to lasting friendship

28:25 Bringing it together: water one root

Research mentioned in this episode

- WHO Commission on Social Connection, From Loneliness to Social Connection (2025)

- Gallup, global loneliness data (2023)

- Robin Dunbar, friendship layers: 5, 15, 50, 150

- Jeffrey Hall (2018), How many hours does it take to make a friend?

- Harvard Study of Adult Development (since 1938)

- Human Generosity Project (Cronk & Aktipis): Maasai osotua

- Apicella et al. (2012), Social networks and cooperation in hunter-gatherers (the Hadza)

- Kumar & Epley (2022), A little good goes an unexpectedly long way

If this episode gave you a little breathing room, follow The Business of Living and share it with someone in your inner 5.

So you’ve done the maths, and you can afford the house. But have you thought about what it will cost to actually live there?

Let’s talk about the things nobody quite explains. The legal fees, the service charge, the school runs, and those curtains. Surely, why are curtains so expensive?

Come along as we unpack what it really costs to buy a home and make a life in it.

Did everyone else get a manual, or are we all quietly making this up as we go?

Welcome to The Business of Living. I’m Angela, and we’re starting with an introduction: a little about me, why I’m opening up these conversations, and what you can expect as we talk about money, work, family, relationships, and making a home.

There’s plenty we’re expected to know and surprisingly little room to say, “I’m still figuring this out.” Let’s make some room.

Pull up a chair. You don’t need to have it all together to join the conversation.