Kat speaks with Sonja Liwani-Ansari, mother of triplets and Commercial, Rights and Business Affairs Manager at the BBC. She and Kat discuss juggling motherhood and work. Before joining the BBC, where she found an understanding and supportive environment, she was bullied in the workplace for being a mother. Sonja shares what this situation taught her and how it and other experiences shaped her life and what she is planning to do in the future.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

BEST MOMENTS

"In my previous job, I was actually bullied for having children and having to leave earlier to pick them up and not because I was working less - I was switching on the laptop when I got home."

'I didn't want her to win at pushing me out of the organisation, which is why I stayed. I may have won in one way, but I lost in another way – it scarred me."

"I do think it's important when people do things to us to try to understand why did they behave like that? Because it's often much more complex than the actual act."

"Wouldn't it be so great if men and women could be allies and help each other with everything, and it would make everything so much easier."

ABOUT THE GUEST

Sonia is BBC Commercial Rights and Business Affairs Manager and mother of 17 year old triplets, working full time while being the main carer. My drive to keep everyone happy and my desire for perfection was wearing me down. I was very unhappy and needed to make a change without letting it impact my children.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sonja-liwani-ansari-4a574817

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katthorne

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_morning_gamechanger

Sponsor : VennCard, the last business card you’ll ever need. Whether you’re a creator, coach, or consultant, VennCard helps you share your details with a tap, capture leads instantly and follow up automatically.

Kat speaks with Ben from Thrive in Farming during the middle of

KEY TAKEAWAYS

·      Having lost farming friends to suicide, Ben understands why the

·      Ben’s two burnouts revealed the cost of neglecting habits. Both of

·      People have time but the wrong priorities, having extra sleep

·      After 15 years of poor nutrition, Ben’s homemade heated lunches have

·      Age has brought perspective that lets Ben focus on helping people

BEST MOMENTS

"Everything is available to us if we make these small changes. I think one thing I've learned about human beings is we are really good at deflection."

You know you have time, it's just you haven't got your priorities right."

"Just be a sponge. Just take info in it. There's, it's all around you all the time. Filter out the bullshit."

ABOUT THE GUEST

 I'm Ben, the founder of Thrive In Farming, a business helping farm owners attract and retain great people by focusing on core values – culture, wellbeing, and flexibility.

https://www.instagram.com/thriveinfarming/?hl=en-gb

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katthorne/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_morning_gamechanger/

Sponsor : VennCard, the last business card you’ll ever need. Whether you’re a creator, coach, or consultant, VennCard helps you share your details with a tap, capture leads instantly, and follow up automatically.

In this episode, Kat speaks about what she has learnt and noticed from delivering her talks to teams and from her own experiences of the power of habits. She shares how many of us get lost in life and don’t prioritise ourselves, and how easy it is to not recognise the bad habits we have been creating. Kat talks about the power and influence habits have on shaping our entire life and shares an exercise she delivers in her talks to get you thinking about what things you can change in your life to start living better.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Kat’s toxic and negative habits that led to complete burnout in 2016 were the result of not prioritising herself.

• One of the biggest things Kat has come to realise when delivering talks is how easy it is to sleepwalk into bad habits and how transformative recognising the power of habits, both positive and negative, can be.

• Even if people think life is generally good, just taking 10 minutes for yourself can make such a difference in your life.

• Think about some of the things you are doing in your daily life that you know are affecting you, whether that’s your mood, energy, relationships or anything else.

• What are the things that make you feel good and give you energy, these can be things that you do now or things you have done in the past.

• What habits could you commit to doing, and what impact could these habits make on your life?

BEST MOMENTS

“I love having just 10 minutes with my microphone to talk about things that I am passionate about”

“It’s really easy for us to get lost in life”

“What are the things that give you energy, what are the things that make you feel amazing?”

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katthorne/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_morning_gamechanger/

Sponsor : VennCard, the last business card you’ll ever need. Whether you’re a creator, coach, or consultant, VennCard helps you share your details with a tap, capture leads instantly, and follow up automatically.

In this powerful episode, Kat is joined by entrepreneur Rasha Shammout to explore the skills schools often overlook — like emotional resilience, daily habits, and independence. Together, they dive into the habits that matter most at home and in life, from screen-free family meals to teaching children how to manage change with confidence.

Rasha shares her journey from the corporate world to the classroom, highlighting what she believes every child should be learning. Whether you're a parent, educator, or just passionate about the future of education, this episode will leave you inspired to take small actions that make a big difference.

🔑 Key Takeaways:

Schools prioritise grades over real-world skills like organisation, independence, and accountability.

Daily habits like making the bed or prepping breakfast help kids build confidence and life readiness.

Teaching children to embrace change builds long-term resilience.

Phone-free family time strengthens mental health and connection.

Kids mirror their parents — modelling good habits is essential.

Every child is unique — even twins — and needs an individualised approach.

✨ Best Moments:

“Kids are struggling with change because they’ve never been taught how to manage uncertainty.”

ABOUT THE GUEST

Rasha Shammout is an entrepreneur and the visionary Founder and CEO of EduGlobal Management, a firm specialising in education reform, strategic consulting, and financial services. She is known for empowering communities through innovative school improvement models, high-impact proposals, and dynamic leadership across regional and global platforms.

LinkedIn

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katthorne/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_morning_gamechanger/

Sponsor : VennCard, the last business card you’ll ever need. Whether you’re a creator, coach, or consultant, VennCard helps you share your details with a tap, capture leads instantly, and follow up automatically.

Kat talks with Karen, who went from accidentally building a global creative agency to nearly killing herself saving it. Karen shares how this led to adrenal fatigue so severe that she developed pre-diabetes, and what she had to change in her life to survive. Karen shares why the 'have it all' mentality is toxic, her glass balls vs rubber balls theory for managing life and how she's rewiring her perfectionist brain.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Working in the events industry, which ranks alongside firefighters in the top 5 most stressful jobs, Karen admits Type A personalities like herself can’t help themselves and will fight through everything until they crash.

• Life feels like living with a thousand tabs open in her brain. Unlike her business partner, who compartmentalises perfectly, Karen is constantly juggling work emails, school WhatsApp groups, and the mental load of motherhood, making it impossible to truly switch off.

• As someone in a position of power, Karen refuses to perpetuate the lie that women can have everything simultaneously without paying a price.

• Karen has abandoned all or nothing exercise training for 10-minute walks and weekly tennis lessons, admitting triathlons now 'sound horrible' compared to 15 years ago when they felt fun.

• Dr. Mark Hyman's research changed her perspective completely, learning that sedentary lifestyles are more dangerous than smoking transformed how she views getting up every hour for squats or water as essential survival, not productivity breaks.

BEST MOMENTS

"I fought like hell, not just for my life, but for everybody who works for us, for all of our clients and every supplier that counts on us for business."

"We can have it all, guess what? It's gonna come at a price. It's really unrealistic to think you can have it all, or at least all together all the time."

"A sedentary lifestyle is more dangerous than smoking to your health. We grew up seeing cigarette packs with shrivelled lungs, but now it's the lack of movement that will kill you."

ABOUT THE GUEST

Karen is the Co-Founding Partner of Brands at Work, the award-winning creative communications and events agency that unleashes the power of experience to build trust and loyalty between brands and the people who matter most.
Her passion lies in helping companies become better storytellers — building vibrant brand communities from the inside out.

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/katthorne/

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/the_morning_gamechanger/

Sponsor : VennCard, the last business card you’ll ever need. Whether you’re a creator, coach, or consultant, VennCard helps you share your details with a tap, capture leads instantly, and follow up automatically.

In this short solo episode, Kat shares the powerful story of Steve – a guy who felt tired and overwhelmed, until he committed to just one small habit: a 10-minute walk each morning. What followed surprised even him – increased energy, sharper focus, and a ripple effect that inspired his entire family.

Kat also shares real examples from others who’ve completed her 21-day habit challenge and dives into why small changes are often the most powerful. If you’re feeling stretched or stuck, this episode will show you how just 10 minutes a day can shift everything – mentally, physically, and even professionally.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

BEST MOMENTS:

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

LinkedIn⁠

⁠Instagram

Sponsor : VennCard, the last business card you’ll ever need. Whether you’re a creator, coach, or consultant, VennCard helps you share your details with a tap, capture leads instantly, and follow up automatically.

Former Royal Marine and police officer Simon doesn’t hold back as he shares his unapologetic take on parenting, discipline, fitness—and why your morning routine might be holding you back.

The discussion covers his recent observations on the physical state of men, his opinions on vaping and his approach to raising his 11-year-old son Charlie. Simon and Kat discuss discipline versus motivation, screen time, parenting approaches and what Simon sees as society's increasing softness.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Morning routines can become counterproductive and Simon argues that obsessive morning routines harm more than help when people focus more on the routine than actual productive work during the day.

• Exercise can easily be integrated into daily life, Simon demonstrates fitting training into everyday activities like doing dips while cooking or pull ups during screen breaks, making fitness accessible without gym memberships.

• After 47 years of training, Simon feels motivated only 50% of the time, but still trains daily by making it non-negotiable and asking "when will I train" not "will I train." Discipline matters more than motivation.

• Children shouldn't be pacified with screens, Simon never gives his son screens at restaurants or when crying, instead engaging him in conversation and teaching him to interact with adults and handle boredom.

• Simon judges people's ability to protect and help others based on basic physical tasks, viewing fitness as functional rather than aesthetic.

• Self-esteem comes from achieving goals, confidence is built through "an undeniable stack of evidence that you are who you say you are" rather than positive affirmations.

• Modern society promotes instant gratification. From Amazon Prime to dating apps, Simon sees society losing the ability to wait, creating what he calls "the Amazon Prime Society" where everything must be immediate!

• Simon views vaping as "an adult dummy" that shows lack of self-control, comparing the constant use to pacification rather than the occasional nature of traditional smoking.

BEST MOMENTS

"If Instagram disappeared tonight, I'd be in my garden tomorrow morning training. Nothing changes for me."

"A man should do what he says he's gonna do. That to me is the mark of a man."

"Self-esteem isn't chanting mantras in the mirror in the morning. It's building an undeniable stack of evidence that you are who you say you are."

ABOUT THE GUEST

Simon Martin. Father first, always. Follow on instagram Old_School_Strength_Coach

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

LinkedIn

Instagram

Sponsor : VennCard, the last business card you’ll ever need. Whether you’re a creator, coach, or consultant, VennCard helps you share your details with a tap, capture leads instantly, and follow up automatically.

That’s how Phil Carr describes the surreal moment after selling his multimillion-pound business.

Kat is joined by serial entrepreneur Phil for a conversation about the real cost of building successful businesses. Phil talks about founding MyPT Hub in his grandmother's spare bedroom and how he sold it for millions. This isn't a typical success story; it's a brutally honest account of how stress manifested into ulcerative colitis, the moment everything changed when he sold his company and the life changing habits he then built his life around. Kat and Phil also discuss why work/life balance is a myth, the simple power of being present and the importance of vulnerability in leadership.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Work/life balance is a myth for entrepreneurs. Having built multiple businesses since 2013, Phil explains that success requires periods where work is heavily skewed, but staying conscious of when you're doing too much is also crucial.

• Chronic stress manifested as ulcerative colitis for Phil. During the most demanding period of building MyPT Hub, his autoimmune disease developed, then disappeared within 48 hours of selling the business, proving the mind and body connection.

• Small changes create compounding effects, rather than overhauling everything at once, Phil’s approach focuses on changing one habit at a time, which he learned creates sustainable changed through compounding.

• Being present requires conscious practice, Phil admits it can feel difficult and strange to begin with, but it makes a huge difference.

• Vulnerability strengthens leadership, leading his team of friends and family through openness about struggles and failures has created deeper connections and better business performance without ego or status getting in the way.

• Most people don't care about your failures and we overestimate others' judgment of our setbacks.

• Phil found that removing his phone from the bedroom and reading before sleeping for seven hours improved his anxiety levels and helped his digestive health, changing everything about his life.

BEST MOMENTS

"I was walking on a tight rope, but I never realised it was only six inches off the ground”

"I think that people naturally gravitate towards wanting to help people."

"Are you lying to yourself? Because you can't deceive yourself. You will know in your heart of hearts if you are doing something you genuinely believe in."

"It feels alien at first... but being present with your children is so fundamentally important."

ABOUT THE GUEST

Phil Carr, CEO of VennCard

Get your free personalised card

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

LinkedIn⁠

⁠Instagram

The episode is brought to you by VennCard, the last business card you’ll ever need. Whether you’re a creator, coach, or consultant, VennCard helps you share your details with a tap, capture leads instantly, and follow up automatically.

Fitness expert Michael Newman joins Kat to shatter one of the biggest myths in health: that you can out train a bad diet. He reveals why 80% of your results come from what you eat, tackles the toxic "cheat day" mentality and gives advice on how to navigate family resistance when changing habits.

Discover why your morning routine could be the secret weapon you've been missing and learn how to make sustainable changes without turning your entire life upside down, Michael's honest approach will challenge everything you think you know about getting healthy!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• You can't out-train a bad diet, food accounts for roughly 80% of your results, making nutrition far more impactful than exercise alone for health and fitness.

• Ditch the "cheat day" mentality. This toxic language creates guilt and shame around food, leading to unhealthy relationships. All foods can be enjoyed in moderation!

• Most people have no idea how many calories they consume daily. A 3-5 day food diary will reveal truths about eating habits.

• Getting up just 30 minutes before your family gives you quiet time for exercise, meditation, or planning, setting a positive tone for the day.

• Make tiny changes, not complete overhauls. Shrink the change to increase success, for example Mike suggests reducing takeaways from 3 to 2 times per week rather than eliminating them entirely.

• Simple meal prep strategies work best. Make enough dinner for lunch the next day, or dedicate time on weekends to prepare a few meals ahead.

• Most people find time for Netflix and phone scrolling but claim they're too busy for health. Challenge this limiting belief.

• Get everyone on board gradually by involving kids in cooking and making sustainable changes that work for the whole household. Family resistance is normal but manageable.

BEST MOMENTS

"You could eat that donut 200, 300 calories in seconds. You've gotta train hard in the gym to sort of burn that equivalent."

"You're not cheating on your diet if you have some pizza. You are not cheating on your diet if you happen to want to have a few beers."

"My girlfriend would probably agree with this as well. I'm a different person if I've had a gym workout that morning."

"Everything we are doing every single day is a choice. It's just whether it's an unconscious or a conscious choice."

"They would never let their kids down, but they let themselves down all the time by saying they're gonna go to the gym."

ABOUT THE GUEST

Michael Newman , Health & Performance Coach for Executive men & business owners

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself.

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/katthorne/

In this solo episode, Kat tackles one of the main habits that contributed to her losing everything in 2016 and how she’s managed to conquer it: the snooze button.

If you’re someone who hits snooze on repeat, feeling groggy, guilty, and behind before the day even begins—this episode is for you. Kat shares why snoozing isn’t just a minor morning habit but a mindset killer that impacts your sleep, energy, and goals. She shares her simple, powerful tips to help you finally break free from the snooze cycle.

Key Takeaways:

• Start with self-compassion. Snoozing isn’t your fault—it’s a setting in pretty much every alarm device.

• Snoozing sabotages your sleep. If you’re struggling with tiredness or disrupted sleep, the snooze button may be making it worse.

• Broken promises add up. Every time you snooze and skip what you planned to do, you’re reinforcing the idea that you and your goals don’t matter.

• Change your environment. Move your alarm away from your bed so you have to physically get up to turn it off.

• Reframe your morning thoughts. Replace “just 10 more minutes” with a reminder of what you chose to wake up for.

BEST MOMENTS

"I used to snooze my alarm every single morning, 4-6 times.”

“You trick yourself thinking you’re going to get this lovely extra sleep”

“You’re telling your subconscious that the thing you committed to isn’t important enough now”

This episode has been brought to you by VennCard, the last business card you’ll ever need. Whether you’re a creator, coach, or consultant, VennCard helps you share your details with a tap, capture leads instantly, and follow up automatically.

ABOUT THE HOST

Kat started her career as a teacher, before moving into Tech where she worked in different executive roles within teaching and consulting working across the globe, both in the public and private sector. Despite appearing 'successful' on the outside, she paid a heavy ‘life’ price. In 2016, her whole world collapsed. The reason? The compound effect of years of unhealthy and toxic habits that destroyed her health, relationship and career. She suffered a severe breakdown and lost everything. In the middle of this she got headhunted for her first CEO role. She rebuilt herself by changing just one small habit, and built a series of positive habits which has transformed her professional and personal performance, resulting in becoming the healthiest and happiest version of herself. 

She is a positive habits international keynote speaker and teacher, giving talks and delivering high impact programmes to organisations across the globe. 

LinkedIn

Instagram