Your Time With James Sweetman

This week, in Part 1 of my annual book review, I'm sharing some of the non-fiction books I've enjoyed reading this year. It's an eclectic mix, from personal development, spirituality and leadership books, to fascinating biographies, gripping true-life stories and laugh-out-loud humour. Featuring authors including Brené Brown, Stephen King, Bear Grylls, Patrick Radden Keefe and David Sedaris, there's hopefully something here to inspire your next read. 

We often associate personal growth with doing more, trying harder and becoming better versions of ourselves. But what if genuine growth eventually asks something different of us? This week, I explore the 4 stages  of self-leadership, from feeling powerless, to taking responsibility, to living with greater intention and ultimately becoming more comfortable with who we already are.

A chance encounter with a distressed stranger on a street in Dublin got me thinking about the nature of compassion. In this week’s episode, I share what happened and explore how we can remain compassionate without being naïve, balance kindness with healthy boundaries and care for others without carrying their struggles. As I learned, compassion isn't about seeing the best in everyone, but remembering that we never see the whole of anyone.

The key to performing well at a job interview is preparation, but is it possible to over-prepare? For almost 25 years I’ve helped experienced professionals prepare for important interviews. In this episode, I explore how to move from trying to perform at an interview to being present, and why an interview isn’t an exam with correct answers. I look at the subtle but powerful shift from trying to prove you’re good enough, to helping the interviewers understand what you would bring to the role. I also share what quality preparation looks like and how, when done well, it can enhance your confidence rather than erode it.

What happens when people find themselves in leadership roles, but the culture they’ve worked in has never allowed them to develop as leaders? This week I look at how command and control environments can unintentionally create a leadership skills gap and why asking people to take more ownership and be more proactive is rarely as simple as it sounds.

Two weeks ago, I had the privilege of attending the 'Up Close with Oprah Winfrey' event in Dublin. Like many people, I've admired Oprah for many years and being in the room was a special experience.

Have you ever found yourself asking the question - where did the joy go? This week I look at why we can lose our connection with the things we love. How a passion can become a pressure, how a talent creates an expectation, and how something that once energised us, can now drain us. 

To launch a new series of episodes, I’m joined by Carole Kelly, Rapid Transformational Therapy (RTT) practitioner and coach, for a conversation about change and the beliefs that shape how we live our lives.

Carole shares her own journey from a highly stressful work environment to starting her own business. We chat about what that transition taught her and what it takes to step away from what’s no longer working. We also discuss RTT, why it resonated with her, and how moving beyond old stories allows us to create a more authentic relationship with ourselves.

Have you ever felt like you’re behind? Behind where you thought you’d be, behind your peers, behind the version of yourself you imagined you would become.

This week, I explore a pressure many of us carry, the pressure to ‘catch up,’ something that sits at the intersection of comparison, expectations and our relationship with time.

I share a simple ritual to help us shift from ‘catch-up’ mode, which is all about correction, to what I call ‘re-entry’ mode, which is about connection - with others, and most importantly, with ourselves.

As ever, this is a thought-provoking episode that invites you to consider your relationship with time, the stories you tell yourself and the freedom that can be found when we realise that we don’t catch up with life, we meet it.

When does self-improvement actually stop improving us? This week, I reflect on the shift that can happen when ‘living our best lives’ begins to feel like an obligation rather than an invitation. I explore how self-improvement begins with the assumption that something needs fixing and contrast it with self-understanding and self-acceptance.