Take It Or Lead It

Jenny and I have been working in the same corporation for more than 20 years, and we're both engineers on paper... but we currently have very different roles and have had quite dissimilar career paths. It's fascinating to see how people with similar academic backgrounds can have so different career trajectories and yet have akin ending points in terms of values and preferences, in our case, the common desire to help individuals grow and team collaborate effectively. In this vibrant episode, Jenny and I talk about different dimensions of career management, leadership, and coaching, but not without taking interesting tangents and sharing meaningful stories.

Join us in this episode as we chat with Timea, a "location-independent entrepreneur" currently on a sabbatical and a dedicated Muay Thai fighter. Timea constantly strives to improve her circumstances and herself, following her heart with a blend of discipline and business savvy. In our conversation, Timea shares captivating stories from her life journey, including her adventures traveling the world, her success in digital marketing, mastering Muay Thai, and even participating in the Hungarian edition of "The Apprentice." Discover more about Timea's retreats in Thailand here: ⁠https://www.timeapintye.com/retreats.

Meet Marwa, a remarkable HR Leader whose journey through both her career and life has been anything but conventional. Marwa proudly labels herself as a "fierce risk-taker," and her life story undoubtedly reflects this bold spirit. From bravely leaving home as a teenager to pursue her aspirations—a decision considered unconventional in her society—Marwa has navigated through various industries as an employee, a leader, and an entrepreneur. In our engaging conversation, we explore themes ranging from spiritual transformation to the challenges and joys of parenthood, culminating in insights into the role of HR professionals in shaping and strengthening leaders and organizations. Listen till the end, there is a powerful story in the closing minutes!

"I'd love to deliver a Yoga session for your community", said Vera the first time we met during a storytelling event at InSpiral, the community I founded in Budapest in 2016. I said "Yes, why not?", and she did. At that time, I ignored that she had studied acting... I found that out a few months later through some of her social media posts in which she was terrific! More recently, she was part of the production crew of a mini-series on Netflix called "All the light we cannot see". I'm sure you'll find our conversation as interesting and cheerful as I did while we recorded it!

Derrick is a colleague and a very authentic example of someone who learned to "lead it" and make vulnerability a strength. We already recorded episode 23 together... at that time we talked about the importance of prioritizing habits of self-care and "cleaning up your backyard" first. In this episode, we are conversing about being intentional in the realms of taking a break, being grateful, and celebrating. Listen in!

Take It Or Lead It is back! This is gonna be an educational and eye-opening episode for everyone, I promise. Sue Mason is an inspiring woman and a principal of a consultancy firm who helps companies and leaders grow their awareness around DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion). More specifically, she supports them in their journey to "operationalize their commitment to fair chance opportunity". Sue has a number of tough stories to share, starting from her own. Like others, MILLIONS of other people in the US with a conviction history, she has been told "no" many times, whether it's a job opportunity, or renting a house, for mistakes she made when she was young and came from adverse life circumstances, now almost two decades ago. In a pivotal moment in 2015, enough was enough, and Sue decided she would dedicate her life to changing the status quo, for leaders, regulators, and corporations. If you want to connect with Sue, here's how: -Email: [email protected] -Website: https://susanmasonconsulting.com/ Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals and do not represent any company's views, position, or opinions.

Derrick is a colleague and a very authentic example of someone who learned to "lead it" and make vulnerability a strength. In this episode, Derrick will share how a number of "life storms" and the ensuing growth helped him strengthen his ability to cope with life challenges through his own recipe: a blend of analytical skills, faith, self-care, morning habits, and asking for help when in need. I love that Derrick stepped up in recent years to share his stories and what he learned about resilience with the sole purpose of contributing to other people's lives. This is another very inspiring conversation I had the pleasure to host... looking forward to having Derrick again on the podcast to go deeper on some of the things we touched upon in this episode!

Episode recorded in Atlanta, Georgia, United States!  Meet Jenny Williams, HR by profession, mother, spiritual enthusiast, and much much more. In this episode, Jenny shares how she made significant changes in her life through a ‘layered’ approach. As our conversation flows and takes some tangents, we talk about spiritual life, being intentional on social media, transformational leadership, and the importance of having clarity of purpose. In the end, she also asks me a few (difficult!) questions, which I wasn’t really ready for. Loved recording this episode, and enjoyed it even more listening to it! Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals and do not represent any company's views, position, or opinions.

"I've been where you are" - said Liam's Guardian Angel - and that made all the difference in the world. As Liam says, "He managed to give me just enough hope". Liam had it all planned: it was meant to happen on July 2nd, 2017, one day after he was supposed to get married. But after he broke up with his fiancé, it wasn't a marriage he was planning. In the first part of this episode, Liam and I have a very vulnerable yet inspiring conversation about how he came back from the brink.  We then talk about the importance of surrounding ourselves with inspiring people who encourage us and say "YES" to our dreams and goals. Finally, Liam shares how he created, almost unintentionally, a supportive community called Stay Sane Social Club Budapest, a safe "bubble" (quoting Liam) for people to have a great time together and detach, even for a few hours, from their worries and challenges.  I loved recording this with Liam, his story is unique and I'm sure it will bring hope to your hearts as well. Enjoy it!

"At 17, with no business know-how, I opened a confectionary store to be able to afford higher education. Each day, I would go to an exchange point and buy 1$ toward my college fund”. I already knew that my guest and dear friend Dursun had an inspiring story, but this is a piece of her story that I discovered on air, as we recorded this podcast. In this episode, Dursun shares how she fulfilled her childhood dream of going to university in spite of unfavorable circumstances... and went far beyond that. Dursun also describes her current dreams and goals, and then we almost swap roles as she starts asking me questions. We end up discussing how story-telling and story-listening can open our minds to accept new perspectives, and our hearts to become more compassionate.