Work and Wellness

This one is personal. It has just ticked over a year since my dad, Phil — big Phil — suddenly passed away. And over that time, through my own experience and in talking to so many people who have been through grief and loss, I've come to realise that there are some things nobody really talks about openly enough.

In this episode, I share my unfiltered thoughts from the last year — the things that helped, the things that hurt, and the unexpected gifts that grief brought with it. Because grief is not just something you get through. It changes you. It shifts your perspective in ways that are impossible to fully explain until you've felt it yourself.

This episode is for anyone who is grieving right now, and for anyone who loves someone who is, because at some point, we will all need to know how to sit beside someone in the mud.

Key Topics
How grief changes you as a person in ways that are permanent and profound
Why acknowledgement is the most powerful thing you can offer someone who is grieving
The heartwarming and heartbreaking reality of how people show up — and don't
Why grief is not linear and why the world moving on doesn't mean you have to
The unexpected gifts grief brings — clarity, perspective and freedom from other people's opinions
Why going back to work too early is something Angela wishes she hadn't done
The stone in your pocket — Angela's analogy for what grief really feels like over time

Connect with Angela
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mind.your.grit/
Website: https://www.mindyourgrit.com/

Keywords: grief, loss, wellbeing, mental health, perspective, resilience, support, death, healing, mindfulness

What if everything you've been taught about resilience is actually making you less of it?

In this episode I sit down with Jay Abbasi — global keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, former Tesla leader and host of the Unstuck podcast — to completely reframe how we think about pressure, resilience and what it actually means to thrive. Because the version of resilience most of us have been sold about keep going, push through, don't show weakness, is not resilience at all.

Jay brings a rare combination of high-pressure corporate experience and deep expertise in mindfulness and neuroscience, and he is one of the most genuinely thoughtful guests we have had on this show. We get into his formula for real resilience, why people pleasing is actually a selfish act, the difference between being a superhero and a captain of the ship, and the story of what happened when his long-awaited TEDx talk couldn't be published and how he responded. This one is rich, practical and full of reframes that will stay with you.

Key Topics
Why the traditional definition of resilience is nonsense and what it actually requires
Jay's formula: energy plus space plus choice equals resilience
The difference between being a superhero leader and being the captain of the ship
Why people pleasing is not selfless — it is self-serving
The Victor Frankl quote that changed how Jay thinks about pressure and presence
Why curiosity and effective communication will be the most critical leadership skills in the AI era
What Jay's TEDx talk story taught him about bouncing back from unexpected adversity
Why trusting your intuition requires stillness and how to cultivate it

About Jay
Jay Abbasi is a global keynote speaker, TEDx speaker, coach and host of the top-rated podcast Unstuck with Jay Abbasi. A former Tesla leader who built and led national training programs for over a thousand employees, Jay has since coached leaders at Google, Amazon, TikTok and Wells Fargo. Blending corporate experience with deep expertise in mindfulness, resilience and wellbeing, Jay's message is that success isn't about avoiding challenges — it's about mastering them with clarity, energy and purpose. He has been featured in Forbes, Authority Magazine and Medium, and is based in New Jersey.

Connect with Jay
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayabbasi
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jayabbasi_
Website: https://jayabbasi.me/
Podcast: Unstuck with Jay Abbasi — available on YouTube and all podcast platforms

Keywords
resilience, leadership, high performance, burnout, pressure, mindfulness, self-awareness, curiosity, communication, intuition

What if the most important investment you could make in your health, your performance and your wellbeing isn't a supplement, a morning routine or a productivity system, it's your relationships?

In this episode I sit down with Megan Gourlay, founder of Love With Me, a boutique matchmaking service built on the belief that meaningful relationships have the power to change lives. Megan spent 25 years in the corporate world before pivoting to help people find genuine connection and her insights go far beyond romantic love.

We talk about what people are really searching for beneath the desire for a partner, why loneliness is one of the most invisible and underestimated health risks of our time, what green flags actually look like in any relationship, and why high achievers are often the worst at prioritising the very thing that makes them better at everything else.

Whether you are single, partnered, or somewhere in between — this episode will make you think differently about how you show up in all of your relationships.

Key Topics
What people are truly searching for beneath the desire for a partner and why it matters for all relationships
The green flags that tell you a relationship has genuine foundations to last
Why loneliness is one of the most invisible health risks and what Monday morning conversations reveal about it
How high achievers unconsciously fill the void of connection through their work
What the research on loneliness says and why it is as damaging as smoking 15 cigarettes a day
The habits Megan sees consistently in couples who go the distance
Why waiting until you are ready is keeping more people on the sidelines than they realise

About Megan
Megan Gourlay is the founder of Love With Me, a boutique matchmaking service built on the belief that meaningful relationships have the power to change lives. After 25 years in the corporate world, Megan studied relationship counselling and created a highly personalised matchmaking approach that goes beyond dating apps and algorithms — taking the time to deeply understand each client's values, lifestyle and relationship goals. Having spent seven years single herself before meeting her husband in her late 30s, Megan brings both professional expertise and personal understanding to her work.

Connect with Megan
Website: https://www.lovewithme.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lovewithme_dating/

Keywords
relationships, loneliness, connection, wellbeing, matchmaking, belonging, high performance, love, mental health, self awareness

You asked. I answered. No prep, no filter.

In this episode, I opened up my Instagram question box and answered everything that came in completely off the cuff. Personal questions, career questions, business questions and everything in between. You'll get an honest look at self-doubt, why I closed Grip Pilates, what I've changed my mind about, the biggest misconception people have about me, and the one thing I have completely stopped caring about since turning 40.

This one is a little different from our usual episodes — it's raw, personal and probably the most you'll hear about me in one sitting. I hope you enjoy it.

Key Topics
How I deal with self-doubt and why doing hard things is the antidote
What I'm still working on and why giving myself permission to stop is harder than it sounds
How I knew it was time to close Grip Pilates and what I gained from letting it go
The biggest misconception people have about me that used to really annoy me
What I'm saying yes to more and what I'm firmly saying no to
How I found my personal style and the three-word framework I use to shop intentionally
What I love most about Liam and why he is genuinely the best decision I ever made

Keywords: self awareness, personal growth, burnout, business, career change, identity, style, relationships, mindset, behind the scenes

We talk a lot about working parents. We talk far less about the people who have chosen not to be one.

In this episode, I sit down with my dear friend Candice Harvey — speaker, workshop facilitator, former HR leader, author and founder — to have a conversation that is long overdue. What is it actually like to be child-free by choice in the workplace, in friendships and in life? And what are the hidden challenges that nobody thinks to ask about?

This is not a conversation about which path is better. Both are valid and both come with trade-offs. It is an honest, warm and at times very funny conversation about identity, purpose, belonging, burnout, boundaries and what it means to build a rich life on your own terms, whatever that looks like for you.

Whether you have children or you don't, this one will make you think differently about the assumptions we make and the questions we forget to ask.

Key Topics
What people most misunderstand about women who choose not to have children
Why burnout does not check your parenting status before it finds you
The hidden wellbeing challenges of being child-free that nobody talks about
Why leaving work early for yourself can feel less legitimate than leaving for a child and what to do about it
How child-free people find purpose and legacy outside of parenthood
The most unhinged things people have said when told someone doesn't want kids
The real trade-offs on both sides and what you gain and what you consciously give up

About Candice
Candice Harvey is a speaker, workshop facilitator and business owner with 15 years of experience in HR. She now helps people manage themselves — shaking up their thinking so they can behave differently and get different results. She is also the author of her debut book, The Shake Up.

Show Notes
Connect with Candice on ⁠Instagram⁠
Buy her book ⁠The Shake Up:  This isn't another self-help book. This is a shake-up⁠
Learn more about Candice's ⁠work and workshops.⁠ 

Keywords: child-free, women at work, identity, purpose, burnout, wellbeing, boundaries, belonging, life choices, workplace culture