The Be Glad Movement from Pollyanna

27. International Refugee Day 2020 - Gulwali Passarlay

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 23:00:09 GMT

On Saturday 20th June, this weekend, it will be world refugee day. In these unprecedented times of Covid 19 I think we are all feeling varying degrees of seperation from our loved ones but nothing quite compares to the type of story I’m so grateful to be able to share with you today. At 12 years old, Gulwallai mother told him and his brother to leave home for Europe and never return to war torn Afghanistan. As a mother I cant even begin to imagine what that must have been like for her. Let’s listen to Gulwallais story.

#safepassage #refugees #refugee #children #afghanistan #worldrefugeeday #worldrefugeeday2020 #thelightlesssky #weareallhuman #kindness #humanity

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26. Jason Rawles - Living the High life but Feeling Really Low.

Tue, 09 Jun 2020 23:00:34 GMT

How could I not interview Jason Rawles, on the ‘About ’ page of Jasons website the very first line reads ‘The book of Jason is a story of personal accountability and extracting goodness from the bad.’ Everything the BeGlad Movement stands for.

This is a story of a man who had various struggles throughout his life but through grit and determination managed to make a success of himself in the IT sales world. He was a high flier, literally flying around the world and earning hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Unfortunately all this extra cash did not buy Jason happiness, something was not in alignment. He’d lost friends and wasn’t spending time with his family or having and adventures. He got so low he realised something had to give and it was time to take response-ability for his own happiness.

Watch the full interview to hear how Jason took himself off to ask himself some probing questions and take a good long look at what he had become and how that contrasted with who he really knew he wanted to be deep down.

Jason now leads guided hikes and expeditions as well as being a keynote speaker on the following topics

Personal accountability for success
Navigating leadership in business
What happens when your core values are conflicted
How adventure supports great leadership
Lessons learnt from life in leadership

www.jasonrawles.com

https://www.theadventurerclub.co.uk/

www.beglad.co.uk

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beglad in aid of the Samaritans

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24. Lucy Smith - Smashing Anxiety with my Morning Routine

Tue, 26 May 2020 23:00:28 GMT

With the rise in mental health awareness pretty much all of us are now familiar with the term anxiety but what’s it like to discover you have anxiety and how do you learn to cope with it on a daily basis. In this episode I talk to Lucy Smith who really went through the mill with her anxiety but now has the tools and a killer morning routine which makes her totally unstoppable, listen on to hear her story.

Panic attacks
Mental Health and wellbeing
Anxiety
Personal Development
Coping strategies
Morning routines

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23. Simon Harmer - The Medic Who Lost His Legs in Afghanistan

Tue, 19 May 2020 23:00:36 GMT

In this episode I talk to Simon Harmer Simon was a medic on patrol in Afghanistan when he stepped on an IED. He lost both of his legs. Despite his injuries Simon has gone on to do lots of charity work, fundraising and speaking events. He feels it is now his duty to serve in a different way and give back having been so fortunate to receive so much help while he was recovering.

In this episode we talk about

· Simons military career

· Being blown up in Afghanistan

· Positive mindset

· Casevac club

· Giving back

http://www.blown-away.org/

www.beglad.co.uk

#Casevacclub #SimonHarmer #blownaway #veteran #medic #casevac #medicallydischarged #amputee #limbloss #ied #militarylife #paramedic #woundedservicemen #lossoflimbs #speaker #motivationalspeaker #keynotespeaker #mentalhealth #strong #inspirational #pollyanna #beglad #gladgame #begladmovement #positivemindset #positivethinking #blesma

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22. Faye Kilgour - What right did I have to feel so bad?

Tue, 12 May 2020 23:00:16 GMT

In this episode I talk to Faye Kilgour. I think this interview is important for the times we find ourselves living through at the moment. This is a very open and honest account of a time when Faye suffered with her mental health and anxiety. At no point does Faye try to dress down her privileged position and I commend her for that because the message truly is, that it doesn’t matter how much the outside world thinks you do or don’t have, illness is illness. I know incredibly fit and strong people struck down with cancer, physical fitness does not ensure we are immune to physical ailments so why should money and the trappings of what many would consider a gifted life mean that person is immune to mental illness. I’m no angel and I’ll be the first to admit that in the past I’ve come out with statements like ‘What have they got to be worried about, etc’ but as time has passed and my own demons have come to challenge me the more I know that you just cannot judge others. We simply have no idea what they grew up with and how life has impacted them. Anyway without further ado lets hand over to Faye.

Personally I feel Faye was very selfless and brave to tell her story. I know there are many people out there who feel like they aren’t entitled to feel the way they to, especially from the military community, people from the military community with complex ptsd who actually were traumatise by life before the services, then found safety in the structure of the armed forces only to suffer again when they were back into civvy street thinking they aren’t allowed to feel bad because they never went to a war zone or got a leg blow off. Please don’t compare yourself to others, reach out for help and talk about how your are feeling. My favourites as always being the Samaritans, freephone from the UK on 116 123, that number again is 116 123.

In this episode we talk about:-

Loneliness

Anxiety

Mental Health

Comparing yourself to others

Healthy practices for mental fitness

Follow Faye on Instagram here @thewhatifcoach

#loneliness #anxiety #mentalhealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalillness #mentalfitness #authenticity #kindness #selflove #meditation #mindbodysoul #workingfromhome #startups #selfemployed #selfmotivation #pollyanna #gladgame #silverlinings #begladmovement #privilege

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21. Allan Kleynhans International Keynote speaker & High End Coach

Tue, 05 May 2020 23:00:22 GMT

In this episode recorded back in 2018 I talk to Allan Kleynhans the international speaker and high end performance coach. Allan really is a bit of a jet setting super star in my eyes, so full of positivity and energy but he wasn’t always that way, he trained himself to be that way, in fact, at one point in his life Allan suffered terribly with depression and post traumatic stress from the conflict in Angola which he had to take part in as part of his national service as a South African. Listen on to hear how Allan turned his life around and the book which got him started with that endeavour.

· Growing up in South Africa

· Conscription/National Service in the military

· The Angola conflict

· Napoleon Hill’s ‘Think and Grow Rich.’

· Personal Development

· International Speaker and Coach.

www.allanspeaks.com

@allankleynhans

www.beglad.co.uk

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20. Lauren Chiren, Educating businesses on the menopause.

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 23:00:40 GMT

Lauren was working in the international financial services sector working with teams around the world. She loved her job and the people she worked with.

However things started to go wrong. She wasn’t sleeping well so would turn up to work fatigued and struggle to remember what it was she was meant to be saying in meetings.

One day she was lucky that a colleague was there to catch her when she fainted. Her boss noticed that things were not quite as they should be and Lauren was able to work from home a little bit but she really did feel like she was losing the plot.

While on holiday with her son in Iceland Lauren slept well and had a lovely time, so much so that her son asked if they could come back when the snow had melted. The last night of their holiday Lauren found herself in floods of tears, she called the doctor.

Unbeknown to her Lauren had gone through the menopause.

As 50% of the population will experience the menopause at some time in their life Lauren decided that more awareness needed to be raised around the subject so that women could face this period of their life with dignity and not be penalised. Lauren now runs training workshops for men and women on what to expect. Lauren has even had men say to her after workshops ‘I think you just saved my marriage.’

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19 - Alice Bromage Empowering Success through leadership and resilience

Tue, 21 Apr 2020 23:00:42 GMT

In this episode recorded back in 2018, I talk to Alice Bromage who was in the army for over 20 years. Her career took her to some interesting places and had her working with all different cultures but in this episode specifically we talk about the effects of toxic leadership on a team and how one person’s abhorrent behaviour has the ability to undermine team moral. Follow the link in the bio to hear Alice’s story, what she endured and how her business now delivers comprehensive training to teams and leaders on the importance of resilience and good leadership techniques.

There are some really important points made by Alice. I was particularly interested in the work she did with the Special Forces after her experiences with the toxic commander and what a massive contrast she found with the culture, especially the exercise element. I know I’m guilty of having certain knowledge and not putting it to good use.

In this episode we talk about the impact of toxic leadership and how other people can drain your energy.

· Resilience

· Trauma from human contact

· Knowing verses doing

· The importance of exercise

· How the little things count

· Empathy

Find out more about Alice and what she does here https://www.empowering-success.co.uk/

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18 Lawrenzo Jacobs - From criminal to business wordsmith

Tue, 14 Apr 2020 23:00:26 GMT

In this episode I talk to Lawrenzo Jacobs who struggled after his parents divorce, with a rebellious streak as a teenager which led him to a life of crime. It was while serving his time he discovered the power of words and the affect positive affirmations could have on his mental health and actions. He did a lot of introspection and learned that he could channel his energy into more positive pursuits, listen on to hear how Lawrenzo turned things around and what he is up to now.

If you liked this podcast please do share rate and review. I’m looking for more guests so please do get in touch if you know anyone.

In this episode we talk about: -

· Divorced parents and moving with a military step father

· Incarceration – self study and self improvement

· Positive affirmations.

· The importance of words and their true meanings

· The so called free world – mental incarceration.

· Using positive thinking to overcome a broken neck.

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17. Carrie Creed - Dealing with Ehlers Danlos Syndrome then Placenta Previa to Increta

Tue, 07 Apr 2020 23:00:39 GMT

Carrie Creed was born in 1982 with the rare genetic condition called, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. The Ehlers Danlos Syndromes (EDS) are a group of heritable connective tissue disorders generally characterized by poor wound healing, hypermobile joints, and soft velvety skin. There are currently 13 distinctive types of EDS, the most common being Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) which is the type that has affected Carrie.

Carrie’s first surgery relating to EDS was in the spring of 1999 when she was suddenly unable to walk. Doctors shortened the ligament in Carrie’s right leg that had “stretched” out and by doing so, her leg realigned. Carrie went through months of physical therapy to regain strength in her leg and to be able to walk again without any assistive devices.

After Carrie’s freshman year of college, she noticed her leg bending similarly to how it bent in 1999 before her surgery. Within a week, she was unable to walk again. On September 12, 2002, Doctors performed a double rotational osteotomy on her femur, tibia, and fibula. Basically, the doctors completely sawed through her leg in multiple locations and then rotated the bones to realign her leg. They then inserted 12 extremal rods to hold her leg together. Even though the surgery initially went well, Carrie contracted a serious infection and also needed a second emergency surgery. She spent 73 days in the hospital while enduring painful physical therapy daily. Unfortunately, her leg wasn’t healing properly and there was no longer a benefit to staying in the hospital. Carrie was discharged a few days before Thanksgiving and spent six months in her family’s two bedroom apartment in a hospital bed that was setup in the living room. She had physical therapy 3x a day and was unable to get out of bed without the assistance of two people. A few weeks after Carrie turned 21 years old, the infection got worse and she was rushed back to the hospital to prepare for surgery and the possibility of losing her leg.

On May 29, 2003, the pins were removed and miraculously doctors were able to save Carrie’s leg even though the bones were only ~20% healed at the time. A custom made brace was made for Carrie to wear 24/7. After a few weeks of in-patient physical therapy, Carrie was moved to the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald where she and her mom lived for another five months. Carrie took a wheelchair van each morning to out-patient physical therapy and completed countless hours of full body intensive physical therapy each day to learn how to walk again. Throughout this time, she regained almost full mobility in her leg (a positive side-affect from EDS).

A year later, Carrie returned to college in September 2004 and she graduated with honors in May of 2007. Carrie continues to live in daily pain and has some physical limitations due to the realignment of her leg, but she is tremendously grateful to be able to live a fairly active lifestyle. She attributes her recovery to the positive mindset and focus both she and her Mother had while going through this arduous time and the determination of never giving up hope and pressing forward.

Carrie and her husband, Jamie learned in August of 2017 that they were expecting their second child. (Their son, Tristan was born on February 3, 2015.) Things were going well throughout her pregnancy, but during Carrie’s 20 week ultrasound, she found out she had Placenta Previa. Placenta Previa occurs when a baby's placenta partially or totally covers the mother's cervix — the outlet for the uterus. Placenta Previa can cause severe bleeding during pregnancy and delivery. On January 5, 2018 at 25 weeks pregnant, Carrie started severely bleeding. After being taken to the area hospital and then transferred to a hospital with a Level III NICU, she stayed there on bedrest for 65 days.

While on complete bedrest, Carrie’s condition worsened and her condition changed to Placenta Accreta and then Placenta Increta. Placenta Accreta is a serious pregnancy condition that occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the uterine wall and Placenta Increta is when the placenta invades the muscles of the uterus. Typically, the placenta detaches from the uterine wall after childbirth, but with Placenta Accrete and Placenta Increta, part or all of the placenta remains attached. This can cause severe blood loss after delivery, other life-long medical issues, and in some cases, death. Carrie was told that even though her unborn child was doing well and thriving in her uterus, that she would not be able to carry her baby for longer than 34 weeks since the risk to her own life would greatly increase.

While isolated in the hospital, Carrie decided to make the best of the situation and pulled strength and knowledge from her leg surgery to get her through the experience. She covered every inch of her very small hospital room with positive quotes, ultrasound photos, artwork from her son, cards from friends and family and anything that made her smile. She threw herself into her sales career and dominated her sales quota in just a few weeks. She set a very strict daily schedule to stay busy, focused, and calm.

The birth of Carrie’s daughter was scheduled for March 6, 2018 and even though most of the medical staff felt Carrie would end up delivering earlier, Carrie knew that if she stayed focused and continued with her positive mindset that she could reach her goal and that is exactly what she did. Carrie delivered a beautiful baby girl, Tenley Evelynn during a scheduled surgery on March 6, 2018. As planned, Carrie needed to have a hysterectomy during delivery since that was the only way to remove her placenta. She did receive a blood transfusion due to the amount of bleeding during surgery, but she was alive and so was her daughter. Tenley stayed in the NICU for 18 days and on March 24th, Carrie, Jamie, Tristan, and Tenley were all finally under one roof.

Once home, most people thought Carrie’s challenges were over and the difficulties were all in the past. However, that was furthest from the truth. Carrie had been through such a highly charged traumatic experience that she ended up suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. Carrie found herself extremely angry and full of anxiety about the entire experience and was easily triggered by seeing anything that reminded her of the trauma and fear of dying that she experienced for such an extended period of time. However, through weekly therapy sessions she started to heal. Carrie’s attributes her healing to a fairly new, nontraditional type of psychotherapy called Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Through this therapy, she was able to relive her trauma and reprocess it in order to heal. Tenley has recently turned two years old and Carrie not only feels like she is more than 90% healed from her trauma, but she is ready to share her story with the world. Carrie’s goal is to help others overcome life’s uninvited challenges and push on when there seems like there is no other option.

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16. Dr Dan Maggs - Being an overweight GP was embarassing, how I finally lost it

Tue, 31 Mar 2020 23:00:47 GMT

In this episode recorded back in 2018 I talk to Dr Dan Maggs, a GP who, for a very long time struggled with being overweight. It wasn’t until a chance encounter on a skiing trip where he witnessed a man dolloping butter into his coffee did he manage to get his weight under control, intrigued? Listen on to hear Dans Story.

Being an overweight GP
Hormones and Insulin
Food and Drink legislation
Dave Asprey bio life hacker.
Zoe Harkham.
Food and pharmaceutical industries.
Steve Bennett
Keto diet and Carb dodging

www.carbdodging.co.uk

https://www.youtube.com/drdanmaggs

www.beglad.co.uk

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15. Bohemian Bex - Rebecca Elizabeth Eager - Choosing happiness

Wed, 25 Mar 2020 00:00:22 GMT

In this vintage episode from 2018 I am joined by Rebecca Elizabeth Eager, or some of you may know her as BohemianBex. Bex story covers a lot of ground, growing up, both her parents lived with depression and as a teenager she herself suffered with anxiety and depression. Bex went on to fall in love and marry a Royal Marine. Hear what life was like while she was pregnant and he was deployed in Afghanistan as well as her coping strategies when worrying about her baby sons health while healing the hole in his heart. In this episode we talk about choosing happiness rather than expecting it to be a given and looking for even the smallest of things to be grateful for even when everything else seems so bleak around us. Which I’m sure you will agree, in light of the current Covid 19 virus pandemic is even more important than ever.

· Anxiety and depression

· Choosing what’s right for you

· Life as a military wife

· Quotes of positivity to boost you

· Reiki healing

· Son had a hole in the heart

· Husband had a heart condition

Becky mentioned the Mark Ormrod interview, if you haven’t listened to that already then please do as he really is an inspiring character.

@BohemianBex

https://www.bohemianbex.co.uk/

www.beglad.co.uk

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14. DieselDonlow - Entrepreneur and Actor

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 00:00:31 GMT

In this episode I am joined by Diesel Donlow the American actor and entrepreneur. Diesel reached out to me via the powers of Instagram and asked to be on the podcast which was a massive compliment for the Be Glad Movement. We talk about what it was like for him growing up in Youngstown Ohio in a single parent household, the work hard ethic that he absorbed and the importance of staying true to yourself and reaching for your dreams. We also talk a bit about the beginnings of the Be Glad Movement so stay tuned for that but without further ado I’ll hand over to Diesel to fill us in on his story.

Basketball, Acting, Entrepreneurship.
Taking control of your life.
Using every opportunity.
Being inspired by everyone around you
Wise words from Denzel Washington
The truth about gratitude.

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13. Mark Ormrod - Royal Marine, Triple Amputee, Invictus Games Hero

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 00:00:19 GMT

In this episode, from back in 2018, I talk to the phenomenal Mark Ormrod who was the first British triple amputee from the Afghan conflict. Despite his horrific injuries and actually being initially assessed dead while being casivaced in the back of a Chinook helicopter he did actually go on to receive ground breaking and ultimately life saving treatment that day. Mark is an amazingly dedicated and determined character who always gives every situation his all. Listen on to hear his amazing story.

Royal Marine
British triple amputee
Afghanistan war zone casivac
Ground breaking medical procedures
Author of Man Down.
Adaptive sports – Invictus Games
Brute force v's mindset of an athlete.
Kickstarter fundraising documentary film

www.markromrod.co.uk

www.beglad.co.uk

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12. Amanda Foster - Divorce and Debt

Fri, 06 Mar 2020 00:00:51 GMT

In this vintage episode of the Be Glad Movement I talk to Amanda Foster who’s husband up and left her in a whole lot of debt. Although it was a terribly dark time listen on to hear how Amanda is now able to credit this time for making some huge and happy changes in her life including finding love and moving to Salisbury. The sound is a bit tinny but it’s still a great story so listen on and be inspired, especially if like me you are due to turn 40 this year!

Divorce
Debt
Rebuilding your life
Moving cities
Finding love in a same sex relationship
life begins at 40

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11. Donna Price - From pregnant and unemployed to small business owner

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 00:00:03 GMT

Donna Price found herself pregnant and without a job. Her health deteriorated with the stress and anxiety until she took action and found the Prince's Trust. She now runs her own business and is a young ambassador for The Trust.

Uneployment
Anxiety
Titinnus
The Prince's Trust
Starting your own business and self employment.

www.beglad.co.uk

https://www.facebook.com/Originalpodcoffee/

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10. Michael Coates - Declassified Podcast host and Combat Pest Control founder

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 12:30:00 GMT

In this episode I talk to Michael Coates, one of the founders of an award winning business, Combat Pest Control and an award winning podcast, the Declassified podcast.

Michael and his friend Des set up Combat Pest Control as far more than any ordinary business. The values underpinning their work far exceed a simple desire to earn money. Listen on to find out how they are using their business model, underpinned by solid core value foundations, to benefit others, and especially listen out for the part about African pouch rats which blew my little mind when I first heard it.

Michael is an all round good guy, a[ sound and steady pillar of the military community, the way he has used his vision and passion to help others is really admirable. The Declassified podcast is a must listen but before I divert you all over there please do listen on to find out a little bit more about it’s incredible host in this episode of the Be Glad Movement.

Military career
Setting up a business to benefit others
PTSD and Post Traumatic Growth
Children in Conflict
African pouch rats!
Core values.

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9. Tom Dunning - Mental Health Runner

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 23:59:56 GMT

In this episode I talk to Tom Dunning, the mental health runner and co author of the book ‘Surviving the war with myself.’

Tom was bullied relentlessly at school but thankfully had the comfort of being able to return to a warm and loving home with stable parents and two older brothers, one of which, Will, was particularly supportive of Tom.

Tragically, just as Tom was starting Uni, Will died. As a coping mechanism Tom threw himself into his studies, he soon found himself a girlfriend and eventually graduated from Uni, life seemed good until the bottled up emotions he hadn’t allowed himself to work through came back to haunt him.

Comfort eating.
Bullying.
Attempted suicide.
PTSD, Psychosis, Personality disorder, anxiety.
Running for mental health - Run Talk Run.
Coping as the carer.

www. beglad.co.uk and www.mentalhealthrunner.co.uk

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8. Blythe Landry - Overcoming Addiction and Trauma

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 17:00:12 GMT

In this episode I talk to Blythe Landry who is a Trauma, Grief and Addiction Coach.

We talk about her experiences growing up New Orleans as the youngest child, which for her was almost like being an only child because she was so much younger than her siblings. The effects that addiction had on her family and her mental health and by how eventually recognising and facing these issues head on she was able to, heal herself and turn her life around to become a completely different person.

This is such an interesting and insightful interview that will really get you thinking. So without further ado, lets get started.

Loving family but emotional inconsistencies.
The build up of contributing factors to PTSD
Eating Disorders and Anorexia
Being gay in a religious family
How your problems follow you wherever you go if you don’t face up to them
Blythe is a mentally ill gay addict that is THRIVING.
Wounded healer, using your hardships to better serve others.

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7. Alecia Emerson-Thomas, The Wildones Podcast and TV cop from the Heist

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 19:59:47 GMT

In this episode I catch up with the super talented and dedicated Alecia Emerson Thomas from Sky 1’s the Heist and co-host of the fast growing Wild Ones podcast. I first interviewed Alecia for the Be Glad Movement back in 2018 so head over to youtube.com/beglad to see that episode. In this episode though we catch up on all the incredible things she has been up to since, including launching her own podcast and appearing in Series 2 of the Heist which is released this week, as well as training to become an international disaster responder and operational team leader for team Rubicon.

Bullied as a child and at work as a police officer
Mental health, 2 breakdowns.
Husbands diagnosis of complex PTSD
Post traumatic growth
Volunteering, military charities and Team Rubicon
How the Wild Ones podcast came to fruition and finding your tribe.

@alecia_louise on instagram

@AleciaLouiseET on Twitter

Help us raise funds for the Samaritans here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beglad

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6. Kitty Waters, Overcoming Poor Mental Health by doing your Dharma

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 16:40:21 GMT

In this episode I talk to Kitty Waters about a time in her life when on the surface she seemed extremely successful although underneath she was suffering with her own poor mental health until one fateful day she discovered there was a whole maternal heritage of suffering which she had been unaware of, including attempted suicide.

What is success?
Depression and break down
Personal development and self discovery
Doing your Dharma

To find out more about doing your Dharma check out Kitties website here https://www.doyourdharma.co.uk/ and then go and listen to her podcast here https://kittytalks.com/welcome

The BeGlad Movement Podcast is free to listen to but if you'd like to help Pollyanna raise money for the Samaritans you can do so by using the following link https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beglad

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5. Jess Sands, Business Life as a Military Wife, The Independent Spouse

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 16:12:53 GMT

In this episode I talk to the lovely Jess Sands about her childhood, her love of design, losing herself to love and then finding herself again as a business woman and military spouse and podcast host of The Independent Spouse.

Growing up fast with a poorly parent
Loving life designing for Disney
Leaving home, friends and family to follow her military boyfriend
Isolation and deterioration of mental health
Kickstarting her business
Building a community and The Independent Spouse Podcast.

You can find out more about Jess here http://design-jessica.co.uk/ and the Independent Spouse Podcast here https://theindependentspouse.co.uk/

The Be Glad Movement Podcast is free to listen to but if you would like to help me raise money for the Samaritans then please use the following link, thank you so much, anything you can afford will be so gratefully received. https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beglad

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4. Dave Bolton, fighting back every step of the way keeping cancer at bay

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 15:51:19 GMT

In this episode I talk to the incredible Dave Bolton about the horrific motorcycle accident he had which almost took his beloved sports away from him, he went on to defy the doctors and regained full mobility along with winning a kick boxing title. We also talk about the glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour he has been living with and fighting back against with veganism and immune boosting foods.

Motorcycle accident - de-gloving his leg and recovery
Brain cancer - glioblastoma multiforme
Depression
Positive thinking, sports and diet
Giving back and inspiring others.

If you would like to keep up with what Dave is up to check out this link https://www.davebolton.co.uk/dave-story

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3. Dwayne Fields, from Rural Jamaica to Inner City London

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 15:28:40 GMT

In this episode I talk to Dwayne Fields who arrived in London as a six year old boy who had never seen a multi story house or a double decker bus before. Hear how hard it was for him to settle in which resulted in him following the crowd until one day a terrifying incident shook him into remembering who he really was at the core of his soul and spurred him on to become an adventurer and a positive role model for the youth of today.

The trials of moving to a different country and culture
Growing up in inner city London
Violence and retaliation
Adventures in nature and to the North Pole
The Scout movement and giving back

http://www.dwayne-fields.com/

The BeGlad Movement podcast is free to listen to but if you would like to help support me in raising funds for the Samaritans you can do so here https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/beglad

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2. Ross Nichols, Leaving the Military, Loss of Identity and Rediscovery

Sun, 02 Feb 2020 10:48:39 GMT

In this episode I talk to Ross Nichols from Transition Transformers and the founder of Salisbury Coaching Circle.

Ross talks about how leaving his long term career in the military affected his mental health, the dark moments and how he eventually pulled himself back from the edge.

Leaving the Military
Mental Health
Personal Development
Coaching and Mentoring
Self acceptance

http://www.transitiontransformers.co.uk/

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1: An Introduction to Pollyanna and the Be Glad Movement

Thu, 30 Jan 2020 22:12:58 GMT

Hello and welcome to the Be Glad Movement, my name is Pollyanna and I’m on a mission to bring you as many stories as possible of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad.

This podcast is going to be full of inspirational stories from people just like you and me who have overcome their hardships and gone on to lead even more successful and fulfilling lives. It’s a safe place where I hope those of us who are in the thick of a tough situation can come and hear how other people survived and in some cases now even credit their hardships as being the best thing that could ever have happened to them. It’s hard when you are in the middle of a crisis and it can feel lonely, you have to allow yourself to have the odd pity party, to cry, get angry, vent, process and move through the emotions. Everyone will have a different time line for doing this. The B eGlad Movement podcast is an effort to sit with you in solidarity during those dark times and then when you are ready, and only when YOU are ready, we’re all here together to help lift you up and uncover the good that can come from each adversity, to inspire you to seek out a way of using your own hardships to either your own advantage or to help others. You can follow along on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram by searching @begladmovement

So first let me thank you for listening into this introductory episode. Pollyanna and the Be Glad Movement podcast is somewhat late on the scene as the YouTube version has been up and running for a little while now. You can see all the episodes to date uploaded already at www.youtube.com/beglad BUT by popular request, for those of you who want to listen to inspirational stories while chopping your veg, walking the dog or driving to work I have launched the podcast version too.

So what can you expect? Firstly I’ll be sharing a good chunk of the original 100 stories I collected during the initial challenge in 2018. So that should get the ball rolling and give you a good selection to choose from up front. Please note, I’ll be numbering the podcast episodes for easy reference but they wont be appearing in the same order they were originally recorded. Moving forward I will be recording new interviews and interspersing these with some of the vintage episodes.

So to give you a little bit of information about this voice you are listening to up front before I delve into the reason why I started the Be Glad Movement. Most people call me Polly, Pollyanna somehow seems like a bit of a mouthful, having said that though it hasn’t stopped people from calling me all sorts of variations, from Pollster, Pollcat, Pollybean, Pollfish and Pollatron to name but a few. I’m a mum, a military wife and we have a boxer dog called Brunel. My favourite colour is yellow and my lucky number is 2, which is why I wanted to launch on the 2nd February 2020, I also like symmetry!

On a more professional note I am a coach, NLP practitioner and I also carry out time line treatments but more on that another day, or maybe in a completely different podcast once I’ve got the hang of this.

I’m a firm believer in the amazing benefits of the ‘helpers high,’ I only recently found out this was what it’s called but basically I love volunteer work and I volunteer for both the Samaritans as a listener and the Princes Trust for the young entrepreneurs who have successfully completed the enterprise programme and business launch group. I truly believe that you get so much more out of volunteering than the time you supposedly give up. That said, we’ve all got to eat right, so don’t worry if you don’t have any ambitions to save the world, you have to save yourself first and that happens one day at a time. Like they say on aeroplanes, put your own gas mask on first before helping anyone else.

So what are the origins of the BeGlad Movement concept? Well, my mum named me Pollyanna after the book and then the popular Disney film Pollyanna in which the little girl plays the glad game. Pollyanna is an orphan who is sent to live with her austere Aunt in a pretty unhappy township but she teaches them all the glad game and cheers them up. The glad game was taught to Pollyanna by her late father as a tool for overcoming disappointment. It’s essentially looking for all the positives you can find in any negative situation. In coaching circles we call it reframing. So, when I was growing up, my mum would always say to me, now come on Polly, play the glad game if ever anything didn’t go my way and then I would have to list off all the positives I could find in that negative as well as listing off all the things I was grateful for and lucky to have in my life. Now it’s important to be clear here that my mum wasn’t trying to deny me my feelings, it was her way of brining me back down onto a stable bedrock of gratitude for what WAS going my way so I could look to build from there again when I was ready. I think there are a lot of misconceptions around gratitude, that it can be misconstrued as ‘staying stuck with what you’ve got’ but that’s so wrong, gratitude really is a bedrock for healthy growth, if you can feel stable with what you already have you have a safety blanket underneath you as you reach for more, and you can more easily tune into what you really want next from life without getting sidetracked by other peoples ideas of success. In my opinion, Gratitude is a tool for growth.

Anyway, back to the story, so you could say my mum taught me how to gratitude journal in the moment and it’s a strategy for living that has served me so well over the years I wanted to bring it to a wider audience. I originally had the idea back in 2015, and it was actually the words of one of my favourite coaches, an American lady called Marie forleo, that inspired me. At the end of all her videos she says, keep pushing for your dreams because the world needs that special something that only you have. As a budding coach I spent a lot of time pondering what it was that I had that maybe the world needed and it took a long time for the penny to drop until one morning that penny did drop and I promptly set up the Be Glad website and made a few videos of my own but I never got round to interviewing anyone, life got in the way, I got married moved house a couple of times got a dog and had a baby.

Then, at the end of 2017 when my son was only a year old, I tragically lost 2 friends to cancer, Sharon and Buffy had died. While contemplating the injustice of it all, they were both remarkable and talented women who had so much more to give the world if they hadn’t been snatched away from us, I found myself wondering what I would regret not having done if I had been the one to get the diagnosis, if I only had a few short months to live. It was in that moment I knew I had to get the Be Glad Movement out of my system, I needed to start it properly and see what would happen, I thought at the time to get it out of my system, but I know now, even though I did get the ball rolling with the whole my names sake idea thing, it’s not my ball, it’s 100% not about me, the Be Glad Movement is about all the fantastic contributors and the people who are helped by their stories, most of which I will never have the privilege to know.

Once I had the realisation that I needed to do this though I set about setting myself some SMART goals. I announced to the world, well, my friends on social media, that I was going to collect 100 stories of good coming out of bad and reasons to be glad by the end of 2018 while raising money for charity. I’m pleased to say I hit my story target and also raised one thousand and forty pounds which at the time was split equally between the Samaritans and Action for Happiness. Side note, never set yourself a challenge which finishes around Christmas, #stressful.

So if you want a healthy dose of positivity, kindness, self helpyness and opportunity for reflection and personal growth, stay tuned, subscribe and I will look forward to responding to any comments you may have along the way. I really want to make this community about nurturing and supporting each other and lifting each other up. After all together we can achieve so much more, together we are stronger.

The Be Glad Movement Podcast is free to listen to but if you did want to support me in raising money for the Samaritans then I’d love you to head over to the website www.beglad.co.uk and follow the donation link. Any help will be so gratefully received and appreciated.

And while you are on the website why not sign up to my mailing list, don’t worry, you won’t be bombarded with emails as I’m only a one woman band at the moment and I’m not that disciplined to write them, but when I do it will be worth your while as I’ll keep you in the loop about any events I’m holding or attending and share any insights that I feel may help you as we figure out our way through life together.

With so much love, I hope you enjoy listening to me, Pollyanna and all the wonderful contributors to the Be Glad Movement.

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