Change Your Story: escape from a job you hate and create a career you love! – Details, episodes & analysis

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Change Your Story: escape from a job you hate and create a career you love!

Carolyn Parry

Business

Education

Business

Frequency: 1 episode/81d. Total Eps: 11

According to Gallup, we spend just over 81,000 hours working during our lifetime yet only one person in ten actually loves what they do.

Change Your Story podcast host Carolyn Parry is an award-winning career and life coach, author, and speaker on a mission to help those who are unhappy at work - and that's because she knows what it feels like!

Fortunately, she eventually found a way to transform the successful but soul-eroding business career that burned her out into a twenty-year-plus career she is still as passionate about today. That's because it aligns with who she really is and her desire to help other professionals find something more meaningful so they can escape the hamster wheel, too.

Carolyn is the immediate past President of the Career Development Institute, the professional body for the career development sector. A TEDx speaker and non-executive director, she recently published her first book, which shares its name with this podcast and includes some of its stories. Readers on Amazon have described it as 'motivational', 'inspiring', 'empowering', 'encouraging', and 'life-changing'.

So settle back, get comfortable, and join Carolyn and her inspirational guests as they share powerful stories, strategies, and insights to help you find your inspiration so you can create a career that brings you joy too.

Welcome to Change Your Story.

Recent rankings

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Apple Podcasts

🇬🇧 Great Britain - careers
04/07/2026
#97
🇨🇦 Canada - careers
06/06/2025
#72
🇬🇧 Great Britain - careers
26/05/2025
#69

Spotify

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https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolynparry/
14 shares
https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7030121565824417792/
11 shares
https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinepresland/
2 shares

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Score global : 68%

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A conversation with Dr Clive King: from geographer, coder, and global techie problem solver turned contractor who loves an outdoor challenges

Season 2 · Episode 1

Friday, April 5, 2024 • Duration 49:05

Apart from the first six months of his professional career, which he left due to a dream he had, Dr Clive King has spent the whole of his career supporting global technology clients for Oracle, one of the largest technology companies, from his home base near Aberystwyth at a time when working from home wasn't a thing.

A self-confessed contrarian who loves challenging goals and working to solve highly complex technology problems with others, Clive discovered that becoming a specialist expert in a particular niche area makes you highly sought after. He also found time to pursue his love of the outdoors and take on climbing/ultra-running challenges.

Discover how his default position of saying yes to opportunity led him to a life-changing chance to learn a method of rational thinking to solve problems, which he applies to every part of his life, and how opportunity helped him to retire from corporate life at 55, a goal he had set 15 years before he achieved it in 2023.

Now working as a contractor on solving complex problems for clients, Clive spends more time doing what he loves – being a dirtbag rock climber, training his spaniel and continuing to be the curator of TEDx Aberystwyth, exploring interesting ideas.

He also does the rewarding work of supporting the next generation of aspiring computer scientists as an honorary fellow of Aberystwyth University and listening to a Swedish psychedelic progressive rock band!

Dr Clive King can be contacted via:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clive-king-90a847/

SHOW RESOURCES:
Change Your Story – my new research-backed book on career change.

https://kepner-tregoe.com/gbr - rational thinking methodology .

Thinking, fast and slow’ – bestseller by Daniel Kahneman.

Blink – bestseller by Malcolm Gladwell

“Feet in the Clouds: A tale of fell-running and obsession” – classic running book by Robert Askwith, focussed on the sport of fell-running.

BCS (British Computer Society) – the chartered body for Information Technology

TEDx Aberystwyth - interesting ideas from across the globe

For full show references, please visit:
https://www.careeralchemy.co.uk/episode-shownotes.html

TO CONNECT WITH / HEAR MORE FROM CAROLYN:

Connect with Carolyn on social media:

LinkedIn Twitter

Why not sign up for her career change newsletter on LinkedIn:

Change Your Story

Facebook Group

Find out more about Carolyn's new book:

'Change Your Story: Escape from a job you hate and create a career you love - on purpose.'

Interested in hiring Carolyn as your coach?

Why not book a free 30-minute discovery call with Carolyn to discuss your needs and find out more about how she can help you to change your story?

https://bit.ly/Coffee-with-Carolyn

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A conversation with Steve Keith: a journey towards authenticity through education, corporate life, and freelancing

Season 1 · Episode 9

Saturday, June 10, 2023 • Duration 01:17:55

The son of a mechanic Dad and secretary Mum who together went on to run a business, Steve Keith’s career journey has taken him on a quest of curiosity and learning to become his authentic self and stand in his own power.

The first member of his family to go to university, Steve graduated from the prestigious Durham University and became a Teach First teacher in an inner-city school before life eventually led to him to a new challenge and a space where he could come out as a gay man at the age of 25. A chance conversation led him to join the early careers recruitment team at international consultancy firm EY, eventually becoming a senior manager where he championed inclusive recruitment for graduates and apprentices.

One day when he was struggling with the pressures and challenges of success and delivering award-winning campaigns, a key conversation with his boss released something within him and led to him taking some time out to deal with his anxiety and mental health challenges. This gave him the time and space to be curiosity led and ultimately gain clarity about what really matters to him. He now runs his own business, Curious Consulting, as an early careers consultant specialising in LGBTQ+ inclusion and mental health, and social mobility in the workplace.

As part of this, he set up and runs the Queer Student Awards (QSA), an annual hybrid celebration of talented young LGBTQ+ people in the U.K. and beyond, who are proudly leading in their lives and the communities around them.

Hear how his firm belief in the power of following his inner voice, curiosity, and learning has led him to develop the courage, persistence, and belief needed to deal with imposter syndrome and say yes to opportunity, including becoming the creator and podcast host of My Career Story, QSA awards creator and host, and running a successful consultancy.

Steve can be contacted via:
Website: https://www.curiousconsulting.co.uk/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevejohnkeith/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/getcuriouswithsteve/ SHOW REFERENCES: - the surprising truth about success and learning from mistakes by author, Matthew Syed. - an education charity that places and trains talented people to lead, advance, and inspire in some of the UK's most deprived areas. - an exploration by Brené Brown of how the courage to be vulnerable can transform our lives.This episo

Introducing The Reason, putting purpose to work

Season 1

Thursday, January 13, 2022 • Duration 02:00

This brief episode highlights the malaise and deep-seated unhappiness we have come to recognise as a result of the pandemic and highlights what it is we crave to have happy and fulfilling working life.

The Reason is hosted by Carolyn Parry who spent 17 years in business heading away from who she really was and into burnout before she found her purpose and retrained as a career coach. Now twenty years on, she is a multi-award-winning, certified career and life coach, TEDx speaker, and runs Career Alchemy, a coaching practice that helps early-stage and established professionals to create purpose-led careers. She is also President of the Career Development Institute, the professional body for the career development sector.

If you are seeking inspiration to help you create a working life that lights you up through a sense of purpose, rather than one that wears you out, this may just be the podcast for you.

This short clip explains briefly why "The Reason" podcast has changed its name to "Change Your Story".

TO CONNECT WITH / HEAR MORE FROM CAROLYN:

Connect with Carolyn on social media:

LinkedIn Twitter

Why not sign up for her career change newsletter on LinkedIn:

Change Your Story

Facebook Group

Find out more about Carolyn's new book:

'Change Your Story: Escape from a job you hate and create a career you love - on purpose.'Interested in hiring Carolyn as your coach?

Episode Eight with Dr Lorna Collins, from aspiring jockey, and university lecturer, to artist, film maker and writer

Season 1 · Episode 8

Monday, April 17, 2023 • Duration 52:37

By the age of 15, Lorna already had an exciting equestrian career in front of her and represented Great Britain several times successfully in junior eventing. Passionate about speed and with a Dad who was a champion jockey, at 16 she set herself another goal – to become the first woman to win the Grand National. She was also on track to become a student at Cambridge University. Out on the gallops one day, disaster struck, and she had an accident that almost killed her.

Her catastrophic brain injury led to her developing a number of psychiatric illnesses including an eating disorder as a coping mechanism, resulting in frequent hospitalisation over the course of the next twenty years.

Despite this, as a highly functioning and very bright polymath, Lorna still managed to study, eventually gaining her Ph.D. from Cambridge. More study later led to Lorna securing her dream job as a creative health lecturer at University College London.

In this inspirational story of survival and growth, hear how Lorna’s art and natural creativity became her medicine helping her to find her voice and recover, how she uses a growth mindset and persistence to overcome challenges and create opportunities, and what led to her deciding to leave academia to follow her passion and become a writer and artist as she turned 40.

Her first children’s novel, “Squawk – a book of bird adventures” has recently been published by Vanguard Press.

Lorna can be contacted via:
Website: https://lornacollins.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sensinglorna
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sensinglorna/

SHOW REFERENCES:

Squawk – a book of bird adventures – Lorna’s first children’s book, published in February 2023.

Episode Seven with Natalie Williams : from International Politics lecturer, and Academic Registrar to entrepreneur and luxury jewellery maker

Season 1 · Episode 7

Monday, March 27, 2023 • Duration 54:48

After studying International Politics and gaining her PhD from Aberystwyth University, Natalie Williams became a lecturer - only to find she hated teaching.

Not sure what to do after that, she ended up working in academic administration at the university, rising through the ranks to become a Quality Assurance Manager and an Academic Registrar.

Following a divorce and heading for 40, she felt the need for change, so when a secondment opportunity came up to go to Mauritius to set up a branch campus, she leapt at it.

Little did she realise that it would lead her to change career completely and to her discovering her passion by unleashing her inner artist.

Hear how she struggled with conflicting values, identified vital lessons from doing a PhD, and how she trusts her own internal guidance system to make decisions as a successful entrepreneur and luxury jewellery maker.

Natalie can be contacted via:
Website: https://yourliri.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourliri
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your_liri/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/YourLiri

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/natalie-williams-a6328779/

SHOW REFERENCES:

Aberystwyth University – world-class international politics department

RE-INSPiRED Professional– the career change programme Natalie did with Carolyn Parry

Episode Six with Chris Jones from tea boy and cameraman to presenter, sock designer, Non Exec Director, podcaster, event host and walking guide

Season 1 · Episode 6

Saturday, March 11, 2023 • Duration 59:53

Chris Jones had a eureka moment at university when he discovered the joys of being a cameraman while studying for a media degree. Suddenly and unexpectedly made redundant during the pandemic, he now uses his natural ability to build relationships in his work as a podcaster, event host, charity ambassador, Non-Exec Director, and walking guide.

Starting as a tea boy and runner, his journey took him all around the world filming for sports programmes like Grandstand and World of Sport and including following the British Bobsleigh team, a commitment which ultimately cost him his first marriage.

A chance conversation born from his spirit of helpfulness while filming in St Moritz one day took him from behind the camera to in front of it. Little did he know that it would lead to a career spanning just sort of 30 years as the face of the weather on S4C, the Welsh language television channel. His media profile led to other opportunities as part of his portfolio career including an approach by sock manufacturer, Corgi who worked with him to design a range of household ware as well as weather-themed socks that have sold all around the world including to Justin Trudeau, the Canadian Prime Minister.

All was going well until 2020, when he was hit by three things: the loss of his radio show; a prostate cancer diagnosis, and the unforeseen blow of being made redundant.

Listen to his remarkable story as he overcame the challenges he faced through talking, walking, and singing his way to rebuild his career as a podcast and event host, presenter, charity ambassador and Non-Exec Director, as well as developing a new Welsh well-being walking business.

Chris can be contacted via:
Website: www.chrisjones.cymru

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CTywydd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057519495922 Instagram: LinkedIn: SHOW REFERENCES: – the epic story of the Jamaican bobsleigh team and their Olympic quest

Episode Five with Vicky Rushton: from school leaver and carer to design engineering and company director

Season 1 · Episode 5

Friday, February 17, 2023 • Duration 01:10:23

Vicky Rushton found her voice advocating for her very sick second child, Oliver, at the age of 21, and now uses it to help others express themselves through design.

One of thirteen children, she grew up in Manchester and left school at 15 to help bring up her siblings. Pregnant at sixteen, she bought her first home with her partner and balanced bringing up her daughter with a career in retail sales. All was going well until life threw a spanner in her career plans and she had to spend the next four years caring for her second child who was born disabled. A third child followed along with a move to live near her father in North Wales and an architectural salvage business.

A chance conversation at the school gates took her back into education at Bangor University, where she found her love of design engineering and business. She completed her degree and won an entrepreneurship award from Santander.

A brief spell in primary teaching, followed by working in a charity, led to another chance encounter with Gerallt Evans, a blacksmith in Conwy, North Wales. Vicky is now Co-Director and equal shareholder of Gerallt Evans Metalcraft Limited. They are the creators of the world's first indoor crazy gold course at Zip World and other metal art and furniture installations, made from fusing ancient blacksmithing techniques with state of the art technology to create unique pieces that are not only beautiful but practical.

Listen to her remarkable story of how she created her own identity out of a chaotic start by following her energy and saying yes to chance opportunities, and hear more about her passion and vision for design engineering.

Vicky can be contacted via:
Website: https://gemetalcraft.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Geralltevansmetalcraft/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geralltevansmetalcraft/
LinkedIn: SHOW REFERENCES: – Stephen R Covey

Episode Four with Julia Goodfellow Smith: from bank manager to environmentalist, author and adventurer

Season 1 · Episode 4

Friday, February 3, 2023 • Duration 54:05

Julia Goodfellow Smith is a self-confessed adventurer, speaker, writer, and author of best-selling books. But that’s not how she started out.

Originally a management scientist born in the era of Thatcherism, she became a small business banker but found the constraints of working in the corporate world made her feel like a square peg in a round hole.

Her desire for more freedom led to investing in a franchise helping businesses to reduce their energy costs. Meanwhile, the call she heard in her childhood from the Save The Whale advertising campaign always stayed in the background and led eventually to her developing an environmental career. A significant emotional event served to remind her that life is for living and a more recent health scare paved the way to becoming the best-selling author and adventurer she is today.

Tune in to find out why she has always volunteered, what it takes to write a book that publishers want to publish, and discover how walking the Camino Way changed Julia for good.

Julia can be contacted via:
Website: https://linktr.ee/juliagsauthorspeaker
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliagsauthor/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliagoodfellowsmith/

SHOW REFERENCES:
Significant Emotional Experiences and values – developed by John Massey

Quality of life assessment – free questionnaire from the World Health Organisation

Michael Heppell

The Conservation Volunteers

Episode Three with Mel Cameron: from camp host and marketeer to uni careers adviser

Season 1 · Episode 3

Thursday, January 19, 2023 • Duration 55:20

Mel Cameron is a people person whose career journey has taken her from media studies at college and working in Pizza Hut to embracing her love of travel and falling into a career in the summer camp industry. She has worked in various camps in the US, gaining resilience as she helped young people to make the most of their experience. A mature student at university, she went on to advance her career in the industry by taking advantage of opportunities to take on student digital marketing and attraction roles in the UK.

All was going well until a certain global pandemic reared its ugly head. At this point, she had to make a conscious choice to change her story. As often happens when we had a dream in mind, life conspired to help her put her values and skills to work in a new direction. A twinkle in Mel’s eye became a reality and she is now in a role she loves, training and working as a careers adviser in Lampeter, West Wales, for the University of Wales Trinity St David.

Always one to be busy, she is a firm believer in giving her time where it’s needed and also volunteers for St John’s Ambulance, Tŷ Hafan the Children’s Hospice for Wales, and the National Youth Advocacy Service which has given her additional skills and experience to help her grow.

Mel can be contacted via:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mcameron83/

REFERENCES:

Self-efficacy - developed by Albert Bandura

Planned Happenstance – developed by John Krumboltz

St John’s Ambulance

Tŷ Hafan the Children’s Hospice for Wales

Episode Two: The Reason is changing its name to Change Your Story

Season 1 · Episode 2

Wednesday, December 7, 2022 • Duration 03:30

This mini episode outlines the impetus behind changing the title of the podcast from The Reason to Change Your Career.

Listen to find out how many hours you will spend at work during your lifetime and just how few people are currently doing work they love.

Watch out for new episodes from inspirational people coming soon!

This short clip explains briefly why "The Reason" podcast has changed its name to "Change Your Story".

TO CONNECT WITH / HEAR MORE FROM CAROLYN:

Connect with Carolyn on social media:

LinkedIn Twitter

Why not sign up for her career change newsletter on LinkedIn:

Change Your Story

Facebook Group

Find out more about Carolyn's new book:

'Change Your Story: Escape from a job you hate and create a career you love - on purpose.'

Interested in hiring Carolyn as your coach?

Why not book a free 30-minute discovery call with Carolyn to discuss your needs and find out more about how she can help you to change your story?

https://bit.ly/Coffee-with-Carolyn

Change Your Story: escape from a job you hate and create a career you love! – Details, episodes & analysis

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