The Collective Wisdom Podcast with Cat Preston – Details, episodes & analysis

Hello and welcome back to the final episode of Collective Wisdom for 2023.

We really are in the presence of a superstar as my guest, Dr. Zareen Roohi Ahmed joins us once again today. Earlier this year Zareen shared her deeply moving story and profound insights.It was an episode that touched many hearts and resonated deeply.

As founder of Gift Wellness and now author of her new book, The Gift, that tells the story that inspired her to start it. Zareen is a beacon of resilience and purpose. Her journey marked by the tragic loss of her daughter Halima tells of how she used love to fuel a powerful mission to bring healing and support to community through her social enterprise.

Her story is not just one of overcoming immense personal grief, but also of channeling that experience into a force for societal good. Today Zareen returns to delve deeper into the themes of her new book, and to share how her continued work is inspiring others to pursue their dreams, even in the face of adversity.

Her story is a testament to the human spirit's capacity for transformation, and the impact one person's vision can have on the world. It's the season of gifting and giving and this is certainly a gift I'd love to share with you all during this festive season.

Gift Wellness

The Gift: One Women's journey from tragedy to building a global business for good

Period Angels App

The collective Wisdom Podcast Playlist

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0sStAKEgmkWVrraFroK7zp?si=_V6HQM07RjC1lcQEcgZ9xA

Production by Chris Hall-Franzkowiak

https://www.betweentracks.com/

Hello there, my wise friends and welcome to another episode of Collective Wisdom, where we delve into the journeys of remarkable individuals who are making an impact through their creativity and passion. And today is no different. 

I'm joined by a really gifted and talented artist and graphic designer, Lauren Philliban, who, as you'll hear, has written and illustrated a beautiful new children's book due out next year. It's a book that explores the role that kindness and friendship play in solving some of the biggest challenges we face today, such as immigration and protection of the environment. And judging from the feedback she's received so far from her very critical focus group it's going to be a firm favourite amongst the five to seven year olds it's written for.

Lauren's here to share more about her path to success, and some of the intricacies of the publishing industry, in short, the art of bringing a story to life. 

Lauren Philliban’s Website 

Lauren Philliban on Instagram 

Maxey Images - Nicky Maxey Countryside Photographer

Wisdom:  ‘Embrace the power of saying ‘Yes’ to your own potential’ 

Music ‘Carry You’ by Novo Amor

The collective Wisdom Podcast Playlist 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0sStAKEgmkWVrraFroK7zp?si=_V6HQM07RjC1lcQEcgZ9xA

Production by Chris Hall-Franzkowiak

Hey there, my wise friends and welcome to another episode of Collective Wisdom, where we explore the insights and perspectives from our lived experiences.

In this episode, we're joined by a messaging coach and speaker Joanna Ingram. As a messaging coach Jo has helped countless entrepreneurs, coaches and thought leaders to refine their messaging and communication skills, allowing them to better connect with their audience and grow their businesses with a unique approach that blends psychology, marketing and storytelling.

Jo has gained a reputation for helping her clients to create powerful messages from a place of genuine authenticity that will resonate with the right audience for them and drive meaningful results with more ease and less effort. Authenticity comes from the same ancient Greek root, as the word author and authority. And as you'll hear, Jo discovered for herself, we can't really be an authority in our own life. Without first knowing ourselves.

Being authentic means claiming our own power to tell the story of our lives, which in her own case, involves finding the courage to carry on after she very nearly didn't make it through the birth of her first child. I hope you'll agree that hearing her story, you can't help but gravitate towards her infectious, life affirming energy.

Joanna Ingram’s Website

Joanna Ingram on Instagram

‘Closer to Fine’ by The Indigo Girls

Wisdom:  Trust the universe has your back.

Hey there, my wise friends and thanks so much for joining me for another episode of Collective Wisdom. April 2nd was World Autism Awareness Day. And this week I'm sharing the story of Charlotte Crawford, who is also known as the autistic artist.

Charlotte is a real inspiration to me, as her story is one of courage, creativity and determination. As you'll hear, she found school particularly difficult and spent most of the time feeling isolated and anxious. Eventually, her mental health issues became so severe that she was hospitalized.

Autism is now known to present very differently in autistic women and girls. And Charlotte is fortunate that she eventually received a correct diagnosis. As so many women and girls go under the radar and as a result don't get access to the support they need to help them navigate the challenges of being autistic.

In a world that doesn't quite fit for Charlotte. It was only when she was able to show up as her true self and embrace her differences, that she was able to find some real happiness and success. I'm so grateful to Charlotte for trusting me with her story, as I know that it will help others who are perhaps struggling with the same issues to feel less invisible and alone. And as she says, it's her hope that they don't feel they have to suffer in silence.

Charlotte Crawford’s Website: The Autistic Artist

The Square Peg Community Podcast with Amy Richards

Christine McGinness: Unmasking my autism on BBC iPlayer

Chris Packham: Inside our autistic minds on BBC iPlayer

Music: ‘Clair de Lune’ by Claude Debussy

Wisdom : ‘The top of one mountain is the bottom of another’ Life is made up of peaks and troughs

Hey there, my wise friends and welcome to another episode of Collective Wisdom, which this week is all about the importance of creativity for our health and well-being.

As human beings, we have an innate capacity for creativity. And it's an essential part of what makes us human. engaging in creative activities has been shown to have a range of benefits for our mental, emotional, and physical health. In fact, creativity has even been linked to reduce stress, increased happiness, improved cognitive function, and a stronger immune system.

One person who really understands the power of creativity is Jo Hunter, who is CEO of a social enterprise called 64 Million Artists that aims to foster creativity in everyone in the UK. Jo has long believed that being creative is the opposite of producing something brilliant or being perfect, in fact, is often perfectionism that stifles our creativity and makes us give up instead.

For Jo creativity means to transcend traditional ideas, rules, and patterns, and make new ones and that's something she believes we should be encouraging everyone to do. And just after we recorded this episode, I was sent a message about a painting class hosted by the artist Caroline Chappell. And in the class we simply got to play at mixing colours to create harmony and discord. And she talked about all the best things happening in the margins when we allowed ourselves to be free enough to make mistakes. It was a lot of fun. And I have Jo to thank for the inspiration.

Links:

64 Million Artists Website

64 Million Artists on LinkedIn

Do Schools Kill Creativity? TED talk by Sir Ken Robinson

Music :

‘You light up my life’ by Leanne Rimes

 ‘It’s all about you’ by McFly

Wisdom ‘Find something you can be grateful for every single day’

Hey there, my wise friends and welcome to another episode of Collective Wisdom. This podcast, as you know is all about celebrating our differences and the fact that it's diversity that makes humanity so or inspiring. So, it was such a thrill to be invited to Hong Kong to host a panel for International Women's Day recently, that was all about equity and inclusion.

What happens when we listen to each other's stories is remarkable and always fosters connection. And that's just what my guest today, Imogen Short, specialises in, she invited a lot of women in the workplace to share their stories. And the outcome is Pivot, a wonderful comedy web series that draws on those experiences, and aims to highlight some of the madness in the world we're living in.

It's really about bringing the power of storytelling to leadership and surrounding yourself with people who share your values but bring a different perspective. I just loved hearing Imogen stories about the creative journey she's been on recently. And I hope you do too.

PIVOT webseries

 Pivot social channels:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Its-time-to-PIVOT-105042171999221
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pivot_web_series/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pivot-web-series/

Three Wise Sheep Productions

Imogen Short on LinkedIn

Song ‘Marjorie’ by Taylor Swift

Wisdom ‘Everything you want in life is on the other side of fear and discipline

‘You suffer more in imagination than reality’ Marcus Aurelius

‘Favourite Mug’ by Hana Preston (16)

I want to have a favourite mug.

I want to live such a mundane, perfect life that I can wake up in the morning and be excited to pull my favourite mug clean from the dishwasher.

I want to have a favourite mug and a favourite brand of tea and a favourite skimmed-ness of milk which I can add to every mug of English breakfast.

It thrills me. Such an existence. Godless and undone and cupping the mug of tea to my chest.

I will come downstairs in my dressing gown and there will be traces of the sunrise still gracing my kitchen, and I think I might start crying because it will feel like atonement, even then.

I will have an Aga. A nice kettle. A bread bin with a wooden lid and a toaster with different settings.

I say all of this to a friend and she has to suppress an emotion which I think might have been pity.

She only says, is there nothing else? and it takes me back to the altar because no, of course there isn't.

It's just this. Me and my favourite mug and no god in sight.

Me and my kettle and the steam cooling on the windowpanes.

Tea on a hot day even though it might overheat me because my mug is shining on the drying rack.

It'll have a chip in it. It must. It will have at least one flaw and it will decidedly not be pretty or pleasing to the eye.

It will be a bizarre colour and will wear an awful slogan and might have a dog on it. Or a sheep. And no god.

It will not be perfect because it was not created at His will.

It will be stupid. People will avoid it when looking in the mug cabinet.

Its colours will run and its paint will peel and it will not be perfect because it is not His.

I say something like I want to have a favourite mug and what I mean is I want to live a life untouched by God.

Nothing ever means one thing. I am cracked and peeling and avoided in selections,

and I am not His. And He will understand this, I hope.

I will get up in the morning and find my mug and He will not once cross my mind.

My life will be so barren of religion - the plague - that I will have a favourite bloody mug. That will be all. Mundanity. And my tea.

Hey there, my wise friends. And thank you for joining us for another episode of Collective Wisdom, which this week is all about financial health and well-being. Which given we're in the middle of a cost of living crisis, and we're all seeing the price of commodities go up and inflation is on the rise, feels like an important conversation to have.

My guest Anna Orenstein-Cardona is a financial coach and educator with a background in financial trading, who is really passionate about helping women, in particular, to get really wise about their financial health.

Money problems are one of the biggest causes of stress and had a real impact on our mental health. So, her work is more important now than ever. We talk about the self-empowerment that comes when you start to take ownership of your finances, and some of the simple ways you can start from where you are and make small but positive changes that over time will have a big impact.

As you'll hear, she really is a wealth of knowledge, and this episode is pure gold.

LINKS:

Website: https://wearyourmoneycrown.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/wearyourmoneycrown/

FB: https://www.facebook.com/WearYourMoneyCrown/

LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/annaorensteincardona/

The Tree of Hope by Anna Orenstein Cardoba

Recommended Financial Literacy podcasts:

The Get Paid Podcast

Suze Orman Women and Podcast

So Money Podcast with Farnoosh Tourabi  

Song: 'I am light' by India Arie

Wisdom: Bless and Release

Hi there, my wise friends and welcome to another episode of Collective Wisdom, which this week I'm recording from Hong Kong, as I'm here to host a panel interview with some really inspirational female leaders for International Women's Day on March 8th. And I can't tell you how good it is to be back here after three years looking out over the harbour.

Joining me today I have one of the most inspirational female leaders I've ever met Dr. Zareen Ahmed. Zareen has had to find a way to carry on after losing her daughter Halimah in 2007.

This is a bittersweet story that some may find distressing, but I hope you'll agree that Zareen’s courage and compassion has helped to define light in the darkness, and ultimately to learn to live alongside her pain and grief and find healing.

Halimah means gentle, mild-mannered and generous and those are all qualities that come from her mother. We laughed and shed tears together in this most generous of conversations.

Dr Zareen Ahmed’s TED TALK : A Mother's Gift to Humanity, Period Justice

ww.periodpoverty.uk

www.giftwellness.co.uk   Use the code Cat30 to receive 30% off any products

Song:  Sunshine by Gabrielle

Sunshine Lyrics:

Made a wish, I can dream

I can be what I want to be

Not afraid to live my life

And fulfil my fantasies

I learnt a lot of tricks to help me live my life

You helped me find my paradise

When you came you were my

Sunshine through my window

That's what you are my shining star

Sunshine making me feel like

I'm on top of the world telling me I'll go far

Reaching out, for the highs you inspired me to try

I felt the magic inside and I felt that I could fly

I'm looking at the world in an optimistic light

You made me appreciate my life

'Cos when you came you were my

Sunshine through my window

That's what you are my shining star

Hey there, my wise friends and welcome to another episode of Collective Wisdom as we continue to celebrate International Women's Day on March 8th, with the whole of season nine, and a wonderful woman from Korea. Semi Lee, as you'll hear, is full of compassion.

She talks all about her family and what they mean to her, including her beloved grandmother, who sadly passed away earlier this year, but whose legacy is definitely living on through Semi and the way she's showing up for other people.

At one point Semi says that what drives her is her belief that every child has potential with the right love and care. And she's out to show us just how true that is by sharing her message of hope and optimism.

Thanks so much for being here. And if there's someone in your life who's inspired you recently, do remember to tell them that.

Compassion International

Sponsor a Child - Compassion International

Cambodia children’s Fund

Homepage | Cambodian Children's Fund (cambodianchildrensfund.org)

Save the Children (I attached two links – I support through Korean entity but it has international version of it)

https://www.sc.or.kr/

Humanitarian Aid Organization for Children | Save the Children

Good neighbours (I attached two links – I support through Korean entity but it has international version of it)

https://www.goodneighbors.kr/

GoodNeighbors International

https://apps.apple.com/hk/app/sharethemeal-charity-donate/id977130010?l=en

Music ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran

Hey there, my wise friends and welcome to this episode of The Collective Wisdom Podcast. This season is dedicated to inspirational women from around the world as we're celebrating International Women's Day on March 8th, and this week, it's the turn of Mikki Gaffen-Stone. Mikki is a parenting coach, educator, and expert in the science of behaviour change.

Today we'll be exploring her unique insights into the world of modern parenting. Mikki’s approach to parenting is based on her own experience as a mother of two children, who she says taught her more than any class or book ever could. She is now on a mission to help parents raise their children with empathy, respect and compassion.

I am so excited to have Mikki here today to share her wisdom and some of her best stories with us. We talk about how to have better conversations with your children, especially the teenagers, and the magic that happens when you're able to walk away from blame. I wish there were more people like Mikki in positions of authority and leadership, the world would definitely be a much better place for it.

website: www.gaffenstone.com

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaela.stone.942

Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikki-gaffen-stone-15660a84/

Music    ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’  by Queen

              ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ by Queen

Wisdom: ‘It’s not about you’