In this episode:

I talk to my long-time friend, Michael Taggart, who has had a really interesting career path with numerous twists and turns - some chosen by him, and some forced upon him by forces outside of his control.

Through a mix of employment and self-employment, he’s been a journalist on national newspapers, a comms guy for city councils, a PR for financial services companies, he’s built and run his own content marketing agency, and he now co-owns and manages a gourmet tea business with his wife Helen, suppling tea to hotels, restaurants and cafés, and running an actual bricks and mortar shop in Brighton.

In this episode you will hear us talk about the different career shifts that Michael has made during the course of his life, and why he had them.

Plus: we delve into the fascinating philosophies that underpin his courage, resilience and attitude to risk as he continues to chase his dreams.

This stuff is provocative and engaging in equal measure, so without further ado click, play and come listen.

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GUEST BIO:

Michael Taggart started his professional life in the 2000s as a journalist, rising through the ranks, at first, of local and regional newspapers.

Following a stint as deputy editor of a group of newspapers in Spain, he went on to work on Fleet Street for several national titles (“all the worst ones”, he says!), finally hanging up his notebook in 2005 to switch to local government communications. After six “mostly enjoyable, mostly productive” years at three city and county councils, Michael moved to Brighton, fell in love, got married and began a 10-year career in finance and tech marketing. In perhaps his most eyebrow-raising professional move, he took the reins at his wife’s tea company, MDTea, just over a year ago, (at the time of recording) and describes his current managing director role as “the most satisfying so far”.

ALISON O’LEARY BIO:

Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate.

She’s the founder and designer of the Work WonderlandTM process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals.

Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales.

Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change.

When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed.

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All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

In this episode:

The amazing and highly inspirational Claire Frances joins me. Claire is a professional writer and soon-to-be published author, who also happens to be my fabulous cousin.

Claire has come on to share her pretty incredible journey to having her first novel published.

Despite her experience as a journalist and freelance feature writer for publications like BBC Countryfile Magazine and Devon Life, and as a host blogger for The Huffington Post, the road to securing a publishing deal has been anything but easy.

But what I have wholeheartedly admired in Claire throughout the past few years is her unrelenting tenacity in continuing to work at it, despite monumental hurdles and setbacks, and her steadfast belief that the universe has her back, which has helped her trust her instincts and make massive decisions that others would have considered too risky.

In this episode you’ll hear us talk about Claire’s very relatable experience of trying to make this dream of hers work. We unpick how and why she didn’t give up, and hear about her challenging and tenacious journey to gaining her first book deal with One More Chapter, an imprint at Harper Collins, who publish “unputdownable fiction”.

Come join us. You won’t regret it!

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Claire Frances has worked as a journalist and freelance feature writer for BBC Countryfile Magazine and Devon Life and has been a host blogger for The Huffington Post.

With a rich hands-on experience with professional writing, she also has a Masters in Professional Writing, specialising in fiction, a diploma in Print Journalism and Radio, and studied Creative Writing at university.

Claire’s first novel, ‘Someone Like Pearl’, is being published by One More Chapter, an imprint at Harper Collins in early 2025.

She lives on Dartmoor with her family, and finds her ideas for books come most naturally when she's out walking with her dogs.

ALISON O’LEARY BIO:

Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate.

She’s the founder and designer of the Work WonderlandTM process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals.

Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales.

Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change.

When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed.

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All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

In this episode:

With the help of my fabulous friend and podcast producer, Shelley Rostlund, we’re delving into the subject of career and life change.

Yes, it’s a big subject, but we are honing in on how you can identify the kind of changes that will make you truly happy – be they role, career path or lifestyle related.

Having coached hundreds of people through career and life change, I can say for sure that as soon as you know what the right changes are for YOU, you’re in a better position to take action and do something about it.

In my experience, what typically holds people back is the not knowing. It’s that lack of clarity on what the right thing is, that leaves people feeling stuck and in a frustrating state of limbo, and fearful of making the wrong choices that might make things worse.

If you’re wondering what it looks like to work with someone on helping you navigate this big question of right-fit change, then this episode is for you.

Together, Shelley and I walk through my framework, which specifically supports people to come to a clear answer on what is right for them.

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Shelley Röstlund is the producer for the Dream Chasers Show. She is a systems-led personal brand strategist working with knowledge experts...those who teach, educate, consult, advise or mentor others. Her specialism is in uncovering her clients’ marketable genius – their unique gifts which they were born to bring into the world.

South African born and British-grown, Shelley has worked with 150+ brands across 30+ industries through her consultancy and agency work. She leads Harbour 32, a family-centred marketing agency which focusses on personal brand strategy and podcast show positioning and production.

ALISON O’LEARY BIO:

Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate.

She’s the founder and designer of the Work WonderlandTM process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals.

Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales.

Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change.

When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed.

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All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

In this episode:

Join me as I talk to a former client, Amy-Beth Mellor who I’m personally super inspired by.

Amy-Beth spent 20 years working in the NHS as a Dietician in pretty senior roles, whilst battling a number of physical health issues that she’d had since childhood, as well as an inexplicable level of exhaustion that left her unable to function during her time off.

Then, in 2020, she got a late-in-life diagnosis of Autism and ADHD, which finally shed some light on her long-held work struggle, and started her journey to understanding her own requirements for a right-fit career and lifestyle.

In this episode you will hear us talk about Amy-Beth’s very real and detailed experience in trying to operate in a role that wasn’t right for her and the impact it had.

We also talk through how she determined the criteria for her ideal career and the path she navigated to finding the kind of work she loves doing today – which she still can’t believe she gets paid to do every day! (HINT: puppies are involved).

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Amy-Beth Mellor hails from a 20-year career working as a Registered Dietitian in the NHS service, which included the areas of Acute and Community Dietetics, and extensive experience in Home Enteral Feeding in both adults and children.

The pandemic in 2020 caused a big change for people worldwide and for Amy it kicked off her journey to discovering why she was so heavily fatigued every day and was not enjoying her work.

After a late-in-life autism and ADHD diagnosis and career coaching with Alison, Amy has now found her permanent adventure in happiness - working with dogs. She runs her own dog walking and pet sitting business called Furry Popins, based in the Wirral, UK.

ALISON O’LEARY BIO:

Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate.

She’s the founder and designer of the Work WonderlandTM process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals.

Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales.

Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change.

When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed.

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All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.

In this episode:

I am joined by my fabulous former client, Anna Perkins, who (and she won’t mind me telling you) has started a new career journey in her early 50s.

Anna has been a marketeer for 25+ years, and while there’s a lot about this role she still really enjoys, she knew that if it’s all she continued to do until the end of her working days, it would kill her soul (her words, not mine!)

After some deep, introspective work to dig out her innate strengths, skills and passions, and identify what would deliver a true sense of meaning and purpose for her, Anna is now immersed in the world of mental health, and is training to become a counsellor.

In this episode, I chat to Anna about how she came to choose this new career path; the steps she’s taking towards it; how she’s found being back in the classroom and what she has learnt about herself through that process, and importantly for a lot of people, how age is actually on her side.

Come join us.

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GUEST BIO:

After a short spell as a secondary school teacher, Anna Perkins has spent 25 years in Marketing. She’s worked for some of the world’s biggest brands as well as small start-ups leading teams with a passion for brand development, messaging and clear communications.

Anna has always had an interest in knowing what makes people tick and, in more recent years she has got involved in mental health, both through formal training as well as being the champion and MH team leader in her current role. This started the journey she is now on, which includes working as a mediator, volunteering with Cruse Bereavement and Papyrus, and training to be a counsellor.

This has brought together her passions for psychology, helping people and supporting them in their toughest times.

ALISON O’LEARY BIO:

Alison is a highly experienced, certified life and career coach and is an active ideal life advocate.

She’s the founder and designer of the Work WonderlandTM process, her proprietary model that helps people make career and life choices that truly align with their values, strengths, passions, skills and life goals.

Alison hails from a high-paced, London-based corporate background, working for more than 20 years in the field of PR and Communications, until she made her own radical transition to her ideal life, living and working from a remote mountainside in Wales.

Today she focusses her life coaching on supporting professionally successful people in making career changes that facilitate transformational life change.

When Alison is not working, you can find her outdoors - walking beaches at the crack of dawn; experimenting with the universe and consciousness; trying her hand at paragliding; and delighting in the magic of the superhero’s quest. She is also Marvel movie obsessed.

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All episodes are video recorded and can be watched in the website show notes, or on YouTube.