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Secrets From a Coach - Debbie Green & Laura Thomson's Podcast
Secrets From a Coach - Debbie Green & Laura Thomson's Podcast
202. Pursuing A Career Dream
In this second part of our Confidence Enables Success mini-series, we explore the idea of taking a 'second mountain' in a career. As many mid-lifers find themselves re-evaluating their career journey it can be inspiring to remember that it is never too late to listen to our true self and pursue an inner calling. Rather than squeezing yourself to fit in, maybe its about having the confidence to expand and step out.
We are thrilled to be joined by Pippa Winn (aka Pippa Winner) who shares her experiences of pursuing her dream career as a curve model and actor at age 55. Having achieved huge success in her stellar career in beauty, she describes how inside she was feeling broken and knew something had to change. From working through significant life events and overcoming health setbacks, Pippa shares some hilarious and heartfelt moments (gold jumpsuit, anyone?) as a reminder that sometimes in our careers, the best is yet to come.
Pippa reminds us that no matter our age of experience, to dream BIG (we call this Bold, Inquisitive & Goalposts can move). She talks about the life-changing exercise of asking the big 4 questions (we summarise this at the end, but here is the original book: Ikigai Discover Your Purpose and Passion in Life
A reaffirming, funny and feelgood listen for those whom may resonate with the topics of handling health challenges, recently-diagnosed ADHD or a sense of feeling lost in their career.
Follow Pippa on her adventures via insta @pippawinner or @pippawinn on LinkedIn
Curious for more? Check out our relevant episodes:
Ep. 162 Owning Your Success Story
Ep. 157 Making a Mid-Life Career Shift
Ep. 84 Unlocking the Secrets to Confidence
Ep. 143 Supercharge Your Self-Belief: Knowing What You Want
Secrets from a coach Thrive and maximise your potential in the evolving workplace. Your weekly podcast with Debbie Green of Wishfish and Laura Thompson-Staveley of Phenomenal Training. Debs, laura, you alright? Yeah, I'm alright. How are you? I'm alright. How's your week been? Oh, buzzing. I am loving our new series looking at confidence enables success, because it sure does get you. Looking at what confidence means at different stages of life and different people, and how everyone does it differently.
Speaker 2:Yeah, definitely. And we have got an amazing guest with us today, the wonderful Pippa, who's going to talk us through her career, and she's very keen to let us know. She's a 55-year-old, which I think says it all, so shall we have a listen in and see what she has to tell us all about confidence and pursuing her career dreams as well, and the confidence to be able to do that. So welcome everyone. We are delighted to be joined by some guests this month and, as you can see, I've actually got Pippa who's with me today.
Speaker 2:I'll get her to do a proper intros with you in a minute, and I first met Pippa probably three years ago. We were talking about how long ago, was it? And it was three years ago that I first met Pippa and, oh my God, it was just incredible so much energy and enthusiasm and passion for what she was doing, which feeds really nicely into our topic for this week's podcast, which is about pursuing a career dream. And we had got talking about this when we were working together, weren't we, pippa? So I will get you to do your intro to our audience and our listeners. What was your background? What are you doing now? Because you have got a very impressive CV now and we'll make sure that people can access you and find you on all the socials to see what you are doing. So, first of all, thank you for chatting to me, pippa. Give us a heads up as to where have you come from. That's got you here today.
Speaker 3:It's an absolute dream to join you actually. So thanks for having me on, and I feel really honoured. I've trained myself to let go of imposter syndrome, but sitting here doing this with you, I do feel a little bit of it. Sitting here doing this with you, I do feel a little bit of it, so I hope people find me interesting. So I think it's probably important to start by saying that I'm a 55 year old woman. He's looking good, by the way. That is thanks.
Speaker 3:I think it's really relevant, though, to say that I'm 55, because the things that I'm going to talk about will hopefully make people think that, you know, getting into your 50s, or being a mid-lifer, so to speak, it doesn't mean that you can't pivot on a tanner, as my grandma would have said. You know, and do something completely different. It's OK to pursue your dreams beyond your 20s and 30s. So I think that you know, as a young girl, I left school with very little in terms of qualifications. I was absolutely not a dunce, but I just couldn't make school work for me. I just never really understood why.
Speaker 3:I went to college to do theatre and then I won a beauty competition. I know, right At 17, 18-ish, I decided to give up college and kind of work on my looks, a little bit really, you know, and I started 17, 18-ish. I decided to give up college and kind of work on my looks, a little bit really, you know, and I started trying to be a model. But I can remember being told by two different agencies that I was too big and needed to lose some weight.
Speaker 3:So I had been told that I had a lovely face and I thought I could be a model. And lots of people told me I could be a model. But when I went to actually go and pursue that it was the 80s, the sort of late mid to late 80s.
Speaker 3:And I was told no people, you can't. You need to lose about two stone before you can be a model. And so I went away with my tail between my legs and ended up sort of doing promotion work and, you know, just doing anything really to pay the rent. Then I ended up working on a beauty counter and I worked in cosmetics then for probably about 20 years. I had my son in the middle of that and I worked on the radio as well. I did a breakfast show on the radio for a few years, which was great fun, waking up at quarter five in the mornings. But I had this kind of corporate career then that you know had a couple of interruptions for doing, you know, pursuing dreams like being on the radio and also for having my family. But this corporate career was something that is quite checkered and if anybody was to look at my CV and thanks for saying it's impressive, it's also checkered because every two years I change jobs, right, yes, and I could easily explain that away to a potential employer by saying that it was all about career development and gaining a different skill set. And I was always able to explain that away and say you know, it's because of this or because of that, and then I went to that company because they were offering this, but in actual fact, in reality, when I look back at that, it was about my perception of how much of me I thought people could cope with. Ah, okay. So I am currently, like a lot of people, it seems, going through ADHD assessment. Yes, and my counsellor and my GP think it's highly likely that I have it. And if I do, if it transpires that I do, it will explain a lot of those things that I've just talked about, ie my inability to focus at school, my inability to do exams, and then also the career, the way that my career went, and every two years I was changing jobs, and so I think that you know learning about those things and understanding why in corporate life, I always felt that I didn't quite fit in, and I know that that's an expression that's overused these days, but I truly feel it about myself. I just didn't quite fit in.
Speaker 3:The other thing to mention is that I've had some problems with my health over the years. I've had two different primary cancers. So I had about 15, maybe 15 years ago I had thyroid cancer and for that I had a lot of radiation, radioactive iodine treatment, and then a year later it was found that I had bone cancer. So I had osteosarcoma in my leg and you know there's a lot of trauma around that. You know that there's a little bit kind of that was deep rooted prior to that anyway.
Speaker 3:But you know this was a really difficult period of having two different primary cancers back to back and both of them caused other health problems. And the physical thing with my leg was that it threw my pelvis out of alignment and then my spine started to curve and so I had some problems with my leg was that it threw my pelvis out of alignment and then my spine started to curve and so I had some problems with my back. And then about three years ago within two months it was almost I had to have a total hysterectomy, including my ovaries and my cervix, because of the sarcoma cancer that I'd had before yeah, cropping up and me having abnormal cell activity. And then seven weeks later, I had life-changing spinal surgery. Wow, so at the same level of my body, front and back I had two major surgeries within two months.
Speaker 3:Wow, and I'm sure anybody listening to this would understand that that was a huge hurdle for me. Yes, and it challenged me not only physically but mentally and I really lost my way, debs. I yeah, it was hard for me to understand what my purpose was, yeah, what I was doing here, what I was supposed to do. You know, why am I given all of these health challenges? And it made me take stock. I think I hit the wall a bit, you know, and I and I found everyday things really challenging at that time and I would say say that my mental health was not good at the time Through work and I was UK sales manager at the body shop and I had a great job, and I met the wonderful Laura Thompson at one of our corporate events.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, which was really amazing to meet her, and then through her, I met you. It is, and it's really I don't know whether this sounds a bit cheesy to say this, but when you have a conversation with somebody that is so transformational that it makes you question your core beliefs, you've got to take notice of that. And I had just a few coaching sessions with you over Zoom, and I think that what happened to me then was it made me think maybe I'm not right, maybe I'm not. I don't mean not right, maybe I'm not right about my core beliefs. It's not that I don't fit in, it's not that there's something wrong with me. Maybe it's just that I'm in the wrong job or, you know, I'm not pursuing my dreams. I'm trying to fit into the mould.
Speaker 3:And then, when you and I looked at it we looked at that, when we discovered that, when we talked about the fact that my mum also was senior sales management in the beauty industry, you know, 40 years ago, it was almost like I tried to do what I thought was expected of me and I had taken a career path that I thought would please people, and because it was something that I was told I was good at. I did it and that was, you know, being a leader and inspiring and managing people. However, I was masking that whole time. I was just pretending that I was good at it.
Speaker 3:Yeah, but in actual fact, I found it incredibly challenging and all of that pretending wore me out. So we get to a point then, about three years ago, when I realised that something's got to give because I've had this what looks from the outside in, that something's got to give because I've had this what looks from the outside in, like this amazing career, corporate career in beauty. I've gone from counter to trainer to area manager, regional manager, national manager, yeah, and it looks like I've had this. You know that my life. If you were to find me on LinkedIn, you'd go, wow, what a career yeah, and actually in fact I was breaking.
Speaker 3:I was well, I was broken, I, I think, when I met you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you were, and you know, questioning all of that and thinking what can I do? And we did an exercise and I can remember buying the book and having a look at this Aikigai and finding my purpose. And the art of Aikigai looks at what you're good at, what your passions are, what you're interested in, what the world needs and what you can make money out of, and where those four circles like a Venn diagram, where they cross over in the middle. That's your purpose.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 3:I found that and I'm so lucky that I worked with you to find my purpose, because I didn't realise that by just being myself and being normal Pippa at home Pippa that I could actually empower other people to be more themselves, definitely.
Speaker 3:And that it was okay to be a bit lined and wrinkled. You know, I'm really proud of my skin and how I look after it, but I'm really proud of the fact that I've got to 55 and not had any Botox or fillers. Yeah, you know, I achieve my skin just by really caring for it. And yes, yeah, I wanted to challenge what social media was talking about, as you know, as perfection and say actually, do you know what? This is my perfection? Yes, you know, I've got lots and lots of deep lines and wrinkles on my forehead, but you know my skin's in great condition.
Speaker 3:And so I want to challenge that and empower women with that. Also, you know, I'm no slim chick. If you look at my Instagram, you know I am a big woman, I'm a curve woman, I'm very tall, I'm five foot eleven and I'm a size 20 and, yeah, you know, so I can fill a doorway Debs.
Speaker 3:You know, even a double door double doorway, and so I wanted people to feel normal, whatever their shape or size, because all of my life I had felt that I was too big, too loud, sometimes too funny, too quick-witted, too catty. Whether those were ADHD traits or not, or whether it was just me trying to be attention-seeking To fit in I suppose, yeah, to fit in or whether I was trying to just make people like me or something. You know I was trying to be funny because you hear that thing I can remember Dawn French used to say about it's all right to be fat as long as you're funny.
Speaker 3:You know, yes, she did yeah in my head and I thought, okay, yeah, people aren't going to like me because I'm a bit fat, but what if I'm funny, then that'll be good and everyone will like me then. And so I was constantly redesigning the mould of what I think, thought I needed to be. And then, as I I'll go back to the sessions that I had with you about re, almost redesigning my own perception of myself and thinking about who I wanted to be, what, what I was good at, what my purpose was, what can I bring to the world. And I can remember saying to you you know what I used to be a model when I was a kid, and I'd love to do that again, but I think I'm too old and you challenged that belief.
Speaker 2:I do remember that, yeah, I went back and looked through my notes and just thought, actually, yeah, I remember that time when you just went no, I used to do this and I used to do that and I thought I could do that, and all that backward looking was not serving you well in the moment and to challenge you on that and go okay, so what's stopping you from doing that now? And you just went, you flew. I remember you just took that and ran with it and go well, maybe I can. Then I mean, obviously we did a bit more work around it, but in essence, you literally went yeah, maybe I can.
Speaker 2:And it's that positiveness that you identified your purpose, which I think is so important in today's world to know why am I here, what you know well, what am I doing here? Why do I exist? As you said, what's important for me, what am I really good at, what am I passionate about? What you know, what can I bring? And you personified that because you literally ran with it and look where you are now right it was.
Speaker 3:It was staring me in the mirror all the time but I just couldn't see it because I was so busy trying to be who I thought I was supposed to be. Yes, and that was, you know, expectation of somebody reading my CV and I thought that my career was so important. Today I don't even. I mean I still use. I do use LinkedIn because it brings me a lot of work, but you know, my profile on there does not matter a jot to me anymore. It's great that I've got lots of experience in beauty because it gives me credibility when I'm talking about skincare brands.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and that really helps me. But he doesn't help me with the fashion work that I do. And you know, and I'm working with a couple of menopause product brands as well, and you know the work that I'm doing around urinary incontinence and bringing awareness to that.
Speaker 3:Yes, I saw that I got so good about talking about younger, about girls and their periods. We've got good saw that the world has got so good about talking about girls and their periods. We've got good at that, yes. Then we got good at talking about the menopause, and everybody's talking about the menopause yeah. There are a couple of areas of menopause and its symptoms and women in midlife that we still whisper about.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's still taboo. Oh my God, I have a giggle dribble.
Speaker 3:You know that kind of thing and it's like, yeah, we laugh at ourselves about it and it is not funny, it's not funny. So I'm working with a brand called Jude who produce a supplement for urinary incontinence, and that's great. Yes, and then I've been to. I went to Finland the week before last.
Speaker 2:Yes, I, literally I got off a plane from America, went home yeah, because you were in Texas. Were you in Texas before? Yeah, because I've been obviously like I always follow what you're doing and everything else. And I saw suddenly you were appearing on doing some makeup tutorials and then I saw you on some adverts and then I saw you have a note around she's now on QVC, so I'm going, oh my God.
Speaker 2:So I checked in on QVC and watched you on real life on telly, which is amazing and I'm going, I know her. And then obviously you went to Texas and it was like, oh my god, and your clip if anybody does, and we make sure people follow you and Pippa, because you're the one that stands out for me was you were on the plane to Texas I know you've flown lots more times since then and you were looking down the corridor at first class like that and I just thought that was just classic and it was just your cheekiness came through perfectly, because how many of us sit on the airplane and just look as if to go? Oh, I wish I was that way, not this way.
Speaker 3:I was on the front row of premium economy. And.
Speaker 2:I was looking into first class, thinking I know I'm so close to my goals, yes, next time, next time but then you went obviously to Finland. So you, you're being global now because, yeah, so just to touch on the the Texan thing.
Speaker 3:I, yes, I actually do shopping tv out there and I present on American shopping tv and at the channel they say oh, pippa, you could come over here and bring your sorry, I won't do my rubbish Texan accent, but they say you come over here and you bring your beauty products so I represent a brand out there. Yeah, but really, you know, you could sell woolly socks in the summer for us because our view is just like your English accent. So it's just the accent.
Speaker 2:No, it's not just the accent. It's a bit more than that, isn't it, pippa? Is you as well?
Speaker 3:Who knows? So I do that. But then, yes, I got off the plane from America, then went straight off to Finland and that was to go and shoot a commercial that will be on TV. So this was a job, debs, as an actress. Now, I'm not a trained actress. I went to drama school for about two terms before I left college, and I'm not a trained actor, but I auditioned and got this job. But it was because we were to talk about real life experiences. And do you know what? I'm going to rip the bandaid off this. Sorry, I've gone all American on you. I'm going to rip the bandaid off this. Sorry, I've gone all American on you. I'm going to rip the bandaid off this. The advert is for a cream for vaginal dryness.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay. So yeah, let's go there.
Speaker 3:This is going to be on primetime ITV. Okay, so I'm going to be sitting on a sofa in a gold jumpsuit talking about vaginal dryness Brilliant.
Speaker 2:I love that. Only you could seriously make that happen and make it like people sit up and listen really, and I think that that's what the brand want to do, and they're the same company who own um Pantone 39. Oh yeah.
Speaker 3:And they bought, you know, menopausal hair loss into mainstream ITV outbreaks in the middle of Coronation Street, yeah, so people started talking about that. And now they're bringing their vaginal dryness cream into people's living rooms as well, yeah, to get people talking about it. And I think that you know that it's too hushed the conversation around some of those menopausal symptoms, so you know, raising the volume on that. I mean, it's so enjoying being part of that. And then we're working with fashion brands as well.
Speaker 3:And if, if you were to ask me what's your job, what do you do? I'm probably a model. I'm a brand ambassador for a few brands. I'm now an actress. I present, yes, so you know these are all things that are miles away from that corporate career. I had Debs and it was having that transformational moment around my conversations with you all that time ago. You know, and that's why I you know your name's in my prayer book. You know I often say your name because I just think you know, thanks to all the people who said to me go on, you can do this, and I actually, who said to me go on, you can do this. And I actually gave three months notice and quit my job, not really knowing exactly what I was going to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, I remember you doing that and you said, to use your phrase, I'm going to rip the bandaid off. You literally did go. I'm not going to do corporate work anymore, and I think that's quite fascinating, is it? Because you're right? In the early 80s, 90s, noughties, you could move around. I did the same as you Every two years, I moved on, moved on, moved on, and that was okay then, and then it got frowned upon and now it's a gift to have so much of that experience that you can bring into your next career and you're pursuing a career dream of being able to impact on people, like you said, bringing those topics to life in a way that is in alignment with who you are. Still. It's, you know, I I never watch any of your clips or see anything you're doing and I thought, no, that's not how I can still see you in the middle of all of that, and I think that's the beauty of it, isn't it Is you're still you, because I think you're living on purpose. Oh, I love it.
Speaker 3:So I'm intentionally living, yes, on purpose and I love the play on words there because this is my purpose. Yeah, and I'm doing it deliberately. So, yeah, you might have just coined a new tagline for me there Deb, Send me go, you're going to send me anline for me there, deb, send me go.
Speaker 2:You're going to send me an invoice for that one, aren't you? Definitely not, I wouldn't be doing that to you, pippa, is that?
Speaker 3:But yeah, I am, and I think that you know to have thought five years ago, even when I hit 50, to think, oh, could I give up this treadmill, this drudgery of doing this thing every day? And, yeah, you know, and it's if it is quite likely that I've got ADHD and it's a, and I the when I would look at a spreadsheet and try and do my reporting for the week and deliver a yeah, you know, sales report. Whoa, I can remember Peter, my, my old boss, used to, yeah, almost like despair at me for my inability to populate a spreadsheet.
Speaker 3:And yeah, and now I know why and now you know why I do actually have a little spreadsheet now that I just, you know, put all of my jobs in and like that when it's, when it's delivered, when it's paid, when it's published.
Speaker 2:That's very good you've got to keep on track, got to keep on track for that. So tell me, pippa, if you I mean your story is amazing and I remember you sharing you know your cancer diagnosis and going through all of that and and you know that that you're right that is traumatic, that's life-changing, yeah, and the fact that you have literally come through that and you've learned as you've gone and I think is just credit to you. So thank you first of all for sharing with that and I think that to some extent gives you I believe it gives you that little one up to talk about the topics that people don't want to talk about and putting that out there and for it's okay to talk. And I think that's what we did when we were working together, was we just talked and explored, and you can see that coming through in the energy that you bring to it. So if somebody is listening to this and thinking, oh, actually, if I wanted to really pursue my career dream, what advice would you give to them?
Speaker 3:So I think that that exercise that I did with the four circles was really good. So it's the Japanese art of Aikigai A-I-K-I-G-A-I and I don't know whether I'm pronouncing it correctly, but thinking about what you enjoy, what you can be paid for, what the world needs, what's your passion. But also it's talking to somebody, I think, you know, not necessarily a coach, you know, but some of these coaches are quite magical. And they've got a few secrets, so we see what I did there. Oh, I like that.
Speaker 2:We like that no invoice Debs no invoice. All right, I won't send you one. All right, quick pro quo.
Speaker 3:We're all right.
Speaker 3:I think that talking to somebody who will question your imposter syndrome or if you've got a lack of confidence, something as simple as thinking I lack the confidence to do that, and I know that women, as they kind of have children they go back to work after having their children they then suddenly will start to question their value and think that their employer might see them as less valuable because they've got a second eye on the family at home all of the time.
Speaker 3:You know I want to question that. Although you know I'm not involved in that corporate world anymore, what I do really care about is women feeling empowered to make the decision that's right for them and their family, and not about bowing to people's perception of them and what, what it should look like. So, yes, going back to your question, then you talk to somebody who knows, so book a couple of sessions with a, with a coach. You know what it's worth the investment for you to, yeah, to have somebody else ask you some very, very, you know, searching questions. Um, yes, and also, one thing that I did a lot of around that time that I was working with you was I journaled a lot, do you remember?
Speaker 2:that I used to write loads of notes and you'd have loads of wisdom moments and light bulbs going off. So so powerful to write, isn't it?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I journaled loads and whenever I was having a moment of doubt and thinking, oh my God, I don't know if I can do this and I was really anxious about sort of conflict of interest with brands and all sorts of things, I would go back to those notes and revisit them in order to question my beliefs again. Yes, yeah, and revisit those questions that make me think am I making? Is this a story that I'm telling myself in my head? Making, is this a story that I'm telling myself in my head? Yeah, and I am such a big storyteller and one of the one of the stories I tell are stories in my head about about myself and my set of beliefs and, yes, a lot of the time it's rubbish.
Speaker 3:Yes, so if you've got a dream or a goal or there's something else that you think you can do, I think I worked with a lot of people in direct selling who were, who had side hustles, and that was a massive thing at the time. You know people working but having a side hustle through, you know, through Miss Corona, and I think that if you've got a spark of something there, then it's worth exploring it and to explore it with somebody else, who, who will not. You can't answer a question until you know what the question is. Yeah, so if you haven't got somebody questioning you and asking you these things, how are you going to come up with the inspirations? That's why it's always you know that that old expression it's good to talk. It is flipping good to talk, particularly if you're pursuing. Yeah, something like that, because you know you've got two sets of opinions and I'm a great believer in giving it a go these days. My fear of failure was huge.
Speaker 2:And also your imposter syndrome was oh, they might catch me out, which is what we hear all the time. That was, but you, yeah, the fact you've switched your thinking to go yes, let's give it a go, let's just do it. I mean, that's ended you up in Texas on QVC. It's ended you up in Finland. It's ended up you on ITV primetime in an advert. It's like why would you not give it a go, right?
Speaker 3:I know. Thank you so much. Yeah, it was just this. You know, I needed to stop thinking that I would, that I'd failed all of these things, and just to notice for that moment that I was just failing at things that I was meant to fail at, because there was something else there for me. So I would say yes, talking, journaling, writing out scenarios. I wrote myself a perfect life dream and I wrote out this kind of and it's still in my pink wellness journal now and it says, yeah, this is what I would love to happen. But my impulsive syndrome was telling me that I couldn't do that. Yes, that wouldn't happen for me. Well, if I was to take you back to that book now that takes some pictures of it and send them to you, you would see that loads and loads of those things have actually happened. Yes, yeah. So despite being 55 you know I am now it's such a mad expression that we used to say I'm living my best life hilarious steps. So, yeah, brave as well, you have to be brave.
Speaker 2:Courage and bravery, I think too, because you were stepped way out of your comfort zone and you know, with the challenges you were faced with, it was, you know you were going, can, were going, can I? And it's yeah, why would you not? You know, and it's that okay. And then you went and did it. You know like, and before you know it, as you say, you were popping up all over the place and then you've just watched your. You flourish in what you're doing and you know you are flying the flag. It doesn't matter what age you are, what shape you are, your background, what you bring, what you don't bring. It's about bringing you as a person, and I think that's the bit that people see, and I'm sure people will follow you after this. We'll make sure they can reach out to you, but you can see that authentic you. But the work you did on you was incredibly powerful for you and you. But you made it happen. You chose to lean in and go for it. As you said, yeah, I'll go wherever bring it on.
Speaker 3:I love it and the, the words you used there. I chose to yeah, absolutely right about that, because I got to a point where I had to make a choice yes, exactly, and I think that you do for me.
Speaker 3:I had that pivotal moment with my health, you know having those two surgeries very close together and for me now I look back at that as a gift. Yes, because I think that having that major health hiccup put me I was having all sorts of problems at work with occupational health and all sorts of assessments, you know, because obviously your employer has to protect themselves absolutely from you as well as having that duty of care. I was going through so much trouble and you know what came out of it is, you know, it feels a bit Phoenix-like, yeah. So I hope you feel proud as well to know that you were there at the beginning with me.
Speaker 2:I really do, I seriously do. I, you know, sometimes they always say, in coaching you might never, ever come across the person you've coached, and I think that's sometimes quite sad. But there are people throughout my career that I've always kept in touch with in one form of another. And I think, because you're so, you know, you're so prolific on social media and you can see your stories you tell and, and I think that's why I would follow you and see where you're at. So it's not like I'm your permanent stalker, but I am.
Speaker 3:I was nearly crying then, deb. Another thing I was going to say that was probably a bit of luck for me, but I won two beauty titles. Two and a half years ago I won the face of London runway magazine, which is a magazine that celebrates diversity in fashion, you know.
Speaker 3:So, yes, the woman who came second to me was was disabled, physically disabled yes and then the other woman was just like, who came third, I think was tattooed all over. You know, it was real diversity of people, yeah, but the one who won was this 50, as I was then 53 year old, plus size woman, and then I won this. I know I came second actually in a uh, like a beauty pageant, miss fabulous, senior over 50s. Okay, brilliant. Okay, there's some pictures on my instagram actually with a crown I bet you never thought about.
Speaker 2:If you look back now to your younger self, would you have ever believed you would have come like this full circle moment never?
Speaker 3:ever, ever. I was always trying to not disappoint people. Yes, yeah, and that's the serious moment in this conversation was you know, I felt like I was a disappointment and all I wanted to do every day was to make somebody say well done. And my own self-worth was so low that I just, you know, it was just keeping my head above water and trying not to be rubbish every day, you know, and now I'm trying not to be too fabulous because it's embarrassing. Oh my God, you can never be too fabulous because it's embarrassing.
Speaker 2:Oh, my God, you can never be too fabulous. Tell me about that one. I just love it. It's like sharing, because it's infectious right, and I think that's what you know. You own who you are. You have pursued your career dreams, if you like, and you're living them and you're making them happen, and I think, therefore, you have to own your fabulousness. It's because of you, not in spite of you, that you're doing what you're doing today, and I think you're such an inspiration to many women who are out there, but also to you know some men that are thinking oh, maybe could I change my career goal. Yeah, why would you?
Speaker 1:not. You know, it doesn't matter what you are, who you are, you can and.
Speaker 2:No, it doesn't matter what you are, who you are.
Speaker 3:you can and also it's about you talk about moving the goalposts as a negative thing, but for me, I think about moving the goalposts as a positive thing. Yes, because I wanted to dream big, but because my self-confidence was quite low. Three, two, three years ago I actually dreamt quite small and a bit at a time. But now that I and because beauty was my area of beauty was my expertise, so I stuck in that niche and I only spoke to beauty brands and that was what I was doing. And then I started working with one fashion brand, with Live Unlimited, which is a brand that I've always loved anyway, and then I thought actually I can do this. And I've reached out to a few more now, working with Evans and yours, and you know I'm thinking that moving the goal, realise I could do that.
Speaker 3:I'm going to have a go at that as well now, and then just pushing yourself that tiny bit, and then you get loads and loads and loads of little wins as well, no pun intended.
Speaker 2:You get lots and lots of little wins, lots of little pipper wins.
Speaker 3:I'm hoping for that for my son and his girlfriend. One day That'll be my next joy, won't it?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and your grandmother.
Speaker 3:Yeah, joy won't it? Yeah, um, yeah. So getting so, having smaller goals and letting your goals grow as you grow is great for all the little victories that you get and you get to celebrate all of those along the way. Yeah, oh, my god, I love that, the funny moment of saying to harry great news I've got my first tv commercial. Bad news it's for a vaginal dryness cream. Oh, mom you know what he said his answer was it's all right, mom, no one watches tv anyway.
Speaker 2:Oh that's that age group. You know those that need it will be watching. Yeah, for sure that's it. Oh, my god, I love that. Pippa, it's been an absolute joy to speak to you and I'm so delighted that you were able to come and just spend some time sharing your experience and stories. I mean, you have a such a breadth and depth of experience and learnings throughout your whole of your. You know your years to date, and being 55 years young is onwards and upwards from here, right, so I just want to say a massive thank you. I appreciate the feedback you shared with me. It was a match made in heaven when we were introduced by you know, laura, wasn't it? And it's just flourished and to be able to give this back and say tell me about it, help other people with your story, because it is incredible, pippa, and I think, yeah, owning you is the best thing ever. So I will continue to be your number one stalker and look forward to seeing where it goes, and I'll look out for the advert as well. Wonderful Thanks, so much Thanks.
Speaker 3:Pippa, Lovely to talk to you.
Speaker 2:Debs Take care and you Bye, bye. So, laura, what did you think?
Speaker 1:Well, I can't quite move past the image of our Pippa sitting wearing a gold lame jumpsuit, selling the benefits of a product that solves the problem of vaginal dryness she knew you'd love that as well. I mean, it's a hashtag. I'm not sure if it's one that we can it won't be one.
Speaker 2:You forget, though, when you see it actually on prime tv, will you when it shows?
Speaker 1:yeah, oh, absolutely brilliant, wasn't it I? I welled up, I cracked up, I had goosebumps. The main takeaway from that, deb's, is there are so many people who have reached out to us, whether personally or professionally, feeling like there's something more inside of them in their career story, and I got really interested in this. I've had loads of conversations with people you know kind of formally, informally, about this idea of a second mountain. So you've climbed one mountain in your career and you've maybe got to that stage of life where you think, actually, I think there's an inner calling and I think I'm going to go. I'm going to end my life with regrets if I don't do something about it now, because I've got the energy and the health to do something with it. Let me kind of go for it, and I just think it's the most inspiring thing to listen to. It's never too late to add to your work side of yourself and to pursue a career dream.
Speaker 2:It was wonderful.
Speaker 1:I know, and also, debs, I just think, reflecting back to you the impact that you've obviously had on that human. I mean, what did that feel like for you hearing her? Because I know you weren't, I know you hadn't prepared for her to be talking in that way so what was? That like for you hearing that firsthand it was super humbling.
Speaker 2:Actually, I was like blown away when we were. She was just talking because I think I personally I don't always recognize or see the impact that, as a coach, that you can have on someone, and it's only when you might catch up with them, you know, once they've gone through their transformation and like having that conversation with Pippa, and then you realize the impact that just by asking a couple of questions and just by giving her the space to just explore what it meant to her, I think you know I, just I I was really like blown away by her feedback. I was so proud of myself that in a way that it was like oh, that's so lovely to hear, because we don't often hear the impact we've had to such an extent and for her to say that I was super humbled by it but very privileged at the same time to know that I was part of her journey.
Speaker 1:Devs what was that thing? Just tell us quickly. I'm going through my mind about that TED Talks from years ago called the Lollipop Moment. What was all that about?
Speaker 2:So the Lollipop Moments was done by a guy called Drew Dudley and it's on a TEDx talk and he was in Canada. So TEDx Canada, it was done in 2010. And it was just one of those things that how do you create those lollipop moments so you don't know the impact you might be having on somebody at all. Like I suppose that I had no idea the impact I was maybe having on Pippa until I heard it, so that, in effect, is that lollipop moment because it's like you know, she told me that was the impact. She didn't necessarily tell it, as say, at the time, but that lollipop moment is that ability to recognize when somebody has had a massive positive impact on you and you celebrate that.
Speaker 2:And Drew Dudley's YouTube clip and you can search it it's called Everyday Leadership, or you can search for lollipop moments and he will come up on it just shows that how we never underestimate the impact you can have on someone, and that person might come back around, like in the YouTube clip, four years later and say you might not remember me, but this is what you did for me, and he calls it their lollipop moments, and he also uses the Marianne Williamson quote in there, which is it's always blown me away when you stop and think about it.
Speaker 2:And it's always blown me away when you stop and think about it. And her quote is our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. I mean, it's part of a bigger poem, but that is what he quotes in that as well, and it's always stuck with me that I go yeah, actually, how do I shine my light and how do I enable others to shine their light, which then became my purpose, because that's what we do as coaches. So, yeah, it's incredible.
Speaker 1:Oh, real warm gooey moment.
Speaker 1:It was my favourite bit of that Marianne Williamson poem is you're playing. Small doesn't benefit the world. And I think that's what I'd just say. Thank you, pippa, for reminding us you're never too old to pivot and make a change. And oh my God, I mean, you know she's absolutely rocking it Real, real inspiration. I remember the moment I met her. I mean she's just one of those people Just so much humour, so much beauty, doing it in her own way, and I had no idea that stuff from a health perspective was going on behind the scenes.
Speaker 1:And I know we normally do a call to action first of all, but I'll kind of do it in a different way, because my share the secret would be is if you know anyone who is currently going through health challenges or for whom ADHD or other diagnoses is a hot topic, or whom is just experiencing a lot of setback at the moment, get them to listen to this, because it won't be the end of the story In fact, it could be the making of you, you know to be able to use some of that wisdom and propel it forward.
Speaker 1:So I think that would be my share of the secret is if you've got a friend or a colleague who's going through some tough times at the moment. Sometimes it can be quite inspiring just to hear life afterwards and actually how you know the stuff that might be going on is a chapter in the story and not the full one. You know kind of end point, and you know I like an acronym. I just loved how at the end, she said about dreaming big. So I think, yeah, let's be more PIPA. Think bold, inquisitive and goalposts can move. And if the vision of you sitting there in a gold lame jumpsuit a gold lame jumpsuit extolling the benefits of a vaginal dryness product.
Speaker 2:If that's what propels you through, go for it. Yeah, I love that, definitely, and that's a really good share. The secret, actually, I suppose my call to action would be to pick up on what she suggested. So when we were listening to her, she mentioned about the Japanese concept of I never get this right ikigai, which is around really living on purpose. It's about making sure that your reason for being is the one that you want it to be, and there is a book on it and you can search it. It's an amazing book and she obviously that was one of the recommendations when we were coaching and she really liked that.
Speaker 2:You know, know, because sometimes people do. But that ability to think about you know what you love, what the world needs, what you can be paid for and what you're good at, but it also then intertwines with your passion, your mission, your vocation and your profession. So, when you start to think about how can I start to shape what's important for me, we can absolutely do that. So the book I think it was in 2017, the book came out, but it's about creating purpose in life, both personal and in work, so it's a really good. So that would be my call to action, do the work on yourself, have a think about what you love doing, what's your purpose, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can get paid for. What's your purpose, what you're good at, what the world needs and what you can get paid for, and then, yeah, you can live that basic health and wellness approach Beautiful.
Speaker 1:So thank you to Pippa, that idea of a second mountain in your career. It's never too late to kind of shift direction and go into that inner calling. And, devs, I'm super excited for our guests for next week, because what next week's guest is going to be looking at is how do you inspire confidence in self and others to even step on the first mountain in the first place?
Speaker 2:Yeah, looking forward to it as well, laura.
Speaker 1:Have a good one. Oh, have a good one. I'll tell you what I am now going to be looking on Vinted for Gold Larvae jumpsuits.
Speaker 2:I look forward to seeing that on one of our episodes.
Speaker 1:Laura, Do you know if she can pull it off? I can pull it off, and that's the power of being inspired, isn't? It by other people pursuing their dreams. You think, do you know what I want? A piece of that I'm going to go for it Dream big because we can.
Speaker 1:Have a fab week, you, too. Love you. Bye, bye. We hope you've enjoyed this podcast. We'd love to hear from you. Email us at contact at secrets from a coachcom, or follow us on Insta or Facebook. If you're a Spotify listener, give us a rating, as it's easier for people to find us, and if you want to know more, visit our website, wwwsecretsfromacoachcom, and sign up for our newsletter here to cheer you on and help you thrive in the ever-changing world of work.