I thought my 100th podcast episode was the start of my journey.

I didn’t realise it would change everything.

Recorded the day after my 47th birthday, this 18-minute solo episode reflects on the most transformative year of my life, not the easiest, not the most “successful,” but the most honest.

A year of silence.

Sobriety.

Relationships changing shape.

Asking for help.

And finally facing the question I’d spent years avoiding:

Why am I not enough?

In this episode, I share the lessons I learnt, the breakdowns, and the moments that rebuilt me.

We explore:

• Redefining success beyond money and status
• The Five Pillars of Success as lived experience
• Male mental health, vulnerability, and asking for help
• Sobriety, self-worth, and sitting with discomfort
• Why connection, not achievement, saved me

This episode marks a shift.

From building businesses to building a movement.

From push motivation to pull motivation.

From wearing many hats… to finally choosing the right one.

If you’re navigating change, feeling lost, or quietly struggling, this episode isn’t here to give you answers.

It’s here to give you permission.

Because sometimes the bravest thing you can say is:

"Help"

00:00 – Introduction

01:45 – Stripping Life Back: Silence & Sobriety

03:20 – The Five Pillars of Success

05:40 – When Relationships Change Shape

07:50 – “Why Am I Not Enough?”

10:20 – When It Got Dark

12:40 – Asking for Help

14:30 – Clarity, Purpose & Letting Go

15:50 – From Business to Movement

17:00 – I Am Enough

🎧 MORE EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

💡 If this resonated, please like, share, and comment, it helps spread this message and challenge how we define success.

SPONSORED BY:

Carpenter Box | Brown Bear Studios | Rivervale | Plus X

SPECIAL EPISODE PRODUCED BY:

Matt Cheney - Brown Bear Studios

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this deep, thoughtful conversation, I am joined by entrepreneur, technologist and systems-thinker Neil Witten to explore what success really means, and why so many of us feel disconnected from the lives we’re building.

Neil has spent years questioning the systems we’re told to follow in education, work, entrepreneurship and culture, and asking a more human question instead:

“What am I uniquely designed to do?”

Together, Neil and I explore:

• Why success has become overly defined by money, status and productivity
• The hidden cost of ignoring curiosity, play and soft skills
• Why many people wait for crisis before changing their lives
• The role parents, schools and culture play in shaping identity
• Why self-awareness may be the most important skill of the future

This is not a conversation about hacks or shortcuts.

It’s about listening to your gut, working on yourself, and choosing alignment over approval.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re climbing the wrong ladder…

If you’ve questioned the systems you’ve inherited…

Or if you’re quietly asking “Is this really it?” .. this episode is for you.

00:00 – Introduction

03:30 – Why we struggle to talk honestly (especially men)

10:45 – How culture hijacked our definition of success

18:40 – Purpose, play & being wired for something

30:15 – Education, neurodiversity & one-size-fits-all systems

42:10 – Soft skills, hiring & the future of work

55:30 – Childhood, curiosity & learning outside the system

1:10:45 – Entrepreneurship, risk & waiting for permission

1:28:20 – Parenting, autonomy & enabling potential

1:45:10 – Creating your own catalysts for change

2:02:30 – Letting go, evolution & redefining your role

2:18:40 – Final reflections: living true to yourself

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Neil Witten

Website: https://www.pigsinflight.co.uk/

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

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment below.

Your support helps us change the narrative around success and mental health.

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎙️ PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when you’ve done everything “right”… but still feel worthless, lost, and exhausted by your own mind?

In this deeply honest and moving episode of the Different Hats Podcast, I sit down with Matt Cheney, creative producer, storyteller, and someone who has quietly fought one of the hardest battles of all: the one inside his own head.

Matt opens up about late ADHD diagnosis, imposter syndrome, self-worth, burnout, grief, suicide attempts, and the masks many men wear just to survive. He shares how losing his father, his relationship, his career structure, his identity, and his sense of belonging brought him to rock bottom, and how a single moment, a run, and one unexpected email helped him choose to keep going.

This is not a story about “fixing yourself.”

It’s about learning how to live with yourself.

If you’ve ever:

• Felt like you weren’t enough

• Lived with a relentless inner critic

• Been successful on the outside but empty inside

• Struggled to accept love, compliments, or rest

• Wondered if it’s possible to keep going

This conversation will stay with you.

00:00 – Introduction

01:21 – “You Alright Mate?” check-in

02:54 – Shiny objects vs investing in yourself

07:35 – Redefining success beyond money

12:30 – Loving your work… but hating yourself

16:13 – Creativity, kids & permission to try

22:14 – Childhood, belonging & emotional safety

28:51 – Rugby, leadership & fear of failure

32:58 – ADHD, masking & self-worth

40:20 – Parents, caregiving & inherited patterns

49:05 – Imposter syndrome & burnout

56:00 – Relationships, vulnerability & being seen

1:06:51 – Injury, grief & losing everything

1:18:42 – Suicide attempts & the pain beneath them

1:19:34 – The email that changed everything

1:28:56 – “You are the sky, everything else is weather”

1:35:50 – Learning to live with the inner critic

1:46:29 – Giving without needing anything back

1:53:29 – Silence, endurance & the meaning of “keep going”

2:08:20 – Advice for anyone feeling lost

2:12:27 – A life well lived

• ADHD & late diagnosis

• Imposter syndrome

• Masculinity & emotional literacy

• Suicide, grief & recovery

• Self-worth vs external success

• Receiving love & compliments

• Identity beyond achievement

• Why “keeping going” matters

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 https://www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 Connect with Matt Cheney

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattcheney1/

💡 If this episode resonated with you, please like, share, and comment. Your support helps us change the narrative around success and mental health.

Rivervale – https://www.rivervale.co.uk

Brown Bear Studios – https://www.brownbearstudio.co.uk

Carpenter Box – https://www.carpenterbox.com

🎙️ PRODUCED BY:

H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.