Series 8 has been one of the most powerful yet, a season of raw honesty, deep reflection, and inspiring resilience. Across sixteen extraordinary conversations, we’ve explored what it truly means to live, love, and lead with authenticity.

From suicidal ideation to self-acceptance, childhood loss to creative rebirth, OCD to bipolar, miscarriage to motherhood, each story redefined success not as wealth or status, but as presence, purpose, and the courage to ask for help.

This finale brings together the highlights and trailers from Series 8 (Episodes 115–130).

• Success is a feeling of alignment, not a finish line
• Asking for help is a gift, to yourself and others
• Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose are the real drivers of fulfilment
• Emotional education matters as much as academic achievement
• From darkness can come light, connection, and meaning
• The real measure of success? Presence over perfection

00:00 — Daniel Wilsher (E115)

01:24 — Joel Lawton (E116)

02:43 — Simon Chuter (E117)

04:27 — Sam Adams (E118)

05:55 — Asis Patel (E119)

07:13 — Howie McConnell (E120)

09:04 — Ashley Usiskin (E121)

11:14 — Abi Mellor (E122)

12:36 — David Eakins (E123)

14:25 — Oly Newton (E124)

15:07 — Jon Kennett (E125)

16:53 — Max Marshall (E126)

19:17 — Dr Carlos Saba (E127)

21:59 — Sarah Willingham (E128)

23:21 — Jonathan Lea (E129)

25:03 — Matthew White (E130)

From the depths of despair to the light of discovery, Series 8 reminded us that success isn’t measured by wealth or fame, but by how deeply we live and love. Every story, every voice, every moment shared helps shift the narrative, one honest conversation at a time.

If this series moved you, share this episode with someone who needs it.

And if you’re struggling, remember: asking for help is strength, not weakness.

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

👉 www.different-hats.co.uk/podcast

🔗 SPONSORED BY:

Search Seven — www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove — www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale — www.rivervale.co.uk

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🎬 PRODUCED BY: H2 Productions

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At 38, Matthew White’s world changed overnight. A seizure on the football pitch led to a devastating diagnosis, an extensive, incurable brain tumour. In this deeply emotional Different Hats Series 8 finale, Matthew shares his journey of survival, hope, and redefining success in the face of uncertainty.

He opens up about the physical and emotional battles of brain surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, and the profound lessons he’s learned along the way, about time, presence, gratitude, love, vulnerability, and what it really means to live.

Through his writing and advocacy, Matthew has become a voice for resilience and change, challenging stereotypes about masculinity, illness, and success. His words are raw, real, and profoundly moving.

Join Matthew and I was we explore themes of identity, perspective, vulnerability, fatherhood, curiosity, emotional literacy, and the courage to keep learning, no matter what life brings.

00:00 – Introduction

05:30 – Redefining success and identity after illness

10:00 – Living authentically vs. living society’s narrative

15:00 – The importance of curiosity, learning, and participation

20:00 – Finding joy in the small things

25:30 – The seizure, the scan, and hearing the words “It’s cancer”

33:00 – Family resilience and being home for Christmas

39:00 – Controlling the controllables

42:30 – Balancing hope and realism

45:00 – Documenting his journey to help others

49:00 – Processing trauma and finding control through learning

56:00 – “Don’t give up — it will get better”

1:03:00 – Building emotional intelligence through psychotherapy

1:10:00 – Finding his voice again

1:17:00 – The power of asking for help

1:23:00 – Creating a cocoon of support and redefining vulnerability

1:30:00 – Lessons from his children

1:38:00 – Rethinking time and what really matters

1:45:00 – The evolved version of Matthew White

1:48:00 – Perspective: what really matters each day

1:50:00 – The biggest lesson of all: never stop learning

1:52:00 – Messages for his wife and children

1:55:00 – Living in hope and staying one step ahead

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

🔗 Connect with Matthew White

Instagram: @livingwithabraintumour

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

Your support helps us spread this important message and change the narrative around success and mental health.

Search Seven – www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove – www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale – www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X – https://www.plusxinnovation.com/

🎥 PRODUCED BY: H2 Productions – https://h2productions.co.uk/

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

What does it really mean to speak your truth in a divided world?

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Jonathan Lea solicitor, entrepreneur, and founder of The Jonathan Lea Network, for an honest conversation about courage, conviction, and authenticity.

Jonathan opens up about growing his law firm, navigating controversy, and standing firm on his beliefs during one of the most polarising times in modern history. We talk about free speech, the fear of speaking out, and why honest debate, even when uncomfortable, is essential for personal and societal growth.

From lessons in leadership and fatherhood to the rise of AI in law, this episode is a masterclass in integrity, presence, and redefining success.

• Redefining success through courage and authenticity
• Free speech, emotional intelligence & healthy debate
• The impact of COVID, censorship & social media
• Leadership, balance & presence in fatherhood
• The future of law and AI’s role in human creativity

00:00 Introduction

03:21 “How do you define success?” – career, family, campaigning

10:16 Success as a feeling vs. milestones; surviving a tough market

25:50 Should debate be taught in schools?

27:00 Pandemic years: campaigning, reputation, and staying civil online

33:48 Values vs. opinions: can relationships survive big differences?

38:13 “Freedom movement,” Tommy Robinson, and division

41:38 Immigration, patriotism, compassion & policy

50:41 Who benefits? Foreign policy, media narratives, and nuance

1:07:31 Why Jonathan spoke out during COVID

1:10:05 Censorship, protests, platform bans & media framing

1:20:36 Did speaking out hurt business? (what actually happened)

1:26:38 Leadership vs. being anodyne; standing for something

1:28:35 Lockdowns, collateral harms & vaccine passports

1:31:41 Can opposing truths coexist?

1:36:02 How to speak up safely (regulators, sources, IHRA, AI checks)

1:43:35 How his firm uses AI (ChatGPT & Gemini) across legal work

1:55:23 Will AI replace lawyers? Where humans still add value

1:59:48 The next 5 years: tech, team, and growth mindset

2:06:02 New fatherhood, balance & presence

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

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

🔗 CONNECT WITH JONATHAN LEA:

Website: https://www.jonathanlea.net

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

Search Seven – www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove – www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale – www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X – https://www.plusxinnovation.com

🎥 PRODUCED BY: H2 Productions

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

What does true success really mean? In this inspiring conversation, I sit down with Sarah Willingham, entrepreneur, investor, former Dragon on BBC’s Dragons’ Den, and co-owner of the Brighton i360.

Sarah opens up about:

✨ Why she believes success is freedom, the ability to meander through life on your own terms.

✨ The heartbreaking loss of her soulmate during Covid and what he taught her about presence, happiness, and living fully.

✨ Her bold decision to take her four children out of school for three years to travel the world and why she calls it the best decision of her life.

✨ The challenges of entrepreneurship in hospitality, surviving Covid, and leading through tough times.

✨ Why she doesn’t believe in a career path but instead a life path building businesses and choices around lifestyle, values, and family.

✨ The lessons she’d tell her 20-year-old self (and why polishing basil leaves became her metaphor for life).

This raw and honest conversation shines a light on redefining success away from money, fame, or status, and instead towards balance, freedom, and presence.

If you’ve ever felt trapped by society’s blueprint for life, Sarah’s story will inspire you to carve your own path and embrace the beauty of just being.

⏱️ Chapters:

00:00 Defining success: freedom & presence

06:00 Curiosity, chaos & why Sarah loves variety

13:30 The flawed dictionary definition of success

17:00 Walking, nature & recalibrating from adrenaline

26:00 Diarising “nothing” & finding presence

28:30 Taking kids out of school to travel the world

39:00 Challenging the education system

53:00 Finding her “thing” in business

1:01:00 Entrepreneurship, resilience & the WHY

1:07:30 Surviving hospitality during Covid

1:10:30 Balance, chaos & polishing basil leaves

1:14:20 Advice to her 20-year-old self

1:17:00 What does a life well lived look like?

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

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

🔗 Connect with Sarah Willingham

Website: https://sarahwilligham.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahwillingham/

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

SPONSORED BY:

Preston Insurance: https://prestoninsurancebrokers.co.uk/ - Episode Sponsor

Search Seven www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X https://www.plusxinnovation.com/

PRODUCED BY: H2 Productions: https://h2productions.co.uk/

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

What does it really mean to live a successful life? Is success about achievements, wealth, or status or is it something much deeper?

In this powerful episode of the Different Hats Podcast, I sit down with my good friend Dr. Carlos Saba, co-founder of The Happy Startup School. Carlos shares his journey from chasing external markers of success to redefining it as a feeling of alignment, acceptance, and agency.

We dive into:

• The evolving definition of success beyond money and milestones
• Emotional intelligence and why schools must nurture curiosity, not just grades
• Why shame, comparison, and old money stories hold us back
• The idea of “Happy Money” and how our stories around money shape our lives
• Midlife transitions, the “second mountain,” and asking Who am I becoming?
• How to create your own blueprint for life and stop living by outdated societal narratives

This conversation is packed with wisdom on presence, purpose, and emotional awareness, reminding us all that success is not about having more, but about being more.

00:00 – Intro What is Happy Money?

06:02 – Redefining success as a feeling of alignment

07:31 – From black belts to diaries: chasing early success goals

12:45 – Why being still is so hard in today’s society

17:56 – Childhood, conditioning & the stories we inherit

21:27 – Is the school system broken? Emotional literacy & curiosity

26:27 – Parents, teachers & environments shaping emotional awareness

29:08 – Rage, shame & teaching children emotional intelligence

32:43 – Can we measure emotional intelligence like grades?

37:48 – The “Second Mountain” of purpose & contribution

42:45 – Finding your values and purpose vs. chasing titles

48:21 – Questioning the life blueprint: marriage, career & curiosity

53:14 – Compassion, forgiveness & letting go of “the one way”

55:41 – Feeling stuck? Where to start with transition

59:10 – The First Mountain vs. the Second Mountain

1:01:43 – Redefining money: Happy Money & financial stories

1:09:51 – Scarcity, shame & abundance

1:13:29 – What is happiness? Acceptance & agency

1:15:35 – Responsibility, awareness & self-compassion

1:18:31 – Life as an adventure, not a scoreboard

1:20:29 – Chaos, stories & infinite games

1:25:24 – Death, joy & making the game better

1:29:13 – Agency, acceptance & connection

1:30:13 – Summer camp, friendship & fulfillment

1:33:30 – The key midlife question: Who am I becoming?

1:36:02 – Closing tradition: Storytelling card reflection

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

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

🔗 Connect with Dr. Carlos Saba

Website: https://www.happystartupschool.com

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

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

SPONSORED BY:

Search Seven – www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove – www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale – www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X – https://www.plusxinnovation.com/

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

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

What if schools prepared young people not just to pass exams, but to live fulfilled, resilient, and happy lives?

In this inspiring conversation, I sit down with Max Marshall, a former teacher who left the classroom after 10 years to disrupt an outdated education system. Max now champions a vision for schools that prioritise emotional intelligence, resilience, and self-confidence over rote learning.

Together, we explore how redefining success for children could transform not just education, but the future mental health of our society. From Habits for Happiness to emotional tolerance, Max shares practical ideas for parents, teachers, and leaders and why teaching children to manage their emotions could ultimately save lives.

This is one of the most important and game-changing conversations I’ve had on the podcast to date.

00:00 Introduction – Fixing what schools miss

02:30 Max defines success: from popularity to fulfilment

07:00 The danger of external validation & social media

10:20 Teaching intrinsic success to children

15:00 Rethinking competition, failure & resilience

23:00 Why schools must change: outdated curriculum

27:30 The problem with SATs and measuring success

32:40 Emotional intelligence vs academic intelligence

40:00 What children really need to thrive in life

47:30 Pushback from schools & systemic barriers

55:00 Habits for Happiness – practical daily routines

1:05:00 Preparing children for secondary school & life

1:20:00 Choosing who you want to become

1:40:00 What success looks like for the next generation

1:52:00 Closing reflections & the Different Hats card

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

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

🔗 Connect with Max Marshall

Website: https://lifeeducationcoaching.co.uk/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lifeeducationwithmax/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/max-marshall-life-education/

Follow Max here 👉 https://linktr.ee/maxmarshall.life.education

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

SPONSORED BY:

Search Seven: www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove: www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale: www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X https://www.plusxinnovation.com/

PRODUCED BY: H2 Productions: https://h2productions.co.uk/

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

⚠️ Warning ⚠️ This episode contains content that may be alarming to some listeners. We do talk about suicide which we know can be distressing.

In this powerful episode, I sit down with Jon Kennett, agency director, family man, and someone who’s lived through the highs of ambition and the lows of loss.

Jon opens up about how his definition of success has shifted over the years from chasing houses, cars, and financial milestones, to focusing on happiness, health, and the relationships that matter most.

We dive deep into themes of presence, fulfilment, balance, and relationships from practical business lessons around leadership and networking, to raw, emotional conversations about mental health and suicide. Jon shares the heartbreaking stories of close friends he’s lost, the ripple effects on everyone left behind, and why breaking the stigma around these conversations is so important.

This episode is both deeply human and practical with lessons on leadership, resilience, and the everyday sparks of meaning that keep us going.

• Redefining what success really means
• Why fulfilment is about the journey, not the destination
• Building genuine relationships over transactions
• Lessons from Jon’s father and a childhood immersed in music & performance
• Mental health, suicide, and the ripple effect of loss
• Leadership, trust, and putting the right people in the right seats
• Family, presence, and the everyday sparks of meaning

00:00 – Opening & introductions

03:20 – Redefining success: from cars and houses to health, happiness, and family

12:15 – The pursuit vs. the destination: presence and fulfilment

20:40 – Networking done right: building relationships, not selling

31:00 – Growing up in music, confidence through performance, and lessons from his father

42:30 – Validation, highs & lows of the music industry

54:10 – Mental health, suicide, and losing a close friend

1:06:00 – The ripple effect: multiple friends lost to suicide and how it changed Jon’s outlook

1:24:00 – What needs to change: stigma, emotional education, and starting young

1:38:00 – Leadership lessons: building trust and putting the right people in the right seats

1:46:00 – Advice to a younger self

1:47:00 – Staying present as a father and leader

1:55:00 – Closing reflections: what sparks meaning in everyday life

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

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

🔗 Connect with Jon Kennett

LinkedIn: Jon Kennett

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

SPONSORED BY:

Search Seven – www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove – www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale – www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X – https://www.plusxinnovation.com/

PRODUCED BY:

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

*If you’ve been affected by any of the topics in today’s episode, please reach out to local support services or find resources via Samaritans (UK) or equivalent helplines in your country.

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

At just 21, Oly Newton’s world was turned upside down. After surviving a severe mental health crisis and living for years with the daily challenges of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), he channelled his pain into purpose, becoming a speaker, advocate, and founder of LightsOnXP, a human-centred workplace wellbeing platform shaped by lived experience.

In this powerful conversation, Oly opens up about how OCD has shaped his life, how he learned to manage it, and why it doesn’t define him. We dive into his journey from rock bottom to leading meaningful change, the importance of being truly present, and why human connection remains the most powerful tool for wellbeing in the workplace.

This is an open, honest, and deeply human exploration of recovery, hope, resilience, and the courage to keep showing up, even when the lights feel off.

00:00 — Introduction

04:12 — Oly’s early years and the experiences that shaped him

10:05 — Hitting rock bottom: a turning point in his mental health journey

17:46 — The power of speaking out and breaking stigma

23:30 — Founding LightsOnXP: building a wellbeing platform shaped by lived experience

31:18 — Redefining success: from surviving to thriving

37:54 — Why human connection is the cornerstone of mental health in the workplace

45:22 — Navigating balance and avoiding burnout

52:16 — Authenticity and showing up as your whole self

58:04 — The role of presence in recovery and leadership

1:05:48 — Finding fulfilment in purpose-led work

1:12:09 — Relationships, trust, and creating a support network

1:19:33 — Practical steps for organisations to support mental health

1:27:15 — Living with OCD: challenges and coping strategies

1:35:42 — Lessons learned from lived experience

1:43:58 — Advice for anyone struggling with mental health right now

1:51:25 — Future plans for LightsOnXP and personal growth

1:59:50 — Closing reflections & Oly’s definition of success today

🎧 LISTEN TO MORE DIFFERENT HATS EPISODES:

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

🔗 Connect with Oly Newton

Website: https://www.lightsonxp.com

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

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

SPONSORED BY:

Search Seven — www.searchseven.co.uk

Nostos Hove — www.nostos-hove.co.uk

Rivervale — www.rivervale.co.uk

Plus X — https://www.plusxinnovation.com/

PRODUCED BY: H2 Productions — https://h2productions.co.uk/

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