Happy MBA

Kindness, compassion, and playfulness can create positive ripples in the world. This episode’s guest, Bernadette Russell, has a daily intentional practice of kindness that not only brings her a sense of hope and joy, but has also opened doors to new opportunities and experiences.By embracing our childlike wonder and bringing it into our adult lives, we can redefine what it means to be a grown-up, take responsibility for our actions, and make a difference in the world.Through intentional acts of kindness, we can rediscover hope.LinksBernadette’s websiteFollow @bernadetterussell on InstagramHow to Be Hopeful: Your Toolkit to Rediscover Hope and Help Create a Kinder World – Bernadette’s latest bookJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

Author Oliver Burkeman discusses time management, productivity, and the Zen-like surrender to the fact that we can't get everything done. The podcast explores writing for clarity and connection, embracing finitude and uncertainty, and navigating autonomy while seeking fulfillment.

To cultivate creativity and authenticity, we have to be be willing to take risks and face the fear of rejection.James Victore is a designer and author whose podcast and course help people cultivate creativity and courage. He believes in authenticity, self-awareness, and the importance of understanding one's creative voice in order to put meaningful work out into the world.He encourages people to find their own voice and to not let self-doubt or negative opinions hold them back. He joins Laurence and Carlos on the Friday Fireside to discuss how being true to oneself and following through on creative ideas leads to success and fulfilment.LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohortFeck Perfuction: Dangerous Ideas on the Business of Life – James’ bookThe Right Questions – James’ podcastJames’ Born Creative course

One of the things Laurence and Carlos are really passionate about at the Happy Startup School is helping entrepreneurs build businesses that are aligned to who they really are.Most people they work with are experienced professionals or seasoned business owners who are looking for a different work path: a path that feels less effortful and alive.Up until now the path they’ve followed seemed like the right one as they felt like they were achieving and succeeding. However, they were eventually left feeling drained and even burnt out.According to Gaiai Pollini, one of the causes for this is that they weren’t being true to themselves. They had made decisions and taken actions that weren’t actually theirs. They were based on behaviours that were learned at a young age in order to meet their needs and which have stayed with them into adulthood.If you start a business to make a fundamental change in your life but base your decisions on your adaptive behaviours, there’s a good chance you won’t make the change you wanted.To make this change you need to identify the source you. Your source is true and fresh in the moment while your layers of adaptive behaviours can constrict and constrain.In this episode, Gaia shares the five different styles of adaptation she uses in her work:The outsiderThe helperThe super personThe people pleaserThe perfectionistThis conversation will help you explore yourself with curiosity and self-kindness and invite you to do some self-reflection so that when you come to creating something new in your life, it will be relevant to your truth, and who you really are.LinksThe F**k it LifeSay F**k it and Feel the Fear – the Happy Entrepreneur podcast, with John ParkinJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

For those of us born in the West today, living to 100 will be the norm, not the exception. Living longer is clearly a gift, but the simple truth is these extra 25-30 years of life did not exist before.This new horizon is as important and exciting as the invention of motion pictures, cars or even space travel.When a change this big happens, innovation follows.Ayse Birsel is the author of Design the Life You Love, a step-by-step guide to building a meaningful future. As well as being on the Thinkers 50 shortlist for talent, she is the co-founder and Creative Director of Birsel + Seck, a studio where Ayse designs award-winning products for companies including Herman Miller, GE, IKEA, Philips, Staples and Toyota.On this Fireside, Ayse shares more about her research for her new book Design the Long Life You Love. Conducted with people 65 and over, she explains how the lessons from these pioneers of life can serve us all — designers, entrepreneurs, and business leaders — in our work, our lives, and the lives of others, regardless of age.LinksConnect with Ayse via LinkedInDesign the Long Life You Love: A Step-by-Step Guide to Love, Purpose, Well-Being, and Friendship – Ayse’s new bookJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

The podcast discusses the projections people have towards money and how it affects their behavior, including struggles to generate wealth or a fluctuation between greed and disgust. It also explores the importance of self-connection, community support, and understanding one's relationship with money in pursuing a new endeavor. Additionally, it highlights the value of self-compassion, sharing experiences, collaborating with other entrepreneurs, and embracing the ups and downs of the entrepreneurial journey.

For the last 7 years Joshua Coombes has been a man on a mission. In 2015, while working at a London hair salon and feeling a little disillusioned, he took to the streets with his scissors to build relationships and offer haircuts to men and women experiencing homelessness in the capital.He began posting transformative images on social media to amplify the voices of those he met. The stories that accompanied these photos resonated, and others began to get involved in their own way.Do Something for Nothing was born – a movement that encourages people to connect their skills and time to those who need them.Joshua didn't want to set up a big charity, or focus on making a “huge impact” or “changing the world”. Instead he wanted to focus on helping the person right in front of him; the person many of us walk past every day.Joshua felt his energy was better spent getting to know a few people better, telling their stories and letting that ripple out. Nick Cave called it “a simple, big-hearted and world-shaking idea”.What can each of us give that we have in abundance that can change people's lives, even in a small way. Sometimes the simplest ideas are the most profound.Listen to hear Joshua's story and better understand what impact means for you.LinksConnect with Joshua via LinkedInDo Something for Nothing: Seeing Beneath the Surface of Homelessness, Through the Simple Act of a Haircut – Joshua’s bookThe Wisdom of TraumaJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohortBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the conversation live

Laurence has been a big fan of Tim Frenneaux's work since he first discovered Gather Outdoors, a blog and online store he launched back in 2015. He's still got a couple of their sweatshirts.Tim launched Gather shortly after he turned 40. Around this time he lost his dad and realised he wasn't living the adventurous life he dreamt of as a kid. More recently Gather has evolved to become Adventurous Ink, a book club for people who love the great outdoors. His blog is a wonderful source of ideas, resources and inspiration for anyone that wants to bring more nature connection to their lives.Like Laurence and Carlos, Tim believes that seeking the sublime and awe in nature can be the antidote to many of the problems we face as a society. From disconnection to ourselves, but also to each other and the planet.Tim talks about how nature can allow us to open up, and how Adventurous Ink grew from the Do Lectures.

Are you starting something new? Are you on the hunt for customers? If so, stop thinking of your customers as just buyers, and start thinking of them as potential partners and co-creators.From the Happy Startup School’s experience, what you think people want isn't always what they actually want. And the more you talk to them the more likely you'll find out what really floats their boat and discover how your energy to create can best meet their hunger for a solution.In this episode, Carlos speaks with Adam Forbes, founder of Familiarize. Adam left his corporate job after 20 years to start his new business, and he has principles for co-creating with your customers to share:Start with pain What are people finding difficult and challenging?Understand your customer What are they really trying to do and what outcomes are they looking for?Build hypotheses How do you frame what you think is happening as assumptions you can test?Get out of your head How do you engage and talk to people so you can learn from real world situationsThink collaborators not customers How do you nurture relationships even when you haven't built anything yet?LinksJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort

In the summer of 2009, brothers Dave and Mike Radparvar decided to quit their jobs in the heat of the recession to go all-in on their passion project — Holstee, a functional and sustainable t-shirt company they had started with their friend Fabian Pfortmüller.Since then they’ve pivoted many times. Though what they’ve done and how they’ve done it has changed, why they’re doing what they do has always remained the same.And it all stemmed from the manifesto they first created when they launched their company.It’s a manifesto that’s caught the imagination of people and companies around the world and has been viewed millions of times and translated into over 14 different languages.Holstee is about helping people live lives full of purpose and meaning. They sell a range of physical products as well as the Holstee Membership, Reflection Cards, and a recently-launched Reflection.app.In this episode, Carlos and Laurence talk to Dave about how the company was started, how its evolved and what it means to live a meaningful life.If you’ve ever come across the Holstee manifesto, bought any of their products or have a wish to build a business that scales its impact through its values and not just by selling lots of products, then listen to learn from Dave’s story.LinksThe Holstee ManifestoJoin the conversation liveBecome a member of the Happy Startup SchoolJoin the next Vision 20/20 cohort