Reintroducing The Lifestyle CEO: Meet Katie & Christina

Welcome to this new season of The Lifestyle CEO! We're Katie & Christina, and for our first episode in this new season, our conversation happened exactly how we wanted it to – authentic, unfiltered, and real. From how we met to our deeper discussions about breaking free from the "busy addiction," this episode sets the foundation for everything we believe in.

We dive into why we started this podcast – because we saw a need for real conversations about creating a life on your own terms. Between Christina's journey of building a successful marketing agency focused on flexibility, and Katie's path from clinical psychology to couples therapy in Bali, we share our honest experiences about redefining success.

00:00 Welcome & Introductions 

03:45 How we met at a birthday party 

08:15 Our struggles with social media authenticity 

12:30 Breaking free from productivity addiction 

16:20 Balancing business success with personal values 

21:40 The importance of "being" vs "doing" 

26:15 Creating space for authentic connections 

31:50 Christina's journey from corporate to agency owner 

36:30 Katie's path from psychology to couples therapy 

42:15 Why community matters in redefining success

This podcast is for every woman who's ever felt caught between societal expectations and what actually brings them joy. Whether you're an entrepreneur, professional, or someone seeking a more intentional lifestyle, join us every week for real conversations about creating a life that truly works for YOU.

✨ New episodes every week! 

Website: www.lifestyleceo.co.uk
Instagram: @thelifestyleceo.podcast
Christina: @itschristinagough
Katie: @drkatiestarling
TikTok: @thelifestyleceo.podcast

Transcript

 Welcome to the lifestyle CEO, a community designed for women, looking to take their life into their own hands and redefine what success looks like for them. I'm Katie, a clinical psychologist and couples therapist. I'm passionate about connecting you with the tools you need to create the life and relationship you want.

And I'm Christina, a marketing and business expert who has built her life around giving herself and those around her the ability to choose what their lifestyle looks like for them. Together, we have created the podcast for women just like us, who are looking to redefine what success looks like for them and enjoy a lifestyle that they love.

Welcome  to this episode of the Lifestyle CEO. Well, it's our first episode together. I'm so excited. It is exciting. And I think it's important for us to just kind of chat about a bit more about who we are and why we're here. But I think that'd be really nice for us today for our first episode, just to really set up like why we're here, what we want to do, why we're so excited to be here.

It's a big question. One we hope to answer on this one. Yes. Um, but yeah, I think, um, well, the reason that Katie and I kind of came together, I guess, obviously our kids were at school together. Yeah, so our kids went to school together for a year, actually. And I don't think we talked about, oh, maybe once in that time.

So, we kind of crossed paths, I don't know, on the peripherals. But we actually got started talking really when it was my son's birthday and you came in.  And you were late. Not having a dig here.  You had a busy day. I had explained that I would be late. I knew she was going to be late. She had a lot going on.

And she walked in, I could see she's a bit flustered. And I was like, do you want a wine? And there was just this like moment of kind of connection and like, okay, we can be friends. Instant. Anyone else want a free wine? And this says a lot about our relationship. Anyone offers me wine and I'm like, Oh yeah, we're going to be friends forever.

So yeah. And then it kind of evolved, didn't it? Because we started going to, well, we didn't actually start going to the gym together, we bumped into each other at the gym and then we realized like we could start going to the gym together and then through our conversations, I think we really realized how much our skill sets complement each other and they're so different for sure.

But the way that we think about the world is so aligned and I think it's just such a nice complimentary between. Your skills and experience and my skills and experience. Definitely. And I think it was also kind of just on a more macro level, like we were talking a lot about, obviously Katie and I have both been business women, um, throughout our kind of careers and entrepreneurs in that respect.

And I think obviously both of us living in Bali, we felt like there was sort of a lack of community for women like us, which is sort of. multi faceted and multi hat basically which is like entrepreneurial, wives, mothers, you know have goals with outside of the sort of children and husbands and whatever you know and and I think when you move to somewhere like Bali obviously and or anywhere in the world I guess if you move away from your hometown when you're an expat it's sort of like  It's, you've got the dream life in so many ways, but actually it can be quite isolating if you're away from your team or away from just your network that you've kind of worked with throughout your career.

And I think me particularly, I was really finding it difficult to sort of get into the,  the groove of either going to a co working space that didn't really feel like my sort of thing. But then going to a cafe is also a bit like.  the same. You're still working on your own, right? And you know, there's only so many hours of the day you can feel excited by being on a Zoom meeting with your team.

And I think we sort of just bonded over that need for a bit more connection and conversation around  something other than being a mother or being a, you know, I think it's also even something more than work. Yeah. Cause really like we're talking about like how to live your life and how we want to live our lives and our values and those kinds of things.

And I think that we have that nice connection around like, We are trying to achieve something obviously in our work lives, but it's also really that we've made this  quite big lifestyle shift. Yeah, you know, really, it's a huge lifestyle shift. Yeah, it's pretty big, I would say. I'm looking around thinking, this is, you know, even doing this, like it's so different to what I ever thought I would do.

Like, I never thought I'd be sitting here with a microphone, chatting to you, recording it, It's a random person you met at a birthday party. But yeah, like this is kind of the pathway that just naturally kind of happens, doesn't it, when you start making different choices.  And then I think when you are sort of living your life by your values and you're seeking out things that you enjoy.

Yes. And that's what really brought us together actually. I love that. Is the idea of like,  I would, we were both like, this would be really cool to do. We just started talking about it. It was so natural and so easy. And we were both excited and felt passionate about it. And it just, you know, I think we were just kind of following like what interests us.

Yeah. What brings us joy. Yeah. And then I think the rest kind of falls into place, doesn't it? And I think that's what the sort of point of the podcast was. We really felt like there's this idea of the world right now where I think it's sort of driven by social media predominantly, where there's this sort of like one  goal or one sort of lifestyle that everyone is pushing towards.

And actually,  and you know, and I think even in itself that causes so much stress and so much unalignment for people because they're, you know, they're seeking this,  validation of a lifestyle that isn't actually what they are looking for. And I think when you step away from that and you really start to think about, but what brings me joy or what are my values?

How can I live authentically? We started talking about this more and more and realizing our values were quite aligned, but also that actually there's probably a lot of women out there who are trying to figure out this new online business space or world that we live in and actually finding it difficult because it just doesn't align to what they are naturally valuing or aligned to.

So, and I think that's where we felt, and I've had conversations with other friends here who are just sort of the same. They're just like, I just don't kind of,  you know, in my mind it doesn't fit with my values on mine. And I think that's where we were sort of thinking actually there's probably a really nice conversation to be had here about.

Absolutely. And I think that lifestyle part is so important, isn't it? Because I think we can get caught in this idea of success and like, what is success? And I think that when we're not clear on that, we all fall into the stereotypical ideas of success, like earning lots of money, having a certain position, or you know, having a certain business or looking a certain way.

All those sort of, you know, things that we fall, fall into. And I think that where we both are really focused on is like the lifestyle is like how do we wanna live our lives? Yeah. What are our values? What's important to us? What brings us joy? And that's actually kind of guided more of our decision making around work and life.

For sure. Um. And I think it, you know, it's really interesting when you start thinking about that, because I've always said, it's actually not a thing that you want, or things that you want, it's a feeling. Yeah. Right? I love that. I'm all about the feelings. You know? I'm a psychologist.  All about the feelings.

And I think it changes so much, and we were talking about this as well, like, in your twenties, your goals and your vision for life is going to be so different. from when you become 30, 40, whatever. Absolutely. And I think, for me, like it's shifted so much from  before when I probably wasn't very aligned with who I wanted to be or what I wanted to do, like in my early 20s, setting up a business because I guess the thought of being an entrepreneur was more what was driving me rather than actually how I wanted my  life to feel.

Yeah. But as I've got older and perhaps through having children, perhaps through settling down or whatever. Um, Yeah. Um, that, that need for feeling peace and fulfillment, but in a fulfillment, not external validation has become so important to me and whatever that looks like, that's sort of what I want to follow.

And that's again where this podcast came from, right? Because we want to be doing things that really fill up our days with joy, not stuff that we feel like we should be doing or we have to do, we have to do to earn money or whatever. And I think that's the great thing about it. the online world now if there is such a plethora of opportunities, but it's just making sure that you don't get wrapped up in that,  you know, that sort of typical image that  people are portraying.

Yeah, and we really struggle with that, right? Yes, we really struggle with that. This is why I do so poorly on social media, because I really wanted to struggle with this idea. And you know, it's really interesting actually, because I had a bit of a realization about this last night, which I haven't spoken to you about yet.

But, um, I was thinking about this idea of like being authentic and like for me, authenticity is so fundamental. Like for myself, firstly, so if I'm in a space and I feel like I'm not being myself or I can't be myself, maybe, you know, I've been in positions where I've, you know, led teams and I've had to adopt the kind of company policy and it's gone, this is, this actually isn't me.

Right. So in those situations, I'm really, I feel very in tune with that. And so I just can't operate in those spaces. So those decisions are very clear for me. Okay. This is not for me.  Um, and then there's obviously the authenticity of the people around you and I've had this struggle with Instagram and I know everyone else has probably had some of these struggles too. 

Um, because I felt like it's just, I feel it felt very fake to me. But what I realized is, is that part of it was actually just my way of trying to engage with it. And I was actually trying to be like everyone else. I wasn't, I was really trying to be like everyone else. And that's why I follow.  But then I was like, that was the battle.

I was like, I need to be like that in order to succeed. Or I, I can be like me and I can just fail.  I felt two options, but maybe there isn't the only option. Yeah, I know.  And then I was like, what are you doing? And anyway, so then I just started to think about like what's important to me in like therapy, which is obviously where I spend a lot of my time.

And it is about having a sense of humor, which I haven't had on social media at all. I've been very serious. Um. And so just starting to realize those kind of values and looking at like how I can bring them in. And yes, like maybe you have to play a little bit of the Instagram game and I've got to get over that, but really got to get over that.

But also like I, I really do need to do it in a way that's authentic for me. And I think it, I've struggled to find that place and I think other people struggle to find that place. And I know I've worked with clients who are, you know, really successful in these spaces, but then. their feelings in their own life don't align with the lifestyle they're showing up.

Yeah. On social media. So I think it is, you know, these are the kind of challenges that we've talked about. It's like, how do you maintain your authenticity? How do you live a lifestyle that, you know, uh, aligns with your values? And engage in the new business world, a new way of doing things. And I think that, that was another conversation we had, was sort of like, actually social media we thought was sort of this secret science, I mean I'm in marketing right, so it's crazy that I still don't really get this,  I mean I think B2B marketing is very different to this B2C like social media world, where it's really people selling themselves right, in the, not the  sexual sense, um, but I think. 

I've been, we've been doing a lot of research around content and just sort of like, even from a LinkedIn perspective, which before I felt was safe from this sort of game that you have to play on social media, but it's not anymore. And it, yeah, and it really annoyed me. Cause I like, obviously from a marketing perspective, we, we PR thought leaders and people who want to build genuine credibility and like really share that kind of honest leadership thoughts and skills and then to see that sort of being. 

becoming like clickbait headlines on LinkedIn, it really didn't sit well with me. Um, but I realised I need to, I mean, I thought a dinosaur was like an old white man in a boardroom, but I realised I might also be a dinosaur. I might be a dinosaur too. But I was like, okay, maybe we need to get with the times and, but I think there's a balance and that's what we're sort of saying.

I think that's the struggle, right, because I think we do get it. Yeah. Like, I think we know what we need to do, and you definitely do. Yeah,  I know a little bit less well, quite a lot less. You suppose let's be real. I know quite a lot less you, you know this stuff, but I think where you've struggled to implement it in your own life is that authenticity piece.

Exactly. And is that piece around like how do you do it in a way that can, you know, can maybe a little bit cringe worthy, but can still feel okay and valuable that you're offering value? Yeah, and I think that that's part of the reality that we have to accept is that. You do have like, what is it, I don't know, like one second to capture someone's, probably less than, to capture someone's attention.

And so sometimes you have to put that first thing out, but then what follows is the important  piece of that, isn't that? And that's what I've really been wrestling with and come to, is like, I really want people to have good relationships. I want people to have evidence based information. I know there's so much misinformation out there, and that's kind of what you're  is like all the quick bait kind of horror shows about relationships.

Cause everyone's like, Oh, I must read this and look at this. And it's like, okay, like maybe you have to find a way to, to grab attention that can still feel okay to you. But it still gets the attention that then they means they can then read on and find actual. And I think it's almost like, you know, we were talking about the idea of like visuals versus audio for the podcast.

And if you go back to that idea of like really traditional learning models, like we all learn. Different ways. Yeah. You focus in different ways, so it's just about repackaging that information. Yeah. To other people's more. Yeah. And I think, yeah, that sort of brings us back to like what we are doing here, basically.

And I guess we just, I think there's definitely different seasons of life and it's very much about, for us now, like we really feel like we've created our lifestyle. Right? Yeah. We've really made some big, big choices that have led us to where we are today. Because at one point or another between, you know, between us, we sort of said this isn't what I want and I'm going to find a way to get what I want and really got clear on that.

And I think, especially, I mean, obviously it's not saying that necessarily everyone wants to move to Bali and raise their children here. No. But it's that idea that actually you can design a life on your terms. Exactly. And like really giving people, even if it's just this idea. tippet of inspiration to think what do I actually want?

Not what scrolling through social media every night tells me I need to have or want. And it's just giving that sort of like, even just a spark in their brain to say like, oh maybe I do want to start a podcast because it's so fun to chat about these topics. Or maybe I want to sell an e book because it's got some knowledge in, or whatever it looks like, it doesn't even have to be business related.

You know, and it's just sort of, the status quo is genuine. It's kind of genuine. Slowly breaking down, I think, in terms of having to be sat at your desk nine to five and, you know, the women, obviously this is an old thing, but like women being at home and the men going to work, but there is still these sort of  ideas, I think, of what life should look like.

Like, I know for me, as I was growing up, it was very much like, I was going to be a lawyer, I was going to go to university, this is what my life was being, everything was sort of, and I bought into this as well, but it was only sort of,  I think I must have had my first job and I had this mentor who was a woman and she bought, built this huge, like amazing agency and I was like, wow, this is cool.

Like maybe there's something else to life. And, and it's just sort of finding those sparks of information that then, you know, five years down the line might then create something like a new business or moving to a different country. But it's just like, I really feel like  paths have opened up. So it sounds ridiculous, but like sharing our stories is a way of sparking imagination and excitement for others  as well who might be feeling like they want something different.

Yeah, I think it just, it just opens up new ways of thinking, doesn't it? And thinking about what might be possible in your life. And as you said, like, it's not about recreating our lives and our lives are not perfect. No.  Far from perfect.  But like I think the thing that the current that runs through for both of us is that we keep making choices to move towards what feels good for us and what brings joy to us and what makes us happy. 

And so like it is a constant flowing and changing process as it will be for everyone. And I think even like what you want changes doesn't it? Like quite frequently. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So like It's not about finding like the one clear path. No, and then following that for the rest of your life. No, but it is just about like knowing what you value, knowing how you feel, knowing what you enjoy, and then like making decisions around those things.

And having conversations like we've been having. Yeah, and you can join us here in the comments if you want.  You are part of this conversation. And it's also, you know, having those conversations with other people. Yeah, because I think it's not until you have those conversations like this. Just that feeling, isn't it?

Like, we get when we're catching up, it's just like, ah! Yeah, this person gets it. Like, we're on the same page. Or even opens your eyes up to other things, like other ways to live, or other, just ideas out there, because you just don't know what you don't know, right? And I think that's one of the lovely things about living in Bali, or as an expat, I guess,  is there are so many people here from so many different walks of life.

Like, I don't think I've met one person who has a 9 to 5 job.  I mean, either it's like you're working ridiculous evening hours or there's a lot of passive income streams or, you know, whatever it may be. And I just think even that in itself, I'm excited for my children to grow up around that sort of thing.

Because it's not like where we will probably like just assume this is the route we're going to go. Like, you know, university, corporate job, whatever.  Actually, there's just so much It's just opens your mind to other things. I think we are very lucky because we are in this environment where it's like, everything's kind of, 

but it's really cool because I feel like we don't, you know, it, you know, I'm sure I don't know if we've talked about this, but I'm sure you have talked about it with some of us as well. And you know that in the Bali bubble, like it does feel like you kind of feel a little bit free from all those yeah.

And there's kind of normal ways of doing things. You're just kind of figuring it out for yourself. And, um, like, it is a nice place to be. I know not everyone will have that, but it is about stepping back and creating those kinds of spaces in your own mind. There's spaces where you can let go of all the constraints.

Yeah. What do you want it? And whether it's like brainstorming, like we do in our color,  colored pens and paper. Um, or, you know, just creating a space where like, I know for me, like if I'm trying to figure stuff.  I really love being indifferent, so I'm all about moving around. Like, I move around a lot.

Housing or like just coffee shops? Not housing, I keep my house to say. But like if I'm writing and like, again, like everyone would be different with this, but I actually like to spend some time like being outside and I'll just take my laptop and sit outside or maybe going to a coffee shop or putting on music.

Yeah. Like I just need that constant, like, Yeah. And just kind of shift your energy and so I think it is about creating some of those spaces in your life where you can do that so that you're not just, you know, going to work, coming home. And it's just going through the motions. Going to bed. Yeah. Yeah. Like, even if it is an hour a week, whatever it is, just calming out some space.

And I think be creative. I love that because it is, it's almost coming back to this idea which, with all the noise that we've thrown. That's thrown at us every day. It's almost just coming back to yourself. And I know it sounds very woo woo, but it's not, right. It's very much like, I think we've forgotten how to listen to ourselves.

And we think like, Oh, I need to buy this course to do this. Or I need to follow this Instagram and to know this. And it's like, Even, I was thinking about this, because I'm on like a fitness journey, I mean, we both are now, but like, I don't say it, I wouldn't say it, I wouldn't say I'm on a fitness journey. I want to be realistic and real about it.

I've joined you, but like, I'm not hardcore. No, I know, but, But I love going to the gym, it's great. I think, like, I, before, I was just overwhelming myself with information, like, oh, I should be doing this, this, this, and I was following every possible Instagrammer on the planet, and I was just so overwhelmed.

And when I just took a step back, and I was like, I know what my body likes. I know what makes me feel good. I know what makes me feel less bloated. I know what things I enjoy doing. And that's, and I just stopped all the noise. And I think, you know, just, that's a tiny example, but even just from It's a great example though, because it's the overload, isn't it?

And like that overload of information can be paralyzing. Like we can't have too much.  What do they call that? Analysis paralysis?  Sure.  And it's not, I think, you know, when you talk about the idea of being woo woo, coming back to yourself, it's really not. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that we do in therapy every day, right?

It's not woo woo, but it's not like, oh, I've got to connect with myself. I mean, you can do it that way, but it doesn't really matter how you do it. But what we're sort of saying is that, There is so much noise and we live in a society with more noise than ever  before. So we do need to like quiet and just take time for reflection.

And you know, obviously one of the barriers for that is social media and phones because  what do we do when we have quiet time? We jump on our phones. So we've missed that opportunity that used to exist where you would just have time when you were bored and you'd sit and think, you know, and so we, we actually need to actively carve out that time, as you're saying, and to kind of connect with ourselves and tune in and think, okay, what am I feeling right now?

And feel those feelings. Feel the feelings. It's so easy to numb, right? Yeah. And when we do that, then we're kind of missing like the cues like for the path that we want to go on. If we're talking about that path of like what we want to do with our lives or what What has meaning to us, like, we need to feel in order to understand that.

So it is Yeah, I really like that. Connecting. Yeah. And I think, again, the, the spiritual community or whoever we want, again, it's an Instagram noise thing, right? It's like everyone thinks you have to meditate for five hours in the morning and journal for half an hour and do this and that. And it's not really that because I think even setting yourself to do that, I will get up at 5am and meditate and then do this.

Yeah. And it's, if you're, you know, whatever you're doing, if you're a mother, if you have to go to work early, if you do night shifts, whatever.  It's like that then puts this next layer of pressure on you. But it's, it should, you just again need to cut out that noise and just be like, right, I've got 10 minutes now.

Let's just sit down. If I want to write, I'll write. If not, I'll just sit and think or enjoy a peep, a moment of peace. Which is just the most incredible thing in the world. The most incredible thing. And it's so funny, isn't it? It's like, oh, a bird is singing. And then you just suddenly feel so like,  Amazing, because that, that is true mindfulness, right?

That is being present. And I think we overcomplicate it. You're right. And we're like, we have to go by this course. We have to do this thing. All we need to do is sit down and be present. I mean, it is easier said than done. Like it is definitely hard to do, but I think, you know, even like when you said that I was thinking about, um, date nights, this is like back before we were in Bath, it was a lot easier to do those things.

Now it's a lot easier. Now it's a lot easier than when we were at home.  Um, but I  My partner and I had this date night and You know, young kids exhausted. And we were like, you know, we should go to a restaurant. We just went down the beach, just laid on the beach and we didn't talk. 

And it was the best day I've ever had in my entire life.  We did nothing. We just lay on the beach and just enjoyed silence. But that was, that was bliss. It was just like, we don't even need to have a conversation. Like what we are both craving right now. Yeah. It's just like,  There's nothingness. And it was just the most refreshing day, you know what I mean?

I think sometimes we can just overcomplicate it. Like it's got to be perfect, we've got to do a cooking class or something. You need to do something really exciting. You need to be able to Instagram it and yeah. But it just comes back to again, isn't it? Like knowing yourself, knowing what you need and want and just doing it.

For sure. Yeah. And I think that's an exercise people can do really easily. I mean, it's like you said, it's easier said than done. And it's taken me a long time to figure out what really I value in people. But also what values I myself want to live by and I started doing this thing Which is when I do my to do list for the week or whatever.

I also do a to be list Yeah, which is like just even it's just like being a committed friend or being a generous daughter or whatever you know things like that or Really giving my all at work and things like that and it's like that just sort of Resets you back and it's not another list of things to do It's just a way of like this is how I would like to feel this week Yeah And if it's that I want to feel more rested and quiet then that's what I'll prioritize, you know?

Yeah. And I think that's a nice way, but actually  just getting super clear on I love that. I want to come back to that because I really love it because it's like, it's this idea of like doing, doing, doing, isn't it? Like it's always adding to the list instead of like, what's more important? Is it the doing or is it actually the being?

Yeah. And how do I feel? Yeah. And we actually have a thing in, um, there's a, uh, parenting kind of program also called security and, you know, it's around attachment, attachment relationships. And a big part of that is to recognize the idea of being with someone, so being with our kids. Because we do so much for our kids,  but sometimes we get stuck not spending enough time being with.

Yes. You know, the being with is just like playing 

a game that they want to play, um, and because we can get so exhausted by all the doing the  laundry, cooking,  you know, clean up all these things. And sometimes we have to, when we start to see it that way, that the importance of the being with, we can start making choices to say, You know what? Like, the dishes are disgusting, or the laundry's not going to get done, and you know what, it's going to be more efficient anyway, and I just do it one load later in the week, whatever it is.

But we can start making those choices, rather than just constantly being focused on, I've got to do this, this, this, this, this. And I think we are stuck in this addiction of being busy,  and then productivity, and that we should be. being with the children or even having a conversation with our parents or our siblings or whatever it seems to drop down the list because it's either not  it's not giving you an output let's say so it's not like oh I've done the dishes so my hands are on the list.

You can't take it off the list. Maybe that's a thing to do like on the to be list it's like be a present mother or whatever  and I think It is sort of, I mean, I always remind myself how quick the years will go for the children, blah, blah, blah. But it is true, and like, I've really started to make time to lie with them in the evening and just chat about their day.

Because I think that's so interesting. Now they're at the age where they can share their stories, like,  It doesn't have to be going to a fancy playground every night, or going, even going to the beach and seeing the sunset. Like, it can actually just be a, let's sit down, not have any telly on. play some Lego maybe, or whatever, but actually just have a chat.

Absolutely. And I think, and I saw this. That's the stuff I remember. Right. When you ask people, you know, uh, in therapy, like we talk obviously about people's backgrounds, etc. When they talk about their favorite experiences with their children, they're never about like, we went to Disney. No, no. It's like, we went camping, we spent all this time together.

It's not about the camping, it's about the time, or this road trip we went on, and we had these conversations. And it's always about like the time that we spend with. I love that. And I think it's also, you know, that's bigger than just our parenting, isn't it? Because it's also about, like, ourselves. Who we want to be.

And I think that Enjoying your own time. Yeah. Your own company. And feeling, like, I, you know, if you, I mean, I'm sure everyone has done it. My stool will stop.  Did you?  Sorry. Okay. I was like, I'll try to hold it. I was like, I'll hold it for some time. I don't know how. Just keep running in it, right? Okay. Leave it running so it'll be easier to chop.

Yeah, yeah, fine.  Still recording. Sorry. I'm just 

saying.  Oh yeah. 

Okay. Yeah.  I mean, you can wipe your nose.  We reshuffled his dresses and that's what I just said. Um, and yeah, I'm sure we've all done, you know, like you have a catch up scheduled with your dad or your mum or your sister and your, um,  definitely doing something else, or they're definitely doing something else on the computer and it is just, you don't come away feeling good about that conversation, especially when you live in a different country or even a different city.

Like it's I I often, I think I need to either carve out specific time that is only for Zoom or like FaceTime  or make sure I'm not on my emails, basically. But I do it all, all the time. Like I really need to get used like. I'm trying to focus on what I'm doing, not trying to do some emails, like, oh quick.

And I think, again, we're just in this culture of like, being hyper productive, this is probably women more than men. It's actually not productive though. No, right? It's interesting when you said that, because I was just thinking, a while ago I did a mindfulness program, and the evidence actually tells us that, and I, you know, I really struggle with this actually personally, because I'm a huge multitasker.

I am, I am being productive. This is not true. But multitasking is actually, it lowers our productivity. So we are much better off to do one thing at a time. And, you know, I know people listening will be like, that's not true. I know I find it hard to believe that, but it is true, you know, like, because we, when we're multitasking, We're never kind of in one thing and we're not doing it well, so it is, it is a thing that I think we really have to start to shift.

Yeah. And I think, you know, we've talked about this idea, like females are just like hyper productive, always multitasking, always like doing more efficiently and more productively. And it's just like, Letting go of some of those ideas, I think, about the fact that we need to always be doing things in the most productive way.

And being perfect. Yeah. And sometimes I think that we like, you know, I think we talked about a while ago, the idea of like overscheduling and like, I feel like sometimes I spend so much time focused on like scheduling everything out and then it's like, things change and I have to redo the schedule. And it's like, I don't know, like organization is important, but to what, what level do we need to be overscheduled?

And like, I was doing, because this year I was like, right, I think the kids need to start some activities. And I could feel my like old, whatever, what's the word, like your, it's not trauma obviously, it wasn't bad. But it's like your, my old self thinking like, we must be over scheduled. We must be doing every activity and offering them every opportunity.

Which I think is incredible, obviously. But I think like there comes a point where like, we don't need to have every minute of every day scheduled. Like they don't need, I remember talking to some parents, like probably more in England than here. But it's like. Yeah, we always have a tutor because we don't want them to fall behind, we want them to be ahead and like, and it's like, there needs to be a point where it's just like, like you said, there's just being, like there's not doing, it's just being and, and not scheduling and not, um, like.

Kids need to be born. Right? And figure out what they want to do. They need to like, learn to be born and learn to create. Yeah. And they need space and time. If you, you're constantly scheduled, you're constantly busy.  Then you don't know and your brain probably doesn't develop right and you have a space to like process feelings Yeah, constantly like when you know yourself like when you just in go mode That's so just like in that autopilot.

You're just like go go go and you're numbing you're like, yeah You are you're just like in hyper focus mode That's so interesting because I guess we were talking earlier about how we numb ourselves by being hyper productive But actually our kids we're breeding that in our children already right by sort of not allowing them to And I think that's the thing that I think is really important is that we're not allowing them to feel the feelings.

And like,  then maybe that's how it all sort of came about is this generation of being product, productive. Stop doing everything. Don't be productive. But I think it comes back to like, again, it all comes back to just knowing yourself, which is definitely easier said than done. And I know it's a journey because we change all the time as well.

But I think if you know who you are, then you kind of know  What do you want to do? And it's like that Ikargi principle, right? Where it's like your purpose and what brings you joy can then create what you do in life. And I realize that's hard to do.  I think you know why that's hard too, is because I think even though we say that, and we talk about like knowing who you are, a lot of the societal messages around that are still around what you do.

Yeah, so like you think about school, like it's all about choose your subject, choose your pathway. Like, you know, you've got to know who you are, but it's framed in that way, but it's not actually about who you are. It's still about like what you're doing. Yeah. And your job does not define who you are, I think.

Absolutely. And I think a lot of people get caught up in that as well, especially now there's so many like,  like solo entrepreneurs or people that work for themselves by like talking about who they are, as in like sharing their skills, which I think is great. It's amazing, but I think again, you then really get tied up in the idea that your business is who you are and you are who your business is, right?

So it's sort of like, you can separate that a bit in terms of actually  who you are is different to what you do, like you said, and I think it's just,  just figuring out that like, my value. It's not the whole thing. You know what you were saying that I was thinking about too, that is a bit of a challenge in our society is that when you're talking about that idea of like showcasing um, your skills, I was actually thinking like a lot of people also have businesses that are showcasing their lives.

Yeah. So it is about like, this is the lifestyle I have, or this is what I do. And you know, the number of times that I've heard people raise the struggle around that, because it's like, but this is my brand, but this is not what I want to do anymore. This is not how I feel. This is not who I am. But they still feel the need to showcase something different.

And so like, and then they've created this whole brand around someone that they no longer connect with, like in themselves. And then there's this kind of like really hard shift of like separating out the two, the business and the person. Um, and these are really unique challenges that we never had before until probably the last five, five years, which is crazy.

And I think, yeah, and It is difficult because there is this, I mean, unfortunately there is a, there is a type of Instagram look that does seem to be more appealing to others, right? I know.  We are definitely. It is not my look.  But I think it's like, but actually more and more, and if you see the way the trends go, right, two, five years ago, boss bitch was like the trending thing.

Now, trap wife is like the thing, you know, like the traditional one. And it just doesn't matter. And I think if you're doing  your business or your personal brand, whatever it may be,  and I know we keep talking about business and it's not just about that, it's more about how you show up in the world. If you're doing that to validate But I think that that is what we are about a little bit because it's the balance right, isn't it?

So for us, you know, and even that name of lifestyle CEO is about like, it's the lifestyle first, it's putting yourself first and then the business comes second. And the CEO, I think, well, I don't know, for me, what I'm thinking, and let's talk about this,  But it's also like, it's more than just like a CEO of like a business, it's a CEO of your life.

Of your life, exactly. It is you taking charge of your life. Like you have the power to create any life that you want. Yeah, exactly. And it's like that wheel of life everyone talks about. Like how can you fill each part with what you want? Not what society says you should do, not what everyone else is doing, blah blah blah.

But actually that lifestyle CEO, like you say, it's actually,  what does your life look like? Just as a CEO would decide what the company looks like, it's actually what does your life look like?  And I think that's what it is. And the conversations we have like week to week, we'll be really focusing on maybe specific parts of that wheel, but also really delving into like how you can balance it all.

Yeah. And again, like we said, we have not got this perfect by any stretch and there's definitely in life, there's always ups and downs. And I think no one does though, that's the message that we have, right, is because I think that there's this idea, um, you know, like that old school idea, it's always been there.

It's not a new concept, work life balance. Yeah. I mean, the, the challenges in that have changed, but there's always been that struggle, right, work life balance. But it isn't something we arrive at. It's a constant ongoing ebb and flow of like making choices that around what we're prioritizing in that moment, how we prioritize that, whether that be relationships or kids or, you know, other pursuits.

So, you know, but it's about like, how do we, how do we balance some of that  in each and every moment because it's an ongoing process. And I guess, yeah, and it's giving other people who hopefully feel more like confident from listening to this and understanding because I know like we said, when we have like offline conversations, even with each other or other people, it's like, it just sort of gives you a bit of confidence to know that someone else is feeling this or someone else is going through it or, yeah.

You know, and not, no one's got it figured out, not even the perfect people on.  I feel like we're bashing Instagram so  much. We love your Instagram, please don't hate us. Yeah, don't hate us. I feel like people know who we're referring to. But I think that's exactly what we are talking about, is not, we're not about bashing social media.

No. Or influences. It's finding your way. It's finding your way in that. And finding a way that feels authentic to you. Yeah. And there is no wrong or right way. If like someone, you know, everyone's going to be different in what their authenticity looks like. Authenticity for me is going to look very different to stick with you or someone else on social media, but it's about you knowing who you are and what exactly, and I think that idea of like those umbrella terms to like, no one is one thing.

Like no one is the trad wife. No one is the beautiful girl that hangs out on the beach. No one is just the music.  There are whole person.  So they have like other elements to them. And I think we can too often try and stick people in. In boxes and stick ourselves in a box and way identify all of the qualities that are kind of umbrellaed under that time.

For sure. And the reality is we're complex people. We have different parts of us and different values and different backgrounds, and so no one's exactly the same. And I love that. I think, and that's why I love the world we live in today. It's like it's, there's not just one path. And like I think before when we were in this sort of corporate lifestyle, it really like.

left a lot of people behind who couldn't fit into that, right?  And now, you know, we've opened up so many opportunities, and I guess the reason that our backgrounds combine so nicely is because we're suggesting using the incredible marketing reach that Instagram or social media has, or YouTube, or just the general world we live in, you can reach millions of people now, but with the combination of actually having the psychological, psychological, information and expertise to ensure that you're doing that in a way that's healthy and relevant and authentic to you.

So you don't get lost in the sort of, you know,  horror stories when the influence of marketing first came out of people that just couldn't put up with the pressure of it. You know, if they were reality TV stars that just found it all too much. And, you know, I think  having this ability to really know yourself well enough by doing, you know, the psychological work, but also.

Um, then putting that into the marketing messages you put out, that's where this sort of beautiful authentic space comes out. And if you want to build your own business or even if it's just how you want to show up in the world, yeah, that's where this sort of nice combination of our skills comes in. Plus the, obviously the fact that we're doing life as well through this messy part, um, and that's kind of what we want to share every week, I think, isn't it?

It's just like, you know, helping. you find your way, I guess, but obviously also understanding that we have, we're also on our own journey and we're just sharing that messy middle as we go. Um, and hopefully people really resonate with it. Absolutely. Should we talk a little bit about, because I feel like we haven't used ourselves.

We've been going for a little while. Um, did you want to start or do you want me to start? I can start. Um, so I'm Christina. So, um, Yeah, just a bit of background to bring it back to the podcast for a minute, I guess. So obviously we had the corporate dropouts before and, and that was part of the lifestyle CEO umbrella, but where this podcast is now going to be called the lifestyle CEO, because as we've explained earlier, we really want to sort of support people in their journey of figuring life out.

I guess  my background is very much in marketing. Um, I started in marketing, um, back when I was like 18, and then ended up creating my own marketing agency.  23, I think. Um, but I started my agency because even back then, I really felt like there was a better way to be doing life. And I think I, mainly for myself, I didn't want to be told I had to be at my desk nine to five, but also like, I worked with some incredible people at my first agency job who ended up having to leave because of, you know, Becoming a mother or becoming a father or looking after elderly parents or illnesses, whatever it may be.

They just could not keep up with the demands of a nine to five. But their skillset remained and I was like, I feel like there's a better way to be doing this. So this was back in like,  I think 2016 I started it. Um, so we basically started formation, which is the name of the marketing agency, and we only work with freelance talent.

Yeah. And it sort of helps both our clients and our talent because. the clients get a bit more flexibility. They get much more differing, differing skill sets because we can bring in different freelancers depending on what we need. But also it means that for the freelancers, we can actually offer them to do their work when it suits them.

Yeah. And they love that. Right. Yeah. And I love, and I wasn't a mother at this one. I don't think I even had a relationship. I was just doing, I'm just living in London, living my best life, but like, it really felt like, and there's people now that I've worked with, most of the team, to be honest, I've worked with since  we started the company.

And a lot of them were my old, like the people that left the agency, right? Yeah. So it's like, and they work for other people and they do lots of different things. And like, I just love that because we all have this energy when we come together. We're so excited. We're so passionate about what we do. And we're not just like, ground down by the Fact we have to commute in on a six a.

m. train or whatever, you know, um, and then obviously COVID happened and that was Everyone they'd sort of caught up to this idea Although I feel like we're now going backwards a bit and calling people into the office And I must say like there is definitely things I miss about Having the team together and I think a lot of the teams still get together to work.

Obviously, I'm now Barley So I sort of missed that and I do agree there's perks to that But generally I think life is better when you can design it on your own terms  And then, so that sort of led me, the business has been pretty successful and I then wanted to sort of help up and coming freelancers to understand a bit more about, it's not just about having a skill, but really thinking about how you could make a successful business out of this. 

And that's where the Lifestyle CEO and the Corporate Dropout sort of came from.  So yeah, so we're sort of just running both now. Um, there's another agency where we merged with a digital agency, but that's a whole other story. But essentially my background is in marketing, um, but then also helping others on their marketing journey, I guess.

Um, so yeah, I guess my, my role on the podcast is kind of providing more of those practical tips around marketing and, and all using the tools available to grow a business, 

So I love that and I love that you recognize that need for flexibility, which is so important. And I think you get the best talent when you do that,  because people, you know, end up leaving amazing roles because They just can't do it. Yeah, they can't work in Antarctica. Oh yeah, for sure. So tell us about you.

I haven't thought about this and I'm like, oh my gosh, my story is so long. Um, so my background is very different to yours. Actually, you know, I actually did a business degree. Did you? Straight out of school. Oh, amazing. So I did two years of business degree and then I went off and traveled the world for four years. 

So I, very young, um, I think I was 19 when I headed overseas and, was very much about like living my life to the fullest. And I think I've always been a little bit that way. So, um, yes, I did a business degree. It really wasn't for me. Sorry.  Um, so, but I, you know, those skills, I think I learned in that have actually been incredibly useful in all roles that I've had, but I went into the not for profit sector.

Um, as soon as I  my degree and started working more in  Korea kind of space. Um, and I worked very much kind of very hands on on the ground in very low socio economic communities doing things like, um, running drop in centres and working with kids who lived in housing commission and so just very kind of hands on sort of roles and then moved more into policy and training, um, cross cultural training for a while, worked on community safety, so a lot of, um, different kind of social  areas and then I decided to go back and study psychology. 

So I did my undergrad and my honors and then did my doctorate in psychology and became a psychologist and I was working throughout that and doing a lot of work still in the community sector. So, but more in kind of management. So as a general manager of family services, those sort of roles,  and then opened my own practice. 

Um, and then we hit COVID. And that was a barrel of laughs. It was pretty hard, hard time. Um, and I definitely became a little bit better.  Um, I'm from Australia and I live in, uh,  just outside of Melbourne and we had very heavy lockdowns and some of the harshest lockdowns in the world.  And so, yeah, it was a pretty full on time for mental health, uh, working in that space.

And then my partner and I decided that  we would close the practice for lots of different reasons before I go into now, but we, after that, we're kind of like, well, what do we do next? And at the time for a few years at that point, I'd been doing immersive couple retreats. So I'd be working with couples.

I'd become a certified Gotland couples therapist. I had a master's in sexology. And so I, a few years before that, actually decided that, interestingly, I had a sexology practice, but the couples therapy models weren't working. So  I found that I was doing couples therapy, but I just wasn't getting the results that I wanted.

And it was just really hard to kind of get traction because couples would come in for like an hour a week and then they'd go back to the issues in their life and they'd come back with a new problem and you wouldn't kind of get to the deep stuff. It just wasn't.  So I started doing like retreats with couples.

They're really immersive therapy. And so when we moved to Bali, that's what I started doing was, um, well, continue doing, but started doing here was retreats. And then now I've kind of delved into the world of social media,  very new to it, still learning, still figuring it out. Um, but the reason why I've ended up there actually is it's really kind of comes back to my roots, which is really about, um, working in the community sector.

had a very strong belief that everyone should have access to the resources they need to create the life they want. So to reach their potential. And obviously a lot of my work working with kids was really about that. Like how do we remove barriers in the system? How do we remove the barriers in their life?

How do we get these kids to be able to access resources that maybe they wouldn't otherwise be able to access? And so I'm really passionate about that. And I think a lot of people can't afford to go to couples therapy. A lot of people don't want to, so we often find like one partner, particularly, and don't want to generalise, but quite often males don't want to go to therapy, which is fine, it's understandable, there's lots of reasons for that, but like how do we create alternative solutions to that, and how do we help people with relationships without saying you have to fit in this box, like you have to come into a room to access this information, how can we bring that information to people in a way that's more engaging.

Yeah. And I guess the piece, like, I mean, I'm very confident in my work, I'm very confident in the evidence based part of my work, but the part I'm still kind of figuring out a little bit for me is, is how do I make that more fun and engaging on, like, a social media type of platform, which is a very new space for me, and as a clinical psychologist, we tend to have a lot of boundaries, we do also have a lot of rules around what we can and can't do, um, so yeah, it's just kind of finding my way in that.

With that clinical psychology hat, with my couple's therapist hat, and then with my own personality. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, and what I want to do, what I think is important, and where I'm happy to kind of push the boundaries and say, we need to figure out some new ways of doing this. Yeah, and I think the way we thought that also played really nicely into this conversation is obviously relationships have such a profound effect on your life, right?

Absolutely. And I think there's, you know, again, just using, you know, I think the business side is my example, but like, as a female entrepreneur or female business leader, whatever you want to call it,  it, they can cause it, there can be shifts or like problems, not problems, but like there's definitely dynamics within relationships that need to be figured out.

But I think it can be a problem. Yeah. Relationships, they can be problems and issues and you know, we need to address those. Yeah. And I think it's just like, and like you said, actually bringing resources. I mean, I certainly found when I was talking to you about this a bit earlier, but my entrepreneurial journey has been made so much better by my personal development journey.

And it's I've only been able to build businesses that I feel confident to stick with or to like align with my values rather than doing it the way everyone else has been done because I'm,  Because I've developed my, like, myself personally and really taken a good hard look at that, you know? Absolutely, and those skills are so important.

So a lot of the work I do with retreats tends to be with your more high performing, like, your CEOs,  and your directors, and your entrepreneurs, and people who are really invested in not just having, like, a relationship, they want something extraordinary, they want to invest in their life and their relationship, um, and they have unique challenges.

And I think, you know, some of those challenges can be things like one partner is doing a lot of professional development work, and maybe they feel like the other person isn't coming along on that journey with them. Um, and so how can you help those sort of couples to give them resources that work for this other partner, but maybe they're not cool with going to therapy or doing this program or doing whatever, but they still want a great relationship, but it's how do we help them in that way.

And I think, you know, the skills that we talk about in relationships.  It's so much bigger than relationships. Like I think about the problems in the world.  I'm getting really big here guys.  Stick with me, but I do think, Oh my gosh, there's so much going on in the world right now. I'm not going to get into all the stuff.

We all know all the stuff that's going on in the world,  but a big part of it for me is we've lost our ability to be non reactive. We've lost our ability to sit in the gray. We want black and white when it's not. We've lost our ability to, like, really understand another person's experience and walk in someone else's shoes.

Um, and all of these skills, uh, we learn these in relationships.  And so I really do have a personal belief that if we can start to develop those skills, I mean, even before people get in intimate relationships, really like we do at school, these are the kind of skills that help us with compassion, that help us with understanding, that help us problem solve.

You know, in a really meaningful way and we have that willingness to compromise. Yeah. And so like, yes, it's about relationships, but it's, it's much bigger than that. It's about how you live your life. And, you know, I think it's all connected to, in terms of your individual relationships. Obviously I'm a clinical psychologist, done a lot of individual therapy.

It wasn't meaningful myself, but I was meeting like clients, obviously. And then equally have done couples work. And again, the two, there's such an interplay, like in terms of our individual wellbeing and our relationship wellbeing. That's kind of what took me into relationships is that I was working with individuals who were really struggling with relationship issues and this was leading to a lot of mental health challenges.

And you can't really address that just here, like you need to go broader. And so,  So, you know, I think that's really, they're both connected and equally I think that, you know, the work, the lifestyle, the relationships, all of these things come to play together, don't they? And, you know, you obviously bring the beautiful business skills and the corporate understanding and um, yeah, I think it's just such a nice blend of like, how do we look at this stuff in this space and how do we broaden the definitions and Is like success.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And what that looks like. And give people the confidence to define success on their terms. Yeah. I think that's it, isn't it? Because I think people just, everyone's getting so lost in like the ideas of what things are, rather than really just peeling it back and connecting with what does that mean for me and what do I want? 

Great. So that's what we're gonna do for you guys. with that.  Yeah. And I think, we'll, yeah, we're gonna be releasing episodes weekly. Yeah. Um, and again, like, like we said right at the beginning. It really is a conversation we're having here. It is. And we'd love for others to either send questions in or just like join the conversation and sort of share their own experiences.

Yeah. Questions they might have specifically about things going on. Um, so yeah, we'll make sure like the comments are open and we'll share all our like links to be able to contact us. And I think also for you as a community to be able to like, you know, if you see someone comment or something resonates like,  Yeah, like, join the conversation,  because I think that is such an important thing.

It's something I'm really passionate about, like having the hard conversations, having the conversations, get talking, and so I think that that's a really nice thing to do. I love that, and we have like an ambition to have more of like face to face interactions, I guess, with people.  Wherever we may be, but I think that this community aspect, whether it's online or offline, is very important for these conversations.

And that's where our kind of personal relationship's grown and where this idea for the podcast has grown out of. And I think that's where everyone just feels better by knowing they've got people they can share with or a space, a free space they can talk. It's a bit like therapy, right? Like, but actually it's just a connection, a sharing space. 

So yeah, thank you so much and we'll see you on the next episode. See you next week. You're ready to create a life on your terms. Join us every week and make sure to like and subscribe to keep up to date with new episodes. All the links to keep in touch with us are in the bio.