What is a Good Life‪?‬ Mark McCartney

On the 72nd episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Reuben Christian. Reuben is an award-winning edutainer: a cocktail of event host, motivational speaker, facilitator, TV presenter and comedian. He's the founder and facilitator of Dream Rehab: a live show and curriculum that harnesses the power of community to help people achieve their personal goals. He co-hosts the award winning (GQ & Esquire) What Is This Behaviour podcast, and his work is all about inspiring new possibilities by creating uplifting spaces for people to connect, collaborate, and grow. 
In this beautiful episode, Reuben shares his journey of feeling true to himself. Whether it’s paying attention to what brings fun to his life, embracing responsibility, exploring and excavating through therapy, or following what makes him feel alive and aligned in his work, Reuben highlights several important areas for us to consider in feeling true to ourselves. We also explore our experiences with engaging more with our emotions and feeling more of life.
If your life has lost a sense of feeling, engagement with emotion, fun and experimentation, or a sense that it truly is your life, this conversation will provide many themes and areas to explore further. While Reuben’s openness and willingness to explore and experiment will offer much inspiration on your own path.
Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for clips and shorts.
For further content and information check out the following:
Dream Rehab Website: https://www.dreamrehab.co.uk/Reuben's Podcast: https://whatisthisbehaviourpodcast.com/Reuben's website: https://www.reubenchristian.com/Contact Reuben: reubenchristian@gmail.com
- For the podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life to book a free consultation (30 minutes) for one-on-one coaching programs, executive team coaching programs to build trust and connection amongst executive teams or silent retreats for executive teams.
Running Order:04:12 Does this feel true to who I am now?08:32 The value of knowing who you are13:57 Following the fun16:26 What brings Reuben hope?19:51 Holding a wider lens25:24 Allowing yourself to feel it all33:51 Emotional healing isn’t linear38:02 Our relationship with the unknown44:50 Helping other people realise their own possibilities54:51 What is a good life for Reuben?

On the 71st episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Mariana Louis M.A. Mariana is a professional tarot counsellor, scholar, and creator of Persephone's Sister, a platform for psycho-spiritual education and guidance. Following her academic study of analytical psychology and Western Intellectual Traditions, Mariana integrated her scholarship into her developing expertise in the tarot and formulated an approach she calls Archetypal Tarot. She teaches this approach, which marries Jungian concepts with the symbolic depth of the tarot, in a host of courses for tarot students of all levels.
This glorious conversation touches on many vital themes that contribute to a good life: Mariana’s journey of individuation, the interplay between the sacred and the mundane, the tensions of the human experience between zooming in and out, the balance of masculine and feminine energies within us, and the dynamics of order and chaos, growth and structure. Mariana also shares the significant influence that the Tarot and Carl Jung have had on her sense of experiencing more wholeness in her life.
If you are seeking more movement in your life, if you feel stuck and are lacking the faith or trust to take a necessary next step, this conversation will provide you with much to contemplate, insight, and inspiration for taking that next step along your own authentic path and embracing uncertainty.
Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for clips and shorts.
For further content and information check out the following:
Mariana's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/persephonessister/Mariana's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzNvYREM8s3gLEsYD2DY_3gMariana's website: https://persephonessister.com/
- For the podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life to book a free consultation (30 minutes) for one-on-one coaching programs, executive team coaching programs to build trust and connection amongst executive teams or silent retreats for executive teams.
Running Order:00:01 Introduction03:11 How does one live side by side with God07:06 The interplay of the sacred and the mundane11:56 A reengagement with the feminine archetype19:21 Embracing love, nature, and the unknown24:06 The exploration and relationship with Tarot31:48 The capacity to see the bigger picture36:09 Finding the right question and faith39:22 Holding the tensions of the opposites45:36 Mystical experiences52:06 Embracing the human experience55:36 Not resisting our nature1:00:46 Letting go of perfection and idols1:07:46 What is a good life for Mariana?

On the 70th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Holly Penalver. Holly is the founder of Indigo Volunteers, a remarkable charity that has made a significant impact on the lives of tens of thousands of refugees. By placing thousands of volunteers with grassroots partners, Indigo provides essential aid, healthcare, education, skills workshops, and vital services to refugees along the European migratory route. Having spent years in the field, working hands-on in places like Greece, Serbia, and Bosnia, she now works for the disaster relief charity ShelterBox as their Volunteer Development Manager.
In this conversation, Holly takes us on her journey of supporting and building community, inspired by the support she felt at home, to setting up Indigo Volunteers. She talks about the significance of both being willing to accept and give help, the importance of forgiving ourselves, letting go of right and wrong, the realisation that multiple things can be true at the same time, and how we are not as important as we think. Which can all help release us to do more good in the world.
Throughout this conversation, it's clear that Holly is someone who takes action when she notices something missing that could support the community. Whether it's within our communities or even in our own personal lives where we observe a lack of necessary action, there is much inspiration to draw from her energy and the perspectives shared in this episode.
Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for clips and shorts.
For further content and information check out the following:
- Indigo Volunteers: https://www.indigovolunteers.org/
- For the podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life to book a free consultation (30 minutes) for one-on-one coaching programs, executive team coaching programs to build trust and connection amongst executive teams or silent retreats for executive teams.
Running Order:02:55 Podcast begins03:55 What is going wrong with our communities
07:50 The importance of accepting help
12:25 Connection of upbringing and self-worth
18:10 The significance of forgiving ourselves
21:58 We are not as important as we think
25:38 Letting go of black and white thinking
30:01 Realising we all hold different perceptions
33:45 Being aware of what others need
39:45 The joy of feeling connected with community
43:25 Inspiration for establishing a charity
47:10 Empathy and desire to help others
51:45 Balancing family and helping others
54:55 What is a good life for Holly? 

On the 69th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Dave Gray. Dave is the author of Gamestorming, Liminal Thinking: Create the Change You Want by Changing the Way You Think, and The Connected Company. He is also an artist, an entrepreneur, and a possibilitarian. After selling his company, XPlane, in 2022, Dave established The School of the Possible, an experimental learning community through which he helps people create work that is meaningful and matters to them.
In this episode, Dave shares with us his journey of finding purpose and meaning in his life, from the sense of belonging he felt at art school, to identifying and honouring his true nature, and noticing moments in life where he felt he was in the right place, at the right time, with the right people. He emphasises the importance of relationships and community in identifying our own uniqueness and the energy he experiences when in creative communities. Dave also underscores the significance of possibility and supporting others with their creativity.
This episode will give you much to consider regarding finding more purpose, meaning, and cultivating greater awareness around your own true nature. While Dave's breadth of experience, creativity, and curiosity, are wonderful examples of what is possible when we fully engage with our true nature.
Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for clips and shorts.
For further content and information check out the following:
- Dave's website: https://xplaner.com/
- Dave's Newsletter: https://schoolofthepossible.substack.com/
- For the podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life to book a free consultation (30 minutes) for one-on-one coaching programs, executive team coaching programs to build trust and connection amongst executive teams or silent retreats for executive teams.
Running Order:02:25 Podcast begins03:55 Finding meaning in life
07:15 Identifying and honouring our true nature
13:09 The significance of creativity 
17:56 Exploring meaning in the journey
20:49 Purpose and our true nature
23:55 Possibility, producing and possibility
27:15 Community and energy
32:00 Using our relationships to identify our uniqueness
34:55 The significance of relationships
40:25 Beauty in everything
44:25 The role of meaning
52:25 What is a good life for Dave?

On the 68th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, Amy Elizabeth Fox. Amy is one of the founders and CEO of Mobius Executive Leadership, a global transformational leadership firm. She has served as a leadership and culture change advisor to Fortune 500 companies. Amy is considered an expert in healing individual, family, and collective trauma and has been a pioneer in introducing trauma-informed development and psycho-spiritual principles into leadership programs. She is also on the faculty of the African Leadership Institute's Desmond Tutu Fellows program at Oxford.
In this glorious conversation, Amy shares with us her journey towards a life of inquiry, contemplation, healing, and a more mystical engagement with life. She talks of the deeper unity that exists between us all beyond the fractures on the surface, ways we can connect more deeply with ourselves and each other, and ultimately ways to keep our hearts open to all the suffering and beauty that exists in the world.
If you are not satisfied with the level of connection and intimacy in your life, this episode will give you so much to contemplate and reconsider regarding the societal norms we follow when relating to each other. Amy is a well of wisdom and this whole episode serves as an invitation to opening our hearts to the world and those around us.
Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for clips and shorts.
For further content and information check out the following:
- Amy's company: www.mobiusleadership.com
- Thomas Hübl's Website: www.thomashuebl.com 
- For the podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life to book a free consultation (30 minutes) for one-on-one coaching programs, executive team coaching programs to build trust and connection amongst executive teams or silent retreats for executive teams.
Running Order:
03:15 How does one keep one’s heart open?
06:45 The unity of life and lack of intimacy
09:25 The problems with formality and routinised communication
12:30 The invitation to intimacy
17:11 The yearning and various sources of intimacy
23:15 The art of subtlety, intimacy, and collaboration
26:45 Silence and pause in feeling what is said
31:45 We don’t need to problem solve each other’s pain
35:45 The mystical and contemplative path
40:19 Moving from frozen assumptions to emergence
45:10 Bringing Mental Health to the workplace
50:10 How do we keep our hearts open in times like these?
55:45 What is a good life for Amy?

On the 67th episode of the What is a Good Life? podcast, I am delighted to introduce our guest, David Haskell. David is a writer and a biologist. His latest book, Sounds Wild and Broken, is a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction. His previous books, The Forest Unseen and The Songs of Trees are acclaimed for their integration of science, poetry, and rich attention to the living world. Among their honours include the National Academies’ Best Book Award, John Burroughs Medal, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and many more. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and Professor at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
In this captivating episode, David shares his journey of celebrating all living life, experiencing life as much through his senses as possible, while becoming aware of the connections between himself and whatever he is engaging with, and the multiplicity of connections that exist behind that. Throughout this conversation, he impresses the importance of experiencing real life beyond the screens we often stare at for much of the day, and seeing life as it truly is, whether pleasant or not. He also suggests the importance of stepping out of ourselves to become more in tune with how we perceive and connect with other life forms.
This episode will give you much to contemplate regarding how, where, and with what we spend our time, how we sense life, the importance of not always putting humans at the centre of the universe, and the humility and changes that can occur within us when making that shift.
Subscribe for weekly episodes, every Tuesday, and check out my YouTube channel (link below) for clips and shorts.
For further content and information check out the following:
- David's latest book: Sounds Wild and Broken
- David's Website: https://dghaskell.com/
- For the podcast's YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@whatisagoodlife/videos- My newsletter: https://www.whatisagood.life/- My LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mccartney-14b0161b4/
Contact me at mark@whatisagood.life to book a free consultation (30 minutes) for one-on-one coaching programs, leadership coaching programs to build trust and connection amongst executive teams or silent retreats for executive teams.
Running Order:02:45 Podcast begins03:05 Celebrating all living life
07:40 Echoes and connections with the past and creativity
11:45 Being in touch with the real world not our screens
18:05 Anxiety levels increasing with the youth
20:20 Coming back to our senses and curiosity of connection
24:35 Ambiguity of simultaneous beauty and brokenness
29:35 The rewiring of us as we engage with nature
33:06 Resistance to the open ended nature of change
38:35 Developing empathy with our environment & other beings
42:35 Interconnection not individuality
50:15 Realising once more how essential relationships are
55:30 What is a good life for David?