The Reinventors

Clare Wiley
  • 5.0 (8)
  • CAREERS

Stories of radical career change. Journalist Clare Wiley speaks to people who took the leap into a totally different career. You’ll hear how they found the clarity, the courage and the cash to reinvent themselves.

  1. Lawyer to ceramicist

    03/05/2021

    Lawyer to ceramicist

    Stine wasn't happy in her law job—until a pottery class changed her life. Now she's a sought-after ceramicist, making beautiful pieces for top chefs and restaurants. We hear a lot about bringing your whole self to work, being the real you in the office. But that can be easier said than done. And for Stine Dulong, it's been a journey.  Stine moved from her native Denmark to London and worked as a business criminal lawyer. She got used to a constant low-level anxiety at work - and it took a skiing accident for her to realise being a lawyer was making her miserable. Stine took some time off to look after herself, try out a few hobbies.  One of those hobbies was a pottery class - and Stine never intended to become a full time potter. But here she is, seven years later, with her studio SkandiHus making ceramics for some of the UK’s top restaurants and chefs. And her many students call Stine’s classes a ‘clay sanctuary’.  For Stine, this profound change wasn’t just about her career. It was a whole life transformation. She went from being this practical-minded lawyer to a creative, intuitive ceramicist - someone brings her spirituality to work and thinks of self-care as a business strategy. We talked about ambition, fulfilment, sitting with difficult emotions - and how Stine carved a path where she is now free to be all parts of herself at work. Follow @skandihus_london www.skandihus.co.uk

    35 min
  2. Corporate to health nonprofit

    02/18/2021

    Corporate to health nonprofit

    Barry's decision to leave his corporate job to work for a health nonprofit was deeply personal. When you’re having one of those tough days at work, it helps to focus on the big picture. To remind ourselves why we do what we do. That sense of perspective is what motivated Barry Greene.  Barry started out working as an accountant in corporate tax. And then an opportunity came up to join the Global Fund, which is a nonprofit that fights AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Barry had personal ties to each of those diseases. In fact, he’d lost his best friend at the height of the AIDS epidemic. So he became the Global Fund’s first chief financial officer and continued working in global health after that, as the managing director - finance & operations at Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance.  Barry says when it comes to shifting our careers, it’s the things we don’t do that we regret most in life. And contrary to the popular idea of accountants, Barry took real risks in his career - and they paid off.   You can contact Barry at bgreene@bluewin.ch.

    27 min
  3. Ballerina to reporter

    02/04/2021

    Ballerina to reporter

    Sometimes our career plans are taken out of our hands. That’s what happened to Stephanie Wolf. She was a ballet dancer, performing with companies across the US, including Wonderbound (formerly Ballet Nouveau Colorado), the Metropolitan Opera, James Sewell Ballet and Minnesota Ballet. Stephanie thought she’d be dancing until she was 40. But a serious leg injury changed her plans completely. She started from scratch as a public radio journalist, figuring out how to be a beginner all over again.  Now she is an arts reporter for 89.3 WFPL News in Louisville.  Follow Stephanie at twitter.com/StephRWolf.  Photo by David Ellis.

    21 min
  4. Executive to life coach

    01/28/2021

    Executive to life coach

    Will is quite the reinventor. He's been an actor, executive, therapist, and personal trainer. Now he's a life coach examining people's dreams.  A few years back, a palliative nurse who cared for patients as they were dying, recorded the most common regrets we have at the end of our lives. Number one on the list? "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me."  That idea is what motivates Will Sharon: he helps people figure out what they really want in life. Will has reinvented himself quite a few times… from teaching to therapy, from corporate executive to personal trainer - he was even a soap opera actor for a hot second. Today, he’s a life coach who works with dreams. He talks about what he gained from his many different roles, and why we all have a responsibility to show up in our lives.  Follow Will's work at willsharon.com

    20 min
  5. Technology to nonprofit

    01/22/2021

    Technology to nonprofit

    When the pandemic hit, many of us had this desire to help in whatever way we could. Aki Naito took that to the next level. Aki had worked in technology for years. She was really good at taking these complicated ideas and tools, and explaining them to people. Then March 2020 came along. Aki saw an opportunity to take what she’d learned in tech, and apply it on the frontline of the crisis, helping families and communities who are most at-risk of COVID.  Aki is now the COO of Helping Hands Community, a nonprofit technology platform that empowers food banks and other partners to deliver food and essential supplies to people in need, at scale. Since they launched in 2020, Helping Hands has supported over 40,000 families. Visit helpinghands.community to see how you can get involved.  Previously, Aki built teams and grew demand for GitHub (acquired by Microsoft), Cisco and Vistara. Aki went to Dartmouth College for her BA and Stanford Graduate School of Business for her MBA. She’s called the Bay Area home since then, where she enjoys the outdoors and the bountiful farmers markets.

    20 min
  6. Construction to teaching

    01/14/2021

    Construction to teaching

    When James Murgatroyd was 18, he had his whole life mapped out. He was going to meet a girl, get married at 25, own a BMW by the time he was 30. But he became a dad when he was 20. That wasn’t in the plan.   Priorities shifted, and he went to work for a bank, then in local government and social enterprise, before becoming a construction manager. Those jobs paid the bills, but they weren’t his dream gig. Facing down his 50th birthday, James knew he had to make a change. Then the pandemic decimated the construction industry, and James saw his chance.  This is the story of a man who found his true calling later in life. It’s also the story of a guy who seriously loves teaching maths (James’ enthusiasm is totally infectious) and he really cares about making sure working class kids get the opportunities they deserve.   James changed his career with the help of a UK organisation called Transition to Teach. Right now they have a focus on supporting people who are at risk of redundancy move into teaching.  transitiontoteach.co.uk twitter.com/mrmurgsmaths

    20 min
  7. HR to yoga

    01/07/2021

    HR to yoga

    Maha Bodhi escaped a brutal childhood and forced marriage in Yemen. When the pandemic threatened her career, she had to transform her life again. Maha grew up in Yemen, where she endured a brutal upbringing and was forced into two violent arranged marriages. She managed to escape and set up a life for herself in the US, working initially in human resources. She quickly realised that teaching yoga was what she really wanted to do. But when coronavirus hit in March 2020 and she couldn’t teach in person, Maha had to figure out a way to transform her life all over again. She decided to bridge her experience in the corporate world with her knowledge of yoga and wellness, becoming a leadership trainer, coach and workplace mindfulness expert. Now she helps stressed-out professionals find balance in their working lives. In this episode, Maha reveals how she survived a harrowing childhood, how she found freedom in yoga, and explains how she used the pandemic as a powerful force for change. Find Maha at yogimaha.com. Content warning: this episode includes frank discussion of violence and sex; take care while you're listening.

    32 min

  8. EPISODE 13

    The Reinventors returns

    For season two, you'll hear from people whose lives were derailed by the pandemic. These are stories of turning a bleak situation into something bright, to bring you a little solace and inspiration. Hosted by journalist Clare Wiley, The Reinventors tells stories of radical career change. Subscribe and tell a friend!

    2 min
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About

Stories of radical career change. Journalist Clare Wiley speaks to people who took the leap into a totally different career. You’ll hear how they found the clarity, the courage and the cash to reinvent themselves.

Information

  • Creator
    Clare Wiley
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2021
  • Episodes
    21
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2020 The Reinventors
  • Show Website
    The Reinventors