# personal story
24 moments across 23 episodes. Click any moment to jump straight to that part of the episode.
50:01Owen's personal story and what he's gotten wrongAl Elliott: Yeah Owen Fitzpatrick: But he got away with it because he was so brilliant in the other ways. And eventually, I think in the later years, he became less abrasive and less rude. He worked with a guy called BilEP 323 · 30 Jul 2026·interview· 50:01–54:1335:32Al's story: bankrupt in 2008Al Elliott: Yeah Louise Hill: And by industry and by, frankly, economic cycle, you'll find employers making different choices. And I think we are in a period where people want to retain talent. You talk about the Great SEP 272 · 3 Feb 2026·panel interview· 35:32–37:5936:54Leanne's poolside humiliation — Thailand, a wedding, and a cartwheelAl Elliott: And my teaser is that I once got, in the same year, I once got an investigation from the Inland Revenue And also the VAT squad. This is the, um, this is when there were 2 separate things. The VAT squad turnedEP 218 · 29 Jul 2025·other· 36:54–48:057:20The personal tragedy that set Steve on his missionSteve Roest: It's a really, really good question. I think from a young age, From the point at which my dad's stroke happened, my mum became his sort of default carer. I mean, he was in hospital for a really long time andEP 213 · 10 Jul 2025·interview· 7:20–13:0415:30Richard's own BATNA storyAl Elliott: Right Richard Birke: So I had a really good walkaway and I brought that right to the table and said, look, it's going to be hard for you to persuade me to leave because I kind of like where I am, but I'm openEP 211 · 3 Jul 2025·interview· 15:30–20:494:09The backstory: Why there was no Thursday episodeAl Elliott: Yeah. So, the more observant of you will have noticed there was no episode on Thursday. That's because we go back to last Wednesday. We were, uh, just to set the scene, we aren't permanent residents of BosniaEP 201 · 2 Jun 2025·other· 4:09–7:3923:15Stuart's story: The job he was relieved not to getAl Elliott: Have you been in a situation where you've gone, ooh, this is not good, and therefore I don't want to pursue this? Stuart Mace: I was actually relieved once where I didn't get offered a job. In fact, it's moreEP 196 · 13 May 2025·news roundup· 23:15–27:3915:05Why mental health became Sarah's life's workSarah Hughes: Well, it's funny actually, because, um, I, I— mental health is my life's work. And the reason being is because primarily I came from a family where, you know, people that I loved experienced mental illness.EP 195 · 8 May 2025·interview· 15:05–17:3340:01Understanding young SarahSarah Hughes: Well, young Sarah, oh, that's such a lovely question. I wrote a piece actually for Jonny Benjamin. He wrote a book, 2 books he's written, and the second one was basically, what would you say to your youngerEP 195 · 8 May 2025·interview· 40:01–42:2913:23Skye's personal diagnosis journeyLeanne Elliott: And of course, everybody's journey to a diagnosis is different. Would you mind telling us a bit more about, about, about yours and, and how you felt about it when you first heard that news? Skye Waterson:EP 173 · 20 Feb 2025·interview· 13:23–16:1139:10James's honest answer on leaving the corporate worldJames Fleming: So when I told my wife— worked for the same oil and gas company— and when I told her what I wanted to do, her very first reaction was Let's do it. So we came home. The actual— I won't get into the whole stEP 165 · 23 Jan 2025·interview· 39:10–44:5150:35Understanding young John AmaechiAl Elliott: I've never fit in. I said that in the present tense, which is interesting. I shall talk about that with my therapist. When I was younger, I never fit in anywhere I went. I was always the outlier. And my wholeEP 158 · 31 Dec 2024·other· 50:35–54:580:33Introducing Kody — The Schizophrenic HippieKody Green: Nice Al Elliott: Check out hopspot.com, the agentic customer platform for growing businesses Leanne Elliott: Hello and welcome to Truth, Lies and Work, the award-winning psychology podcast Brought to you by tEP 153 · 12 Dec 2024·intro· 0:33–4:084:53Maria's story: losing her dad and her daughterLeanne Elliott: And it isn't an easy conversation, yet it's something that we all experience. If we haven't already, we— it's certain that we will at some point. Do you mind sharing a bit about your background and how yoEP 151 · 5 Dec 2024·interview· 4:53–9:5614:14Nick's story: from teaching to techAl Elliott: So I think at this point it's quite clear that there's a range of opportunities, whether you're interested in coding, problem solving, or sales, there seems to be a place for you in tech, almost certainly. BuEP 135 · 10 Oct 2024·panel interview· 14:14–19:1522:10Al and Leanne's Own 'Is This It?' MomentsAl Elliott: Yeah, I suppose, I suppose I did. Yeah. Um, well, it's weird because I went bankrupt around about 30. Um, and so, yeah, so it was almost like it was an Etch A Sketch of my life, shaking the Etch A Sketch at 3EP 117 · 23 Jul 2024·interview· 22:10–22:5836:16Personal reflections: growing up as an outlierJohn Amaechi OBE: I've never fit in. Uh, I said that in the present tense, which is interesting. I shall talk about that with my therapist. Um, when I was younger, I never fit in anywhere I went. I was always the outlierEP 82 · 14 Mar 2024·interview· 36:16–39:154:43Growing up in the Children of God / The Family InternationalPetra Velzeboer: I think for many of us in the mental health space, the topic is deeply personal, right? It all starts with kind of our personal journeys of figuring out, well, how do we exist in the world? Who are we? WEP 80 · 29 Feb 2024·interview· 4:43–7:362:19Introducing Danielle and Sophie WoodLeanne Elliott: Yes, Danielle and Sophie Wood, from university sweethearts navigating the complexities of gender transition. Danielle and Sophie have weathered many of life's storms together. Their journey encompasses chEP 77 · 8 Feb 2024·intro· 2:19–4:1045:30Leanne's own story — and why access mattersLeanne Elliott: I would say Stella raises a really interesting point there about trouble accessing, uh, counseling and mental health support, but particularly for, I guess, lower level or not as acute needs. Um, and I'veEP 33 · 5 Apr 2023·other· 45:30–48:1916:41Al's story: proving yourself without credentialsAl Elliott: Yeah, I never went to university. I didn't, um, actually I never got any A-levels, to be brutally honest. Um, and, um, but look, it was that sort of like you can do anything attitude, uh, I think more than anEP 27 · 22 Feb 2023·other· 16:41–21:5873:48Stephen's story: the grey Friday that changed everythingStephen Short: We've covered the personalities within family businesses. We've covered some of the common pitfalls that we can fall into. We're going to round up this So, in this episode, we're going to share some practiEP 26 · 15 Feb 2023·panel interview· 73:48–76:309:31Leanne's personal burnout storyAl Elliott: So this is something which I've experienced with Leanne, my co-host and wife. About 3 or 4 years ago, you were working on a contract that wasn't exactly what you want to be working on, if I remember. And it cEP 21 · 13 Jan 2023·other· 9:31–11:2239:01Leanne's own burnout story — the physical symptoms she ignoredLeanne Elliott: Yeah, so I think for a person like that, I'd recommend a couple of different strategies. I mean, one would be finding your allies in, in The workforce. I mean, even if they're sort of working against the EP 20 · 10 Jan 2023·other· 39:01–42:39
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