Hosted by Sarah Brennand - Executive Coach, Strategic Educator, Author of Balancing Act and Creator of the Calibration Model for High-Performing, Sustainable Success. This podcast explores how leaders, founders, and ambitious professionals achieve results without burnout. You’ll hear from Olympic athletes, military leaders, financial experts, entrepreneurs and professionals balancing leadership with family life, transition, or redefined success. Grounded, practical, and refreshingly honest, Balancing Act is about the strategy, structure, and mindset required to create results that last.
Balancing Act - Mastering Work, Wealth and Wellbeing
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14 episodes
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Podcast Overview
Hosted by Sarah Brennand - Executive Coach, Strategic Educator, Author of Balancing Act and Creator of the Calibration Model for High-Performing, Sustainable Success. This podcast explores how leaders, founders, and ambitious professionals achieve results without burnout. You’ll hear from Olympic athletes, military leaders, financial experts, entrepreneurs and professionals balancing leadership with family life, transition, or redefined success. Grounded, practical, and refreshingly honest, Balancing Act is about the strategy, structure, and mindset required to create results that last.
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Publishing Since
12/17/2025
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Recent Episodes
June 25, 2026
If You Can’t Get to the Start Line, You Can’t Even Compete - with Guest Steve Judge
<p><strong>If You Can’t Get to the Start Line, You Can’t Even Compete </strong>(Episode 14)</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Guest: Steve Judge</strong></p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Sarah Brennand is joined by Steve Judge for a powerful and grounded conversation about resilience, recovery, and what it takes to pursue meaningful goals after life-altering adversity.</p><p>Steve shares his journey following a near-fatal car accident in 2002 that left both legs crushed and led to the belief that he might never walk again. What followed were years of reconstruction and rehabilitation, during which his focus shifted from survival and mobility to rebuilding physical capability, mental discipline, and purpose.</p><p>Through structured self-care, progressive goal-setting, and a relentless focus on mindset, Steve transitioned into para-sport and went on to compete at the highest level, becoming a two-time Paratriathlon World Champion, winning world titles for Great Britain in China and New Zealand. The conversation explores what it truly means to get to the start line, not just in sport, but in life and leadership, by doing the unseen work that makes performance possible.</p><p>Steve also introduces his GOLD model, a practical framework for setting and pursuing goals with clarity and intent. He reflects on the importance of understanding why goals matter, surrounding yourself with the right support, and staying open to opportunity as paths evolve. Throughout the discussion, the emphasis remains on personal responsibility, adaptability, and enjoying the journey rather than fixating on outcomes alone.Key </p><p>Topics Covered:</p><p>- Recovering from major injury and rebuilding physical and mental capacity</p><p>- Being told you may never walk again, and redefining what’s possible</p><p>- The discipline required to reach the start line before you can compete</p><p>- Self-care and injury prevention as foundations of sustainable performance</p><p>- Mindset shifts that support recovery, motivation, and achievement</p><p>- Transitioning from rehabilitation to elite para-sport</p><p>- Becoming a two-time Paratriathlon World Champion for Great Britain</p><p>- The GOLD model: structuring goals with purpose and direction</p><p>- Visualisation as a tool for belief, energy, and momentum</p><p>- The role of support systems and accountability</p><p>- Regular self-reflection, reassessment, and course correction</p><p>- Learning to enjoy progress, not just the finish line</p><p><br></p><p><strong>ABOUT THE GUEST</strong></p><p><strong>Steve Judge</strong></p><p><strong>Former World Champion | Motivational Speaker | Author</strong></p><p>Steve Judge is a motivational speaker, author and former world champion paratriathlete whose story has inspired audiences across the UK and internationally. After a near-fatal car accident in 2002 left both legs crushed, Steve was told he might never walk again. Years of reconstruction and rehabilitation followed - years that redefined his mindset, resilience, and goals. Through disciplined recovery and progressive physical targets, Steve entered para-sport and went on to become a two-time Paratriathlon World Champion, winning titles for Great Britain in China and New Zealand.</p><p>For more information, podcasts and recourses focussed on High-Performance and Sustainable Success, visit: www.Balancing-Act.co.uk<br></p>
June 4, 2026
Unlocking Mental Wealth with Mike Pagan
<p><strong>Unlocking Mental Wealth </strong>(Episode 13)</p><p><strong>Guest: Mike Pagan</strong></p><p><br></p><p>In this episode, Sarah Brennand is joined by Mike Pagan for a practical and thought-provoking conversation on the idea of mental wealth - and why it deserves as much intentional management as physical health or financial capital.</p><p><br></p><p>Mike challenges the traditional focus on mental health as something to address only when things go wrong. Instead, he reframes mental wealth as a proactive, ongoing investment in clarity, capacity, and resilience. The discussion explores how habits, environment, relationships, and boundaries shape our mental reserves over time.</p><p><br></p><p>Drawing on real-world experience, Mike highlights how isolation and cognitive overload affect people at every level, from students to senior leaders, and why strong support networks are not a luxury, but a strategic necessity. The conversation also examines productivity, habit disruption, and the role of coaching, mentoring, and mastermind groups in sustaining performance without burnout.</p><p><br></p><p>This episode offers a grounded framework for assessing your current mental wealth and making deliberate choices that support long-term effectiveness, focus, and personal sustainability.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Key Topics Covered</strong></p><ul><li>Mental wealth versus mental health: a proactive lens on wellbeing</li><li>Why high performers are often most vulnerable to isolation</li><li>Building and maintaining a meaningful support network</li><li>Self-care as a performance enabler, not an indulgence</li><li>The strategic power of saying no</li><li>Identifying and breaking unproductive habits</li><li>Tracking time and energy to improve productivity</li><li>The role of mastermind groups in accountability and growth</li><li>Communication and connection as foundations of mental resilience</li><li>Navigating life and career transitions through evolving support systems</li><li>Coaching and mentoring as tools for sustained personal development</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>ABOUT THE GUEST</strong></p><p><strong>Mike Pagan</strong></p><p><strong>Mental Wealth Strategist | Executive Coach | Speaker</strong></p><p><br></p><p>Mike Pagan is a leading mental wealth strategist, executive coach and motivational speaker who helps leaders, entrepreneurs and high performers build the support networks they need to thrive. With more than two decades of experience in coaching, facilitation and organisational development, he specialises in tackling the isolation that often accompanies senior roles, empowering clients to create intentional “mental wealth teams” around them.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>For more information, podcasts and resources, visit: www.balancing-act.co.uk</strong></p><p><br></p>
May 28, 2026
Fear, Control and Choice: Leading Yourself Through the Hardest Moments
<p>In this episode, Sarah sits down with former RAF pilot and Gulf War POW John Peters to explore what leadership, resilience and perspective really mean when everything is stripped away. Shot down on the first day of Operation Desert Storm and held captive for seven weeks, John reflects on how he learned to manage fear, pain and uncertainty, and how those experiences reshaped his understanding of success, identity and what truly matters.</p><p><br></p><p>The conversation moves beyond survival to examine the quieter challenges of returning to life, navigating sudden public attention, and recalibrating career, purpose and personal relationships. With rare honesty, John shares insights on emotional control, acceptance, and the long-term impact of lived experience, offering grounded reflections for anyone facing pressure, transition or change. His lessons are not about endurance alone, but about perspective – and how to lead yourself, and others, when it matters most.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>Key Topics Covered</strong></p><ul><li>The early motivation and personal drive behind becoming a fast-jet pilot</li><li>How intense career focus can quietly disrupt personal life and balance</li><li>Leadership as a practice of adaptation, awareness and decision-making under change</li><li>Mindset, structure and psychological strategies used to survive captivity</li><li>The role of acceptance in managing fear, pain and emotional response</li><li>Navigating public attention and identity in the aftermath of high-profile events</li><li>Reframing life experiences as learning points rather than defining outcomes</li><li>The importance of ongoing learning in leadership and personal development</li><li>The stabilising role of trusted relationships and honest feedback</li><li>Self-understanding as the foundation for meaningful leadership and contribution</li></ul><p><br></p><p><br><br></p><p><strong>John Peters</strong></p><p><strong>Former RAF Pilot | Author | Motivational Speaker</strong></p><p>John Peters is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot, author, and recognised motivational speaker, best known for surviving as a prisoner of war during the Gulf War and co-authoring the notable book 'Tornado Down.' His career has been defined by both remarkable achievements and profound challenges.</p><p>He earned his pilot’s license by age 17 and joined the RAF as a university cadet, completing a BSc in Building Technology at UMIST in 1983. Throughout the 1980s, he served as a fast jet fighter pilot and instructor on various RAF squadrons, including XV Squadron. On the first day of Operation Desert Storm in January 1991, during a low-level daylight strike over Iraq, Peters’ Tornado GR1 was shot down, leading to his capture. He endured seven weeks of torture and interrogation before being released as a prisoner of war.</p><p>Despite this ordeal, Peters returned to flying duties within weeks and continued his RAF career for nearly another decade. He co-authored 'Tornado Down,' a best-selling account of his Gulf War experiences, and later earned an MBA before leading leadership and safety programmes within the Ministry of Defence. After retiring from the RAF, he founded a consultancy focused on leadership under pressure, resilience, and change, working with senior business teams globally.</p><p>John Peters remains an acclaimed motivational speaker and business consultant, advising organisations on leadership under duress, team dynamics, and managing uncertainty. His story exemplifies resilience, courage, and the ability to find meaning and perspective even in extreme adversity.</p><p><br></p><p>Visit www.balancing-act.co.uk for more details, podcasts and resources.</p>
14 total episodes available
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