Dare Be Podcast

About Dare Be Podcast

Get inspired by people who found fulfilment and joy in their career. Learn how they identified their vocation. Hear the courageous changes they made to follow their passion and purpose. It is hosted by Grégoire Lemaitre who is on a mission to help people start on their own path to meaningful success. A journey he has himself embarked on after 15 years in a career that had the usual markers of success but lacked purpose and joy. Greg is a career and leadership coach. He co-founded Dare Be, which delivers the 6-week Find Direction Course (www.darebe.me/course).

Publisher

Gregoire Lemaitre

Category

business · business · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

9 Jun 2021

Latest episode

8 Dec 2022

Latest episodes

19 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Dec 2022

   #20 Managing the mess of life, from Harvard to politics to startup

   A warm welcome to the Dare Be Podcast where I interview people who have followed their passion and mission. My guest in this episode is Guillaume Liégey, an entrepreneur. He co-founded eXplain, a startup to combine his passion for politics and his desire to work with great people.While at the Harvard Kennedy School, he witnessed how data-driven and field-focused Obama's campaign was. So he decided to bring back to France this best practice. He did it with the French Socialist party in 2012. He then worked closely with Emmanuel Macron to create and launch the En Marche party which won the French presidential election in 2017. Preferring to focus on his business he made the tough decision to withdraw from the campaign and to pivot the business.In this episode Guillaume also talks about the joys and struggles of being an entrepreneur, such as the many nos entrepreneurs have to receive in fundraising, about balancing ambition and ego, about learning humility as a Parisian consultant in a factory in Marseille and much more. I think you'll enjoy this conversation!

2. 

   30 Sept 2022

   #19 From art enthusiast at school to a successful jewellery brand

   A warm welcome to the Dare Be Podcast where I interview people who have followed their passion and mission. My guest in this episode is Anna Molinari, founder of the jewellery brand Atelier Molinari. She shares the pivotal moments in her story of falling in love with art at school and being challenged for it; of the magical trip to the Gem Palace in Jaipur India when she instantly knew she was meant to become a jewellery designer; of the sacrifices she’s had to make for 6 years; of her long, underground learning journey through Jaipur, Paris, London and New York; of the crazy day when the buyer of one of the most prestigious retail stores in the world offered to sell her own jewellery creations. I hope you get inspired by her courage and determination to pursue her dream and make it happen.

3. 

   15 Jul 2022

   #18 From Unilever to lead roles in London’s musicals

   In this episode I talk to Grant Aylward who, after a successful sales career in the consumer goods industry, decided to become an actor in London’s West End. It’s been a long journey and he made it all the way to getting lead roles in major musicals such as Mama Mia. Grant also used his experience as an actor to help business people communicate more effectively. This led him to found High Impact, a leadership and communication consultancy. He then gave up his acting career to dedicate all his attention to the business. I really enjoyed my conversation with Grant and I hope you do too!

4. 

   9 Jun 2022

   #17 From Morgan Stanley to Regenerative Agriculture

   In this episode I talk to Chuck de Liedekerke, an investment banker at Morgan Stanley in London turned entrepreneur in regenerative agriculture . I enjoyed learning about regenerative agriculture, how it is a solution to climate change and the difference with organic agriculture. I also really enjoyed listening to his story. From the evening when he walked into his boss' office to quit to now as CEO of a business with 28 people... A LOT has happened. I was struck by his self-awareness and humility. There are important learnings for all of us. I hope you enjoy it!

5. 

   21 Mar 2022

   #16 From Twitter VP to author and podcaster

   Bruce Daisley is the author of the Sunday Times best seller The Joy of Work, host of the number 1 business podcast eat sleep work repeat, a workplace culture expert and an award-winning speaker. He used to be the most senior employee at Twitter outside NA. He worked at Google where he ran YouTube in the UK. I wanted to talk to him because I like the work he does and his takes on workplace culture and also because I was interested in his journey from media and Big Tech to what he does now. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Bruce where he shares insights into what makes a high-enjoyment and high-performance work culture. You will also hear about his transition, writing a book and launching a podcast while having a high-profile role in a fast-paced organisation like Twitter.

6. 

   28 Feb 2022

   #15 From Headhunter to LinkedIn Top Voice and Changemaker

   Listen to the story of Andrew MacAskill, a LinkedIn Top Voice. He is also part of LinkedIn's Changemaker Programme set up to help make work a better place. Andrew is also the founder of Executive Career Jump, a career coaching company with the mission of ending career-based misery. In the past two years, he's worked with over 500 people to help them find jobs that are more aligned with who they are. Andrew's mission is complementary to what I do: as a career coach I help people clarify what they want to do, Andrew helps on the critical step of helping people get the job they want. We first talk about the state of the workplace, the role LinkedIn is playing in this and then we dive into his story. You will learn about what it feels like to lose one’s job, about what it takes to become an influencer, about starting a passion project as a side hustle and making it your main income, about leveraging LinkedIn when you are job-hunting or recruiting.

7. 

   9 Feb 2022

   #14 From boredom in Finance to passion as a pastry chef

   An emotional conversation with Emilie about her passion for food, about her childhood memories cooking with her grandmother and about her challenging and successful journey to pursue it. Emilie changed her career from being in Finance in Paris to working in the food industry. She's now the pastry Executive Chef in a luxury gastronomy brand in Germany. She explains how her love for food was transmitted as an heritage from her grandparents in her family house in the South of France. She also explains what makes a perfect pain au chocolat. And of course she tells the story of her transition. She shares what she called her revelation that she got while attending a class at the famous Ducasse school. How she quit her job to become a pastry teacher herself, the difficulties she had to overcome and the years it took to clarify how she could do what she really wanted to do in food and in pastry.

8. 

   24 Jan 2022

   #13 From denying to accepting who you are to make the right career decisions

   In this deep, open and rich conversation, Deri Hughes shares how he learnt to take conscious decisions instead of being led by unconscious drivers. He shares some practical tools and techniques. This has deep implications for our careers and our lives. Deri Hughes has had a rich and diverse career with a focus on strategic consulting. He graduated from Oxford University with a first class degree in organic chemistry. He even went all the way to doing a PhD there. He then started his career at Bain, founded a short-lived company and continued with a few free-lance consulting roles. He then moved on to become the CFO and COO in a strategic consultancy. After this he founded his two companies HoneyComb PS and Explore Consulting where he helps leaders of consulting firms to recruit, train, and develop their teams. A few months ago he wrote a post on LinkedIn where he very openly talked about his personal difficulties and how he has been working through them. This was a beautiful example of daring to be, daring to show up, with his strengths and vulnerabilities.

9. 

   3 Jan 2022

   #12 From architect to aid worker, networking tactics, staying realistic

   Caroline Dewast works in the humanitarian sector, working in crisis situations, conflict zones and natural disasters. Caroline is currently working from Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, for the UN Refugee Agency. Before this, she worked for the Norwegian Refugee Council and for the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. For her humanitarian work she's lived in the Philippines, Gaza, Peru and Fiji and she's worked in Greece, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Cameroon, Myanmar and Bangladesh. I invited Caroline not only because she has followed her purpose with great courage and passion but also because before doing this, she had started her career in London as an architect. She's got a lot to say about what it takes to follow your purpose and about making a career change.

10. 

    20 Dec 2021

    #11 Creating a better education, following your purpose with passion, the power of wounds.

    Andreia Mitrea is an edupreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of Colina Learning Centre, a new type of school that blends together child education and adult development. To finally implement her vision of education, it’s been a long and winded journey. She started what looked like a high-power, successful career at Coca Cola. There she wondered why she was the only one to not care about her job. She left to become a stewardess. She then joined her sister’s brand new private school in Romania. Over the course of 10 years they made it a very successful venture, in particular growing enrollment from 6 pupils to 600. She had to leave and she took a break. She clarified her purpose, her vision for education and confronted her fears of failure and not being good enough to found Colina Learning Centre.

11. 

    23 Nov 2021

    #10 Overcoming. From drug-dealing to self-love and success in music and public speaking

    Listen to the enthralling story of Curtis Blanc, or Tis. From failed music beginnings, to drug-dealing, to nearing death several times, to prison, to award-winning radio-presenter, to sought-after public speaker, to 50£-a-day sound engineer, to successful music entrepreneur, to spoken-word artist, Tis has seen and learnt a lot. He is now on a mission to help youth and music artists to grow their self-awareness and self-love and succeed. Tis comes from an under-privileged background in West London. School had no interest for him until he found music. With music he got distinctions for the first time in his life. He enjoyed creating electronic music and setting up sound systems. American and British rappers made him believe that success was within easy reach. He started his music business with passion… and some naivety about what it would take to “make it”. Instead, he was focused on avoiding the lack of money he suffered from in his childhood by dealing drug. As he participated in gang life, consumed drugs and played video games, music took the back seat. Until he got caught by the police with high quantities of class-A drugs and cash. He pleaded guilty and got sentenced to 4 years in prison. Tis says his low point in life was dealing drugs, rather than prison where he was finally free from his gang and from drugs. That’s when he started writing a very different story for his life. Listen to his incredible story here. or on your usual podcast player or read the key learnings below. Bonus! Listen Tis’ beautiful poem at the very end of the episode. You can find Tis on Twitter at @tisrespect.

12. 

    5 Nov 2021

    #9 A journey following my truth

    What a discussion with the lively, witty, laughing and authentic Kenza Barrada. She shares lessons on knowing when to say: “I’m done.” and when you are aligned. She shares how she crafted her professional life based on her evolving personal needs. She explains how she first found meaning in her tasks and then sought deeper meaning in the service to others. This is also the story of staying whole by integrating all the different parts we are made of. And finally she explains how meditation and gratitude made her journey an even more beautiful one. Kenza Barrada is the Founder and CEO of the WAOW Project, a leadership and team development consultancy. She is also the co-Founder of @it Razala, a permaculture and eco-agriculture project south of Marrakesh in Morocco where she grows a sustainable and edible forest with her husband and children. She is a passionate and expert problem solver! Before this Kenza worked in Morocco, France and across Africa, South America and even Asia in strategic consulting mostly for McKinsey. She started her career in the Consumer Goods Industry.

13. 

    13 Oct 2021

    #8 Building a startup after burnout while growing a family and fighting cancer

    Greg talks to Gareth Fryer, the co-Founder and co-CEO of Fika, the up-and-coming mental fitness app and start-up. Gareth’ burn-out led him to quit his job as a partner in a consultancy and give up an earn-out. He learnt to manage stress and anxiety by building emotional literacy. He followed his purpose by building a startup that focuses on solving the root-causes of mental health issues. While growing a family and his young startup, he fought back stage 3C Melanoma cancer.

14. 

    30 Sept 2021

    #7 Taking the leap from lawyer to primary school teacher.

    Lessons on learning about yourself, paying attention to your interests, your strengths, what brings you joy... and all the opposite! Also about the mental steps to take to make a career shift. Greg talks to Rob Firth who transitioned from a well-paid and clearly laid-out profession as a solicitor in the City of London to become a primary school teacher. As a teenager Rob decided to pursue a career in Law after a short placement working with Barristers in the City. The vibe, the suits and ties, and the wit of the people he worked for attracted him. But a few years later, when it came to actually doing the job as a solicitor, he did not enjoy it. Instead, reading law papers over the weekend to get ahead of competition felt like mental torture. Recognising his situation was difficult because he was not sure what he wanted to do. He was also scared of losing what he’d invested into becoming a lawyer, of looking like a failure and of giving up the financial comfort. After trying different areas of law, different partners, different departments and different law firms, he finally decided to pursue what clearly appealed as his vocation. Pay attention to your pleasant thoughts and emotions - they guide you towards your interests and strengths “What I find with teaching is that once I get going, I feel in my flow and it feels natural. So after the first 10 seconds [on my first day] of being a bit nervous and perhaps mispronouncing some names, it just felt natural. And it progressed nicely.” “When I was a lawyer I would do pro bono work. Wednesday lunch times some people went to the local primary school and taught math and English. And that was the highlight of my week. And I remember saying, I love this. And I said why don't you do it full-time? why don't you become a teacher? I already knew I didn't enjoy it or I just would never admit it to myself. When I knew I was doing this podcast, I was talking to my wife about it and she was saying, it's just being honest with yourself and trying to tap into yourself and know what you truly want.” “I enjoy reading about education, about learning. It doesn't feel as much like work in my spare time. It's enjoyment. if I find a subject that I'm interested in, then I will do that naturally. And that subject just wasn't law for me. I didn't find a niche within law. I wasn’t willing to put in that extra effort in, whereas with education, I just find it fascinating. It just feels more natural and it's more relaxing. Whereas with law, it felt like a burden and not feeling good at doing your job. It is an emotional stress.” Look for and observe people who inspire you. What about them inspires you? This is usually a useful cue as to what you want more in your life. “I started going out with my girlfriend who became my wife. And she loved her job. She's a self-employed artist. And I saw that enjoyment that she got from it. And I thought you can obviously do it. And I would quite like a piece of that. So it was seeing someone who'd actually done it because speaking to a lot of my friends from university and from school were lawyers, accountants, bankers working in London, very similar. And so this was something new and refreshing.” “It was fortunate that I saw a person who could get a real sense of enjoyment from their work. And I thought I should try and find that as well.” “Having that firsthand account of someone who has that true happiness in their job and, their career, I just thought, if I can see this, now someone's done it, I want to try. I owe it to myself and to her, to try to find it as well.” Be curious and accept your unpleasant experiences - they also serve you as a guide away from your energy drainers! “I remember going into my first review with a couple of partners and they were discussing how I was getting on. And part of me wanted them to almost say, you're not good enough. We don't want you here. You're fired. Essentially part of me wanted that and then it will make the decision for me.” “I just wasn't happy. I just didn't enjoy it. There wasn't a sense of flow, there wasn't natural enjoyment. There were definitely people who were similar to me and didn't enjoy it. It was like a slug. I was going through the motions I suppose, but I did see people who did get a buzz out of doing these deals who liked the late nights. I just didn't find it interesting.” “Not only did I not know what to do. I was also at this stage thinking I've invested so much time into this, surely I need to try and make it work or put a bit more effort into it and maybe I’ll enjoy it. So I took some tax books home and tried to make notes on them in my spare time and try and understand it and delve into it. That lasted a couple of weekends and I thought I can't do this. I did make an effort just to try, but I think I was just kidding myself, essentially.” “We both came up with the fact I should become a teacher but still parts of me wasn't willing to accept that. And so I thought I've only been in this law firm. Why don't I try another law firm in a different area of law? So then I had a few interviews at different law firms.” “And it felt like a relief to figure out in my head that I didn't enjoy law, being honest with that. I just couldn't take that jump then there was a part of me that had to try something else first within law. I was talking to a colleague and she said, you're just delaying the inevitable by moving into another role. You're going to go back to teaching. But if it makes you feel happier than try it in a different area of law.” Create the time, space and expose yourself to diverse experiences to learn and test your interests, your strengths and what you enjoy. “The most important thing for me was just being honest with myself because when you're making these decisions about what career and you're choosing your subjects at 16, you don't know a lot about yourself.” “When I was training, what I really enjoyed to do was to go into other classes and watch other teachers teach and I haven't had that opportunity. And I think that's a fantastic way to learn from it. Who have got more experience than me, or perhaps teach in a different way or different style and then try and take bits that I like from that.” “Initially when I thought of teaching, I initially thought of secondary school. So I hadn't even considered primary school at that stage. I was thinking I can't make the same mistake as I did with law. I want to try and get plenty of experience and to know what I'm getting into. So then I organized placements at schools. Week-long experiences at different schools just to get a feel of those schools.[I ended up teaching in a primary school!]” “I never properly sat down and thought about what I want to do. So it's just giving yourself that time and space to think, and then try and get as much exposure as you can.” Proactively consider your (alternative) career options however attractive your financial future looks like. “Another partner came along, so they were trying to expand the tax team and he came along and he was very different. And there was a different dynamic within the team. I didn't enjoy that as much. And I found it a lot more challenging and not as enjoyable. And then that's when I was really starting to consider is law for me, I have already changed within six months. It would have been about two and a half, three years.” “Because I knew then I wasn't enjoying it, but I didn't know what else there was. I'd never properly sat down to think about what other options are there.” “At that stage, money becomes a factor though. Because you're getting well-paid and you know every year your salary is going to increase by a certain amount. And it's quite nice to have that.” “I was just thinking, will it get better? Well after a few years, will it become more interesting? Will I just enjoy it more? I didn't get a buzz from it.” “I do think law is a career that if you do find that niche that you really enjoy, it's an amazing career. But I hadn't found it and I tried a couple of different variations and still hadn't found it. So I thought I've had my go here. I should try something else. I just thought there's got to be something else. I should just try something else while I'm still young. It didn't have children at that stage, so I thought, take a risk now rather than get even more embedded into it. Something was obviously telling me I should try something else.” “It would be a lot more convenient if I'd done that before, before choosing to go into a training contract. But it's so tough within the system of work experience. You never know what the true aspects of your job will be until you're there, so it's quite hard to know. It was perhaps naive of me not to try other careers and thinking at that stage, what am I passionate about? And try and forge your career after that.” Projecting yourself into the future is a powerful tool to assess whether to pursue a career “I worked in the tax department and I was just thinking, could I see myself? Where's the next step? Is it continue here, try and make partner. And I was saying, I'm not enjoying it at the moment. How can I do this for another 5, 6, 10 years, however long it is to become partner. So that made me start to think, maybe you need to see what else is out there.” “I could just see myself, had I continued in law. I'd just be a miserable old man. It just wouldn't be that fun to be around.” Considering making a jump is often the scariest bit. Analyse your fears - what are they about? Be careful of the fears that relate to how others perceive you! “By nature, I'm quite risk averse. I'd invested all this time in law. So why would I then go into teaching? It's almost a status symbol, with law and I think, oh, would it be seen as a failure if I then went into teaching? So I think all of these questions are going through my head. Obviously pay as well, having the salary of a lawyer is a lot more than a salary of a teacher. There were just a lot of factors and I scared myself out of it. it was essentially just being too afraid to make that jump, not having the confidence to make it.” “I didn't have a plan at that stage. What I wanted to do was go into teaching and assess my options. So I felt I needed an income and I thought tutoring would provide me with an income. And it's also something that I've identified that I enjoy. So that was like a safe bet. And then I'd set up little goals, of what I wanted to do during that next year, because that's officially left law.” “My parents were quite worried. You’ve got this mortgage you need to pay, will you find the money? you've obviously got accustomed to a certain style of life, will you be able to afford and just a lot of questions. It's a good thing because I need to address them myself. But now they can see that I do really enjoy teaching and it was a good decision and that's another thing, even though it's my decision, I was still thinking about how they would perceive it.” “To make that initial leap - and I delayed it a little bit - I knew that's the route I was going down. And just thinking about what steps I needed to put in place beforehand, and you can't put all the steps in place, but for me, it was having that little bit of financial security. So as soon as I got that job with the tutoring I thought it would work its way out in one way or another, follow a path and an interest.” Greg: “What's been the most difficult part of making that leap?” Rob: “It was the initial bit, just to know, is this a mistake or not? And when I handed in my resignation letter afterwards, I felt really like relief and joy. So I knew that was it. The correct thing to do. So that was like a big tip, but it was before that, not is this the right thing? There is still that financial doubt, but it does just seem to work out.” “The hardest thing was admitting to myself that this is what I need to do. And then taking the plunge to do it.”

15. 

    14 Sept 2021

    #6 The 4-shift career path to loving what you do, being good at it and helping others… in Finance

    The story of finding fulfilment in a career in Finance. On the iterations to find one’s career sweet spot, on clarifying what you want and don’t want, on confronting other people's perceptions to make a shift, on the career path matrix and much more.

16. 

    30 Aug 2021

    #5 A couple on an successful entrepreneurial journey in well-being

    In this episode, Greg talks to Joana and Pierre Meyer, the founders of Nordic Balance, a well-being company based in London. They share their story going from senior roles in catering to personal training to creating a gym to opening multiple therapy clinics. All of this while founding a family. Their journey has humble beginnings. Their clarity on what they wanted, their patience, their love of what they do, the complementary team they form, their openness to opportunities has led them to success. Would you like to clarify your career goals? Visit www.darebe.me for a FREE guided coaching exercise.

17. 

    23 Jul 2021

    #3 Journalism with Heart and Soul

    In this episode I am discussing with Louise Dewast. In her early 30s she has already been a foreign correspondent for the BBC in Africa, covered the Trump election in 2016 for the French television, reported on the Paris attacks in 2015, and she’s interviewed heads of states. In this episode she tells the story of her light-bulb moment when she knew "there is nothing else" than journalism that she wanted to do. She then took several very courageous steps to do what she really wanted for herself. She explains how this has evolved over time, from focusing on her career to also taking care of her life in its entirety. Still with a passion for journalism! It was an inspiring discussion for me and I hope you enjoy it.

18. 

    2 Jul 2021

    #2 - de Banquiers d’affaire a Restaurateurs

    - Exceptionally, this is a French episode. Grégoire parle avec Alexandre Lacroix et Antoine Micouin, 2 banquiers d'affaire Francais qui ont travaillé a New York et Paris et qui se sont associés pour devenir restaurateurs et ouvrir leur propre restaurant. - Nous avons eu une discussion passionnante ou Alexandre et Antoine expliquent pourquoi et comment ils ont changé de vie pour suivre leur passion. - Je leur parlais avant la réouverture des restaurants a Paris. Leur restaurant qui s'appelle HIRU H I R U a Montmartre a ouvert bien plus tard que prévu a cause du COVID. Ils ont déjà des revues excellentes et sont applaudis par la presse.

19. 

    9 Jun 2021

    #1 - From Consultant to Architect

    Greg talks to Patrick who decided to become an architect after starting a promising career in consulting. He went on to co-found Asphalt in 2015, an up and coming architecture studio in Paris. The 8-people studio now competes for projects initiated by the City of Paris, normally reserved for large and established studios. In this episode Patrick talks about what led him to make the switch and start studying for another 5 years at age 27. He explains the steps he took to change his career successfully. He also shares the joys and challenges of his new vocation. Join me for this enlightening discussion!

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