Success & Happiness

About Success & Happiness

This is a podcast where I interview and get insights from successful and happy people. What does success mean to them. What do they do to make them happy? I also interview couples that have inspired me with their amazing relationships. A lot of us strive and wish for one of those if we are already not in one. Have a listen and see what makes their relationship work and get my own insights and observations as to what it takes to be successful and happy. colindurrant.substack.com (https://colindurrant.substack.com?utm_medium=podcast)

Publisher

Colin Durrant

Category

education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

27 Nov 2022

Latest episode

8 Nov 2026

Latest episodes

191 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Nov 2026

   She Let Her Heart Win

   And, as if by magic, it was all over. She sat in her car in the car park with both hands on the wheel and didn’t start the engine. Forty-five minutes. The most intense interview she had ever faced, for the one job her heart wanted above all else. Finance Manager at a small charity working with families caught up in drug and alcohol addiction. For as long as she could remember, she had wanted to work in finance for a charity. Other people wanted to be on the front line. She wanted to be the one who made sure the front line was still there next year, that the rent got paid and every grant was spent where it was meant to go. It was, she felt, her purpose in life. Before she went in, the old voices had started up. You’re not good enough for this.You’re not worthy.You’re incapable. She knew them well. They had come a million times before. A guy she liked: you’re not good enough for him. Other jobs she went for: you’re incapable. Other things she had wanted in her life: you’re not worthy. Life had been hard and tough. Then, with the help of a wise person, she had realised that every one of those stories was made up. They meant nothing. They had kept her safe as a child, and now they no longer served her. They certainly didn’t help her, but they did keep her safe and small. She didn’t want to be safe and small anymore. She wanted to be out there, her authentic self, the person she had always wanted to be. She knew she had the skills. Years of month-ends, budgets and audits had seen to that. More importantly, she knew this was the work her heart wanted. When she did it, there were no conditions about success or failure, no judgement from herself or anyone else. When she was living her truth, no one could question her. She was real, and she would attract the people she needed into her life. Those who did not resonate with her would simply melt away, as if they had never been there. There were three of them across the table: the chief executive, a trustee who had kept the charity’s books for years as a volunteer, and a woman from HR with a printed list of questions. Halfway through, the chief executive took off her glasses and asked what she would do in a year when the biggest grant didn’t come through. As she began to answer, her brain started up. You’re incapable. You’re incapable. Her heart was saying something else entirely. Out loud, she talked about reserves and forecasts and honest conversations with funders. But underneath the words and the promises, she was sending a different message, straight to their hearts. I am the person you have been looking for. It was in direct contradiction to every self-limiting thought her brain was having. She let her heart win. That was her secret weapon. She felt it expanding and sent love to everyone in the room, unconditional love with no expectation and no need for anything in return. She was simply using her power. They felt her love and empathy and understanding, and alongside the skills, they knew she was the best person for the job. She kept all her focus on her end result, which was to get the job. There were others more qualified, others who would probably accept less money. She went after what her heart wanted regardless, and she knew she would get it. The call came two days later. It was a dream come true. She would be helping people, making a difference in the world. Changing people’s lives for the better. Changing their children’s lives. Changing generations of poverty, drug use and alcoholism. She had the opportunity to change it all. This was her genius and her gift to the world. If any of those three voices sound familiar, I’d love to know which one turns up for you. Leave a comment, give this a like if it spoke to you, and share it with someone who has a big day coming up and needs to hear it. You can also support our charity work in Zambia here - Buy me a coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/colindurrant) Ready to step out your comfort zone and into something magical? June 2027, we’re taking a small group to the Luangwa Valley in Zambia for ten days of wildlife and work with the community. Places are limited. Have a look at the trip here. (https://colindurrant.co.uk/Zambia2027.html) Get full access to Colin's Chronicles at colindurrant.substack.com/subscribe (https://colindurrant.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

2. 

   1 Nov 2026

   Less Than a Day From the River

   When the herds left the Liuwa Plain, the hunger came. For weeks the tribe lived on smaller meals, surviving on whatever they could find, and it was never quite enough. The children went to sleep hungry. The old people grew thin. Every year the men stood and watched the dust of the wildebeest drift away across the plain, and every year they knew they couldn’t follow. The men had tried. They would set off after the herds, but out there the river sank into the sand and disappeared. There was no shade and nowhere to hide, and a man was exposed to the sun and to everything else that lived there. The animals could cover vast distances with no water at all. The men couldn’t. Sooner or later they were forced to turn back, because they couldn’t survive long without it. The suffering was too great. Men in those days were fascinated by the world around them, but they generally kept to the same area. It was too dangerous to travel far into the unknown, and the unknown has always been man’s biggest fear. Then one dry season, Acrollis decided he would follow the animals to the bitter end and see where they went. He made a sack for carrying water from an animal’s intestines. Two friends, Akasiwa and Sepo, decided to join him. They were as fascinated as he was. They were heading into the unknown, where anything could happen, and they might never see their families again. His mother was distraught. She didn’t want to lose her son. But his father had watched the children go to sleep hungry too many times. He saw that his son had to go, for the sake of the whole tribe. It was a sacrifice, but an important one. Reluctantly, his mother agreed, and the three men set off. They each carried a few bags of water. It wouldn’t last many days, and there would certainly not be enough to get back if they turned around. The land ahead was barren grassland. The river had gone underground, out of reach of men and animals alike. The herd of wildebeest kicked up a dust cloud that was easy to follow. In the worst heat of the day the herd stopped in the shade of a few large trees, and no travel was possible. The three men did the same, setting up camp and waiting for the cool of the evening. They kept their distance, but every now and again the herd would grow very unsettled. Lions would attack, and one would be killed. At night it was the hyenas. The men lay awake listening to them whooping out on the plain, and in the morning there would be one less calf. It was a war of attrition. Many predators followed the herd, so one of the men always had to keep watch. They could never be too careful. A lion wouldn’t hesitate to kill a man if it felt threatened, especially with cubs nearby. Lions didn’t particularly like eating people, but they saw them as a threat. Acrollis raised his hand, and the others stopped. They crouched and waited. To their right, a go-away bird gave its alarm call. The herd sensed the danger and began to stampede. The three men jumped to their feet and trotted after them. They could run like this for a whole day, but their water was dwindling. A young wildebeest wasn’t so lucky. Two large male lions took it down, and its journey in this world was over. Perhaps it would be reborn as a lion in its next life and the tables would be turned. But for now, it was food. The men trotted past, and the feeding lions didn’t even look up. The animals often walked through the night, and the men had to keep up. If they fell too far behind, they would become a target. By morning, their water was gone. Now the real suffering began. There would be no turning back and no respite. They would simply have to keep going until their bodies gave out. They knew the animals needed water too. The herd had to be heading towards it, and they hoped to get there before their resilience ran out. Through the heat of the day, the men suffered. Their lips split. Their tongues swelled. They dug for roots the way the old people had taught them, roots that were succulent and held a mouthful of water, but it took patience and hard work and the roots were few. That afternoon, Akasiwa stopped walking. “We should go back,” he said. Acrollis turned and looked at the way they had come. Two days of empty grass, shimmering in the heat. “There is nothing back there,” he said. “There is no water behind us. The only water is ahead.” They kept going. An hour later, Akasiwa dropped to the sunbaked earth and lay still. Acrollis and Sepo poked him and tried to get him up. They tried to lift him, but they were weak themselves. If he wasn’t already dead, he was very close to it. His mother had named him Akasiwa, the one who cannot be left. They left him. That night, the hyenas started whooping somewhere behind them, in the direction they had come from. Neither man said a word. Acrollis and Sepo stumbled on. Any predator would have found them easy pickings. They were far too weak to defend themselves. On the second night without water, Acrollis lay down in the grass and didn’t get up. His body had nothing left. The herd was moving away from him in the dark, and he let it go. He thought it would be easy just to stay there. Then he thought of the children going to sleep hungry, and of his father’s face when he had let him go. He got up. On the third day without water, as the heat began to rise, they heard the wildebeest making a noise, as if they were excited. The men thought another pride of lions had come to attack. But as they stumbled forward, they smelt it. Water. The river had come up out of the ground again, wide and fast and deep. Acrollis and Sepo pushed in among the animals, who were just as desperate to drink. It was still hard going, because most of their strength had gone, but they never gave up. They reached the water’s edge and would have jumped in if the current hadn’t been so strong. They were also rightly afraid of the crocodiles lurking in the depths, waiting for unsuspecting prey. The water revived them. Without it they would have been dead within hours. They rested while their bodies slowly soaked it back up, and it brought them back from the brink. Then Acrollis counted the days back in his head, and he understood. Akasiwa had fallen less than a day’s walk from this river. When their strength returned, they filled every bag they had and walked home, following their own tracks across the dry country. They found the place where Akasiwa had fallen. The hyenas had been there first. The next dry season, when the herds moved away, the tribe didn’t stand and watch the dust. They filled their water bags and followed. It took three days to reach the river, and that year, nobody went hungry. Whenever the herds leave the plain, the elders still tell the children about Acrollis, who got up out of the grass when there was nothing left in him. They tell them what he told them: keep going, because the reward is usually just around the next corner. Then they tell them about Akasiwa, who lay down less than a day from the river. If this story stayed with you, I’d love to hear what it stirred up. Leave a comment, give it a like, and share it with someone who’s walking through their own dry stretch right now. P.S. Sometimes the bravest thing is saying yes before you feel ready. Next June, I’m taking ten people to the Luangwa Valley in Zambia for ten days of wildlife and work with the community. Places are limited. Have a look at the trip here. (https://colindurrant.co.uk/Zambia2027.html) You can also support our work in Zambia here - Buy me a coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/colindurrant) Get full access to Colin's Chronicles at colindurrant.substack.com/subscribe (https://colindurrant.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

3. 

   25 Oct 2026

   The Price of the Truth

   In ancient times, in the city of Thebes, there lived a warrior called Thecius. He was one of the bravest warriors in the whole city, and he trained other warriors to be brave like him. His method was simple and hard. He took them on hikes lasting many days, deep into the mountains, where they took on bears and lions. This proved them as men. Once they could fight a bear or a lion, fighting mere men was never going to be as hard. That was Thecius’s strategy. The only problem was that it was very dangerous, and many men were killed or injured while trying to prove their bravery. On this particular journey, Thecius had his son with him. Thoris had been trained well and hard, but his father was afraid for him all the same. The boy’s mother had cried when he left. She knew the dangers and the threat to his life. She knew it had to be done, but she feared for her son as any mother would. There were twelve of them in all. Some were seasoned warriors who had been through the ritual before. Three were boys making their first journey, and Thoris was one of them. The going was treacherous. They climbed into the high mountains, crossed rivers and picked their way over rough ground, watching for danger around every corner. Thecius wanted his son in the middle of the group, because the front was the most dangerous position. Thoris would have none of it. He had to prove to everyone that he was worthy of being his father’s son. He had to lead, and face danger head on. They made camp near the river and built a large fire, then went fishing. The river was full of fish and it was easy to catch enough for dinner. But there were large bears about, and they loved a fish dinner too. The fire would keep most of them away. A starving bear was another matter. That shouldn’t happen with a river full of fish, but you just never knew. A bear that was injured and couldn’t catch its own food would simply steal from others, including men. So they built a ring of thorn bushes around the camp, with the fire in the middle. They ate their fill and went to bed early. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. One of them always stayed awake while the others slept. Thoris would take the first watch, then the other boys would take their turns. They told the time by the stars and how far they had travelled across the night sky. It was very cold that night. With the warmth of the fire and a belly full of food, Thoris thought he would be fine. Sleep just crept up on him, and he was snoring softly before he knew it. Eyes were watching from the edge of the camp. Yellow eyes of hungry predators. They watched and waited patiently. The fire burned down with no one to feed it. Every man was asleep. Thorns were no problem for the big cats. They could leap over them or crawl through. Two male lions, brothers, were the first to break the boundary. They were not interested in killing men for the sake of it. What they really wanted was food. They crept quietly through the camp, sniffing out scraps. There was not a lot left, but they ate what they could find. Thoris woke with a start. Something was wrong. They were not alone. He threw a log on the fire and it roared back into life. His eyes swept the camp, and he saw the glowing yellow eyes looking back at him. He froze. He knew this was his moment to prove his strength and bravery, but the fear gripped him. His chest tightened. His heart raced and his breathing was shallow and rapid. He felt himself sweating. He gripped his spear tightly, and then he remembered his training. Calm and loose. If he carried fear, he would show himself to be prey, and the beasts would kill him. He gathered himself, took a deep breath and steadied his nerves. Slowly, the fear in his belly drained away. He crouched, the spear in front of him, ready to drive it into the heart of the beast if it attacked. Then he let out a blood-curdling yell and ran straight at the lion. Startled, the lion turned and leapt back over the thorns the way it had come. Its brother, on the far side of the fire, watched on. It considered its options. It thought about fighting this child and stealing more food. By now the others were awake, Thecius among them, on their feet with their spears ready. The second lion decided its best bet was to leave, and it leapt after its brother. The two of them slunk off into the night. They piled more wood on the fire until it threw its light out to the thorns. The men could still sense wild animals moving beyond the camp, but for now they were safe. They looked at Thoris and thanked him for saving them. They were impressed that he had taken on a lion by himself. But Thoris knew in his heart that he had fallen asleep, and that this was unforgivable. He had let them all down. If he had not woken, the lions could have killed every one of them as they slept. Did he tell his father, or keep quiet? He wanted to please his father and make him proud. But he had also been taught the strength of telling the truth. And he knew that if he didn’t, one day it would come out, and then it would be far worse for him. The camp quietened down. Another boy took the watch and the rest went back to sleep. In the morning everyone patted Thoris on the back and told him how brave he was. It only made it harder. They packed up the camp and headed back up the mountain. Thoris fell into step beside his father. Thecius beamed at him with pride, and it pulled at Thoris’s heart. How could he tell him now? Finally he could hold it in no longer. “Father,” he blurted out. “I fell asleep last night. I’m sorry. I thought I would be fine, but I just fell asleep without realising it.” No one else could hear him. Thecius stared at his boy, his face expressionless. Thoris’s eyes fell to the ground. He didn’t know whether to cry or simply run away. At last Thecius spoke, quietly. “I know, my son. I was wondering if you would admit it to me. I could tell from the fire. It had almost died, because no one had fed it. And I could tell from your bed that you had been lying in it. You realise this is unforgivable.” Thoris nodded. Then Thecius stopped and shouted for everyone to gather round. “Tell them what you told me.” Thoris repeated it. The seasoned warriors already knew. They didn’t miss anything. They had also known the boys would probably fall asleep, after a long day of walking, climbing over rocks and wading through streams. Thoris waited for his punishment, his head down. Thecius stepped forward and put his hand on his son’s shoulder. “My son has spoken the truth. He knew there could be serious consequences, and still he chose to tell the truth. That is the sign of a great man, a man with courage. He has shown he can be trusted, and that he will not lie when he becomes a leader of men. Today is a great day.” The men beat their spears against their shields and chanted Thoris’s name. It was the last thing he had expected. His father slapped him on the back. “There will still be a punishment for falling asleep,” he said. “But you have told the truth, and that is the most important thing. We all knew you had fallen asleep. In fact, we knew you probably would. The real test was whether you would admit it to all of us. You knew there would be a punishment and you still told us. That makes me proud, because it shows your integrity and your character, and that is what matters above all else.” At last, Thoris let himself smile. That night, when the stars said it was time, he took the first watch again. He kept the fire fed until dawn. Have you ever had to own up to something when keeping quiet would have been so much easier? I’d love to hear your story in the comments. And if this one stayed with you, give it a like and share it with someone who might need it. P.S. Sometimes the bravest thing is saying yes before you feel ready. Next June, I’m taking ten people to the Luangwa Valley in Zambia for ten days of wildlife and work with the community. Places are limited. Have a look at the trip here. (https://colindurrant.co.uk/Zambia2027.html) You can also support our work in Zambia here - Buy me a coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/colindurrant) Get full access to Colin's Chronicles at colindurrant.substack.com/subscribe (https://colindurrant.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4)

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