One of my mottos is that you are the CEO of your own life. You are in charge! When you think of a Chief Executive Officer of an organisation, what stereotypical image comes to mind? Generally, someone who has their schnizzle together (that’s a technical term), right?Having worked with countless CEOs of organisations big and small, there are 10 things that I think they have in common that I want to share with you to give you food for thought about how you can live like the CEO version of you would. 1.     Be unapologetic about taking up space and time (heroes walk slowly!).2.     Get comfortable in your own skin (ho'oponopono).3.     Show up and shine (rather than playing safe and small).4.     Get out of your comfort zone - feel the fear and do it anyway. 5.     Define your vision for your life (and take action towards it) 6.     Make your life easier7.     Stay in your own lane8.     Work on your resilience and a strength of character to cope with whatever life throws your way (go the distance).9.     Take radical responsibility 10.   Regularly audit and assess what you’re doing and who you’re doing it with (promote and demote). Remember you are the boss of your own life! I hope you’ve enjoyed this episode – if you have please let me know over on social media @katecousens or visit: www.katecousens.com and also if you do get 2 mins please can I ask you to rate and review as it helps other people find it? Thank you all for listening and until next time – go forth, be can-do and confident! Kate x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode Kate chats to Kat Hannon - a creative photographer who specialises in marketing, advertising, and PR. Kat has a wide range of skills in product, lifestyle, fashion and beauty photography, but her speciality lies in the commercial realm of the creative advertising sector. Kate's worked with Kat on several photoshoots over the last few years and witnessed first-hand how she gets people to relax and feel confident in front of the camera, which ultimately leads to some really stunning photography. Tune in to hear Kat's tips for being confident on camera and also how she stays confident and motivated running her own commercial photography business.Find out more about Kat's services at: https://www.kathannon.com/Tune into her podcast: https://www.kathannon.com/podcast Connect with Kat on Instagram: @kathannonphotographer or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathannon/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we get into the juicy topic of self-sabotage! You know the stuff – those behaviours, actions, or thought patterns which undermine our own success. Self-sabotage is when we do (or don't do) things that block our success or prevents us from accomplishing our goals.  We all have them; they just vary in how they show up. Some examples that might show up for you could be taking on too much and not knowing how to say no, negative self-talk or self-criticism, refusing to ask for help, making excuses, controlling or micromanaging situations, procrastinating, perfectionism tendencies, avoiding or withdrawing. These things can be conscious or subconscious - either way they can be major hurdles to stopping you from achieving your goals. Tune in to hear Kate's top five things she recommends doing to overcome your self-sabotaging behaviours so that you can focus on being 'can-do' towards your goals and ambitions! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

“We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails” – Dolly Parton Resilience is something that is often talked about - the ability to get back up after we have been knocked down. In this episode I share some of my tips to help you increase your resilience to setbacks and changes.The Global Wellbeing Project suggests that there are five pillars of resilience that we can proactively work on to help us build up the ability to recover more quickly from setbacks and challenges, these are: 1.     Energy - is about sustaining and renewing physical energy. Taking personal responsibility for your physical health and energy so you are ready to tackle whatever comes your way. 2.     Future Focus - when you have a sense of purpose and direction; when you know where you want to go and have an idea of how you’re going to get there. 3.     Inner Drive - self-belief, confidence and motivation. It is much easier to persevere through challenging times when we are feeling confident in ourselves and our abilities. 4.     Flexible Thinking - helps us think outside the box and identify new ideas and possibilities. 5.     Strong Relationships - resilient people have great relationships, feel empathy towards others, and are not too proud to share their problems. They are seen as open, honest and trustworthy and have great support networks both at home and at work.The idea is that the time it takes to bounce back to your ‘usual’ self gets less the more you work on strengthening these five pillars, so being resilient when things don’t go to plan starts by looking after yourself before anything untoward crops up in the first place. But if you are feeling more overwhelmed, remember it is ok not to be ok, and you are not alone. Visit the website mind.org.uk for more resources, or contact your doctor. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have over 70,000 thoughts a day - some of which are helpful, many of which aren't! Something I come across in my coaching sessions a lot is the tendency to overthink, especially about worse case scenarios! Dr Brene Brown calls this 'dress rehearsing tragedy', and in my experience people can be really imaginative and good at this!In this episode I share some of my strategies for curbing overthinking, including checking-in with our thoughts for greater awareness, challenging our thoughts, with the power of asking yourself 'is it true?', and limiting your exposure to things that trigger you into over-thinking. I also signpost you to the brilliant Cat Williams's Ted-X Talk where she talks about your mind being a stallion, and how important it is to learn how to ride it!If you need any support with your over-thinking, coaching is a powerful tool that can help. Get in touch to find out more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I believe that confidence comes from knowing ourselves, our strengths, talents, and our preferences - those things we like and dislike! When you know what yours are you can bring those in to the things you do everyday and feel good about yourself. In this episode I share my love of psychometric testing or personality assessments. I liken it to your horoscope - they give you information about yourself that sometimes you don't always see for yourself! Tests like these are often used by organisations in their recruitment processes, particular when there is a pivotal role, or it is part of a senior team where the dynamics and working relationships need to be strong. If you have never done a psychometric test, I recommend checking out the freebies that are available at www.16Personalities.com or the High 5 Test https://high5test.com/ Know yourself and be confident in what you bring to this world because it's your time and you're ready to shine!Love, Kate x Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Henry Ford famously said: “Whether you believe you can or whether you believe you can’t, you’re right”. We all have our own belief system which ultimately stems from our childhood. These beliefs are designed to keep us safe, which means that sometimes we tell ourselves things that aren't true because we have subconscious fears. This can show up as limiting beliefs which can stagnate decision making and keep us stuck, or make us doubt our potential. In this episode Kate shares her ABC model to help you hack your mindset and challenge your limiting beliefs. ABC stands for:·      A - Activating event ·      B - Belief trigger·      C - Cycle breaker By working through this model you can shift out of the typical patterns of thinking or behaviour that keep you playing small. Kate shares some of her pattern interrupters with you which help to shake up your typical thoughts and actions to reframe something new to take place. These simple, small interventions can make all the difference in shifting you from a limited mindset to one of empowerment and confidence. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you ever taken the time to work out what you most value? Many of us have a vague idea of what matters to us but haven’t stopped and explored what our values really are. Values are an extension of our core beliefs which create the building blocks for everything we do – they are like our foundations which help us define who we are. When you know what your core values are it can guide your decision making, help you set goals, and make plans for your future. Making decisions like working for an organisation or moving house can be difficult, especially when influenced by other factors such as families and social pressures. Understanding what your values are is like having a shortcut to decision making – you can simply ask yourself ‘does this align with my value of X?’. Acting more in alignment with your values can help you to increase your sense of fulfilment in every aspect of your life. If you’re interested in exploring your values I have a free resource on my website katecousens.com Consider which words most reflect your behaviour and/or things that are important to you. Select the ones that you most associate yourself with and then discard the rest – repeat the process until you have narrowed it down to a number between 5 – 10. If there are any values specifically that aren’t reflected, there is space to write your own. If you can’t remove a value from your list, keep it – it indicates something that is important to you. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Speaker and Therapist Cat Williams shares my passion for helping people increase their confidence and self-esteem. In this episode Cat shares her top tips on maintaining a can-do and confident approach no matter what life throws your way.Cat has been helping people to improve their lives through speeches, seminars and talking therapies for almost two decades. She is a regular contributor on mental health and relationship topics for podcasts, articles and nationwide media including for the BBC and ITV. Originally qualifying as a physiotherapist in the 1990s, Cat soon realised she wanted to do more than just physically “fix” people. She wanted to understand the reasons why people struggled mentally and to help them overcome their barriers.Cat embarked on a journey to train in psychological therapies and is now a Key note Speaker, Psychotherapist, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Rapid Transformational Therapist, as well as a Strengths Psychology Coach and Author.Cat works with audiences of all ages giving talks, presentations and running workshops at workplaces, universities and schools across the country. She also offers one-to-one sessions in person and on Zoom for children, teenagers, adults and couples. Find out more and connect with her via her website: https://www.cat-williams.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I chat all things Can-Do and Confident with Steve Lloyd, my Business Partner and Co-Founder of DICE Business Game Changers.I often say that Steve and I are polar opposites but something we share a passion for is helping other people to thrive, which we are so fortunate to do in our work supporting individuals and organisations.After leaving school with few qualifications, Steve shares his story of literally starting at the bottom of the career ladder packing boxes on a conveyor belt, working his way all the way to the top to become CEO and owner of his own company. Inspiring stuff!Tune in to hear Steve's top tips on going the distance and staying motivated, and how he has overcome blockers to his own confidence. You can find out more about Steve and connect with him on Linked in. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unconditional Positive Regard means to express empathy, support, and acceptance to someone, regardless of what they say or do - it comes from a place of zero judgment for that other person.But what I believe we need to have is unconditional positive regard for ourselves. I see far too many people beating themselves up. My question to my clients is always ‘would you talk to a friend the way you talk to yourself?’ or ‘how it is serving you to talk to yourself this way?’. Having unconditional positive regard for ourselves can make us more confident because what we tell ourselves matters. Tune in for my top tip on how to break the pattern of critical self-talk. Let me know your thoughts via social media or through my website at: www.katecousens.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode I share more about my mantra ‘don’t wait to be picked’ and get you to consider how you can pick, or back, yourself. Key reflections are: ·      In what ways can you pick yourself?·      What skills and talents do you have that you aren’t utilising? ·      What would bring you joy that you currently aren’t making time for?·      Are you actually getting in your own way with your BS excuses? ·      What are you afraid of?Find out more and connect with me at: www.katecousens.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The term imposter syndrome was coined in 1978 and it affects a whopping 70% of people at some point in their lives!  Dr Valerie Young identified five different types of imposter, which are: the expert, the perfectionist, natural geniuses, the soloist and superheroes.Tune in to find out what questions I use with my coaching clients to help them overcome imposter syndrome.Connect with me on social media or find out more at: www.katecousens.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing the Can-Do & Confident Podcast, your regular dose of motivation and friendly encouragement from author, entrepreneur & confidence coach, Kate Cousens.Confidence to me is a form of self-acceptance. It's about understanding who we are and being ok with that. It's believing in ourselves, our abilities and ideas, and then going for what we want and making it happen - that's the 'can-do' bit!Tune in for practical tools and techniques on how to stay confident and motivated no matter what life throws at you!Visit: www.katecousens.com to find out more about me and connect. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.