In the first episode of my updated podcast with a new theme of Connections, I talk with Vic Baxter who has led a fascinating life in business in Oil & Gas. We discuss the importance of connections, the influence they have, how to develop and maintain them and what happens when we get it wrong.

Drew McAdam is a Mentalist /’men-ta-list/ noun. Someone skilled in non-verbal communication, who uses mental acuity, observation and suggestion. A master manipulator of thoughts and behaviour. Drew McAdam, “Scotland’s foremost mind reader” according to the BBC, has entertained and baffled representatives from almost every major commercial company you can think of. He has also demonstrated his mind-boggling demonstrations everywhere from the US to Russia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Sicily, and across Europe to Africa. Buzz Aldrin, Barry Crier OBE, Rory Bremner, Chris Tarrant, Alice Cooper, Uri Geller, Kenneth Kaunda, Tina Turner, top athletes, sports personalities, Radio and TV stars, top politicians and members of royalty – to name just a few – have been left open-mouthed in astonishment at his remarkable demonstrations. His flexibility enables Drew to entertain in a variety of forms and manners, from intimate groups to hospitality functions and after dinner events, and from trade show stands to full theatre shows – and everything in between.

In this episode of the Simon Lee Maryan Podcast, Mind Matters, I talk with Peter Lant who is a personal trainer based in Bath and runs outdoor training focusing mainly on men over 40. In this podcast we discuss his early life and the issues this caused and that he ultimately had to deal with in more recent times when his life came to a boiling point. He talks about his career choice prior to becoming a personal trainer and the catalyst for this change. How he dealt with the impact of this and the effect it has had on his life since will resonate with many of you. He also talks about marriage, divorce and finding love again, even when he didn't think he would.

In this episode I chat with Ric Coulson, former Royal Marine, who talks extremely bluntly, honestly and openly about his struggles with his mental health. Ric’s struggles are from the end of his military career, during transition into civvy street up to the present. We dive into Emotional & Psychological Resilience. suicide, PTSD, loss of identity and redefining yourself. This leads on to the struggles this creates both internally and externally as well as the additional challenges that transitioning from military to civilian life presents.

I spoke with Tamsin almost 5 years to the day to the last time I interviewed her. Much has happened in that time and it was great to hear how her business has changed and grown and to dive into how she has managed those changes for herself and her clients. We also touch on how her family has dealt with the last 2 years and the challenges they have faced. Tamsin is an extraordinary and wonderful lady who brings oy to peoples lives personally and professionally.

In this episode I talk to Vicky Newsome-Hogan, a 60 yr old Transsexual woman who was born in the east end of London and grew up in the care system. Vicky is the epitome of courage, bravery, determination and commitment.

Marcel runs a coaching and business consultancy and is based in Mexico with offices there and in the Netherlands, Peru and Chile with his business growing rapidly. After a work related accident that almost cost him his life, he decide to give up his job and begin to study Safety at various institutions. Marcel is very open about his experiences and why he is so passionate about wanting to help people. He has created and delivered a comprehensive package of training courses in Behavioural Safety, Safety Management and Coaching which have been delivered to clients in mining, construction among many.

In this episode I have the great pleasure of speaking with a great friend and trailblazer, Dr Lisa de Rijk. Lisa shares how she has overcome significant life challenges, what she has learned about herself through her work and we talk about identity loss, awareness and discovery, divorce and trauma and PTSD.

In this episode Tip talks about his experiences in the Royal Marines, shining into the civilian world and training to be a professional actor. What is really interesting is the parallels he draws in comparing the military world and the world of acting. A fascinating conversation that is jam packed full of his deep experience.

My chat with Chris Michaels who runs the DarkSide Podcast. He talks about being medically discharged from the Navy, his difficulties with transition into civvy life and his years of suffering domestic abuse in the forms of physical, emotional and psychological violence. He has gone on to achieve so much and all his details can be found in this link to see and follow what he is doing. https://l.instagram.com/?u=https%3A%2... I love seeing people come out the other side of life's hardships and this man has truly excelled. Please like, follow and share his work.

On Sunday 6th June I was interviewed on Great British Radio’s “Connect Forces” show by Linda Lusardi, Mike Osman and Andy Neil MBE. I talked about my military career, my work in Human Intelligence and the Uniformed Services Mental Health charity I set up. I go on to talk about the three occasions that I have been kidnapped and how this led to writing my second book, ‘The Immediate Care Process’, which is a self help book for emotional and psychological resilience and is available on Amazon.

This episode is a conversation with Judith Hammond who I first met in 2013 as we were on the same NLP Trainers course. Judith talks about being abused by her mother physically, mentally, verbally and psychologically/emotionally. Judith explains how this conditioned her through her life and how she coped with this and work place bullying, abusive relationships and always managing to find the reserves to be there for her own kids despite all this. It's a deep and emotional conversation full of amazing insight into her life and how she has dealt with traumatic experiences. I have no doubt that like me, you will gain so much from it.

This episode is a conversation with Mark Monaghan, a former Royal Navy Submariner. Mark talks candidly about his experience of leaving the Royal Navy and his struggles with the transition. He talks about how in reflection, his mental health issues began before he left the Navy and it was not identified so no treatment was given. Mark is passionate about helping veterans deal with their mental health issues and with the transition into civilian life and manages a page on facebook called help for Veterans. This conversation gives some wonderful insights into what it's like to leave the military and how it can affect a persons mental health through confusion over identity, purpose and direction and having to adapt to a completely different mindset and approach to work and life.

In this second epsiode I talk to Tamsin Astor PhD who talks about dealing with her youngest son being diagnosed at the age of just 2 with Burkitt's Lymphoma, whihc is a cancer of the lymphatic system. She talks about the struggle to get her concerns heard and recognised by the doctors, hearing the diagnosis and dealing with the whole treatment process and being strong for her son, her family and herself. She talks later about her divorce and how now, ten years on her son is clear and healthy and how they are planning a ten year celebration of him being clear. It's a highly emotive story, hugely inspirational and I hope you get as much from it as I have. You can find out more about Tamsin by going to her website www.tamsinastor.com

Welcome to the Mind-Matters Podcast Series. I have some fantastic interviews lined up with people willing to share their stories that fit the objective of the series, which is to explore how people have survived challenging life events and come back stronger each time without knowing how. We then delve into what they did, how they’ve changed and any proactive steps they’ve taken to continue to deliberately develop their psychological resiliancy proactively. This frst interview is with Stephen Finlayson who was in the British Army and then RAF Regiment and operated as a sniper in Afghanistan. We talk about his life and careers and his new move into helping kids deal with stress, anxiety and depression at school as well as his desire to do more for veterans. He showed amazing compassion for a complete stranger in his home town of Carlisle a couple of years ago who turned out to be a homeless veteran. You can see the video of his story on YouTube by following the link below: https://youtu.be/rYw_7HZeWK4