Today our podcast guest is Stefan Thomas and we speak about how he lives with Ulcerative colitis and why he is on a mission to break down the barriers about speaking about the “embarrassing stuff”

Having been diagnosed at the age of 27, Stefan shares what it’s like to live with a condition that can, during a flare-up, require him to go to the toilet between 20 and 50 times a day, and also deal with occasional bowel incontinence.

He tells us how he was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and why it’s important to see a medical professional if you see blood in your poo.

Without any embarrassment - having overcome that emotion over the years – he shares what it is like to live with a condition that can, during a flare-up, require you to go to the toilet between 20 and 50 times a day, and also on occasion causing bowel incontinence.

He explains how by being open with the medical profession, they have been able to support him in both personal and professional life. This includes specific interventions when he is hosting events and attending professional speaking engagements.

Stefan shares some practical approaches for how he manages his Ulcerative Colitis. He highlights the importance a ‘toilet for everyone’ makes to his life, advocating all new build public spaces should have these and explains why.

If you are concerned you might have Colitis or Crohn’s or are currently living with it then this podcast is well worth listening to. Equally, if you are worried about seeking support from the medical profession about something embarrassing, then you may gain some confidence to take that next step.

You can contact us at the following:

Dr Carol Sargent: https://sargentgroup.consulting/

Dr Tom Adler: https://getbide.com/

Stefan Thomas: https://www.facebook.com/stefanthomasdotbiz/#

https://www.stefanthomas.biz/

Our podcast visitor today is Debbie Gilbert, a serial entrepreneur.

Listen to Debbie share how her life took her on an amazing career journey and find out how she has supported lots of women to pursue a career that works around their lives.

She talks about how she left school at 16 and worked for British Gas where she spent a year working in Customer Services – where people often shouted and screamed at her. Debbie says this prepared her for whatever life has thrown at her since.

She shares about the difficulties of having to care for her father, who had young onset dementia; her mother, Multiple Sclerosis and her ageing grandparents, all will also being a single parent with a young child.

This is when Debbie set up her first business, using the skills she’d previously gained, and her personal network, juggling her time and using all the hours in the day.

After the death of both her parents and grandparents, Debbie went on to establish other extremely successful businesses including a; network company, marketing business and business exhibition organisation.

Debbie has also written two Amazon best seller books, hosts a successful podcast and has won multiple national and international awards.

She highlights the importance of ‘flexibility’ and how incredibly important this is for entrepreneurs, alongside the need to identify and work with “your tribe” of experts and trusted advisors.

Listen and find out which of her helpful tips, accumulated during her 27 years of running her own businesses, could help you to establish your own successful organisation.

You can contact us at the following:

Dr Carol Sargent: https://sargentgroup.consulting/

Dr Tom Adler: https://getbide.com/

Debbie Gilbert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/debgilbert/

Our guest today is Dr Nasser Siabi OBE, CEO of Microlink PC.

Nasser talks about his early years, growing up in Iran and how his eyesight impacted on his learning, and how he lacked confidence because of this. However, when he came to England and began to study at college, he quickly grew in his confidence when he realised that it was his sight and not a lack of intelligence that had held him back.

Importantly for him, his father who didn’t go to school yet had an entrepreneurial mindset encouraged his children to work hard, and they all reached a high level of education. Nasser says his resilience comes from his father.

The other thing that helped him was his memory, because whereas he couldn’t see the blackboard, he could remember things well. He was once asked by his teacher after a mock A level exam how many of the 150 questions he could remember, so that they could make a note of them for the next year’s students to practice – and incredibly, he remembered 130 of them!

Nasser is passionate about how we educate young children. Instead of holding them back in education because they are dyslexic, or have a disability that means they struggle with Maths and English, we should focus on the abilities that they do have. Many people who have had learning issues as children have gone on to become great scientists or doctors – they have potential; we just don’t unlock it.

He shares how he set up his company Microlink PC and how he completely changed the way that students with disabilities were given computer equipment by the Government system. He realised that they weren’t actually being supported at all. The changes he made had a huge impact on many young people, which he talks about with, not surprisingly, great pride.

He also talks about how he thinks that for everyone, across all generations, ethnicities and backgrounds, working or being involved in something that gives your life a purpose is what makes the difference, not just making more and more money. Helping others, even if only in a small way is what counts.

You can contact us at the following:

Dr Carol Sargent: https://sargentgroup.consulting/

Dr Tom Adler: https://getbide.com/