For much of our careers, success is about moving upwards. The next role, the bigger challenge, more responsibility, more recognition. But what happens when you realise you’re no longer interested in reaching the next peak?

Roberto Funari spent almost four decades building an international executive career, including serving as Global CEO of Alpargatas. Two weeks after leaving that role, a cycling accident left him dealing with memory loss and without the sense of control he had spent much of his career learning to master. Before the accident, his plan had been another executive role. In his words, “basically more of the same.”

In this conversation, Roberto speaks with Angela about what happened when that path stopped feeling inevitable. They explore the difference between your identity and your job title, why successful executives can become attached to status, recognition and control and why Roberto believes fulfilment can come from going “inside the mountain” rather than continuing to climb towards the next peak.

Roberto also talks about testing a return to the CEO world before realising he no longer wanted it, experimenting with different ways of working and learning that being capable of doing something doesn’t necessarily mean you want to do it. And they explore a different way of thinking about time: if we may have another 20 or 30 years of healthy, active life ahead of us, perhaps we don’t need to immediately fill all the space we create.

Connect with Roberto:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/robertofunari/

Connect and show support:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/angelajscottuk/

Instagram: instagram.com/iam_angelajoy

Email: angela@joynergi.com

Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/angelajoyscott

The career you’ve spent years building gives you more than a job. It gives you a title, a structure, a sense of where you fit and the confidence that comes from knowing you’re good at what you do.

Annie Miyazaki-Grant spent more than a decade as Chief Compliance and Privacy Officer for one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the US. Then a breast cancer diagnosis forced her to start asking questions she hadn’t expected to face about work, identity and how she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

In this conversation, Annie speaks with Angela about what eventually led her to leave corporate life and the unexpected vulnerability of building something of her own. They explore what happens to confidence when there’s no longer a company or title behind you, why putting yourself forward can feel very different when it’s you rather than an organisation being judged and the fear that sits underneath it all: am I good enough?

Annie also talks about her instinct to approach cancer in much the same way she had approached challenges throughout her career: keep going, solve the problem and get through it. But the experience ultimately prompted a different set of questions about how she actually wanted to spend her days.

Now building Reframe Compliance with a former colleague, Annie is still in the middle of that transition rather than looking back at it with everything neatly resolved. She shares what she’s learning about being visible before she has all the answers, allowing herself to be imperfect and becoming more comfortable asking for help.

Connect with Annie:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/annie-miyazaki-grant/

Website: reframecompliance.com

Email: annie@reframecompliance.com

Connect and show support:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/angelajscottuk/

Instagram: instagram.com/iam_angelajoy

Email: angela@joynergi.com

Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/angelajoyscott

Most conversations about financial independence start with one question.

"How much money do I need?"

This one doesn't.

When Angela first discovered Rebel Finance School, she thought she needed to replace her corporate salary before she could leave her old career behind. Instead, she discovered something far more powerful. Financial independence wasn't about accumulating more money. It was about understanding who you are and what's already possible.

In this episode, Angela is joined by Katie Donegan, co-founder of Rebel Finance School, former actuary and recipient of the British Empire Medal for Services to Financial Education.

Together they explore why so many intelligent, successful people still feel trapped by their financial circumstances, why earning more doesn't automatically create freedom and how inherited beliefs, social expectations and the pressure to "look successful" shape the lives we build.

Katie shares the surprising conversation with her former boss that changed the way she thought about money, why the mainstream media often misunderstands financial independence and what life has really looked like since reaching financial freedom at 35.

This isn't really a conversation about retiring early.

It's actually a conversation about creating enough certainty to make work a choice, defining what "enough" means for yourself and designing a life you don't need to escape from.

Whether you're considering a career change, questioning your next chapter or simply wondering if there's another way to think about everything, this episode will leave you with a different perspective on what your life is really for.

Connect with Katie:

Website: rebeldonegans.com/finance/rfs/

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/katie-donegan/

YouTube: youtube.com/@rebeldonegans

Connect and show support:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/angelajscottuk/

Instagram: instagram.com/iam_angelajoy

Email: angela@joynergi.com

Buy me a coffee: buymeacoffee.com/angelajoyscott