What if career success didn’t mean climbing higher - but choosing how you spend your time?

In this episode of Play It by Your Rules, I sit down with Ani Filipova - former Citi COO turned portfolio career strategist - to unpack what it really means to step off the traditional career ladder and design a working life that fits your priorities.

Ani shares how she intentionally moved away from a single, full-time corporate role - not to work less, but to work differently: with more autonomy, flexibility, and control over where her time and energy go. For her, a portfolio career isn’t about chaos or juggling - it’s about choice.

We explore what portfolio careers look like in practice, who they’re for, and why they’re becoming a powerful alternative for experienced professionals who want freedom without starting from scratch.

• Why portfolio careers unlock freedom - especially around how, when, and with whom you work

• What Ani carried from corporate into her portfolio - and what she consciously left behind

• How she defines a portfolio career (and why it’s not just for entrepreneurs)

• Fractional work: what it is - and why it’s still emerging in places like Switzerland

• The mindset shift from “one role” to “multiple value streams”

• Why experimenting before quitting is smarter than making a clean break

• Audit how you spend your time - freedom starts with awareness

• Run small experiments (projects, advisory roles, fractional work) before committing

• Design your portfolio around energy and values, not just income streams

This episode is for anyone who feels successful on paper - but constrained in real life - and wants more freedom over their time without burning everything down.

🔗 Follow Ani on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anifilipova/

🌱 Change Is Possible Community: https://changeispossible.co.uk/

🚀 Portfolio Career Accelerator: https://simplebooklet.com/portfolio_career_accelerator#page=1

🎧 Listen to Ani’s podcast: Change Is Possible Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@ChangeIsPossiblePodcast

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

Teamwork doesn’t magically happen just because people share a Zoom link.

In this episode, I talk with Daria Rudnik - Team Architect, Executive Coach, and author of CLICKING: A Team Building Strategy for Overloaded Leaders Who Want Stronger Team Trust, Better Results, and More Time - about why so many teams underperform, especially under pressure… and how to design teams that work.

Because just like people, teams need to play by their own rules - and it’s a leader’s job to help them define what that looks like.

Daria breaks down the 5 essential pillars that make teams click (spoiler: most leaders skip 3 of them), how to balance autonomy and alignment, and how to avoid the biggest trap of servant leadership.

We also dig into AI’s impact on collaboration - and what happens when teams offload too much to tech.

We covered:

• Why teams don’t “just happen” - and need intentional architecture

• The 5 pillars of team design: purpose, connection, integration, decision-making, and knowledge flow

• What to do when you inherit a messy team

• Why clarity is your secret weapon - at all levels

• The hidden risks of servant leadership (and how to empower without isolating)

• How to stay human in the age of AI - and keep your brain on

Practical Takeaways:

• Start with conversation: co-create team norms and decisions together

• Bring clarity to your rules, roles, and routines

• Use AI as a partner - not a crutch. Your brain needs to stay engaged.

This episode is for every leader who wants to build strong, self-led teams — and give them the clarity and confidence to fly.

🔗 Explore more: 📘 Daria’s book CLICKING: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FN4S6P37 🌐 dariarudnik.com 💼 Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dariarudnik

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

It’s that time again - fresh goals, new intentions, big dreams. But let’s be honest: most resolutions don’t make it past February.

So… why don’t our habits stick? And more importantly - what actually works?

In this episode, I sit down with Ivan Palomino - behavioral science strategist and unapologetic habit hacker — to unpack the science behind human behavior and habit change. Spoiler: it’s not about motivation. It’s about design.

Ivan blends neuroscience, psychology, and real-life experimentation (including his own burnout and career reinvention) to help you create lasting change — with way less effort than you think.

We covered:

• Why we operate on autopilot 90% of the time — and how to use that to your advantage

• The 4 brain rules that shape your decisions (emotion, effort, illusion, and reward)

• How to build habits by stacking them on existing routines

• The difference between rituals, motivation, and capacity

• Why your willpower was never the problem

• Tiny habits that lead to massive ripple effects

✨ Practical Takeaways:

• Pick ONE habit — do it daily for 30 days before adding more

• Use immediate rewards and low-effort design to reduce friction

• Track progress in ways that create satisfaction (not stress)

This episode is for anyone tired of failing at New Year’s goals — and ready to build change that lasts.

Your life. Your rules. For more freedom, flow, and fun.

Links: 🔗 Connect with Ivan on LinkedIn 🌐 Learn more at ivanpalomino.net ▶️ Watch more on YouTube – Growth Hacking Culture 📬 Subscribe to Ivan’s Newsletter on LinkedIn