I’m joined by Lee Chambers, Founder and CEO of Male Allies UK, and honestly, his story is a masterclass in reinvention.

We go all the way back to growing up on a council estate in Bolton, being the kid who couldn’t stand unfairness, and how that same “I’ll step in” energy shaped everything that came after.

After a career spanning corporate finance and building and exiting a tech company, Lee now helps organisations engage men in inclusion and build effective allyship.

He’s a Great British Entrepreneur Award winner, was named 2023 UN Women Changemaker of the Year, and received the Freedom of the City of London in 2024 for services to equality in business.

In this episode, we talk about what it really takes to rebuild after life knocks you sideways, and how allyship gets practical when it’s grounded in everyday choices, not just good intentions.

Highlights:

(03:15) - Growing up in Bolton, social justice instincts, and being “the kid who stepped in”

(07:29) - University pressures, mental health struggles, and journaling before it was trendy

(11:50) - Redundancy as a turning point, boiler room living, and starting a business anyway

(16:29) - The health crisis that changed everything, losing mobility, then fighting to walk again

(21:45) - Becoming a stay-at-home dad, loneliness, and the eye-opening baby group moment

(34:35) - What Male Allies UK actually does, engaging men in inclusion and building real allyship

You can connect with Lee Chambers at:

https://www.maleallies.co.uk

https://www.linkedin.com/in/leechambers-1/

And get your copy of Lee’s book here: Momentum: 13 Ways To Unlock Your Potential.

Connect with Lucy:

Website - https://bookmagic.ai

TikTok - @lucymccarra

Instagram/Threads - @lucymccarraher

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarraher/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@lucymccarraherauthor

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LucyMcCarraher/

In this episode, I’m chatting with the brilliant Jane Duncan Rogers, coach, author, former corporate HR high-flyer, accidental pioneer, and someone who has reinvented herself more times than most of us change phone contracts.

Jane grew up in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, learned to switch on confidence on purpose, and followed her curiosity through therapy, community living, travel, and building meaningful work.

We also talk about what changed when Jane’s husband died, and how grief pushed her into a surprising new chapter, helping people face the practical realities of death without fear taking the wheel. If you’re standing on the edge of a change, Jane’s advice is simple, and quietly brave.

Highlights:

(02:27) Growing up in Belfast, and the moment she realised “normal” was not normal

(05:08) How shy teenage Jane built a confidence persona, one awkward question at a time

(10:04) A sudden death, a spiritual detour, and the decision to walk away

(14:06) Cleaning toilets on a Greek island, then accidentally joining the management team

(21:28) Widowhood at 54, the “hard questions”, and why end-of-life planning became her mission

(29:03) Her best reinvention advice, do it, you will learn something either way

Connect with Jane:

Writer of Embracing Ageing on Substack

Author of 3 books

TedX speaker: How to Do a Good Death

Website: www.janeduncanrogers.com

- Facebook

- LinkedIn

Connect with Lucy:

Website - https://bookmagic.ai

TikTok - @lucymccarra

Instagram/Threads - @lucymccarraher

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarraher/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@lucymccarraherauthor

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LucyMcCarraher/

This final episode of 2025 is one of the most meaningful I have ever recorded.

I share the moment I learned I had been awarded an MBE for services to publishing and diversity, and the wave of disbelief, emotion and gratitude that followed. This honour is not only mine, it belongs to every woman who has ever stepped into authorship, every writer whose voice was once quiet, and every person who believed in reinvention later in life.

I look back at the early years of the Business Book Awards, the shock that sparked my mission for greater diversity, the women who joined my writing programmes and the extraordinary community that grew from those first conversations. I talk about the birth of the Phoenix Theory, my new partnership with Advantage Media Company and the exciting work ahead.

As we enter 2026, I invite you to ask what wants to rise in you next.

Highlights:

(01:42) The moment I opened the letter announcing my MBE

(04:55) How the Business Book Awards revealed a powerful truth

(07:30) Why women’s voices needed championing and how Abu was born

(09:48) The rise of the Phoenix Theory and what it represents

(11:35) Becoming a partner at Advantage Media Company

(12:55) A New Year invitation to notice what is ready to rise in you

Connect with Lucy:

Website - https://bookmagic.ai

TikTok - @lucymccarra

Instagram/Threads - @lucymccarraher

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarraher/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@lucymccarraherauthor

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LucyMcCarraher/

This festive episode is a little different, because it is just me, sitting with the spirit of the season and reflecting on a year that has been full of growth, surprises and reinvention.

I share what it has meant to navigate a year where life and work wove together in the most unexpected ways, and how moments of challenge, celebration and stillness have shaped my path. From the highs of book launches and awards to the quiet lessons that came from turning 71, this year asked me to grow in ways I could never have predicted.

I talk about the joy of returning to the old Chelsea Library to launch my book, the thrill of seeing BookMagic AI win two major awards, the power of speaking on real life stages again, and the unexpectedly emotional experience of podcasting weekly with my childhood friend Lisette.

I also reflect on the people who supported my mission, the milestones in my family life and the quiet truth that endings often hold the beginnings we need most.

As we move towards 2026, I hope this episode gives you permission to pause, breathe and notice who you have become.

Highlights:

(01:38) Why the start of 2025 was difficult for so many entrepreneurs

(04:22) Launching my fourteenth book in the library that shaped my childhood

(06:55) Winning two awards for BookMagic AI and what it meant to me

(08:48) The joy and vulnerability of podcasting the year of being 70

(10:24) The mentors, partners and colleagues who shaped my year

(13:05) My Christmas message and the power of reflection before a new chapter begins

Connect with Lucy:

Website - https://bookmagic.ai

TikTok - @lucymccarra

Instagram/Threads - @lucymccarraher

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarraher/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@lucymccarraherauthor

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LucyMcCarraher/

This conversation with Paul Avins is a remarkable look at what reinvention truly means when life hands you challenge after challenge.

Paul is one of the UK’s most sought after scale up strategists and business coaches, known for helping founders grow multi million pound companies with practical, battle tested insight. Across more than 20 years, he has supported over 1000 clients to break the one million mark, with many scaling far beyond, and has built and sold several companies himself.

Alongside this impressive track record sits a deeply personal story of adoption, dyslexia, identity shifts and a near death experience that changed him completely.

Paul speaks with honesty, humour and emotional depth about the moments that shaped him and the shift from ego led ambition to service and contribution. His reflections on patience, seasons of growth and the courage to rebuild are powerful for anyone navigating change.

This episode will stay with you long after you finish listening.

Highlights:

(01:46) How adoption shaped his earliest sense of identity

(04:58) Growing up dyslexic and the search for self worth

(09:32) The university moment that sparked a major life pivot

(14:20) Reinvention as a slow burn, not just a dramatic event

(24:35) The heart attack that became a defining rebirth

(28:40) Paul 1.0 to Paul 2.0, shifting from ego to contribution

Connect with Paul:

www.paulavins.com

www.scaleupcoaching.com

Connect with Lucy:

Website - https://bookmagic.ai

TikTok - @lucymccarra

Instagram/Threads - @lucymccarraher

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarraher/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@lucymccarraherauthor

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LucyMcCarraher/

In this conversation, Lisette and I travel through the many reinventions that shaped her life, from a spiritually attuned child who learned early to hide parts of herself, to a woman who rebuilt, rewrote and reclaimed her identity again and again.

Lisette Schuitemaker is the author of seven books, a pioneering impact investor, and a respected board director and chair. She has worked across communications, entrepreneurship and personal development, co hosted The Year of Being 70 and is now writing The Inner Life of Money.

Her honesty about depression, intuition and the power of choosing a different path offers a refreshingly human take on change.

From entrepreneurship to healing work to impact investing, Lisette's story shows that transformation is rarely tidy, but it can be deeply liberating, and sometimes it brings you back to the truest version of yourself.

Highlights:

(01:30) How Lisette and I first met and the seeds of her earliest reinvention

(04:10) Becoming a teenager who consciously reshaped her identity

(08:45) The dream that ended her engagement and prompted a new path

(13:32) Leaving a successful company when her conscience shifted

(20:55) Naming lifelong depression for the first time and finding support

(26:40) Training as a healer and discovering the work that reshaped her life

You can learn more about Lisette at:

https://lisetteschuitemaker.com/

Take her Childhood Conclusions Test at https://lisetteschuitemaker.com/test-your-childhood-conclusions/

And connect with Lisette at https://linkedin/in/lisetteschuitemaker

Connect with Lucy:

Website - https://bookmagic.ai

TikTok - @lucymccarra

Instagram/Threads - @lucymccarraher

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarraher/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@lucymccarraherauthor

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LucyMcCarraher/

Talking to Tony Robinson OBE felt like sitting down with someone who has lived nine different lives, each one shaped by courage, curiosity and a refusal to settle for anything that does not feel true.

Tony is a multi business owner, speaker and author of nine books across entrepreneurship, fiction, satire and poetry. He chairs Yorkshire in Business, runs its Yorkshire Coast Workshops subsidiary and leads organisations he founded, including the Micro Business Alliance.

His work across enterprise, education and advocacy has earned him an OBE, multiple lifetime achievement awards and a reputation as one of the UK’s most influential champions of small business.

What I loved most is how Tony approaches every reinvention the same way he approaches writing, by following what he loves, staying open to surprises and trusting the clues life places in front of him.

He has built and run businesses for decades with his long time business partner Clare Francis, campaigned for fairer treatment of micro business owners and helped shape national enterprise standards.

Tony shows that reinvention is never about dramatic declarations. It is about movement, experimentation and letting the next version of yourself emerge through doing. His generosity, grit and belief in community run through everything he touches, and his journey is a reminder that it is never too late to reshape your life with creativity and purpose.

Highlights:

(02:41) The early reinvention sparked by illness and homeschooling

(06:58) How sport, theatre and stubbornness shaped Tony’s identity

(11:05) From English and Philosophy to trade unions and industrial relations

(16:28) Walking away from corporate life to start from nothing

(24:21) Funding cuts, collapse and rebuilding from the ground up

(31:09) The sabbatical that led to Enterprise Rockers and a global movement

Connect with Tony:

Website https://TonyRobinsonOBE.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyrobinsonobe/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TonyRobinsonOBE

X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/TonyRobinsonOBE

Connect with Lucy:

Website - https://bookmagic.ai

TikTok - @lucymccarra

Instagram/Threads - @lucymccarraher

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarraher/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@lucymccarraherauthor

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LucyMcCarraher/

I loved this conversation with Penny Hopkinson. She has one of those careers that looks like a straight line only in hindsight.

From being the lone woman in technical journalism in the late 60s to becoming the Queen of Operations Manuals, her story is full of grit, curiosity, and a brilliant refusal to be boxed in.

Penny shows that reinvention is not a single moment but a lifetime of choosing the next right step, even when the path feels wildly unconventional.

Penny is now a leading specialist in systems and operations manuals, drawing on her years as a trade and tech journalist, Middle East correspondent, and quality writer. She is also the CEO of Manual Magic AI, her innovative app that helps organisations create clear, engaging SOPs with real ease.

It all builds on her bestselling book Manual Magic, and her mission to make knowledge sharing work for every age, learning style, and ability.

Highlights:

(01:47) How Penny began her career in a male dominated world

(04:35) The unexpected influence of her father and a 600 degree hot wire cutter

(09:10) What she learned from interviewing business leaders

(13:57) The moment Middle East journalism ended and a new path opened

(21:17) Why video is becoming the single source of truth for training

(27:23) How Penny built her Manual Magic AI app and what it can now do

Connect with Penny:

www.manualmagic.ai

https://waitlist.manualmagic.ai/

www.linktr.ee/pennyhopkinson

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pennyhopkinson

Connect with Lucy:

Website - https://bookmagic.ai

TikTok - @lucymccarra

Instagram/Threads - @lucymccarraher

LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucymccarraher/

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@lucymccarraherauthor

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LucyMcCarraher/