Undiagnosed dyslexia wrote off an early part of Frankie Larkin’s life. However, the lessons this taught him along the way are full of grace and emotional depth.

One such lesson being that emotion needs a target, which is explained beautifully in Frankie’s own words in the podcast.

In this live recorded episode at Frankie’s book launch he shares many of his musings and experiences, including those on depression and suicidal ideation so please listen with care.

Frankie Larkin left education without knowing how to read or write, and it wasn't until his thirties that he began to learn. Thirty years later, I had the honour of hosting the launch of his first book, Who Am I? Why Did It Take So Long to Find Me? at the beautiful Cumbernauld Old Parish Church.

But this isn't really a story about reading. It's a story about the people who show up.

The grandad who never said much, but he knew what Frankie loved.

The school janitor who took a humiliated boy out of the classroom and taught him to read the flames in the boiler room.

Alcoholic Uncle Frankie, who sat with a young dad who couldn't read his letters and worked through every single one.

Frankie calls these the qualities of grace: tenderness, attunement, compassion, acceptance, forgiveness.

Whether you work in care, lead a team, or are simply carrying something you suspect was never yours to begin with, this one will stay with you.

Music: 'Spirit of Fire' - fiftysounds.com

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"Kindness fuels everything. When you're kind, you win. It's as simple as that."

When my guest said those words during a keynote in Rome, the room of 200 investment bankers divided into two camps. Team Kind, and as he calls them, Team Screw Them All and Be Evil.

That moment sparked a book, an award and a mission.

Graham Allcott is the founder of Think Productive and the author of six books including How to be a Productivity Ninja and Kind, winner of the Institute of Leadership's Book of the Year.

For my money, Graham is the UK's leading expert on kindness at work and this conversation is one I'm truly proud of. We cover:

💛 Why kindness is a performance strategy, not a fluffy one. Psychological safety helps organisations achieve more, not less

💛 Why the care sector trains for compliance but not for connection, and what that costs us all

💛 What younger generations really want from work and why we should be listening, not judging

💛 Why boardrooms and policy makers need more voices from charities, frontline services and young people

💛 Tales from Holland. Graham's deeply moving piece of writing about parenting his son Roscoe, who lives with a unique chromosomal disorder, and learning to love the life you didn't plan for

Graham brings warmth, honesty and vulnerability to every answer. We got on like a house on fire and I promise this episode will leave you thinking differently about that little word that means so much.

Music: 'Spirit of Fire' - fiftysounds.com

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"The recipe for disaster is having no comfort, no belonging, no security, no identity, no meaning."

My guest this week shares an insight that we all can benefit from harnessing: Identity, purpose, and meaning are central to wellbeing at every stage of life, not just in dementia care.

Professor David Sheard is one of the UK’s most influential voices in dementia care reform.

What begins as a discussion about dementia care soon becomes something far more personal: a conversation about identity, vulnerability, coming out as a gay man in the 1970s, living with terminal heart failure, and what it means to leave a legacy.

Emotional Intelligence plays a key theme in David’s life and advocacy for more understanding care.

This episode invites us all to remember that all human beings are more feeling beings, than thinking beings, and that emotional intelligence can be the key to helping us connect with each other better.

Music: 'Spirit of Fire' - fiftysounds.com

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