SOLO EPISODE | I Got Engaged, Leaving Corporate & Getting My Spark Back

0:07Hey, my loves, and welcome back to Wish I Knew, the podcast where we talk all about how to build a career and life that you love.

0:14unknown host:I hope you're having an amazing start to the year. I don't know about you, but I am so ready and excited for 2026. I feel very energized and pumped and ready for the year ahead. On today's episode, we're going to do a little bit of a catch up, answer some of your questions. and give you the chance to get to know me a little bit better. And yes, I did get engaged over the Christmas break. And so many people have sent so many lovely messages, but also been asking me so many questions. So we can chat all about that in a little bit. Now, I don't know about you, but last year for me definitely felt like the year of the snake.

0:50There was drama, there was twists, there was turns. I left my job at Amazon, which so many people were so shocked about. I started my first ever business.

0:58unknown host:I gave up drinking completely and I pretty much overhauled my whole entire life and I feel like at times last year I really went into my shell and I was a little bit of a hermit but I think upon reflection I actually really needed that to like step back work on myself have some solo time and now I feel like I actually feel so much better for it like I feel like I finally got my spark back so I am so ready for this year it's the year of the horse which is all about moving forward, momentum, achievements, success, new opportunities, positive vibes. So I'm really feeling the good energy. I hope you guys are too.

1:40unknown host:And what an incredible way for us to all start the year. So let's catch up. What have I been up to? I was in Abu Dhabi over the Christmas holidays. It was my first time in Abu Dhabi and I loved it. I was actually really surprised at how much I enjoyed it I thought I just wasn't sure what to expect to be honest like I thought maybe it's a bit quiet or like there's not much going on but it was the best trip ever I mean obviously we got engaged as well so we'll talk about that but that was a big part of the trip but I feel like it was really the reset I needed I felt so burnt out in December I just felt like I was really lacking energy and I just was not in a great like in the best headspace I think it was just the year like all came on top of me at once so we took three weeks out we actually flew on Christmas day which was the nicest experience I love spending Christmas abroad and I finally got my boyfriend into doing that with me I've always been a big fan of it I think Christmas overseas is so much fun and I think it's a bit overrated here um it was also my first time flying first class which was such an incredible experience and I honestly don't know how I'm gonna go back to economy guys like and this is coming from person like I am an economy girl like I have done that Australia trip with no stopover like an hour stop in Singapore airport in economy and messed up my back so much that like honestly like yeah I just don't know how I'm going to go back to normal life it was so funny because the crew were like they kept saying to me you're just so cute you're so funny because I kept saying like oh what do I do with this or like what button does that like there's something about the warm weather that just sets you like sets you up like it just gives you a bit of a boost bit of inspiration um it's really good for a reflection point and so yeah so coming back was a bit of a shock to be honest landing at Heathrow when it was like pitch black at 4 p.m and raining but I feel good I feel energized and I honestly feel like by the time we had like the last few days I was like okay I'm ready to get back and like get back into my routine now.

3:58unknown host:So that's been a lot of fun. Goal setting and vision boarding is like a really big thing for me. A big believer in being very intentional about what you want and putting it out there and then going out and working for it. I'm not the biggest fan of like, you know, sort of vision boarding and like cutting out pictures and printing pictures. Like, don't get me wrong. I've tried that and I've done it in the past, But for me now, I don't know why it just feels a bit like I'm like in my teens doing my scrapbook, you know, like, yeah, I feel like it just doesn't work for me now. So what I do, and this is my method, which seems to work for me, is I write out lists.

4:41unknown host:So I do so many lists, so many journals. My notes app in my phone is like chaos, but it seems to work for me. um so I do it in both a physical book and usually what I do is I pick one book that's like really nice like a nice looking journal I've got one now which has my initials on and it's like really nice so this year I'm going to be using that one but then um I also use my notes app for like various things as well and so I do two separate lists I do one which is like the things that I want to happen so I'll break it out into like personal health relationships uh work you know like loads of different things and then I'll do it in like so this is quite a big one and I do it in quite specific ways and I get quite granular so for example that might be a professional goal might be like win an award or a personal goal might be take better care of my health or be more consistent in going to the gym or whatever it might be um I try to get quite granular and specific though like actually saying I would like this to happen but also leaving it big and open enough for like it to also be interpreted in different ways if that makes sense I don't know if it does make sense but like for example if I want to win an award what kind of award would I like to win that year you know or get a promotion like if you want to get a promotion what type of area do you want to get promoted into or what type of salary bracket do you want to be in you know so that's how I do that side of things and then the other thing which is more of a new thing for me is I actually write out like how I want to be and I'm a big believer in you can change yourself and you can become a more evolved version of yourself at any time in your life and any time in your career or anything like that any age you can evolve and so it's not about becoming a new person overnight but it's actually about just leveling up certain aspects of you and so something I started doing I don't even know why or what maybe started to do this but I started to do this like list of basically like the things I want to become I usually do my goal setting and stuff like way late I don't do it in January I typically do it in February or March which might be classified as cheating but um I just feel like Jan's like you need to get the wheels in motion and reset and then you can actually reflect like a little bit later on anyway that was what works for me so this was written in March 2025 I think I was on a flight coming back from my solo trip I took at the beginning of the year and this is so cheesy I can't believe I'm gonna like read this out to everyone but hey ho this is what's written and like it actually says March at the top here so you can see I haven't edited it and I put my future self she only flies business long haul well we have pretty much hit that goal so far don't quote me on that you might see me in economy but I think the reason for that was like it was a real symbol of like freedom and uh like setting a certain standard for myself so although that might sound a bit materialistic like it's actually about the way that I want my life to look and feel um and also after years of working for big corporate companies where they're making you fly on like 10 hour flights to the states in like the back row and economy for a two-day conference and then coming home like it felt like something that was quite personal to me dresses stylish and chic looks classy and well put together well I hope that is the case um but I do feel like I've changed certain aspects of my wardrobe this year for sure um gets her hair done every week and doesn't waste time doing it herself that has actually come true and that's both through an amazing partnership that I've uh been able to develop with an amazing salon that I've been working with um so sometimes that's the case sometimes that's not but I feel like that kind of came true and definitely there was one point where I was filming in the studio a lot I was doing a lot of events and I was getting my hair down like two three times a week and again this stuff might sound like a bit materialistic and a bit silly but it's all about like showing up as the version of myself that I want to become and so the way that I've written this is very much like this is what the elevated version of Emily looks like gets paid thousands to speak at panels and events.

9:40unknown host:And so I did. I did. I started to get more paid speaking opportunities and get flown to different places. So that definitely came true. And that's something I want to double down on this year. Only hangs out with people that are conducive to where I want to go. I don't know what maybe like write that. But again, I definitely feel like that's kind of come true. Like, well I actually stopped I stopped sort of hanging around with people that I didn't really want to last year um and I think a big part of that was sobriety and going sober and like not just going out for the sake of it like now I choose to go out when I want to and I'll make sure that it's for something specific so like a good friend's birthday I'll always come up and show face and even if everyone's going out quite late like I'll pop in for a few hours and then leave because I don't have the energy without alcohol to stay out too late.

10:33unknown host:But I definitely feel like that has been something that's been more intentional. And I feel like I've been selectively seeing less people, but getting better quality time with people over the last year or so. Works for herself and has confidence in her own ability. So again, this was like before I actually started the business and I wanted to do it. But at that time, I also had a few random kind of job offer conversations in the mix so I didn't quite know exactly what path I was going to go down so I do work for myself and I do have way more confidence in my own ability now and I feel like the corporate beast wore me down over time and without going into too much detail I feel like working in really big teams with lots of people meant that I had so many opinions around me all the time and that can actually like deplete your confidence even though I've always been in really senior roles um so I feel like that's something that I've had to work on through the work that I've done getting clients putting myself out there having good client feedback that kind of thing doesn't feel the need to be at every event only shows up in the right way um that definitely was true so uh I didn't go to every single invite that I got last year I only chose and selected like the types of things I wanted to go to and again like not in a sense of being rude but more in the sense of like my time is really precious um and my time is valuable especially working for myself my time is money essentially now um and so I still want to show face and I still want to be present and out in market but do that in a really meaningful way um this is funny is engaged with a beautiful ring uh I did not know anything about like engagement being on the cards at this point I don't know what my like mind was going through when I actually wrote this but that obviously came true um eats healthy doesn't drink alcohol so I'd say eat healthy most of the time I definitely have a sweet tooth um I gave up alcohol last year which like is I don't know how to describe it like it's been life-changing but it's also really difficult like it's not super easy to do that especially when you're socializing so that definitely came true and has genuine friendships and relationships with people and I feel like that has also been something that's been very true so that's my method and that all came true pretty much so I'm going to be repeating that this year, probably in February, March, like I did last year.

13:13unknown host:But let's see. Let's see how that method works. If you want to try it, definitely try it. Let me know what you think. And yeah, I'd love to see if anyone else uses that method and it works for them because it definitely has seemed to work out for me. Okay. So moving into Q &A, I did put a question box out there and I've got a bunch of questions so I've summarized them up for you first one is quite deep what's one intention you want to call in as we move into the year of the fire horse and one thing you're letting go of in your career in 2025 2026 I think we're in 2026 I just had to reread that um intention so I feel like my intention is really about moving forward this year with clarity and conviction and trusting my own voice a little bit more.

14:12I think that like year one of setting up a business and starting to work for yourself is just like about building the foundations and figuring things out as you go. and I was very fortunate I was amazing you know like fortunate to have a lot of amazing clients um but I feel like this year is about scaling going big um but also just yeah trusting my own voice a little bit more and not doubting myself so much because I think that going from

14:46unknown host:working in a big team and a big company where things feel like a little bit safe and you've got a bit of like layers of protection to just being you and putting yourself out there and finding new clients and all that stuff it can feel quite exposing which means that you kind of overanalyze everything that you do quite a lot so this year I'm like thinking less about what I do and more about just doing it and putting the work in and taking action um and I guess that's partly what I'm letting go of as well so I want to let go of being harsh on myself overthinking um stalling before taking action something I've really learned is like just do the thing even if you don't feel like it's perfect and as someone who is a massive perfectionist I mean literally with this podcast it probably took me like five or six years to even start because I didn't have the right infrastructure and in some ways I'm really glad that I did that because I've been able to do it in a way that's so much more like me and feels really aligned with me and who I want to be and where I'm at.

15:49unknown host:But if I had just started all those years ago, then I may have grown the podcast before being able to get to this point, if that makes sense. So anyway, that's what I'm thinking. Number two, tell us about the engagement. How did it happen? Did you see it coming? Was it a surprise? How did you know you were ready to take the next step in your commitment? What kind of wedding where you have oh my god so many questions um did I see it coming I'm not gonna lie to you guys yeah I did um we obviously spoken about it like it's really funny because sometimes people like are these things always a surprise I don't know like with my friendship group and all my friends like it's such a mixed bag some of my friends are single some of my friends are parents some of them are married some of them are divorced like I've got such a mix of friends and I haven't actually like spoken to them about it but I did see it coming we had um such an amazing time we had a surprise trip so actually this was the first time that I've ever been anywhere and not known where the hell I'm going which for me is such a big thing and it's also probably quite a big thing for him because I'm such a perfectionist and I'm really fussy and I'm also the sort of person that will absolutely tell you if I don't like something um so I can imagine I mean he was really stressed so I can imagine he was probably so stressed about where we were going and what we were doing because he just knows if I didn't like it I would say like absolutely out straight like what are we doing but no he did deliver very very well um so we were in Abu Dhabi and then we had to get a car and the car was like a three hour journey or something so I was literally like where are we going and we went out to the desert and we actually went to this part of the desert which was where they filmed June which is one of my favorite films so that was really cool it was just like amazing sand dunes that just went on for ages and we stayed in this amazing hotel that was like a palace and we had our own villa with like butlers and a pool like it was insane so we had this lovely weekend um and we had so many fun experiences uh how did he do it he did it in a very intimate and personal way which I really appreciate um I don't know about any of you but if anyone ever proposed to me in a restaurant I think I would flat out say no um no but in all honesty like you know I I prefer to keep things like that like you know close and you know intimate and private so yeah so we went out for like a pre sunset little aperitif and then we came back to our like villa room and I went out into the garden and then they had basically gone in and set up like an amazing dinner table with loads of candles and it was overlooking the desert and there was a cooking station in the corner and I was like what is going on and then I turned around and I saw like the team were kind of huddled in the corner and there was a chef and you know a team that had like made us an amazing meal and everything like that so it was just really special and unique and lovely um and so yeah he asked me then and it was very sweet and we had this amazing dinner and yeah it's just been so much fun it's just been such a lovely love bubble um one of my friends said to me that it's like having your birthday and Christmas all in one.

19:39And I can totally see that because it's just so much fun. How did you know you were ready to take the next step in your commitment? I don't really know, to be honest. Like, I don't know. I think that you just feel, you feel it. I don't know what the right answer for that is, but it just felt like the right next step. We've been together for enough time. My partner has a lovely son who's beautiful and we have such a gorgeous bond and we've just got a really solid foundation. And we've done the work to make our relationship really work and we've both laid out our commitments to each other. So yeah, it just felt like the right time and it was honestly the perfect time and way to do it.

20:27So very, very happy. what kind of wedding will you have um oh my god it's so funny like as soon as you get engaged

20:35unknown host:everyone is like when's the wedding and I'm like oh I don't know um so I don't know what's the space I think that it would definitely be something iconic um probably something quite intimate and um we'll see I'm hoping to have like two weddings uh like a really nice London one potentially with just family and then something that's a destination uh a destination affair with friends and um a bit more of like a party celebration where that will be like we've had lots of ideas but in all honesty it's like a bit of a minefield so if any of you watching or listening are brides or brides-to-be please let me know any tips and suggestions that you have because the whole thing is a total minefield.

21:25So please let me know. One thing I didn't fully appreciate before running my own business was just how much mental energy everyday decisions take. When you're spinning a lot of different plates and always thinking a few steps ahead, even the small things can start to feel surprisingly draining. After leaving corporate to set up my business last year, I realized if I wanted to stay focused and make good decisions consistently, I needed to simplify wherever I could, especially when it came to my health. When it comes to supplements though, I've always really struggled with consistency, mostly because I felt so overwhelmed by having to take so many different ones.

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23:03That's WISHINew20 for 20 % off your first month. I hope you love it just as much as I do. Okay, next question.

23:12unknown host:What are your pet peeves? where do we begin um I don't know I think like people that are rude or like people that don't say please or thank you is a big thing of mine I've noticed it in London lately actually like I usually try and hold the door for people or like I'll move out of people's way on the street and when people don't say thank you for that like I just really find that very rude um um I think as well like people who can't be happy for other people without making it about themselves or like people who will try and take away something good about someone by like putting it down if that makes sense like for example I actually had I mean this is going back years but just as an example of this like I think I got a promotion once and I told like someone that was a friend who also wanted like a similar promotion and I told her and she was just like visibly unhappy for me and I just feel like as much as like we're all guilty of it at some point in our lives and it's never I don't believe that people genuinely want to be malicious about those sorts of things maybe I'm wrong but I feel like if you can't trust that everyone has their own journey in their own path and is in their own lane like surely you can still be happy for someone else's success even if you're not you know at the same place or if you're like on a different path I just really believe that everyone's on a different journey and yeah you just have to trust in the process and stay in your own lane you know like I don't really feel like I compare myself to all these different people or like look at this person and what they've got versus what I've got like I see that as inspiration and I see it as like motivation like I want to get there one day you know potentially or I'm just genuinely happy for them and I know that I'm doing other stuff if that makes sense okay you said you didn't finish school what age were you when you left school and do you think it's been an advantage or disadvantage in business um I was 16 when I left school uh I think 16 I think I was just turned 16 like because I'm like a summer baby um and it definitely wasn't the plan I mean it was like a need a need to situation versus like a I have this magical option of being able to enter life without school.

26:04unknown host:Yeah, I didn't go to school very often. I started sick form, didn't like it, didn't go to classes and then basically I just had to go before I got kicked out. And it wasn't like anything to do with my capability or anything like that. I feel like I've always been quite academically bright, but it was more about where I was in life and I just wasn't ready for that. And I don't know, I was not in a great place at that stage of my life. And I just, I don't know, I just wanted to be outworking. I wanted to build my independence, be outworking, building a life for myself. So that's where I was. Has it been an advantage or disadvantage?

26:45To be honest, a bit of both. Like I started my career in finance just by kind of luck at chance. And the job that I got at the time, that didn't matter. I entered via sales because you didn't need qualifications to get into the sales team. But then later on, as I started to look at more like like different roles that perhaps needed more qualifications.

27:14unknown host:I've literally had like I think I interviewed at a big consulting firm and it was between me and one other person. And the feedback was that they really loved me. but the other person had a degree and that was literally the like the differentiator between the two of us and I just felt like that's really sad you know um the old school but I guess it's that sector um and like in that sector as well I had lots of interviews where it was like task-based and you'd have to do IQ tests oh my god I have so many stories um I wish that I had a like fly on the wall clip of some of these interviews that I've been in like the IQ one was really funny because I was literally like I don't know any of these answers so yeah I don't know in some ways like that in the early days it was a bit of a disadvantage and then later on it meant that I actually was way further ahead than anyone else in my kind of peer group and I was always really young going into leadership roles because I'd had that head start on people so I'd basically skipped two years of school and then what like three maybe even four years some people do at uni um so I had this massive head start on everyone that was like five six years ahead so that definitely was an advantage and then I feel like because I got into the creator space at a time when uh no one else was really doing it and it was really new I built up a name for myself and a craft in a new and emerging industry.

28:47So those two things combined meant that I was able to kind of jump into big companies in big roles, because it was like a timing and opportunity sense. And so in today's terms, I would actually compare that to like AI.

29:02unknown host:If you can build up a skill set and build up a name in something like, you know, the evolving world of AI, that means that you're more likely to be able to go into places and maximize that opportunity. What advice would you give to someone wanting to start a podcast? Oh my God. Well, I'm still learning. The first thing is don't rush it. Like, I mean, I thought I was going to get this wrapped up and ready in like two, three months. It just doesn't work like that. It takes a long time. And I think I started it and I was like, right, it's going to be filmed in this month. Then it's going to be ready in like the next month.

29:44It's just not the case. So yeah, I would really plan to from like start to then finally launching maybe like a good six month window. I'm sure you can do it in less, you can do it longer, but like that's what I would do to be comfortable and not like rush it. It takes a long time to get guests. Again, I thought that it was going to be like a quick yes from everyone immediately but people are busy they've got things going on um they have to take time out of their day to come to your studio like so there's a lot of logistics management that's quite difficult um i'd say once you've got your vision and your branding sorted first then you've got to get your like logistical foundation set up so like where are you going to film what type of conversations do you want who's it going to be and then start going out to people but I really feel like it's been a snowball effect so like as soon as I got my first guest it was like then more people started to say yes and more and more and so you have like ups and downs in the journey it's been a massive learning curve for me which is great because I love learning so it means that I'm getting better at something and I'm doing something new.

31:03But yeah, I'd say give it time, get your branding and your vision really clear. And then from your guest perspective, give it time,

31:14unknown host:but be relentless in how you reach out to people. I would also say just as a weird side note, email is way better at reaching out to people than anything else. Like a lot of people miss their dms um people that i know a bit better like i've whatsapped and that's been fine um but email is the best way to like get it locked locked in um what's the biggest difference you've noticed since going sober so i think that would probably be the mental clarity like well two things actually mental clarity and the time that i've got back like I just don't have the brain fog or the hangovers and I'm not losing time um and it's something that's quite hard to describe unless you actually kind of go through it yourself because you don't really understand and loads of people always say to me like oh you must feel amazing and it's like well you don't feel like you've taken some like magic pill and you're like this superhuman it's not like that at all but you're just kind of steady and focused and it's been great but sometimes it's also like been annoying because it's like I'll wake up or me and my partner will wake up really early on the weekends and we'll be like right okay we're out of bed we're ready for the day he wakes up a lot earlier than me so he's like up at six most days goes and gets me coffee like it's great but like sometimes it is quite nice to just chill you know um and we definitely do that but it's just meant that yeah I've been so much more productive my mental clarity my focus I've got so much more time in my day um I actually feel like with my relationships with friends and my family like I'm showing up as a better person or as a better version of myself um so that's been great but like I'm taking it in a way that's like moderation and balance for me so I did have a couple of glasses of champagne um over the Christmas period when we got engaged and when we went on our amazing flight um and honestly after like I don't even think I finished one on the first time and then second time I had like two glasses and I was like okay this is it so I definitely feel like I've got to a good place where I don't want to be socially drinking in like big city life like being in London where it's just so normal to be like out for work multiple times a week and then you're drinking like that's not going to happen again um I just feel like it's a bit of a cultural norm and society norm but for me personally it just meant that I was waking up a bit foggy the next day and I can't work and be productive like that but for like special occasions and things that I really want to plan for like I definitely feel like I want to give myself that grace and freedom like yeah there's no issue with that so that's where I'm at with that um what advice would you give to someone who's feeling stuck or wanting to change direction oh I've been in this place many many times um I think the first thing is like go inward.

34:35Do like, I do lots of like online tests, you know, like there's one called 16 personalities, which is a little bit cheesy, but I've literally given it to so many people to do. When I used to manage big teams, I would have everyone in the team do it because it would help me understand how to work with people. And if they'd feel comfortable, like sharing it with each other, because it just helps you understand people's personalities. but it's that's a really good way of like getting to know yourself a bit better so if you've never done anything like that or like Myers-Briggs or anything like that that's definitely um a good place to start but even like beyond that things like journaling um there's an amazing book called The Artist's Way I'll link it below in the show notes but um that is a great way to uh practice everyday journaling and basically like dump out the brain fog is that the right way to say it I don't know but jot down the brain fog and then um get really like clear and like just get more clarity and focus so that was a great thing that I did once um but I'd say yeah go inward do some research about whatever it is that you think is in your path could be whether it's work or life or countries or whatever that is.

35:51And then I would say, take small actions. Like, I really believe that clarity comes from action. And you can do all the research, you can read all the books, you can listen to all the podcasts, you know, you can follow other people's advice. But taking action is the only way that you're ever going to know. So say, for example, if you're looking to switch jobs or move careers like going out there to speak to people whether it's recruiters or like applying for different jobs or speaking to people who are in those fields or roles that's the only way that you're going to start to actually see any kind of change or start to feel whether that's like the right path for you um and then I'd finally say like trust in the process like no one has a rule book for anything in life so you're never going to know you're never going to know unless you try right like I have failed so many times I've made so many mistakes I've failed at jobs I've been fired from jobs early in my career I must admit um but yeah like all of those things have taught me something and I've you know learned something and I've bounced back from them and actually come off better so I think really trust in like the path that someone has set out for you um and don't be afraid to take risks uh i think that's it so thank you so much for listening in i really appreciate you tuning in today i hope you found some of this useful entertaining um if you liked it add some feedback please please please send me some comments i'd love to know whether you like the solo episodes whether you don't anything you change anything you want to hear more of um and yeah thank you so much for listening if you don't subscribe already please please please make sure you subscribe send it to someone who may uh get some value from this and if not i will see you next time thank you so much