Deliberate Life™

We open with a quote that sets the tone: the longest journey is from the head to the heart. We explore what it truly means to live from the heart—not as a sentimental idea, but as a fuller way of acce...

We open with a quote that sets the tone perfectly: if the mind is not overcrowded, not ceaselessly occupied, there is space—and from that space, everything else comes. We explore space as a multi-laye...

We explore grief through the immediate and raw experience of losing a parent, beginning with the story of receiving news of a mother's death whilst scuba diving in a remote part of the Philippines. We...

We share reflections from Bali, where we've spent two weeks recording our long-awaited Deliberate Life programme—a project eight years in the making. We discuss the unique energy of Ubud, Bali's spiri...

We explore neuroticism, the fourth of the Big Five personality traits we've discussed, following our previous episodes on openness, extraversion, and agreeableness. Neuroticism represents sensitivity ...

We explore the often-taboo subject of money, beginning with an examination of why financial discussions feel uncomfortable—the fear of being judged or defined by wealth rather than character. We intro...

We explore the essential skill of boundary setting through personal and professional examples, examining how clear boundaries protect our time, energy, and values whilst maintaining relationships. We ...

We explore agreeableness, the third of the Big Five personality traits we've discussed, following our previous episodes on openness and extraversion/introversion. Agreeableness represents the tendency...

We explore creativity through the lens of artistic courage and personal expression, beginning with reflections on Gustav Klimt's decision to break from commissioned religious paintings to create his o...

We reflect on how gratitude shifts energy—both individually and collectively—and how it can be a powerful tool for leadership. When we enter a challenging space, like a tense team meeting, and lead wi...

We explore vulnerability through personal experiences, beginning with the quote “Dance like no one is watching…” and how acts like dancing or singing often stir discomfort and self-consciousness. For ...

In this episode, we explore the complexity and fluidity of identity, beginning with a playful challenge: how would we describe ourselves in the time it takes to ride an elevator? We unpack how our sel...

In this episode, we confront one of life’s most profound and universal truths: death. Despite its inevitability, death remains a taboo topic in many cultures, often shrouded in fear and avoidance. We ...

In this episode, we dive into planning versus spontaneity, using the lens of personality types, particularly the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). We explore the dynamic between “judging” (J) and “p...

We often believe in the myth that relaxation must be earned—that we can only truly rest after being productive. However, we recognise that this belief, while deeply ingrained, is not necessarily helpf...

In this episode, we dive into the reflective process of personal growth and intention-setting as the year draws to a close. We explore how stillness, the balance of being versus doing, and self-leader...

In this episode, we dive into the transformative power of breathwork with Tim van der Vliet (Bart’s brother), a global breathwork coach and creator of the TT5 technique. Tim shares his journey from hi...

In this episode, we explore the emotional responses that arise from common, everyday triggers, focusing on how we become aware of and manage them. The conversation starts with a look at the stress of ...

In this podcast episode, we delve into the concept of mentorship, tracing its historical roots back to figures like Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle and exploring its evolution into the modern corporate...

In this podcast episode, we come back to one of our favourite topics: Learning. We discuss the importance of understanding and leveraging personal strengths in professional and personal development. B...

In this podcast episode, we explore the concept of the "corporate athlete," comparing the performance and preparation strategies of professional athletes to those of corporate professionals. The discu...

In this podcast episode, we delve into the profound influence that the people closest to us have on our personal growth and development. We explore the idea that "you are the average of the five peopl...

In this podcast episode, we explore the profound concept of rhythm in life as a more dynamic and integrated approach compared to the traditional notion of work-life balance. We recount a journey to Sa...

In this episode, we discuss the common misconceptions about healthy eating, emphasising that what is considered healthy can vary greatly among individuals. Our conversation highlights that ultra-proce...

In this podcast episode, we delve into the concept and importance of stillness in achieving clarity, productivity, and overall well-being. We share our personal experiences and the challenges of slowi...

On our business development trip to Spain, we find ourselves going for a run in the morning and realise we have quite different approaches to running. One of us is more structured, more planned, and m...

In this conversation, we delve deeper into the fascinating realm of emotions and, in particular, negative emotions and how we can effectively deal with them. We reflect on our experiences with these e...

In this conversation, we explore the significance of questions and their diverse applications in various roles and settings. Questions serve as connectors, bridging emotions, thoughts, and being. They...

We find ourselves in a recording studio surrounded by professional sound equipment, creating an environment that truly excites at least one of us! As we sit together, one of us with an analogue notebo...

When we think about the words "stability" or "grounding," it conjures up feelings of calmness, peace, relaxation, and overall well-being. It's akin to maintaining a solid foundation that keeps us safe...

In today’s conversation, we discuss leadership and its evolution in our programs. Over time, we've refined our approach, focusing on key leadership aspects. We explore the difference between leadershi...

In today’s conversation, we explore the concept of simplicity and how it differs in our perceptions. We share our personal associations with simplicity and discuss contrasting notions of simplicity an...

In today’s episode, we delve into the realm of personal growth, revisiting the topic we addressed in the episode of November 2022. We explore the reasons behind engaging in personal growth, highlighti...

Today’s discussion revolves around our recognition of the importance of connection and the need to reconnect with others, ourselves, and content. We acknowledge that in our fast-paced lives, we often ...

This episode is a direct response to a request of one of our clients. We suggest you listen to this episode in conjunction with episode 33, which was released the week before Christmas one year ago. W...

Another episode where Bart has no idea in advance what we are talking about. This is becoming a bit of a habit for Pia! We start by addressing this question: What are the most interesting questions yo...

Interesting episode this, if we say so ourselves. We continue a (not recorded) conversation we had at AfrikaBurn three years ago, where we discussed stuckness and the question: How can stuckness becom...

We are still in the South of Spain (on the last morning before flying out), and we are tackling a topic which somehow has come up quite a lot this week: Ageing. (There are a lot of retired people in ...

We are in the South of Spain, on our twice-per-year deep work days to prepare for the second half of the year client work. Quite appropriate then to discuss deep work. The why, what, how and so what o...

We are in Stockholm, just after midsummer, when the light is always on. It has been a while since the last recording and we start by discussing what gets in the way of our podcasting: Health, bricks &...

The birth of this episode is quite different. We created it and then put it to rest for a number of months. Then I recently listened to it again when I had one of those rare days of hardly any meeting...

I (Bart) have never felt like I learned so much from recording an episode of our podcast than this one. Nature is something that is very close to Pia’s heart and she has a lot more opportunity to be i...

This episode is quite different to what you are used to: Rather than in our normal mega-professional studio environment (just kidding), we find ourselves recording this in a beach restaurant, with lot...

Our Christmas present to you, a podcast episode on Life Design. This is a process we use with some of our clients and we discuss in general terms how we go about this ourselves and with others, and th...

It feels a little like we are back in March-2020, when we advised our clients to “hope for the best, prepare for the worst”. Except we didn’t know what we meant by “the worst”. Certainly not that we w...

In this early morning recording of this episode, we talk about sleep. We start from the technology, the biohacking / tracking tools we use, Whoop (Pia) and Oura (Bart), and how we use these tools in o...

It has been a while since the last episode, not sure what happened to the time! In this episode, we discuss organisational culture. A good episode to listen to before you listen to this episode is Epi...

Following on from our last episode on coaching, we are discussing a closely related topic, motivation, with one of our clients, Max Barclay. We discuss the importance of motivation in managing and lea...

It’s the early morning on Good (Long) Friday and we are talking about coaching. What do we talk about when we talk about coaching? Of course, it’s our profession. It’s also a communication or leadersh...

Back together in Stockholm after a few months on zoom, we discuss the topic of feedback. Before that even, Pia explains how in her calendar 8 minutes equals one hour, but that aside. Back to feedback,...