In Episode 64 of the Zero Lives Left Podcast Wayne is joined by guest James Perry.  They kick off in a deeply engaging conversation about self-recognition, personal growth, and the life-changing influence of travel. Wayne opens up about his struggle with acknowledging his own value and his reticence towards accepting recognition. In contrast, James shares his remarkable journey from a quaint village to the professional world of accountancy, and his transition to becoming a devoted full-time carer for his ailing parents.

Throughout the episode, they dive into the critical importance of recognizing one's accomplishments, how travel can profoundly affect personal development, and the ongoing value of learning. With a spotlight on how technology is reshaping the field of accountancy, Wayne and James discuss the crucial role of building relationships, particularly for those who are introverted, and stress the importance of self-care to prevent burnout. Together, they navigate the complexities of life, underscore the importance of connecting with others, and advocate for the power of facing challenges head-on.

Here are some key takeaways from the conversation:

🌟 Recognizing Small Wins: Acknowledging our achievements, no matter how small, is crucial for personal growth. Taking the time to appreciate our progress can have a profound impact on our mindset and well-being.

🌍 The Transformative Power of Travel: James shared his goal of visiting the seven wonders of the world and his experience with travel as a tool for personal development. Exploring different cultures and overcoming challenges through travel has had a profound impact on his life.

🔗 Building Relationships: We discussed the evolving role of accountants in the digital age and the increasing importance of building strong relationships and influence. Platforms like LinkedIn offer opportunities for introverted individuals to develop relationships virtually and in the real world.

In Episode 63, Wayne sits down with Lyn Warde who owns and operates Transport Compliance NI

Lyn's primary goal is to help companies stay compliant and navigate the complex regulatory landscape. We discuss the challenges that many companies face in the haulage business and share valuable insights on how to overcome them.

Lyn's business offers both training and fleet management. Transport Compliance NI educate and train businesses to upskill their staff and provide external support for companies without dedicated compliance teams. Their services include handling compliance tasks, filing, and providing regular updates on a company's compliance status. In a world with increasing regulations, it's essential for businesses to ensure compliance to avoid potential penalties that could jeopardize their livelihoods.

But compliance isn't the only topic explored in this episode. Lyn and Wayne also touch on the ever-evolving landscape of renewable energy in the transport industry. While digital technology has been embraced by most companies, the feasibility of fully autonomous vehicles is still being questioned. Instead, the focus is shifting towards finding the ideal renewable energy source for heavy-duty vehicles (HGVs), particularly in the context of large HGVs and the debate over using renewable energy.

Lyn shares some of their experiences with electric vehicles (EVs) and highlights the logistical challenges of charging infrastructure, especially in rural areas or extreme weather conditions. They express a preference for hydrogen engines as a potential solution for HGVs, although they acknowledge the challenges related to hydrogen storage and transportation.

Throughout the episode, Lyn emphasizes the importance of their company's personal approach and their commitment to being easily accessible to clients. They take pride in developing a close relationship with clients, understanding their specific needs, and providing personalized assistance. It's clear that their passion for helping others sets them apart from other companies in the industry.

During the interview, Lyn also discusses the impact of Brexit and COVID-19 on the transport industry. These recent events have led to challenges such as an increase in paperwork and administration, shortages of drivers, and heightened demand for goods. Nonetheless, Lyn's company remains dedicated to supporting their clients and navigating these obstacles together.

In addition to the interview, Lyn offers valuable advice for anyone interested in starting a business or pursuing a career in the HGV space. They share insights on the importance of software progression, driving automation, and the flexible career path that truck driving offers.

To connect with Lyn on LinkedIn click here

To find out more about Transport Compliance click here

On this episode of Podcasts, Wayne is joined by guest Sheila Docker. Sheila is passionate about empowering individuals to take charge of their own health and wellness, as she has personally experienced and overcome inflammatory health challenges over the course of 30 years.

Despite her health issues, Sheila has continued to pursue her love for travel and work. In this episode, Sheila discusses the changes she made to her lifestyle and the improvements she noticed in her energy, mental clarity, and physical appearance.

She emphasizes the importance of basic nutrition, exercise, sleep, and mindset in improving health. Sheila believes that many health challenges are a result of lifestyle choices and advocates for taking responsibility for one's own health.

Additionally, she discusses her approach to eating, which includes a high protein, high fat, and low carb diet. The conversation also touches upon the benefits of intermittent fasting and the importance of prioritizing self-care for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Throughout the episode, Wayne and Sheila engage in a meaningful and informative discussion about health and wellness.

As always if you have enjoyed this episode rate, review, and share the podcast, as well as connect with Sheila on LinkedIn for further guidance and access to resources.

Link to website: The Primal Zone

Link to Cookbook: The Primal Zone Cookbook

On this episode of Podcast, Wayne welcomes special guest Roger Gowdy to discuss various aspects of podcasting. The episode begins by emphasizing the importance of the recording environment and its impact on sound quality. They stress the need to prioritize the space over simply upgrading equipment. Listeners learn about achieving a dry studio sound, minimizing indirect sound, and maximizing direct sound by adjusting microphone placement.

Consistency in podcasting is another topic covered. Wayne and Roger advise using an ideal listener avatar to guide content creation and discuss the significance of building a habit in listeners. They suggest setting a sustainable pace for podcast releases and using series or seasons to allow for batch recording and breaks. They also highlight how podcasting offers long-form content in a short-form-dominated world and allows for in-depth discussions.

The episode dives into the role of AI technologies in podcasting, including using AI for planning, and generating guest bios, episode titles, and social media posts. While AI is considered a valuable resource, Wayne and Roger acknowledge its potential drawbacks.

The conversation shifts to the current state of the podcasting market. Despite podcasting's popularity, the market is not oversaturated, with fewer than a million actively producing podcasts. They compare this to the number of YouTube channels and blogs, suggesting that starting a podcast now is similar to starting a blog in 2001.

Wayne and Roger discuss the future of podcasting, highlighting its decentralized nature and its success in providing long-term content. They also address the role of Spotify in the podcasting landscape, with Spotify's investment and desire for exclusivity raising concerns for some.

The episode provides recommendations for podcast hosts, including Buzzsprout, Lipsynch, and Captivate Pod, and advises against relying solely on Spotify. They explain that a podcast host is necessary to distribute episodes to various platforms like Apple podcasts, Google, Amazon Music, and Spotify. The cost of hosting platforms like Buzzsprout is mentioned, as well as the importance of choosing the right equipment and software for podcasting.

Wayne emphasizes the importance of carefully considering the podcast concept before investing in equipment and provides questions to guide this decision. He also discusses the gradual growth of podcast listenership and the importance of focusing on creating value for the audience.

Listeners are encouraged to take a multiplatform approach in marketing and promoting their podcast, repurposing content into different formats. AI tools like automated transcription are mentioned as helpful resources.

Wayne shares information about his own podcast, Zero Lives Left Podcast, its aim to provide inspiration and actionable tips to listeners, and its recent expansion into live broadcasts on social media. Listeners are encouraged to share and rate/review the podcast to help it reach a wider audience.

Overall, this episode provides valuable insights and practical advice for aspiring and existing podcasters, covering topics ranging from sound quality to marketing strategies. Don't miss out on this information-packed episode on kickstarting your podcast.

This episode takes an insight look at my recent trips over to Brussels for the EU Citizens Panel on Virtual Worlds and Learning Mobility which took place over 2 weeks in April.

Last year there were a number of conversations that took place to look at how to get citizens in Europe more involved in decisions that are being made about our future.  

So over the past couple of months, they have been holding citizen panels on a range of different issues from food waste to the future of cities in Europe. 

150 European citizens (picked randomly) from every different demographic and walk of life to go to Brussels over 3 weekends with one virtual meet-up.  

The aim of the citizen's panel is to empower people to be involved in the decisions that impact everyone across Europe.

Coming up later on in this episode we are going to hear from one of the EU representatives explaining what the Citizens Panel is all about & its objectives & I get the chance to have a chat with one of the Irish Citizens who have taken part.

Grab a cuppa sit back and find out a little more like I did about how the Citizen Panel is helping shape the future of the European Union.

In this jam packed episode I chat with my good friend Tom Hughes.   Tom is Partner in Lean at Lumen Electronics, Cofounder at GembaDocs & 3rd Digital, Author of “Improvement Starts With I.”

In the episode we start of by chatting about Tom's business & Career journey.  Tom has recently published his first book Improvement Starts With I: A practical guide to building an extraordinary lean culture.

Tom chats about what exactly lean is & share the 5Cs

• Candour
• Commitment 
• Coaching
• Consistency
• Continuous Learning

Finally top shares his top 3 tips for people in business or starting out on their business journey.

In this episode I chat with Louise Brogan who's a LinkedIn Trainer. Louise is an international speaker and podcaster who talks to audiences about why, how and when they should be using LinkedIn in business.

In this episode we chat about top ways to stand out on LinkedIn. Louise shares top tips for:

• Students
• Graduates
• Career Movers

Louise shares her four pillars of using LinkedIn - optimising your profile, building a valuable network full of potential clients and customers, creating content that raises your visibility and the golden ticket to winning business on LinkedIn - how to use the messaging feature without spamming or being sleazy.

We chat about new features coming to LinkedIn & the benefit of having a LinkedIn company page for your business. Louise shares some fantastic tips on how to raise your visibility to grow your network across LinkedIn. 

Louise is also running a 'Build your LinkedIn Strategy Workshop in Dublin on 27th of April more details can be found here if you'd like to grab a ticket. 

Promises to get a great opportunity to learn more.  Don't miss it 

In this episode I chat with Peter Doak from PDG Advertising based in Northern Ireland.  

PDG Advertising launched in  2015 as  a creative and results focused digital marketing agency, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Our focus for a positive ROI for customers is our guiding light in delivering an Exceptional Digital Marketing Experience.

We kick off the episode finding out a little about Peter's background and his reason behind setting up PDG - Peter chats about why simplification in digital is so important especial for the customer considering using digital advertising as a way to get in front of customers.  

With so many social media platforms at our disposal it can be difficult to find out which platforms might be best for a business to use to start to compete for attention & get their product or service in front of customers.  

Peter also shares a exercise he and his team use called 'Fish bowling' before they begin working with any new client & explains the importance of this exercise  

Finally Peter shares his top tips for businesses considering using digital advertising in 2022 as well as 3 key tips for those interested in developing a career in digital marketing.