Focus on 500

This week marks a significant milestone for the Focus on WHY podcast—500 episodes of honest, purposeful conversations. As I reflect on my journey, one message resonated above all: the transformative power of lived experience.

So often, we’re taught to look outward for qualifications—degrees, accolades, validation from others. And yet your lived experience is your qualification. It’s not the impressive moments or dramatic events that forge your purpose, but those quiet, everyday chapters that test and shape you. In the past, I too have minimised periods of uncertainty or doubt, keen to spotlight the successes and gloss over the times I felt stuck or lost. When recording this episode, I realised those very moments—the stumbles, the shifts, the uncomfortable pivots—are where my genuine purpose resides. They’re not reasons to feel behind; they’re the roots of everything meaningful I do.

Through 500 conversations, I have witnessed a universal truth: it’s the struggles, the setbacks and the unexpected turns that quietly become the foundation of our most significant contributions. Whether it’s supporting others after experiencing burnout, building inclusive communities from feeling unseen, or mentoring out of early hardships, our unique journeys qualify us in ways no certificate ever could.

This 500th episode is a powerful reminder that we each possess a story that matters. Not because it’s sensational, but because it’s ours—uniquely shaped by our perspectives, values and the lessons we choose to carry forward. So, instead of chasing someone else’s definition of qualification, what if you recognised the inherent wisdom in your own lived experiences?

Focus on Lived Experience. Focus on Why!

REFLECTION WITH ACTION: Where in your life have you dismissed or downplayed a difficult experience and how might that very chapter qualify you to support or inspire others today? This week, take one small step: share a personal story—one that felt less like a ‘success’ and more like a lesson—with a friend, a colleague, or even in your journal. Notice how articulating your own lived experience makes you feel and consider how it might offer comfort or guidance to someone else on their path.