57. Career Pivots, Finding Confidence & Feeling Alive
What happens when a career built on success no longer feels like enough?
In this episode Amy chats to her old colleague and friend Serena Dodd.
After a high-energy career in TV and events, Serena hit a wall - literally on the way to London Waterloo - when a panic attack forced her to rethink.
Serena shares her journey from realising “something needs to change” to finally stepping away from the industry, then the pivotal year that followed: retraining as a coach, rebuilding confidence, and rewriting her identity.
Serena explains why she calls herself an “Aliveness Coach” , what feeling alive actually means and living beyond apathy.
We also talk about Fly, the global community she’s building for coaches to counter isolation, learn together and deliver richer services.
Serena’s story is a reminder that success isn’t static: she was a success before, she’s a success now, and the courage to pivot made all the difference.
Key Topics Discussed:
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A London Waterloo wake-up
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Taking the steps to change
- Moving beyond apathy: why recognising and addressing “living on autopilot” is the first step to feeling truly alive.
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“Aliveness” = intention + purpose, not perfection
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Replace “cul-de-sac thoughts” with “motorway thinking.”
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Community (Fly) reduces isolation and elevates practice
Serena Dodd is co-author of My Dad Thinks I’m a Fairy, host of the Made to Fly podcast, and founder of Fly.
Made To Fly Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/made-to-fly/id1827931677
Book: My Dad Thinks I'm A Fairy - Book Link
Fly: The Coaches Network - www.wearefly.com
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/serenadodd/
15 minute keynote: The Unexpected Power of Hope in a High Performance World https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AqFMe4Nmuw
Episode Transcript:
Amy
Welcome to the Really Good Conversations podcast. Today I am joined by an old colleague and very good friend of mine, Serena Dodd.
After a successful career in the TV and events industry, Serena retrained as a coach and now helps people navigate change with confidence. She's also the co-author of My Dad Thinks I'm a Fairy, host of the Made to Fly podcast and founder of Fly, a new community for coaches focused on connection and growth.
Welcome to the podcast, Serena.
Serena
Thanks for having me Avery, I've been looking forward to this for ages.
Amy
I almost think like we should have actually just batched together our various WhatsApp voice note chats. And I could have just top and tailed that as some sort of conversation.
Serena
That's definitely not an hour's worth of content. Maybe a week.
Amy
It is really awesome to have you here because you've become a lifelong friend now. We have known each other well over 10 years ago, our London days of working in events and experiential. And yeah, lots of fond memories, but I'm keen today to talk a bit about your journey and probably almost since then really, cause you've had a really interesting and exciting last few years
Take us back to your world of TV and events and what initially drew you to a career in that industry.
Serena
I think I always wanted to be in the entertainment industry. That was like a key driver for me. I started out as a kid and I wanted to be an actress. And then as I kind of got into my mid teens, was like, this is not quite, I didn't really want to be in the spotlight. And I've just really enjoyed the tech side. So I ended up at a theater school doing stage management and technical theater.
And was from there that I got my first job and that happened to be in LA for BAFTA. So that's how I got into the TV world, but doing events.
Amy
How long were you in that industry, TV and events?
Serena
After BAFTA, I came back to the UK and I ended up finding a role in a marketing experiential agency that was looking for people to come onto their content team freelance to do some filming in the Alps. I was like, wow, this sounds fantastic. I must do this. So I applied for this job.
And I heard nothing. And about two months later, they wrote to me and they said, brilliant, come over to the Milton Keynes ski slopes and we'll have an interview with you and we will assess your skiing and everything else. And I had told them that I could ski. Well, I could 10 years ago and hadn't been on a ski slope in that period of time. So I thought, oh my God. So I took myself down to the local dry slope to do some practices the night before, went up to Milton Keynes and it was just all men that were kind of getting interviewed. And it was a woman interview and she came up to me, she goes, listen, you're the only woman, let's have a conversation. So we had this chat and she said, what language do you speak? And I said, English. And she said, we need someone to speak, you know, French or Italian or German. And I said, well, I did say this in my CV and I did say it in my covering notes.
And she was like, never mind, let's just have a conversation. So we had this conversation. She said, look, I can't give you this job, but you know, I'll keep you in mind for another role, at which point you go ‘sure’. And so about two weeks later, she contacted me and she said, we're actually looking for a senior, a senior content manager in our experiential agency. Are you interested? And I said, yeah, she said, you have to do some presenting and everything else. thought, well, I haven't done this before. So that's what I did. I ended up in the content team as it was called what was called the broadcast team then. And then it turned into a content team. This was around 2007. And I worked in that industry filming extreme sports events all around the world. And I loved it. So we worked as an agency bringing in production companies to film and then we would work with brands to work on their ROI. You know, this is all very new stuff to me. So I didn't really have a clue what I was doing. So it was quite fun and I really enjoyed it. And I was with really interesting people doing really interesting stuff. And then unfortunately, it was one of my favorite jobs, actually. Unfortunately, the recession hit my role and the business, well, the business went from about 45, 50 people to five people in one day.
God, yeah, I was actually called off holiday to come in and have this conversation because our biggest brands had kind of, they hadn't folded. But the first thing that goes is their marketing budget. So yeah, we went down to a company of five and I was in that five. And so my role changed to be more of an account handler for the events that they were doing. And that's how I got really into events.
Amy
We last worked together, it would have been about 2013. you know, again, as you've already touched on, you've done some awesome work around Europe and road shows. And I always highlight for us was doing an event where we got to meet Usain Bolt in Paris and lots of awesome fun memories.
However, you decided to leave the events industry. So was there a defining moment or a gradual realisation that told you it was time for a change?
Serena
After I worked on the Olympics, as you know, because you were sort of interspersed intermittently in that world. And I just, I just knew that I didn't love it. You know, I think it was more sort of, I had come from a television background, it wasn't, I sort of just fell into events.
But I knew I could do it and I'd like, you know, there were elements that I liked. I liked dealing with people, but I just didn't like the constant franticness and my energy is not that way inclined, you know, for me, and I suppose that's why I was quite good with clients because I was always able to kind of calm them down. But the sort of mechanics of the events, it just didn't interest me as much, but I knew I could do it and I knew I was uber organised.
So after the Olympics, that's when I had the, that was my sort of deciding factor. was like August, 2012, where I thought I needed to change something. I wanted to change something, but I actually didn't have the confidence to feel like I could do anything else. I could, I just felt very sort of blocked mentally on what the options were for me. And I thought, well, I've got loads of contacts in the industry, I can do it. I'll just keep going. And I'll just, I'll just start my own business and freelance and then get some clients. And so I went down that path. And luckily for me, during something like the Olympics, you meet a lot of people. And so, you know, that's when you and I got to work together.
Serena
But it was a bit of an emotional roller coaster at that for about six years. So it was not a decision that was made quickly. And it only got made six years later at the end of 2018. Quite unexpectedly, actually, I just thought this was going to be my life. I thought it was going to be a case of not enjoying my job, like working like crazy, finishing a project, stopping having, you know, a week or so's rest and then getting onto the next project. And I was doing a conference in Barcelona. I happened to be in the UK. It was a week out. It wasn't the most taxing event that I had done because I had a really good team. We were in a really good position and I left work about seven o'clock and I thought, I'm going to go, I'm going to go for a massage. And everyone's like ushering about the door, going, yes, enjoy, enjoy sort of, we're all excited for anyone who gets to leave the office before nine. and, I went for this massage and it was a bit, it was a bit of a weird massage in terms of she didn't clearly know how to mess up. And, I ended up walking to Waterloo station and I just blanked out my, my whole, my whole world became very small, I lost my eyesight temporarily.
And even though I didn't think it at the time, I was having a panic attack and I leant against this wall, which happens to be part of a fire station bar. And I just, I just really focused on, I remember my world getting small and focusing on my breathing. And I bet when I came, when I came to, when my, my eyesight came back, it probably was only, you know, a minute, but it felt like an eternity.
I thought I can't actually go into the station. I just can't go into that station. And I called a friend and they picked me up and I stayed on their couch and the following day I got up early, back to normal, no problem. But something had changed inside of me. And so when we finished the job in Barcelona, the client asked if I could go to San Francisco to talk about the next event. And I just, without hesitation.
It like my whole, was from a cellular level. I just said no. And I knew at that point I needed to shut down my business. I had no idea what I was gonna do, but something needed to change.
Amy
Wow. because you're just in that event's world as well. is, it's one to the next. It's go, go, go. And it is, high energy, high intensity. There's excitement with it. And you're quite prepared to like just work all of the hours, because also there's a deadline with a very real live deadline that stuff has to get happened for.
What was the hardest part about retraining and starting completely fresh in a new field?
Serena
Decision-making.
2019 for me was a really great year from April. Why I say from March, purely because from saying no in the December in Barcelona and then just being in a space of indecision was the worst heart because even though I had told myself, you know, don't, don't worry, you know, you're, you're, good, you can kind of do three to six months where you're just going to take time to do what you want to do. I didn't actually know what I wanted to do. I didn't, I didn't even know how to have free time. Because it felt very aimless.
So for me, I just had to think about the things that I had control over, which was getting up in the morning, I didn't want to lie in bed all day. I made sure I got up, made my bed, and went for a walk. And it's funny enough, as these walks continued, that I started to listen to podcasts on, happened to be a live coach, not that I was looking for a live coach, I just typed in, know, career change, because I really wasn't in the sort of, I'd read a lot of self help books, but I hadn't really ventured into sort of the coaching world at all. I started listening to this woman and this woman came from corporate and she was running a life coaching business and everything that she started to speak about just started to make sense to me. I'm a forward thinker. She was talking about things, you know, in the future and not in the past. And it mechanically worked well with my brain.
And it changed so much for me very, very quickly. And I thought, my God, I've been in indecision really for six years. And yes, it's taken this moment at Waterloo to make me take action. Actually, it's these conversations that I'm listening to on the podcast that are helping me, letting me know, I'm not odd, we are going through this, you know, there's so many changes that can happen and are possible. And yeah, I really, I remember feeling energised and alive, thinking there's new possibilities, because so much of my limiting beliefs ran around the fact that you shouldn't change jobs. know, my age, you exactly, you know, but also, you know, the people you have good contacts.
You're making good money, all of those things are popping into your head. And, you know, I even thought, well, who gets new friends at this age, who has new hobbies at this age, which sounds daft, but that's really that was my mindset. So I reprioritized everything in my life that year. And I signed up to train with her, this woman for a year to become a life coach.
And I put the education up there. put my career down at the bottom of the pile. And I decided that I was going to leave London. I was going to find new friends and I was going to find a hobby. And that's what I did. I went onto Facebook groups near where I was living outside of London. And I said, you know, does anyone want to have a cup of tea with me?
I started that way. And then I got introduced to other people in different groups. you know, before I knew it, I had, I was able to have plans almost every night of the week. And then I started to salsa dance. And you know, that was terrifying walking in there on your own, with very little confidence. And, you know, then they say, pick a partner. Oh, yeah, no idea who's gonna come my way and I can't dance. So. yeah, it was really confidence building and starting, you know, getting back into education again. I loved it. It was great.
Amy
Wow. How did you navigate the identity shift from being that event's professional to coach?
Serena
That's a really good question. I let go of the events pretty quickly because I was ready. I was really, really ready. I was happy to adopt the coach identity, but not as quickly. It's, you know, I came from a corporate world and I, you know,
I had surrounded myself with people who were in that headspace of the corporate nine to five, or let's say nine to eight world. And, you know, the rat race and all of those, all of those things that they wouldn't. We'd seen people who had left our industry and gone and done something a little bit more holistic. And it just, there was a stigma attached to it. And I also didn't have any, any presence online at all. So that mindset shift, so even though I was, I definitely had progressed forward, that new identity actually took a couple of years for me to really lean into and say, yeah, this is exactly what I'm doing. And I know it can help you. That was a great moment to be able to kind of just lean into what I was doing. So I was happy to let the events go, but to adopt this new identity did take a good couple of years.
Amy
What do you think are the myths that people have about starting over again with a career or life choices?
Serena
I feel like there's a lot of shouldn't. I shouldn't do this. It's irresponsible. There's a lot of what ifs that come into play. So I feel like it's that. I think it's very various levels of that. It's okay for others. There's a support system for others. People will justify other people's independence or success to make themselves feel better and feel safe. you know, and that, you know, there can be a stigma to someone giving something a go. So I think there's a lot of what other people will think attached to that too. I speak initially for myself, and I speak further from conversations I've had with clients and people who have changed direction quite significantly in their lives at some point.
Amy
What do you think are some of the lessons you've learned about making these bold changes in your life? Because you've not only, as you said, you changed your job, but you changed where you were living. were upgrading, shall I say, circles of friends. What do you think you've learned about yourself along this path of bold changes
Serena
I can start again anytime.
Amy
I think- I love that.
Serena
I think that's the thing, you know, if all else, if anything, it all collapsed around me today, and I had to go and live somewhere else, I can do it. I feel like I built up that confidence in 2019. And that mindset to know that, you know, change is completely possible. And it can be possible at any age, you just need to manage your mind.
And that is the key thing because it's all very well working with the inertia of something new and exciting. But the continuation of that is, it is hard. And in order to work towards something different, whether it's a dream or whether it is, you know, things have collapsed around you and you've got to start again, you have to first and foremost, consistently work on your mindset.
Amy
Absolutely and definitely I could do with doing that more. I think I tell you this many times on my WhatsApp and voice notes. Now you are more specifically an aliveness coach. What does it mean to you to feel alive?
Serena
It feels authentic.
I think that's not just for someone who comes from a corporate background to not be fluffy. I chose really lovely fluffy titles to call myself, but I, you know, I don't say it without a lot of intention. I call myself an aliveness coach to stand out, but to stand out in a way that really means something to myself and the people that I'm reaching out to. I've really focused on apathy and I do understand levels of apathy that I think a lot of people are either conscious of and don't want to do anything about or unconscious of and find frustration in not understanding why they're not reaching their potential.
And I don't mean that potential in financial success. I just mean life potential. So I really love, I love apathy. I love talking about it. And I love the transition into, you know, aliveness because aliveness doesn't mean that life is great all the time because it isn't. Aliveness is, you know, about living into something with intention and wanting to wake up in the morning, knowing that it might be a really hard day and you've got hard conversations to have, but actually there's a bigger picture, there's purpose and there's self-worth and self-confidence. And that's what it means to me is, you know, we don't need to have a perfect life, but we do need to understand that in order to live a full life, there needs to be purpose and joy.
So that's why aliveness is so important to me.
Amy
And you did an excellent keynote earlier in the year, Living with Apathy. And it resonated, it struck a chord, you know, what you were highlighting in that talk as well was really inspiring. I definitely don't know if you've got it publicly available, Oh, good. Yeah, I'll include that link. thought I'll go into it now, but we'll digress.
Serena
I do,
Amy
Talk a little bit about some of the patterns you see in the work that you do with clients who are stuck or at crossroads. What patterns do you see that they have?
Serena
Fixed mindset.
The thing that I find the most is, and it can be with anyone, I'm not exempting myself from that, you know, as much as I have worked on my own mindset, there'll be times where I have to check myself, if I'm going to a talk, for example, and I feel I know the subject, I have to check in with myself and go, let's just be a beginner here.
And, know, you might just learn something. And I, and I, I really try hard to do that. It doesn't always work, but I do try hard. And I think when you haven't done a lot of personal development, you feel life is just what it is. And, know, you think this is it. What I sort of refer to as cul-de-sac thoughts. These are the thoughts that get you nowhere. These are the thoughts that you can literally just go around and back and forth into this cul-de-sac.
And if you have freeway, highway, motorway thinking, you know, that allows you endless journeys. So the sort of cul-de-sac thoughts keep you stagnant. And we do it without even thinking about it, even a phrase like, don't know, because we always think of phrases like I can't, which is a simple one, but a phrase like I don't know, is also, you know, a stunting thought. It's a, these, in not
What seemed like innocuous thoughts, I should be doing this are the ones that hinder us daily. And we all have them. And it's just, I'm more aware. It doesn't mean that I don't have unconscious thoughts that hinder me too. It's just, it's a constant practice to get your mindset into a space that allows you to have more sort of motorway thinking. But yeah, that's what I come across the most.
Amy
Yeah. Is there a particular book or podcast that you're inspired by recently?
Serena
I was thinking about that earlier. Amy, you're in the book club, But I always I always like to go back to is the big leap by Gay Hendrix, which is, you know, your upper limiting beliefs. It's, it's, you know, it's, if you speak to coaches, you know, either people, you know, most coaches know it. Some, some coaches have read it. But it's a very, it's not a particularly big book, but it's a very inspiring book. And it's a thought provoker about a lot of it is about upper limiting beliefs. And no matter how advanced you get, whether it's in business or life, personal development, you will always have an upper limiting belief. And to understand what that is, it's always gonna be crucial to kind of further better yourself or further go to the next level and
Those are the ones that that book has, and that phrase of upper-limiting belief really stays with me constantly.
Amy
Let's talk a little bit about Fly, the community that you've been building. What sparked that idea to build Fly?
Serena
I feel very much like I'm on a mission to help liberate people in mental isolation, specifically of societal constructed thinking. I know that's a bit of a mouthful, but it's the best way that I can explain it. So all the shoulds and I should be here by now and I should do this for this person, all of that it's not about being kind or compassionate or anything like that. It's about coming out of mental isolation so that you are living the life that you are meant to live. So pulling together a community of coaches from all different modalities from the spectrum.
just expands and for them to be able to better their service through community, through further education, through industry discussion. Yeah. Cast the net wider to help more people out of mental isolation in whatever modality, you know, is right for them. Yeah. So I work on, you know, I work on your brain and you know, I educate you about sort of how the brain works.
And some people that really resonate with them. Other people, it's about hypnosis, you know, others, it's about, you know, tapping, there's just so many others, it's about different types of therapy. So to be able to create that community of coaches who, by the way, spend a lot of time helping others. And, you know, we find that, you know, as business owners, especially online, it's quite an isolating world. So to be able to bring community to the coaching industry and enrich that coach's life through what I call like a business family of coaches can only better serve them that better then serves their clients.
Amy
Yeah, because as you touch on then, I can imagine, you know, as a solo, you know, you are in this really solo doing, as said, the coaching clients one on one, it's that one on one work. And then it can be equally lonely and isolating at the same time. Yeah. And you're almost taking on all of everybody else's problems and energetically absorbing that. So why is your outlet, which would be a community like Fly?
Serena
Yeah, we all need community. And, you know, sometimes we don't feel like we're talking to our people. And that could be, you know, our partners, you know, we can love them, and we can still do stuff with them. Working on a business is really personal. And when you know, I know that I get energised by being in like minded company, especially when it comes to doesn't mean that I don't disagree with people, but to have a mindset in the same, you know, working in the same direction as others, I get energised from it. So bringing that community together, specifically, where we've all got different talents brings together better collaboration, better, better inspiration, an opportunity to feel safe in an environment to test out ideas, to again, you know, build a richer service. And I think, you know, that's, that's what will make it less isolating. the long run.
Amy
And even in some of our communications, you know, we highlight we are more connected than ever before by digital, but then also more lonely, perhaps, and isolated than ever before.
I am now going to ask you three questions on the spot from our Really Good Conversations packs of cards. Question number one. What is one of your pet hates?
Serena
Arrogance. you know it all. You know, you're talking to somebody and they're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that. I know that. Someone who really has an inability to listen and to learn.
Amy
Question number two, what are your parents' personalities like?
Goodness. I mean, my dad, what is his personality like? Well, he's loud and he's brash. And he's full of laughter, to be fair. Yeah, he's a very, very focused go-getter type individual and, you know, like a bulldog.
Amy
I should get him on the podcast because he is actually originally, he's Australia and built a life outside of Australia, etc. I mean, we could start a whole other episode about your dads life.
Serena
And my mother is so knowledgeable and quietly knowledgeable. Almost that generation of you know, it almost excuses me for being so talented. Mum is modest, but so intelligent.
Yeah, she's just a really good source of knowledge and so kind. so she's, she's one punch, you know, tolerance.
Amy
I've obviously known you for a number of years and I don't think I've ever met your parents in person. don't think I'd love to because they sound like such a hoot, the stories I've heard.
And question number three, if you came with a warning label, what would it say?
Serena God.
Maybe I should ask you that question. What would it say?
Amy
You're probably thinking, what am I prepared to say on a recording? Yikes!
How much do I want to give away? I think don’t underestimate.. I think that's what it is. underestimate.
Amy
And the listeners can fill in their imagination.
The third question that I like to ask all of our guests is if you could ask a person dead or alive a question, who would it be and what would you ask them?
Serena
Right. The person that came to my mind when I saw this initially, this is a tough one. It is. Because I think back in my 20s, I would have had loads of people who had died. I tell you, when I thought of this person, I went onto his Instagram. So I have a real respect for someone in the States called Marcus Lemonis.
Marcus Lemonis had a television program called The Prophet, not because he's a successful businessman, and not because he has a television program called the profit, which is very much like, the apprentice, but far more hands on someone comes to the, someone comes to him, for, mentorship, and investment and all of that. And he works with them to help build their businesses. But what I love about him is the way that he manages confrontation is exceptional. And so if I got to meet him, I think it would just be like one of those genie questions. Can I have three more? Can I have three more questions? I would say, can we go out for dinner? Yeah. So I can pick your brain. I think that that's who I would ask someone alive.
And Marcus Lemonis would be it because I just find his story really interesting and I love the way that he handles very difficult situations.
Amy
Thank you so much for everything you have shared today, Serena. It's always a joy to chat to you. Where can our listeners find out more about you?
Serena
you can go to my website, which is serenadod.com or check me out on Instagram. I am serendodd and from there you can find all the other aspects of what I do.
Amy
Go down the digital rabbit hole. Perfect. I will include all of those links in the notes as well. But yeah, I've loved our conversation. Thank you.
Serena
I've loved it too, thanks Amy.
Thanks for listening. I hope you enjoyed the episode. Be sure to check out the show notes for more information on today's guests. And if really good conversations are your thing, hit subscribe and join us next time for more business journeys, insights and banter.