March is a big month for me as I celebrate my 50th birthday, and with that, I’ve been reflecting on some of the biggest lessons I’ve learned along the way. One question I get asked a lot is: How did you get into professional speaking?
It wasn’t a straight road. In fact, my career has been anything but conventional. It’s a story of reinvention, resilience, and adapting to change—something I believe is crucial for anyone looking to build a fulfilling career.
From Burnout to the Stage: It Started with a New Beginning
Back in 2012, I hit a breaking point. I was working in the City as an account director, and like so many, I burned out. I knew I needed a change, but the big question was what next?
I wanted to do something that:
- Was centered around health and wellbeing
- Allowed me to earn quickly
- Didn’t take years to retrain
The answer? Personal training.
I qualified as a PT, bought a rucksack, some kettlebells, a medicine ball, and a bike, and started training clients in local parks. My first client came from a post I put on the East Dulwich Forum. Before I knew it, I had built a successful business, cycling from park to park with all my kit (so much kit in fact I occasionally went skidding off my bike in bad weather!).
As the business grew, we expanded into a small team of trainers. But something wasn’t quite right. We were training clients who were stressed, exhausted, and struggling with their energy levels. What they really needed wasn’t just more exercise—it was a more holistic approach to wellbeing.
A New Approach: The Six Signals
We re-evaluated everything and created a new model: The Six Signals of Health and Wellbeing. This framework included:
- Sleep – Quality rest as the foundation of wellbeing
- Mental Health – Managing stress and emotional resilience
- Energy – The key to sustainable performance
- Body Composition – Understanding health beyond weight
- Digestive Health – Gut health as a core pillar of wellbeing
- Fitness – Movement and physical strength and being fit for the rigours of daily life
We shifted our focus to more of a coaching style with our clients, from purely personal training, using these six areas and advanced tools like DNA, stool, saliva, and blood testing to personalise their approach. It was a game-changer.
But then, something else changed my trajectory completely.
A Conversation That Changed Everything
In 2016, I had a conversation that shifted my trajectory again.
An old boss—my first-ever manager and a straight-talking Yorkshireman—said something that stuck with me:
“Leanne, you have an important message to share about health, wellbeing, and performance. Instead of working with individuals one-on-one, which takes a lot of time. Why not take that message to businesses and have a greater impact at scale?”
That conversation planted the seed. Around the same time, I got the opportunity to deliver a TEDx talk. It wasn’t something I was actively looking for, but the theme aligned perfectly with what I wanted to speak about. So, I applied, secured a spot, and gave my talk: Why Fitness is More Important Than Weight.
That talk now has over 130,000 views on YouTube, and it became the launchpad for my speaking career. I realised that I loved being on stage. More than that, I saw how powerful it was to bring these messages to people at scale, so teams, leaders and organisations who needed them the most.
Finding My Niche
Speaking gave me the platform to take my ideas to a broader audience. But it took time to refine exactly what I wanted to focus on.
I experimented, adapted, and iterated—eventually developing my three current keynotes:
- Cadence – Managing energy and stress resilience in high-performance cultures
- BOND – The power of social connection and belonging in teams
- SUSTAIN – Personal sustainability and how to build lasting resilience
These topics now form the foundation of my work with businesses, helping teams and leaders build a healthier, more sustainable high-performance culture.
Lessons from my Journey
Reflecting on my path from burnt-out corporate worker to professional speaker, here are a few key lessons:
- Adaptability is everything – Your life and career will evolve. Be willing to pivot, learn, and grow.
- Find what truly lights you up – I never set out to be a speaker, but once I found my passion, everything fell into place.
- It takes time to find your niche – Success doesn’t happen overnight. Experiment, take feedback, and refine your approach.
- Your story matters – Sharing your journey, challenges, and lessons can inspire and help others.
This month, as I turn 50, I’m celebrating not just where I am today, but the journey that got me here, from burnout to the stage. If you missed the previous two lessons from my 50 years on this planet, you can catch up on part one ‘Just Get It Done’ and part 2 ‘Adaptability and Staying in the Game’.
Next week, I’ll be sharing the final video in this series before we dive into a whole new topic for April: alcohol.
Until then, I’d love to hear from you—what’s a key turning point in your career or life that changed everything?
