In this episode, I speak with Lucy Butler, the voice behind The Mindful Gardener.

Lucy shares her experience of living with depression and anxiety, and speaks honestly about the exhaustion of trying to appear fine when internally things feel very different. Her story is not one of neat answers or overnight transformation. Instead, it is about learning, over time, what helps her feel steadier — getting outside, moving her body, journaling, reading, and spending time in the garden.

We talk about how gardening became more than a hobby for Lucy. It became a way to calm her mind, reconnect with herself, and share something useful with others who might also be struggling. Through her Instagram page, Lucy combines her love of horticulture with a gentle, honest message about mental health, self-care and the importance of small, practical steps.

We also discuss motherhood, raising a child in a world of screens and social media, and the challenge of protecting your child without passing on your own anxiety. Lucy speaks with warmth and honesty about parenting, self-doubt, online life, and the pressure many people feel to constantly create, compare and keep up.

What comes through most strongly in this conversation is Lucy’s quiet strength. She may not always see herself as strong, but her story is full of resilience — in the way she keeps going, the way she shares honestly, and the way she tries to help others feel less alone.

This is a conversation about mental health, motherhood, gardening, anxiety, kindness, and the small things that can help us find our way back to ourselves. As Lucy says near the end of the episode, when she thinks about legacy, she hopes people remember her for being kind — and there are not many better things to be remembered for than that.

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Michael Doherty spent almost four years trying to build something that, for a long time, looked like it was not going to work.

After studying finance and realising it was not the path for him, Michael chose fitness. He became a personal trainer, started building an online coaching business, and began posting content every day with the hope that eventually something would connect.

For years, very little did.

In this episode of We Are The People, Michael talks honestly about the long, uncertain period before things changed — the doubts, the jealousy, the pressure to get a “proper job,” and the thin line between persistence and delusion.

Then, just as he was close to giving up, one video changed everything.

But this conversation is not just about going viral. It is about what happens before success is visible, and what happens after it arrives. Michael speaks openly about ambition, comparison, social media, anxiety, therapy, masculinity, grief, and losing his mum at the age of seven.

What makes this conversation so powerful is Michael’s willingness to be honest about the messy middle of his story. He does not present success as a clean finish line. Instead, he talks about the pressure that comes with being seen, the reality of building a business around your own name, and the work he has done to better understand himself.

This is a conversation about persistence, self-worth, and the courage it takes to keep going when there is very little proof that things are going to work out.

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Former Navy Pilot and Performance Psychologist Alan Olive on Loss, Vulnerability, Elite Performance and Human Connection

What does it really mean to live a meaningful life?

In this episode of We Are The People Podcast, I speak to former Navy pilot, performance psychologist, leadership coach, and adventurer Alan Olive about resilience, grief, vulnerability, elite performance, and the growing importance of human connection in an increasingly digital world.

Alan has spent decades working in high-pressure environments, from flying military aircraft and climbing dangerous mountain routes to coaching elite athletes and leadership teams. But beneath the stories of performance and adventure is a deeply human conversation about loss, identity, relationships, and emotional growth.

This is a powerful episode about mistakes, learning, masculinity, fatherhood, grief, and what happens when life forces you to slow down and reassess what truly matters.

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