Life Force mentors Global

Mary McKenna: A story of travel where resilience reaps rewards

Mary McKenna opens up about her incredible journey over the past 23 years of building the travel business that we all know and love Tour America and Cruise Holidays. This year Mary was selected as a finalist on the EY Entrepreneur of the year program with 23 other business people. Mary expressed her tremendous pride in this achievement and discussed her relationship with her Father and how he Mentored her, before mentoring was cool or emotional intelligence was a thing, he advised his daughter to ‘find what you love’ the passion and do that. Her father passed away in her early 20’s and it forced her to grow up overnight. Mary’s sister was involved in a horrific car accident and during this time their Dad went to hospital for a procedure and tragically passed away. Mary maps this moment to the beginning of her resilience and as the knocks came in business as they do she learned to take them and get back up again and again. These blows involved 9/11 where her business took a massive hit and she was forced to let 11 staff go. She does admit to feeling sorry for herself for a few weeks. Then she decided to launch Cruise Holidays and hired 10 of the 11 back. I think the cool term for this is a ‘Pivot’Resilience is a must to survive and Mary urges us to work on the Business not in the Business. Everything is about the core values of the Company and creating the right company culture. Culture starts with the leader, be happy in your work and be kind to each other, leave moods at home. In 2012 Mary hired through JobsBridge a government scheme which was abused by other businesses, Mary reminds us that you ‘only die with your conscience’ and gave her team the freedom to be creative and to innovate. Some more knocks later more ups and downs Mary did not follow the crowd during the recession instead of making staff redundant and cutting Marketing she doubled the spend on Marketing and grew sales by 70%Finding opportunities during the recession Mary purchased an amazing premises forThe Cork Tour America branch. So much gold in this Podcast Survival instincts, a very serious car crash 50/50 chance of surviving. The Ash cloud hits the travel industry. Mentoring is a passion for Mary she is actively involved in mentoring programs. A female program called Going for Growth’ and on the Task force of Dublin Chamber. Mary has a habit of achieving her goals, she writes them down and ticks them off one by one. Today family values are top priority, the team are encouraged to work hard but not to miss out on key family events. Tour America has achieved Deloitte best managed company 9 years running. As a leader she is constantly working on inspiring her team. Her advice to her 20 year old self is to not sweat the small stuff, self care and Health are paramount to success. She compares the connections between Sport and Business on having a succession plan and talent spotting. We just had to give Mary a massive LifeForce Mentors Pat on the Back. What an amazing journey and an absolute lady, so generous and supportive of other entrepreneurs. A life changing 52 minutes from a LifeForce Mentor. 

Episode 10: Duke of Cork, the Business of Coffee

Aidan Duke rocks on to the LifeForce Mentors Podcast wearing a cast following a biking accident in Spain. Aidan is a Triathlete and his LifeForce is his balance. He owns the very successful Dukes Coffee Company in Cork City and has almost 15 years experience in the food business. We discuss the emotional aspects of running a food business. That feeling of visiting ‘Aidan’s place’ and how food customers expect to see the man himself! How to manage that customer experience and why the team is a crucial part of this. Built on a culture of loyalty Dukes have a solid core team.Dukes don’t do FADS but still manage to cater for everyone. Sourcing good local ingredients is key to this. We chat about failure, about managing stress about measured risks. We even talk about happiness and why being content is enough even to just appreciate happiness a little more. Learn about the bottom line, the difference between cash flow and profitability. How to win corporate business using nostalgia in packed lunches! A must listen for any entrepreneur considering a food venture or running a food business. Find out if Aidan prefers: Wine or Vodka Rock or Rave Beach or Mountain holidays Android or IOS Tea or Coffee Running or Cycling 

Defining Bio Tech with European Biotechnologies Biggest Rebel Steven O'Connell

Steven joins the LifeForce Mentors Podcast to discuss the importance of Mentors in Bio Technology. Rebel Bio are now receiving applications for their Autumn program in The Imperial College London. Rebel Bio is part of the SOSV family of Accelerators. Steven also known as @thelovelysteve shares a number of secrets with the LifeForce Mentors, they look for teams, but within teams, leadership, passion, realism and talent. We learn about incredible companies and advanced bio technology. Bio tech explained! Steven is 25Yrs Young with-an emotional intelligence of a much older soul. He attributes this to his Mother his ‘Sponsor’ he is very complimentary of the SOVS family and the access to brilliant minds and Mentors within this group. We are putting him on our ‘one to watch’ list. His work ethic is infectious and his thirst for knowledge in not just Bio Technology but all business verticals is evident. A must listen, find out if Steven prefers: Rock music or Rave Music Curry or Fish and Chips Whiskey or Beer Cardio or Weights Soccer or RugbyBeach or Mountain Holidays Android or IOS 

Success and Happiness Hacks by Micheal O’ Mathuna

“Success and happiness hacks” by The Health Zone Founder Micheal O’ Mathuna Working originally in corporate sales where he excelled. MÍcheal fell into the usual Should's -Must’s - Have to’s It was during a holiday in South Africa’s that he had the eureka moment that he was not living an authentic life. India, was next and some deep soul searching resulted in Mícheal beginning his creative journey at University College Cork radio station. Micheal began to live using the Artist Way by Julia Cameron some years ago. He now runs the very successful Health Zone in Cork in Ireland and runs multiple health and wellness conferences in Ireland each year. Nominated for Cork Business of the year award in 2017, MÍcheal continues to succeed by: 1. Setting daily goals/planning 2. Prioritizing 3. Saying No He discusses the theory of Addictive personalities and it’s connection to trauma. He has interviewed some incredible Health and wellness experts including:1. Dr Gabor Maté2. Dr Bruce Lipton 3. Tony Humphrey’s 4. Dr Ivor Browne It is from this research and study that Mícheal has developed “success and happiness hacks” he shared so many amazing hacks with us. The biggest tip for entrepreneurs is to trust yourself, please listen and share.  

'The Power of Self Belief' a champions story, Gillian O'Sullivan

Irish athlete Gillian O'Sullivan joins Niamh Parker on LifeForce Mentors to discuss her journey from school community games to two Olympic Games for Ireland Achievements: World Silver Medalist 20KM Walk 2003 and World Record 5KM 2002Olympian Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004We discuss the power of coaching and mentoring, 15 years with her dedicated coach Michael Lane, who travelled the world with her. The importance of goal setting, recognizing your strengths and not letting your strengths become your weakness. We examine the harsh reality of injuries in sport. Gillian speaks about turnung her passion into her career, Sports person turned Entrepreneur. Gillian says, " I am now 10 years in the Hayfield Manor Hotel as a personal trainer and I am currently based at UCC for my research Masters"