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Welcome to my imperfect email.
As always, every week, we’ll send a question that will help you reflect on your own imperfect life, inspired by this week’s episode.
As debuted last week, our new segment but what’s in it for me includes a cheatsheet of helpful takeaways from our latest episode.
This week we are joined by Hannah Ferguson; best-selling author, Forbes 30 under 30, CEO of Cheek Media, and (to our greatest delight) guest of a piping hot edition of the Vulnerabilitea House. Sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Hannah’s biggest fan,
Bell
Bell Northeast
what did you learn about love from the way you were cared for as a child?
We'd love to hear your answer to this question. If you're in the mood to get vulnerable and share your writing, send it through.
Outspoken But Not Broken
With Hannah Ferguson
Not shut down by the fear of humiliation, Hannah Ferguson believes her biggest failure would be to never try in the first place.
In saying that, everything Hannah tries (and touches), inevitably turns to gold (media company, podcast, author, you get the point).
In this episode of The Vulnerabilitea House, Hannah answers the question, “what have you learnt about love from the way you were cared for as a child?”
Recounting the moment she was asked to be responsible for the lives of her siblings, Hannah is incredibly vulnerable and honest in reflecting on the status of her relationship with her parents now, and goes deep with Ryan about the importance of intention.
In the spirit of her word of the year being ‘soft’, Hannah and Josh unpack why she has felt undesirable and undatable, and what makes her current partner feel like forev- a very long time (this could age poorly, but hopefully won’t).
For right now
Be wary of where you’re placing your judgement.
Have you ever ridden off a person based on something they said online? Hannah shares how she used to judge people harshly, but is now trying to consider the person behind the comment. In online spaces, where rage is fuelled and rewarded by the algorithm, we need to think deeply about whether we are accidentally letting one thing define our opinions of a persons character, rather than their idea (17:15-18:17)
For this week
Examine your competitiveness.
As Hannah says: “Don’t try to beat everyone at a game you’re not actually in” (48:09)
For this season of your life
Consider whether your friend needs more?
Picture this, two men, sitting side by side at the cricket, who need at least 6 hours together before being able to get into a conversation about “real stuff”. For men in Australia, this may sound familiar. Hannah asks us to think about our “side-by-side” friendships and ask yourself whether the other person may need more? And may not have more anywhere else. (1:11:47)
is there a time in your life where you chose to reframe your situation?
My whole life got flipped in the space of a month.
I was made redundant on my very first day in a new job. A few weeks later, I started another role … only to be let go, again, on day one, because of circumstances outside of my control. On top of that, my relationship was falling apart and I had to move out of our home.
After many tears (and wondering which god I’d offended to cop three hits like that back-to-back) I made a decision. I was done with the corporate world. No more companies that could replace me in a heartbeat. No more toxic bosses. No more soul-crushing environments that made me feel small, or stupid, or genuinely crazy.
I was finally going to back myself and chase the dream I’d been sitting on for years - starting my own home care business.
So, I left the relationship. I had to force myself to let go of the idea that a ‘job’ equals security. And I moved in with my supportive and wonderful parents to start over from scratch.
Fast forward nearly two years and this business has been the hardest, scariest, and best thing I’ve ever done. It’s mine. I can see the impact of my work every day. And none of it would’ve happened if life hadn’t completely knocked me sideways back then.
For anyone out there in the eye of the storm right now, please remember this. The breakdown is what makes space for the breakthrough.
Keep hanging in there.
Claire
Thank you to Claire for getting vulnerable and sharing their reflection with us, and with all of you!
Always vulnerable responsibly.
This week on A Little More Imperfects . . .
Don’t panic. But do. It’s time for a crisis meeting.
It’s Oprah. Our crisis meeting is about Oprah. And we’ve got facts and statistics and conversation (and action?) to convince you why our live show is the one you should choose.
We address the Hugh’s Offcuts controversy (yes, finally), and Hugh has a third go at creating a sting. In the words of Ryan’s parents, “it’s …….. interesting”.
The tease you’ve all been waiting for is revealed, as Hugh answers “what defines a healthy and fulfilling relationship?”, which prompts a hair up discussion on empathy.
Ciao bella, ciao bello!
Did this newsletter make you think of someone in particular?