Confidence has no expiry date.

What if confidence isn’t something you either have or don’t have… but something you build, one courageous step at a time?

In this deeply affirming conversation, I sit down with executive coach and author Lena Coates to explore the kind of confidence that is learned through experience, setbacks, self-belief, and bold new beginnings.

From walking away from a 28-year career and navigating what Lena describes as falling off a “cliff,” to starting her own business in her 60s, publishing her first book at 69, and even contemplating studying law in her seventies, this conversation is a powerful reminder that growth doesn’t have an age limit.

We unpack how confidence is formed through the very moments that shake us:

The career stumbles that become turning points.

The identities we outgrow.

The unhelpful “good girl” conditioning many women carry without realising.

And the courage it takes to back yourself when there’s no clear map.

This isn’t just a conversation about confidence.

It’s about reinvention, self-trust, speaking up, beginning again, and what is possible when you stop letting age, fear, or old stories define what comes next.

If you’ve ever questioned whether it’s too late, you’ve missed your window, or if there’s still another chapter in you waiting to be written, this beautiful conversation may be your answer.

Key takeaways:

o Why some of the biggest confidence breakthroughs can come after you’ve fallen off a metaphorical “cliff.”

o How one person saying “I need you” can redirect the course of your life.

o The hidden and unhelpful conditioning many women carry from being the “good girl”.

o How reinvention challenges your past beliefs about timing and aging.

o How the obstacles and mistakes we’d rather forget build our self-trust.

o Why confidence is less about certainty… and more about starting before you feel ready.

This episode invites you to question what dream you had declared as being ‘too late’, may still be calling you?

Get Lena’s book: Cracking the Confidence Code.

COURAGEOUS ME – THE BOOK

Grab your copy of Courageous Me – The courage to turn someday into today.

Follow Lena on socials:

Website: Lena Coates

LinkedIn: Lena Coates

Instagram: @lenacoates.associates

Facebook: Lena Coates

Connect with me:

Website: Kim Payne

LinkedIn: Kim Payne

Instagram: @iamkimpayne

Facebook: KimPayneBiz

COURAGEOUS SHIFT

Want to make the impact you know is possible without having everything figured out?

Get access now to The Courageous Shift – a FREE 90 min audio mini-series to work out your next move.

What do you do when life throws something at you that completely disrupts your sense of normal?

In this honest and in-the-moment episode, I share what it looks like when your emotions don’t follow logic… when your body reacts before your mind can catch up… and when the instinct to “just get on with it” no longer works.

This isn’t a conversation about having the answers.

It’s about what happens when you don’t.

When you’re sitting in the discomfort, questioning your reactions, and feeling the tension between what you think you should feel… and what’s moving through you.

We explore the quiet but powerful shift that happens when you stop trying to override your emotions and instead listen to them.

From the physical cues your body gives you, to the stories your mind creates, to the unexpected clarity that can come when you allow yourself to pause… there’s something in this for anyone who has ever felt thrown off course.

This episode is a reminder that not all courage looks like action.

Sometimes, it looks like staying with what’s uncomfortable… long enough to understand it.

And in that space, something deeper begins to unfold—the kind of self-trust you needed all along.

Key takeaways:

o What it really looks like to feel your feelings… without rushing to fix or override them.

o The subtle (and often ignored) signals your body gives you in moments of shock, stress or emotional overwhelm.

o Why the instinct to “push through” can disconnect you from exactly what you need most.

o How attachment quietly shows up in your life… until something forces you to see it.

o How giving yourself grace in the moment can completely shift how you move through something hard.

o The powerful shift that happens when you step back and see what’s actually real vs what just feels real.

o The kind of courage it takes to tune into your heart… and not override it.

o Why some of the most powerful silver linings only reveal themselves when you slow down enough to notice them.

Where to find me:

Website: Kim Payne

LinkedIn: Kim Payne

Instagram: @iamkimpayne

Facebook: KimPayneBiz

COURAGEOUS ME – THE BOOK

Grab your copy of Courageous Me – The courage to turn someday into today.

COURAGEOUS SHIFT

Want to make the impact you know is possible without having everything figured out?

Get access now to The Courageous Shift – a FREE 90 min audio mini-series to work out your next move.

What happens when the very thing you’ve spent your life hiding… becomes the thing you’re here to share?

In this deeply raw and powerful conversation, I sit down with author, performer, and speaker Clare Elizabeth Dea as she prepares to release her new memoir: Shame to Shine-Dancing with My Shadows.

But this isn’t just a conversation about writing a book, it’s about what it takes to revisit your past, own your truth, and put your story into the world… again.

Clare opens up about the courageous decision to pull her first book off the shelves and the eight-year journey that followed to rewrite it from a place of deeper truth, alignment, and self-responsibility.

We explore the layers of shame that shaped her identity, from body image and belonging to relationships, money, and the lies we sometimes tell to protect ourselves, and how facing those shadows became the very pathway to her purpose.

This conversation is honest, emotional, and at times confronting… but also incredibly empowering.

Because beneath it all is a powerful message: your story, especially the parts you want to hide, might be the very thing that sets you (and others) free.

If you’ve ever felt like you’re not enough, like you don’t quite fit, or like there are parts of your story you’d rather keep hidden… this episode will have you questioning what’s possible if you chose to bring them into the light.

Key takeaways:

o The untold story behind Shame to Shine… and why it’s being released now.

o The hidden cost of carrying shame and how it quietly shapes your life.

o Why we hide parts of ourselves… even from those closest to us.

o What happens when you finally tell the truth about something you’ve carried for years.

o The behind-the-scenes reality of writing a memoir that goes far beyond what people see.

o Why the stories we’re most afraid to share are often the ones that matter most.

o The shift that happens when you fully own your story—all of it.

About Clare Elizabeth Dea:

Once a perfectionist hiding in the wings, Clare Elizabeth Dea has claimed the stage as a performance artist, keynote speaker, workshop facilitator and author, inspiring women to transform shame into power and shine on stage with unstoppable flair.

Think Liza Minnelli meets Brené Brown.

Blending comedy, song, and electric storytelling, she crafts an experience that is part TED Talk, part Broadway spectacular, giving everyone permission to take up space and be truly seen in their authentic expression.

🌟 Her memoir: Shame To Shine launches on 29th April, 2026.

Featured on mainstream media, various publications, and social media platforms, Clare is celebrated for creating spaces where women truly connect, collaborate, and shine their brightest together.

Follow Clare or get in touch with her:

Website: Clare Elizabeth Dea

Instagram: @clareelizabeth_dea

Facebook: Clare Elizabeth Dea

Where to find me:

Website: Kim Payne

LinkedIn: Kim Payne

Instagram: @iamkimpayne

Facebook: KimPayneBiz

COURAGEOUS ME – THE BOOK

Grab your copy of Courageous Me – The courage to turn someday into today.