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Dear social Worker, Merry 
Christmas, This is your 

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Christmas podcast episode. 
I'm your host, Lee Suran, and 

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I'm excited to share a unique 
and inspiring journey with you 

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today. 
This episode is titled The 

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Guiding Star. 
As Social Workers this year 

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we've navigated the intricate 
constellations of human 

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experiences, often becoming the 
guiding stars for those in need.

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But have you ever considered the
profound impact that the idea of

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a guiding star can have on your 
journey? 

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Today we're going to embark on a
different kind of exploration, 

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one that transcends our daily 
challenges and celebrates the 

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profound blessings of this 
season. 

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I want you to picture this A 
quiet evening, a sky filled with

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stars, and in the East, a single
radiant star that outshines them

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all. 
This star, the guiding star, has

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been a symbol of hope and 
direction for centuries. 

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In our roles as social workers, 
we too can embody the essence of

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this guiding star. 
The guiding star in its 

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brilliance reminds us that even 
in the darkest nights, there is 

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a light that beckons us forward.
And as social workers, we often 

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encounter individuals facing 
their own metaphorical dark 

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nights, and we become their 
beacons of hope, casting light 

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unto their path. 
But what if, in addition to 

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guiding others, we allowed 
ourselves to be guided? 

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What if we recognise that, just 
like the guiding star, we have a

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light within us that can lead us
to new places this Christmas 

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season? 
Let's embrace the spirit of the 

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guiding star. 
Imagine it as a metaphorical 

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compass directing us not only in
our professional endeavours, but

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also in our personal growth and 
well-being. 

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That's why you listen to this 
podcast, right? 

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Not because it's 100% focused on
improving practice, How to write

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an assessment, how to run a 
meeting. 

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We talk about you, the person 
behind the title. 

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I'm going to share a quick story
here. 

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Yesterday after I left church in
the afternoon. 

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It was about 3:00 in the 
afternoon and I'd realised that 

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I hadn't bought a particular 
item for Christmas dinner. 

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Actually, let me, let me be 100.
Let me be honest with you. 

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I forgot the custard. 
OK? 

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I needed to get the custard. 
So I popped into shop to get 

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this custard and I saw one of my
mum's neighbours. 

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Now my mum and I both went to 
church together yesterday. 

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But I said, oh, I recognise you,
she said, Oh oh, it's so lovely 

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to see you. 
And she, this hug came out of 

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nowhere. 
I've never hugged this woman in 

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my life. 
I've seen her for, you know, so 

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many times, but I've never 
hugged her in my life And it it 

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felt a bit awkward for me. 
But what I picked up is that she

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needed that hug now. 
After she said it was so lovely 

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to see you, she then proceeded 
to tell me about some 

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difficulties she was having with
her husband, that he'd been 

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unwell. 
Now I was unaware of this. 

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She's not my neighbour 
respectively so respect 

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respectfully. 
Oh my goodness, can't get my 

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words out. 
Anyway, Fast forward a couple of

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minutes, my mum followed through
and obviously she recognised my 

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mum, so she was more familiar 
with her and she started telling

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my mum way more about what was 
happening with her husband and 

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he had a catheter and there was 
just so many difficulties that 

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she was going through with the 
nurses and the support system. 

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She wasn't looking forward to 
Christmas and her her daughter 

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lives down South somewhere and 
she won't be coming up for 

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Christmas. 
There was just a load of things 

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and you could tell she just 
needed a place to unload. 

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And she said to me, I need you 
to pray for me and I said, oh, 

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we've we've just come from 
church, she says. 

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I know, but I need, I need you 
to to really pray for me and 

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keep me in your prayers. 
And then she was like, oh so 

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lovely to see and she gave me 
this another massive hug which 

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came out of nowhere. 
So you can imagine my face I'm 

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trying to put to be polite 
alongside like, oh this feels 

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awkward. 
The reason why I'm telling you 

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that is in that moment that Lady
definitely felt like I was or we

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was, as in my mum and I were her
guiding star. 

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And sometimes being someone 
else's guiding star doesn't just

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it's not something you plan for.
That scenario yesterday was pure

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happenstance, and I'll be 
thinking of her today as she 

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tries to care for a husband on a
day like this with no family. 

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And you know, she was feeling 
really low. 

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And I think today we just have 
to be grateful for what we have 

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because sometimes, you know, we 
can take for granted. 

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We can take for granted what is 
for us and what we have, what we

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have around us, because we're 
always looking to the future or 

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looking behind. 
And sometimes we're just not 

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well, sometimes we're just not 
standing in the now being 

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present. 
And there's going to be many 

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families, the families that you 
work with and families of our 

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own family members, you know, 
strangers that we don't know and

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don't know of at all, who are 
not going to have the best day 

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today. 
But in this episode, I want you 

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to a remember, recall. 
Don't forget whatever label you 

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want to put on it, but don't 
forget that you have been a 

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guiding star to at least one 
person this year. 

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And that's enough. 
BI want you to pray for those 

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that need a guiding star today, 
this week and C if you haven't 

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already found it, pray that you 
also. 

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We'll have a guiding star now. 
In the spirit of this guiding 

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star, consider setting an 
intention for the coming year, a

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light to guide your journey. 
It could be a commitment to 

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self-care or professional 
development, a resolution to 

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explore new avenues of joy, 
fulfilment. 

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Just as the guiding star brought
together me and you on this 

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podcast. 
Then before I carry on, I just 

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want to give a massive thanks to
every single person that's 

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listening. 
Every single one of you mean the

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world to me. 
Every single one of you that 

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listens to the sound of my voice
on a weekly basis. 

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Thank you. 
I do this for you. 

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I don't do it for no other 
purpose but for you and to be 

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able to speak directly to you 
and to get messages back from 

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you. 
It really is so encouraging and 

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reassuring. 
So I'm I've got an ask of you 

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actually just puffed into my 
mind. 

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You can be my guiding stars and 
just give me feedback. 

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Just send me an e-mail or Adm 
just to say enjoy this episode. 

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It helped me with XI Love 
receiving messages to hearing 

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how this podcast has had an 
impact on your life or being a 

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guiding star for you at 
particular times. 

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And this, I guess, will be a 
good moment to share some of the

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messages I've received, starting
with one I received on LinkedIn.

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It was a message about my 
podcast episode which covered 

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burnout and it helps someone to 
realise that they were already 

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in burnout. 
They didn't feel like before 

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they listen to the podcast that 
they were, they suspected they 

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were heading in that direction. 
But actually the podcast helped 

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them realise that's what they 
were actually experiencing and 

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it gave them reassurance, a, for
self-awareness, but B about what

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to do next, how to support 
themselves. 

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And that brought me such joy 
because as part of that message,

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that person said to me, and I 
was going to pick up my laptop 

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this weekend. 
I was going to pick up my laptop

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this weekend. 
And because I've heard that and 

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I understand where I am right 
now, emotionally, physically, 

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I'm not going to do that. 
And when I get in on Monday, I'm

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going to speak to my manager, XY
and Z. 

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And that was such a a lovely 
message because that's what the 

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episode is for. 
It's to help raise your 

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awareness but also help you take
action. 

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Another message I received was 
actually through my PEN site 

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account, which is the Social 
Work Coaching Hub platform and 

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if you don't know, get to know 
Social Work coaching hub.com. 

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You can join the platform from 
there, and there was a lady 

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who'd written in one of the 
forms who got a download. 

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He said that I've been following
you for a while and it's made 

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such a difference to my student 
journey because now I can 

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prepare. 
She's using these podcasts to 

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prepare for what being a 
qualified social worker may look

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like, feel like, etcetera. 
And that was lovely to receive 

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that message. 
And lastly, I would say my 

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messages on Instagram, shout out
to all my Instagram followers, 

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We DM each other, we say hi to 
each other, You speak to me, I 

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speak to you. 
And thank you so much all of you

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for your support. 
I think this year I started 

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maybe with a hundred 200 
followers. 

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I'd need to double check, don't 
quote me. 

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And now I'm heading towards 800 
followers this year, which is 

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amazing. 
It's just amazing. 

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So thank you for believing in 
me, believing in the information

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that I'm sharing with you, and I
pray it continues now and 

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forevermore to be of help to 
you. 

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Getting back to the regular 
schedule programme. 

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We're just going to wrap up here
talking about the guiding star 

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because we're all joined 
together, you and I. 

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We're like a podcast family now 
and we're joined together via a 

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guiding star. 
You're my guiding star and this 

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podcast is your guiding star to 
support you through your week. 

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So let us say Community of 
social workers come together in 

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support and celebration. 
When you journal over this break

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period, when you speak to your 
colleagues or your friends, 

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share some of your Guiding star 
moments. 

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Maybe you share some of those 
guiding style moments before you

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eat your your Christmas dinner. 
Inspire each other to reach new 

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heights. 
Next year, and I'm terming next 

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year, I'm going to theme the 
whole year as the Year of 

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expansion, the year of 
expansion. 

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It feels vast. 
It feels limitless. 

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It feels greater than that is 
the space we want to be walking 

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in next year. 
Because as the guiding star, you

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are capable of illuminating the 
lives of others and, equally 

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important, your own. 
So may this season bring you 

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joy, renewed purpose and the 
warmth of shared moments just 

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like this one. 
Now I said to you last week and 

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probably the week before, I 
wasn't going to record on 

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Christmas Day. 
I was going to recall before 

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this morning I woke up at about 
four AMI, went to bed. 

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It was about 8:30 yesterday. 
I needed my beauty rest, but 

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clearly my body was like, hey, 
we've we've slept enough. 

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Now it's time to get up. 
So I am making this podcast in 

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the dead of the night where the 
sky is completely pitch black 

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with the stars and actually it 
feels beautiful, calm and it 

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feels just right. 
There was something about pre 

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recording a Christmas episode 
that didn't as as the course of 

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the week went on, it just didn't
sit very comfortably. 

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I wasn't uncomfortable with it. 
I'm sure there's lots of people 

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out there who are pre recording 
Christmas stuff, but I wanted to

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make sure this was authentic. 
It's an important episode, 

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right? 
But I'm so pleased that I 

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waited. 
Because look what happened 

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yesterday when I saw that Lady 
in in the shop. 

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Until next time, remember, you 
are not alone on your social 

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work journey. 
You are not alone on your 

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personal growth journey. 
I'm going to be making some 

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changes to the way my business 
is going to be running next 

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year. 
There's going to be some 

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significant changes to that. 
I'm going to be introducing 

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group workshops. 
Coaching will be more accessible

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in Group format if that will be 
your choice. 

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I'll be doing events throughout 
the whole year, so make sure you

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get your name on the list. 
If your name is not on the list,

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you will not get the update 
about the events. 

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You will not have access to the 
tickets, so if you want to 

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attend a Social Work Coaching 
Hub event next year, we've got 

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Paint and Chill, which is going 
to be a socialising event and 

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then for those who want to 
paint, there'll be a section for

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you to do that. 
We're going to have the 

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Empowering Social Work 
conference. 

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That's going to be London. 
Can't Wait for That. 

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That's for social Celebrate 
Social Work Month. 

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And we're also going to have the
award show. 

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We've got a Christian Social 
Workers brunch happening in 

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London and in Birmingham. 
So if you're interested in any 

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of those events, get your name 
on the list that corresponds 

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with the event that you'd like 
to attend. 

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If you don't have your name on 
the list, you won't have access 

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to the tickets. 
On that note, stay inspired, 

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stay compassionate, and let your
guiding star shine bright. 

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God bless you and have a 
wonderful Christmas week. 

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I'll see you on New Year's Day.