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Sharing Stories as we Journey to the Root

lauramaiedwards

Featuring Tom Pinchard












As with all great connections, our conversation began with belly laughter and sharing tales of the wild ride of life; even the most significant of experiences, when shared with compassion, offer a lightness which simply fuels the soul.


I met Tom at one of his renowned Supper Club’s exactly a year ago. He invites a different group of strangers to have supper together twice a month, and I was fortunate enough to be one of those people.


The paradox of these events is that having supper is a very ordinary thing for us to do, yet when faced with a room full of strangers, the ordinary quickly becomes extraordinary; as we face the discomfort, find the courage to say hello to someone new, and open to the possibilities of the evening ahead.


When we allow ourselves to share from the heart, to dig more deeply than just ‘what do we do’ and share ‘who we are,’ the magic of connection and creativity is profound.


Tom is a Coach for the creative industries and beyond. His passion is to work with people who want to create their own businesses; subsequently he has been involved in multiple start-ups and entrepreneurial endeavours over the years.


Before his coaching business took off, he describes his life as feeling rather ‘beige,’ music has been an integral part of who he is, full of colour and culture, but this was not transpiring into the path he was on.


He felt lost and lacked direction, and he began questioning what his future looked like.


“I couldn’t ask the big questions like, ‘what do I want’ I had never spent any time asking myself that question; and what if I actually wanted something and didn’t get it; wouldn’t that be soul crushing.”


So why not just stay with the status quo?


We’ve all experienced moments in life where something just doesn’t feel quite right. Even when everything around us seems to be going well, there’s a sense of misorientation that we can’t ignore. It’s as if the pieces of the puzzle fit on the surface, but deep down, we feel a growing sense that something is missing or out of balance.


Tom’s journey of self-discovery is a perfect example of this feeling.


As he began to ask bigger questions about his life, he found that he could open up more and, in turn, ask for help. This vulnerability became a gateway for a profound shift in perspective.


It wasn’t just about embracing vulnerability—it was about realizing that vulnerability could empower him to embrace uncertainty. Tom started to understand that while we can’t control the outcome of our actions or desires, we can control our willingness to take steps toward the person we want to become.


We cannot control if what we want will happen or not; all we can do is be more of an open book and take one step at a time towards being the person we want to be.”


By adopting this mindset, Tom opened himself up to his unique gifts and abilities, which in turn allowed him to pursue what truly mattered to him. For Tom, that meant helping others build their own businesses and side hustles. This work allowed his clients to experience the full spectrum of human emotions—the highs, the lows, and everything in between.


We both agree on the importance of feeling.


Feeling our emotions, making mistakes, and being bold enough to try again are all integral to building resilience. The more resilient we become, the more empowered we feel to share our true selves with the world, quirks and all.


However, embracing vulnerability and celebrating our unique abilities isn't always something we’ve been encouraged to do. Most of us are raised with the expectation to fit in, to belong, and to suppress our curiosity about what makes us different.


This is where Tom’s supper clubs play a crucial role. Through these gatherings, he’s helping people break free from societal expectations and relearn what it means to bring their authentic selves to the table. Literally.


It’s a psychological shift—a process of understanding who we truly are, what we really want, and how we feel. And this doesn’t have to be something that happens later in life. It can happen now, if we allow ourselves the space to explore and reflect.


“We are entering a time where blending in will not be beneficial,” Tom says, and I couldn’t agree more.


Instead of sticking to the status quo because it feels safer or easier, we can choose to embrace curiosity and explore what we could do differently. We have the power to question the familiar and make intentional changes, no matter how big or small.


Tom and I are aligned on the importance of creating space for exploration—space where we don’t feel pressured to change immediately, but where we can explore at our own pace, without judgment. This kind of exploration allows us to shift from merely going through the motions to actively designing the life we want.


One of the biggest lessons Tom has learned is the power of beliefs.


Our internal narratives—those stories we tell ourselves—shape who we are and how we experience life. The brain loves stories, and we all have our own personal narratives running in the background. But these stories are not set in stone.


We have the power to change them.


Changing our beliefs takes time. It involves pushing ourselves into uncomfortable situations and challenging the stories that have defined us. For Tom, this process has been about questioning who he is as a father, a professional, and a husband. He’s intentionally sought out experiences that push him out of his comfort zone, knowing that if we keep doing the same things, we’ll hit a ceiling.


“What got you here, will not get you there.”


This mindset shift—this willingness to embrace discomfort, to change our stories, and to create space for curiosity—is essential for growth. It’s about recognizing that the journey of self-discovery doesn’t have to be a distant goal.


It can begin now, in the present, with the simple decision to be open to change and to allow ourselves to feel fully along the way.

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