Hello 2026 you beautiful thing! It’s been a great holiday and we are back baby! This episode marks a clear shift and a grounded decision about how I want to lead, build, and grow this year.

In this episode, I’m sharing why this year feels different, the direction I’m intentionally moving in, and what it looks like to lead with clarity instead of urgency. I’m chatting about depth over width, energy management as a business advantage, and why creating sustainable momentum comes from boundaries, discernment, and trust. All the lovely things and things I want to teach you to incorporate into your business as well.

If you want calmer leadership, clearer decisions, and growth that actually supports your life, you’ll love this episode as a blast off into 2026.

SUMMARY

00:00 – 02:30 Welcome Back & Unplanned January Break

02:30 – 04:30 Why She Waited to Restart the Podcast

04:30 – 06:30 Life & Personal Foundations Feeling Good

06:30 – 08:30 Who Really Cares: Social Media Break Insights

08:30 – 11:00 Reflection, Growth & Season of Life

11:00 – 13:30 AI, Creativity & Thinking with Your Own Brain

13:30 – 16:00 The Big Shift: From Marketing Teacher to Health Brand Shaper

16:00 – 18:30 Sustainable Growth, Nervous System, and Motherhood

18:30 – 21:00 Leading Differently: Deeper, Fewer, Better

21:00 – 23:30 Her Definition of Leadership

23:30 – 26:30 Clarity Over Reinvention & Resisting Shiny Object Syndrome

26:30 – 29:00 Quiet Changes: Offers Removed & Website in Transition

29:00 – 31:00 Intentional Leadership in a Noisy, AI-Heavy World

31:00 – 33:00 Closing: Alignment, Invitation, and What’s Next

Hayley Osborne 

Hello and a very warm welcome to you with me back in your ears for 2026 I am pretty excited to get this rolling again, this beautiful podcast. I am very thankful that you are tuning in for the very first episode of 2026. You can tell I’ve got a bit of a spring in my step, if that’s what you would call it. I have had a lovely break. I gave myself. And I wasn’t intending to do this, and I didn’t announce it, and I was just, I just kind of went with the flow the whole of January off. So pretty much from the 25th of December until the end of January, I just took my hat off, and so there was no marketing from me.

There were no conversations from me in and around my business at all. So there were no podcast episodes. We had a huge break, and there were no emails from me, there were no social media posts from me, and it was magic. And I thought to myself, If not now, then when? And that was the answer I needed. And so the summer has been packed with some amazing fun and family times and just like wholesome, good energy as a family, and it’s been amazing, and I’m going to do it every single year, because if, yeah, if not now, then when.

And so it’s really nice just to have spent some really quality time with the kids, and, you know, just out and about as a family, we went away a few times, and just lots of water sports and river and pools, and it was just so much fun. So I thought to myself, you know, when I finally press play again on this podcast, it is a weekly like it is a weekly podcast where episodes are in your ear every single week. And so I am always, you know, I deliver and what I say I’m going to do, I do unless I’m, like, really sick and I have no voice, then, obviously I can’t.

But I record a podcast every week, and that gets delivered to you. So I’m really proud of that. And I was like; I’m not going to do it. And then feel tired or burnt out, or, you know, whatever that is just not just not feeling it. I really wanted to feel motivated and ready to start again. I think I’m in that place now, which is so nice, and here we are. And so what will follow from this is you’ll see a little email from me, and things will start to ramp up. Now. It’s not to say that I haven’t been working, because I have been working on and with my clients that need me.

So that has continued. I had about two weeks off over Christmas and New Year, which was good, and then on from that, I’ve just been, you know, doing all of my client work, which is lovely, and it’s still given me a chance to just chill. So it’s been really nice. Anyway, now we are back into it with this podcast, which I’m very excited about. So I am, you know, not, not too much has changed, but a lot has changed. So I think, personally, you know, we’re just moving through the motions and doing all the things. Kids are happy, home is happy, life is happy, husband is happy, everyone is happy. We still like eating really well and being really healthy and being intentional, and it’s really nice.

However, this episode is titled the direction I’m moving in this year, and why it feels different, because it is. And so I thought that it was the perfect time to really, like, break that down, and it feels like a really important episode that needed to be recorded. And not because it’s like, going to be, like, loud or dramatic or really big announcement, but it probably marks quite an intentional shift for me, and I want to talk about that.

And you know what’s funny, before we get into that, is, you know, when you do have a break, you it really highlights those people in your world, right, which I’m talking about in my social media world, that I’m friends with, that I talk to, who actually care about you, and those that don’t give a shit, because the people that have cared about me have actually messaged me and said, I just wanted to check in you’re okay. Haven’t seen any stories, haven’t seen any posts.

Just want to make sure you’re okay. That means everything to me, and it just shows. It just separates the two okay for people that you know care and those that are just here for I don’t know. So whatever, whatever bucket you fit in, that’s all good, but it really highlighted to me, like people that are. Actually do care, like, why you haven’t been in and around the place on socials, because I show up almost every day. And it was, it was lovely. So, so lovely.

So today I wanted to talk about the direction I’m moving in this year, and why it genuinely feels different and not in a like, New year, new me kind of way, but in something that’s grounded, that settles, set like feels settled, and in a way that, you know, I’ve made some decisions kind of way so I’ve been reflecting over the past couple of weeks and even last year, to a point of knowing things need to move and morph and change, because that’s what keeps us growing.

That’s what keeps our mind active. And not just on what I’ve built, but how I’ve built it in a way that works for me. And don’t forget, I’ve got three small children and they, you know, are becoming more and more out of my hands, not so hands on every day, which is nice. So I have a bit more free time this year, which is nice. There are no more babies coming. So, you know, the baby, my youngest, is now 18 months, and so he’s, you know, off with the grandparents a couple of days a week, which is so nice.

And I think that one thing that’s become very clear to me, especially over the last few weeks, is that I’m not really interested in pushing harder. I don’t have anything to prove, and I’m not really interested in doing any more, and I’m not going to be chasing any kind of momentum anymore. I’m protecting it, and I’m staying in my lane. And I think the decisions have been really clear that I’m not having to do anything urgently, and there’s no pressure to do things. That comes from more alignment. It comes from trusting myself.

Because don’t forget, I have been in this space now for I’ve been running my business for seven years, but I’ve been in this brand and marketing space for maybe, I want to say, 18 or 20 years. Oh, my God, how old am I? And I know a thing or two, and so I don’t have anything to prove, because I know my shit, and that’s a really nice place to come from, trust and not fear and not fear of missing out. Okay, I love leaning into AI and digital and everything like that, and it is helping and not hindering. But something that I know that is an advantage is what comes from my thoughts and how creative I am, and that is something that will never, ever be built using a robot.

So the thoughts all come from me, and then the robots help build it. But I want that for you. I want to teach you how to keep thinking with your own brain, rather than have the air think for you, because that in the future is going to be your ammunition. It’s going to be, you know, all the Arsenal you have in your back pocket. And I think, honestly, it changes everything.

And there’s a calmness that comes from knowing that you don’t need to be rushed, or you don’t need a rush to feel relevant. You just need to be clear in your messaging, clear in your motive and your motivation, and clear in the reason why you do what you do. And you know, I’m like, Well, I’m very clear. So the direction I’m moving in this year is very intentional, okay, and I’m shifting from being seen primarily as somebody that teaches marketing to somebody that shapes how health brands think about their business, think about their leadership and think about their growth.

Okay, strategy matters. It does, of course it does, but I have learned, especially over the last 12 months, that strategy without energy, strategy without boundaries, don’t scale and I care about this now more than ever, because, you know, I ran this podcast through having a newborn baby, and I, you know, just kept the wheels moving and kept doing anything, everything, and then behind the scenes, I’ve noticed things have been changing and morphing and growing, and I care now about sustainable growth.

I care about how regulated my nervous system is, because, you know, not only do I have three small children, they’re boys, and boys are very active, and no matter like what anyone says to me, and we’ve like my husband and I often share little like videos with each other about like, if you’re a parent of two boys or more, your parenting styles are so different. To those who have a boy and a girl or girls, it is just crazy. So I’m talking like my kids are now wrestling and doing all the things. And I need to remain calm. And I think that, like business and kids are very, very similar, so I think I want to help people with their business that support real lives and not consume them.

So I’m choosing deeper rather than going wider, fewer offers. So my offers are changing, how you can work with me and improve results. And I think I’m not going to do things for the sake of it, and I’m firm on that, but I’m going to be creating things that move the needle without having that burnout in the process. So this year, I lead differently guys. I say no a lot faster, because I need to protect myself, and my instincts have proved me right with so many over so many years, that that’s what is leading this year, and there’ll be no over explaining why I do what I do.

If it feels good, I’m doing it, and that’s it. So leadership for me looks like leading with clarity, standing up for what I believe in, setting clear boundaries. And I want you to be able to do this in your own business too. And I want to lead by example, creating, you know, being decisive with how I act, and you know, without being mean, a willingness to be able to disappoint people who aren’t meant to be in my world, work and personal, because it’s very important.

I am, like, consumed every day with, you know, business, because business is big, right? And small humans, and they’re only small for so long, and so what’s left is small. Okay? So this business is being very considered, and I want to walk the talk, and I want to teach you how to do that, too, and I’m already doing it, but I haven’t really been very loud about it, so it will get louder, and I’m really excited. So the foundations are really strong, and I’ll share with you what that looks like, and one that creates a lot of space and not a lot of chaos.

So if you’re listening to this and you think, oh yes, and something in you is nodding along, I want you to hear that you don’t need to be dramatic and reinvent yourself to grow bigger, and you just need to be clear. You need restraint, because, hello, shiny object syndrome. And I think everyone that runs a business just knows that dopamine, you want more. It doesn’t have to be like that. And I think you need to be strong with yourself first. So whatever that looks like for you, and it doesn’t need to feel like there’s a lot of pressure.

So it can be about choosing better, leading yourself well, nourishing yourself well in every aspect, and building something that actually lasts. And so things are looking a little different for me this year, and this isn’t about what I’m doing or what I’m not doing this episode. It’s just about showing you that, you know, the direction I’m moving in this year is like in alignment and there, if you have a look at my website, the offers are gone that were there.

So nothing is there at the moment, they’ve all been taken out, and things are changing and morphing, and they are new. And I think that if you are also ready to lead differently and be more intentional, stop rushing. I don’t think you’re behind. I think you’re really early. And this year, I think it is, you know, I don’t want to be chasing the next. I think it is choosing to lead with intention and building from there. And I think that it is the way of moving forward and thinking with your brain first, and coming up with your ideas first and then using, you know, the artificial intelligence to be intelligent for you, not think for you, because it’s actually becoming really boring.

So I’ve been a silent observer over January, and I’m a bit bored, to be fair. So like, are you contributing to that, I hope not. And if you feel like you need to stop yourself and that you are like, just slow down and think why you’re doing it. It is not about this big fat push. And I understand, you know, we are not here for a haircut. We are in business to change the world, to change how people think, feel, lead love, and you know their wellness. And you know we’re here to make money as well, so, but, but in doing it with intention and leading with your brain, it will, it will differentiate you from the rest of the crowd. Okay, so think about that, and that’s all I want.

To say for this episode, because, hello, we are back in your ears with the Hayley Osborne show for 2026 and it feels more aligned than ever. And if you have any questions or are curious, send me a message on Instagram. Send me a voice message on Instagram. That is, I love that, and I would love to tell you a little bit more about what I’m thinking, what I’ve planned, not what I’m thinking. So I’m looking at all my plans at the moment, and I’ll share them with you shortly. But in the meantime, strap in and get ready for another amazing year of me teaching you all of the things, and I’ll see you next week for another episode of The Hayley Osborne show.