#19 - Amy Rowlinson - Redefining success and finding your purpose

Amy Rowlinson is a purpose and fulfilment coach, speaker, author, and the host of the globally recognised Focus on WHY podcast. Driven by a belief that life should be lived with intention rather than on autopilot, Amy helps individuals and organisations create more meaningful, sustainable ways of living and working. Since launching her podcast in 2020, she has inspired listeners in over 150 countries through conversations focused on purpose, growth, and authentic impact. Her debut book, Focus on Why: Create a Purposeful Way of Life, was shortlisted for the 2025 Business Book Awards.

In this episode, Amy shares the deeply personal journey that led her to this work. After years of living a life that looked successful on paper, burnout and a serious family health crisis forced her to reassess what truly mattered. She reflects on redefining success on her own terms and building a more meaningful, fulfilling way of life for herself and her family.

We explore why so many people feel disconnected from purpose at work, and the difference between simply existing and truly living with intention. Amy also unpacks her practical framework for helping people reconnect with themselves, starting with understanding what’s within their control, challenging inherited ideas of success, and identifying the values, beliefs, and fears that shape our decisions.

Amy shares thoughtful insights on self-awareness, mental liberation, and how small shifts in perspective can completely transform the way we live and lead.

In this episode, we talk about:

00:00 – Introduction and Amy’s wake-up call

05:19 – Purpose, positive psychology, and meaningful work

08:45 – Amy’s 9-step purpose framework

12:58 – Values, success, and defining life on your own terms

17:19 – Fear, limiting beliefs, and self-awareness

19:19 – Motivating teams and understanding individual differences

22:22 – Reflection, action, and navigating change

25:19 – Amy’s life after making a big career shift

26:16 – Starting the podcast and writing the book

28:49 – Taking the first step and turning dreams into reality

About the host

Sarah Perugia is an expert women-in-leadership coach and whole-person leadership transformation specialist, dedicated to empowering female leaders to thrive. With over 20 years of experience, she partners with organisations across the globe to develop and retain top female talent, strengthen the female leadership pipeline, and promote gender equality in senior roles. Drawing on her background in acting, neuro-linguistic programming, and Positive Psychology, Sarah empowers leaders to advance their careers, build confidence, enhance performance, and ultimately flourish and thrive. Her offering combines tailored leadership development programmes with one-to-one executive leadership coaching to unlock their full potential.

If you’d like to learn more about Sarah and her work with women in leadership, you can find out more here: https://www.sarahperugia.com/women-in-leadership/

In this show, we cover

Purpose, Leadership, Core Values, Positive Psychology, Team Motivation, Limiting Beliefs, Intrinsic Motivation, Business Strategy, Personal Growth.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more!

Contact and Connect

Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-perugia-leadership-coaching/

Connect with Amy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyrowlinson/