At MANUP?, we're committed to bringing valuable insights to our community, and our CEO, Dan, has always been on the lookout for people who can make a real difference. That’s why we’re excited to announce that we’ve invited Joe Ball to speak with us.

Dan has respected Joe for years—not just for his expertise, but for his straightforward, no-nonsense approach to mental well-being. When Dan first encountered NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), he wasn’t sure what it was all about. But after a conversation with Joe, it became clear how powerful it can be in helping us understand our minds and quiet that inner critic that often holds us back.

Joe has been through his own challenges, and his story is one that resonates deeply. Here’s what he has to say:

Ten years ago, after many years of feeling down and not really knowing why, I started my own personal coaching journey. Sure, I’d been through some ‘stuff’, but everyone has, right? I tried my best to work through it on my own, but nothing seemed to clear completely, and I ended up in a very dark place.

Through coaching and counselling—call it what you like—I learned coping strategies that allowed me to heal or at least ride out the feelings until they passed. A big part of this was thanks to NLP. NLP, or Neuro-Linguistic Programming, is a technique used in a variety of settings, and it’s useful in all of them. For me, the most important thing was that it helped me start to understand myself a little better and make positive changes to the way I think, react, and manage my critical voice.

I’ve been a recruiter for 20 years and a mental health first aider for five. A huge part of my role was coaching candidates and managers through what can be a pretty stressful process. But after becoming disillusioned with the corporate world, I decided I could do something more beneficial, and that’s what led me to start Joe Ball Coaching. I talk to people, I listen, and together we put a strategy in place to reprogram the brain. There’s no leather couch, no chunky knit cardigans, and no ‘how does that make you feel?’—just open and honest conversations.

MANUP? welcomes both men and women to our MANUP? Talks. These sessions are also designed to shed light on why men might shy away from engaging with certain mental health topics and how we can break down those barriers together.