Rising Stars: Meet Fiona Murden of West Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Fiona Murden.

Hi Fiona , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My name is Fiona. I’m an award-winning psychologist, podcast host, and author who has spent over 20 years working with thousands of high-performers – CEOs, elite athletes, creatives, surgeons, and entrepreneurs. Helping them gain the psychological edge needed to excel while actually enjoying their journey.

My fascination with psychology began in adolescence but I didn’t grow up to become the kind of psychologist you find in therapy rooms or lecture halls. Instead, I apply psychology in high-stakes environments where a single misread can alter lives.

Over the years spent working hands on in these high-pressure spaces, I developed what people have frequently call an “uncanny” ability to recognise patterns others can’t see. To read between the lines. To see people for who they really are and what they really want. To help them perform at their best while living life in a way that makes them feel whole.

Yet there was one pattern I couldn’t see. My own.

When I moved from London to LA – thousands of miles from everything familiar, I sort of fell apart. It was then that I realised I’d been using background in psychology like a shield. I mean, I thought I knew myself so well. But it was all intellectual, not real, not the felt sense of being human.

Those first few months in LA, with no work to throw myself into, I was stuck with just… me. And all the things I’d been really good at not dealing with.
So for the first time in my life, I had to actually do what I’d spent years telling other people to do. Stop acting like I had it all figured out. Be vulnerable enough to make new friends. Let myself properly unravel.

I began putting down the armour of achievement that I’d hidden behind and actually living the advice I’d spent decades giving others. It’s been hugely uncomfortable, but was probably the most important thing I’ve ever done. Glimpses of who I am underneath it all and moments of connection to myself that I haven’t felt since childhood.

And I also came to very much love this city that broke me, for all that it’s given me and all that it is.

This experience led me to create the Life Connected™ framework. It’s a practical system for helping people apply psychological insights to their everyday lives.

The framework rests on three core connections:

Connection to Self – Moving beyond autopilot to make choices that authentically reflect who we are.

Connection to Others – Creating deeper relationships that enhance our performance (while reducing the collateral damage that often accompanies success).

Connection to the World – Finding our place not as isolated strivers but as part of something larger.

What’s different about Life Connected™ is it’s not some feel-good fluff. It’s about performing better AND living better. More sustainably. I talk about all this on my podcast (Dot to Dot Life Connected™), write about it on Substack, work with UNESCO on it, and share it when I speak at events.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Even though my work put me ‘close to power’, I often stayed in the background, more comfortable supporting others than stepping into the spotlight myself. When I wrote the books I had to appear on TV, radio, and global podcasts and each appearance felt like crossing an emotional minefield. You could say that I’d help clients own their brilliance in the morning, then struggle to believe in my own voice by afternoon. The irony wasn’t lost on me. Learning to value myself became the unexpected chapter in my professional story which arguably all started here in LA.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
For the last twenty years, I’ve had a front-row seat to ‘excellence in action’ but also to places where potential lies dormant. For example in disadvantaged young people who have so much to offer the world if only they’re guided in the right way.

My approach combines psychology with the intuition that I’ve honed through years of application in real world settings. I can spot untapped potential and how to unlock it. I can tell when someone’s heading for burnout while they still think they’re fine. I understand why brilliant people keep making the same mistakes. But while I have the expertise in psychology, what makes the difference is having been in the room during those moments time and time before.

And now, as our world becomes more digital, I’m increasingly passionate about what makes us uniquely human. As Artificial Intelligence becomes more prolific in all aspects of our lives, our ability to truly connect (to ourselves, others and our world – Life Connected™) isn’t just a nice bonus, it’s essential.

My proudest achievements happen behind the scenes. For example, the incredible album that almost wasn’t made, the championship that seemed impossible, the leadership crisis quietly averted and most of all the young person who learns to believe in themselves and follow their dreams.

What sets my work apart is seeing beneath the surface before problems become visible, being able to tune into the unspoken. Because that’s what shapes everything. And one misread can cost someone their career and create a huge amount of collateral damage. Or in the case of medical settings it can even cost someone their life.

While contexts differ, the underlying questions people come to life, success or mental blockers with, often don’t. People so often are quietly asking ‘Am I enough? Is this who I really am? What now?’ I help people strip back the pressure, reconnect with who they are underneath it all, and move forward in a way that actually feels right.

Other stuff:

I’ve spoken to audiences at American Museum of Natural History, Institute of Directors, the London School of Economics, TEDx and many more places. I’ve been featured in various media including BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4, The Times, The Telegraph and national television in the UK. My podcast Dot to Dot Life Connected is listened to in 52 countries and I am also a multi-award-winning author of two books published globally.

What are your plans for the future?
I’m building the next evolution of the Life Connected™ framework. This will be a practical guide for navigating identity, relationships, and meaning in our increasingly AI-shaped world. I like to think of it as a sort of field manual for staying human in a time when your phone knows more about your habits than your partner does. It draws from everything I’ve learned through psychology, profiling, and those thousands of behind-closed-doors conversations.

What makes this different is I’m not creating it alone. I’m building it through collaboration – hosting roundtables that bring together psychologists, neuroscientists, philosophers, elite athletes, CEOs, teachers, professors, artists and people from across all walks of life. Together, we’ll create something that works whoever you are and where ever you are in the world.

I’m also launching a Substack where I’ll share insights that apply to everyone whatever their role in life. The Dot to Dot podcast is evolving too, with a new format, more diverse voices, and more in-person episodes recorded here in LA.

The heart of all this is translating what I’ve learned from working with extraordinary individuals into wisdom that anyone can use. Because beneath the surface, the people I work with – for all their success and status – struggle with the same fundamental questions as everyone else: What matters? Am I enough? How do I connect? My work is about creating practical ways for people to answer these questions for themselves, to live with more meaning and deeper connections.
Because we only get one life, and spending it disconnected from ourselves and others seems like a terrible waste of a perfectly good existence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fionamurden.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fiona_murden/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fionamurden/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fionamurden217