{"id":212643466,"date":"2026-06-08T07:26:57","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T21:26:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T14:09:05","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T04:09:05","slug":"backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release","status":"publish","type":"sstack-posts","link":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/","title":{"rendered":"Backing Yourself Beats Following the Right Path: Athan Didaskalou, July Founder, on Success After School (Re-Release)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"button-wrapper\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/morethanascore.substack.com\/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe now&quot;,&quot;action&quot;:null,&quot;class&quot;:null}\" data-component-name=\"ButtonCreateButton\"><a class=\"button primary\" href=\"https:\/\/morethanascore.substack.com\/subscribe?\"><span>Subscribe now<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If your teenager is unsure what comes next, this episode is reassurance that confidence usually comes after action, not before. It is for parents supporting a young person through big decisions.<\/p>\n<p>What if the right path only becomes clear once you stop chasing it?  Athan Didaskalou, founder of the Australian luggage brand July, talks honestly about his uneasy relationship with school, the uncertainty he felt early on, and how curiosity and hands-on experience mattered more than perfect results. <\/p>\n<p>His story is a reminder that there is no single right pathway after school, that skills are built through experience rather than qualifications alone, and that one result never defines future potential. <\/p>\n<p>For any parent supporting exploration without pressure, or any young person rethinking their direction, this conversation offers a grounded, generous perspective. Success is built over time.<\/p>\n<p>In this episode, you&#8217;ll discover and learn:<\/p>\n<p>&#8226;&#009;Navigating uncertainty after school with no clear plan<\/p>\n<p>&#8226;&#009;Why confidence comes after action, not before<\/p>\n<p>&#8226;&#009;Building skills through experience rather than qualifications<\/p>\n<p>&#8226;&#009;How parents can support exploration without pressure<\/p>\n<p>&#8226;&#009;Why success looks different at every life stage<\/p>\n<p>Because school is only one chapter, and success is built over time.<\/p>\n<p>More Than a Score: Redefining Success Beyond School is hosted by Laura Pitt and Dan Steele, a former teacher and award-winning school leader based on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. Each week, we share honest stories about school, ATAR pressure, career pathways, parenting teenagers, and what success really means after school. New episodes weekly. Subscribe to follow along.<\/p>\n<div class=\"subscription-widget-wrap-editor\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;url&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/morethanascore.substack.com\/subscribe?&quot;,&quot;text&quot;:&quot;Subscribe&quot;,&quot;language&quot;:&quot;en&quot;}\" data-component-name=\"SubscribeWidgetToDOM\">\n<div class=\"subscription-widget show-subscribe\">\n<div class=\"preamble\">\n<p class=\"cta-caption\">Like More Than a Score: Redefining Success Beyond School? Subscribe below to receive our latest episodes and resources straight to your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fake-input-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"fake-input\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"fake-button\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If your teenager is unsure what comes next, this episode is reassurance that confidence usually comes after action, not before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":""},"class_list":["post-212643466","sstack-posts","type-sstack-posts","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.6 (Yoast SEO v28.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Backing Yourself Beats Following the Right Path: Athan Didaskalou, July Founder, on Success After School (Re-Release) - Much More Than A Score<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Backing Yourself Beats Following the Right Path: Athan Didaskalou, July Founder, on Success After School (Re-Release)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"If your teenager is unsure what comes next, this episode is reassurance that confidence usually comes after action, not before.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Much More Than A Score\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-22T04:09:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Podcast-Logo-3_20260808_131432_0000-scaled.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/index.php\\\/substack-post\\\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/index.php\\\/substack-post\\\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\\\/\",\"name\":\"Backing Yourself Beats Following the Right Path: Athan Didaskalou, July Founder, on Success After School (Re-Release) - Much More Than A Score\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-07T21:26:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-22T04:09:05+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/index.php\\\/substack-post\\\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/index.php\\\/substack-post\\\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/index.php\\\/substack-post\\\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Subsync Posts\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/index.php\\\/substack-post\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Backing Yourself Beats Following the Right Path: Athan Didaskalou, July Founder, on Success After School (Re-Release)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Much More Than A Score\",\"description\":\"Redefining Success Beyond School\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Much More Than A Score\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/more-than-a-score-png-sBp9Ya-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/09\\\/more-than-a-score-png-sBp9Ya-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"Much More Than A Score\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/muchmorethanascore.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/morethanascorepod\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Backing Yourself Beats Following the Right Path: Athan Didaskalou, July Founder, on Success After School (Re-Release) - Much More Than A Score","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Backing Yourself Beats Following the Right Path: Athan Didaskalou, July Founder, on Success After School (Re-Release)","og_description":"If your teenager is unsure what comes next, this episode is reassurance that confidence usually comes after action, not before.","og_url":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/","og_site_name":"Much More Than A Score","article_modified_time":"2026-09-22T04:09:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Podcast-Logo-3_20260808_131432_0000-scaled.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/","url":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/","name":"Backing Yourself Beats Following the Right Path: Athan Didaskalou, July Founder, on Success After School (Re-Release) - Much More Than A Score","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-07T21:26:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-22T04:09:05+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/backing-yourself-beats-following-the-right-path-athan-didaskalou-july-founder-on-success-after-school-re-release\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Subsync Posts","item":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/substack-post\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Backing Yourself Beats Following the Right Path: Athan Didaskalou, July Founder, on Success After School (Re-Release)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/","name":"Much More Than A Score","description":"Redefining Success Beyond School","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/#organization","name":"Much More Than A Score","url":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/more-than-a-score-png-sBp9Ya-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/more-than-a-score-png-sBp9Ya-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2560,"caption":"Much More Than A Score"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/morethanascorepod\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sstack-posts\/212643466","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/sstack-posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/sstack-posts"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/muchmorethanascore.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212643466"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}