Successful AF Pod

Successful AF is a podcast about redefining success on your own terms. Host Jess West — a leadership and burnout coach who's circled the drain on burnout more than once — sits down with people who did everything right, ticked every box, and still found themselves asking "is this it?" Through honest, unfiltered conversations about burnout recovery, career change and reinvention, her guests share how they stopped borrowing someone else's scorecard and started authoring success for themselves. If you've ever chased a version of success that was never built for you, this one's for you.

Successful AF Pod is a business podcast hosted by Jessica West, with 29 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Jessica West hosts Successful AF Pod, a business show with 29 episodes published.

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  Successful AF Pod

  You Can Always Start Again: Career Change, Redefining Success & When to Move On — Jo McGowan

  Sep 21, 202643 min

  At 21, before she'd even graduated, Jo McGowan bought a dance school. Nine years later she'd roughly doubled the number of pupils. Since then she's built a children's party business that was fully booked within six months, run a small business hub, kept a charity going digitally through Covid, and worked in university events. Now she's CEO of Hello Dorking, the town's business improvement district. She calls it a wiggly career, and it's the best argument I've heard for why a non-linear path isn't a detour. In this episode of Successful AF, Jo and I talk about career change, redefining success, and knowing when it's time to move on. She shares how she built and sold businesses, why integrity and joy matter most to her, and how every strand of her career ended up in one role. If you've ever worried about how a pivot looks from the outside, this one's for you. Whether you're mid-career change, rebuilding after a hard season, or quietly wondering if it's too late to try something new, this conversation is your reminder that you can always start again. Before you go: What's Actually Yours is a half-day retreat for women on Saturday 10 October at Ripley Village Hall, Surrey. It's a one-morning retreat with a maximum of 12 places, and it includes movement, cacao, and the Load Audit. Places are £75 until 30 September, then £111. Details at kalicoaching.co.uk. Love this episode? Hit subscribe and leave us a review! And if you know someone who's redefining success on their own terms, nominate them at successfulafpod@gmail.com - we're always looking for incredible people to feature. Connect with Jess: Instagram: @kalicoaching.co Website: www.kalicoaching.co.uk

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  Successful AF Pod

  Whose Perspective Are You Successful From? Depression, Career Change and Rebuilding — Aron Jameson

  Aug 29, 202648 min

  How do you rebuild a career after depression takes the one you had? Aron Jameson was fifteen years into corporate life — trainee to Head of Operations in London — when depression arrived and took roughly a fortnight to dismantle all of it. He quit. No notice period plan, no next role, no sick leave. What almost nobody talks about is the bit that came after: three to six months of not leaving the house, not answering messages, and no clear route back. This episode is about that route. Aron rebuilt his career into a bodywork and wellness practice across Norwich and London, training in six countries across massage, breathwork, sound healing, Reiki, NLP and EFT — and he did it in a deliberate order that he explains properly here. Body first, mind second, and a strategic reason for both. If you're burnt out, mid-career, and quietly wondering whether the thing you'd rather be doing is allowed — this is a practical, unglamorous look at what actually happens when someone does it. What we cover: The early signs of Aron's depression that he only recognised in hindsight Embarrassment as the real obstacle in career change: winning clients and still dreading bumping into an ex-colleague on the train What finally shifted it, and why it wasn't the business getting more impressive His case for regulating the wellness industry, and the modalities he refuses to teach The word his mentor banned him from using about his own corporate years — and what changed when he stopped What a successful day looks like now: half ten start, a book, a mocha Find Aron: aronjamesonwellness.co.uk | Instagram: @aronjamesonwellness Got your own version of this story? Email me at successfulafpod@gmail.com — I read every single one. If this episode gave you something, please rate and review wherever you're listening, and send it to the friend who keeps saying "I wish I could do that." Love this episode? Hit subscribe and leave us a review! And if you know someone who's redefining success on their own terms, nominate them at successfulafpod@gmail.com - we're always looking for incredible people to feature. Connect with Jess: Instagram: @kalicoaching.co Website: www.kalicoaching.co.uk

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  Successful AF Pod

  Readiness Is a Myth: Confidence, Comfort Zones and Doing It Scared — Kerry Harrison

  Aug 15, 202642 min

  Readiness Is a Myth: Confidence, Comfort Zones and Doing It Scared — Kerry Harrison Kerry Harrison's whole job is making people feel seen. She's a business brand photography specialist who's spent sixteen years helping founders show up in their businesses — which is funny, because when she started out, she was the classic photographer hiding behind her own lens: one photo of herself on the website and a firm belief that surely that was enough. In this episode of Successful AF, Kerry shares how she walked away from a well-paid senior design career to build a business from scratch, and everything she learned the uncomfortable way about confidence — including the two truths she now builds her work around: confidence is not an innate quality, and readiness is a myth. If you've ever caught yourself saying "I'll do it when I feel ready," this one's going to sting in the best possible way. And yes, there's a beginners' tap class at forty-seven in here that ends exactly where Kerry swore it never would. In this episode, you'll discover: Why readiness is a myth — and the bit of basic brain science that explains why you'll never feel ready before you do the thing The three-step move Kerry uses on imposter syndrome thoughts the moment they show up: recognise, acknowledge, then compete with facts Why your business needs your face more than your portfolio — and what happened when the photographer had to get in front of the lens The loss at twenty that quietly rewrote Kerry's definition of success, and the perspective it took her a decade to name How "get comfortable being uncomfortable" actually works in practice — networking rooms, stages, and projects launched without an ending Kerry's new passion project for midlife women — and why she's giving the middle finger to anti-ageing culture, shrinking yourself, and waiting for permission Whether you're hiding behind your own version of the lens, waiting to feel ready, or wondering if it's too late to try something completely new — Kerry's answer is the same: you can feel uncomfortable and still do really good things. You are imperfectly perfect, just as you are. Connect with Kerry: Website: kerryjphotography.co.uk Instagram: @kerryjphoto The Middle Finger Project: @the_middle_finger_project Connect with Successful AF: Got a thought on this episode? Email me at successfulafpod@gmail.com — I read every single one. Follow the show on Instagram @successfulafpod If this episode landed, leave a rating and review — it genuinely helps more people find the show. Love this episode? Hit subscribe and leave us a review! And if you know someone who's redefining success on their own terms, nominate them at successfulafpod@gmail.com - we're always looking for incredible people to feature. Connect with Jess: Instagram: @kalicoaching.co Website: www.kalicoaching.co.uk

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  Successful AF Pod

  Stop Saying No to Yourself: Imposter Syndrome, Career Change and Leading AI — Professor Shushma Patel

  Jul 31, 202650 min

  Stop Saying No to Yourself: Imposter Syndrome, Career Change and Leading AI — Professor Shushma Patel Shushma Patel built a world-class career — a PhD in dermatology, decades of research, leadership across computing, engineering and business schools. And the whole time, whenever the next big room opened up, she talked herself out of walking in. "I've only been here a year." "Someone else has been here longer." She's now Pro Vice-Chancellor for Artificial Intelligence at De Montfort University, in a role thought to be the first of its kind in the sector — and she'll tell you, completely straight-faced, that she still feels like an imposter. In this episode of Successful AF, Shushma shares how a career that started in a dermatology lab became a leading role in AI — not through a five-year plan, but through a single golden thread: the belief that the skills you build transfer anywhere, and that no one should hem their life in at sixteen because they picked three A levels. First in her family into higher education, and one of very few women in tech in almost every room she's entered, Shushma has spent her career pulling women in behind her — and she's brilliantly clear on how the rest of us can do the same. In this episode, you'll discover: Why a non-linear career is a strength, not a failure — and the "golden thread" that connects every role you've ever had The crucial difference between mentorship and sponsorship: one keeps the ladder down, the other pulls you up it What "keeping the seat warm" really means — and why time served is the worst reason anyone ever got promoted How imposter syndrome shows up even at the top, and what actually builds confidence over a career (spoiler: it isn't waiting to feel ready) What AI literacy really means for your job — plus the one thing you're doing every time your phone rings that could hand your voice to an AI What success looks like when you stop measuring it in money and start measuring it in impact Whether you're contemplating a career change, battling self-doubt in rooms where no one looks like you, or wondering whether it's too late to pivot — this conversation is your permission slip. Stop saying no to yourself. Save your no for the things that drain you. Love this episode? Hit subscribe and leave us a review! And if you know someone who's redefining success on their own terms, nominate them at successfulafpod@gmail.com - we're always looking for incredible people to feature. Connect with Jess: Instagram: @kalicoaching.co Website: www.kalicoaching.co.uk

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  Successful AF Pod

  Relentless: From 'Starving Artist' to Successful AF with Camille Bieber

  Jul 18, 202646 min

  “You don’t have to deserve rest.” — Camille Bieber on relentlessness, authenticity, and redefining success My guest this week is Camille Bieber — photographer, videographer, and founder of Lila & Co, a creative business helping wellness brands tell their story through visuals. But for years, Camille didn’t think the word “success” applied to them at all. Their old Facebook bio literally read “starving artist.” They arrived in the UK at 25 with two suitcases, one acquaintance and no network — a second-generation migrant, entirely self-taught, who’s never had an office job in their life. In this episode you’ll discover: What being “relentless” actually looks like day to day — and why there’s no such thing as an overnight success How Camille’s business took off at the exact moment they decided to give up on it Why rest is something you never have to earn (“if you’re not gonna rest for yourself, rest for your clients”) How running a business unearths exactly where you need healing The permission Camille wants to give you to stop masking and be your weird self publicly Why success, right now, looks like a walk on the beach in Hove We talk redefining success on your own terms as a queer, second-generation migrant and self-taught entrepreneur — and what it takes to build something from nothing without losing yourself in the process. Find Camille on Instagram @lilaand.co, at lilaand.co, and on their podcast The Winding Way. Got a story about redefining success on your own terms? I’d love to hear it — email successfulafpod@gmail.com Love this episode? Hit subscribe and leave us a review! And if you know someone who's redefining success on their own terms, nominate them at successfulafpod@gmail.com - we're always looking for incredible people to feature. Connect with Jess: Instagram: @kalicoaching.co Website: www.kalicoaching.co.uk

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