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 26 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Jessica West hosts Successful AF Pod, a business show with 26 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  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

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  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

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  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

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Successful AF Pod

  You Can't Bubble Bath Your Way Out of Burnout

  Jul 11, 20269 min

  Another solo one, and this time I'm getting into something I talk about all the time in my coaching but haven't really unpacked on the pod: burnout isn't a bubble bath problem. It's a nervous system issue. It's a belief system issue. And no amount of journaling, breathwork or gong baths is going to fix it if the thing underneath — the constant performing, the chasing of a version of success you never actually chose — doesn't change. I share my own story (hello, optimising-to-the-max era, habit trackers and all) and the moment lockdown forced me to stop and realise I had no idea how to climb back down the mountain. Then a few questions I want to leave you with: When did you last feel peace? Joy? Free? And what were you doing? Because how you live your days is how you live your life. Kudos if the fast cars and designer whatever is genuinely what you want — but if it isn't, consider this your invitation to reevaluate. 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

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Successful AF Pod

  Dancing With Pain: Living With Chronic Illness and Learning to Surrender — Lorraine Ansell

  Jul 4, 202659 min

  Lorraine Ansell spent 40 years in pain without knowing it. Waking up feeling like she'd been "hit by a plane," feet that hummed, a body that bruised at the slightest touch — she assumed everyone felt that way. It wasn't until lockdown, a TikTok algorithm and a very thorough letter to her GP that she was finally diagnosed with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and four decades of unanswered questions suddenly made sense. In this season three opener of Successful AF, host Jess West sits down with Lorraine — author of The Surrender Agenda , voiceover artist and dancer — for an honest, surprisingly funny conversation about what happens when there's no cure. Lorraine's radical idea isn't to fight her chronic pain, but to dance with it: to surrender, accept, learn and ultimately love the body she has. In this conversation, you'll hear: How decades of symptoms got dismissed as "growing pains" — and why women so often aren't believed by the medical system What it took to finally get a diagnosis after 40 years, and how to advocate for yourself with your GP Why "surrender" is a position of strength, not weakness or failure How Lorraine reframes chronic pain as a dance partner rather than an enemy to defeat Why rest is "revolution time," and how stripping life back changed her relationship with success The case for bringing pain "out of the shadows" the way we've started to with mental health This one is for anyone living with chronic pain, invisible illness or an undiagnosed condition — and for anyone exhausted by the battle of trying to outrun something that lives inside them. The Surrender Agenda by Lorraine Ansell is available online, on Kindle, and as an audiobook in Lorraine's own voice. 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

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on Successful AF Pod. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.