In episode 10, the final episode of series 1 of Welcome to Successville, your friend and host Sophie Williams is joined by Successful Guest, and literal icon Charlie Craggs. Sophie and Charlie’s discussion covers various topics related to success, visibility, activism, and the challenges faced by trans individuals. Charlie shares her journey from being a star student to becoming an influencer and activist. They discuss the importance of maintaining relatability and embracing one's background, as well as touching on the intersectionality of class and race in the success narrative. Charlie reflects on the impact of her activism and the need for different types of visibility. She shares her experience with a hate crime and the lack of support from the system, leading her to start self-defense classes Charlie’s Angels.

You can find Charlie's Instagram here

You can find details about Charlies Angels - self defense classes for trans people, here

You can find the transcript of this episode here

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction and Hello Charlie!

06:44 - Early Relationship to Success

09:46 - Retaining a working class identiy

13:38 - Activism as a Career

21:31 - Measuring change in activism

26:33 - The Limitations of Visibility and the Power of Standing Up

36:39 - Navigating the Influencer Space: Balancing Activism and Brand Partnerships

45:27 - Buying a Home: A Modern Success Story

46:51 - Finding Happiness and Contentment as the Ultimate Success

53:30 - Quickfire round

In episode 9 of Welcome to Successville, your friend and host Sophie Williams is joined by Successful Guest Stacey Grant Canham. Stacey and Sophie discuss their personal experiences with success and how it is often tied to external factors. They explore the concept of success in relation to their childhoods and the influence of their upbringing on their perceptions of success. Stacey shares her journey of starting her business, Black & Beech, and it’s origins as a feminist brand. They also discuss the challenges of comparison and the importance of defining success on one's own terms. Stacey discusses making the move from academia to entrepreneurship, the challenges she faced along the way, and the importance of taking risks. Stacey also emphasizes the significance of embracing change and continuously improving, as well as the impact of luck and privilege on success. She highlights the role of motherhood and personal values in shaping her definition of success.

You can find Staceys Instagram here

You can find Black and Beech here

You can find Yearly Compass here

You can find the transcript of this episode here

Chapters

00:00 Feelings about the bio, and young life

20:56 The Origins of Black and Beach and Its Evolution

28:53 Listener success story

30:39 Finding security in creative

34:50 Life changing lessons

36:48 Making your own definitions of success

42:19 Success as a parent, and framing success for children

49:17 The Evolving Nature of Success

56:29 Quick Fire round

In episode 8 of Welcome to Successville, your friend and host Sophie Williams is joined by Successful Guest Maryam Pasha.

Maryam discusses her relationship with success and her involvement in TEDx London. She reflects on her academic success in school and university, and how extracurricular activities contributed the most to her future successes. Maryam also shares her role in coaching TEDx speakers and the impact of their talks. Maryam discusses the true measure of success, which lies in the trust and impact she has on others. She emphasizes the importance of collaboration and recognizing the contributions of others in achieving success. Maryam also shares some exciting news of her own.

You can find Maryam’s podcast - Climate Curious, here

You can find Payzee’s TED Talk here

You can find my TED Talk here

You can find Maryam on Instagram here

You can find the transcript of this episode here

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Maryam Pasha

03:38 Maryam’s Relationship with Success as a Young Person

06:46 TED Talks as a tool vs an end goal

21:09 Success as a team sport

34:57 A new success - signing with a literary agent

48:30 Listener voicemail & separating work and personal identities

59:24 Quickfire questions