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

In episode 7 of Welcome To Successville, Successful Guest Donna Patterson tells friend and host Sophie Williams how she was sure life had peaked when she got a child Filofax.

In trying to wrangle the concept of success, Donna reflects on her career journey and the unexpected turns it took, including going through an employment tribunal. She discusses the influence of societal expectations and the portrayal of successful women in media, as well as her own experiences trying to model success for her children.

You can find Pregnant Then Screwed here

You can find Donna's TEDxTalk here

You can find her Instagram here

You can find the transcript of this episode here

Chapters

00:00 - Introduction to Donna Patterson and bio

04:38 - Success as a Young Person and Its Influence

06:30 - Childhood visions of success

10:51 - The Unexpected Emotions of Post-Success Blues

13:24 - The Erin Brockovich of Bradford workplace tribunal

30:43 - Imposter Syndrome

34:20 - Listener voicemail

38:38 - Understanding Workplace Rights

41:41 - Success leads to more opportunities for success

42:37 - Donna's TEDx Talk and Success

51:23 - Quickfire round

In episode 6 of Welcome to Successville, your friend and host Sophie Williams is joined by two Successful Guests; Natalie and Naomi Evans, co-founders of Everyday Racism, to discuss success and activism. They share their experiences growing up and their views on success as young people, navigating the education system and the pressure to achieve good grades. They also discuss the journey of starting their anti-racism Instagram account and the impact it has had on their personal views of success - emphasizing the importance of aligning success with values and goals. Natalie and Naomi also talk about the success they have found in writing books that have helped and resonated with people, the pressure to continue being successful and how they have learned to define success on their own terms.

You can find Everyday Racism’s website here

You can find details of Natalie and Naomi’s books here

You can find Everyday Racism’s Instagram here

You can find the transcript of this episode here

In episode 5 of Welcome to Successville, your friend and host Sophie Williams is joined by Successful Guest Sarah Ellis. co-founder of Amazing If, to talk about her journey to success, and the bumps in the road along the way. They discuss the challenges and hard work behind their achievements, the importance of focusing on behaviours rather than shiny objects, and the impact of social media on comparison and jealousy. They also talk about their experiences with publishing books and the allure of the best-seller list.

Sophie Williams and Sarah Ellis discuss their values, ambitions, and the importance of working in community. They emphasize the need to define success on one's own terms and celebrate personal achievements. They also discuss the concept of a Squiggly Career and the importance of aligning work with one's values. They encourage listeners to be intentional about their choices and to prioritize what truly matters to them, and the importance of being there for the moments that matter.

You can find Sarah’s website here

You can find details of Sarah’s books here

You can find Helen and Sarah’s success plans here

You can find the transcript of this episode here

In episode 4 of Welcome to Successville, your friend and host Sophie Williams is joined by Successful Guest Kevin Morosky. Kevin discusses his background and experiences that shaped his idea of success, including the importance of freedom and creativity. He talks about the challenges he faced in school and his role in mentoring and guiding young people to redefine success and understand their worth. Kevin and Sophie also discuss Kevin's journey as an author, including self-publishing his first book and navigating the publishing industry for his second. Kevin shares how his ideas around success have changed through his life, and the importance of knowing your worth.

You can find Kevin's book Black Women Always, here

You can find Kevin's Instagram here

You can find the transcript of this episode here

00:00 Introduction to Kevin Morosky

04:11 Kevin's bio and how that feels

08:35 Childhood Ideas of Success

22:03 Money and Success

27:20 Challenges of Writing and Publishing a Book

37:42 Challenges Faced by Black Authors in the Publishing Industry

41:15 Self-belief and knowing you're talented

46:24 Celebrating success

53:21 Quickfire questions

56:46 Byeeeee

In episode 3 of Welcome to Successville, your friend and host Sophie Williams is joined by Successful Guest Rebecca Humphries, actress and best-selling author. Rebecca discusses her journey to success and the challenges she faced along the way, from drama school to the entertainment industry. Rebecca talks about the importance of self-producing work, choosing curiosity over overwhelm, and staying cool when you meet Judi Dench.

Rebecca also talks about her book, 'Why Did You Stay?', which explores the topic of abusive relationships, and why we need a different approach in order to help as many people as possible.

You can find Rebecca's book here

You can find Rebecca’s Substack, The Trowel, here

You can find out about The Hoffman Process here

You can find a transcript of this episode here