Mambition

I finally had my professional photo shoot last week. Pre-kids me would've spent weeks planning—outfit anxiety, hair decisions, brooch or no brooch? This time? I picked my dress the night before, and everything turned out amazing. In this episode: I talk about the shift from perfectionism to spontaneity, and why it matters beyond just photos. How motherhood gives you the ability to access joy o...

She spent her entire career seeing other women as competition. Strategic. Logical. Always one step ahead. Then motherhood hit—and showed her children aren't strategic. They're chaos. Mandy Rees: commercial real estate lawyer → severe postnatal depression → founder of Mother for Life. Motherhood realigned her entire career path—from competing in corporate to building spaces where women coll...

Working parenthood gives you skills you didn't know you'd need. Lightning reflexes. Knowing where every toy is at all times. Remembering names at 2am. Living in the margins. You're not just surviving. You're building something. In this episode: The 7 skills working parents develop (accidentally) that make the chaos somehow manageable. Why knowing where to draw the line—and when to...

The hardest seasons have a way of forcing us inward—to sit with ourselves, reassess what matters, and figure out who we're actually becoming. 2025 was one of those years for me. As we close out January, I'm sharing the 15 biggest lessons that changed how I see motherhood, myself, and what it means to build a life I actually like living. From lowering my threshold for joy to finally ageing...

We're more afraid of rejection as we get older. We've learned to protect ourselves. We don't put ourselves out there anymore. But here's what the past 6 months taught me: friendships aren't a nice-to-have. They're what carry you through. In this episode: Why making friends as a mother takes real courage. How the friendships you build make you show up differently - not just...

Ask Maryann Walsh if she's a risk-taker and she'd say no. That's what makes her story so powerful. Registered dietician. Consulting business. 2 TED talks. PhD candidate. And at 40, she made the least "safe" decision of her life: single motherhood by choice. Two abusive relationships taught her a powerful lesson: she didn't have to stay with the wrong partner just to have...

I have a fear of wasting time. This week, my neighbor's dad was given 3 months to live. I sat with them - just talking, letting time pass. Fighting every urge to be productive. Here's what struck me: I live like time is always urgent. But her family would give anything for those 3 months to drag. Time always feels urgent until it really is. Then you just want it to slow down. In this episode: We'v...

What happens when you fight for motherhood - and then discover you're still allowed to find it hard? Priyanka Mishra is Business Head at Fuzia Talent, scaling virtual support services to 1,000+ clients. She's also mother to one-year-old Siona - a daughter who arrived after three miscarriages and taught her everything about holding two truths at once. In this conversation:→ How three losses...

I used to sprint to school pickup. Actually run. Because being first in the queue somehow meant I was doing it right. Last week, I strolled. I was 15th in line. My son didn't notice. The running wasn't about him. It was about me - compensating for working, performing for invisible judges, trying to parent like I don't work so no one could question if I was enough. Being 15th in line di...

100 episodes! Built in stolen moments while juggling motherhood, career, and life going completely sideways. What you'll hear: → Why we started recording in dressing gowns with no idea what we were doing (and why waiting for "ready" means never starting) → How the podcast became a catalyst for everything else - weight training, travelling, self care. → Why marriage and children aren&...

My 3-year-old daughter turns every nurse appointment into a fact-finding mission. And I've been seeing this nurse for weeks. First appointment: "What's that?" (pointing at tattoo)Next visit: "What's that?" (pointing at freckles)By week four: We know she's half Chilean, moved from Canada at 11, has two teenage kids. Not because I asked. Because my daughter hasn&#...

What happens when motherhood doesn't just change you - it completely redirects your life's work? Pamela Aculey is the creative-tech founder behind MIXD Reality - the UK's first inclusive augmented reality picture book. But first, she was a mother being dismissed in appointments, watching her autistic son Walter disappear in a world that wasn't built for him. In this conversation: →...

My 2-year-old daughter was crying, desperately needing a toilet. The restaurant staff in Pisa looked at her and said no. I exploded. Zero regrets. Months later, when her grandparents crossed a boundary, I stood firm and silent. No scene. No explanation needed. Both moments were protection. Just different tools. I used to think consistency meant always responding the same way. But I've learned it m...

Alyssa Smith spent 17 years teaching other people's kids across America and Korea. Then she had her own. And everything she thought she knew about parenting? She had to unlearn it. Now she's a coach helping parents in life transitions raise resilient kids with voice & choice. Here's what's powerful about Alyssa's story: she stopped performing the "expert parent" a...

I was watching my 4-year-old son write his alphabet when he got the 'j' backwards. I opened my mouth to correct him. "That should be on the other side—" And I stopped. Because in that moment, I saw myself as a child. My dad correcting me over and over until I got it perfect. African parenting. Strict. High standards. It made me who I am today - disciplined, resilient, capable. But it also made me...

Orli Cotel walked away from her creative self for 20 years. Career. Kids. Life got in the way. Then at 42, she started painting again. Sold her first piece at 44. She also spent two decades in the climate movement before pivoting to fight for paid leave when she became a parent and realised how broken the system is. Here's what's powerful about Orli's story: she didn't choose between personal recl...

My daughter played with cornflour and ice for 2 hours at nursery. My kids' favourite Christmas activity? Running to the Polar Express soundtrack. And I realised: they're giving me the permission to keep it simple. Before I became a mum, I volunteered with Shelter at Christmas. The people there had nowhere to go. They'd ask why I was "giving up" my Christmas. But it taught me:...

For 14 years, Laura Styles was an executive PA. Then motherhood became her turning point. Her first child's crying triggered something deeper than exhaustion — it exposed patterns she'd been running on autopilot since childhood. She knew she couldn't parent the way she wanted until she addressed what was happening beneath the surface. So she retrained as a hypnotherapist. Now she helps...

Two different days. Two completely different choices. Both felt impossibly hard. Monday: I closed my laptop early, stopped working, and played with my kids instead. Wednesday: I walked 30 minutes in the snow to go to the gym when I desperately wanted to stay in my warm house. Both required discipline. Both required courage. But for years I only thought ONE of those counted. Because we're reall...

Giselle spent 25 years co-founding, growing, and selling three businesses while raising two daughters. Then, she hit a point where something had to change so she returned to university in her 40s and completed a PhD on women, work, and well-being. But instead of just researching the problem, she used it to solve something in herself - and created a roadmap for other women in the process. In this e...

Alex's son recorded a video inviting Tiffany's children to come to the museum with him. It was spontaneous, confident, and brave. And it got us thinking...maybe this is one of the most underrated skills we can teach our children. The ability to go first. To invite people to do things. To ask. To put yourself out there. And most importantly, to not take it personally when someone says no, c...

Lucy spent 20 years as an international TV journalist covering war zones in Iraq, Ukraine, and the Middle East. Then she became a mum to a son with autism - and realised her career wouldn't bend around the life she needed. But instead of scaling back her ambitions, Lucy rebuilt them entirely. In this episode, we discuss: → The moment she knew journalism had to end - being told to get on a plan...

When do you finally get to start living your life? When the kids sleep through the night? When they start school? When you have a balanced day? My 2-year-old daughter was sick last week, nursery cancelled, work piling up. I had every reason not to go to the gym. But I went anyway — and on the way there, it hit me: I've been waiting for a full stop that's never coming. Here's the thing:...

What happens when a Fortune 500 exec stops hiding her identity as a mother at work and starts leading with it instead? Lucy Watkins, mum of two, had a realisation: the same leadership skills she used at work - structure, empathy, communication, strategy - could transform her family life too. She stopped hoping things would just work out. She started designing them. The result? She went from burnou...

What do you teach your children about hard times when you know you can't protect them from everything? Not if they'll face heartbreak, loss, or situations they didn't see coming — but when ? I've been thinking about this a lot lately. The person I am today was shaped largely by hard times. This podcast wouldn't exist without those experiences. Not just the recording or content...