A Perilous Hot Air Balloon Ride - Richard Branson

About The EpisodeOur exciting guest for this week’s episode of Fear Itself is extreme athlete and world record holder Josh Llewellyn-Jones. Born with cystic fibrosis, Josh has gotten used to being told what he's not capable of - what he can't do - and so he's dedicated his life to proving people wrong. In this episode, Josh reveals to Cressida the incredible story of how he earned the nickname 'Million Kilo Man', Josh explains what it means to 'defy the odds daily', and we hear some inspirational advice for parents of children with cyststic fibrosis.About The Guest Born with cystic fibrosis, Josh was given a 10% chance of surviving his first night. Growing up, he was told he wouldn’t make 30 but, at 32, he was a World Record Holder, Ultra Athlete and International Motivational Speaker. At 29, Josh completed the ‘Worlds Fittest Man Challenge’ - one of only 5 in the world to do so. The following year in 2018, he became the first and only man to lift 1,000,000kg’s in under 24 hours to raise awareness for cystic fibrosis, beating the old record by over 500,000kg’s. About The Host Cressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"That experience, of nearly dying, was a pivot in my life. A real eye opener. It made me realise life is precious." - Josh Llewellyn Jones"If you can survive something you have an extreme fear of you can become mentally invisible to it." - Josh Llewellyn JonesResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enFollow Josh on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/joshlj24/?hl=enThis podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About The EpisodeToday’s incredible guest on Fear Itself is the best-selling children's author Scott Stuart. In this episode, Scott explains how tough it's been to tackle the toxic masculinity culture and to address his own insecurities, Cressida and Scott explore the importance of placing trust and control in your children, and Cressida asks Scott about the courage he draws from creativity.About The Guest Scott Stuart is a best-selling children’s book author. His books have appeared on numerous best-seller lists, as well as receiving nominations for Children’s Book of the Year & Picture Book of the Year. His empowering messages have been seen over 100 million times on Social Media, and he is a leading voice on fully accepting & empowering our children, exactly as they are.About The HostCressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"That's all we really want. To be fully seen and fully accepted. Yet so few of us are." - Scott Stuart"Empowerment can look, in the moment, a lot like failure. As parents, you try to prepare your children for the world. And part of that preparation is letting your child try and fail." - Scott StuartResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enLearn more about Scott and his amazing work here: https://scottstuart.co/This podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About The EpisodeToday’s wonderful guest on the Fear Itself podcast is art historian and philosopher John Armstrong. In this episode John tells us about the battles he's had with shyness, Cressida and John discuss how all humans are pretty idiotic - and why that's ok! - and John shares a surprisingly emotional story about a garden centre.About The GuestJohn Armstrong is an art historian and philosopher and has worked closely with educational company, and youtube channel, The School of Life (TSOL) since 2013. The School of Life is a global organisation devoted to teaching people how to lead a more fulfilled life. They offer insights in the key ingredients of emotional well-being: how to form good relationships, identify a satisfying career, minimise anxiety, acquire confidence and connect properly with friends. The channel has been a huge success - accruing over 6 million subscribers. John is also a distinguished author. With his books covering a range of themes including art, beauty, and civilisation. About The HostCressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"Few people are confident all the way down. And if we realise that, it can change our perspective both on envy and intimidation." - John Armstrong"I sense a tension in civilization. Often shy people are the people who have got the nicest, most helpful, most interesting things to say but who have also taught themselves to be too cautious about being assertive." - John ArmstrongResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enTo learn more about the School of Life click here: https://www.theschooloflife.com/This podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About The EpisodeIn this episode Brita tells us about her new book Fears to Fierce, Brita pinpoints why we need to lean into our fears, and highlights why we need to pay attention to little things - like goosebumps!About The GuestBrita Fernandez Schmidt is an advocate and promoter of women’s empowerment, women’s rights and equality. She serves as the Executive Director of Women for Women International – UK and is the Senior Vice President for Global Partnerships. She frequently writes about the challenges women face all over the world in the context of poverty and conflict. She has lived and/or worked in over 16 countries spanning three continents and released her book, Fears to Fierce: A Woman's Guide to Owning Her Power, in January 2021. The book is a rallying call that will inspire readers to realise your purpose and potential and ignite their fierce.About The HostCressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"I had this fire in me and I realised this fire was not acceptable. And this is where, particularly for young women and girls, you wake up and you realise you're not meant to be powerful and I'm not talking about power over others but the power within you." - Brita Fernandez-Schmidt"The measure by which you face your fear, is the measure by which you allow your power to shine." - Brita Fernandez-SchmidtResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enTo learn more about Brita and her new book ‘Fear to Fierce’ by visiting her website here: https://www.britafs.com/This podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About The EpisodeThis week’s guest on the show is former professional rugby union player and author of Lucky, Ed Jackson. Ed's career was cut short due to a life-changing spinal injury, but despite being told he may never walk again, Ed has gone on to achieve extraordinary things. In this episode Ed tells us how his biggest growth has come on the other side of fear, he shares a beautifully emotional story about a friend who's inspired him through life and death, and he explains why he feels lucky every single day.About The GuestEd Jackson is an English former professional rugby union player who played for Bath and London Wasps. He represented England and captained both U16 and U18 teams before his career was cut short through a life-changing spinal injury. After his recovery, Ed set up a charity focused events company, Millimetres to Mountains, which raises money for various causes. Ed also works as a reporter for Channel 4’s rugby coverage. Ed’s book, Lucky, is the story of how he overcame adversity following his accident and coped with massive change – and how you can too.About The HostCressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"It's not what happens to us, we can't affect that, but it's how we react to it that counts. It's how we see our life that makes a difference." - Ed Jackson"It doesn't matter if life is going to be much harder from physical limitations because life is lived through the mind." - Ed Jackson ResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enFollow Ed on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/edjackson8/?hl=enLearn more about Ed Jackson’s book, Lucky, hereThis podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About The EpisodeOn this very special episode of Fear Itself, Cressida meets two experts who will demystify the tools and techniques needed to overcome your fears. The episode will be split in two halves and, in the first half, we will meet John Halker. John is a psychotherapist, clinical hypnotherapist, writer, author and speaker. In the show, John helps us unpack exactly what’s going on in our minds when we feel fear, and what we can do to gain control over it. In part two of the episode, Cressida will then speak to Tracy Forsyth. Tracy is a career coach who illuminates for Cressida the importance of building workplace confidence, defeating imposter syndrome, and crushing your inner critic. About The GuestsJohn is a psychotherapist, clinical hypnotherapist, writer, author and speaker. John has an interest in helping traumatised people, and a great deal of his work is about helping people to build resilience through developing a strong foundation for their emotional health. He helped create the 'Better Stop Suicide' app (https://thebetterappcompany.com/ ) and has a YouTube channel called 'Well Yeah' where he offers useful techniques to tackle everything from fear and anxiety to weight loss and PTSD. (https://www.youtube.com/c/WellYeah/featured)Tracy is a former BBC Worldwide Leadership executive who founded Walter & Wootze - an organisation dedicated to helping talented people and companies break through self-doubt and limitations to unleash their potential. Tracy Forsyth is a professionally certified Executive & Leadership Coach (CPCC, PCC) and offers executive or career coaching in London and across the globe to high potential individuals, women and under-represented groups in leadership. Tracy recently launched Fast Track to Fearless https://fasttracktofearless.com/ - a virtual academy for career confidence and fearless leadership. About The HostCressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"Anxiety is simply a set of symptoms caused by worrying. You were not born a worrier. You learned to worry." - John Halker"My first approach to fear is to identify it, understand what is the cause of it and what value is it attached to. Then ask yourself how you can honour those values." - Tracy ForsythResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enJohn’s Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/WellYeah/featuredBetter App link: https://thebetterappcompany.com/ Follow Tracy’s instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/tracyforsythcoach/?hl=enTracy’s Youtube channel: https://fasttracktofearless.com/This podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About The EpisodeToday’s guest on Fear Itself is the brilliant Otegha Uwagba, bestselling author, speaker, consultant and podcaster. In this episode Otegha explains why one of her biggest fears is running out of money, Cressida quizzes Otegha on the issue of the so-called 'beauty tax', and we learn about the battles Otegha had to fight against misogyny in the workplace.About The GuestOtegha Uwagba is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling career guide Little Black Book: A Toolkit For Working Women (2017), and the acclaimed short essay Whites: On Race and Other Falsehoods (2020). In 2018, Otegha was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Media & Marketing. From 2016 - 2020 she ran Women Who, a London-based platform she set up with the aim of helping women think, work, and live better. You can listen to her podcast In Good Company here. Otegha’s upcoming memoir We Need To Talk About Money will be published in July 2021.About The HostCressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"Women choosing to do beauty work isn't just merely born of vanity, it's also born of the way society treats us if we chose not to do that." - Otegha Owagba"In toxic workplaces, I did find myself adjusting my behaviour so as to protect the male ego - to seem soft, feminine, compliant, docile. Words that people who know me would never use to describe me." - Otegha OwagbaResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enFollow Otegha on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/oteghauwagba/?hl=enBe sure to look out for Otegha’s upcoming memoir We Need To Talk About Money.This podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About The EpisodeThe guest today on the podcast is presenter, entrepreneur and television personality, Jamie Lang. In this episode, we explore a mental health disorder that clouded Jamie's mind, we find out how he was able to dance so fearlessly into the finals of Strictly Come Dancing, and we discover how Jamie turned what could've been the worst moment of his life into his best.About The GuestJamie Laing is a presenter, entrepreneur and television personality. He first became a household name as one of the stars of the hit E4 show Made In Chelsea, and has since appeared on Strictly Come Dancing, Murder in Successville, This Morning, and 8 out of 10 Cats, just to name a few. He hosts a popular Saturday show on HEAT Radio and co-hosts Podcast Private Parts with Francis Boulle. He also has a YouTube channel Happy Hour – a weekly Vlog with daring pranks, crazy challenges and insight into his unique perspective on life.About The Host Cressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"Whatever I've done in life, I've always known where I was going to go. If you know where you're heading you can't get lost." - Jamie Lang"The key to overcoming yours fears is exposing yourself to them." - Jamie LangResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enFollow Jamie Laing on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/jamielaing/?hl=enCheck out Jamie’s book, ‘I Can Explain’, hereThis podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About The EpisodeToday’s guest is British DJ and activist, Chelsea Leyland. In the episode, Chelsea tells us about one the most frightening seizures she's ever experienced, Chelsea explains how medical cannabis has allowed her to take back control of her life, and we explore the beautiful side of suffering. About The GuestChelsea Leyland is a British DJ, medicinal cannabis advocate and epilepsy activist. Chelsea suffers from a type of epilepsy called ‘Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy’ (JME), which she has been battling since her early teens. In 2016, Chelsea made the brave and life-changing decision to wean herself off her strong pharmaceutical anti-seizure medications and treat her epilepsy solely with medical cannabis. Chelsea now uses her platform to raise awareness and destigmatise both epilepsy and medicinal cannabis. A subject she further explores in her moving and deeply personal upcoming documentary Separating The Strains. About The HostCressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"Fear of being treated differently, fear of the stigma, fear of being judged, fear that at any moment you can have a fit. That's why I define epilepsy as fear." - Chelsea Leyland"Suffering makes us better people. People who have had more challenging journeys tend to be on a deeper path." - Chelsea LeylandResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enTo learn more about Chelsea and the work she does visit her website here: http://chelsealeyland.com/This podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

About The EpisodeOur guest today on Fear Itself is one of the world's most iconic entrepreneurs, Richard Branson. Richard's career, mindset and outlook on life is typified by fearlessness. In this episode, we find out how a 'screw it, let's do it' attitude helped him fight fear to launch Virgin Atlantic, he shares a gutrenching account of one his many death defying exploits, and we discover what Richard truly fears.  *Just as a note however, this episode was recorded earlier in the year before Richard's space flight. Sir Richard Branson is an English business magnate, adventurer, investor, author, and commercial astronaut. In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business, Virgin Records—later known as Virgin Megastores—in 1972. Branson's Virgin brand would grow rapidly and he would expand his businesses to include Virgin Atlantic airline, Virgin Records music label, and Virgin Television. On 11 July 2021, Branson flew above the U.S. definition of space, reaching an altitude of 53 as part of a test flight for his company, Virgin Galactic. About The Host Cressida Bonas is an actress, podcaster and writer. Cressida has had leading acting roles in a number of well known television and film productions - such as her role as Sheila Bamber in the critically acclaimed Netflix series White House Farm. Some of Cressida's other work include roles in the ITV series Dr Thorne, the film The Bye Bye Man, and in theatre productions Mrs Orwell and An Evening with Lucien Freud. Cressida writes a monthly column for the arts and culture section in The Spectator and her written work has been featured in The Telegraph, and The Mail on SundayTop Quotes"If you seek out the best in those you think are your enemies, you will find the best." - Richard Branson"My life has taught me mostly about the power of people." - Richard BransonResourcesFollow Cressida Bonas on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/cressida_bonas_/?hl=enClick here to learn more about Richard Branson and his work: https://www.virgin.com/branson-family/richard-branson-blogThis podcast episode is produced by OneFinePlay Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.