Jessica Hepburn, adventure activist, award-winning author and arts producer is a leading voice in the UK on fertility and family and in this episode, discusses her inspirational adventures and personal motivation.

Having been unable to conceive following 11 unsuccessful rounds of IVF, she felt (by her own admission) failed by Nature. So, she decided to challenge Nature back and became the first and, so far, the only woman in the world to achieve ‘The Sea, Street, Summit Challenge’: she has swum the English Channel, run a road marathon and climbed Mount Everest. She has become a pioneer in inspiring people to live big and bravely when life doesn’t go to plan, and championing the benefits of going on adventures to improve your physical and mental health. 

TOPICS DISCUSSED

• Early experiences and working in theatre
• Running the Lyric theatre and having a secret life
• The journey of trying to become a mother and a decade of project baby
• Writing about fertility in The Pursuit of Motherhood and discovering a passion for writing
• Deciding to swim the English Channel and writing about it as a healing process
• Becoming the first woman to swim the English Channel, run a road marathon
• and climb Mount Everest
• Writing the book 21 Miles - Swimming in Search of Motherhood, the journey of coming out from 11 rounds of IVF and meeting and eating with 21 inspirational women prior to swimming the channel
• Asking inspirational women if motherhood makes them happy
• The parallels between swimming the sea, climbing mountains and conceiving and carrying a baby
• The profound relationship with nature and its power
• Climbing Mount Everest as a very different experience from swimming the channel
• Seeing the challenges with nature initially as battles to be won
• The intimate and different relationships with the sea and the mountain
• The different relationships and fertility journeys that are now possible
• Working to support early education of the choices available for reproduction
• The importance of family and coming from a feminist family
• Being a parent to your own parents because they have not had the right influences early on
• Future adventures and doing smaller adventures and challenges that bring learning
• Advice on how to set goals and make them happen
• The importance of being brave early on in your life and not waiting to do things
• Taking the first step and how this will lead to the next

BEST BITS

‘I’m best at playing me and to be a good  actress you have to be good at playing other people  so I decided if I wasn’t going to be an actress I’d run a theatre instead’

‘My secret life was that I was trying to become a mother’

‘I became the first woman to have swum the English Channel, run a road marathon and climbed Mount Everest’

‘I’ve used the adventures I’ve been on for activism in the field of fertility and family and I’ve also become an activist for the power of adventure to change your life’

‘It’s part of the human existence that we have sad things’

‘Now I feel in an amazing place in my life and living the best life I’ve ever lived and the sea and the mountains have played a massive part in this, they are my religion’

‘I changed my mind set and then it became about a different relationship’

‘I hope to use my experiences to help other people find their way through the sadness of life with the power of adventure’

‘I can’t imagine that anything else in my life will come in and replace the sea and the mountain as a spiritual presence

‘Our families are fundamental to who we are’

‘If there are things you want to do in life, listen to what your soul and your heart is saying, your heart and soul know the answer and all you have to do is take one step to start’

CONTACT DETAILS
https://www.jessicahepburn.com

ABOUT THE PODCAST
Woman Self Made podcast brings you interviews with hugely successful women from all walks of life – world-renowned business leaders, disruptive entrepreneurs, world-class athletes, self-made multi-millionaires, entertainment and TV personalities. In these conversations, we dive into their unique stories with the aim to deconstruct their secrets for success. We talk about their journeys, ups and down, while distilling along the way the habits, tools, tactics and tips, which you can learn and use.

So, grab your favourite drink and join us every Thursday for open conversations with the most inspiring women talking about building successful businesses, careers and living the lives of their dreams.

ABOUT THE HOST
Marina Bennett had a high-flying international career in strategy and finance, and in 2019 she decided to leave her £300k/year City job to take the entrepreneurial plunge from scratch. She is now a multiple business owner on the way to her first 7 figures. Marina is also a founder of Woman. Self-made. (@womanselfmade.inc) - an online community of confident, ambitious women who want to achieve success and live the lives of their dreams