Pathways to Thriving

Interview someone — a friend, another blogger, your mother, the mailman — and write a post based on their responses.

All of August 2025, I have been busy working on my upcoming podcast, Pathways to Thriving. The idea for my podcast is to interview people who are thriving in their work, but whose voices aren’t usually heard.

My hope is that a truly diverse picture will emerge through the contributions from my podcast. Thriving looks different for every single person. And that is okay! In fact, it is beautiful.

I started off the interviews by interviewing a friend of mine, Daniel. There is something very modest about Daniel and it comes across only to magnify the importance of what it is he has to say! His prowess in legal education and his love for it, showed up during the interview. I loved it.

Another interview was with a really good girlfriend of mine, Rajash. It has been a joy seeing Rajash navigate her own law firm. She’s been one busy bunny, and the kind of things she’s been involved in from a legal standpoint, has been nothing but spectacular. I’m inspired by her!

The third person I interviewed was someone I met on LinkedIn. She was incredibly fascinating. It was so gratifying to see a Chief Human Resource Officer really bring people into the heart of leadership. I had goosebumps during the interview!

The fourth but not the last, is an old friend, Bassl. I met Bassl in 2008 when I was teaching English! He came to Malaysia as a student and I have to say he was one of the most hardworking people I ever met! I’m a few years older and we got on well. Over the years, I’ve got to know his wife and kids. While Bassl was in Malaysia on holiday, I snatched a moment to interview him. I had a sense of pride listening to him answer questions. He has grown a business and is doing well. His family is being cared for and loved. The challenges he faced to get there- he just overcame by sheer persistence.

I’ve been buzzing since starting these interviews. The joy, inspiration, and pride that I feel from these individuals – I cannot speak enough of! I’ve got more interviews lined up.

Pathways to Thriving launches on 2 September. If you’re interested in catching it, follow me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anita-stephen-1a800041

If you enjoy the interview – I am so nervous in the first one, but it gets better in the second and so on (I think!), please help me grow this initiative by liking and subscribing to the channel. There should also be an opportunity to put forward suggestions of people I can interview (am happy to interview them via Zoom as well!).

Tune in to the first interview with Daniel being launched on 2 September 2025!