I’m Zeva Bellel, a certified career transformation coach for women. I’m based in Paris, France, but I hail from Brooklyn NY. Back in 1999 I left everything known and familiar to to me to follow my dream of one day becoming French. It was a wild decision that made no “logical” sense (especially if you asked my grandpa, Sol, who thought I was nuts).
Since then, in life, as well as in work, I’m fascinated by how we become the version of ourselves we’re meant to become. Especially when our paths are strewn with unexpected challenges, doubts as well as inexplicable urges and desires.
However, in a world obsessed with overnight success stories and fancy ribbon cuttings, we neglect the insights and learnings that emerge during the messy middle of the transformation process. The consequences are that we often believe transformation should be obvious, quick and pain-free, since we have few examples to guide us and inspire us forward.
That’s what On Becoming sets out to do—tell the true transformation stories of inspiring women entrepreneurs, creatives and innovators. Instead of merely focusing on where they are now, we’ll peel back the onion and take a lovingly honest look at their becoming journey. We’ll hear about how they made difficult decisions in the pursuit of deep self-expression and fulfilment, especially when they wandered off course and deviated from the classic path. Listen to find out how their hidden journeys can help unlock your own potential.
Subscribe now to follow every episode.
You can also follow me on Instagram, get my newsletter or book a call with me at www.zevabellel.com
Credits
Artwork Jessie Kanelos Weiner
Editing Matthew Jordan
Music © Fabrice Fortin
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
I’m Zeva Bellel, a certified career transformation coach for women. I’m based in Paris, France, but I hail from Brooklyn NY. Back in 1999 I left everything known and familiar to to me to follow my dream of one day becoming French. It was a wild decision that made no “logical” sense (especially if you asked my grandpa, Sol, who thought I was nuts).
Since then, in life, as well as in work, I’m fascinated by how we become the version of ourselves we’re meant to become. Especially when our paths are strewn with unexpected challenges, doubts as well as inexplicable urges and desires.
However, in a world obsessed with overnight success stories and fancy ribbon cuttings, we neglect the insights and learnings that emerge during the messy middle of the transformation process. The consequences are that we often believe transformation should be obvious, quick and pain-free, since we have few examples to guide us and inspire us forward.
That’s what On Becoming sets out to do—tell the true transformation stories of inspiring women entrepreneurs, creatives and innovators. Instead of merely focusing on where they are now, we’ll peel back the onion and take a lovingly honest look at their becoming journey. We’ll hear about how they made difficult decisions in the pursuit of deep self-expression and fulfilment, especially when they wandered off course and deviated from the classic path. Listen to find out how their hidden journeys can help unlock your own potential.
Subscribe now to follow every episode.
You can also follow me on Instagram, get my newsletter or book a call with me at www.zevabellel.com
Credits
Artwork Jessie Kanelos Weiner
Editing Matthew Jordan
Music © Fabrice Fortin
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This season we’re exploring creativity in midlife. That electric, unpredictable, often inconvenient force that resurfaces just as everything else in your life is demanding your attention. For many women, this chapter brings a hunger to express, create, and feel deeply… even while navigating brain fog, hot flashes, insomnia, or a sneaky sense that time is running out. What happens when your creativity doesn’t quiet down, but starts to boil up? Enter my guest today, Robinne Lee.
About Robinne Lee:
Robinne is a Jamaican-Chinese writer, actress, and producer, a graduate of Yale University and Columbia Law School. She’s spent the past three decades building an impressive career in film and television, with standout roles in Hitch, Seven Pounds, 13 Going on 30, Being Mary Jane, and the Fifty Shades franchise. But she’s perhaps best known today as the author of the breakout novel The Idea of You—an international bestseller, translated into over a dozen languages, and adapted into an Amazon Studios movie starring Anne Hathaway. She’s currently working on her anxiously awaited second novel, due out in 2026.
If you don’t already know the book, here’s the premise: a nearly 40-year-old single mom and art gallerist unexpectedly falls into a passionate relationship with the 20-year-old lead singer of the world’s biggest boy band. Yes, it’s erotically delicious. But it’s also a daring, tender, and deeply honest exploration of what it means to feel alive, desirous, and sexually empowered at midlife—a time when society often expects women to shrink and fade.
In our conversation, we dive into:
We also get into the audiobook version of The Idea of You (which Robinne narrates herself). It’s masterful—she inhabits the characters of Solène and Hayes so completely, it’s like being inside the story with them. Honestly, if you’re tempted to skip the book and just watch the movie… don’t. Listen to the audiobook. Trust me.
And if today’s subject stirs something in you—if you’re feeling your own creative fire asking for space—just remember: this is the work I support my clients with through my coaching practice.
Connect with Me:
•Book a discovery call at www.zevabellel.com
•Subscribe to my Substack: On Becoming
•Email me: zeva@zevabellel.com
•Leave me a voice message on Speakpipe
Credits: Artwork Jessie Kanelos Weiner; Editing Matthew Jordan; Music © Fabrice Fortin
P.S. If you love this episode, share it with a friend, leave a 5-star review, or drop me a line. I love hearing from you!
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.