In this episode of *Perfectly Flawed*, I sit down with **Paul Avins**—a transformational coach, entrepreneur mentor. Paul’s remarkable career includes a 20-year track record of helping entrepreneurs and CEOs achieve extraordinary results, with over 550 companies, many scaling to £5–10 million, he leads world-class masterminds, retreats, and events through **Massive Action Coaching** and the UK’s No.1 Scale-Up Mastermind, **F12**.
Paul’s life took a dramatic turn when a severe asthma attack nearly ended it. Minutes later, he returned, transformed by the experience. He believes that this near-death experience (NDE) prepared him to navigate the challenges of his wife’s subsequent disabling illness, teaching him resilience, perspective, and the deeper meaning of wealth and life.
In this conversation, we explore:
💡 The intersection of business success, personal wealth, and spiritual insight.
💡 How a life-threatening event can redefine purpose and perspective.
💡 Lessons from guiding hundreds of entrepreneurs to scale their businesses beyond imagination.
💡 The importance of resilience and presence when life throws unexpected challenges your way.
🎧 Tune in for a conversation that blends business, life, and spirituality, and discover how extraordinary success and personal transformation can go hand in hand.
With a remarkable 20-year track record coaching entrepreneurs and CEOs, Paul knows how to deliver real results. He's successfully guided over 550 companies to surpass £1 million in revenue, with many scaling to an impressive £5 million and £10 million heights, dominating their industries.
Paul's journey has been marked by resilience, having survived a life-threatening asthma attack nine years ago, a testament to his unwavering commitment to helping others overcome adversity.
As the CEO of Massive Action Coaching, he leads 'Team Purple,' renowned for delivering world-class events, masterminds, and retreats that inspire and empower entrepreneurs on their scale-up journeys. Paul is also the driving force behind the No1 Scale-Up Mastermind in the UK, F12, boasting a remarkable 10-year history of creating millionaire business owners.
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/paulavins/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulavins/
He calls himself “just a drummer”—but Tom Morley is far from just anything.
As the original drummer for 80s band Scritti Politti, Tom went on to play with legends like David Bowie and Madness. Today, he blends old-school rock ’n’ roll eccentricity with new-school technology, including generative AI, to unleash creativity in the most unexpected places—like corporate boardrooms.
Through drumming, chanting, and his trademark humour, Tom has a rare gift: he gets even the most straight-laced delegates clapping, singing, and drumming in harmony. As one client said: “We didn’t believe we could do it, but we could see that you believed we could do it. So we went for it—and it worked!”
In this free-spirited conversation, we explore:
🥁 How group energy transforms when people are given permission to play.
🥁 Why stepping out of our comfort zones leads to breakthroughs.
🥁 The art of creating in the moment—and why that’s at the heart of being human.
🥁 Tom’s reflections on music, technology, and unifying people through rhythm.
Tom is living proof that when we risk a little vulnerability, magic happens. As one HR leader put it: “How do you get 150 delegates from 50 territories to sing in harmony in half an hour? Ask Tom Morley.”
🎧 Tune in for an episode that’s part rock history, part magical masterclass, and all about the extraordinary power of being perfectly flawed.
What does it take to break free from your past and create a life of purpose, peace, and impact?
In this inspiring episode of Perfectly Flawed, I’m joined by Gethin Jones—a man whose journey from childhood in care, addiction, and repeated prison sentences to becoming a leader, speaker, and changemaker will leave you in awe. Today, he is the Founder and CEO of Unlocking Potential, a transformative organisation that brings lived experience to the heart of leadership, consultancy, and training.
Gethin is one of the most inspiring, wise, and fun-loving people I know—a jovial, Buddha-like presence who radiates warmth and authenticity. With his trademark Think It, Say It, Do It framework, he now works with individuals, teams, and organisations worldwide, showing them how to build resilience, challenge broken systems, and unlock their true potential.
In this conversation, we explore:
💡 How Gethin turned struggle, addiction, and prison into fuel for transformation.
💡 Why authenticity and acceptance are at the heart of empowerment.
💡 The power of lived experience in creating change that lasts.
💡 How we can all step into our full potential—no matter where we’ve come from.
🎧 Tune in to hear Gethin’s powerful story of redemption and wisdom. His life is living proof that no matter how flawed our past, we can all create extraordinary futures.
Gethin Jones is the Founder and CEO of Unlocking Potential, a transformative organisation dedicated to inspiring change. His journey, from childhood in care to prison and overcoming addiction, fuels his mission to empower individuals and organisations.
Unlocking Potential’s Associate Model brings together experts with lived experience to deliver bespoke consultancy, leadership development, and training for public and corporate sectors.
An international speaker and PSA member, Gethin’s Think It, Say It, Do It framework inspires audiences worldwide. His work challenges systems, builds resilient leaders, and drives meaningful transformation, helping people unlock their full potential.
What if the real key to success isn’t chasing perfection—but learning to tell the truth about who you are, flaws and all?
In this episode of *Perfectly Flawed*, I’m joined by **Beth Sherman**—comedian, keynote speaker, and seven-time Emmy Award-winning writer for some of television’s biggest shows, including *The Late Show with David Letterman*, *The Tonight Show with Jay Leno*, *Ellen*, and even the Academy Awards. She’s also performed stand-up across the US and for troops in Iraq, proving her belief that *“truth is funny.”*
Now, through her consultancy **Laughter Connects**, Beth helps people show up authentically, engage with impact, and use humour as a bridge to connection.
Together, we explore:
💡 Why honesty, not perfection, makes us relatable and successful.
💡 How humour helps us navigate struggle and build resilience.
💡 What it means to show up—messy, real, and unapologetically you.
🎧 Tune in for laughter, insight, and a reminder that your truth is not only enough…it’s the funniest thing you’ve got.
Beth Sherman is a comedian, and seven-time Emmy Award-winning Hollywood comedy writer who's written for the biggest shows in American television, including Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Ellen, and the Academy Awards. As a comedian, she’s performed at comedy clubs across the United States, as well as combat outposts and forward operating bases in Iraq. She is the winner of seven (7) Emmy awards, and was nominated for a 2023 Writers Guild Award for the Netflix comedy special, Stand Out: An LGBTQ+ Celebration. She also works as a presentation coach and keynote speaker on connection and engagement through her consultancy, Laughter Connects.
Shelley suggests we think not fist about why but of who we really are. She talks about
changing gender 40 years ago. What it was like then and what it is like now.
What struck me was the sheer bravery of finally recognising who you truly are and then
getting out into the world and living and being it. A real call to action for us all to recognise
our own dreams and ambitions and then take courageous action to be who we truly are and
bring those dreams to fruition.
Bio:
Shelley is a Speaker, Psychotherapist, Hypnotherapist, Trainer, & Author. She has become a
media commentator specialising in psychotherapy & psychology, with appearances on BBC
Television, Sky and Channels 4 and 5 as well Radio 4’s “Woman’ Hour” “Midweek” and the
“Jeremy Vine Show”. She has also featured in “Psychologies,” and “Therapy Today”
magazines.
As a Speaker, Shelley’s topics are Transformational Change, Diversity & Thought
leadership. Although speaking has taken over from performing comedy on the Stand-up
comedy circuit where she performed five one-woman shows at the Edinburgh Festival and
completed a seven-night run Off-Broadway in New York
Links:
https://shelleybridgman.com
linkedin.com/in/purposeandlegacycoach
https://www.facebook.com/shelley.bridgman2
TEDX Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7BdX_CmH7U
Please like and subscribe.
Steve had a terrible car accident that crushed his legs, but he learnt, not just to walk again,
but become a World Champion Para-triathlete.
We talk about how life doesn’t always, if ever, go to plan. We all need to course correct. So
rather than expecting perfection, if we accept the flaws as we go, we can use them to adapt
the plan along the way. Here we talk about how only 4% of the original moon landing voyage
actually went to plan ‘but they knew the astronauts, and everyone was good enough to
adapt along the way’.
We talk about perfectionism and 85% rule. Also, about the link between Steve’s recent
physical septicaemia and his mental and emotional situation at the time. Once he had
figured out that link, he was able to remedy it straight away.
Bio:
Steve’s extraordinary journey of resilience and triumph took him from wheelchair to world
champion and now beyond in business as a professional speaker. Whether addressing a
room full of executives or conducting workshops for diverse groups, Steve brings his energy
and unwavering dedication to empowering individuals to achieve their full potential and their
‘GOLD’ - their Goal, Opportunity, Love and Dream.
Steve is the author of two books. His autobiography ‘Don’t lean on your excuses’ and
‘GOLD’ which empowers the reader to unlock the power of their potential and achieve their
goals.
A TEDx speaker, winner of Global Business Awards, Motivational Speaker of the Year and
Regional Speaker of The Year numerous times by his professional association the PSA.
Links:
www.steve-judge.co.uk
Mob: 07939 220784
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-judge-908293b1/
https://www.facebook.com/Steven-Judge-317765745069694/
https://twitter.com/SteveJudge
https://www.youtube.com/user/JudgeInnovations/videos
Video: https://youtu.be/M2VX9s2QohM
Please like and subscribe.
When Julie took a jeer from a workman, when out training for the London Marathon, she
embraced it and turned it into a global enterprise called “Too Fat to Run”. A huge advocate
of taking “Imperfect Action” Julie has founded both this and multiple other businesses, she’s
run 6 marathons, published 15 books and helped thousands of people take their own
imperfect action and just get on and bring their ideas into reality. She may run the long
events but she her way is to take shortest possible distance between turning an idea into an
action even if its imperfect.
Bio:
Julie Creffield is an expert on innovation, creativity and social mobility. An award-winning
comedienne, 14 times author, 6 times marathon runner, and proud solo parent to her STEM
obsessed 12-year-old. Her career spans 30 years and has included work with Oxford
Innovation, London 2012, the UK Government and industry giants like Google and Disney.
Her life has not been without struggle though, with undiagnosed ADHD, 5 redundancies,
being hospitalised with COVID, and near bankruptcy, she knows a thing or two about having
to bounce forward.
Links:
www.juliecreffield.com
www.juliecreffieldspeaks.com
www.linkedin.com/in/juliecreffield
https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Julie-Creffield/author/B00GRWL4G4
Please like and subscribe.
In this episode we talk about how a terrible accident at school sports day with a javelin led to the death of her friend. Receiving no counselling or support, Lis blamed herself and thought she was a monster. She had to learn to forgive herself and find a true compassion for the human condition.
Bio:
Where leadership, performance, and wellbeing meet, Lis Cashin is passionate about creating workplaces where people feel seen, heard, valued, and that they belong. An award-winning keynote and TEDx speaker, author and consultant, she helps individuals, leaders, and teams thrive. Currently pursuing an MSc in Applied Positive Psychology, Organisations, and Leadership, Lis brings cutting-edge insights and a strengths-based, systemic approach to developing inclusive, high-performing environments where people and organisations can thrive.
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lis-cashin/
Please like and subscribe.
Paul is a mindfulness coach and founder of Dharmalicious - a community to practice self-
awareness . He has a wisdom and sacredness for life that makes for an enjoyable
conversation – particularly when we explore how he has learnt to manage his on perfect
flaws in the shape of anxiety. A natural fight or flight response which we so oftent prefer to
fight or flee from. He, instead, has learned to turn towards it not away from it - greeting
anxiety with a welcoming; “Hello Old Friend” and discovering what it has to offer him.
Bio:
Paul Dalton is a mindfulness teacher and Conscious Leadership Coach. He specialises in
blending ancient wisdom principles with modern leadership practices to help create cultures
in which people and teams thrive. He is also the founder of dharma⌁licious, a Buddhist-
inspired community that supports its members in living wiser, kinder, calmer, and happier
lives.
Links:
https://www.pauldalton.coach/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/pauldaltoncoaching/
https://www.instagram.com/pauldaltonmindfulness
https://youtube.com/@beginagainmindfulness?si=II0VoGZ5tRFTJuKh
Please like and subscribe.
Vicki talks about going from being a girl who was not adventurous nor sporty to taking on
some of the toughest physical pursuits around the world from cycling across America to the
Great Ocean Row from Los Angeles to Hawaii – and how she reclaimed her sovereignty to
make her own life decisions rather than waiting for others to give her permission to lead her
own life.
Bio:
A leading well-being expert, TEDx keynote speaker, coach, mentor, and athlete, Vicki Anstey
is also an entrepreneur turned adventurer and world record holder. Vicki was among the first
women to reach the final stages of Channel 4’s SAS Who Dares Wins and, in 2021, secured
a world record for rowing the mid-Pacific unaided. In 2024, she achieved a second world
record, cycling 3,000 miles across America in The Race Across America. A UK Ambassador
for Inspiring Girls, she fundraises through her challenges. She speaks on resilience,
empowerment, and emotional endurance, advising teams on stress, mindset, and high-
performance teamwork.
Links:
www.vickianstey.co.uk
https://www.instagram.com/vickianstey/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/vickianstey/
Please like and subscribe.
On holiday in Sri Lanka on Boxing Day and Michelle and her husband went down to breakfast before returning to sleep off the hangover. They had planned to go diving but were awoken by all kinds of noise. They found themselves amid the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. She talks about how a group of survivors clubbed together to survive for one week, amidst all the devastation and chaos and how it has given her an insight into the magnificence of humanity and the value of community.
Bio:
Michelle is known as The People Reader. She is a veteran, a previous award-winning CEO, a tsunami survivor and now, a human behaviour and communication expert. She has created a suite of analysis tools that help people to uncover their magnificence and works with organisations to unleash their people potential. She is the National President of the Professional Speaking Association and is openly ADHD with Dyscalculia, synaesthesia, and misophonia as comorbid conditions.
Links:
linkedin.com/in/michellemillsporter
www.thepeoplereader.com
www.mmp.uk.com
Please like and subscribe.
Deeply entrenched in the demands of SW London motherhood and work – Lise felt overweight and undervalued until she decided to no longer let it stop her.
She took up triathlons, adventures and even welcomed a family of refugees into her home. She has since bought a refuge house for women and children and is a passionate advocate for women embracing their wealth. She bares her soul and her body on Instagram and asks: “why let shame stop you?”
In this conversation we explore her recognition that her extra weight was a natural adaptive response and protective layer to a car accident when she was young. The pressure to lose it before she was ready was what embedded a lifetime of shame which she is now releasing through her Instagram activities.
Bio:
Lise Thorne is a passionate advocate for body acceptance and self-love. After a car crash at seven led to weight gain and self-doubt, she struggled with body image through her teens and on. Now, she inspires other women to free themselves from limiting beliefs through projects like photographing women’s nude bodies annually to celebrate growth and change. Lise also founded The Welcome Home Project, providing housing for homeless refugee mothers and her latest project is launching The Money Conversation to empower women in investing and financial independence. A firm believer in movement for mental and physical well-being, Lise is on a mission to help women follow their dreams and become unstoppable rockstars.
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/walking_this_way/
https://www.instagram.com/welcome_home_london/
https://www.instagram.com/the.moneyconversation/
Please like and subscribe.
Alex Williams talks about how he made sense of the traumatic experience of his mother’s
murder in the next-door bedroom to him as an 8-year-old - and why the self-help and
personal development industry can be so toxic to a real recovery in which we embrace or
perceived flaws and know that we are OK. That none of us is deeply flawed.
Bio:
Alex is a Speaker and Mental Health Practitioner who helps people to get back up when life
knocks them down. Supporting them to recover from the trauma, adversity and setbacks
they’ve faced so they can rediscover their strength, their passion and their purpose.
Links:
https://linkedin.com/in/thealexjwilliams
https://instagram.com/thealexjwilliams
Please like and subscribe.
Deborah is the host of Perfectly Flawed, a podcast celebrating stories of extraordinary success through struggle and imperfection. It is about ‘the Art of Being Human’ and the insights they can share. An inspiring speaker and facilitator, with over 20 years in business and clinical psychology, she helps leaders and speakers transform their life experiences into powerful stories that inspire. From being held at gunpoint in Peru to yacht-racing across the world’s oceans, to facing tragedy, loss and success in equal measure, Deborah has lived the lessons in life that have led to embracing perceived flaws rather than turning from them. Her book, Your Leadership Story, was a Business Book Awards finalist and now fuels a transformational programme and she is now working on her next book Perfectly Flawed. Join her and her amazing guests as she dives deep into the raw, real stories behind remarkable success and life fulfilment.
In this opening episode, Deborah shares with her friend Duncan her own flaws and imperfections and how she conceived of the idea for Perfectly Flawed - what it means to her and why it matters.
Join Perfectly Flawed podcast host Deborah Henley – a speaker, author, coach and founder of the REAL leadership programme- as the tables are turned and she is interviewed by Duncan Bhaskaran Brown.
Duncan is an experienced podcaster having guested on hundreds of podcasts and is also the host of his own show “Flat Pack Sober”. He is an Alcohol Awareness Expert and Speaker - and also the author of Get Over Overindulgence and Real Men Quit.
He’s drunk more than his fair share of wine and eaten more than his fair share of the cake. Along the way, he found himself in some interesting places like on stage with S-Club, a stint as Mayor of his hometown, and Morris dancing in Westminster Abbey.
After 20 years of overdoing it, he cleaned up his act and trained with the Easyway clinic, the world’s most successful stop-smoking service.
Now he spends his time helping people push over-indulgence out of their life.
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-henley/
Duncan is available to you
https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncanbhaskaranbrown/https://www.GetOver.ukhttps://www.bhaskaranbrown.com/
Please like and subscribe.
Ailsa and Aidan – the Ai Bots created by Big Tom Mortimer at HeartShaped.AI through Google’s Gemini.
They discuss each of the episodes in Season One of Perfectly Flawed in which Deborah Henley interviews ten extraordinary guests and is also interviewed herself by her friend. The Ai bots discuss how being Perfectly Flawed is the key to Being Human. They offer up some suggestions for the listener to try in order to face, embrace and transform through their perceived flaws, failures and faults.
Specialising in Artificial Intelligence, Digital Transformation, Change Management, Leadership Development and Message Creation; Tom from HeartShaped.AI has supported numerous companies to get the most from their people while integrating AI into day-to-day operations. He has collaborated with Deborah on designing materials for her REAL Leadership Programme and is valued for his creative and leading edge thinking and execution.
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborah-henley/
Please like and subscribe.
As well as being a phenomenal athlete – most capped England blind footballer and also a Paralympian in Judo, Darren Harris is undaunted by anything and any situation that he has to handle in life. He may not have his sight, but he can see what it takes to be a happy, successful human being – and he shows us how to unblind our minds.
Diagnosed with cancer in both eyes at age 1, Darren Harris faced the harsh reality of losing his sight, leading to a challenging mental and emotional journey. Meeting a real-life Daredevil at a school for visually impaired children inspired him to believe he could achieve anything.
However, re-entering the sighted world, he had to overcome self-doubt to pursue success. Armed with a degree in Mathematics, a master’s in Psychology, and an Honorary Doctorate, he became a Paralympian in judo and football, earning 157 caps and 10 World and European medals. Co-author of an Amazon #1 bestseller, his story empowers and inspires.
Links:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenharrisgb/
https://www.instagram.com/darrenharrisgb/
https://www.facebook.com/DarrenHarrisGB/
Please like and subscribe.
Conversations with amazing individuals who’ve faced up to their own perfectly flawed selves - and transformed their lives because of them.
Discover how to be extraordinarily successful through embracing struggles and imperfection. By turning towards, not away from, their greatest fears, failures and flaws our guests have discovered their own path to fulfilment and that it’s sometimes in the darkest places that we find our greatest light.
Their stories and insights inspire us in the Art of Being Human. With Deborah Henley.