Underneath our bravado, personal growth can be an affront to our ego. Outwardly, to others, we often want to show a complete, shiny, flawless version of ourselves.

This was an inspiring and brave conversation with Catherine Bamford, founder of BamLegal, hearing her story from growing up in Northern Ireland to becoming a lawyer, entrepreneur, leader, investor, founder and mentor.

“Hang like a gorilla.” That was the first simple tip that transformed my snowboarding technique. It encouraged me to relax, just sink into my boots and save energy. The second piece of advice was even more powerful.

What do Hugh Jackman, Zadie Smith, Mary Oliver and Kelly Slater have in common?

I was born into a working-class, immigrant family. I lost my dad when I was 13. We had little money and I had no network or roadmap for success, and no idea how to navigate the professional world.

Some people do their work in the shadows. They don’t seek recognition. Some people hide their mistakes and bad behaviours in the shadows. They don’t want to get found out.

You can’t beat the universe. It’s billions of years old. You can fight against it, but you’re just creating friction. It’s like driving a car through sand or cycling into a hurricane.

Being selfish is often conflated with looking inwards, looking after number one, keeping yourself small. Yet looking inwards is often the only place to start.

Impulse is something we associate with individuals. An instinctive action or reaction, that comes from a deeper place than logic or analysis.

Leadership isn’t about followers or the size of your organisation. It’s not about how much money or status you’ve got. It’s not even about who acts first or talks the loudest.