Ariane de Bonvoisin has lived many lives.

An international swimmer in her teens, she graduated from university at 19, worked in consulting firm BCG, went to Stanford Business School, entered venture capital, and by her late twenties had become a managing director at Time Warner’s $500 million digital media fund.

And then it all fell apart.

In this conversation, Ariane and I explore what happens when the external story of success no longer fits with deeper truths of who a person really is — and what that might mean not only for individuals, but for leadership, work and society as a whole.

Ariane is best known for her work on change, but our conversation goes into fresh territory: the body as a source of truth, the impossibility of living two separate lives and identities, and the moment when success becomes impossible if it's not 100% aligned.

We talk about her childhood across seven countries and three continents, the family instability that gave her drive, and the “chronic self-sufficiency” that helped her achieve but also eventually had to be unwound.

One of the most powerful moments comes when Ariane describes finding herself in a New York clinic, covered in eczema and on two medical drips, realising that she was “allergic” to her own life.

From there, we explore change not as a productivity strategy or self-improvement exercise, but as an identity shift you are never completely in control of — the moment when the life you live can no longer carry the person you are becoming.

We discuss:

• How many achievers have two bios: the external CV and the real, hidden one
• Why the body often knows the truth before the mind does
• Optimism and the danger of bypassing grief
• Privilege, control and access to transformation
• Feelings, spirit and intuition in leadership
• The fear of disappointing others
• Children, technology and the future of human aliveness
• Why the emotional body matters as much as the physical body
• The “S word” — and why spirituality is still so hard to talk about in serious adult life

Ariane’s current work focuses explicitly on bringing together the worlds of success and spirituality. Her podcast, The Spirit Collective, speaks with people known for public achievement about the spiritual path behind their lives.

This is a conversation about work, change, embodiment, intuition and the deeper life asking to be lived beneath whatever it is you are presenting.

Ariane de Bonvoisin — https://www.arianedebonvoisin.com
The Spirit Collective — https://spiritcollective.com
Spirit Mama — https://spiritmamabook.com