In this episode of the BITE BIG podcast, I sat down with the highly distinctive Lucy Bloom, speaker, author, creative powerhouse, and the first (and only) woman I’ve ever met who can talk brand strategy, childbirth, and burnout in one breath. And yes, she does it all with a hot pink mohawk, a healthy dose of F Bombs and zero apologies, my kind of woman indeed.
Her mantra? “Do it with passion or not at all.”
It’s more than a catchphrase, it’s a life filter. And in today’s overstimulated leadership landscape, it just might be the key to not only surviving, but thriving.
Lucy’s journey spans decades, from running her own ad agency to becoming CEO of global charities and building a successful speaking business. But her story is not a highlight reel. It's a hard-won lesson in what happens when passion turns into overwork, and how to find your way back when the fire burns out.
“I used to think ‘do it with passion or not at all’ was a war cry,” Lucy said. “Now it’s a warning. If you don’t focus your energy on what matters, you’ll kill yourself trying.”
She’s not exaggerating. After years of back-to-back all-nighters, raising three kids, and running a charity supporting midwives in Ethiopia, Lucy hit burnout hard. It was a GP’s brutal wake-up call“. Which autoimmune disease would you like to pick up next?”, that finally made her stop.
The advice that stayed with her? There’s no point being the hardest working skeleton in the graveyard.
Burnout isn’t a gendered experience, but the weight of it often is. As women in leadership, we’re socialised to perform, to nurture, to keep it all spinning, often in silence. Lucy refuses to buy into that anymore.
She now designs her life around sleep. Literally. “I track my sleep like most people track their super,” she laughed. “I call it my number one leadership metric.”
From shifting her creative output to mornings, to ditching alcohol entirely, Lucy’s rebuilt her entire workflow based on her energy, not her ego. This kind of radical self-awareness isn’t just refreshing, it’s deeply strategic. Because when your energy is aligned with your purpose, the output is stronger, smarter, and more sustainable.
Many women assume confidence is something you either have or you don’t. But for Lucy, it’s a skill built through experience, repetition, and a healthy dose of risk-taking.
“I’ve never had imposter syndrome,” she told me. “Not because I think I’m the best, but because I’ve learned that most people are just winging it anyway. You’re usually only 15 seconds ahead of the audience.”
One of the most powerful frameworks she shared came from Tim Minchin: “Be yourself, then get really good at something.” It sounds simple, but it’s deceptively powerful. Because when you focus on building mastery, confidence grows in the doing.
It’s also why Lucy’s built an unforgettable personal brand, her pink hair, sharp wit and no-BS voice have become her most distinctive brand assets. And that, she says, was accidental.
“I dyed my hair pink for a Brad Pitt premiere,” she laughed. “Ten years later, it’s part of the package. But the consistency is what matters.”
Lucy is unapologetically commercial. And yet, her work, whether it's training midwives, educating fathers, or empowering women in Uganda, is rooted in deep purpose.
She’s turned her lived experience into businesses that matter. Beer + Bubs, a childbirth education program for dads at the pub, continues 20+ years on. Her books create passive income. And her speaking career is built on authenticity and unfiltered storytelling.
“I monetise my most difficult experiences,” she said. “But not in a gross way. I just tell the truth, and people connect with that.”
That truth-telling extends to philanthropy. Her chosen charity, Love Mercy Australia, offers $30 seed loans to Ugandan women, who grow crops, repay the loan, and pass it on. It’s smart, sustainable, and community-led. “Invest in women,” Lucy said. “When you give a woman in Africa $1, 94 cents makes it to her family. For men, it's 40 cents. That’s all you need to know.”
Reinvention isn’t brave, it’s necessary
What I loved most about my conversation with Lucy is how she reframed reinvention not as bravery, but inevitability. From leaving agency life to stepping away from CEO roles that no longer aligned, Lucy acts quickly, without apology.
“If a job or client doesn’t fit, I fire it. I don’t sit in the wrong thing for too long. That creates space for the next big thing.” And for leaders who aren’t as confident? Her advice is pure gold: “Forget confidence. Get really good at something. Be yourself. Practice courage like a skill. That’s what makes you unforgettable.”
At Bite Big, we don’t just talk about purpose, we invest in it. As part of this episode, we donated $500 on Lucy’s behalf to Love Mercy Australia. It’s a small way to honour her big-hearted impact.
Want More?
🎧 Listen to the full episode; Amber Bites Big with Lucy Bloom, via Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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