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The Zero Comfort Zone

The Zero Comfort Zone

Welcome to The Zero Comfort Zone podcast, where we explore work, leadership, friendship, and all the ways we navigate what life throws at us, without killing our dreams, our sanity or others in the process.

This podcast is a space for honest conversations about work, leadership, growth, pressure, values, boundaries, and the lessons we usually only share in trusted spaces.

We’ll be talking through stories, mistakes, tools, lessons, and receipts. Not as theory, but through lived experience and practical reflection.

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  • 7 episodes
  • Avg 38 min
  • English

Episodes 7

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  • October 2 · 57 min

    The Friendship Trap | Ep. 4

    Working with a friend means navigating two relationships at once — and that takes trust, accountability, honest conversations, and clear boundaries. In this episode, The Friendship Trap, Sjierly Rodrigues Pereira and Maryam Darwich explore how to navigate feedback, conflict, money, and fairness in work, without losing sight of the relationship. They share how challenging each other, and staying curious and objective can actually strengthen both the friendship and the work.

    • Transcript
  • September 5 · 56 min

    Protect The Engine | Ep. 3

    What happens when you keep pushing, but forget to refuel? In Protect The Engine, Maryam Darwich and Sjierly Rodrigues Pereira explore what it really takes to sustain your energy, focus and ambition. They talk about setting boundaries, adjusting life choices, recognising what genuinely fuels you, and using the body’s own chemistry to help restore energy and motivation. Because protecting your engine isn’t about slowing down—it’s about knowing when to push, when to pause, and what keeps you going.

    • Transcript
  • September 4 · 54 min

    Protect The Engine | Ep. 3

    What happens when you keep pushing, but forget to refuel? In Protect The Engine, Maryam Darwich and Sjierly Rodrigues Pereira explore what it really takes to sustain your energy, focus and ambition. They talk about setting boundaries, adjusting life choices, recognising what genuinely fuels you, and using the body’s own chemistry to help restore energy and motivation. Because protecting your engine isn’t about slowing down—it’s about knowing when to push, when to pause, and what keeps you going.

    • Transcript
  • August 7 · 55 min

    Can you stand the pressure? | Ep. 2

    It’s easy to stand by your principles when they’re not tested. But what happens when they are? A lucrative opportunity. A demanding client. A deadline you probably shouldn’t have agreed to. The temptation to make an exception “just this once.” Or the familiar justification: this is simply how things are done here. In Can You Stand the Pressure?, Maryam Darwich and Sjierly Rodrigues Pereira get into the uncomfortable space between flexibility and compromise and how easily one can start looking like the other. They reflect on the pressures they’ve faced in leadership and business, the warning signs they’ve learned not to ignore, and why the terms, boundaries and standards you set can protect far more than just the work in front of you.

    • Transcript
  • July 10 · 35 min

    Unapologetically Me | Ep. 1

    How do you stay true to yourself when everyone has an opinion? In the first episode of The Zero Comfort Zone, hosts Maryam Darwich and Sjierly Rodrigues Pereira explore what it means to be unapologetically yourself in work, leadership, business, and life. They discuss trusting your gut, knowing when to seek advice, saying no without guilt, choosing your trusted circle, filtering noise, and staying grounded in your values when pressure, opportunity, or other people’s opinions try to pull you off track. This episode is a reminder to find your filter, trust yourself, and surround yourself with people who challenge you in ways that help you grow.

    • Transcript
  • July 10 · 6 min

    Meet Sjierly Rodrigues Pereira | Intro

    Bonus Prelude: Meet Sjierly Rodrigues Pereira How do you stay true to yourself while still allowing your beliefs to be tested, stretched, and reshaped? In this bonus prelude to The Zero Comfort Zone, co-host Sjierly Rodrigues Pereira introduces herself from her roots in Amsterdam to the years she spent living, building, and leading in Sierra Leone. Sjierly reflects on independence, intentionality, self-trust, and the courage to live by your own values without needing constant approval. Episode 1: Unapologetically Me follows next.

    • Transcript
  • July 10 · 6 min

    Meet Maryam Darwich | Intro

    Bonus Prelude: Meet Maryam Darwich What does it look like to build a life and business through instinct, adventure, values, and a little bit of healthy discomfort? In this bonus prelude to The Zero Comfort Zone, co-host Maryam Darwich introduces herself from Sierra Leone, where she has lived for almost 16 years and built Afriqia HR Solutions. Maryam reflects on the values that shape her work: integrity, honesty, directness, bravery, and valuing people’s potential and why creating honest, constructive spaces for growth matters.

    • Transcript
Showing 1–7 of 7 episodes