From Derby to the BBC: Lynda Smith’s Journey of Resilience, Joy, and Self-Love

Read time: 4.5 minutes

Welcome to Spotlight Hustle, a weekly newsletter celebrating Black women making bold strides in life and business.

Today, we’re spotlighting Lynda Smith, A Self-love & Empowerment Coach and Rejection Alchemist. Her journey reminds us that rejection is not a wound to hide. It is a mirror, a teacher, and in her case, a superpower.

Quick One: Your Ticket Is On Us! 🎉

We’re thrilled to announce that tickets to the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Summit are FREE this year!

This is your moment to connect with powerhouse women, hear inspiring stories like Lynda's, and walk away with strategies that can transform your business and life.

👉 Reserve your free spot now — and don’t come alone. 

What’s Inside Today’s Newsletter:

• Feature Story → From Derby girlhood to Warrior Queen: how Lynda turned rejection into power

• Wisdom & Advice → Myths she’s busting, truths she’s embracing, and the one thing she’d tell her younger self

• Daily Practices → The rituals that ground her in joy, energy, and freedom

• Vision Forward → A dream warehouse, a thriving community hub, and a global movement of authenticity

• Rapid-Fire Round → Mantras, books, workouts, and discipline hacks that keep her sharp

• Summit Spotlight → Why we can’t wait to hear Lynda live at the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Summit

Feature Story:  The Story of Lynda Smith

Lynda Smith grew up in Derby in the 1970s and 80s, a Black girl in a town where she could count the number of Black families on one hand. Childhood summers were filled with a sense of freedom: playing outdoors from dawn until dusk, devouring books, writing her own stories, and discovering the magic and power of words.

Her mother embodied generosity, teaching her compassion and kindness, while her Auntie and sister modeled self-abandonment, showing her the cost of shrinking yourself for others. Even as a child, Lynda knew deep inside: she did not want to become that version of herself. She wanted more. She wanted a life that was hers.

That “more” began to take shape thanks to mentors who saw her light. Her sociology lecturer, Mr. Bailey, introduced her to the works of Maya Angelou and Alice Walker. He celebrated Jamaican patois as a full language, not “broken English” as society tried to claim.

For the first time, Lynda felt a surge of pride in her heritage. What once brought shame now became a source of strength. That single moment of recognition planted the seeds of belonging and cultural pride that would carry her forward.

Determined to create space for herself, Lynda hustled her way into the BBC, where she would spend 21 years. There, she:

• trained others,

• created impactful content, and

• built the scaffolding for shows that would go on to launch entire careers.

But despite her talent and dedication, recognition never seemed to follow. Time after time, she was overlooked. Instead of being celebrated as a visionary, she was dismissed as “a safe pair of hands.”

That phrase, repeated enough, could have kept her boxed in forever. But Lynda refused. She made a bold choice — to accept redundancy, walking away from a system that could not, or would not, see her brilliance.

Her next chapter took her into higher education. There, she found a different kind of challenge.

For students of color, Lynda was the representation they had been desperately longing for. She felt the heavy responsibility of being the role model she herself never had. She poured herself into showing them not only knowledge, but also the rules of the game — the unspoken codes of success.

And because of her, many of those students transformed failure into first-class degrees.

Then came lockdown. A collective pause, but for Lynda, it was more than that. It was a mirror she could no longer avoid.

She saw clearly: neither media nor academia was her true calling. They had been stepping stones. Her true path was coaching, empowerment, and transformation.

Today, Lynda stands fully in her power as a Rejection Alchemist.

Every “no” she has ever received has been transmuted into growth, wisdom, and empowerment. She teaches her clients that rejection is not the end of a road but a redirection toward something greater.

Her message is clear and unapologetic:

• Self-love is not selfish.

• It is the foundation of freedom.

From Derby to the BBC, from academia to empowerment, Lynda’s story is one of resilience, courage, and transformation. She is living proof that no matter how many times you are told “no,” you always have the power to turn it into your next beginning.

Her mantra: I am a movement, not a moment.

Wisdom & Advice

On Rejection:
“I alchemize it. Rejection is not the end. It is the beginning of transformation.”

To Her Younger Self:
“Keep going. Every step, every stumble, every heartbreak brought me here.”

Biggest Myth to Bust:
That success must always come at a price.
Lynda believes it doesn’t. Success can be joyful, easy, and uniquely yours.

What Women in Business Should Know:
You don’t have to abandon yourself to succeed.
Self-love is not optional, it is your greatest asset.

Resilience & Becoming

Lynda has faced rejection at nearly every turn:

• as a child, told she couldn’t,

• as a journalist, forced to navigate barriers,

• and as a woman, overlooked for opportunities she herself had created.

Yet each time, she turned the sting into power.

Her approach?

1. Feel the feelings.

2. Separate stories from truth.

3. Transform the experience into gold.

One participant of her Rejection Workshop shared:
“That workshop made me feel more seen than years of therapy.”

For Lynda, becoming is not about chasing titles.
It is about embodying truth, freedom, and joy.

Daily Practices

Lynda’s non-negotiables keep her aligned, grounded, and energized:

• Guided meditation to set the tone of the day

• Movement — whether it’s her 7-minute workout, yoga, or a 5K run

• Energy alignment to clear and center herself

• Daily check-ins with her accountability partner for honesty and momentum

Most importantly, she listens to her body. She rests when needed and refuses to buy into the myth of “pushing through.”

Her philosophy: Rest is a creative act.

Vision Forward

Lynda dreams of building a community wellness warehouse in North London, a vibrant space filled with:

• yoga, pilates, and dance,

• transformative workshops,

• podcast studios,

• and an urban garden café.

A place where people can learn, thrive, and grow together.

Beyond that, she envisions books, podcasts, awards, and global recognition. But no matter how big the vision gets, it always circles back to her purpose:

Helping people love themselves so deeply that they become unstoppable.

Rapid-Fire Round

☕ Coffee or tea? → Coffee
🌅 Morning or night? → Morning
✨ One word for this season → The best
📚 Current favorite read → Rest is Resistance
💃 Favorite activities → Hot yoga, 7-minute workout, 5K runs
💡 Discipline hack → Tell the world you’ll do it. Accountability makes it happen.
🪞 Mantra → “The only spectrum I’m on is genius. I am a movement, not a moment.”

Over to You:

What part of Lynda’s story resonated with you most?
Hit reply and share — I’d love to hear.

And if you know someone who needs this story today, forward it to them.

Why We’re Excited

At the Top 100 Most Powerful Women Summit, Lynda Smith will share her story of resilience, representation, and radical self-love. She will remind us that self-love is the foundation of authentic power.

👉 Save your spot now.

Tickets are FREE, but seats are limited.

Here’s to breaking cycles, building legacies, and blooming into the women we’re meant to be.