The Messy Parts cover art

The Messy Parts

The Messy Parts

By: with Maryam Banikarim
Listen for free

About this listen

New career advice and messy stories, every Monday.

Whether you’re at the top, or striving to get there—you may have noticed the one thing people rarely talk about: how hard it is to achieve success. The Messy Parts is the answer—a podcast where you’ll hear about the twists, turns and pivots that shape extraordinary careers. The real messy parts along the way. Host Maryam Banikarim has been through it, so she gets it. Maryam has been a transformative leader across media, hospitality and tech. Her powerhouse resume features more than 20 years in the C-Suite at companies like Hyatt, NBC, and Nextdoor—and she has a vast, influential network to match. On The Messy Parts, she brings you unparalleled access to that network. Deeply honest, vulnerable conversations with Maryam—who is never afraid to ask the questions on everyone's mind. Join us as we get real, unfiltered, and messy.

© 2025 The Messy Parts
Career Success Economics Politics & Government Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Build a $22M Company While Surviving Layoffs, Lawsuits, Losing Friends: Create and Cultivate's Jaclyn Johnson
    Oct 19 2025

    At 22, Jaclyn Johnson landed her dream magazine job — until she realized it paid less than her rent. That rejection set off a chain of bold decisions: launching a fashion blog, being sued by a former employer, losing a job she moved across the country to take, and eventually starting her own PR/branding agency. Jaclyn tells Maryam how she turned fear into fuel and turned Create & Cultivate from a side hustle into a brand she eventually sold for $22 million.

    Along the way, she learned what women aren’t taught and don’t discuss in business, why women sometimes don’t support one another professionally, and the magic that can happen when they do. Jaclyn doesn’t sugarcoat the toll success can take — panic attacks, burnout, isolation — but she also shows how failure, when faced head-on, can be the greatest creative act of all.

    Key Moments

    * “You can’t eat makeup.” Learn why saying no to underpayment was the first bold move that shaped Jaclyn's multi-million-dollar career.

    * If you want to run your own business, you need to understand every role first. An early magazine internship taught Jaclyn Johnson a lesson most entrepreneurs miss: sales runs the show. She realized editorial might look glamorous, but it’s marketing and revenue that keep the lights on — and that knowing how every piece fits together is what makes a great founder.

    * Her advice for anyone just starting out: believe in yourself enough to show up. You might not be the expert today, but you can be tomorrow. Confidence comes from action, not perfection.

    * Being the Squeaky Wheel Can Get You Fired — And Set You Free. Jaclyn Johnson shares how being the one who questions, challenges, and moves too fast ultimately got her fired… and turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened. Her story is a reminder: sometimes getting fired just means you’re meant to be your own boss

    * Jaclyn shares the turning point when Create & Cultivate went from side project to full-blown brand. After one breakout event, major clients started reaching out — and she realized the momentum was real. Encouraged by a mentor to bet on herself instead of building for others, Jaclyn took the leap and never looked back

    Send us a text

    Email us: hello@themessypartspodcast.com

    To stay up to date with The Messy Parts and get all the behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.

    If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating and review on Apple or Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts.

    Thank you for listening.

    Show More Show Less
    41 mins
  • From Her Parents' Basement to Editor-in-Chief (Twice): Danielle Belton's Comeback Story
    Oct 13 2025

    Think your biggest breakdown means you’ve failed? Journalist Danielle Belton was hospitalized multiple times for bipolar disorder while she was building her career. In this powerful episode, she opens up to Maryam about a childhood riddled with anxiety, falling into a deep depression after a failed marriage, and drinking tequila at work to power through panic attacks. Danielle hit rock bottom in her mid-twenties and moved home to her parents basement, where she started over and got a job folding sweaters at Macy’s. She tells Maryam how writing an anonymous blog during Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign led to other jobs that ultimately landed her a dream gig — editor-in-chief at HuffPost — and why she eventually walked away from it. Determined to defy the mental illness stigma, Danielle promised herself she’d live publicly with her illness no matter what. A raw, honest conversation about mental health, ambition, and resilience for anyone who’s ever thought their worst moment ended their shot at success.

    Key Moments

    00:00 – Danielle shares her promise to be open about bipolar disorder to show others there’s life after diagnosis.

    02:30 – She reflects on her anxious childhood, feeling old before her time and misunderstood by other kids.

    10:00– Danielle opens up about leaving a toxic marriage and reclaiming her ambition.

    11:30 – Danielle describes the physical ways her anxiety started to manifest

    13:00 – A raw confession about masking panic attacks with alcohol during her early reporting career.

    15:00 – The first of four hospitalizations for bipolar disorder — a turning point in accepting she needed help.

    20:00 – After her breakdown, Danielle describes the humiliation of moving back to her parents’ house and starting over — but also the seed of her comeback.

    22:30 – Her anonymous blog goes viral after Obama wins Iowa, launching her back into journalism.

    25:00 – A doctor’s advice pushes her to balance ambition and self-care as she tiptoes back into the working world

    33:00 – At The Root, Danielle battles depression but still rises to Managing Editor, proving high-functioning illness is complex.

    36:00– Danielle explains why she left her job as Editor-in-Chief of HuffPost to protect her team.

    40:30 – Danielle’s closing advice: feel your pain, but don’t live there. Remember who you are, and gamble on yourself.



    Send us a text

    Email us: hello@themessypartspodcast.com

    To stay up to date with The Messy Parts and get all the behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.

    If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating and review on Apple or Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts.

    Thank you for listening.

    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • The Real Reason You're Paralyzed in Your Career (It's Not What You Think): Farnoosh Torabi
    Oct 6 2025

    What if everything you were told about building a career was wrong? Financial expert and host of The So Money Podcast, Farnoosh Torabi, gets raw about the messy reality behind her success—from being forced to give up her dream schools to avoid debt, to getting fired twice, to drowning in $300K of business debt that forced her to sell her home.

    This isn't another "hustle harder" story. It's an honest conversation about the fears nobody admits: waiting for permission that never comes, taking rejection personally, feeling naked without a job title, watching friends with trust funds lap you, and chasing definitions of success that aren't even yours.

    If you've ever felt paralyzed applying to hundreds of jobs, ashamed about a layoff, or terrified of financial dependence, this one's for you. We're talking about the career stuff nobody warns you about—and what actually helps when things fall apart.

    You're not failing. The game just changed and nobody told you.

    Show Notes:

    Guest: Farnoosh Torabi, a financial expert, bestselling author, and host of the "So Money" podcast and “The Montclair Pod.”

    Learn More About Farnoosh: https://farnoosh.tv/

    Follow Farnoosh on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farnooshtorabi

    So Money Podcast: https://podcast.farnoosh.tv/

    The Montclair Pod: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-montclair-pod/id1785567683


    Topics Covered:

    • The Debt-Versus-Dreams Trap
    • The Comparison Trap on Social Media
    • The Paralysis of Permission-Seeking
    • The Rejection-Is-Death Mindset
    • The Job Application Black Hole
    • The Financial Dependence Fear
    • The "Shiny Object" Definition of Success
    • The Layoff Shame Spiral
    • Ending a Job Without Closure
    • Entrepreneurial Debt Disaster


    Send us a text

    Email us: hello@themessypartspodcast.com

    To stay up to date with The Messy Parts and get all the behind-the-scenes content, follow us on Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube.

    If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a rating and review on Apple or Spotify or where ever you get your podcasts.

    Thank you for listening.

    Show More Show Less
    42 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.