Rachel Bridge is an author, journalist and public speaker who has brought her show, Ambition, to the Edinburgh Fringe to educate audiences here on the ten ingredients needed for success outlined in her new book of the same title.

If the audience are expecting a TED talk type show then they will be pleased with what they see, as Bridge uses some ‘cutesy’ props to talk her way through some meaningful ideas to be taken forth in a bid to become successful, such as enthusiasm, goal-setting and making the most of each and every fifteen minutes in the day. She explores some of the successful people she has met and what it is that makes them so. One such example is Jamie Oliver, who admits to 40% of his projects failing and yet, rather than being down about it, picks himself up, learns from these failures and uses the lessons learnt to make his next projects even more successful.

They are lessons for all of us and the audience listen intently to how they too can take on board the advice and use it to their advantage. It is an educational hour – but it is not a comedy show, contrary to the misleading description in the Fringe brochure.

Bridge is a likeable inspirational speaker but seems nervous as the show begins, reading from pre-prepared crib sheets meaning that at times, she loses her words. She gets into her stride though and grows in confidence by the end, leaving the audience with a thought-provoking quotation from Edinburgh’s very own J.K. Rowling: “We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.” It is a pleasant way to start the Fringe day but hopefully Bridge will lose the notes by the end of August.