The Unconventionalists with Mark Leruste
The Unconventionalists is a weekly show covering the stories behind the people who went against the curve, took the road less traveled and stayed true to being themselves in the face of adversity. Listeners often say that each episode feels like eavesdropping on an intimate conversation between two old friends as host Mark Leruste uses his warm, compelling style to tease out the truth and create moments of radical honesty. Previous guests include Noah Kagan, Danielle LaPorte, Paul Jarvis, Chris Guillebeau, Sarah Knight, James Wilks and the Founders of The Minimalists.
Mon, March 11, 2024
#171 Donald Miller's secret playbook to building a million dollar coaching business
In this must-watch episode, Donald Miller is back on The Unconventionalists podcast to dive into his latest masterpiece, "Coach Builder," launching tomorrow! Get ready to grab your copy at CoachBuilder.com or from your favourite book store. 🌟 In this episode we talked about why did Donald Miller suddenly decide to write about building a lucrative coaching career (despite there being a ton of books out there already) and whether or not anyone really can turn their know-how into a money-making venture (spoiler alert, Donald believes that's a big fat YES). 🥗 Hear the incredible tale of a stay-at-home mom who transformed her hobby of growing salads into a million-dollar empire. It's a story that's as inspiring as it is astonishing. 💡 Plus, Donald tackles a burning question from our audience: Should business coaches stick to a set methodology, or is it better to guide clients in crafting their own solutions? His answer is enlightening and not to be missed. 🔥 If you've ever wondered about creating a sustainable, profitable coaching business that genuinely impacts lives and gives you more time and freedom, then this conversation with Donald Miller is exactly what you need. 💬 Drop a comment below: What's your biggest takeaway from this episode? 👉 Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe for more Unconventional wisdom!
Mon, January 15, 2024
#170 Daniel Costa Gil - Against all odds: A tale of loss, love, and Resilience
In this profoundly moving episode of The Unconventionalists podcast, Mark Leruste sits down with Daniel Costa Gil, a man whose life story embodies the very essence of human resilience and hope. Born as the youngest of four brothers in South Africa, our guest this week is the sole survivor of a family that faced an unimaginable cascade of tragedies. From the heart-wrenching loss of his parents and siblings to facing life's harshest challenges alone, his journey is a testament to the indomitable human spirit. In an intimate conversation, Daniel shares for the first time the harrowing details of his childhood - marked by the sudden loss of his father, a renowned psychologist, to suicide and the devastating struggles of his mother, a dedicated doctor who through a series of tragic events, found herself in a situation that led her to her darkest hour. The episode takes a deep dive into the fateful day that changed everything, when a crisis led to an unimaginable family tragedy that would forever change the course of Daniel's life. Yet, amidst this backdrop of sorrow and loss, Daniel's story is not one of despair. It's a narrative of incredible strength, love, and an unyielding belief in the possibility of a brighter tomorrow. He opens up about the challenges of overcoming the complex emotions surrounding his mother's actions on November 13th, 1998, and the heartbreak of losing his last remaining brother during the global pandemic. His message is clear and powerful: Life happens for us, not to us. In this episode, Daniel eloquently shares how he transformed his pain into his purpose, helping others navigate their journeys of grief, guilt and shame into transforming into their authentic self and expression. When shit hits the fan and your world turns upside down, Daniel is the man you call. Join us for a life-changing episode that's more than just a story - it's an exploration of the depths of grief and the heights of human resilience. It's a reminder that even in our darkest moments, there is a light of hope that never goes out. Daniel Costa Gil ( www.danielcostgil.com ) is a graduate of my Own Your Story programme. If you'd like to find out more how you can go through the same life-changing experience and turn your story into a powerful asset that gets noticed, raises your profile and inspires others, visit www.storycast.co . SPONSORS This week’s episode of The Unconventionalists podcast was brought to you by: Storycast: www.storycast.co - Learn how to turn your story into a powerful asset that gets noticed GET IN TOUC
Thu, November 30, 2023
#169 Donald Miller - How a Fatherless Boy Built a $15M Empire & Transformed His Life Story
Welcome back to another inspiring episode of The Unconventionalists podcast! Today, I'm thrilled to bring you an exclusive interview with the incredible Donald Miller, CEO of Business Made Simple and StoryBrand, and the author of 13 transformative books. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Don on the eve of Thanks Giving and dive into the myriad of questions I had about his various books. From asking about his memoirs such as Blue Like Jazz (that stayed a New York Times Bestseller for 40 weeks) to some of my favourite business books he wrote like "Hero on a Mission", "Building a StoryBrand" or "Marketing Made Simple", we talked about what it takes to build a successful business and create a meaningful life. If you've never heard about Don before today, you're going to love his story: A fatherless boy from southern Texas raised by a struggling single mother, who grew up poor standing in line for government cheese and who through a series of events and guidance ends up writing books and manages to go from being an author with a virtual assistant to running a $15m company with 40 employees impacting hundreds of thousands of lives. You wouldn’t know by looking at him but Don also used to weigh 387lbs (175.5kgs) and lost 200lbs (90.7kgs)! Which is an incredible feat. When screenwriters wanted to turn his breakout book Blue Like Jazz into a film they realised they needed to edit his life to make it more interesting. That’s when Don realised that we can all have a more meaningful and fulfilling life by being intentional to treat our lives like a compelling story. Don’s super power is to take complex concepts or ideas and to explain them in a really simple way, be it religion, life or business. Alex Hormozi is a fan and so am I. From Don's backstory to his thoughts on what it takes to build a successful business and create a life of meaning to what is desperately missing in the narative to resolve the Israel - Palestine conflict, this episode is going to blow your mind. I genuinely can't wait for you to listen to this episode! 🙏 SPONSORS This week’s episode of The Unconventionalists podcast was brought to you by: Storycast: www.storycast.co - Learn how to turn your story into a powerful asset that gets noticed Donald Miller’s website: https://www.donaldmiller.com Business Made Simple - businessmadesimple.com Twitter - twitter.com/donaldmiller Instagram - instagram.com/donaldmiller Facebook - facebook.com/donaldmillerwords David Gentiles’s Obituary : <a href="https://eu.statesman.com/s
Wed, May 17, 2023
#168 Did Glow in the Dark win a Business Book Award...?
Last night Mark Leruste attended the official Business Book Awards 2023 Gala Dinner in London, as his book Glow in the Dark was Shortlisted for a Business Book Award under the “Business Self-Development Book” category. Hundreds of authors had submitted their non-fiction business books to be considered for the competition but in the end, only a hundred authors were shortlisted for a chance to win gold. From panic renting a last-minute tuxedo to forgetting his potential acceptance speech at home, in this is special episode Mark breaks down the 24hrs around the event and why even though he wasn’t able to share his acceptance speech he wanted to share it with you today. Resources: 👉 Order your copy of Glow in the Dark today: https://amzn.to/3Vg51Vd Shownotes: Mark's newsletter : https://www.markleruste.com/newsletter Selfie on stage at the #BBA2023: LinkedIn / Instagram
Tue, April 04, 2023
#167 Grow the f*ck up with Sarah Knight
In this week's special episode of The Unconventionalsits podcast, Mark Leruste sits down with global best-selling author Sarah Knight whose books have sold more than 3 million copies worldwide and her TEDx talk has been watched more than 10 million times! Her new book " Grow the F*ck Up: How to be an adult and get treated like one" is officially out today and in today's juicy episode, Sarah talks about why this book is the book we've all been waiting for. Resources: 👉 Order your copy of Glow in the Dark today: https://amzn.to/3Vg51Vd Shownotes: Glow in the Dark Official Website : https://www.glowinthedarkbook.com Sarah Knight: https://www.sarahknight.com/ "Grow the **** Up" by Sarah Knight : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Grow-Up-adult-treated-Given/dp/1529424925
Thu, February 02, 2023
#166 Glow In The Dark: The book that broke the internet with Mark Leruste
In this week's special episode of The Unconventionalsits podcast, Mark Leruste dives into the entire journey behind how his new book, " Glow in the Dark: How Sharing Your Personal Story Can Transform Your Business and Change Your Life " (Hachette UK) launched as a Top 10 Bestseller on Amazon in three different categories. As you will learn, it was the best of launches and it was the worst of launches... Resources: 👉 Order your copy of Glow in the Dark today: https://amzn.to/3Vg51Vd Shownotes: Glow in the Dark Official Website : https://www.glowinthedarkbook.com Official Book Trailer : https://www.glowinthedarkbook.com/trailer Unboxing 'Glow in the Dark by Mark Leruste' (Hachette UK) Video : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXx4P9fUc98 "How To Live An Awesome Life" by Ben Coomber : https://amzn.to/3HVYPxZ "Grow the **** Up" by Sarah Knight : https://amzn.to/40v7MFM Corrections: In this week's episode Mark forgot to mention that one of the reasons Amazon UK may have crashed on launch day is that Mark offered some exclusive bonuses to anyone who bought his book on launch date, depending on how many copies people bought they would unlock various prizes and bonuses. This meant that people sometimes bought 10, 20 or 30 copies at a time. Which may have contributed to Amazon UK panicking and thinking the increase in purchases were down to bots trying to bring the website down... Also, Mark mentioned "Ben Keene" attending his official book launch, but he actually meant "Ben Coomber"! The correct link to Ben Coomber's new book is included in the show notes above.
Thu, December 08, 2022
#165 Why you have a story inside of you waiting to be told (Glow in the Dark official book launch)
It's book launch day! 📕 🎉 🚀 To celebrate this huge milestone, in this week's special episode of The Unconventionalsits podcast, Mark Leruste dives into the entire journey behind how his new book, " Glow in the Dark: How Sharing Your Personal Story Can Transform Your Business and Change Your Life " (Hachette UK) came to be, from doubt to book deal, and why he can't wait for you to get your hands on a copy. Despite only having three weeks to promote his book, Mark is swinging for the fences and will attempt to hit a best-sellers list today thanks to your support. That's right, his lightweight challenger book "Glow in the Dark" will attempt to punch above its weight and go toe-to-toe against some of the biggest heavyweight champions in non-fiction publishing history, including Simon Sinek and Michelle Obama. Like a true David vs Goliath story, this is where you come in my friend. Today, Thursday 8th December 2022, at 12pm GMT we are going to attempt to get Glow in the Dark to #1 in at least one Amazon.co.uk category (we're going for three but one would already be a miracle). If you want to help, all you need to do is to make sure you buy your copy (or multiple copies) today on Amazon.co.uk , take a screen screen shot of your receipt and send it to us by email "podcast[at]theunconventionalists[dot]com" by 2pm GMT to win a chance at getting 2 x tickets to the official book launch of Glow in the Dark in London (completely sold out), as well as unlock a series of juicy bonuses and giveaways including working with Mark and getting free access to some of his most popular online masterclasses ( see website for full details). If you've enjoyed the show, be it since 2015 or 2022 thank you so much for your support! 🙏 We can't wait for Glow in the Dark to take the world by a storm. To your story! Resources: 👉 Order your copy of Glow in the Dark today: https://amzn.to/3Vg51Vd Shownotes: Glow in the Dark Official Website : https://www.glowinthedarkbook.com Official Book Trailer : https://www.glowinthedarkbook.com/trailer Unboxing 'Glow in the Dark by Mark Leruste' (Hachette UK) Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXx4P9fUc98 #145 The real reason you haven't written your book yet with Tucker Max : https://theunconventionalists.com/episode/145 #157 How to navigate the emotional journey of writing a book with Emily Gindlesparger : https://theunconventionalists.com/episode/157
Wed, December 07, 2022
Bonus: Glow in the Dark - A sneak preview
Mark's new book " Glow in the Dark: How Sharing Your Personal Story Can Transform Your Business and Change Your Life " (Hachette UK) is officially coming out tomorrow on December 8th, 2022 🎉 🎁 📕 Here is a sneak preview of tomorrow's special "behind the scenes" episode and how you can help Mark launch his book with a bang! If you would like to help Mark's new book "Glow in the Dark" hit the #1 best-sellers list listen to today's special episode, set a reminder on your phone for 12pm GMT on December 8th, 2022 and head over to https://www.glowinthedarkbook.com to order your copy (or copies) on Amazon.co.uk. Thank you so much for your support! 🙏 Resources: 👉 https://www.glowinthedarkbook.com
Thu, May 26, 2022
#164 How to Be More Human with Tony Riddle
“We can’t all live in nature, but that doesn’t mean we can’t live naturally.” - Tony Riddle In this week's episode of The Unconventionalists podcast, Mark Leruste sits down with Tony Riddle, aka The Natural Lifestylist. Tony is a natural lifestyle coach, father, husband, author and record-breaking barefoot endurance athlete whose brand-new debut book Be More Human is out today. As a third time guest on The Unconventionalists podcast, Tony always brings a wealth of knowledge, is never afraid to challenge the status quo, is a brilliant storyteller and as a result has fast become a fan favourite of the show. As you will find out, Tony first shared his story in full on this very podcast back in 2016, so it was an honour to get to catch up after so long. In between his busy schedule and media obligations, Tony made the time to jump on the mic and share his incredible but true journey of being rejected as an author to building a 70,000+ strong thriving community online and landing a major Penguin Life book deal for his first book. “It’s not about becoming Captain Fantastic, it’s about designing simple ways of living that create greater health and wellbeing for future generations and for our planet. In essence, it’s disconnecting from our ‘ego-system’ and reconnecting to our ecosystem.” - Tony Riddle Tony has been featured extensively in the press from The Times, Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Telegraph Magazine, New York Times, Men’s Health, Evening Standard, and on BBC Breakfast, Sky News, The Rich Roll Podcast, Feel Better, Live More with Dr Rangan Chatterjee, and many others. If you're tired of feeling exhausted and lack the energy to do the things that you know deep down can fulfil you, Tony's book is going to be your new best friend to learn simple tips and ways to introduce some new habits and modalities to live a more natural life, in sync with your biological norm. Who cares what people think of you next time you squat down on the tube, Tony has been a friend in my life who always pushes the boundaries of what could be if only you give yourself the permission to be all you can be. Enjoy this very special episode, fresh off the press! Mark IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN How to build a community online (even if you're just getting started) How Tony managed to go from being rejected by publishers to landing a major book deal Why no matter where you are in your journey you can benefit from some of the simple yet ancient that nature has to offer The importance of understanding what being more human means to you SHOWNOTES www.theu
Mon, May 16, 2022
#163 From homeless to award-winning CEO: the inspiring true story of JeVon McCormick
In this week's episode of The Unconventionalists podcast, Mark Leruste sits down with JeVon McCormick to talk about his incredible but true story of going from being abused, neglected and homeless as a child to becoming the award-winning CEO of a multi-million dollar publishing company that was recently ranked the #1 Top Company Culture in America by Entrepreneur Magazine. As always I can’t wait to hear what you got out of today’s conversation, so please get in touch and let me know! Be true, be brave, be kind and let it rip. Mark Warning : This episode contains curse words, explicit language, descriptions of abuse and triggers that may cause a traumatised person to relive a past experience, especially related to abuse or sexual assault. Viewers discretion is advised. IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN Why JeVon stopped editing himself after the murder of George Floyd and why he stopped trying to fit in the playbook of corporate America How you can take all the stories that you are ashamed about and turn them into an inspiring message Why there’s always positivity you can take away from any situation, no matter how dramatic or tragic that event may be And why embracing the fact that not everyone is going to like you is the most freeing feeling in the world THIS WEEK'S EPISODE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Become The Spotlight ( www.becomethespotlight.com ): Discover your Profile Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message SHOWNOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/163
Thu, March 31, 2022
#162 How to become indistractable and finally reach your goals with Nir Eyal
In this week's episode of The Unconventionalists podcast, I sit down with Nir Eyal, Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author of "Hooked" and "Indistractable”, investor, consultant and public speaker to find out the number one reason why people don’t achieve their goals and what we can do to become hyper focused and indistractable. It’s a powerful conversation that I hope will be as much of a game changer to you as it was to me. Nir’s book “Indistractable”is one of my favourite books I read in 2021 and I just knew I had to get him on the podcast to better understand what truly drives us to do what we do. As you will hear in our conversation, it turns out that 90% of the problem with distraction has nothing to do with technology or external factors, it has everything to do with our internal triggers. Plato, the Greek philosopher was complaining about distraction 2,500 years ago! That’s why Nir believes that conventional advice towards becoming less distracted is silly. Instead of focusing on trying to get rid of our smart phones we must first learn how to manage our internal triggers that drive our behaviour. That’s right, most distractions begin from within. Nir argues that it’s our desire to escape discomfort, or as he calls them internal triggers, be it boredom, loneliness, fatigue, uncertainty, stress or anxiety, this is why we’re looking for escape. Whether it’s too much news, too much booze or too much Facebook we’re going to look for distraction if we don’t know how to deal with those integral triggers. “The only way to handle distraction is to learn how to handle pain.” Nir Eyal My favourite takeaway was that time management is actually pain management and that self-compassion may be the most underrated hack to productivity. Who knew that trying to stop the urge to do something was the very reason why we end up doing the very thing we don’t want to do (I know, very meta!). This is a juicy conversation you won’t want to miss as we also dive deeper into Nir’s process to write binge-worthy books that people can’t stop talking about. As always I can’t wait to hear what you got out of today’s conversation, so please get in touch and let me know! Be true, be brave, be kind and let it rip. Mark IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN The number one reason why people don’t achieve their goals (this will blow your mind) Why technology may not be the problem to our inability to focus (hello 2,500 year old problem) Why self-compassion is the ultimate productivity hack Understanding the root cause vs the proxy cause of our behaviour (and why it matters) And how to differentiate the voice of doubt (i.e. impostor syndrome) with the voice of reason (healthy self-awareness) THIS WEEK'S EPISODE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: <
Sun, March 20, 2022
#161 What the hell is 'Impostor Syndrome' anyway? with Dr Valerie Young
In this week's episode of The Unconventionalists podcast, Mark Leruste sits down with Dr Valerie Young, the co-founder of The Impostor Syndrome Institute and best-selling author of "The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women" to find out what impostor syndrome really is, how to know if you have it (or not) and what to do about it to stop playing small. It’s a powerful conversation that we hope will be as much of a game changer to you as it was for us. It turns out that 84% of us experience impostor feelings, so ignore this episode at your own risk! As always we can’t wait to hear what you got out of today’s conversation, so please get in touch @markleruste and let us know! Be true, be brave, be kind and let it rip. Mark IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN What impostor syndrome is (and isn’t) How to keep showing up despite how you feel How to make the difference between healthy doubts and impostor feelings Why your feelings are the last thing to change (and why that is good news) And powerful tools you can use to keep the impostor wolves at bay THIS WEEK'S EPISODE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Become The Spotlight ( www.becomethespotlight.com ): Discover your Profile Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message SHOWNOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/161
Thu, March 10, 2022
#160 How to live an intentional life (+ book update!) with Mark Leruste
In this week's special episode of The Unconventionalists podcast, Mark leruste breaks down the process of writing his book and shares why pursuing a path of meaning starts by creating a more intentional life plan. IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN What Mark’s been up to over the last four months The long journey to getting a traditional publishing book deal Why writing your Eulogy isn’t as gloomy as it sounds And what to expect in the upcoming special limited series of The Unconventionalists THIS WEEK'S EPISODE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY: Become The Spotlight ( www.becomethespotlight.com ): Discover your Profile Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message SHOWNOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/160
Wed, November 17, 2021
#159 How to stop procrastinating and start inspiring with Georgina Vestey
In 1976 the film Rocky was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won three, including best picture, making its writer and lead role, Sylvester Stallone, a star. It also went on to become the highest-grossing movie of the year. Now there's a reason why Rocky stole the show...we LOVE a good story! Especially a story involving an underdog who against all odds finds a way to win the day. Who despite all their fears, doubts and everyone second guessing them along the way, manages to push through adversity, overcome challenges and come out swinging, punching way above their weight. Georgie, just like Rocky, was an underdog. As a one woman-band independent podcaster, Georgie Vestey had little to no chance to get nominated let alone win the most prestigious podcasting award in the country. And yet, Georgie's podcast " Dead Honest " ended up being nominated for "Best Interview Podcast" at the British Podcast Awards 2021 and was up against media juggernauts including Channel 4 and The Guardian, all fighting for gold. Well, just like Rocky, Georgie shocked the world and came out with her hand raised. But she didn't stop there... Today Georgie was announced as the winner of a prestigous European Lovie Awards, a ceremony celebrating the best of European internet, which is a pretty big deal. The crazy thing is, Georgie almost never pressed published on her podcast. This is the story of how a perfectionist procrastinator became an award-winning podcaster and inspired thousands of independent podcasts to keep fighting the good fight. No matter what your goals are, I hope that you get inspired by my conversation with Georgie to get started on your journey to impact too. I can't wait to hear what you got out of it over on social media @markleruste or over on www.theunconventionalists.com ! Be brave, be true, be kind and let it rip. Mark Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/159 This week’s episode was brought to you by: Become The Spotlight: www.becomethespotlight.com - Discover your Spotlight Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
Tue, June 22, 2021
#158 How to reach one million views with a TEDx talk
On the 22nd April 2017, Mark Leruste stepped on the stage at the TEDxCardiff sold out event to deliver his talk, " What they don't tell you about entrepreneurship ." Today Mark's talk has hit one million views, but the road to get there was filled with ups and downs, trials and tribulations. This special episode of The Unconventionalists podcast is the definitive account of how Mark went from being down and depressed in 2009 with a dream to one day inspire others, to delivering the most watched TEDxCardiff talk of all time. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/158 This week’s episode was brought to you by: Become The Spotlight: www.becomethespotlight.com - Discover your Spotlight Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
Tue, May 04, 2021
#157 How to navigate the emotional journey of writing a book with Emily Gindlesparger
Emily Gindlesparger is the Head of Book Coaching at Scribe Media who over the last 12 months has been supporting me on and off with my emotional struggle of writing my book via a group coaching programme. As a ghost-writer, book coach and currently writing her memoire, Emily is uniquely positioned to unpack the emotional yo-yo journey of writing a book and what to do about it. "So often when I see authors grapple with the question of, 'I don’t know what book to write?' the real thing that is going on is, 'I have many books that I can write and I’m afraid of all of them, and I’m especially afraid of making the decision as to which one to pursue now'. Because it shuts down all the possibility of the others. - Emily Gindlesparger This is one of my favourite conversations to date as we go deep into the relationship to shame, trauma and overcoming self doubt. Whether you're looking to write your book or not you will get a TON of value out of my powerful conversation with Emily. I can't wait to hear what you got out of it over on social media @markleruste or over on www.theunconventionalists.com ! Shownotes: Join the movement www.theunconventionalists.com/newsletter Follow Emily on social media @emilygindle This week’s episode was brought to you by: Become The Spotlight: www.becomethespotlight.com - Discover your Spotlight Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
Mon, May 03, 2021
#156 How to build a bulletproof mindset with Jodie Cook
If you're tired of binge-watching Netflix and not hitting your goals you're going to love today's powerful conversation with Jodie Cook. Jodie founded a digital agency in 2011 that was acquired in 2021 and was featured in Forbes's Europe 30 under 30 list of social entrepreneurs. When Jodie isn't busy training, she writes books and articles about entrepreneurship including "How To Raise Entrepreneurial Kids", "Instagram Rules" and "Stop Acting Like You're Going To Live Forever" and is an international powerlifter for Great Britain. And as you've probably guessed it, she doesn't have a Netflix subscription either... Shownotes: Join the movement www.theunconventionalists.com/newsletter Learn more at jodiecook.com and follow Jodie on social media @jodie.cook_ This week’s episode was brought to you by: Become The Spotlight: www.becomethespotlight.com - Discover your Spotlight Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
Sun, May 02, 2021
#155 Building courageous men with Alex Holmes
Suicide is the leading cause of death in men under 45 in the UK. Despite being digitally 'connect' in more ways than we have ever been before, many of us are feeling more emotionally disconnected - not only from those around us, but also from our own sense of self. That's why I'm so grateful to share this powerful conversation with Alex Holmes, an award-winning podcaster, mental health coach, writer and author of his brand new book "Time To Talk: How Men Think About Love, Belonging and Connection". Alex is on a mission to tackle the mental-health and loneliness epidemic we are currently living through. Shownotes: Join the movement www.theunconventionalists.com/newsletter Learn more at alexholmes.co and follow Alex on social media @byalexholmes. Time To Talk: How Men Think About Love, Belonging and Connection is out now, published by Welbeck Publishing. It’s available to buy from all good bookshops and online retailers. This week’s episode was brought to you by: Become The Spotlight: www.becomethespotlight.com - Discover your Spotlight Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
Sat, May 01, 2021
#154 What the business leader learnt from the stripper with Paulina Tenner
Paulina is an entrepreneur, angel investor, TEDx speaker and a founder of GrantTree whose new book “Laid Bare: what the business leader learnt from the stripper” describing leadership lessons she learnt as a burlesque dancer" is making waves. Since 2010 her team has grown organically from 2 to 50 and raised over £200M for more than 600 technology startups and scaleups (while also moonlighting as a burlesque dancer) and operate an open culture company which pioneered a self set salary scheme in the UK. Shownotes: Join the movement www.theunconventionalists.com/newsletter Learn more at paulinatenner.com and follow Paulina on social media @paulinatenner. This week’s episode was brought to you by: Become The Spotlight: www.becomethespotlight.com - Discover your Spotlight Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
Fri, April 30, 2021
#153 How to grow your business with a podcast and have more impact with Lynsay Gould
If you're ready to grow your business with a podcast and have more impact, you're going to love today's conversation with Lynsay Gould, a podcasting & business coach and creator of the Podcasting for Business Awards. Shownotes: Join the movement www.theunconventionalists.com/newsletter Learn more at lynsayanne.com and follow Lynsay on social media @lynsayannegould This week’s episode was brought to you by: Become The Spotlight: www.becomethespotlight.com - Discover your Spotlight Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
Thu, April 29, 2021
#152 How to find your life track with lion tracker Boyd Varty
Whether you're tracking down a wild animal or your life's purpose, the principles of transformation are the same. Somewhere deep inside, you know what your gift, purpose, and mission are. In this powerful conversation, Boyd Varty, a lion tracker, author and life coach, reveals how the wisdom from the ancient art of tracking can teach you how to recognize these essential ingredients in a meaningful life. ⚠️ Warning: this episode contains strong language that some listeners may find disturbing. Listeners discretion advised and not suitable for children. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/152 Join the movement www.theunconventionalists.com/newsletter Learn more at boydvarty.com and follow Boyd on social media @boyd_varty This week’s episode was brought to you by: Become The Spotlight: www.becomethespotlight.com - Discover your Spotlight Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
Wed, April 21, 2021
#151 How to have better sales conversation with Matt Essam
Matt Essam is the author of the brand new book "Create And Prosper: How To Find Your Dream Clients And Build A Freelance Business You Love". After having worked in the creative industries for over 12 years within big agencies as well as running his own freelance business, Matt realised that being successful is about more than just adding bigger projects to your portfolio. In 2015 a series of unexpected events changed his perspective on life and Matt decided that it was time to find some meaning and purpose in his work. With the support from some of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs and business mentors, he developed a unique framework that he now uses to help established freelancers and small agencies to grow their business through work that is both creatively fulfilling and financially rewarding. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/151 Learn more at mattessam.co.uk and follow Matt on social media @matt_essam This week’s episode was brought to you by: Become The Spotlight: www.becomethespotlight.com - Discover your Spotlight Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
Wed, March 24, 2021
#150 The power of mentors and why everyone needs one with Erick Rheam
This week's guest on The Unconventionalists podcast is Erick Rheam, the hardest working man in the speaking business who is on track to generate over $300,000 this year in speaking fees. I also happened to have Erick as my speaking mentor during 2019-2020 who taught me a lot about what it means to be a servant leader and a generous speaker. Erick is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York where he spent 5 years as a Military Police Officer and is currently a Director of Education at The Speaker Lab. If you want to learn about what it really takes to build a successful speaking business, set goals you'll actually achieve and why having a mentor is a game changer, you're going to love this week's episode. I can't wait to hear what you got out of our conversation. Be true, be brave, be kind and let it rip. Mark Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/150 Learn more at erickrheam.com and follow Erick on social media @erickrheam This week’s episode was brought to you by: The Podcast Revolution: https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Wed, March 03, 2021
#149 Why the future of business is you with Chris Ducker
Starting a business is tough enough as it is. That's why starting a business that isn't a true representation of who you are or what you stand for in the world is a sure recipe for disaster. But how can you start a business that is based around your passion and expertise when you don't even know where to start? Well, the answer is simple, ask Chris Ducker. This week's special guest on The Unconventionalists podcast is one of the most sought after authorities on the subject of personal brand businesses whose journey is one of hard work, burnout, change, success and an unwavering desire to serve those that dream of changing the world with what they know and who they strive to serve. Unlike many other so called entrepreneurs online, Chris actually build a brick and mortar business before transitioning his attention to helping people build their expertise-based business online. He's written books, coached and mentors entrepreneurs to help them unleash their unique gifts with the world and monetise their message by building an audience of raving fans. Chris counts as his friends the likes of Pat Flynn, Lewis Howes and Jadah Sellner to name a few. So if you're looking for an honest conversation on what it really takes to succeed in the world of content creation, and build a powerful personal brand, look no further. This conversation is for you. I can't wait to read your comments over on social media (@markleruste) and hear what golden nuggets you got out of our powerful conversation on all things personal branding! Be true, be brave, be kind and let it rip! Mark Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/149 Learn more at chrisducker.com and follow Chris on social media @chrisducker This week’s episode was brought to you by: The Podcast Revolution: https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Wed, February 24, 2021
#148 How to lead with love with Jadah Sellner
Jadah Sellner is the founder of several companies including the company she sold in 2016, Simple Green Smoothies, which generated over $1 million and 1 million followers in the first two years. Today Jadah is a bestselling author, business mentor, TEDx speaker, and host of the Lead with Love® Podcast. She’s been featured in O: The Oprah Magazine, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, CBS’s The Doctors TV, and on the cover of Women’s World. As an advisor to founders and mission-driven companies, Jadah provides the strategic roadmap you need to execute your vision and grow your business to the next level without sacrificing what matters most to you. This is a powerful conversation about turning adversity into an opportunity and how breaking all conventional marketing rules enabled Jadah and her co-founder to build a massively engaged community online. Enjoy this powerful conversation! Mark Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/148 Learn more at JadahSellner.com and follow on social media @jadahsellner This week’s episode was brought to you by: The Podcast Revolution: https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Thu, February 04, 2021
#147 The role of soul in business with Duke Stump
Duke Stump's goal is to obsolete Harvard Business School. As an economics major playing hockey at Vermont University who loved philosophy and nature, Duke was learning all about business. But at the same time he's watching Ben & Jerry's down the road dismantle everything he's learning in the classroom about what it means to be in business. Through compassion, vulnerability, courage and honesty, Duke believes in challenging the status quo and daring to play in completely different jet streams. Today, Duke loves building bonfires with soul: powerful, emotionally charged brands that stand for something meaningful in the world. Recently cited by Forbes as one of the top 50 Game-Changing CMO’s, Duke has spent the last 30+ years helping to build iconic global brands (NIKE, Seventh Generation, lululemon). In addition, he has served in BOD and mentor roles with The Biomimicry Institute, 21c Hotels, Unreasonable Group, Healthy Child Healthy World and Love Your Brain. A lover of nature, slow food, horsemanship and yoga, Duke and his family live on a small ranch in idyllic Ojai, CA along with horses, dogs, cats and chickens. This is a powerful conversation about embracing change, the unknown and being open to what may be. Especially when it's scary. Enjoy this powerful conversation! @markleruste Shownotes: Bonfire With Soul: www.bonfirewithsoul.com No F*cks Given podcast with Sarah Knight: www.link.chtbl.com/uaXD3gld This week’s episode was brought to you by: The Podcast Revolution: https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Thu, January 28, 2021
#146 Why we need to build a more equal world for all with Vanessa Belleau
When George Floyd was killed in 8min and 46 seconds on May 25th, 2020 by a Minneapolis police officer in the middle of the streets, which was captured on camera by bystanders, the world broke out with shock and anger. What followed was a social media storm to attempt to raise awareness yet again on the historical and systematic racism across not just America, but across the world. While well-intended individuals and businesses decided to post a black image on their social media feeds in protest and use hashtags to raise awareness, much more was needed to address the bigger issue at heart. Someone decided to continue to focus on solutions by providing even more support and direction to people and companies. Her name is Vanessa Belleau. Vanessa Belleau, a French Caribbean native who has called London her home for the past sixteen years, is the Founder of High Fifteen ltd, delivering future-proofing Insights and diverse strategies to businesses along with executive coaching to individuals. Thanks to her honest & vulnerable approach, joyful nature and her "#TeamTooMuch" personality, Vanessa is an in-demand Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging consultant for SMEs and major brands such as Levi's, LVMH Group and Gymshark. So when I had an opportunity to sit down with Vanessa to talk about race and why we can all do a little bit better to narrow the equality gap, I was both moved and touched by her personal stories and grateful for her insights and tips on how to navigate the conversation about race. As always, if you enjoyed today's episode please share it with one friend or colleague who needs to hear this conversation. Alone we may struggle but together we can change the world. And as always it starts with having the conversations we need to have and act with intent to create a more equal world for all. Mark Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com High Fifteen: www.highfifteen.com Vanessa Belleau: https://www.linkedin.com/company/high-fifteen-ltd/ This week’s episode was brought to you by: The Podcast Revolution: https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Thu, January 21, 2021
#145 The real reason you haven't written that book yet with Tucker Max
*Deep breath* This special episode of The Unconventionalists podcast with Tucker Max, 4x New York Times Bestselling Author and Co-Founder of Scribe Media who has sold over 4 million copies of his books, is by far the most vulnerable and raw episode I've released to date. As you will see, sh*t got deep, real fast. The interviewer became the interviewee as Tucker coached and helped me realise just how much some of my childhood trauma has been getting in the way of me writing me next non-fiction book. It's raw, it's uncomfortable and yet I know this is the kind of conversations that made me want to start The Unconventionalists podcast back in 2015. We talked about what you can do to get over your limiting beliefs and why the very reason you're struggling with writing your book is the very reason why you need to write that book. We also talked about how every single author you know struggles with the same doubts and insecurities as you do. It's a universal experience of being human. Trust me, if you've been thinking of writing a book but are currently stuck or procrastinating with no end in sight, this episode is for you. In this episode you will learn why writing a book is not about knowing the ins and outs of how to actually write a book, but rather, why it's about facing your feelings and emotions that every author dreads to face. But as Joseph Campbell once said, “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” Tucker even shares his own personal journey and what has helped him to date get over some of his childhood trauma as well as read parts of his personal journal on what he sees for 2021. ⚠️ Warning: this episode contains descriptions of sexual violence and strong language that some viewers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion advised as not suitable for children. I really can't wait to read your comments on this powerful conversation and more importantly, learn what you're taking away and will implement to transform your life and business. If you found this conversation helpful, please share it with one friend who needs to hear this to move forward with their book (or creative project). Thank you and here's to being willing to be vulnerable in public. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/145 This week’s episode was brought to you by: The Podcast Revolution: https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Fri, January 08, 2021
#144 Ditch your New Year's Resolutions in 2021 and do this one thing instead (+ Podcasting For Business Awards special announcement!)
If you want to look back at 2020 with gratitude, if you want to make the most of 2021 and if you're tired of coming up with New Year's Resolutions that you'll never stick to, this episode will blow your mind. Plus you'll hear a (very) special announcement... Happy New Year! Kicking off the year with a special episode sharing some good news :) The Unconventionalists podcast has been nominated as a finalist for "Best Interview Podcast" at the Podcasting for Business Awards 2021. Honoured and grateful, keep your fingers crossed that we bring the Golden Mic home! Although the "Best Interview Podcast" category is closed to public voting, you can still support the show by voting for the "Audience Award" category. But hurry, voting is open until the 11th January 2021. Cast your vote over here: www.lynsayanne.com/pfbawards
Mon, November 30, 2020
#143 How to hype yourself with Lucy Werner
Unlike TV advertising, PR is suitable for everybody and you don’t need a huge budget to be able to execute it. But unlike what social media gurus would have you believe, there’s a whole bunch of work you need to do before you should put yourself out there. That’s where Lucy Werner comes in. Lucy Werner is the founder of The Wern, an award-winning communications consultancy for startups, entrepreneurs and independents and is the author of the book: “Hype Yourself: A non-nonsense PR toolkit for small businesses”. “You don’t need another self-help book for your business, you need a hype-yourself book.” - Lucy Werner Lucy launched her business The Wern in 2015 after being completely disillusioned by how traditional agencies weren’t servicing the independents in the way they needed. As you will hear in this week’s powerful conversation, Lucy went from making only £500 in her first month, being worried how she would pay her bills, to making £10,000 on her third month, building a team and eventually winning the FSB Micro-Business Award. After trying to read books on PR and realising that the vast majority of the books out there were written by mostly ex journalist men turned PR consultants, she thought there was a gap in the market for a good book written by woman with an extensive background in PR. Hype Yourself was launched and a #HypeYourself revolution was born. The Wern’s creative director, Hadrien Chatelet also happens to be the Co-Founder of Lucy’s children. So naturally we got into juicy topics such as what is it really like to run a business with your partner. In this episode you will learn: What it takes to write a ground breaking bingeable book The difference between selling and sharing How to build connections and bridges with your audience from day one The most important question you must ask yourself before investing in doing any PR Challenges and rewards of running a business as a parent How to become more visible in your industry The importance of branding and why you should care All the links mentioned in this week's episode as well as all the show notes can be found over at https://theunconventionalists.com/episode143 As always I'd love to hear your biggest takeaway and any follow up questions you might have after listening to our powerful conversation, so please tag me @markleruste or drop me a DM. I can't wait to hear from you, Mark
Sun, November 15, 2020
#142 Losing millions, overcoming depression and writing game changing books with Mike Michalowicz
Mike Michalowicz is an entrepreneur who by his 35th birthday became a self-made cash millionaire after selling two multi-million businesses, before losing it all trying to become an angel investor. When Mike announced to his family that they were financially wiped out, his daughter ran upstairs and offered to give her piggy bank to support the family, tears came running down his face. That was the most humbling moment for Mike as he realised he simply couldn’t ignore the biggest problems he had avoided up until now. After some serious business soul searching while going through functional depression and getting over his financial heart attack, he made the commitment to dig his head out of the sand and help fix the entrepreneurial problems he experienced and realised he knew very little about. That’s when he asked himself if he had all the money in the world, what would he most like to do? And if he had no money in the world (which he did) what would he want to do to generate income. The crossroad answer became clear: become an author. It was a crazy dream, but thirteen years later, Mike is a best selling small business author of six books (Surge, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, Pumpkin Plan, Profit Firsts, Clockwork and Fix This Next) and is on a mission to eradicate entrepreneurial poverty. He’s also a former Wall Street Journal small business columnist and business makeover specialist on MSNBC. Today Mike is passionate about making the complex entrepreneurial problems simple, and as a shareholder of four companies, he uses his companies to further the teaching of his books and uses them as guinea pigs for future book ideas. Mark IN THIS WEEK’S EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN Why the greatest connector is being yourself Why the right size business will find you Why everyone is judging everyone (especially you) Why your ego will kill your business SHOWNOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/142 This week’s episode was brought to you by: Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Sun, October 25, 2020
#141 How to get booked and paid to speak with Grant Baldwin
Today's guest on The Unconventionalists podcast is Grant Baldwin, creator of The Speaker Lab and author of The Successful Speaker who generated $2million in speaker fees as a professional public speaker. Grant and his team are on a mission to empower thousands of speakers around the world to get booked and paid to speak, be it on stages or online. In this first special episode of "In Between Seasons", we dive into the most common mistakes budding speakers make when trying to land speaking gigs. We also dive into the reality of growing a business from scratch and how that feeling of feast and famine never really goes away, no matter how big your company gets. Grant shares some personal anecdotes and opens up about the reality of being in the business of speaking as well as shares his biggest wish for everyone listening. If you're looking for tips and help on how to find, book and get paid to speak, this episode is for you. As always I'd love to hear your biggest takeaway and any follow up questions you might have. I can't wait to read them! To your impact, Mark -Founder & CEO at The Unconventionalists Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/141 This week’s episode was brought to you by: ● Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Fri, October 16, 2020
(special Announcement) Introducing 'In Between Seasons'
In today’s special episode of The Unconventionalists podcast, host Mark Leruste shares an exciting announcement of a new limited season of the show being launched entitled “In Between Seasons”. Mark will be sitting down with inspiring guests from around the world to tackle some of the biggest challenges and questions entrepreneurs and business leaders are facing in today's new world, to put themselves and their message out there. From the fear of exposure, to the need of being seen, get ready for an exciting line up of world-class guests. Mark also shares a personal anecdote of a hard lesson learned and why we are all in this together, learning as we go along. As always, if you enjoyed today's episode please make sure to tag Mark @markleruste on your social media posts as well as get in touch www.theunconventionalists.com/contact. Enjoy the show! Team Impact Shownotes: Website: https:// theunconventionalists.com/episode/introducing-in-between-seasons This week’s episode was brought to you by: ● Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Thu, April 09, 2020
Bonus Episode: State of the Union 2020 with Mark Leruste
This special bonus episode of The Unconventionalists podcast was recorded a month ago, just before the Coronavirus outbreak in the UK. I hesitated to release it since the world has changed so much since then. But then again, I realised that this episode was a celebration of all that you helped me achieve in 2019-2020. That's right, in this special bonus episode I share with you the the ups and downs of what has turned out to be quite the year thanks to your incredible help and support. Thank you, Mark x
Sun, January 19, 2020
#140 How refugees can change the world if you give them a chance with Leticia Galdón
What’s it like to have the lives of refugees in your hands aged just 20? Mark Leruste interviews Leti Galdón Co-Founder of social startup PAZ about how her early experience finding lost refugees convinced her that empathy is the key to bringing refugees and business together to solve new problems. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/140 This week’s episode was brought to you by: ● Vivo Life : http://bit.ly/2LnXa74 - Use code "mark" to get 10% off your first order ● Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Sun, January 12, 2020
#139 Three questions to bring meaning to your life with David Baker
These three questions may change your life. Mark Leruste interviews The Unconventionalists podcast veteran David Baker about why vulnerability, emotional intelligence, honesty and community are key tools for the future of work and life. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/139 This week’s episode was brought to you by: Vivo Life : http://bit.ly/2LnXa74 - Use code "mark" to get 10% off your first order Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Sun, January 05, 2020
#138 How ordinary people can achieve the extraordinary with Rachel Forbes
Would you run 100 miles across a frozen Mongolian lake? Mark Leruste sits down with army veteran, speaker and mother Rachel Forbes to unpick the guilt and joy of #FindingTime to do something that matters to you. If making more time for yourself and the things you want to do are on your priority hit list for 2020, then you're going to love this week's episode of The Unconventionalists! Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/138 This week’s episode was brought to you by: Vivo Life : http://bit.ly/2LnXa74 - Use code "mark" to get 10% off your first order Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Sun, December 29, 2019
#137 Why so many of us don’t achieve our goals and how to change that with Daniel Folk
Always making resolutions that never stick? Want to make 2020 truly remarkable? Here’s how. Mark Leruste interviews Daniel Folk about why it’s so hard to achieve your goals, how coaching can transform your life and why accountability is so important PLUS: a challenge… Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/137 Support The Unconventionalists: This week’s episode of The Unconventionalists podcast was brought to you by: Vivo Life : http://bit.ly/2LnXa74 - Use code "mark" to get 10% off your first order Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Sun, December 22, 2019
#136 Why we need to debunk the hustle myth with Louise Nicolson
On average 90% of startups will fail. Louise Nicolson wants you to be just as outraged as she is that those odds are so poor. Mark Leruste interviews the author of The Entrepreneurial Myth about why we should stop glorifying failure, why it’s so damaging for startups and what we should do instead. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/136 Support The Unconventionalists: This week’s episode of The Unconventionalists podcast was brought to you by: Vivo Life : http://bit.ly/2LnXa74 - Use code "mark" to get 10% off your first order Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Sun, December 15, 2019
#135 The life-changing magic of telling your story with Gian Power
Mark Leruste interviews founder of TLC Lions Gian Power about how the murder of his father inspired his mission to bring more emotion to the workplace through storytelling. Gian explains how meditation and podcasting changed his life, and how they can change yours. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/135 Support The Unconventionalists: This week’s episode of The Unconventionalists podcast was brought to you by: Vivo Life : http://bit.ly/2LnXa74 - Use code "mark" to get 10% off your first order Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Sun, December 08, 2019
#134 Beating the loneliness epidemic with Jo Carnegie
Loneliness is a modern epidemic, so why are we so scared to talk about it? Mark Leruste invites writer Jo Carnegie to lift the lid on an issue that affects so many of us, in an honest conversation packed with tips to reboot meaningful connection in all our lives at home, work and with those we love. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/134 Support The Unconventionalists: This week’s episode of The Unconventionalists podcast was brought to you by: Vivo Life : http://bit.ly/2LnXa74 - Use code "mark" to get 10% off your first order Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course. You won’t regret it.
Sun, December 01, 2019
#133 James Wilks: turning injury into opportunity - the inspiring story of The Game Changers documentary
Within a week of its release, The Game Changers became the best selling documentary of all time on iTunes and is now trending on Netflix. Producer James Wilks started filming in 2011 after a double knee injury forced him to put his elite training schedule on hold. So began a trail of surprising discoveries that led to James questioning everything he’d ever been told about protein. Mark Leruste talks with James about how a Bruce Lee mindset helped get the film made. If your mindset needs a boost then you’re going to love this week’s episode of The Unconventialists. Shownotes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/133 Support The Unconventionalists: This week’s episode of The Unconventionalists podcast was brought to you by: Vivo Life: http://bit.ly/2LnXa74 - Use code "mark" to get 10% off your first order Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course.
Sun, November 24, 2019
#132 Supercharge LinkedIn to create success on YOUR terms with Alexandra Galviz
"Sometimes,’ says Alexandra Galviz, ‘it takes getting to where you want to be to realise that’s not where you’re meant to be." Alex is losing her voice. Which is ironic, since her passion is teaching others to use theirs: she’s an award-winning LinkedIn Top Voice and in-demand entrepreneur, consulting to C-suite high flyers and helping students and recent graduates find their feet. In this episode of The Unconventionalists podcast, Alex doesn’t hold back on sharing her story. It’s inspiring, honest, funny, and will make you eager to dust off your LinkedIn profile and get to work putting into practice Alex’s ninja tips for standing out and making real connections. "When I was a little girl I used to dream of working in the really tall building with a pointy top by the river, but having got to the 45th floor of that place, I realised that my definition of success was wrong." In 2017, on her last day in her finance job, Alex wrote an honest piece on LinkedIn that went viral within minutes, being shared tens of thousands of times and attracting hundreds of comments. Having achieved her career dreams at the precocious age of 24, it seemed she had it all: Canary Wharf prestige, designer clothes, managerial role. So why did she give it up, and what happened when she finally said yes to launching the business she was born to run? Press play to find out. If you’re inspired to breathe new life into your LinkedIn profile, get in touch and let us know! (You can even hit Mark or Alex up on LinkedIn). And please do share this episode with others who need to hear it. We need more brave, authentic voices in the world. Like yours. Mark SHOWNOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/132 SUPPORT THE SHOW: This week’s episode of The Unconventionalists podcast was brought to you by: Hands down the best nutritional supplements Mark has ever used (they could be his superpower), Vivo Life : http://bit.ly/2LnXa74 - Use the discount code "mark" to get 10% off your first order Launch A Successful Podcast From Scratch (Online Masterclass): https://theunconventionalists.com/launch-a-successful-podcast-from-scratch - Use code "PODCASTTRIBE" to get 20% off the entire course. You won’t regret it. “This guy is a podcasting master, trust me! Grab a spot ASAP.” - Samantha Clarke
Tue, November 19, 2019
#131 How to turn your brand into a movement with Josh Bolding
In this brand-new episode of season 14 of The Unconventionalists podcast, Mark Leruste sits down with Josh Bolding, Co-Founder of Vivo Life to talk about the importance of having a powerful vision to turn your brand into a movement. --- Josh Bolding is the Co-Founder of Vivo Life, the disruptive natural, ethical, whole-food and organic supplement company, whose mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of one million people around the world. As you'll hear in today's powerful episode, the revolutionary plant-based company started with two friends in a kitchen blending in their favourite ingredients to try and create the ultimate plant-based protein. Because both were frustrated with the lack of options on the market and frankly, the amount of lies being thrown around.. After testing out their product on their online shop, they realised that within three months their plant-based protein powder was outselling the over 500 products combined on the site. That’s when they knew they were on to something special. But as you can imagine, the road that led them to this point wasn’t an easy or straightforward one. After leaving school at 16, Josh decided to pursue his passion for health and fitness and worked for various health and supplement brands as a marketing and communications specialist. Problem was, the closer Josh got to these brands and got to know the health and supplement industry, the more he saw what was going on behind the scenes… And he didn’t like what he saw. He would get asked things like, “Can you word this in a particular way so you don’t draw attention to this ingredient” or, “Can you pretend that this side effect doesn’t exist?” Needless to say that’s when Josh decided to call it a day and was ready to quit the entire health and fitness industry all together. But as you’ll hear from today’s powerful and inspiring conversation, Josh went from being a spin doctor for health and supplements brands to being a whistle-blower on an entire industry, ultimately creating Europe’s first neutral carbon company creating 100% compostable zero-waste packaging and planting over 15,000 trees as a result of selling their products. The fascinating fact about Vivo Life’s community is that 60% of their customers are non-vegan. Which for a plant-based company is unusual to say the least. The reason being is that their message spreads beyond the vegan community. Because ultimately, it’s a message of hope about why making the best products in the world shouldn’t cost the world in the process. Enjoy this week’s powerful and inspiring conversation! Mark SHOWNOTES: Full episode show notes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/131 SUPPORT THE SHOW: "How To Launch A
Mon, September 30, 2019
#130 How to create a life you love with Charlotte Pearce
Today is International Podcast Day™ and I couldn't be happier to finish off season 13 of The Unconventionalists podcast on this special day by sharing this powerful conversation with Charlotte Pearce, Founder and CEO of Inkpact. Why? Because a common mistake most aspiring and newbie entrepreneurs make all the time is wasting time spending a ton of money building expensive, complicated and time consuming tech (websites, apps, algorithms, etc) to prove and validate their business idea. As if the only way to make a business idea work was to make it big from the get go, when in reality, the opposite is true. As you’ll hear in today’s inspiring episode, if you want to prove and validate a business idea and grow it over time you do it by doing the unscalable first. Only then do you leverage technology to grow and expand your impact. This is one the conversations I hope my daughter will hear one day when she grows up. Because as you’ll quickly learn from listening to Charlotte Pearce, she is all kinds of amazing and inspiring. In this week’s episode she shares her story of how she took a great idea that involved a lot of manual labour and managed to scale it through smart technology, enabling people around the world to create a life they love. Charlotte also doesn’t hold back from talking about the ups and downs of starting and growing a business you love. Including the awkward and painful process of firing people. Plug in your headphones, and get ready to be inspired to action! Make sure to tag me @markleruste over on social media to let me know what were some of your favourite nuggets from today’s interview. Can’t wait to read your words! To your impact, Mark SHOWNOTES: Online Video Course on How To Launch A Successful Podcast: www.theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp Full episode show notes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/130
Sun, September 15, 2019
#129 Improving female sexual pleasure with Billie Quinlan
When you find yourself calling your workplace to report a fake bike accident, so you don’t have to walk through the door to face the person who sexually assaulted you at work, in fear of breaking down in tears, you know something needs to change. As you will hear in today’s powerful conversation with Billie Quinlan, Co-founder and CEO of Ferly who passionately believes in the power of unlocking female pleasure for gender equality, things get real, real fast. Ferly is a business focused on improving our sexual wellbeing who was voted one of the top 100 companies to work for in 2019 by The Escape 100 Index (a campaign to find the best companies to escape to in 2019). “We see sexual selfcare as the practice of prioritising our pleasure. This means exploring our minds and bodies, taking the time to understand our wants and needs, and learning how to communicate these, so we feel confident and healthy.” This is a very special episode for me as I had the pleasure of coaching and leading Billie through a 12-week programme (along with the amazing Sophie Miller) back in 2016 and although we stayed in touch over the years, I had never heard the story that she shared with me until today. So as you can imagine, I was deeply moved by Billie’s courage to open up and share with us what happened to her in her workplace and how that experience fuelled her to drive to make a difference. What is truly incredible and inspiring about Billie’s story is that despite having zero previous experiences as a founder and having virtually no experience whatsoever in tech, she made it into the first cohort of the Zinc tech business accelerator and against what everyone else said, managed with her friend Anna Hushlak to launch Ferly, a tech startup who’s mission is to radically transform society’s relationship with sex. Oh, and they just so happened to manage to raise £1.5million in pre-seed investment…Not bad, eh? “We’re doing this by creating a space where every woman can spend time really getting to grips with what makes her tick. So she can understand and prioritise her own pleasure through the ultimate journey of self-discovery.” This is an episode that will truly blow your mind and show you just how far you can go if you find something you feel truly passionate about and don’t let the negative voices around you stop you on your tracks. As always, I’d love to hear what inspired you about this week’s episode so make sure to tag me over on social media @marleruste! Enjoy this powerful conversation 🙏 Mark -- SHOWNOTES: Podcast Bootcamp (Use discount code “podcasttribe” to get 10% off): www.theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp Full episode show notes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/129
Thu, September 05, 2019
#128 Why we are innately wild, connected and empowered with Tony Riddle
"We can’t all live in nature but that doesn’t mean we can’t all live naturally." - Tony RIddle On this week’s episode of The Unconventionalists podcast I sit down with my friend and brother from another mover, Tony Riddle, who on Sunday 1st September, 2019 kicked off his epic challenge to run 30 miles every day for 30 days, barefoot. That’s right, Tony will run the length of Britain with a pair of butt naked feet, interviewing experts and influencers along the way to raise awareness for sustainability and climate change. You might recognise Tony from a previous episode of The Unconventionalists podcast (ep #40), which was the very first podcast interview Tony ever did! Back then, Tony had two daughters, was training individuals people in his Camden movement studio, ran a few weekend retreats and barely had an online presence. Since then Tony has had another daughter and is now expecting a baby boy. He’s trained former World Champion British boxer David Haye and has been invited to give talks around Europe at festivals and corporate workplaces. He’s become good friends with The Happy Pears and Jasmine Hemsley, and was also featured on Dr Rangan Chatterjee’s podcast Feel Better, Live More (ep 71) and recently was invited on the epic Rich Roll podcast (ep 463) giving spreading his message to a global audience. Needless to say that Tony was catapulted into the spotlight for all the right reasons. In fact, when Tony and I sat down for this week’s interview just before he set off for his epic challenge, Tony had 21,300 followers on Instagram. By the time we published this episode, Tony had over 33,000 followers. This is an incredible and powerful conversation about how you can achieve so much more than you think by pushing yourself out of your comfort zone and putting out a big crazy dream into the world to go after it. It’s also a much needed reminder as to why we are all innately wild, connected and empowered. We talked about how Tony managed to grow an organic and true following online (and what you can learn from his experience too), how Tony is getting mentally prepared for his biggest challenge to date, and of course, how Tony ended up being invited on one of the world’s most popular podcast show. As always I’d love to hear what you thought of this exclusive interview, so please get in touch on social media by tagging me @markleruste and Tony, aka @thenaturallifestylist. And remember, you are not alone! Enjoy, Mark SHOWNOTES “How To Launch A Podcast” one-day bootcamp (get 10% off by using the discount code “podcasttribe” when you check out): www.theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp Full episode show notes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/12
Wed, August 28, 2019
#127 How to come home to who you truly are with Danielle LaPorte
In this week's episode of The Unconventionalists, Mark Leruste sits down with Danielle LaPorte, an invited member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100 who is the bestselling author of The Desire Map , a book that has been translated into 9 languages, evolved into a yearly day planner and journal system, a Top 10 iTunes app, and an international workshop programme with over 500 licensed facilitators in 15+ countries. Named one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” by Forbes , millions of visitors go to DanielleLaPorte.com monthly for her daily #Truthbombs and what’s been called “the best place online for kickass spirituality.” Entrepreneur magazine calls Danielle, “equal parts poet and entrepreneurial badass… edgy, contrarian... loving and inspired" and USA 2020 Presidential Candidate Marianne Williamson said that, “Danielle is a bright light in the modern priestesshood.” This is a powerful conversation about truth telling, coming home to who we truly are and overcoming our darkest moments in life. SHOW NOTES Episode show notes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/126 Podcast Bootcamp: www.theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Wed, August 21, 2019
#126 Why changing how you breathe will change your life with Artur Paulins
In this week's episode of The Unconventionalists podcast I sit down with Artur Paulins who became one of the first certified Wim Hof instructors, has toured around Europe with Wim Hof and recently introduced 800 people to meditation at The Roundhouse in London. He's been featured in Men’s Health magazine and appeared on The Russell Howard Hour TV series and Lululemon brought him on as a partner to spread awareness around how breathing can improve your performance as an athlete. What I loved about our conversation is that Artur ditched a promising career in architecture for a life of adventure and experience as a personal trainer, breathwork teacher and martial artist. We talked about his journey to leaving his native Latvia to pursue his passion and becoming a purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, what he thought of Wim Hof the first time he met him over dinner and why we can all do a little bit better when it comes down to breathing more efficiently. You'll also get an insight into why cold therapy goes far beyond just the concept of overcoming being cold, but rather, how it's about changing your mindset, which will in turn change your life. As always, if you enjoyed this week's episode please leave a rating and review over on iTunes and share it with a friend. Than you. Enjoy this powerful conversation. Mark x SHOW NOTES Episode show notes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/126 Podcast Bootcamp: www.theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Wed, August 14, 2019
#125 How to live out loud (even as an introvert) with Rona Steinberg
In this week's episode of The Unconventionalists podcast I sit down with Rona Steinberg, author of the new book "Live Out Loud: A Masterclass in Being Yourself" to talk about the gifts of owning fully who you are, no matter how loud or quiet you may be. In a world that is constantly making us feel that we're either too much, or not enough, that we must stay silent, be as beige as possible and behave, this week's conversation is a refreshing reminder of why being you, no matter who you are, is the best formula to living a fulfilling life. Filled with stories and lessons from her unconventional career path (she ditched a career in law to become a coach!), Rona breaks down some of the reasons why we find it so hard to be ourselves, even though we're dying to let go of the masks we carry around, and explains what we can do to live a life according to our own terms. Rona is a certified life coach and public-speaking trainer, helping others to express themselves in a way that feels right to them. Whilst she has now found her true purpose in life, her journey has not been without its struggles and challenges. Through a series of different career choices, including success as a film and TV lawyer, she eventually found her way to the world of coaching. As you'll hear in our interview, far removed from the cool, intellectual space of the law, coaching initially seemed like a foreign land, with its emphasis on feelings and emotions, heart and intuition. Yet despite the noisy objections in her head, Rona's heart told her something different. On a truly fundamental level she felt that she had finally come home. She began to feel more herself, more self-expressed, more joyfully Out Loud. I hope you enjoy this powerful conversation! If you do, make sure to let me know on social media by tagging me @markleruste. I can't wait to hear what you got out ouf this week's episode of The Unconventionalists podcast. To your impact! Mark x SHOW NOTES Episode show notes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/125 Podcast Bootcamp: www.theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste Li
Fri, August 09, 2019
#124 Confessions of a celebrity hypnotist with Aaron Calvert
In this week's episode of #TheUnconventionalists podcast I sit down with former doctor turned mind reader and hypnotist Aaron Calvert, who traded his stethoscope for the stage. After his grandmother bought him his first magic trick at 8 years old and seeing a comedy hypnotist live on stage for the first time at 15 years old, Aaron was hooked on the ability to create "miracles" in front of an audience. But Aaron was shocked to see that most psychological entertainment was used to embarrass people, be it making people on stage strip off their clothes or run around like a chicken... So began his journey to find his own path of creating a unique style to "create the best experience possible for the audience", where no one would need to feel embarrassed. With sell-out theatre shows, 5-star critically acclaimed reviews and a natural charisma, it wasn’t long before this cheeky northerner started working with #Channel4. Aaron, co-wrote "Hello Stranger" in 2016 to redefine the TV dating show genre to give it a much needed shake up. Aaron’s unique style of hypnosis, taken from his experience in stage entertainment and working as a doctor, lead to the success of the mammoth hypnotic task to temporarily erase the memories of a couple. Since then Aaron has gone on to perform a world first, by hypnotising a group of frequent travellers, 30,000 feet in the air and has performed at sold out shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Including "Declassified" a live show I personally saw and was blown away by. The Telegraph described Aaron as, "jaw-dropping entertainment from a modern day wizard” and I really can’t wait to hear what you got out of our powerful conversation of Aaron’s unconventional path to turning his passion into his profession. Enjoy! Mark x SHOW NOTES Episode show notes: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/124 Podcast Bootcamp: www.theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ma
Tue, August 06, 2019
#123 The power of partnerships with Fran Boorman
Today’s guest is Fran Boorman, Co-Founder and CEO of Goal 17, an award winning mission driven business, who believes there isn’t a problem a partnership can’t fix. After an unlikely meeting with Keith Mabbutt, an ex-footballer and founder of The Street Soccer Foundation, Fran and Keith decided to partner up and create Goal 17 to put an end to youth homelessness through the power of football. Turns out, business for good, is good for business. That’s right, weeks after launching Goal 17, the company won one of Dragon Den’s Theo Paphitis' SBS Business awards, beating 370,000 other entries. But the awards didn’t stop there. After just five months old, Goal 17 went on to be recognised as having the number one sport mentoring programme in the UK, winning at the prestigious National Mentoring Awards. What’s even crazier, is that Goal 17, through the Street Soccer Foundation, have managed to partner up with a series of Premiere League football clubs, including West Ham United FC and Liverpool FC, to tackle youth homelessness and provide companies with a pioneering mentoring programme for their employees. The impact of their work is remarkable and I dare you to watch their intro video and not get emotional. Seriously, good luck with that… Oh, and following her recent social media campaign, #PurposeOverPouts , calling out influencers to use their reach to make a positive difference, Fran was named the UKs number one Influencer by Global Woman. This is an incredible story of hope, perseverance and a powerful reminder of why no impact is an island. I hope you enjoy this very special interview and I can’t wait to hear what you got out of this week’s episode of #TheUnconventionalists podcast! PS: Fun fact - the name Goal 17 is inspired by the United Nations’ Goals for Sustainable Development. The 17th goal is about creating partnerships and collaborations for effective positive change which according to Fran’s website, embodies Goal 17's mission. Enjoy! Mark SHOW NOTES www. theunconventionalists.com/episode/123 Podcast Bootcamp: www.theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube:<a href="http://www.y
Tue, August 06, 2019
Special Announcement!
It's been a while since I jumped in the studio behind the mic and shared with you what's been going on behind the scenes here at The Unconventionalists HQ. So ladies and gentlemen, time for you to put your headphones on, kick off your shoes and let me share with you all the exciting changes and launches taking place that you won't want to miss. Spoiler alert, it includes a new website and a short documentary on your favourite podcast host! That would be me...right? I can't wait to hear what you think. Enjoy! M SHOW NOTES Podcast Bootcamp: https://theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp The Unconventionalists Podcast website: www.theunconventionalists.com Richard D'Costa Short Documentary on Mark Leruste: www.markleruste.com GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Sat, July 13, 2019
#122 Lessons learned from hosting The Unconventionalists podcast for four years with Mark Leruste
Four years ago to the day the very first episode of The Unconventionalists® podcast went live on iTunes. What started as a passion project on the side of my full time job quickly became something much, much bigger. To date, 110 thought leaders, entrepreneurs, disrupters and innovators have come on the show to share their inspiring stories and the lessons learned from both their failures and successes. From recording interviews over Skype on my couch to broadcasting a web TV show from our pop-up studio in Camden, The Unconventionalists ®'s mission has always remained constant: to broadcast inspiring conversations that change people's lives . As you'll hear in today's special episode, there's been a lot of changes in the last few months, and a new direction moving forward. Which I'm super excited about! That's right, the objective is to take our podcast to a whole new level and have one of the UK's premiere web TV show on YouTube. The good news is that the show has accumulated over 6,000 minutes of powerful conversations and the entire back catalogue of the show is available for free on www.theunconventionalists.com or wherever you get your podcast. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for your support and for listening to the show. It continues to be an honour to share with you the intimate and candid conversations I have with my ever growing roster of world-class guests. But let it be said that none of this would exist if it weren't for you. Thank you! Mark x SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/122 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Thu, June 06, 2019
#121 How to live a more meaningful life with Colin Wright
This week's guest is Colin Wright, the original minimalist who ditched his 6-figure salary, sold all his possessions to spend 7 years living out of a carry-on suitcase, letting his blog readers vote every 4 months which country he should go move to next. It's a powerful conversation that will challenge the way you see the world, as we went deep into what it means to create a life that is true for you. Jim Carrey once said “I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer." And I couldn't think of a better guest than Colin Wright to talk about the importance of forming meaningful relationships why doing work you love doesn't have to be in 30 years from now, why we shouldn't fear death and why we should all be questioning the value of material possessions. It's an episode you won't want to miss! If you're not familiar with Colin Wright, he's a published author, traveler and the founder of Exile Lifestyle and more importantly, is the man who inspired not just the founders of The Minimalists, the duo behind Netflix hit "Minimalism", to get started, but a movement of minimalists around the globe. What I enjoyed most about our conversation is that Colin reminds us that what is celebrated by society as normal doesn’t have to mean it’s your norm. If you still remember Brad Pitt's character Tyler Durden saying in Fight Club that "Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need (to impress people we don't like", well, you're going to love this week's episode! Enjoy and I can't wait to hear what you got out of today's inspiring interview! Mark x SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/121 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Fri, May 31, 2019
#120 The upside of quitting with Claudia Colucci
There's nothing worse than getting at the top of a career ladder only to realise you're on the wrong wall. When Claudia Colucci woke up one day and realised that being part of the top 5% of women in the advertising industry just wasn't going to cut it for her, she did one of the scariest things possible. She quit. In this week's episode I sit down with my friend, former student and Queen of Live Events at The Unconventionalists , Claudia "Cloud" Colucci, founder of ucci wellness and ucci pilates to talk about why doing work you love, although hard AF, is priceless, why 5am morning alarm bells are worth it when people appreciate what you do and why you should never say never! I hope you enjoy this powerful conversation, if you do, please share this video with a friend who could benefit from hearing Claudia’s inspiring story. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts over on social media, you can find and tag me @markleruste! Mark SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/120 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Thu, April 18, 2019
#119 How to better lead and serve with Ash Alexander-Cooper OBE
When it comes down to startups, organisations and businesses, it's great to have a set of values and a mission statement, right? Especially when you actually believe in them and live by them. Problem is, the vast majority of organisations today still use these vital ingredients as mere condiments, and this negatively impacts team moral and overall performance. But what if I told you that the secret to fixing this and becoming the best leader you can be, and install a winning culture in your workplace was to learn from someone who put his neck on the line for his men and woman and got shot. Literally. Well, today's very special guest on the show is Ash Alexander-Cooper OBE, a former Specialist Military Unit Colonel in the British Armed Forces who served the British Army for 22 years and who spent 82 months deployed on operations in complex and hostile environments (including Central Asia, the Middle East, Northern Ireland and the Balkans). On top of all of that, Ash was a senior special advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Interior between 2011 and 2014 and directed command and control of Afghan and coalition elements during high profile terrorist incidents. He also served as NATO’s Special Operations Component Command, where he oversaw the complex drawdown of coalition forces in 2014. Needless to say, when it comes down to complex and hostile situations, and getting people to work together, Ash is the man for the situation. As you'll hear in today's powerful conversation, Ash and his troops were ambushed in 2003 in Iraq, leaving him in a unique and dangerous situation that hopefully only a few people in the world will ever have to experience. As a former elite athlete representing Team GB and a man leading woman and men into battle, this is one of the most inspiring conversations you'll hear on what it takes to build adaptable and high performing teams through compassionate and mission-driven leadership. As always I'd love to hear your thoughts so make sure to tag me @markleruste and Ash @ashalexcooper over on Instagram or any social media platform of your choice. Until then, it is a great honour and privilege to introduce you the one and only Ash Alexander-Cooper OBE! To your impact, Mark SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/119 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter:<a href="http://
Sun, April 14, 2019
#118 How to pitch to win with David Beckett
Here's a question for you. If all you had were three minutes to share your idea with the world, would you be confident in your ability to pitch it? If not, you're not alone. Whether you’re a solopreneur, startup founder or business leader, if you can’t pitch, you can’t survive. That’s why when it comes down to learning how to harness the power of pitching your business in a compelling way to potential customers and investors, I couldn’t think of a better guest to bring on the show than David Beckett, Lead Pitch Coach at Best3minutes.com, Co-Founder of Pitchy and Author of “Pitch to Win”. Since leaving his corporate career as Country Director at Canon, David has coached over 750 Startups to win over €195 million investment, and has trained 11,000+ professionals in companies such as Google, PwC and Booking.com to make winning pitches. But more than that, David is passionate about giving your ideas a voice. It's an incredibly powerful conversation and I really hope you'll get a ton of value out of it. If you do, please give me a shout over on social media by tagging me (@markleruste) in your post. Can't wait to hear from you! Mark SHOWNOTES Applications to The Impact Accelerator are now open: www.theimpactaccelerator.com www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/118 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Sun, March 31, 2019
#117 Why sharing your truth can change the world with Philip McKernan
I'm so excited to share with you this week's episode, as we've done a world first here at Unconventionalists HQ! That's right, this week we’re going to do a little something different. You see, although I’m always doing my best to think of new ways to serve you, I’ve had pretty much the same format of The Unconventionalists show for the last four years now, so I thought it was about time we experimented a little. To give you a bit of background on today’s unique episode, a couple of months ago I saw that one of our former guesst on the show, Philip McKernan (#45 www.markleruste.com/episode/45 ) was about to launch his new book “One Last Talk”, and naturally, I wanted to help out. So I offered Philip to come back on the show to talk about his new book and we were scheduled to meet up in person during his tour in London. But due to last minute change of plans we weren’t able to record the episode. That’s when I came up with the idea of inviting him to become the first guest host of the show: To take over the reigns of the podcast so for once I could sit back, relax and enjoy the powerful lessons shared! That’s why ladies and gentlemen I am so excited to share with you the very first episode of The Unconventionalists podcast guest hosted by Philip Mckernan author of “One Last Talk”. I’ll be honest, this may be one of my favourite episodes on the show to date. Philip dives into what I believe in so much! And that is that your story matters and that the world needs to hear it. That your story is about you but it’s not for you! That you need to see the gift you hold and that only by sharing it can you set yourself and others free. It’s some seriously powerful stuff peeps, so brace yourself for some serious inspiration and motivation. If you enjoyed today's episode, I’d love for you to tag my over on social media @ markleruste and let me know what you enjoyed most about today’s powerful Guest Host. And do let me know if you’d like me to organise more of these in the future? And of course if you enjoy today’s episode make sure to buy Philip’s new book “One Last Talk”. Until then, it is a great honour and privilege to hand over the reigns for this very special edition of The Unconventionalits podcast. To your impact, Mark SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/117 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube:<a href="http://www.you
Thu, March 21, 2019
#116 How cooking for Bill Gates sparked a food revolution with Saima Khan
What do Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, the Obamas, Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg and Bradley Cooper have in common? They've all had the pleasure to sit down and taste Saima Khan's unique middle-eastern inspired food that tastes as delicious as it is beautiful. That's right in today's episode I sit down with Saima Khan, Founder of The Hampstead Kitchen who after bumping into one of the world's most foremost business magnets ditched her career as a six-figure banker to become a high end private chef, caterer for the Hampstead crowd and champion of those in need. If you’ve been listening to the show for a while then you’ll know that I love a good story. In fact, it’s why I started The Unconventionalists back in 2015, to broadcast meaningful conversations to change people’s lives. And today’s episode is no different. In fact, as you’ll hear, you really couldn’t have invented Saima’s story of how she ditched her risk prevention spreadsheets to travel the world to create middle-eastern inspired plate spreads. And what really stood out for me was the resilience and courage Saima demonstrated despite all her set backs and challenges, and how she's always put philanthropy at the heart of everything she does. Including hiring ex offenders, ex homeless people and refugees. In case you needed another reminder of the importance of committing to your target audience, to not be afraid of honouring your niche and to learn to say no to business opportunities, even if it means loosing out on financial income, this episode is for you. I’d love to hear what you think of our powerful conversation! Make sure to tag me @markleruste and Saima @hampsteadkitchn over on social media. I honestly can't wait to hear what you got out of today's interview. Mark SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/116 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Wed, March 13, 2019
#115 How to do your best work with Aaron Dignan
Let's face it, the way we work is broken. Frederick Taylor and his concept of scientific management was invented over 100 years ago on a factory floor for a world that no longer exists. And yet the vast majority of organisations around the world are still obsessed with the idea of maximising efficiency and minimising productivity friction, at all costs. The crazy thing is that despite the ever growing number of tools and technology available to us - that all promised to make us "better" at our jobs - we still seem to be overwhelmed and struggling. The good news is that we can change that reality. We can learn how to do our best work. In this week's episode I sit down with organisational whisperer Aaron Dignan, founder of The Ready and author of the brand new book "Brave New Work" (Penguin) to talk about how now more than ever we need more autonomy, trust, and transparency, not bureaucracy, to do our best possible work. I’d love to hear what you think of our powerful conversation! Tag me @markleruste and Aaron @aarondignan over on social media. I honestly can't wait to hear what you got out of our thought provoking interview. Mark SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/115 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Fri, March 08, 2019
#114 Why being yourself is good for business with George Bettany
What if I told you there was a mental health startup, here in the UK, who after just three years of starting, are on track to generate seven figures of revenue in 2019, without having the need to make ANY outreach sales calls, emails or cold messaging. Who not only don't have a sales team but who also don’t pretend to be bigger than they are, and aren’t afraid to tell a potential client, “actually, we don’t know” to a question they don’t know the answer to. Oh, and who call “clients” , “partners” and who turn down more businesses than they take on. Would you think I'm crazy? Meet George Bettany, the co-founder of Sanctuss, a mental health startup on a mission to change the perception of mental health and put the first mental health gym on the high-street. George is an incredible purpose-driven leader with a big heart who truly believes that the key to being truly successful is to find a way to be yourself, no matter what you do. If stand-up comedians and musicians taught us something it’s that being yourself is good for business. It's a truly amazing conversation and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I did. Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/114 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Tue, January 29, 2019
#113 What stand-up comedians can teach us about speaking our truth
When you think of stand-up comedians, the first thing that comes up to mind probably isn’t “case study for leadership”, is it? And yet, as weird as this may sound, I believe stand-up comedians hold some of the most powerful lessons to becoming a more compelling leader. That's right, it's time to put the LOL back into leadership. And I can't wait to hear what you think! Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/113 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Wed, January 09, 2019
#112 How to make 2019 your best year yet
Welcome to 2019! That's right people, you know how the saying goes, New Year...New You...or at least that's what marketing headlines would have us believe. Indeed, it's that time of the year again, when most of us look back over the last 365 days and reflect on what we accomplished, and more often than none, reflect on what we didn't end up doing. Even though we were so sure that this year would be the year we'd get it done. Now, like most people, each year you might also come up with a long winded list of all the things you want to change and accomplish in the New Year. Heck you might even have an epic New Year's Resolution list? Be it getting in shape, getting to bed earlier, drinking more water, loosing a few extra pounds, reading more books, calling your mum every week, starting a podcast, spending less time on social media or watching the news, changing jobs, launching your own business or [insert your goal for 2019]. The problem is according to Business Insider, 80% of New Year's resolutions fail by February. That's why this year, I'd like to invite you to do something a little different. I want to help you make 2019 your best year yet and for that, I'm going to need you to throw away your NYE's resolution list... Controversial right? Well, listen to today's episode where I share with you a super simple exercise that will change the way you live your life in 2019. "How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives." Annie Dillard So buckle up and get ready to throw your big bold goals for 2019 in the bin! If you enjoyed today's episode, make sure to tag me over on Instagram or social media @markleruste so I can reply back to your post! Thanks and for the 100th time this week, Happy New Year! Hugs, Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/112 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Mon, December 24, 2018
#111 What men should ask woman every day with Vix Anderton
Vix Anderton is the founder of The Practical Balance, a platform to promote the wellbeing and mental health of founders, freelancers and other multi-potentialites. She also helps organisations build more diverse and inclusive cultures and is an advocate for social and policy change. Vix started her career in the Royal Air Force, serving for nearly ten years as an intelligence officer, where she gained an inside understanding of gender and diversity in the military and conflict-affected states. Since leaving, she’s worked with a variety of organisations in operational management and women's rights; and as you’ll hear in our interview, Vix also spent five months volunteering with VSO in Bangladesh where she learned and grew a ton. As an independent inclusive leadership and gender specialist with expertise in women, peace and security Vix now works with the UK Government and other organisations on gender mainstreaming. Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/111 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Wed, December 19, 2018
#110 Why businesses who do good do better with James Routledge
"I wish everybody could get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer." Jim Carrey On the surface it's easy to think that becoming an entrepreneur is the ultimate gateway to happiness, fame and success. It's no surprise then that Visa Europe found that one in three people dream of starting their own business. But in reality, only one in ten actually take the leap. If you've seen my TEDx talk then you'll know how I feel about the need for us to change the way we talk about the reality of starting and growing a business. Especially when you know that according to Dr Michael A. Freeman from the University of California, one in three entrepreneurs suffer from mental health issues. We're being sold this story that if you want to be happy and successful then you need to be the next Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk or Sara Blekely. That your sole mission should be to launch the next WhatsApp / Instagram / Snapchat, raise a ton of cash, and retire at 30. But what if you went down that road, only to realise that it was everything but what you hoped it to be? From rags to riches, how a University drop out launched a tech startup, raised $1 million and lived the dream. So could have gone the narrative of today's guest, if it weren't for the fact that James Routledge woke up one day having panic attacks and realising that the company he had built was a soulless shell. It was time to hit the reset button. Thanks to a 99pee notebook, the courage to open up and a religious journaling practice, a mental-health revolution was born. That's right, this week I sit down with James Routledge, founder of Sanctus, a mental-health startup on a mission to change the perception of mental health who want to put the first mental health gym on the high-street. This is an incredible story of how someone managed to turn their pain into their purpose, and their purpose into their profession. All while inspiring a new generation of game changes to join his mission.If you enjoyed today's conversation, make sure to tag James and I over on social media. You can find James over on Instagram under @jroutledge and I'm under @markleruste. And of course, make sure to go vive Sanctus a follow @sanctus. Enjoy our powerful conversation! Hugs, Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/110 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/marklerust
Sat, December 15, 2018
#109 Why you need to redefine your goals with Paul Jarvis
“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." —E.E. Cummings I read this quote a few weeks ago and it went straight to my heart. As I honestly believe that it captures the essence of what we stand for here at team Unconventionalists. To have the courage to follow your heart, to stay true to who you really are and to never shy away from standing up for what is right. To trust that you absolutely can have an impact with your message. And to believe that doing meaningful and purposeful work shouldn’t be a privilege reserved to just a few, but be a birthright. That’s why I couldn’t think of a better conversation to share with you today, as I had the pleasure of sitting down with Paul Jarvis, the Wizard of Oz behind some of the biggest personal brands online (Marie Forleo, Shaquille O'Neal, Kris Carr…) to dive deeper into what it really means to figure out what’s important to you. And more importantly, what success means and looks like to you Because after all, in today’s noisy digital world, everyone is fighting for your attention, and everyone is trying to tell you how you should or shouldn’t feel. Who you should and shouldn’t be. My hope is that after listening to today’s episode, you’ll re-consider the big audacious goals you’ve set for yourself in 2019 if they’re not aligned with what your heart truly yearns for. Paul’s story is an incredible reminder of why figuring out your path can take time, why being real and authentic matters more than anything and how you absolutely can make enough money doing what you love. Stick around to hear Paul’s early days as a touring band! Oh, and in case you didn’t know, Paul’s book “ Company of One ” is available to pre-order and you can get a whole bunch of bonuses if you buy it now. Here’s the thing, if you’re thinking of getting the book or want to support Paul in any way, buy the book now as every “pre-sale” goes towards the first day of sell, and that’s how most publications determine “Best-Sellers”. Thanks as I know Paul will appreciate it. And as always, if you enjoyed today’s episode, share it with a friend who you think would benefit from listing to our powerful conversation. It’s the best form of compliment you can give me. All you have to do is either share this episode with them, tag them in my latest post on social media (@markleruste) or forward them the email I sent out to announce this new episode. Not on my email list? Don’t panic! Simply click here . I share a weekly tip on how to live a more meaningful and purposeful life, so make sure to get on it if you haven’t already. Thank you and
Tue, November 27, 2018
#108 How to launch a food startup from scratch that people will love with Carli Wheatley
When it comes down to starting a business, most people make up that what you need is to have everything figured out before you even begin. And I’m not just talking about a clear plan on how you’re going to generate revenue. No. I mean most people think to start a business you need a great name, a perfect logo, a brand spanking website, shiny business cards, a catchy URL and of course, to secure all the social media profiles online, right? Actually, that’s kinda of BS. What you really need in order to start a sustainable and profitable business is a specific group of people, who have a particular problem, that you can solve in a better way than your competition and who are willing and able to pay for that solution. And if you want to be in business for a while, you need to: 1) Make sure that the size of your market, i.e. the group of people you serve, is big enough to keep driving traffic (and ultimately revenue) to your business. 2) Be genuinely passionate about helping the people you serve. That’s it. It’s that simple. Forget about the S word, i.e. scaling, right now, what you need to do is to validate your idea as quickly and cheaply as possible. What’s crazy to me though is that the last thing on most people’s list I’ve come across over the last decade or so of being involved with launching side hustles and starting businesses is validating your business idea by getting in front of actual customers and asking for the sale. It’s bonkers right? And I genuinely believe that it’s one of the reasons why according to Bloomberg 8 out 10 businesses fail within the first 18 months. Because they failed to take the time to validate their business idea and see if people are genuinely willing to pay to have their problem solved. And yet as you’ll hear in today’s episode of The Unconventionalists, where I sit down with Carli Wheatley , the creator and power house behind Protein Haus and is now the founder and mastermind behind the new Paleo Supply , the best way to start a business is to not only follow your passion, but rather, to follow the pain points of your potential customers. This was one of my favourite interviews to date, we sat down for over an hour and went deep into Carli’s incredible but true story of how she went from being a busy PT to starting one of London’s most recognisable healthy food brands on the market. We also talked about the mistakes she made along the way, including the one that ultimately forced her to walk away from her first business. Needless to say, it got emotional. But as you’ll hear in our powerful conversation, Carli is a force of nature who hasn’t got a “give it up” bone in her. Her new venture, Paleo Supply, (opening in Canary Wharf this 29th November 2019 btw) is set to take over London one healthy meal, protein shake and treat at a time.
Wed, November 14, 2018
#107 How to be a modern dad with Han-Son Lee
Let’s be honest, when it comes down to out-dated preconceived ideas of how useless and hands off dad’s are, it’s time for a much needed update. I get it though, according to my mum, my dad changed a whopping three nappies in his life. And as a kid, I don’t remember him being around that much because he either was at the office or in his music room rehearsing with his jazz band. It doesn’t mean he wasn’t a loving father though. It just means he was living in a different era. And let’s face it, got away with murder… But when I look at my older brother and I, along with all of my other male friends who happen to be dads, it’s a completely different story. That’s right, Millennial dads are a different breed. We are more involved, we cook a lot more for our families and we change a truck load of nappies. It’s a generalisation, sure, but as you’ll hear in today’s episode, there’s actually a study to back this statement up. That’s right, say hello to Dad Index 2018: “The Dad Index is the first piece of research exclusively focussed on millennial dads across the whole of Great Britain; their involvement in parenting activities, and their role as consumers.” Turns out, according to this latest study, 87% of Millennial Dads are heavily involved in day to day parenting, more than 2/3 of dads are involved in cooking for their children during the week, and almost 40% are taking charge of the grocery shop. That’s why I was so pumped to sit down this week with Han-Son Lee, founder of Daddilife, a website for modern dads counting 100k+ followers online who also happens to be the man behind the Dad Index 2018 study. We talked about what it means to be a modern dad, why men are going through a bit of an identity crisis right now (and what to do about it), why we need to be more progressive at work with parent leave and why we should be excited or terrified of the world our children will grow up in. Being unconventional means having the courage to do things differently. And I truly believe that we are changing the course of history by being more involved as dads, at home. If you enjoyed our powerful conversation, or would like to add to the conversation, please make sure to tag me (@markleruste) and Han-Son (@daddilife) over on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. I can't wait to hear what you got out of today's episode! Enjoy, Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/107 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: <a href="https://www.instag
Wed, October 31, 2018
#106 The power of growth marketing with David Arnoux
If the words machine learning, blockchain, AI or Bots send you in a panic attack, then you're in for a treat. That's right, I sat down with David Arnoux, Co-Founder of Growth Tribe, Europe's #1 Growth Academy who operate in six countries and whose mission is to teach progressive digital skills to 1,000,000 students globally. David also happens to be a childhood friend of mine. Recording in the most unconventional location, we dived into David's rich story of how he spent the last twelve years living in Asia and Europe, building businesses and learning a ton along the way. David also shares what makes growth hackers and growth marketers so different and why every organisation should be levelling up their digital skills as well as explaining the six steps that makes a successful product launch. If you enjoyed our powerful conversation, please make sure to tag me (@ markleruste ) and David (@ darnocks ) over on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. I can't wait to hear what you got out of today's episode! Mark x Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/106 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Sun, October 28, 2018
#105 How to overcome self-doubt (so you can finally put yourself out there!)
Here's the deal. In every story there needs to be a constant tension between the yearning for the Hero to win the day, with also the possibility of the Hero failing in the process. It's what makes stories interesting. It's what makes us, the audience, want to cheer the Hero on. And in someway, it's what keeps us paying attention and wanting to help the Hero achieve their goal(s). Because there's always a possibility that it may fail. But there's also a possibility that it may work. No matter how crazy that may seem. That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call, The Doubt. And if you've been experiencing a level of self-doubt lately when it comes down to launching your projects, then what I want to share with you is this: Over the last ten years I’ve sat down across hundreds of incredibly inspiring people from all walks of life and interviewed them about their journeys: their ups and downs, dreams and aspirations, failures and successes. From unconventional politicians, to forward thinking CEOs, best-selling authors to world record breakers, caring influencers to maverick entrepreneurs. And I have yet to meet the woman or man who did not have some form of doubt along the way. That’s the honest truth. Doubt is absolutely normal and part of the journey. And today, I'm here to tell you what you can do to get over it. Hope it helps, if it does, please do let me know over on social media by tagging me @markleruste in your post / stories. Can't wait to hear what you launch as a result of it :) Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/105 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste
Tue, October 16, 2018
#104 What everyone needs to know about relationships with James Sexton
What if you could reverse engineer relationships to a point where you could predict what is most likely to cost you your relationship? What if I told you that writing up a prenup before you got married was the most romantic thing you could do? Now what if I told you that THE best gift you could give a couple thinking of getting married was a consultation with a divorce lawyer... Would you believe me? Or would you think I'm crazy? Well, you're about to have an epic paradigm shift thanks to today's very special guest. That's right, today I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with James J. Sexton, a hard-hitting divorce lawyer with over 17 years practicing who has helped over 1,200 clients navigate the tricky waters of getting divorced. And what he's learned along the way is priceless. So much so that he wrote an amazing book, "If You'Re In My Office, It's Already Too Late: A Divorce Lawyer's Guide to Staying Together" where he shares everything he's learned from the stories, trials and tribulations of his passed clients. "Who would have guessed that the person who gives the best advice about marriage was the guy responsible for getting you out of yours.” – Judith Newman, The New York Times Book Review Once upon a time, James was also married for 12 years and in today's conversation we dive into the myths and the realities of what it takes to stay together. What everyone need to know in order to stay together. I know you'll enjoy this conversation as much as I did, and if you do, please remember to let us know over on Instagram or Twitter by tagging James (@ nycdivorcelawyer ) and myself (@ markleruste ). I can't wait to hear your thoughts! Hugs, Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/104 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste
Wed, October 10, 2018
#103 How to live a fully expressed life with Bella Zanesco
If you've ever experienced a burnout at work, felt like you didn't belong or knew it was time for you to pack your bags and hit the road, you're going to love today's episode. That's right, I sat down with Bella Zanesco who in 2014 decided to pack her bags and leave her native Australia to engage in a career transition experiment and call London home for a little while, in hopes to find her tribe. But despite the change of scenery and the new found inspiration, Bella very quickly realised that she had more work to do back home... After all, she came from a corporate background with a multiple six figure salary, generating millions of dollars for the FMCG market, and yet, despite all this, was bullied at work, went through depression and experienced a massive burnout. The information and community she failed to find in her time of need led her to investigate the importance of health as well as start her very own business to support woman in a similar situation as her. Over three years she interviewed 4,500 executives across 80 countries to better understand the landscape of this global phenomenon, and what she found blew her away. "7 in 10 don’t want to go to work on Monday morning and 8 in 10 had no idea what they were on this planet for. It’s a big problem to solve." So much so that she wrote a book, "Smart Girls Screw Up Too: The no-nonsense guide to creating the life you want" (Wiley) and in today's episode we talk about her journey of going from burned out to inspiring woman around the world to live a fully expressed life. I hope you'll enjoy today's conversation and, If you do, please make sure to tag me @markleruste in your social media post. It totally makes my day :) Enjoy! Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/103 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste
Fri, October 05, 2018
#102 Startup Confessions #3
This episode has been a long time coming. For the 3rd time since launching The Unconventionalists back in 2015, I sit down with nothing but a microphone and a willingness to open up and share with you what's been going on with my business and in my life. As you'll hear in today's episode, I'm also re-launching something that means a lot to me. Hope you'll be up for joining the ride. As always, let me know over on social media if you enjoyed today's episode by tagging me in your post (@markleruste). Thanks for being part of the family and know that I appreciate you taking the time to tune in week in and week out. To your growth, Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/102 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste
Wed, August 29, 2018
#101 The gift of grief with Pascale Recher
What if I told you your story mattered and the world needed to hear it? Would you think I'm crazy? Or would you swing for the fences? If you've been with me for a while then you'll know that I'm a BIG believer in saying that everyone's story matters. That there is a true transformative gift in sharing your story with the world that you can only appreciate once you start letting your story out. Because you simply never know who you will heal or help by sharing it with the world. Today's guest is a true example of my theory. You see, on the 12th June 2018, Pascale Recher, founder of Right Brain Geek, was sitting in the audience of my live recording of episode 100 of The Unconventionalists podcast. At the end of the event, I challenged the whole crowd to share their story online and the lucky winner would be invited to come on my show and be my 101st guest. Well, as you'll learn in today's conversation, Pascale almost didn't share her story online. And yet, she did. When I read her story, I was moved and knew I had to get her on the show to talk about her journey so I could share it with you all. As you'll hear, it's crazy to realise that death and grief can be such powerful teachers. I know you’ll get a lot out our conversation and I can't wait to hear your favourite quote(s) from today's episode over on social media by tagging me @markleruste and #theunconventionalists! Enjoy this powerful conversation. Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/101 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste
Tue, July 17, 2018
#100 The future of work & health w/ David Baker & Thomas Olivier (LIVE)
WE MADE HISTORY PEOPLE! That's right! On the 12th June 2018 we made history by recording the 100th episode of The Unconventionalists podcast in front of a live audience at The Studio, in the heart of White City Place, London's newest and hotest media studio. If you've been asking yourself questions such as, "will robots take our jobs?", "is it the end of retirement" or "am I doing a shit job?", then you're going to LOVE our special guest for the evening. That's right, our very special guest for this live event was David Baker, who spent 12 years working for the Financial Times, was the launch managing editor of Wired magazine in the UK and is a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service. A true fan favourite, David's previous episodes are two of the most downloaded episodes of all time on the show and for the first time, at the end of the interview, the audience had an opportunity to ask their questions to David Baker, live. Additionally, we had the pleasure of having Thomas Olivier, founder of GenSmart come who talked to us about the future of health, data protection and why no one is the same. GenSmart is a health optimisation platform for longevity that uses sequenced Genomic data, combined with real time behaviour to provide health and performance goals by offering tailored nutrition and lifestyle recommendations to the users. In short, it helps you make smarter decisions about your health based on your genetic makeup. Thomas is a registered nutrigenomic practitioner and was the first coach in the UK to offer fitness and nutrition plans based on individual DNA make-up. His innovative science-based coaching methods and his book, "Cracking Your Health Code" (available on Amazon) have helped hundreds of people achieve their optimum health. He recently came in 2nd place at this years' Pioneers500 - Pioneers'18, a pitching competition to redefine human tech frontiers, and was excited to answer your questions on the 12th June, 2018! Plug in your headphones, kick off your shoes, and enjoy this very special episode. Can't wait to hear what you think over on social media (@markleruste)! Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/100 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitt
Mon, June 11, 2018
#99 How to supercharge your health and optimise your lifestyle with Dr Rupy Aujla
We all get it, right? Eat your vegetables, get a sweat on, drop the soda and stay away from the freakin’ donuts. Simple right? Then why the hell does it feel so hard to do those things? And more importantly, why are we facing a food health crisis? And I’m not talking about a shortage of food. I’m talking about a shortage of quality food leading to a massive scale of people being overweight. In fact, according to the NHS 2018’ “Statistics on Obesity, Physical Activity and Diet – England”, one in four adults are now classified as obese and 1 in 5 children aged 10 are classified as obese. That’s a scary statistic right? And in the US, it is said that today's children will live shorter lives than their parents because of obesity. But thankfully, there are people out there fighting to turn things around and help us make sense of what the hell we can do to get healthier. That’s why I’m super excited to share with you today’s very special episode. Chances are you’ve seen his face spread across magazines, newspapers, tube stations and billboards… That’s right today’s guest is Dr. Rupy Aujla, a GP in the NHS, a passionate home cook and lifestyle medic who is best known for his own podcast, Instagram account and recipe book, The Doctor’s Kitchen, dedicated to the evidence based behind nutritional advice. What I love about Rupy is that he believes that what you chose to put on your plate is the most important health intervention you can make. And it’s so incredibly refreshing to hear a GP preach the benefits of simple healthy food. As you’ll hear in today’s episode, Rupy went through his own health scare as a young medic that made him take a serious look at the food we eat and the impact it has on our health. But it wasn’t until Rupy was working as an A&E doctor in Australia that he set up the doctor’s kitchen as an Instagram account, posting recipes with clinic research behind the ingredients used to help his patients live a healthier lifestyle. What happened next blew his mind. Rupy has since launched a best selling cook book and has been featured on pretty much every single major newspapers, website, magazine and prime time TV, and I really believe his message needs to be heard loud and clear. What I loved about our conversation is that Rupy was courageous enough to open up and talk about what it’s really like to try and build a movement as well as share the challenges that come with having a massive online social media following. I know you’ll get a lot out our conversation and I can't wait to hear your favourite quote(s) from today's episode over on social media by tagging me @markleruste and #theunconventionalists! Enjoy this powerful conversation. Mark Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/99 GET IN TOUCH
Fri, June 08, 2018
#98 Why you need to move your body with Roger Frampton
Today’s powerful conversation is with international male model, fitness expert, best-selling author and social media influencer, Roger Frampton who’s TEDx talk, “Why Sitting Down Destroys You” has received more than 2.1 million views on YouTube and who’s book “The Flexible Body” was an instant Amazon best seller. What if I told you I could wave a magic wand over you and with the snap of my fingers you could have a book deal, a best-selling book, a super popular TEDx talk, a massive following online, a clear and powerful message, oh, and a six pack… Would you want it? Here’s the real question though, do you think having all those things would solve all your problems? If you answered yes to either of the above, you’re in for a treat. Roger’s story is an incredible tale of a young man being on track to becoming a carpenter working on building sites to suddenly spending over a decade on the catwalks of Milan, Paris and New York as a male model, making more money than he could have ever dreamed of. But what Roger didn’t expect next was to be schooled by a six year old girl who would go on to forever change the course of Roger’s career and life. I had such a blast connecting with Roger at the White City Place Podcast Pod studio where we talked about his journey, his experience of his TEDx talk being his first public speaking experience and what it’s really like to try and build a business around a powerful message. As you'll hear in today's episode, Roger is on a mission to prove once and for all that good bodies are simply a by-product of a deep understanding of how to move it efficiently and graciously. But we also got super deep and Roger opened up for the first time about a ton of stuff that I know you'll find mind blowing. It's the kind of conversation we all need to hear to remind us that no one has it all figured out. Plug in your headphones, turn up the volume, because I have a feeling you're going to love the energy between Roger and I on today's very special episode and my heart tells me you'll get a ton of value from our conversation too! I can't wait to hear what you loved best about my interview with Roger over on social media by tagging me @markleruste. Enjoy the show! Mark x Subscribe and rate our show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/98 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook:<a href="http://www.facebook.com/markler
Wed, June 06, 2018
#97 How to achieve anything with 2x World Record breaker Kiko Matthews
Have you ever had a bad day or maybe found yourself feeling a little down? And thought about what you could do to feel a little better? Chances are, you probably didn't think about smashing a world record and putting yourself through a bucket load of pain in the process? Well, today's guest did just that... After facing a life-threatening disease, 37-year-old former teacher Kiko Matthews set herself the challenge of becoming the fastest woman to solo row across the Atlantic, unassisted with zero previous experience of rowing… As you’ll hear in today’s episode, half way through her training, her brain tumour came back. But that didn’t stop Kiko from believing she could accomplish her goal of proving that anything is possible if you really want it and set your mind to it. The result? Eight months after being operated on, this incredible human being rowed the 21ft-long Soma of Essex for up to 16 hours a day, sleeping in two-hour shifts, spent 49 days at sea crossing the 3,200+ miles from East to West, smashed the previous record of 56 day (which was set by the French in 2002…Ouch!) by just over a week and now is a 2x World Record holder. Her goal was simple: to empower and inspire women to push their boundaries while supporting King's College Hospital Charity, who saved her life in 2009 and again in August 2017, raising more than £100,000 for them. Ladies and gentlemen, this is one of the craziest and most inspiring interviews I’ve had to date with someone who simply refuses to call herself inspiring or special. And yet, although she may be just like everyone else, she is all of that and so much more. I can’t wait to hear your reactions and what was your favourite quote of today's episode over on social media by tagging me (@ markleruste ) and Kiko (@ kikomatthews ). Mark GET ON ALL THE ACTION: Subscribe and rate the show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/97 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste
Sun, June 03, 2018
#96 How to start and grow a business with Daniel Priestley
Here's a crazy stat, according to Visa Europe one in three people dream of starting their own business but only one in ten actually take the leap. So if you've been thinking of starting your own business or you're keen to know how to grow your business from scratch, but you've been afraid of the process, you're in for a treat. That's right, in today's episode I caught up with Daniel Priestley, best-selling author of four books and CEO of Dent Global who’s personally sat down with 5,000+ entrepreneurs to help them get their business off the ground. As you'll hear in today's episode, since launching his first business as a kid in Australia selling second hand furniture, Daniel's built and sold multi-million pound businesses, and through his initiatives, has managed to raise over £400,000 for charity. Needless to say that when it comes down to knowing what it takes to start and grow a business, Dan's your man. Yet, leading a global company, signing books and giving talks around the world can seem glamours from the outside, but Daniel opens up about the reality of being in business and what most people don't know about him. He also shares with us what he believes is the number one best tip to start any business. Spoiler alert, it's probably not what you think. Find out what that is and so much more by listening to our inspiring and powerful conversation! Mark GET ON ALL THE ACTION: Subscribe and rate the show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/96 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste
Wed, May 30, 2018
#95 How to fight for your life with Jonny Benjamin
In January 2008, 20-year-old Jonny Benjamin stood on a bridge in central London ready to take his own life. A passing stranger stopped and talked to Jonny, saving his life. Six years later Jonny launched the #FindMike campaign to try to find that stranger on the bridge so he could finally thank him. What happened next surprised the world... In our intimate and exclusive conversation, we talked about: - What every family dealing with suicide needs to know - Why men find it so hard to open up and talk about their feelings - Why men represent 3/4 of all global suicides - Why suicide is still such a taboo today and what you can do to help overcome that - A message of hope to everyone suffering from mental health issues and depression Jonny's message is an important message and one I hope you'll appreciate and share with those around you! GET ON ALL THE ACTION: Subscribe and rate the show on iTunes: www.theunconventionalists.org SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/95 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste
Mon, May 28, 2018
#94 Special announcement
In today's episode I share with you some big news regarding future guests on the show (I can't wait!) as well as let you in on some of the exciting live events we've been cooking up for you. SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/94 How To Launch a Successful Podcast (Bootcamp): https://theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp 100th Episode LIVE event: https://theunconventionalists.com/episode/100 Mark’s TEDx Talk: youtu.be/f6nxcfbDfZo SUBSCRIBE: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste
Mon, April 30, 2018
#93 Find Your Quest, Live Your Purpose
In today's episode I share with you my favourite daily habits to help you cut out the noise, find your purpose and unleash your quest. Let me know what you thought of today's episode over on Instagram (@markleruste). Mark SUBSCRIBE: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/93 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste
Sat, April 21, 2018
#92 How to land (and nail) a TEDx talk
Unless you've been hiding in a cave for the past decade, chances are you've seen at least one TED or TEDx talk. And if like me, you've been inspired and moved by them, then you might have a dream one day to land a TEDx or TED talk yourself. But what does it really take to set foot on one of the world's most prestigious stage? And how can you tell if you have a TEDx or TED worthy idea? Well, a year ago to the day I gave my first TEDx talk over at TEDxCardiff and as of today, my talk has been viewed more than 50,000 on YouTube. Which I'm super grateful for. That's why in today's episode I sit down with you to celebrate the one year anniversary of me becoming a TEDx speaker and I open up and share all my tips and insights to help you land and nail your TEDx talk (or live public talk!). "Since the beginning of the TEDx program in 2009, nearly 15,000 events have been held in every corner of the globe. And now, a new TEDx milestone has been reached: one billion views of TEDx Talks." This is a special episode so make sure to listen to the end as I'm kicking off a new section of the show called "Hot Seat" and you won't want to miss it. Can't wait to hear what you think over on Instagram (@ markleruste ). Hugs, Mark SUBSCRIBE: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/92 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste
Thu, February 22, 2018
#91 Be Here Now
Here's a scary fact. The average millennial will check their phones 153 times a day. And yet studies have found a correlation between the time we spend on our screens with the increase chances of us suffering from depression, anxiety and experiencing mental health issues. So why are we so glued to our phones. Like, ALL THE TIME?! Turns out, each ping or notification we get on social media, WhatsApp, text messages, emails, etc releases a chemical called dopamine. Which makes us feel good. The same way alcohol, gambling, smoking and sex does. The difference is that we currently do not have any age restriction on social media and mobile phones usage nor do we have any healthy boundaries in place in the work place to cope and manage the negative impact digital devices are having on our overall wellbeing. Why am I talking about this today? Because over the last few years I've spent a lot of time coaching and training Millennials and the problem seems to be getting worse. Not better. To the point where I spend 1/3 of my time policing people in the room to come back to being present in the room. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let me know over on Instagram by either tagging me in your Insta story or sending me a DM @markleruste. Until then, enjoy the show! Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/91 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste
Mon, January 08, 2018
#90 Don't Give Up
Who ever said chasing your dreams was easy, was probably drunk. I mean, don't get me wrong, as much as the Universe is there to help you achieve what you want, it's also going to make sure you REALLY want it by throwing a few ball curves along the way. And yes, it can sometimes totally suck. But is it time then to throw in the towel? To give up? Hell no! In today's episode I share with you why I want you to keep going. Why I want you to understand that although things will get tough, there is a reason why you're called to do the work you're doing. The world needs your message. You've got this. Mark THE IMPACT ACCELERATOR Tired of being the best kept secret? Do you want to stand out from the crowd, build an empire around your personal brand and make money out of the expertise you provide to your audience? Then let me teach you everything I've learned over the last five years of building my business and raising my profile by joining my new Impact Accelerator programme. Previous graduates have called it a game changer. Applications are now open at: http://theimpactaccelerator.com Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/90 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste
Sat, November 18, 2017
#89 How To Fight Your Fears With Daniel Terry
Fear is one of the main reasons why so many people feel stuck in the starting blocks. But what if fear was a healthy thing? And you could actually use it to your advantage? In today's episode I sit down with Muay Thai world champion Daniel Terry to find out how he(man)handles the "F" word, in and out of the ring. We talk about the reality of fear and what you can do today to use it as force for good. --- A CRASH COURSE ON PODCASTING: Ever thought about launching your own podcast? But not sure where to start? Join me for a one-day crash course in London where I will cover the simple steps to properly planning, launching and growing a successful podcast. Grab your early bird ticket now: https://theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp You’ll learn how to: - Choose the best recording equipment, editing software and hosting platform for your budget - Land interviews with thought leaders, bestselling authors, and influencers in your field - Prepare so that you have captivating and memorable conversations with guests - Edit your interviews to produce high quality and professional sounding audio - Develop an effective launch strategy - Crack the itunes algorithm to improve your ranking and get more downloads and subscribers Grab your ticket today: https://theunconventionalists.com/podcasting-bootcamp SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/89 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste
Tue, October 17, 2017
#88 How to write emails that can't be ignored with Jon Buchan
When Jon Buchan's leads for his digital marketing agency dried up, he did what anyone would do: He got drunk and wrote the most absurd email ever and sent it to the world's most senior brand executives. And to his biggest surprise, it worked! He got the most amazingly complimentary responses from some of the world's largest corporations. As a result, he met with RedBull, Pepsi, Symantec, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco and countless other global brands, exciting start-ups, and hard working SMEs and generated £1million revenue from his cold emails. Today Jon is the founder of Charm Offensive, teaching people like you how to cut through the noise and write emails that get results. Ladies and gentlemen, it's a pleasure and an honour to introduce you the Cold Email King, Jon Buchan! Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/88 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste
Fri, October 13, 2017
#87 A very special announcement
In today's episode I share with you the biggest announcement I've made to date. In short, what I'm about to share with you not only took my breath away, it also brought me to tears. Can you guess what it was? Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/87 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sat, September 23, 2017
#86 How to cope with the journey of starting a business
Ever got caught up in business-window-shopping mode, browsing the glossy websites and carefully curated social media streams of your peers and finding yourself thinking: “Woah, everyone else has got their sh!t together. Am I the only one struggling here?” If so, you'll be happy to know you're not alone. That's right, it's time to get real about the ups and downs, fears and insecurities we often encounter on the roller coaster entrepreneurial path. In his sold out live talk at General Assembly, Mark Leruste, founder & host of The Unconventionalists, talks about the most common blockers getting in the way of enjoying the process of starting a business. Watch Mark's TEDx talk: youtu.be/f6nxcfbDfZo Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-u…d1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/86 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sat, September 02, 2017
#85 How to grow your business with Noah Kagan
According to Bloomberg, 8 out 10 entrepreneurs who start a business fail within the first 18 months. Which sounds pretty scary right? So what's the secret recipe to starting and growing a business and surviving your first five years? Enter the startup whisperer, Noah Kagan. That's right, in today's episode I have the privilege to share with you my conversation with Noah Kagan, the founder of AppSumo and SumoMe, who's been one of my virtual mentors over the last few years. I came across Noah a few years back via his friend Tim Ferriss and was blown away by his "stop playing business!" attitude when it came down to getting wantrapreneurs to pull the trigger on starting their business ideas. And I know you're going to learn a ton from him too. If you don't know who Noah is, he became Facebook employee #30 at age 24, got fired, missed out on making $200+ million in stock options, joined Mint.com as Marketing Director, took the startup from zero to a million users, left (and walked away from $1.3 million), launched a company making games on Facebook, got sued by Facebook, lived in his aunt's basement for two years and eventually had an idea to promote weekly deals on awesome products to help you grow your business. And so, in 2010, with just $50, AppSumo was born. Today, Noah's grown AppSumo and SumoMe into a healthy 8 figure business and has recently stepped away from the day-to-day activities. So I caught him in a reflective state! In today's episode Noah shares with you: Why he walked out on Tony Robins Why no one cares about you, and why that’s a good thing Why starting a business is like starting a diet The five biggest blockers stopping people from starting a business What you can do to get over your fear of failure and fear of asking for money Who he would quit his company to go work for (can you guess??) Why marginal life hacks are a waste of time And what he's learned about success from his friend Tim Ferriss I know you're going to love today's episode as much as I did. If you did, please share it with a friend, as it's the best form of compliment you can give me. Thanks and can't wait to hear what you got out from today's episode! Mark Watch my TEDx talk: https://youtu.be/f6nxcfbDfZo Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/85 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, August 15, 2017
#84 What's your definition of impact?
In this live talk from Google Campus x General Assembly, Mark Leruste, founder & host of The Unconventionalists and creator of The Impact Accelerator, explores the importance of asking yourself, "What does having an impact mean to you?". Based on his TEDx talk (https://www.markleruste.com/tedx/), Mark dives deeper into the reason why so many people are driven to start their own business. Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/84 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sun, August 13, 2017
#83 From cursed to blessed with Johnny BANG Reilly
When it comes down to reinventing yourself and overcoming adversity, few men come close to today's guest, Johnny B.A.N.G. Reilly. But after a rough start to life and spending years abusing his mind and body, Johnny purified his diet and mineralised his brain. The result? A man in his prime at 53 years of age who chose to pursue love over destruction. You could say that Johnny is part of a special club: “the go forward type” and he's been many things over the last decade: a survivor, dancer, fighter, choreographer, word collector, movie maker, fashion designer, voice-over artist...and the list goes on. But the most important of all, he's a liver. In this week's episode Johnny and I caught up in Camden to talk about the importance of movement and why what you eat can truly change your destiny. It certainly did for Johnny, who's new found obsession for health has redefined the course of his life. And prevented him from murdering a man and spending the rest of his life in prison. "Violent people are poets in motion." Johnny B.A.N.G. Reilly I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did, and if you did, share it with a friend. It really makes a difference. Mark Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/83 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sun, August 06, 2017
#82 How to keep going with James Eder
In 2005, two weeks before graduating, James Eder launched Student Beans a discounts and deals website for students, making him one of Britain's youngest entrepreneurs at age 22. His brother Michael joined him and together they grew Student Beans quickly to 1 million unique visitors a month. In short, James had "crushed it". But 12 years later, James decided to walk away from the day-to-day operations of Student Beans to focus instead on launching his new startup, Causr. A location based app connecting professionals on the go. In short, James is on a mission to manufacture serendipity. So when Richard Branson wrote about Causr on his LinkedIn profile in November 2016, James knew he was on to something. Problem is, starting a business today and starting a business in 2005 are two very different things... "I was willing to do what others wouldn't." - James Eder In today's episode we talked about why so many of us fear being rejected and why being afraid of failing is getting in the way of your own success. This is a really powerful conversation and I know you're going to love it. As always, if you enjoyed today's episode, share it with a friend, it's the best form of compliment you can give me! Mark Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/82 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, July 25, 2017
#81 How to have a portfolio career with Robin Boot
Robin Boot is a pluri-passionate individual who's pretty much done it all. He started his career as a professional athlete, playing rugby at an elite level but after suffering a career-ending injury, had to find a new calling in life. Since then, Robin has somehow managed to convert himself into a photographer, model, musician, acrobat and stand up comedian... Mark Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/81 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Instagram: www.instagram.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, July 19, 2017
#80 Why we need to talk about the state of fitness with Leanne Spencer
Leanne Spencer is a fitness entrepreneur, Amazon best selling author and TEDx speaker who's incredible journey is a reminder to us all that it's never too late to change your life around. After an excessive career in corporate sales working in the City, in 2012, Leanne was finally treated for alcoholism. Since then, she's been on a one way ticket to changing her life and impact thousands of others in the process, and she hasn't looked back. In our raw and super honest conversation, Leanne talks about overcoming addiction, taking your life in your hands and coming home to who you really are. No matter what. Ladies and gentlemen, this is a powerful conversation! Enjoy :) Mark Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/80 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Thu, July 13, 2017
#79 OMG we're two today! (SPECIAL BIRTHDAY EDITION)
Here's a special episode celebrating the last 730 days of podcasting pretty much every single week... In this episode I share with you the ups, the downs, and what I've learned along the way speaking to some of the most inspiring and incredible people in the world. And none of this would be possible if it wasn't for you, Unconventionalists Tribe. For showing up each week and for sharing this podcast with your friends and loved ones. From the bottom of my heart, thank you! Mark Get on all the action by subscribing on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/79 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, July 05, 2017
#78 How to become an elite public speaker with Alex Merry
Apparently, a quarter of us are more concerned about the idea of speaking in front of an audience than dying… That's a little extreme if you ask me, but the truth is, so many people ARE terrified of the idea of speaking in public. So how does someone go from hating public speaking to becoming one of London’s most sought-after speaker coach? In today’s episode I sit down with Alex Merry, speaker coach and founder of TEDxClapham who also happens to have been one of the key people who helped me prepare for my TEDx talk at TEDxCardiff back in April 2017. Alex has trained and mentored hundreds of people by transforming the way they communicate and his clients include business leaders, scholars, authors, coaches and a world champion boxer. And he's also the mastermind behind Roger Frampton’s TEDx talk “Why Sitting Down Destroys You” that’s reached 1.6million views and was in the top 5 most TEDx talks watched in 2016. In today’s episode we talked about: • Why people fear public speaking and what you can do about it • Strategies to land a TEDx talk (and what NOT to say!) • What you need to know before launching your own business • Why having a big crazy dream will drive you in your business • Why you need to embrace public speaking to grow your brand If you enjoy today's episode please share it with a friend, it's the best form of compliment you can send my way! Mark PS: If you don't want to miss another episode, make sure to subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/78 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, June 27, 2017
#77 Why your definition of success matters
What does being successful mean to you? Is it having millions in the bank? Is it living in an epic mansion? Is it being at the top of a multinational? Or maybe driving fancy cars?... If you're a regular on the show, chances are it's probably neither of the above. But if it's none of the above, then what is it? In today's episode I dive into what I've come to realise about the definition of success after spending the last year running my own company. Spoiler alert, it has nothing to do with your balance statement! Have a listen and let me know what you think. Hope you enjoy today's episode, if you do, please share it with a friend who could benefit from hearing me share my thoughts on the definition of success. Mark PS: If you don't want to miss another episode, make sure to subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/77 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, June 20, 2017
#76 How to speak your truth with the founders of Somebody Inside
Imagine being in charge of a team of 10,000 people and working for one of the world's largest media & telecommunication companies. And one day you wake up and realise there's more to life than working for a huge corporate. So you start all over again and decide to start a business with one of your best friends to change the way woman see themselves. Welcome to the inspiring story of how Danielle Macleod and Nic Conway, came together to launch Somebody Inside, a truly revolutionary way for woman to connect online and learn how to speak their truth. If you enjoy today's episode please share it with a friend, it's the best form of compliment you can send my way. Mark PS: If you don't want to miss another episode, make sure to subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/76 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sun, June 18, 2017
#75 How to turn your pain into your purpose with Dan Keeley
Back in the summer of 2010, Dan Keeley suffered a full blown manic episode in Italy that made him believe he was ‘the chosen one’. Soon after, he was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder. Now he’s running 1250 miles from Rome to Home to share his story, raise awareness of bipolar and mental health issues and keep men alive by talking. In today’s episode, Dan shares his inspiring journey with us, from that pivotal manic episode in Italy, to his three year recovery journey and how as Dan puts it, he’s been able to turn his pain into his purpose. IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN: - What Dan’s first manic episode felt like - How and who helped to pull him through - Dan’s advice for anyone recently diagnosed with bipolar - How Dan came up with the idea to run 1250 miles! - Dan’s biggest fear - How you can get involved and help raise awareness of male suicide. If you enjoy today's episode please share it with a friend, it's the best form of compliment you can send my way. Mark PS: If you don't want to miss another episode, make sure to subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/75 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, June 06, 2017
#74 How baking can change the world with GBBO contestant Tom Gilliford
Unless you've lived in a cave for the past few years, you're probably familiar with Britain's most popular TV baking show, the Great British Bake Off, aka GBBO. Where amateur bakers come together to compete for the sweetest title of all. But if you thought that a Great British Bake Off competitor only cares about cakes and bread, you’d be wrong. In this episode I talk to Tom Gilliford from the 2016 season of GBBO who went to win two Star Baker awards on consecutive weeks. In this episode Tom and I talk about the highs and lows of Tom’s career so far and his most recent venture with Cactus Kitchens. Tom also describes how he lost 30 kilo’s before becoming a teacher and how he found the motivation to start his weight loss journey. If you enjoy today's episode please share it with one friend! And if you don't want to miss another episode, make sure to subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 Until next time, go and do work you love! Mark SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/74 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Thu, June 01, 2017
#73 How to be happy at work with Samantha Clarke
According to Forbes magazine, work is more often a source of frustration than one of fulfillment for nearly 90% of the world’s workers. That sounds pretty awful if you ask me. So does that mean we're all doomed to be miserable at work? Thankfully, far from it. Enter Samantha Clarke, a happiness consultant who's worked with an impressive list of clients including American Express, The Guardian, Innocent, Harrods, PizzaHut and MediaCom. In today's episode she shares her top tips on how to create a happiness culture at work on a budget, why bean bags and pizza Fridays are great but they're just the tip of the iceberg, and what does being happy really mean. If you enjoy today's episode, please share it with a friend as it's the best form of compliment you can give me! And if you don't want to miss another episode, make sure to subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 Until next time, go and do work you love! Mark SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/73 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, May 31, 2017
#72 How to overcome adversity with Seb Broster
In 2013 Seb Broster was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer. As a result of a combination of chemotherapy and steroids, he suddenly ballooned to 135kgs and lost all his hair. That's when we first met in London. The thing that struck me most about Seb back then was how positive he was and just how funny he was. "A black sense of humour is what got me through this whole journey. You've got to laugh no matter what." Our penchant for growing moustaches for the Movember Foundation brought us together and fast forward to today, not only does Ben have a serious main on his head and is drug free, but he's also dropped down to 87kgs. Loosing 48kgs in the process since March 2014. The equivalent of a small child in weight! So when Seb walked into our studio this morning, I could barely recognise him. He had, after all, lost 1/3 of his body weight over the course of three years and was in the best shape of his life. In today's interview Seb shares his journey, what helped him stay positive throughout the whole process and what he believes is the formula for getting in shape. Spoiler alert, it's pretty simple: stay positive, be consistent and make sure to have a life. If you enjoyed todays episode, please share it with a friend as that is the biggest compliment you could give me. Thanks and see you next week! Mark (Thanks to the folks over at Flint Media Group, today's episode is available in video format, visit http://www.theunconventionalists.com/tv-show/how-seb-broster-beat-cancer to see the full interview for free!) If you don't want to miss another episode, make sure to subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists-with-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/72 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sun, May 28, 2017
#71 How to re-invent yourself with Ravinol Chambers
It can feel a little daunting to imagine yourself stuck in the same job for the rest of your life. Especially if it's all you've done. One of the questions I get asked a lot is, "is it too late to change?". And the answer is NO. Meet Ravinol Chambers, founder of Be Inspired Films who's literally re-invented himself over, and over again. From being a broker to a monk to getting his MBA and setting up one of the first B-Corp certified companies in the UK. This is truly inspiring story of why it's never to late to re-invent yourself. If you enjoyed today's episode please share it with one friend! Mark Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/71 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, May 23, 2017
#70 Why startups fail with Denis Duvauchelle
Over the last decade, Denis Duvauchelle has launched more businesses than anyone I know. Including Twoodo, the productivity app for teams that was successfully accepted in one of Europe's most sought after startup accelerators and raised two rounds of funding. But then along came Slack. And Denis had to face one of the toughest experiences any entrepreneur and CEO must one day face: failure. In today's episode Denis opens up about the ups and downs of his decade long entrepreneurial journey and shares why he believes 99% of startups fail and what you can do to be part of the 1% of who succeed. It's not what you think... If you enjoy today's episode, share it with a friend who could benefit from hearing my conversation with Denis. I can't wait to see you again on The Unconventionalists podcast! Mark Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/70 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, May 10, 2017
#69 What it really takes to become a TEDx Speaker
What's one of your crazy dreams? Mine was to give a TEDx talk. And three weeks ago, that dream came true. But it wasn't an easy ride. I can still remember saying my big crazy dream out loud for the first time. It was seven years ago, back in 2010, when half way through a coaching session with my life coach at the time, Roya Ferdows, I started visualising and imagining myself speaking on stage, in front of a roaring crowd. I had my eyes closed and started describing how it felt. But more importantly, what the impact of my words had on the people there. It moved me. And it still moves me now remembering it. This special episode is the true story of how it took me seven years to realise my dream, and how it really was a team effort. I am so grateful to everyone who's helped me make my dream come to. I honestly could not have done it without you. Here's to chasing dreams, no matter how long they take. If you found today's episode inspiring, please share it with a friend! Mark Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/69 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sat, April 29, 2017
#68 How work can be a force for good with David Baker
David Baker returns on The Unconventionalists podcast for a second time to share with us how work can be used as a force for good. A true fan favourite, David's previous episode (#57), "What you need to know about the future of work" (https://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/57) is one of the most downloaded episodes of all time. David's worked for 12 years for the Financial Times, was the launch managing editor of Wired magazine in the UK and is a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4. He's also a faculty member at The School of Life and regularly travels to Brazil for work. If you enjoy today's episode please share it with a friend! Mark Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/68 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, April 19, 2017
#67 How to live life your way with Nerea Carryon
Nerea Carryon is the founder and CEO of The Happy World Company and in today's episode Nerea shares her amazing story of how she went from being stuck working in finance to becoming a full time entrepreneur making people smile for a living. If you enjoyed today's episode make sure to share it with your friends! Mark Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/66 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, April 04, 2017
#66 How to start a side hustle with Chris Guillebeau
Wouldn't it be nice if you could supplement your monthly income with a side hustle? Problem is, how do you start? And how do you decide what it should be? Enter Chris Guillebeau, New York Times Best Selling Author of four books, host of the daily podcast #SideHustleSchool, the man behind the annual festival in Portland, "World Domination Summit" and who by the age of 35 had visited every single country around the world (that's right all 193 of them!). His daily podcast: “Side Hustle School” teaches you everything you need to know to get started today. But what you might not know about Chris is that it hasn’t all been easy: he too has experienced depression and he too knows what it feels like to experience massive failure. In our intimate conversation, Chris opens up about his journey and shares some invaluable lessons on how to start a side income generating project without quitting your day job. In today’s episode you will learn: - Why Chris is terrible at predicting the future. - What happens when you reach your goals and why depression should be expected when that happens. - What gets in the way of people being inspired and taking action. - The most random story that never made it into Chris’ latest book. - How to start a business as an introvert. - If books are obsolete... If you enjoyed today's episode make sure to share it with your friends! Mark Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/66 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, March 29, 2017
#65 Startup Confessions #2
Do you ever feel like a loser? Like you're the only one struggling and everyone else seems to have all their sh*t together? I sure know I do sometimes. In today's episode I share with you why I believe it's time for us to stop buying into this bull stupid idea that becoming an entrepreneur is the ultimate gateway to happiness. It's not. In fact, it really sucks sometimes. It's by far one of the hardest things I've even done. So why are we constantly bombarded with messages saying how amazing and wonderful it is to be your own boss and to do your own thing? From videos of people selling us their six step course from a beach in Bali sipping cocktails to social media posts of perfect breakfasts, it's time for a well needed change and start speaking the truth about what it's really like to turn your passion into a business. Let me know what you think over on Twitter @markleruste. Mark Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/65 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, March 22, 2017
#64 How to overcome emotional eating with Fadela Hilali
Today's guest believes that "when we feel good, we do good." And she's got a point! I certainly know what it feels like to grab comfort food when I feel like crap. And then feel even worse off for it... It's a vicious circle right? So how do you get out of the habit of reaching out for food instead of dealing with your emotions? Especially when you're an entrepreneur and you're under a lot of stress? Meet Fadela Hilali, the author of "Stuffed: how to feel so good about yourself you won't have room for cake" and the founder of Prayanas: an emotional wellbeing consultancy that specialises in helping people feel better about themselves. In today’s episode you will learn: Why there’s so much shame around emotional eating How to deal with information overload on what you should and shouldn’t eat Why we get hangry How to get out of the vicious circle of emotional eating Tips to deal with living with a partner who eats differently Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/64 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, March 08, 2017
#63 How to be more spiritual than your friends with JP Sears
Today's guest is the one and only JP Sears! The man behind the fictional-but-hilarious character Ultra Spiritual, who encourages healing and growth through his humorous and entertainingly informative videos (100millions views on YouTube) and now counts Tony Robbins, Tim Ferris and Lewis Howes as his mentors and peers. I loved sitting down with JP to talk about the importance of always being unapologetically you (no matter how scary that can feel), the magic that comes when you forget about your audience and create the content you’d love to consume. And how we can all get better at being uncomfortable. So plug in your headphones and get ready dive into our intimate conversation, where JP reveals something he’s never said before on a podcast! Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/63 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Fri, March 03, 2017
#62 How to be more vulnerable online with Jens Lennartsson
If you're tired of seeing everyone's life filtered on social media and you've had enough of being sold 6-step processes to achieving your dreams, you're going to love today's guest. In 2013 Jens Lennartsson went viral online when he created 400 “GI Jens” action figurines of himself to send out as promotional materials to potential clients. It propelled his career to a whole new level. He traveled the world, worked with amazing clients built a strong online following and then, burnout... What started off as a passion for photography became a calling for storytelling and although today Jens isn't quite sure what to call himself, it doesn't really matter. As long as he gets to be creative, real and tell stories he'll be happy. Here is his raw and honest account of how building an online presence and trying to follow your passion can come at a cost: your wellbeing. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/62 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, February 21, 2017
#61 Why you won't pursue your passion with Larry Smith
What do these statements all have in common? “Well great careers are really and truly for most people a matter of luck.” “People who pursue their passions are geniuses.” “I would do this but I’m not weird.” “Nice, normal people don’t have passion” They’re all real (and absurd) excuses people give for not doing what they need to do to have a great career. These excuses were exposed by self-confessed career obsessed, Larry Smith - a professor of economics at the University of Waterloo in Canada in his serious(ly) funny 2011 TEDx talk in 2011. And it seems he hit the mark - his talk has reached a whopping 5.5 million views to date! As a powerful storyteller and a well-known advocate for youth-leadership, Larry dedicated his life to teaching because as a student he always thought: “I could do it better”. A large part of his time is also spent coaching his students to find careers that they will truly love by helping them avoid a lifetime devoted to an ‘interest’ rather than a passion. But make no mistakes, Larry doesn’t say it will be easy - having worked with 10% of the Waterloo alumni (with his students heading to Facebook, Google and Microsoft) and over 500 startup founders, he knows a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to having a great career. He still teaches to this day (because it is his passion) and has just released a new book: “No Fears, No Excuses: What you need to do to have a great career” (Random House Penguin) which is available across all reputable bookstores and online. IN TODAY'S EPISODE YOU'LL LEARN How an economics professor developed a passion for career guidance How you can identify your passion An economist’s thoughts on a citizen’s wage The difference between a passion and an interest Why all our jobs won’t all be replaced by robots Why people do bad things (according to Adam Smith…) How to design a TED talk that goes viral! The two things you need to launch a successful business How to be true to yourself Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/61 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Thu, February 16, 2017
#60 How to become the highest paid Life Coach with Michael Serwa
I get it, building a coaching business is hard work. Sooner or later you realise that it’s going to take a lot more than just passion to be successful. And when you start asking around, you quickly realise that not a lot of people are actually making any money from it. In fact, according to the International Coach Federation, half of the professional coaches make less than $25,000 a year. Meaning it really is tough to live off just doing one-to-one coaching. To be honest, I don’t know anyone who’s making a killing at being a life coach alone, without having to do some sort of side consulting or corporate gig, running retreats or workshops to make ends meet. That was until I came across Michael Serwa, self-proclaimed “Life Coach for the Elite”, who appears to be the highest paid one-to-one life coach in the UK, and is on his way to be making a seven figure income. With a drive to be the absolute best at what he does, his attitude can be pretty polarising, but the good news is that Michael doesn’t actually care. And that’s what people either love or hate about him. His clients vary from 20s to 60s but they all have something in common: they have a certain attitude towards what’s possible in life and how they want to leave a legacy. But it wasn’t always like this way for Michael. Michael came to the UK on a bus at 22 speaking very little English with barely any money but an absolute drive to succeed. In fact, I first met Michael in 2012 at a Tim Ferriss event in London and bumped into him again a few weeks later at an event where we were both speaking at. He was just starting out and barely charging £20 an hour. I’ve followed his rise to success over the last five years and we talked about getting him on the show for a while, but I finally caught up with him! In today’s episode, you’ll hear: Why Michael believes attitude is everything. How Michael’s passion to be the best jazz musician took him 8 hours across Poland aged 17 to track down the best trumpet player in the world to confirm if it was possible. The attitude that got him the fastest promotion in Zara history without previous retail experience, after moving to London with barely any English. How running a Meetup Group on spirituality led to launching his business for a second (and successful time) time to become the Uk’s highest paid life coach. What he wants to tell people who want to become life coaches because they want more freedom. If you’re interesting in finding out what it takes to build a successful business doing what you love listen to Episode #60 with Michael Serwa. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/60 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, February 08, 2017
#59 Why you are capable of greatness with Ben Smith
On the 1st September 2015, Ben Smith began one of the most challenging experiences of his life: to run 401 marathons in 401 days all around the UK. Not only did he manage to run the equivalent distance between London and Sydney, he also managed to raise £300,000 for two charities tackling bullying. Here is Ben's incredible true story. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/59 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sun, February 05, 2017
#58: Startup Confessions #1
It's time to crack open the curtains to give you a full access pass to behind the scenes of what it's really like to build The Unconventionalists. Let me know if you want to hear more #StartupConfessions in the coming episodes. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES GA: https://generalassemb.ly/education/the-podcast-revolution-a-panel-discussion/london/33556 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Mon, January 30, 2017
#57 What you need to know about the future of work with David Baker
Should our work even bring us meaning? Are we asking too much from our employers? What impact will Artificial Intelligence have on our jobs? If these are some of the questions you've been asking yourself, you're going to LOVE today's guest. Meet David Baker, who was the launch managing editor of Wired magazine in the UK, is a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4 and the World Service and teaches at The School of Life in London and São Paulo. From gentrification, the soul of theme parks, going offline for 21 days to how the digital world is having a serious impact on the quality of our lives, David is a relentless journalist seeking answers to some of the biggest questions. I was blown away by the end of our conversation, so much so that we're going to get him back on the show. For now though, fasten your seatbelt and get ready to get a serious dose of reality check on what's about to happen to the future of the workplace. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/57 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Fri, January 20, 2017
#56 How to become depression-proof with Lauren Roerick
Behind the glamorous social media posts hides an uncomfortable truth that many of us experience but are afraid to speak out loud: depression. In fact, according to a University of California study, 1 in 3 entrepreneur’s experiences depression. And yet talking about dealing with mental health issues is still considered as a big fat taboo. Up until now. Today's guest is Lauren Roerick, a holistic health and depression recovery coach who launched The Undepression Project to help people overcome depression and stay depression-proof. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/56 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sun, January 15, 2017
#55 The Origin Story (Episode 1)
Let's rewind the clock back to January 26th, 2004, when everything began... Today's episode kicks off a special mini series covering the origin story of The Unconventionalists podcast. We begin by diving deep into the trenches of forgotten archives. From the very first interview, ever, to the most pivotal moments that defined the interviewing style of Mark Leruste. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, January 03, 2017
#54 Listen to this before making your 2017 resolutions
"New year, new you." The problem with that sentence is that we've heard it a thousand times before and we've all said it every year for the past decade. And yet, still fall short on our New Year's Resolutions come February 1st. So why is that? In today's episode I share with you my favourite five tips on what you can do right now to make sure you come up with your best resolutions yet. As always, if you enjoy the show, please share it with your loved ones and make sure to subscribe and leave a review on iTunes. Thank you. Ps: HAPPY NEW YEAR! Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES How To Launch Your Podcast (Workshop): https://generalassemb.ly/education/how-to-launch-your-first-podcast/london/32130 How To Start A Movement (Talk): https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/how-to-start-a-movement-tickets-30408086405 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Thu, December 29, 2016
#53 How to make 2017 your best year yet
From boxing legends to intergalactic princesses, 2016 basically wiped out half our favourite icons. With the after taste of Brexit and Trump still itching our throats, it's hard to look back at 2016 with a smile. Yet I'm here to say that 2016 has been a great year and I believe 2017 is going to be an ever better one. Don't believe me? Listen to today's episode and find out why I'm right. Listen, rate and share! Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, December 20, 2016
#52 How to become a productivity ninja with Graham Allcott
If "drink less, eat healthier and move more" are topping your New Year's Resolution, may I suggest adding "become a productivity Ninja?" Today's guest is Graham Allcott, author of the global best-seller, "How to be a Productivity Ninja" and founder of Think Productive. One of the world's leading providers of personal productivity training and consultancy. His recently launched podcast "Beyond Busy" explores the issues of productivity, work/life balance and how people define happiness in their lives. We dived into the nitty gritty tips and tricks to turn your email mayhem into a zen garden and why time management is flawed. Listen, rate and share! Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/52 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, December 13, 2016
#51 How to master body language with Gina Barnett
Gina Barnett is the speaker coach for the MainStage TED Conference and is the author of "Play The Part: Master Body Signals to Connect and Communicate for Business Success." If you've ever wondered why some speakers come across more powerfully than others, or why TED talks are so special, Gina breaks it down for you by using simple language that we can all get behind. As a public speaker myself, I know how self-conscious I can get with how I look on stage. From how I hold my arms to how my feet are positioned or how much am I leaning to one side. Gina is a master speaking coach who generously shares all her insights, tips and secrets to help you become a better communicator. Listen, rate and share! Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/51 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Thu, December 08, 2016
#50 How to change the world with Milly Toovey
For far too long, social media has perpetuated unrealistic, narcissistic, and negative content. But things are about to change. Meet Milly Toovey, CEO and co-founder of Boomcast, the world's first social media platform 100% dedicated to inspiring positive change. Together with her team they're on a mission to crack the code of "how can we leverage the power of social media to foster social transformation?". In today's interview Milly shares her journey of launching Boomcast and how an app that started off on the wrong foot is on its way to truly changing the way we interact with social media. For all the right reasons. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/50 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Fri, December 02, 2016
#49 How to use the power of performance with Cathy Salit
Cathy Salit is a performer and co-founder of Performance of a Lifetime, who at 13 years old, dropped out of eighth grade and started an alternative school in an abandoned storefront in New York City... Needless to say that Cathy isn't your typical leader. Today Cathy specialises in blending theatre, improvisation, and the new science of performative psychology and her new book, Performance Breakthrough: A Radical Approach to Success at Work is on sale everywhere books are sold. In today's episode we dive into her story to explore how her unconventional path has shaped her career to date. Get ready to be blown away, this is definitely one worth sharing! Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/49 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Fri, November 25, 2016
#48 A champion's take on masculinity with Greg Wootton
Greg "The Prodigy" Wootton, is the UK number one ranked super lightweight Muay Thai fighter, WMC MAD World Champion and has won 31 of his 35 fights. While training to become a champion, Greg received a first-class honour degree in Sport and Exercise Science after having studied psychology in college. In the words of Vice Sport: "Wootton is not your average London lad.” But today's biggest fight for Greg isn't in the ring. But rather outside of it. For he is taking on an epic challenge: debunking masculinity. That's right, the extraordinary gift Greg Wootton brings to this episode is his ability to open up about so many realities that so many men face on a daily basis and yet are afraid to admit: body image issues, eating disorder, bottling up emotions, crisis of identity as a man, etc. This is by far one of the most compelling episodes we've recorded so far. I strongly urge you to share it with your friends and with those around you who need to hear Greg's message. Thank you! Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/48 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, November 15, 2016
#47 How to launch a startup with Jonny Miller
Unless you've been hiding in a cave for the past few years, the world has gone Startup crazy. In fact, successful entrepreneurs are idealised like rockstars. To the point where everyone thinks they should become an entrepreneur. But what does it actually take to start a business? And is everyone capable of becoming an entrepreneur? Today's guest is Jonny Miller, co-founder of Maptia and a Techstars graduate (the odds of getting accepted on this startup accelerator programme are harder than the odds of getting into Harvard and Yale combined!) who also happens to lead the Startup Tribe at Escape the City in London. So if you're startup curious, run your own business or are thinking of joining a startup, Jonny is a ridiculous encyclopaedia of wealth of information when it comes down to what it really takes to start your own business. In our intimate conversation, Jonny shares his journey of how a small group of his friends and him accidentally became entrepreneurs after daring to apply for a grant in Chile. As always, this is a story worth sharing! Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES http://www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/47 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Wed, November 09, 2016
#46 It's going to be OK, America
If today feels like a bit of a nightmare and you're finding yourself to be nursing a heavy political hangover, you're in good company. You see, I went to bed last night at 1am thinking Hilary Clinton had it in the bag - as Florida seemed to be swaying her side - only to wake up at 7am to find Donald Trump confirmed to be the next President of the United States of America. I couldn't believe it. I felt powerless. How could this be? How could the USA elect a man who's values are so far removed from what I make up to be the spirit of "the land of the free". And very quickly I went from feeling powerless to feeling purposeful. Why? Because I believe that sometimes adversity is an invitation for us to step up and be of service. And I also believe that there's a way for us to stop this wave of nationalism spreading across the globe and it doesn't involve fear tactics. It's time to dive in today's special episode on what the world looks like post USA 2016 elections. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Mon, November 07, 2016
#45 Why Your Story Matters With Philip McKernan
Philip McKernan has worked with the Canadian Olympic Team, The Pentagon, wrote four books and has shared the stage with the likes of the Dalai Lama and Richard Branson. But things haven't always been that rosy for Philip. In our intimate interview (also available on YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste), Philip opens up about his story and journey to share the stage with people he used to look up to, and how one wedding speech changed his whole life around. "THIS IS THE MOST EMOTIONAL I'VE EVER BEEN ON A PODCAST." - PHILIP MCKERNAN Brian Rose, the Founder and Host of London Real once described Philip as, “honest and refreshing”. His Believe in Youth (www.believeinyouth.com) campaign to raise funds for 20 young girls in Peru who were put in prison after being sex slaves managed to raise $70,450. Philip McKernan’s caddied in golf for the President of Ireland, been chased and nearly killed by a bull elephant in Nigeria and made wine in Australia. He’s traveled to 80 countries around the globe and has worked with orphans in Sri Lanka, Peru, India and Guatemala, written 4 books despite being dyslexic and his first documentary film “Give and Grow” will be released in late 2016. The film explores how the gift of giving makes up feel more worthy and alive. It also explores the science behind the impact of giving on our emotional wellbeing, our mental health, our physiology and our business’s. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/45 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Mon, October 31, 2016
#44 How to stand up for what you believe in with Tomas Svitorka
Tomas Svitorka is a London-based Life Coach who believes that most people aren’t clear about who they really are and what they actually stand for, and who also believes that most of us care way too much about what other people think of us. Why? Because up until recently he was the same. What I find interesting about his journey is that up until his early twenties Tomas lived in a small village with a population of barely 800 people, among the hills in a corner of the Czech Republic. He came to the UK in 2005 with his big dreams and broken English. He moved up from being an au-pair, to a cleaner, then a waiter, to eventually holding managerial positions in catering. Then he reached the dangerous level of comfortable mediocrity, and he got stuck there. Until he decided that OK is not enough and did something about it. Today Tomas’s mission is to help others who’ve had the same realisation to create the life they daydream about. In today’s episode you’ll hear about Tomas’s journey on how he became a coach and how he’s been building his business over the last few years. You’ll also learn why Tomas never drinks tap water. And why you probably shouldn’t do too… Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/44 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Thu, October 27, 2016
#43 The Power of Storytelling (Live Talk)
Storytelling is still to this day one of the most powerful tools you can learn to master. Be it to convey an idea, product or service it's the fastest way to connect to your audience's heart. And I firmly believe that not only are we all born natural storytellers, we can also learn to become better storytellers. If you're running your own business or you're trying to sell a concept, project or idea then you're going to want to listen to today's very special episode. Call it timing, the Universe at play, or whatever you want, but you know how sometimes things just click? As if they're just meant to be? Well it turns out that on Sunday I sent an email to the team running the Startup Tribe over at Escape the City offering my help to give a talk on Storytelling. And it just so happens that their two speakers had just canceled last minute and needed someone for Wednesday to talk about Storytelling. So naturally I accepted. Next thing you know I'm on the Jubilee line in London all the way to Stanmore to catch a cab that eventually gets me to a farm where 50 budding entrepreneurs sit around a bonfire. Here's what happened next... Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/43 The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1577315936 Building a StoryBrand Podcast with Donald Miller: http://buildingastorybrand.com The Storyteller’s Secret by Carmine Gallo: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1250071550 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Fri, October 21, 2016
#42 The power of authenticity with Olivier Larvor
What if your realised that you had been lying to yourself your entire life? That the problem wasn't the job, your family or where you lived, but rather how you related to yourself and how you treated others? Well, it just so happens that when Olivier Larvor went off to Brazil to experience Ayahuasca for the first time, he was faced with the hard reality of what was really at the root of his pain: himself. In this refreshingly honest episode, Olivier shares with us why so many people are afraid to be real, with themselves and with others. He shares the challenges of parenting an autistic child as well as describing in details his first ceremony with the spirit of the vine. Olivier is a coach, trainer and facilitator who's also the co-host of Raw Voice Podcast. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/42 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Mon, October 10, 2016
#41 Why most diets fail with Bridget Hunt
Bridget Hunt is a former dancer turned nutritionist, author of the Six Pack Chick, and Director of an ice cream and chocolate company. She loves fitness, hates sitting still, and has been described as the female version of Tim Ferris. Although in my opinion, it's Time Ferris who's the male version of Bridget Hunt! One thing you can be sure of is that Bridget is NEVER boring. As a fellow self-experimental human guinea-pig, Bridget not only brings a refreshing and genuine conversation to the table, but is also constantly challenging the fitness industry with its bold claims and diet fads and is always on the look out for new pioneering ways to make us feel better about ourselves. Listen to why Bridget won’t be writing another diet book, why Bridget is often mistaken for an extravert, why we are all an experiment of one and why diets simply never work. As always, I'd love to hear from you. Get in touch via Twitter (www.twitter.com/markleruste) or Facebook (facebook.com/markleruste) and let me know what you got out of today's episode. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/41 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, October 04, 2016
#40 How to live more naturally with Tony Riddle
What if I told you, you could feel better today than you did ten years ago? Would you believe me? Turns out today's guest is turning 41 this year and feels better than in his twenties. Why? Simple. He's spent the last decade searching for the answer to a question many of us are battling with on a daily basis: how do I stop feeling so crappy about myself? Tony Riddle is the founder of Natural Lifestyle Coaching and has been featured across a wide range of national and international press including PSYCHOLOGIES and RED magazine. His honest and grounded approach to why most of us suffer from stress, anxiety, chronic fatigue and why so many men struggle with their identity is refreshingly inspiring and much needed. As always, I'd love to hear from you! Get in touch via Twitter (@markleruste) or Facebook (facebook.com/markleruste) and let me know what you got out of today's episode. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/40 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, September 27, 2016
#39 Why passion projects matter with Anton Chernikov
Anton Chernikov is the founder of The Exponentials, who recently had a near-death experience, and is one of the most interesting minds I've come across. He doesn't believe in contracts or political promises and has a knack for turning passion projects into impactful community events that bring people together to change the world. From taking on the Greek economic situation to solving the migration crisis, Anton believes that community is what will eventually bring us closer to the solution. As always, I'd love to hear from you! Get in touch via Twitter (@markleruste) or Facebook (facebook.com/markleruste) and let me know what you got out of today's episode. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/39 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, September 20, 2016
#38 How to follow your calling with Corrina Gordon-Barnes
Imagine you had a successful business, doing good, and doing well. You've built a big online and offline community of people who love and support your work, because in return, you love and support their journey too. You've been paid for over 1,350 coaching hours, you've worked with over 200 coaching clients, you've written over 150 blogs, videos, webinars, you've been invited to speak at amazing conferences and you're probably making a six figure income. Now this didn't happen over night. No. You've spent the last ten years of your life dedicated to growing this business. And suddenly, one day, you decide to give it all up and start from scratch all over again. How would you feel? Well, today's guest is Corrina Gordon-Barnes, who was the founder of YouInspireMe.co.uk, a thriving business with a huge following who by most standards had achieved "the dream" of most coaches. To make a good living doing something you love and have a positive impact in the process. In today's episode you will hear for the first time Corrina share her journey of why she decided to try something different and what it feels like to start all over again. Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/38 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, September 06, 2016
#37 How to embrace the unknown
Four months ago I quit my job to focus 100% of my time on developing The Unconventionalists as a business. I had a 25year mortgage hanging over my head and had no idea how I would pay my bills or make it work. But somehow, I knew deep down that I would somehow figure it out. In today's episode I share with you my thoughts on what it takes to embrace the unknown and instead, trust the process. As always, I'd love to hear from you and what you got out of this episode. Send me a Tweet (www.twitter.com/markleruste) or drop me a line on Facebook (www.facebook.com/markleruste). Thank you so much for tuning in and enjoy today's episode! Mark --- Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/37 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sun, September 04, 2016
#36 How to live life as an adventure with Rina Atienza
It's happened to all of us. We have this big crazy idea, be it start a business, change career or, move to another country, say 10,000kms away... But before you know it, everyone is telling you it's a stupid idea, that it won't work, and that you're better off settling for what you know, rather than adventuring off into the abyss of the unknown. Enter stage left Rina Atienza. Rina attended the very first Tribe of The Unconventionalists Retreat back in 2015, and set off with a clear Quest: to start writing again and launch her blog: Evilschemes Ltd. But what she wasn't expecting was that her Quest would lead her to a life changing moment: relocating to the Philippines. In today's episode we dive into the story that led Rina to leave London for her native island and what she learned in the process. As always, I'd love to hear from you and what you got out of this episode. Send me a Tweet (www.twitter.com/markleruste) or drop me a line on Facebook (www.facebook.com/markleruste). Thank you so much for tuning in and enjoy today's episode! Mark --- Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/36 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, August 30, 2016
#35 How to turn your pain into your purpose with Edward Pike
A few months into his graduate programme to become a hotel manager, Edward Pike decided to quit and instead, get his Personal Training certificate. But something life changing happened to Edward three days before moving from Manchester to London... Now we've all come across some life defining moments. And what I appreciate so much about Edward's story is that he didn't sit back and wait for someone to come and save the day. No, Edward went out of his own way and started his own foundation to help other men, who like him, felt lost after being diagnosed with HIV. In 2015, this concept evolved into the Thrive Programme, supporting a group of newly-diagnosed HIV+ men to improve their emotional, mental and physical health. Thrive was developed in partnership with the Peel Institute, with support from 56 Dean Street (NHS) and Positive East. Because of its success, they created an independent charity called the Thrive Foundation. Edward has written for publications including The Guardian and SALT Magazine, and continues to write for the Huffington Post. As always, I'd love to hear from you and what you got out of this episode. Send me a Tweet (@markleruste) or drop me a line on Facebook (www.facebook.com/markleruste). Thank you so much for tuning in and enjoy today's episode! Mark x --- Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/35 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sun, August 28, 2016
#34 How food can heal with Denisa Rățulea
When it comes down to food, we humans LOVE to eat. Problem is, we tend to love eating the wrong kind of stuff. Right? Yet we all know that food can have a drastic impact on your health, wellbeing and happiness. Hippocrates famously once said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” That's why I'm very excited to share with you today's episode with Denisa Rățulea. Denisa is a Raw Food Chef, Health Coach, founder of Second Nature and author of the Bloom cook book. In today's episode we talk about Denisa's journey to finding health through plants, overcoming massive adversity and explored the benefits of eating a healthy diet (and it's more than you think!). What I particularly love about Denisa's style is that she isn't a preachy-militant vegan. But rather enjoys a balance lifestyle and doesn't believe in judging people for what they eat. Oh and she brought in some amazing raw chocolate cake. To.Die.For. If you enjoy what you hear today, please pass it to a friend and make sure to subscribe to the show and leave a rating on iTunes. Thank you so much for tuning in and I hope you enjoy today's episode! Mark x --- Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/34 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, August 23, 2016
#33 What coaches don't want to hear with Angus Fletcher
When someone asks you "What do you do?", what do you say? If like me you dread the question like you dread filling out tax returns, you'll want to listen to today's episode with Angus Fletcher who shares with us his wealth of wisdom when it comes down to actually talking about what you do and getting clients. Angus is a Certified Coach (CPCC), Certified NLP Master Practitioner, Certified NLP Trainer and Certified Team and Relationship Coach (ORSCC)who constantly comes up with new ideas to launch (e.g. The Sunday Record www.thesundayrecord.com). He's also had a successful international career as a trainer and facilitator for some of the biggest names in the non-profit industry including Greenpeace. I'd love to hear what you got out of todays episode and so please post any questions or comments on the show notes. Remember to go over on iTunes and subscribe to the show and leave a review! Thank you so much for tuning in and I hope you enjoy today's episode! --- Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 To find out more visit: www.theunconventionalists.com SHOW NOTES: Live event in London: www.facebook.com/markleruste/events GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sat, August 20, 2016
#32 The truth about overnight success
If like me you're tired of being sold an empty dream of making a six figure income in a record breaking time or you're fed up with the gazillion quick-money-making schemes out there, you're going to love today's episode. Biz Stone, Twitter's co-founder once said, “Timing, perseverance, and ten years of trying will eventually make you look like an overnight success”, while Rich Roll, author of Finding Ultra spoke about, "Why You Should Stop Lifehacking and Invest in the Journey". And I couldn't agree with them both more. That's why in today's episode the gloves are coming off and I take a jab at debunking what it really takes to be successful in your chosen field. Warning, no shortcuts involved and I do compare being an entrepreneur with being an MMA fighter... Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 To find out more visit: www.theunconventionalists.com SHOW NOTES: Live event in London: https://www.facebook.com/markleruste/events GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Fri, August 05, 2016
#31: How to know if your business idea is good
What if I told you, you could take your business idea and test it out right now? That you don't need money, time or technical know-how to see if it's a good idea or not? Too good to be true? Well, listen to today's episode where I share with you how I just validated an idea without spending a single penny. You see, when it comes down to entrepreneurial, creative, buzzing, change-the-world kinda people, ideas usually isn't the thing missing in the equation. In fact, having too many ideas can sometimes feel like a bit of a burden. How do you know if your business idea is good or not? How to know which one to pick and run with? As a result it can paralyse us and make us feel like we might as well sit tight, hang out on the bench and watch the other cool kids get on with it. Well, not on my watch! Learn three of my favourite tips to instantly validate your business idea and put an end analysis paralysis! Subscribe now on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 To find out more visit: www.theunconventionalists.com SHOW NOTES SafeTrail: www.mysafetrail.com The 4th sector: www.thefourthsector.co Eric Ries's Lean Startup (book): http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0670921602 (NON-AFFILIATE LINK) GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, July 26, 2016
#30: Why healing is a marathon not a sprint with Szos St. Germain
Sos St.Germain's mum was a devout Tibetan Buddhist and his father was The Beatles’ astrologer. So mindfulness, compassion, and profound awareness have always been the main currencies of Sos's communication. We talked about an aspect that so many entrepreneurs are afraid to talk about out loud: depression. Along with: • How to overcome emotional pain • How to be with depression • How to have a deeper impact with your words • How to allow our loved ones to hear how we really feel • How to parent consciously • How to ask for help • And why connection is one of the most important aspects of your journey Enjoy this deep, rich and thoughtful conversation with a man who is an open book. To find out more visit: http://www.theunconventionalists.com Show notes: Szos's website: www.szosstgermain.com Interview with Jonny Benjamin: https://youtu.be/TZyA2xkB0Q0 Interview with Shea Emry: https://theunconventionalists.com/episode/6
Mon, July 18, 2016
#29: How to turn your pain into your power with Duda Jadrijevic
Duda Jadrijevic went from being homeless to building a six figure business in just two years. In our exclusive interview we talked about: • Why saying no defines who you are • How to be happy with yourself • How to turn grief into action • How having a coach can catapult you to the next level • How being direct can be for the purposw of being kind • And how Duda became an accidental Buddhist To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES Website: www.kickassmuse.com Tad Hargrave's article: http://marketingforhippies.com/why-charging-what-youre-worth-is-bullshit/ Steal The Show by Michael Porter: www.stealtheshow.com GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, July 12, 2016
#28 How to turn an idea into a charity with Richard Bennett
One day in 2011, Richard Bennett (a former school teacher) decided to drive through Africa to coach rugby. Five years later, Bhubesi Pride Foundation (www.rugbyinafrica.org) operates in nine countries across Africa and are empowering communities through the power of rugby. "Bhubesi Pride Foundation assembles teams of committed volunteers to carry out annual rugby coaching expeditions, using the sport as a tool for education and development in Africa." What I love about today's interview is that it's a beautiful reminded that all journeys start with one single step. In fact, Richard dealt with the same fears around uncertainties as you and I both have. Hear the story of how Richard went from being a teacher with an idea to becoming the CEO of a foundation changing the world. In our exclusive interview we talked about: • How to start your own foundation • How to grow your team from scratch • How to overcome cultural challenges when working across borders • How to raise funds as a charity • Why keeping a healthy balance in your life is the most important thing you can do • Why you have to be really clear when explaining what you’re trying to achieve • And what red pants and Richard have to do with each other To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Sun, May 29, 2016
#27 How to stop caring what others think of you with Sarah Knight
Imagine what it would be like if you didn't care about what other people thought of you? Imagine if you could simply show up wearing whatever you wanted, spoke your mind freely without worrying if you'd upset someone in the process and not care about failing? Well, it just so happens that I caught up with Sarah Knight, international best selling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Not Giving A F*ck who spent 15 years in the publishing business before quitting her job to work with authors and has since become the Queen of truth bombs. To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/27 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste
Thu, May 26, 2016
#26 How to stop being the best kept secret
I've been a closet entrepreneur since 2009. Juggling a full time job with a side business is the only thing I've known for the last six years. From launching Mister-Tailor, an online tailoring suit company for men, to running my own coaching business or starting a drink startup. It's safe to say that I've spent many nights, early morning and weekends working on "my little secret". In hopes that it would become my full time gig. And here's the thing, there are hundreds of thousands if not millions of part-time entrepreneurs around the world who operate underneath the radar. And one thing I've come to realise lately is that hiding isn't helping anyone. I mean, how is the world meant to know you're up to big things if you don't let the world know? It's taken me four years to publicly say the following words "I'm a life coach". And yet I know I'm a great coach. So why are we so good at playing small and keeping ourself away from the spotlight? In today's episode I share with you what happened when I published my "entrepreneurial coming out" video on Facebook and YouTube, and what you can learn from it too. To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconvetionalists.com/episode/26 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconvetionalists.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste
Mon, May 16, 2016
#25 Why you need to take a break from your business
When you run your own business it can be oh so easy to get stuck in the hamster wheel trap of "doing, doing doing". Without ever stopping for a second and take a step back. So you can really get clear on what you're actually trying to achieve. Well, two weeks ago it was my birthday and I decided to take a break and not to post anything. Turns out one week became 20 days. And what came up for me was fascinating... In today's episode I share with you what I've learned from launching and running The Unconventionalists podcast a year ago, and what direction the show is taking moving forward. For more info visit www.theunconventionalists.com
Mon, April 25, 2016
#24 How to live a more meaningful life with The Minimalists
When Joshua Fields Millburn's mum died and his marriage ended, all at the same time, it was time for him to reassess his priorities. It's when he found three boxes of his stuff that his mum had kept underneath her bed, he realised that memories weren't in things, but rather in people. After having climbed the corporate ladder all his life and buying everything he could get his hands on, he decided to get rid of all the stuff he owned that wasn't serving him, in hopes to get to what was. Meanwhile, his best friend Ryan Nicodemus, who was supposedly living the American Dream and making a six figure salary, was unhappy, border line depressed, in debt and totally unfulfilled. It was by seeing Joshua radically change overnight and looking so happy at work, when in fact he should be miserable given the circumstances with his mum and ex-wife, that the two started talking about what was going on. It turns out, the answer wasn't more money, or a bigger car, but rather it was discovering the minimalism movement: living a deliberate and meaningful life with less stuff. That's when they decided to both ditch their corporate jobs, downsize their lives and start their blog: TheMinimalists.com. That was six years ago. Since then, they went from 52 readers to 4 million, published three books, launched their own publishing house, delivered a hugely popular TEDx talk, spent a year touring around the world and are now about to release their first documentary, "Minimalism: A documentary about the important things." When you consider that the average household in the US has 300,000 items, we could all do with a bit of decluttering to bring a bit more meaning into our lives. In our intimate conversation we talked about: • What it took to go from 52 readers to 4 million • What adding value to people’s lives really means • Why people read and share your content online • Why you need to surround yourself with supportive people • How to build the best business model for you • How not to attach your identity to what you own or what you do Let me (@markleruste) and Josh and Ryan know (@theminimalists) on Twitter what you took away from our conversation today. To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/24 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste (Podcast cover photo credit: Adam Dressler)
Wed, April 20, 2016
#23 How to turn your vision into a plan with Danielle Anderson
Getting to the top of your career ladder only to find out that you're on the wrong freakin' wall totally sucks. I know, because I've been there. And when you finally decide to make the jump and start your own business, well, things aren't quite as easy you as you had imagined. Also been there. The good news is that I caught up with with former financial services executive turned startup coach & Founder of Step and Stone, Danielle Anderson, who ditched her corporate job overnight and has spent the last three years building her business. Today Danielle works with startups and social entrepreneurs around the world to help them get super clear on what problem they're solving, for who, and how to get it out into the world in a big way. In our interview we talked about: • How Danielle quit her corporate job with zero plan and what happened next • Danielle’s life changing experience volunteering in Zimbabwe • How to know if you’re climbing the right career ladder • How to re-asses your priorities • What passionate people need to know about RUNNING business • Why you’re wasting a ton of time and money ON • Why asking your friends and mum what they think about your business is not a good idea SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/23 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste
Tue, April 12, 2016
#22 How to take responsibility for your health with Brett Sanders
Between the gazillion diet fads and all the mix-marketing-messaging about what you should or shouldn't eat, it's easy to give up on taking any sort of action on your health. And in today's world it's oh so easy to sit behind our laptop all day long and go from our desk to bed and repeat. That's why I caught up with Brett Sanders, former personal trainer turned entrepreneur, lifestyle coach and co-founder of The Natural Deodorant Co who also happens to teach Lifestyle Mastery classes. In our interview we talked about how to keep going even when it gets challenging, why just buying books isn’t the solution you’re looking for, what being healthy really means and how to follow your legacy. To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/22 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste --- The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, April 05, 2016
#21 How to build a champion's mindset with Sabina Skala and Alex Montagnani
I caught up with strength & conditioning coach Sabina Skala along with British MMA fighter Alex Montagnani. Whether you're trying to launch a business, become the undisputed champion of the world or get in peak condition, there's going to be a few set backs along the way. The way you handle them will determine how far you'll really get go. In today's interview we talked about the importance of building your resiliency muscle, how to overcome adversity. We also explored the question around "Are champions built or made?" and what it takes to become a champion at whatever you set your mind to. To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/21 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, March 29, 2016
#20 How to build your hustle muscle with Sarah Shaw
I caught up with former Hollywood blockbuster movie costume designer turned serial entrepreneur, business consultant and virtual CEO Sarah Shaw. In our interview we talked about: • How sibling rivalry can set you up for entrepreneurship • What Sarah learned from working in the movie business for 20+ years • Why asking for business is the key to growing your business • Why not everybody wants you to be successful • Why you should never take no for an answer • How turning into a stalker is totally part of running your own business • How Sarah got her products in the hands of Jennifer Anniston, Oprah, Cameron Diaz, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julia Roberts, Hale Berry. • How organic PR helped Sarah sell 2,000 necklaces on the back of one picture in a magazine • What happened when she first met Bill Murray with no pants on... To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/20 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, March 22, 2016
#19 How to run your own retreat with Mark Leruste
One of the most common questions I get from my peers is how did I manage to launch my first retreat THE UNCONVENTIONAL RETREAT back in 2014/2015 and actually make a profit. As most first timers either fail to sell enough tickets or end up paying out of their own pockets, "just to get their name out there". The funny thing is, I sold out all 10 places without even having a venue booked or an outline figured out! All I had was a crazy dream and a rough idea of what I wanted to achieve and who I wanted to work with. In today's episode I share with you my secrete recipe that I used to launch The Unconventional Retreat (www.theunconventionalretreat.com) I dive into the common mistakes people make when trying to launch their first retreat and also share with you what really worked for me. I also share the success story of a coach who sold out her workshop in just 48hrs. To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/19 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, March 15, 2016
#18 Why running can change the world with Nick Kershaw
I caught up with former financial planner turned Founder of Impact Marathon Series, Nick Kershaw. In our interview we talked about: • How to keep going even when the wheels come off • Why Nick isn’t interested in hearing your motivations • How to set up your own foundation • What it was like to create a running event from scratch • Why equity is not about money • How to overcome epic set backs • Why taking a break from your laptop can produce massive clarity To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/18 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste This episode was mixed by Simon Barron and The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, March 08, 2016
#17 How to lead from the heart with Sam House
I caught up with former family therapist turned executive leadership coach Sam House. In today’s interview we talked about: • What’s the fundamental difference between therapy and life coaching • How to overcome the starving artist syndrome as a coach • Why playing small is dangerous • How to recognize when you’re failing as a leader • What makes a powerful leader • Why masculinity is synonymous with vulnerability • Why you matter To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/17 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste This episode was mixed by Simon Barron and The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, March 01, 2016
#16 How to live life aggressively with Mike Mahler
I caught up with Mike Mahler, former business development director turned strength trainer, author, podcaster, natural supplement creator and hormone optimization researcher. In today's interview we talked about: • What Mike’s learned from creating more than 150 podcast episodes • What UFC fighter Matt Brown taught him about training • How to have fun doing what you love • How to live life aggressively • Why people fail to achieve their goals • What self-help gurus won’t tell you • What business and fitness have in common To subscribe to the show click here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/16 GET IN TOUCH Website: www.theunconventionalists.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/markleruste Twitter: www.twitter.com/markleruste YouTube: www.youtube.com/markleruste This episode was mixed by Simon Barron and The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, February 23, 2016
#15 How to find your niche with Tad Hargrave
I caught up with Tad Hargrave, founder of Marketing For Hippies who's become an expert at helping people answer the question: "What is my niche?". In today's interview we talked about: • How to market yourself and feel good about it • The three key things to nail your target market • How to come up with a niche that feels great • Why charging what you’re worth is bull shit • What happens when you stare at death in the eyes • Why Marketing CAN feel good • How to heal through marketing To subscribe to the show click here https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/15 This episode was mixed by Simon Barron and The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, February 16, 2016
#14 How to fund your passion projects with Leon McCarron
I caught up with Leon McCarron, a Northern Irish adventurer, film-maker and author who specialises in long distance, human-powered expeditions. In our interview we talked about • How to make a living from your laptop • How to start your first adventure • How to crowd fund your passion project • The Middle East you haven’t been told about • And how to make award winning documentaries To subscribe to the show click here https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/14 This episode was mixed by Simon Barron and The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, February 09, 2016
#13 How to take action even when you don't feel like it with Mark Leruste
This is a special episode where Mark Leruste shares what he's learned about procrastination and finally taking action, even when you really don't feel like it. To subscribe to the show click here https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2
Tue, December 22, 2015
#12 How to build a tribe with Danny Bent
I caught up with Danny Bent, award winning author, Guinness World Record holder, founder of Project Awesome and finalist in BBC's TV series “Special Forces’ ULTIMATE HELL WEEK”. In our interview we talked about: • How to start a Tribe from scratch • What's the one thing you should be focusing on • Why Project Awesome is spreading like Wild Fire • How to survive the most brutal experience of your life • How not to quit when it matters most • Why no one is a morning person • And why a hug can be the most powerful weapon you poses To subscribe to the show click here https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES www.markleruste.com/episode/12 This episode was mixed by Simon Barron and The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris. Special thanks to Morts Lindholm for Danny's profile photo.
Tue, December 08, 2015
#11 How to start a business that works with Rebecca Tracey
I caught up with Rebecca Tracey, founder of The Uncaged Life and self-proclaimed queen of the #nopantsparty who built her online business while spending 8 months living out of a van rock-climbing in North America. In our interview we talked about why most small businesses fail, why it’s OK to quit stuff that you’re just not enjoying, why keeping it simple is so important, how to deal with the flipside of success, what a dog can actually teach you about running a business and what it’s really like to sail with Swiss polygamists. To subscribe to the show click here itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncon…d1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/11 This episode was mixed by Simon Barron and The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, November 24, 2015
#10 How to become a leader with Dori Ben-Chanoch
I caught up with former Paratrooper turned executive coach, Dori Ben-Chanoch. In our interview we talked about the key to finding your purpose, why a job title doesn’t make you a leader, the unexplored art and science of success, why most coaches fail, why leadership is the flavor of the decade, why leaving the nest could lead you to meeting the women of your dreams and what it’s like working as a security detail for Elizabeth Tailor. To subscribe to the show and help spread the word, click here itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/uncon…d1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/10 This episode was mixed by Simon Barron and The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris.
Tue, November 10, 2015
#9 How to thrive on a plant-based diet with Brendan Brazier
I caught up with Brendan Brazier, former professional Ironman triathlete, two-time Canadian 50km ultramarathon champion, bestselling author of Thrive and formulator of Vega, an award-winning line of whole food nutritional products. But what makes Brendan Brazier so unique is that he follows a 100% plant-based diet and has quickly become the most sought after authority for athletic peak performance around the world. In our short conversation we talked about the most common mistakes newbies make when switching to a plant-based diet. What the meat and dairy industry can teach us about marketing. Why patience goes a long way, especially when doing something new. What to consider when launching your own wholefood nutritional supplement company. Why becoming an education company as well as a product company is key to success and of course, what’s Brandan’s favourite desert. To subscribe to the show and help spread the word, click here https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/unconventionalists-mark-leruste/id1029651449?mt=2 SHOW NOTES: Website: www.thriveforward.com Instagram: instagram.com/brendanbrazier YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/myvegatv Twitter: www.twitter.com/Brendan_Brazier. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brendanbrazier/ Thrive Energy Cookbook: http://www.amazon.co.uk/372/dp/0738217409 Vega: http://myvega.com Heaven Shakes Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heavenshakes/ Heaven Shakes Twitter: https://twitter.com/heavenshakes Heaven Shakes Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heavenshakes?_rdr=p This episode was mixed by Simon Barron and The Unconventionalists podcast cover was designed by Lorna Morris. For more show notes visit www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/9
Fri, October 30, 2015
#8 How to dream big with Alastair Humphreys
I caught up with Alastair Humphreys, a National Geographic Adventurer of the year, inspirational speaker, filmmaker and author of 9 books. His #Microadventure movement has become a global phenomenon, where people around the world are discovering that time and money are no longer valid excuses for staying at home. In our interview we talked about the flipside of turning your hobby into your job, how to make money as an adventurer, how to deal with the low moments on your journey (and what to do about them), why the full moon isn’t just for werewolves and how to deliver the 2nd best talk of all time To subscribe to the show and help spread the word, go to itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-u…mt=2&i=351042958 SHOW NOTES: Website: http://www.alastairhumphreys.com Instagram: https://instagram.com/al_humphreys/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/englishwildman Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Al_Humphreys Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Alastair-Humphreys-149963098097/timeline/ For more show notes visit www.markleruste.com/8
Mon, September 21, 2015
#7 How to start a business while juggling a full time job with Zade Al-Salim
I caught up with senior creative account manager turned Crossfit Gym owner, Zade Al-Salim. In our interview we talked about why training in CrossFit is basically like being a big kid, why car parks are the new startup garages, why your friends should never become a chore, and why spinal specialists should never get to operate on you knee. Show notes: Website: www.theyardpeckham.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/theyardpeckham Facebook: www.facebook.com/crossfitpeckham Instagram: www.instagram.com/theyardpeckham To subscribe to the show on iTunes go to https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-unconventionalists/id1029651449?mt=2&i=351042958
Wed, September 16, 2015
#6 How to be true to yourself with Shea Emry
I caught up with Shea Emry, CFL All-Star Linebacker turned mental health wellbeing activist and founder of The Wellmen Project. In our interview, we talked about why being real, taking risks and telling your story is the key to living a full life, how to be comfortable with who you are and believe in yourself no matter what, what healthy masculinity means today and how to prepare for war by eating coloured candy. You can find out more about Shea’s work at www.wellmen.org and connect with Shea via Twitter @sheaemry (www.twitter.com/sheaemry). Show notes available at www.theunconventionalists.com/episode/6
Mon, August 31, 2015
#5 Why having a sense of humour is the key to overcoming adversity with Adam Conlon
I caught up with Adam Conlon, former front line British army officer turned stand up comedian. In our interview, we explored the links between being at war and running your business, why making the most of the worst situation will keep you alive, as well as how The Queen may or may not have caressed Adam’s thigh when he ended up sitting next to her Majesty, aslo knows as Big Liz, over dinner. You can find out more about Adam’s work at www.adamconlon.co.uk.
Mon, August 24, 2015
#4 How to stand up for what you believe in with Tom Brake
I caught up with Tom Brake, Member of Parliament (MP) for Carshalton and Wallington, who following the 2015 general elections in the UK became the only Liberal Democrat MP to secure (and hold) his seat in the London area. This is his fifth consecutive term in office and at only 53 years old, he is now the longest serving liberal democrat Member of Parliament, having spent 18 years in parliament. In our short interview, we talked about overcoming setbacks, how busy politicians stay healthy, the power of social media and why being featured in Men’s Health magazine may have been the secret sauce for Tom to have won again in 2015. www.tombrake.co.uk www.facebook.com/brake www.twitter.com/thomasbrake
Mon, August 10, 2015
#3 How to feel alive as a man with Robin Coghlan
I caught up with Robin Coghlan, my partner in masculine crime, to discuss our up coming experiential workshop "The Wildman Project" that will take place in London. We explore what it really means to feel alive as a man in the 21st century and why this workshop has nothing to do with "picking up" women.
Mon, July 27, 2015
#2 How to get in phenomenal shape with Rob Farrington
I caught up with Rob Farrington, investment banker turned fitness blogger and owner of Live Work Train (www.liveworktrain.com), who radically transformed his body in 10 weeks despite working 60hour work weeks. We explored the modern complexities of body image men face, why there's a big fat elephant in the room of fitness models and why health isn't all about lowering your body fat to 5%.
Mon, July 13, 2015
#1 Why you shouldn't be be too quick to quit with Ed Hewitt
I caught up with environmentalist, entrepreneur and adventurer Ed Hewitt, who in 2013 decided to quit his corporate job to set off on an adventure to travel from Bangkok to Birmingham by foot, along the Silk Road. This trip saw him travel 13,000 miles (or 20,900 kilometres), through 15 different countries, using 49 different forms of transport and took 228 days to complete. And in case you're wondering, I asked him how much his adventure cost him. I think you'll be surprised... From hitchhiking with the Laos army to partying with pandas, and finishing on the pitch at Wolverhampton in front of 20,000 fellow Wolves fans, it's safe to say that Ed learned a few things along the way. Oh, and Ed also happened to meet Michael Palin as a result. Find out how by listening to the very first episode of the-yet-to-be-named podcast. Mark Leruste NOTES Podcast artwork was illustrated by Lorna Morris. Check out her work at www.lornamorris.co.uk. This episode was mixed and edited by Simon Barron.
loading...