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



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#158 How to reach one million views with a TEDx talk

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.

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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.



#171 Donald Miller's secret playbook to building a million dollar coaching business

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. 


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 LinkedIn: ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/markleruste



#170 Daniel Costa Gil - Against all odds: A tale of loss, love, and Resilience

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! 

#169 Donald Miller - How a Fatherless Boy Built a $15M Empire & Transformed His Life Story

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:


#168 Did Glow in the Dark win a Business Book Award...?

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:


#158 How to reach one million views with a TEDx talk

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