The Alternative Leader Podcast

Ken Okoroafar achieved financial freedom by 34, and alongside his wife Mary runs the Humble Penny. In this episode, Ken discusses his childhood, how his mother's entrepreneur spirit inspired him, and how he achieved financial independence and helps others achieve the same.  

Find Ken Okoroafor here:  

The Humble Penny: https://thehumblepenny.com/about/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ken-okoroafor/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thehumblepenny/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumblePenny 

Corey Gaidzionis Founder, Big Emotions Academy Corey is a passionate, heart-centred entrepreneur on a mission, and it's all about:  "Creating positive change using simple tools to teach Emotional Intelligence to equip our next generation of leaders to have their own motional superpowers."  With a background as a personal trainer and coach, Corey recognised the need for a personal development program that reached young people in a way that made sense to THEM, rather than the usual, more adult-like perspective. As a result, Corey has recently published his first book, "The Little Book of Big Emotions" and is in the process of getting it out to the world.
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BigEmotionsAcademy
Linkedin: https:/www.linkedin.com/in/corey-gaidzionis/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bigemotionsacademy/ 
 

John Spencer is an urban warfare and military expert, author, professor and scholar. He recently published the book Connected Soldiers: Life, Leadership, and Social Connections in Modern War.  John regularly consults for United States Army Forces Command units, Training and Doctrine Command, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the United Nations, and many others military and national security organisations. 

 
Having served 25 years in the US Military, in this episode John talks about his time in the military, his role as a leader, what he has learned and what he would do differently. He talks candidly about his many experiences from his wife being deployed, the importance of staying connected to what matters to you most to why you shouldn't go for a run in a gas mask. 
 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpencerGuard 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spencerguard/ 

Website: https://www.johnspenceronline.com/ 

Book Understanding Modern Warfare: https://www.howgatepublishing.com/product-page 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwspencer2018/ 

Content warning: Please note this episode discusses suicide  

Joel Stone runs his own successful marketing agency Codebreak, and in 2022 launched Andy’s and Joel’s Growth Academy, marketing coaching for solopreneurs. He is also the author of Amazon best seller book, Stay Hungry, and hosts the Stay Hungry podcast, a marketing and mindset podcast for business owners.  

Raised in rural Shropshire, Joel’s childhood was affected by his father's severe bipolar disorder. He then went on to university gaining a first-class degree in Graphic Design, graduating into the 2008 recession. Joel moved back to Shropshire and became an accountant, figuring it was recession proof. In this episode Joel speaks openly and honestly about his childhood, his own diagnosis with anxiety and clinical depression and reflects on how this has affected his life.  

Where to find Joel:

Done-for-you marketing: www.codebreak.co.uk
Marketing coaching: www.andyandjoel.com
Podcast: www.codebreak.co.uk/podcast-channels/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joelstone13
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@joelstoneofficial
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelstone1/ 

Brendan Turner is a Personal Trainer and Human Biomechanics Specialist who coaches business owners and executives who are in pain to become pain free. Brendan runs workshops and 6/ 12 month 1-2-1 coaching programmes. He has a growing YouTube channel where he talks about his journey of losing 10 Stone (64 kilograms) in weight and recovering from Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome which is deemed to be incurable. You can find it here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiqR311F7yEwGW5EtiiNGHQ 

I met Emma when I was interviewing Calvin Niles several years ago. Emma ran a beautiful bookshop called, ‘Travelling Through’ -  now the name of her podcast. Emma worked talks about her experiences of working in the Balkans in post conflict cultural conservation. This work was about so much more than the conservation. She then began a journey driving through the Balkans to experience the land and she talks about this journey in her book, ‘Driving Tito’ – who is Tito you ask, I’ll leave you to find out!  

At age 6 Emma’s lung collapsed and it put a new perspective on life and she launched into it with huge enthusiasm. Her father died when she was 20 which again pushed her forwards.  

Emma reflects on how all of these experiences led her to realise that she was a leader and what sort of leader she was.

You can find Emma:  

Website: https://www.travellingthrough.co.uk/ 

- My book: Driving Tito - Through The Balkan Backroads With A Celebrity 

- You can purchase / order a copy in all good bookshops across the world, on Amazon, or as an ebook here: https://books2read.com/u/bw2kBO 

- Podcast: Travelling Through London, the World and Life on all the usual platforms and on my website at https://www.travellingthrough.co.uk/podcast-1 

- Instagram: @travelling_through 

- Facebook: Travelling-Through 

- Twitter: @Trvllng_Thrgh 

Gareth joined the police at aged 15. Since then, his life has been profoundly shaped by his experiences in the force, with two near-death experiences leaving him to navigate PTSD. Now full-time dad and 'part-time grass cutter', Gareth reflects on the impacts of his work, the importance of mental health and his ability to heal with the love of his family, 'Team Squance'.

Gareth's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Irishpixel/...
Gareth's Twitter: https://twitter.com/irishpixel?lang=en
Gareth's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irishpixel/...

In this episode I am joined by Clare McDonald to share her story. It's a story rooted in her childhood from when her parents separated to her father dying when she was just 12. It's a story of loss and grief but also immense strength and resilience. Taking Clare from a life where she believed she was living small to one where she's acting on stage right out of in front of an audience. She went from feeling unloveable to and not good enough to feeling so good that she puts herself forward for the opportunities that life is bringing her. It's a story that you and I can all resonate with, it's that story of those times when we feel too afraid to be vulnerable or to take risks. Clare talks very candidly and beautifully about her story, her challenges, and how she changed her life and moved forward to be the version of herself that she wants to be now. 

You can find Clare on: 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/clare-mcdonald-280b8718/
Email: [email protected]

Anna McAfee is a LinkedIn Trainer, Community Strategist and Author. Anna’s work is focused on helping people and businesses alike to build better and more authentic connections, as well as empowering companies and brands to create and scale their own communities. She created #LinkedInLocal movement, an initiative to meet online connections offline at a local and human level, which spread to over 1000 cities in 96 countries. Anna has a unique background in social media and recruitment and is based in Coffs Harbour, Australia.  

You can find Anna: 

Website: https://annamcafee.com.au/
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/annamcafee/
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/annamcafee
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annamcafeeofficial/

In 2010 Nola applied for a leadership programme but was refused as she needs support to help with the extra learning and childcare around commuting. When she was going to the office it took so long that she didn’t see her kids.  

She changed jobs so she had a VPN and could work 3 days from home – then she broke her leg… 

So how do you leverage leadership when you aren’t leading a team? (It’s funny how we think of leadership always as leading others, a topic I cover in my book.) 

Nola found that she didn’t actually enjoy remote working full time and found she hit burnout after working far too many hours. In the end, she became ill and crashed her car after passing out from a collapsed lung and pneumonia.  

Nola has set up her own company when she advises organisations on remote hybrid working. She wants to help organisations find what is right for them and for each individual employee. Having seen all sides of remote working for 10 years, Nola knows her facts about remote working.  

She also runs the Janus Oasis podcast, bringing the best of the past to create the future. 

You can find Nola here: 

Website: www.nolasimon.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/nolasimon
Twitter: www.twitter.com/nolasimontjo
Instagram: www.instagram.com/nolasimontjo