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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March 11, 202411 min
#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!
January 15, 20241 hr 51 min
#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 TOUCH WITH MARK
Website: www.markleruste.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
November 30, 202353 min
#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 : https://eu.statesman.com/story/news/2012/09/23/beliefs-big-and-small-paint-picture-of-pastors-life/9886546007/
GET IN TOUCH WITH MARK
Website: www.markleruste.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
May 17, 202327 min
#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
April 4, 202353 min
#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
February 2, 202325 min
#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.
December 8, 202258 min
#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
December 7, 202211 min
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
May 26, 202250 min
#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.theunconventionalists.com/episode/164
THIS WEEK'S EPISODE WAS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:
Become The Spotlight (www.becomethespotlight.com): Discover your Leadership Score and improve your ability to impact the world with your message
May 16, 202259 min
#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
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