Dear Younger Self: Recent Episodes
Danish Bagadia
A video podcast aimed at young people that brings the leaders of today to inspire and coach the leaders of tomorrow. Topics include a mix of advice around professional and personal areas that will motivate and help people to succeed in work and life. You will hear from the podcast host Danish Bagadia about his life experience and more importantly guests who will share their stories and advice to win at work and in life. The podcast covers youth challenges including mental health, career, drugs, violence and more
Have you ever acted unlike you? Have you done something that it's usually not you? Or maybe you speak a certain way? Or pretend to be someone who you are not, just so you can fit in? Sounds familiar? Well, this can be pretty common for many and especially young people trying to find their feet. There's often pressure to fit in and meet the expectations of others, which can make it hard to stay true to yourself. However, being authentic is essential to living a fulfilling life and finding happiness.
Today I speak with Anne Manuales about the challenges facing the youth today. Anne was born in the Philippines grew up and moved to the UK at a young age. Anne shares her experience of growing up in a single mother household, how Anne had to grow faster and what it means for youth today. Furthermore, Anne discusses the mental health challenges faced by the youth today including harming yourself as a norm. Getting help by youth today is not easy and Anne shares the push back she got when faced by such challenges. Anne eventually landed a job as an apprentice at Google with her own conviction and hard work. A brilliant discussion if you want to understand what youth face today
Today I speak with Noah, an up-and-coming rapper music artist about all the struggles in making it big in the music industry. The mental health struggles young people are going through and what can be done.
Noah Bouchard is a 25 year old alternative hip hop artist from Cardiff, Wales, now based in East London. He is known for creating lyrically focused and vulnerable music.
One of his earlier songs, Pantomime, has now streamed over 3 million times on Spotify alone, gaining hundreds of thousands of streams and views on other platforms also. Noah has performed countless times across Wales and in other parts of the UK, including 2 intimate sold out headline shows in Cardiff and London, as well as performances at the BBC 6 Music Fringe Festival, Hub Festival and the National Lottery's ReviveLive Tour.
Noah is one of the current artists supported by Youth Music UK’s NextGen Fund and has had support previously from the BBC Wales Horizon's Launchpad Fund, as well as being played on BBC Radio 1xtra, BBC Radio Wales, Reprezent, Unity Radio, Netil Radio, Balamii Radio and many more.
He has also been featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday and Fresh Finds playlists, as well as playlists by Ministry of Sound and Wordplay Magazine to name a few. You can listen to his music here - https://linktr.ee/noah.bouchard?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=b5c33899-9d75-441c-8987-32f59bea63fb
Go check out the episode!
I speak with Ally Owen who founded Brixton Finishing School due to the need to create a diverse and equitable talent blueprint for our industry. Its award winning family of programs finds, trains and places structurally excluded’ talent in roles across marketing, advertising and communications ecosystem.
Recognising the impact that COVID-19 had on young people’s futures, Ally also launched the game-changing ADcademy program which gives over 2500 students a year across the UK a fairer chance to succeed. 2021 also saw the launch of ADventure, which aims to introduce our industry to 100k diverse 14-18 year olds and Visible Start (funded by WPP) for women over 45s which is fighting ageism.
Allys' accolades include Future is Female 2022 (ADweek), Media Leader 2022 (Judges’ Choice), Campaign 2021 Female Frontiers Championing Change Honouree/Campaign 'Trailblazer' 2020/ BIMA 2020 Champion for Change/ AD Age 2020 'Woman to watch in Europe'
We face challenges in life all the time. Some are smaller than others. Some are larger than others and some seem impossible to overcome. Resilience is tested through these challenges, through trauma or tradegy in your life, or your health concerns or maybe your relationships or at work or school. In fact, we will probably face all of these challenges throughout our lifetime. How we deal with them defines how resilient you are. Resilient people face these tests but they have the tenacity to deal with the circumstances to rise above the challenges.
Anshul is the founder of Academic Underdogs, a tutoring service that helps students improve their grades through self-study. He is a BBC Radio London exam expert and the author of two #1 best-selling study guides. Anshul is also the creator of Yojana, the UK’s first personalised study strategy generator, used by over 20,000 GCSE & A-Level students each year.
In this episode, I spoke to Anshul about his journey to entrepreneurship and how his risk-taking enabled him to find his passion and success. Despite studying chemical engineering and eventually landing as a financial trader, Anshul found his true calling when he was able to translate his journey to achieving high grades at school and university.
Failing A-Levels and not going to university yet experiencing growing a community from 0 to 1.7 million young people, working with the Prime Minister after being elected Member of Youth Parliament for Surrey representing 250,000+ people in Parliament and launching a company that open and equalises many opportunities for young people,
Taking a different route to most can be incredibly daunting. Still, in today's episode, Oliver talks about his journey to success after having a mental health crisis, then having to deal with it with little support and still being able to come out the other side and use their post-trauma to help process their emotions.
Oliver also discusses the importance of young people knowing there are alternative routes to university and other ways to discover their passions and interests and the need for more opportunities and support for studies once they get their degrees.
In this episode I speak with an industry colleague and a friend, Namita, about gender equity, why it is important for young women to to understand the challenges faced in the industry but more importantly how ‘showing up’ is a small step towards a big success.
Namita Singh Thakur leads Global Strategic Accounts for LinkedIn Marketing Solutions EMEA. She has also been the Co-Chair of the Women@LinkedIn Employee Resource Group (ERG) for EMEA for the last 2 years, co-leading the operations across ten countries in EMEA where LinkedIn has a presence. The ERG's mission to create an inclusive community that empowers women to advance their careers whilst being their authentic selves. LinkedIn has made great strides in gender diversity and currently prides itself on achieving gender parity across all levels of the organization. Throughout the year and across EMEA, Women@LinkedIn has found ways to bring its mission alive through a line-up of events, L&D Programs, workshops and speaker series. Besides her formal involvement in the ERG, she regularly participates in speaking engagements related to women's education, empowerment & endorsement.
Outside of her formal role, she is passionate about arts & democratization of art & regularly supports emerging women artists and artists within under-represented racial groups as a patron, art-collaborator and collector. She is particularly perceptive about women & their role in corporate/social life & personal experiences that have shaped their journeys. This has enabled her to help & create impact for women around her.
Joe Seddon isa 25-year-old social entrepreneur. He is the founder of Zero Gravity, a tech startup that supports low-income students into top universities and careers. Joe has scaled Zero Gravity from his student bedroom into one of the UK's fastest-growing tech-for-good companies, supporting 3,000+ students into top universities and hundreds into careers with corporate partners such as HSBC, KPMG, and Fidelity. In addition, Joe has raised £4m of investment to grow Zero Gravity has resulted in becoming Forbes under the '30s.
In this episode, Joe talks about his journey to becoming an entrepreneur. Despite coming from a small town in England, Joe succeeded in getting through Oxford university. This made Joe realise the opportunity of young people. Joe was also awarded Diana award and Points of light award for social impact in education for his impact through Zero Gravity.
Something as simple as self-doubt can stop you from processing and achieving your goals. Sometimes it is easy to forget that self-doubt is a part of the success process and can be used to our advantage and become a superpower. In this episode, I share three stories from Steve Jobs, Michael Jordan and Stan lee. 3 stories of failure, 3 stories of 3 incredible people. These stories are so powerful, they exemplify failures and self-doubt. They show us that regardless of self doubt and failure, you can still succeed. In fact they are part of the process. It is something that we should embrace. It is something that we should learn from and leverage
Adeel Amini is a freelance Senior Producer in Entertainment and has worked on shows such as Catchphrase, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, Blind Date, 8 out of 10 Cats,Countdown, and many more.
Adeel is the founder of the pan-industry working group Coalition For Change. In 2018, Adeel formed what is now known as The TV Mindset, a mental health support group for freelancers based on their own experiences in the industry.
In this episode, Adeel discusses his experience breaking into the film and TV industry and getting out of the mindset of being the token POC. He then goes into his sobriety journey, overcoming addiction and mental health challenges.
Do you need to look good to feel good? What does 'look good' mean to you? Do you have to be slim and look like a 'model' ? Society has created an image of how you are meant to look. If you are anything but slim, you are not good enough? In addition social media pressures are ever growing. The unrealistic expectations of 'perfect body' and ignoring the fact that humans come in different shapes and sizes - this is what makes us beautiful and unique.
Today I chat with Sara about her own struggles around body image, how she tries to overcome it and what the youth can learn from her experiences.
Sara is an experienced marketer who has worked with business from start up to enterprise. She has worked in different verticals and continuously helps different industries by applying marketing principles that allow businesses to have a solid strategy to follow. Sara considers herself a work in progress human and an evergreen student.
The important message here is to embrace yourself the way you are and if you feel any anxiety around your body image, seek help
According to one definition, Impostor syndrome is a psychological occurrence in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalised fear of being exposed as a fraud. Many of us at the start of the year set new goals and new resolutions and often we give up at some point in the year. One of the reasons could be imposter syndrome i.e. not believing in yourself, not valuing yourself and your abilities to achieve those goals.
This note to self is addressing this feeling that we all feel many times in our personal and professional lives. The key is not to find a solution but to embrace the feeling and tackle it by practicing kindness, mindfulness and with a growth mindset.
I hope you find this note helpful and good luck with your goals in 2023
I wanted to make sure that this podcast is not just about high profile or uber successful guest (they are very important of course!) but hearing directly from the youth about their struggles is where we will get insight from. Listening to the youth today will help us help them. So today I have Amy Ruby and Louis with me on the show. They share their incredible journey from school to deciding about university to getting their first job. All 3 shared amazing insights into their respective world, their journey. Amy, Ruby and Louis are all apprentices at Google - one of the best employers in the world and their journey to Google has been nothing but rocky. You will hear everything about mental health struggles, the way system fails to put the youth first and how its extremely difficult to be employable and live without financial worries. This episode is not about providing solutions but rather listening directly from the youth. I hope you see and listen to what I saw and heard and I hope that we collectively raise our voices to the 'powers that be' so that we can make a difference to the youth today.
Disclaimer: I work for Google but this podcast is not associated with the company (Google) at all. These are my own views
How many times you do things because you were forced into? How many times you succumb to peer pressure? Today's episode is a note to self about peer pressure and what it does to you. It's a reminder for us to acknowledge, think and do something about it. Good peer pressure is always welcomes such as "you must read this book" or "you must try this cuisine" but its the bad peer pressure that results into mental health. I share my RACE framework to tackle peer pressure - a simple method or a reminder on how to deal with peer pressure.
I sat down with Ash to to discuss this journey of many adventures, the struggles and what made him successful. Ash talks about curiosity and why that is important to succeed. A must listen!
A serial tech entrepreneur, growth marketer and keynote speaker, Ash sold his first internet business at the age of just 19. As the first marketing director of Just Eat UK, Ash spearheaded their rapid growth, helping them raise $16 million in funding, and going on to achieve a staggering IPO of $2.44 billion. Having won awards as an innovative marketer with 20+ years of tech experience, Ash has since founded a string of successful startups, alongside publishing his award-winning book The Unfair Advantage. Ash is a highly sought-after international speaker and expert on growth, digital disruption and tech transformation, and has spoken at numerous global organisations and conferences including Salesforce, Ernst & Young and TEDx.
Check out Ash:
www.ashali.com
This week I sit down with Hasan, an incredibly energetic and humble person. We discussed his journey and the role of working hard and being lucky to become successful.
Hasan is an award-winning author, business coach and keynote speaker. His debut book The Unfair Advantage became an instant-bestseller, with its refreshing concept going viral, inspiring millions of people. It has been translated into multiple languages, featured in Forbes, Fortune and the BBC, and was also awarded ‘Business Book of the Year’.
From starting his own business from his bedroom to a decade of experience in marketing, personal branding and technology, Hasan has become the go-to coach and strategist for some of the biggest online influencers and businesses, helping them reach millions in profit. He has also been invited to speak at some of the top business schools in the world, and has delivered keynote speeches at companies like WeWork, EY and General Assembly.
Check out Hasan on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/startuphasan/
Link to Hasan's book - The Unfair Advantage
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Unfair-Advantage-Startup-Success-Starts/dp/1788163311
I speak to Montell about her Olympics career - we discussed the role of grit and resilience in her success but also how she faced racism during the Bobsleigh tours.
More about Montell:
Gold Medallist Montell Douglas joined Team GB Bobsleigh in the summer of 2016 following an amazing athletics career. Montell has since made history at the Beijing Winter Olympics in Feb'22 by becoming Britain's first woman to represent Team GB in Summer and Winter Games.
Montell's has competed in the Olympics, two World Championships, Commonwealth Games as well as European indoor and outdoor championships. She gained a European under-23 silver medal at 100m, gold medal for England 2010 Commonwealth Games in sprint relay team and the GB team which was fourth and fifth in the World Championship relays (2007 and 2009).
In 2016, Montell opted for bobsleigh. According to her Wikipedia page, she finished in the top 10 on her Bobsleigh World Cup debut in January 2017, and later in the season, she finished seventh at an event in St. Moritz. In 2019, Douglas and Mica McNeill finished sixth in the 2-women bobsleigh event in Königssee. In 2020, Douglas and McNeill came fourth in the 2020–21 Bobsleigh World Cup 2-women event in Innsbruck. In January 2022, Douglas and McNeill were selected for the 2-women event at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Douglas became the first female Briton to compete at the Summer and Winter Olympics, and notably, both were held in Beijing. (Source: Wikipedia)
You can follow her on Instagram
I talk to a good friend and someone who cares about the youth, Rob Jackson.
Rob is the founder of WYK Digital. A Social Enterprise which helps young people from underrepresented backgrounds to launch careers in digital. In partnership with The Prince’s Trust, WYK have trained over 300 young people since March 2020 successfully placing on average 75% of them into permanent digital roles.
In this episode, Rob shares his ideas about skills and expertise to become more employable. We also discussed what it means to be under represented and the opportunities for this group. Nonetheless, a much needed conversation in the society about what's more important - Is it who you know i.e. your connections? Or what you know i.e. your skills and expertise.
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Check out Rob's social enterprise : https://www.wykdigital.com/
In a world full of information, we are faced with a paradox of choice. The ample amount of data and choices confuses us and leads to no or slow decisions. We end up losing opportunities in many cases. When I was young, so was the internet and the amount of information was limited. Less information, less complexity. However, the internet today is really full of infinite day and having spoken to the young people, decision making is one of the main struggles. In this episode, I unpack the black box of decision making and how the youth (or otherwise) can understand why we struggle but more importantly I share 6 tips that I have learnt through my own struggles and experiences
We live in a society where instant gratification is a norm however we need to change our mindset to think long term. The only way to do so is by practicing patience. Investing time and energy in skills will lead to opportunity and that turns to success in the long run. The key to the long lasting success is patience. In this note to myself, I talk about the mango farmer analogy and how we can learn from the years of efforts of a farmer, apply that to our careers and life to achieve success.
**TRIGGER WARNING:
The content of this episode is sensitive. Audience discretion is advised**
In this episode, I talk to Alan Stuart about his son and what resulted into a mental health nightmare for him and his family.
Alan currently works in senior management within Higher Education – however his background has predominantly focused around start-up businesses – ranging from complimentary health products to software development and digital media agency initiatives.
In January 2021 – he lost his son Cal (23yrs old) to suicide. He and his family were devastated as they were very tight and close as a family of four. In his own words, ‘Cal is my best friend, he is my hero – he is also my son’. Soon after Cal’s passing he and his family launched The Calzy Foundation – to campaign for increased and accessible peer-to-peer support for young adults suffering trauma or crisis in their mental health; to de-stigmatise the conversation in young people around mental health and to work towards reducing the suicide rates in young people.
They also campaign for the establishment of a distinct three-digit emergency mental health number – similar to 111. Alan is committed to encouraging more open; honest and transparent dialogue around mental health in young adults and especially in those who have been impacted by peer suicide.
Website: https://www.calzy.foundation/