Habits of Normal Success

On Episode 13 of Habits of Normal Success we meet Serhat. Serhat is a legend and I have been tremendously looking forward to this episode. Not only is he one of my dearest friends, but he was also my first manager ever in my first job ever (by that I mean a role that was not an internship). He is now Managing Partner of OMG Ethnic here in London. In 2013 I won a competition at Mediacom which allowed me to land my internship in London. After that was finished, still at Mediacom, I was approached by Serhat, offering me a role as an Insight Executive. That is literally how my career in media started. Serhat and I went along great immediately and the almost 2y I spent in the Insight Team, managed by him, would prove essential in terms of hard skills he taught me (i.e. how to do a great Powerpoint presentation up to working with pivot tables in Excel) and me understanding what kind of manager I would one day like to be. This interview is split in 3 main parts: 1. What makes a great manager? My favourite quote from Serhat on this episode is “A manager does things right while a leader does the right things”. Further - how has he seen me changing over the last 5 years since we have first met? 2. Being a Dad in today’s Media industry – we talk about “essentialism” and the art of prioritising tasks. My favourite bit is when Serhat asks his team members who are working late “Will you die, if you don’t do this today?” 3. His award winning work at OMG Ethnic focusing on ethnic minorities normally not reached through standard media and tackling the ever relevant topic of Islamophobia. And much more. Thanks so much for coming on the show and taking the time. Resources: --------------- https://bimaawards.com/winners/omg-ethnic-at-omd-for-childline-2/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDcfEfMxPuI&feature=youtu.be http://omnicommediagroupuk.com/blog/omg-ethnic-serhat-ekinci-director === If you liked this episode, please do follow me here on Soundcloud and/or subscribe to the show on any podcast app you might be using for this by simply searching "Habits of Normal Success" (Itunes podcast or Overcast i.e.). Equally, if you have any questions for Serhat, please leave them in the comment section. It's a little thing for you, but it equally means the world to me. Thank You!

On Episode 12 of Habits of Normal Success we meet Lars and Lennart. I met Lars and Lennart when I first started working at creative media agency Videobeat in March and we quickly hit it off and became friends (even though I am not in Hamburg in our HQ as much as I would like in order to have this kind of conversations more often). Lars and Lennart are Vegans with the capital V; they live and love every day of it. And as someone who occasionally enjoys some meat but at the same time understands the impact of his own choices on the environment, I am fascinated by their choices, I admire them and I wanted to know and understand more. We cover some of the trivial questions such as: What do people normally ask when you tell them you are a Vegan? Where do you get your protein? What made you decide to become a Vegan? Do you miss meat? But then also move on to more complex ones such as: How did your body feel when you quit meat and then any animal product? Did you go cold turkey or did it step by step? Do you try to actively “convert” other people to your lifestyle? What documentaries had the biggest influence on you? And much more. Needless to say that I find it super cool that this is my first double interview! Spoiler alert: I challenge myself on record to try out one week as a vegetarian and see how that goes. Thanks so much for coming on the show and taking the time. I had a blast and hope to do a part II of this soon. Resources: --------------- Cowspiracy (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cowspiracy) The China Study (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_China_Study) H.O.P.E. What you eat matters (full movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0YHjPHm-Sc&feature=youtu.be) Dominion (trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnpsEAHAEnY&has_verified=1) === If you liked this episode, please do follow me here on Soundcloud and/or subscribe to the show on any podcast app you might be using for this by simply searching "Habits of Normal Success" (Itunes podcast or Overcast ie). Equally, if you have any questions for Lars and Lennart, please leave them in the comment section. It's a little thing for you, but it equally means the world to me. Thank You!

On Episode 11 of Habits of Normal Success we speak with Patrick Melville aka Paddy. When I had just started working at PSI Advertising in 2015, Paddy briefly joined to cover a role for a couple of months. We did not have lots of exchanges back then to be honest and I would have definitely not guessed that 3y later we would sit together one morning, have breakfast and have this really great chat together. The reason I had decided to get in touch some time ago, and to ask him on my show was the fact that being connected on LinkedIn, I had seen Paddy had started his own business as a marketing consultant. I have always admired and respected people who decide to do their thing, go their own way and challenge expectations of everyone around them who cannot seem to understand why they would leave “a safe and stable job”. Paddy did just that and created his own USP. Then something happened. Paddy was diagnosed with cancer last year. From one day to the other, everything literally changed. How did this affect his life, his personal USP and his business? How did dealing with this suddenly allow him to focus on the Power of Now and develop a tool for his mental and spiritual well-being, as well as physical well-being - described as his Circle of Strength? What can we learn from his story? I don’t want to reveal too much, but suffice it to say that Paddy is now delivering his inspirational talks in a multitude of places and companies with tremendously positive feedback and responses. He says that he is driven to continue his talks through the positive comments he has received: his story is authentic and therefore the techniques he talks about are more believable. Another quote to use that he recently heard and that is relevant to the Wellbeing theme is: “Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass; it’s about learning to dance in the rain”. Just next week, he is doing a talk in central London on the 26th of September and you can find tickets on Eventbrite (link below). I know I am going to be there. I was personally truly inspired by the conversation we had this and by the strength, serenity and resolve that Paddy managed to radiate while we were talking. A monumental Thank You for coming on my show. === - Please do check out Paddy’s website: http://melville-solutions.com/ - And feel free to get in touch with him here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melvillesolutions/ - Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-power-of-now-journey-talk-tickets-48642468934?aff=ehomecard === If you liked this episode, please do follow me here on Soundcloud and/or subscribe to the show on any podcast app you might be using for this by simply searching "Habits of Normal Success" (Itunes podcast or Overcast ie). It's a little thing for you, but it equally means the world to me. Thank You!