This Is The Struggle

Gerard is the lead strategist for the Bacardi portfolio of brands at AMVBBDO, including, but not limited to: -Bombay Sapphire -Dewars -Martini -Bacardi Gerard's job involves defining global brand platform ideas, identifies cultural partnerships and aligning brands with purpose beyond profit. For Gerard, it's important to have impact in all of this work, creating acts, not just ads. Gerard has been a judge at several awards shows, including Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Prior to AMVBBDO, Gerard has worked at Droga5 and RGA - two agencies that completely re-defined what an advertising agency is and does. SHOW NOTES Blood normal: http://www.nickandnadja.com/#/new-gallery-1/ Nick and Nadja: http://www.nickandnadja.com/ Saturday Club: https://saturday-club.org/ Droga5: https://droga5.co.uk/ RGA: https://www.rga.com/offices/new-york

James Clear is an author and speaker focused on habits, decision-making, and continuous improvement. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Time, and on CBS This Morning. His website receives millions of visitors each month and hundreds of thousands subscribe to his popular email newsletter. He is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work is used by teams in the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Through his online course, The Habits Academy, Clear has taught more than 10,000 leaders, managers, coaches, and teachers. The Habits Academy is the premier training platform for individuals and organisations that are interested in building better habits in life and work. James has just released his first book, Atomic Habits. Here are just 10-things James promises that this book will teach you; Build a system for getting 1% better every day. Break your bad habits and stick to good ones. Avoid the common mistakes most people make when changing habits. Overcome a lack of motivation and willpower. Develop a stronger identity and believe in yourself. Make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy). Design your environment to make success easier. Make tiny, easy changes that deliver big results. Get back on track when you get off course. And most importantly, how to put these ideas into practice in real life.

Tim Hole is an internationally affiliated Coach (ICF) and Facilitator (IAF). Tim specialises in supporting individuals who work in fast-paced and fluid environments. Tim also prides himself on optimising human performance. Tim spent over twenty years in the music industry. He worked with artists and creative talent. Not to mention being an oblique star, in his own right. Tim has since expanded to coach in a plethora of other industries, including; -advertising -media -tech In 2016, Tim created BREATHE Labs. It was born from a connected vision of a future workplace. One which truly represents and utilises diversity. But diversity doesn't only mean people. For tim this included Artificial Intelligence and globally located teams too. All able to fluidly collaborate. BREATHE allows companies to install inclusivity immediately. This extends the full potential of all individuals in an organisation. Tim's work in gender empowerment and diversity has also led him to become an FRSA. (A Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Manufacture and Commerce.) In 2017, Tim founded Token Dad. He recognised that many professional leaders were Dads. Tim then set out to make them more empathic and inclusive leaders. What followed were events built on conscious and intelligent play with their kids. As well as discussions groups about the future of the workplace and challenges all parents are facing. Some of Tim's specialisms include; • Coaching: Individuals • Coaching: Teams • Coaching: Executives • Training: BREATHE Facilitation Training • Training/Workshop: The Future Workplace (Inspiration presentation and exercises) • Workshop: BREATHE Immersion • Workshop: Unconscious Bias - the business and the personal • Workshop: Identity • Workshop: Active Listening • Workshop: Effective Questioning • Workshop: Productivity • Workshop: Team Harmony Consultation: Organisational Ethnographic Mapping Sadly, my conversation with Tim was cut a little short. But he was good to enough to answer the rest of my questions in written format.  What is the daily professional challenge that has the biggest ROI for you when overcome? Making contact with new people I haven't met causes me genuine physical pain, but is absolutely necessary. I try to attend events and workshops etc to minimise the amount of 'cold' communications I have to endure sending out into the 'hi, how are you' world… What do you wish you knew in your first year of coaching? I wish I'd known that to be a good coach, you really need to populate your life with your clients obstacles as a fundamental focus and drive. My clients were dealing with sexism in the workplace and were struggling to be heard and make impact, which is why I have found myself innovating in these areas - but that wasn't intended at the start. What is bad advice you hear being given, to people trying to get into your field? What advice should people ignore? I've spoken to lots of people who 'fancy' becoming a coach. They're conceived of it as this tidy little career where you get to be an expert without needing an organisation of people around you. The reality is that you have to open yourself to a very big world of emotion and challenge and your skill as a coach must be evolved into a martial art. It takes time, reflection and dedication to the form. Coaching is not about you - it's about everyone else. A good coach should be primarily seeking reward by hearing about their clients successes in a benevolent way. What is the book (or books) you've given most as a gift, and why? The Culture Map by Erin Meyer is a frankly wonderful insight into the different ways cultures do business - and the misunderstandings that happen as a consequence. It's insightful, funny and allows the reader the opportunity to assess their own identity - so it's useful too. It's only a couple of years old, but I rate it as a 'must' read for any aspiring executive who will undoubtedly need to work effectively across cultures and nationalities. What was the last thing you saw, heard or experienced that made you think or say "jesus… that's clever"? My best buddy lives in Brussels and his kids attend a 'Decroly' school. Ovide Decroly created a methodology for teaching that focuses on the conditions of each individual student to develop a passion for learning on their own terms. I visited the schools summer fete last month and was astounded by the complexity of the education on offer and the community that surrounded the school through parents and teachers protecting 'the purpose'. I'm on the PTA of my own kids school in the UK which is very successful - but the Decroly school glowed with brilliance, love and compassion. What's your one paragraph idea for saving the world? Indexing every item manufactured in the world for its purpose and denying a license to produce to anything deemed to have more environmental damage than emotional/educational/health impact on the user. This should include food and drink too. Tim Hole is an internationally affiliated Coach (ICF) and Facilitator (IAF).

Jason Ferruggia is a strength and conditioning coach, based in California, USA. He's also the founder of the expansive online training platform; The Renegade Strength Club But it doesn't stop there… Jason's other hats include; Author Stand-up and improv-comedian Performance coach and consultant Life strategist and transformation specialist Host of a podcast with over 2 million downloads Jason has been featured on and in; Men's Fitness Men's Health Muscle and Fitness Details ESPN Fast Company CBS Maximum Fitness "Group training" is a big thing these days. That's something Jay was doing back in the 90's. What about underground gyms where people are dragging sleds, flipping tyres and using gymnastics rings? Jay's been doing that for 20-years, way before it was in a TV commercial. Onnit.com, where Jay is an author, has the following description; Jason Ferruggia is a highly sought after, world renowned strength & conditioning specialist and muscle building expert. Over the last 17 years he has personally trained more than 700 athletes from over 90 different NCAA, NFL, NHL and MLB organizations. He has also worked extensively with firefighters, police officers, military personnel, Hollywood stars and entertainers. Most importantly, Jason has helped over 53,000 skinny guys and hard gainers in 126 different countries build muscle and gain weight faster than they ever thought possible. Jay is quite open about the struggles in his past; Depression Crippling anxiety and insecurity Social awkwardness and painful shyness Addiction and financial struggles Jay overcame those obstacles, reversing one bad habit at a time. His journey included; Hiring coaches and mentors Attending countless conferences and workshops Reading and listening to over 500 books All of Jay's learning goes into the content he produces on a daily basis. On his own website, the first sentence of Jay's 'about' page reads; I'm Jay Ferruggia, and I've been helping guys become the strongest version of themselves since 1994. Which is a very accurate, very pithy summation of the impact Jay has had on hundreds of thousands of people. I personally, have gained so much from listening to and reading Jay's content over the years. I hope you will too.  So, please enjoy, my interview with Jay Ferruggia.

Mills is the co-founder of usTwo, which creates digital products, services and businesses. The usTwo website states: “We team up with companies to make meaningful digital experiences. Or… simpler still… We make things to change things.” usTwo has been thrust into the spotlight with their exceptionally popular mobile game ‘Monument Valley’. Which achieved huge critical acclaim and ended up featuring in the popular Netflix show ‘House Of Cards’. Mills now runs ‘The Adventure Floor’, which is an exciting feature of usTwo. The Adventure Floor is an incubator that invites small businesses to work in usTwo’s studios and utilise the skills and expertise of others doing the same. As well as receiving potential investment from usTwo. usTwo also has a client facing side to their business. Which creates digital products and services for clients including Ford, Android Wear, Harvey Nichols, Nike, Adidas, BMW, Sony, Sky and Google to name just a few. In fact, they made the seductively slick Harvey Nichols Rewards App, which was the subject of the “Shoplifters” campaign by adam&eveDDB. Mills has recently undertaken the challenge to run an ultra-marathon by his 40th Birthday. (That’s 62-miles. Ouch.)

Mark Denton is a man of many hats. An art-director, creative-director, executive creative-director, agency founder, director, designer, award-show president and committee-member, producer of plays, Mexican wrestling matches and all manner of visual eccentricity and absurdity. Mark has been recognised at all the major award shows on multiple occasions. He’s also sat on the board of several of them and ultimately, is a household name within the advertising industry. Suffice to say if it exists within the creative industry, Mark’s probably done it. And if it doesn’t exist, Mark’s probably doing it. Mark spoke to me about how he makes so many of his bonkers ideas happen.

Dave Buonaguidi is the founder of UNLtd-inc, a company that offers creative business solutions and investment to start-up businesses. Dave has been working in the advertising industry for over thirty years. Dave founded St. Luke’s, the world’s first advertising agency co-operative. He’s also responsible for founding 4creative, Channel 4’s in-house, powerhouse creative communications agency. He’s since founded the advertising agency Karmarama and been Chief Creative Officer of Crispin Porter & Bogusky London. In 2003 he created the iconic ‘MAKE TEA NOT WAR’ poster for the anti-war march. The poster now hangs in the Trento Museum of Modern Art and also forms part of the collection at the V&A. Dave recently took a year-long hiatus from adland, in which he enrolled himself on a screen printing course, giving him a new skill to bring to life all of the ideas that constantly bounce around his head. The result is that Dave is now an artist, whose work is available to purchase at places like Jealous Gallery and Print Club London. Dave is a household name and a powerful voice in the creative industry, pushing positive agendas such as diversity and education. He’s a prolific maker and creator and has found several ways to earn a living doing so.

George Prest is the Founder of Blood and a partner at You and Mr. Jones. Previously, George has served as Executive Creative Director of R/GA and as Executive Creative director of advertising agency Lowe. George has served on the board of trustees of D&AD, the world’s foremost creative charity and regularly speaks at marketing events around the world. I’ve been looking forward to speaking to George, as I know he has some very challenging views about the creative industry.

Anthony Arvanitakis is the creator of Bodyweight Muscle, an online business that focuses on: creating a fit lifestyle by narrowing down your workouts to the most essential bodyweight-exercises Creating both an impressive, strong and lean physique and also a functional body training anywhere, any time spending more time outdoors. Anthony spoke to me about turning that passion into a profession.

*All music by Anno Domini Beats* Nadja and Nicholas are one of the most-awarded creative teams in the world. They are the team behind #Bloodnormal. This is a campaign for Bodyform/Libresse that aims to normalise periods. It is the first campaign in ad history to show period blood. The likes of the BBC, Newsweek and The Guardian hailed it as groundbreaking. In 2018, they creative directed 'The Trash Isles' campaign. This was a partnership with LadBible and Plastic Oceans Project. It declared the world's largest trash patch in the ocean an official country. This happened via the United Nations. Earlier this year they completed a podcast series for the London Metropolitan Police. The series told 'heart-stopping' true stories of foiled UK terror attacks. It reached number two in the iTunes podcast charts. Their work put the Guinness brand back into positive growth for the first time in years. They achieve this in a declining beer market. In 2014, their 'Sapeurs' work was one of the most awarded film campaigns in the world. They produced the multi-award winning Zimbabwean Newspaper 'Trillion Dollar' campaign. Merits included the oft-coveted, rarely-received D&AD Black Pencil. The posters were also acquired for the British Museum's permanent collection. The team's 2018 industry awards haul includes; -1 x Titanium at Cannes Lions. -1 x Glass Grand Prix at Cannes Lions. -1 x Grand Prix at Art Directors Club Not to mention 2 x Cannes Lions Grand Prix and 2 x Cannes Lions golds as Creative Directors to teams beneath them. Nadja has been named as; -The One Club's 10 'Next Creative Leaders' -Campaign's 'Women of Tomorrow' -one of Management Today's '35 under 35'

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