Liam Payne has been subjected to the intensity of the spotlight from the age of just 14, when he found global fame following his entry in to the X Factor’s seventh series, and the dizzying rise once he exited as one fifth of the group One Direction. The band was cemented as a phenomenon overnight-their success and the surrounding hype was likened to that of a modern-day Beatles at time of their debut single release. They became the first UK group ever to have their debut album reach number one in the United States. There probably are not many who are better placed than Liam to discuss instantaneous fame and the churning of its 'machine’. Liam has gone from a teen star to a fully-fledged solo artist who has taken ownership of his career in terms of its creative direction and elevated further with a strong signature pop/rnb style and a string of hits both here and abroad. He’s had his music streamed over a total of 2bn times. However, there is much more to him than the image of simply being a teen heartthrob or sugary popstar. The X Factor may be notorious for churning out ‘instant’ popstars but Liam clearly has a deep appreciation for music and the process behind its production. He studied as a musician prior to the start of his mainstream career and has grown as a gifted songwriter, with 40+ writing and co-writing credits to his name. He has previously said that he is accustomed to writing and recording entire albums in six weeks or less, and his evolution on personal and creative levels has no doubt been accelerated by his exposure. This conversation today isn’t your normal “reunion chat” we speak about so much in a lot of depth, everything from his relationships, his darkest times and everything in-between. Its open, its honest and its inspiring. During our conversation Liam mentioned it was one of the best chats he’d had in a while and I felt that, I hope you do too. Follow Liam: Twitter - https://twitter.com/LiamPayne Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/liampayne Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This podcast is a real treat and a podcast that you cannot miss! Johann has come back and what honour it was to record. He has to be my all-time favourite guest ever! His book ‘Lost Connections’ had such a positive, transformative impact on my life and truly changed my perspective on how I viewed depression & addiction. I am sure that the information shared today will be valuable and important topics that our society needs to hear. Johann is a very successful and inspirational British-Swiss writer and journalist with 2 books hitting The New York Times best sellers list. Born in Glasgow Scotland then relocated to London when he was young, Johann experienced some childhood trauma having suffered from being physically abused as child and his mother suffering from an illness. Starting his career as a journalist he won many awards such as Journalist of the year and was named by the Daily Telegraph as one of the most influential people. Johann then went to onto being an author writing the worldwide known “Lost Connections” and “Chasing the Scream”. He also released a TED talk back in 2015 “Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong” which has now over 17 million views. This honest conversation lasted around 2 hours and we even went on into the evening off air. I genuinely think that this might be the most important podcast you choose to ignore. I’m not giving much away, but you will thank me after. Follow Johann: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johann.hari Twitter - https://twitter.com/johannhari101 Follow me: https://beacons.ai/diaryofaceo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices