What happens when an extraordinary life of adventure is actually built as an escape from pain?

In this deeply honest and vulnerable conversation, Alex Ikonn sits down with Henry Cookson, founder of Cookson Adventures, Antarctic explorer, and world-class expedition leader, to explore the hidden reality behind success, trauma, depression, and the search for meaning.

From crossing Antarctica to building a luxury adventure company for some of the world’s most influential people, Henry shares the untold truth behind his journey, including years of severe depression, loss, burnout, identity collapse, and the long road back to presence, purpose, and self-acceptance.

This episode is not about hustle or achievement. It’s about what happens when running stops working, when nature becomes medicine, and when presence becomes the most valuable currency of all.

In this episode, we explore

• How adventure can become a trauma response rather than an escape

• Growing up with responsibility, loss, and emotional suppression

• Why high performers often struggle with depression

• The cost of burying emotions and wearing a reinforced emotional shell

• Losing a parent and hitting true rock bottom

• How EMDR and somatic therapy unlocked long-buried trauma

• Why success, wealth, and travel don’t guarantee fulfillment

• Redefining luxury as depth, meaning, and contribution

• Why presence is the most transformative practice we have

• The illusion of connection in a hyper-connected world

• How nature restores perspective, humility, and grounding

• Why slowing down may be the bravest move of all

• Gratitude, curiosity, and learning to live from alignment

This episode is a powerful reminder that healing isn’t linear, success isn’t what it looks like, and presence changes everything.

Episode chapters

00:00 Introduction and meeting Henry Cookson

02:00 Adventure as identity and escape

04:00 Trauma, responsibility, and early life pressure

07:00 Depression in your 20s and hiding the pain

10:00 Walking away from conformity and expected paths

13:00 Expeditions and the illusion of clarity

16:30 Building a company while battling depression

20:00 Losing his mother and hitting rock bottom

24:00 Entering treatment and breaking emotional armor

28:00 EMDR, somatic therapy, and emotional release

32:00 Rebirth, vulnerability, and learning to feel again

36:00 Why success doesn’t cure depression

40:00 Wealth, insecurity, and the illusion of having enough

44:00 Redefining luxury through meaning and experience

48:00 Conservation, contribution, and conscious travel

52:00 Presence versus distraction in modern life

56:00 The power of slowing down

01:00:00 Nature as medicine and grounding force

01:04:00 The most transformative places on Earth

01:10:00 Gratitude, curiosity, and living with awareness

01:14:00 Closing reflections

Follow the podcast

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexIkonnPodcast

Explore Intelligent Change: https://link.intelligentchange.com/tools68894b

What if the fastest way to change your life isn’t hustle, optimisation, or achievement, but changing what you let into your mind?

In this deep and expansive conversation, Alex Ikonn sits down with Dan Murray, entrepreneur, founder of Heights, and former podcast host, to explore how gratitude, neuroplasticity, intentional living, and conscious inputs can radically transform mental health, relationships, and business.

Dan opens up about grief, depression, insomnia, spiritual awakening without religion, and the moment he walked away from a successful podcast business to realign with his values. Together, they unpack why most people feel stuck, how our habits shape our brains, and how small daily rituals can quietly redesign an entire life.

This episode blends science, spirituality, entrepreneurship, and lived experience into one powerful reminder: you are not stuck with the brain or life you have today.

We explore:

• Why grief and loss can become a gateway to spiritual awakening

• How gratitude rewires the brain through neuroplasticity

• The danger of unconscious inputs and “comfort loops”

• Why walking away from success can be the highest integrity move

• How to design your life using a single word for the year

• The difference between mental health and brain health

• Why insomnia was the catalyst for building Heights

• How nutrition directly impacts mood, focus, and sleep

• The science behind daily rituals and habit formation

• Why simplicity beats perfection in health and business

• How to consciously edit your environment, media, and inputs

• What it really means to build a meaningful, values-aligned life

This conversation is honest, grounded, and deeply practical—an invitation to take responsibility for your inner world and design a life that actually feels good to live.

⏱️ CHAPTERS

00:00 – 🎙️ Welcome and the power of intentional conversations

02:45 – 🌱 Who inspires Dan and why integrity matters more than success

06:30 – 🛑 Walking away from a successful podcast business

09:10 – 🌲 Unplugging, solitude, and clarity without distraction

12:40 – 🧭 Choosing a word for the year to design your life

16:10 – 💰 Money, responsibility, and growing into adulthood

18:40 – 🙏 Gratitude as a daily practice that changed everything

21:50 – 🧠 Mental health, grief, and the loss of Dan’s father

26:40 – 🌿 Spirituality without religion and reconnecting to nature

30:10 – 🌀 Psychedelics, belief, and finding meaning beyond labels

33:40 – 🚶 Why walking outside is one of the most powerful habits

37:20 – 🧠 Neuroplasticity and reshaping the brain through inputs

41:30 – 📱 Editing social media, news, and mental consumption

45:20 – 🌙 Insomnia as a biological wake-up call

49:30 – 🧪 Nutrition, brain health, and the birth of Heights

54:10 – 🧠 Science, credibility, and earning the right to build

58:40 – 🎨 Design, simplicity, and building habits that stick

01:05:20 – 🔁 Why consistency beats intensity every time

01:10:30 – 💬 Gratitude rituals with children and family

01:14:50 – 🌄 Closing reflections on meaning, simplicity, and alignment

👉 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexIkonnPodcast

👉 Follow Alex: https://www.instagram.com/alexikonn/

👉 Follow Dan: https://www.instagram.com/danmurrays/

👉 Explore Heights: https://www.yourheights.com

👉 Brought to you by: https://link.intelligentchange.com/tools68894b

What if everything you’ve been taught about sex, desire, and your body is rooted in shame?In this deeply honest and transformational conversation, Alex Ikonn sits down with author and sex educator Emma to unpack the truth behind female pleasure, sexual shame, eating disorders, dating culture, and the inner healing required to finally feel whole.Emma shares her raw personal journey, from feeling “broken” around sex to discovering somatic healing, reconnecting with pleasure, and rebuilding her relationship with her own body. This episode dismantles the myths women carry about sex, worthiness, and intimacy, offering a grounded and compassionate path to healing.We explore:• Why so many women secretly feel “broken” around sex• The emotional and physical disconnect that blocks intimacy• How eating disorders and body image impact desire• What sex therapy really involves• The role of shame and suppression in female pleasure• How to reconnect to your body after years of self-judgment• “Seducing yourself” — the most healing practice• Why dating culture leaves people feeling empty• The courage required to love again after trauma• Boundaries, self-respect, and sexual communication• The myths we inherit about virginity, romance, and love• Why parenting and sexual education must change• How eroticism is connected to life force and inner alivenessThis is one of the most important conversations we’ve had — a brave, compassionate look at sexuality, healing, and self-acceptance.⏱️ CHAPTERS00:00 – 🎙️ The sex conversation no one is having03:15 – 📘 Why Emma wrote this book05:20 – 💔 Feeling “broken” around sex08:40 – 🔥 The breakthrough moment in sex therapy12:15 – 🧠 Eating disorders & disconnect from the body18:44 – 😣 Why women feel alone in sexual shame23:10 – ✨ Learning to reconnect with pleasure28:30 – 💋 Seducing yourself & discovering desire34:55 – 🎭 Dating culture & doing things “for the plot”40:42 – ❤️ Finding love after deep healing46:58 – 🧩 Busting romance myths53:21 – 🚧 Boundaries, vulnerability & self-respect58:55 – 💞 Love as responsibility, not fantasy01:04:40 – 🧨 Debunking sex myths & the virginity narrative01:12:10 – 👶 Raising daughters with sexual wisdom01:16:50 – 🔥 Eroticism as life force01:21:20 – 🙏 Closing reflections + gratitude👉 Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/@AlexIkonnPodcast👉 Follow Alex: https://www.instagram.com/alexikonn/👉 Follow Emma: https://www.instagram.com/emmalouiseboynton/👉 Brought to you by: https://link.intelligentchange.com/tools68894b