Career Stuck? This British Empire Medal Winner Says Your 'Flaws' Are Your Fortune

From Scottish council estates to advising Commonwealth heads of state—John Loughton's unconventional path proves that being "too much" might be exactly enough

If you are reading this because you feel stuck. Maybe you're doom-scrolling through LinkedIn, watching AI announcements with growing dread, wondering if your carefully built expertise still matters.

John Loughton, gets it. Except his version of "stuck" involved poverty, drugs ravaging his community, and being statistically more likely to end up in prison than university.

Today? He's a British Empire Medal recipient, Big Brother winner, and CEO of National Youth Charity, Young Scot having worked with over 100,000 people across 50 countries. His secret weapon isn't what you'd expect.

It's being unapologetically himself—flaws, loudness, proud ginger (red head).

When Being "Too Much" Is Actually Your Brand

Those things you're told to "tone down" might be exactly what makes you valuable.

"All my life I've been told I'm too big and too much, too loud, I'm extra, I don't know when to shut up, I don't know when to rein it in," Loughton reflects. "I hated being that working-class poor kid with no money, awkward jokes, being that chubby pale ginger kid from Scotland," he admits. "Hello, I've just saved myself $45,000 in marketing expenditure for the year."

The Two Words That Changed Everything

John talks about "the two most powerful words in the leadership language."

The first? Why.

"Why is society like this? Why am I going through this? Why do we have a system or set of systems built against me?"

But here's where most people stop. They ask "why" and then... nothing. They get paralysed by the question.

The second word? Aye. (That's Scottish for "yes.")

"It's not enough to know that you care in your mind about something," Loughton insists. "You then need to say yes, which means taking action, do something about it."

He recalls meeting well-meaning professionals at conferences: "They'll say they've got such a powerful story... and I wish if I had such a sad background or challenging story I'd do something like you."

One person even told him: "I wish I was poor enough to be inspirational."

His response? "We all have problems, we all have struggles, we all have a journey, we all have a contribution to make. Some people just turn that volume up quicker than others."

Confidence Isn't What You Think It Is

If you're waiting to feel confident before you act, don’t.

Here's John’s game-changing perspective: "Confidence is the absence of doubt, fear or second-guessing? It's absolute nonsense in my experience. Confidence and confident people are riddled with doubt, are riddled with reflection, are riddled with second-guessing, are riddled with failure, are riddled with fear. You do it anyway."

"My confidence is really strong but I second guess myself all the time. I think I'm not good enough all the time. It's just about adjusting the volume of how much you listen to that because confidence can be silent and insecurity can be very very loud."

For mid-career professionals facing AI anxiety and career uncertainty, this is critical. You don't need to feel ready. You need to act anyway.

The Unconventional Path Nobody Talks About

John's journey didn't follow the script. No prestigious university. No corporate ladder. Just a series of "yes" moments that compounded into something remarkable.

At 18-19, he ended up in the Big Brother house. Not exactly a traditional career move for someone who'd been chairing the Scottish Youth Parliament.

"I spent my life thinking I'm going to try and enter the House of Commons and end up in a Big Brother house," he laughs. But here's the insight: "If you try and have an over-scripted rigid impression of what your narrative of life is going to be, you are going to fail."

One of his friends, a successful entrepreneur, scripts entire conversations in his head before social interactions. John’s advice is: "stop trying to be a great scriptwriter and just think how do you become a fantastic actor in improv. How do you react and respond rather than script and predict, because that will fail."

You may be over-planning your career pivot, waiting for the perfect moment, scripting how it should go. Meanwhile, life is happening, opportunities have passed, you get stuck overthinking.

What Labels Are Costing You

In the UK, young people not in education, employment, or training were labeled "NEETs"—literally defined by what they weren't doing.

"How bloody dare you. We are raising a generation of 'nots.' Government policy was literally to label me as all the things I wasn't doing or didn't have," Loughton says.

Here's the business lesson: "Any entrepreneur, social entrepreneur, business person, activist or change maker—they know you don't create change campaigns and victories, bottom line success, by measuring everything you're not doing, by measuring all the stuff you don't have."

If you're stuck in a career lull, ask yourself: Are you defining yourself by what you're not? Not technical enough, not strategic enough, not AI-savvy enough?

"If I measured myself in everything I don't have, I'd live my life as a failure."

The AI Question You Should Be Asking

AI is changing everything, John's approach to disruption offers a different lens.

When COVID hit, he could have played it safe. Instead, he scaled up. "Without hesitation, I suppose I realised... my instinct is to look after other people, to respond, to problem-solve, to rise in a crisis."

Scran Academy produced 200,000 meals for vulnerable communities during lockdown. Not because it was the business plan. Because the moment demanded a response.

The AI revolution isn't that different. You can script and predict and worry, or you can respond to what's actually happening in front of you, you can find the opportunity.

"Sometimes you see these YouTube clips—bridges are collapsing or gunmen pull out guns—you watch these impromptu heroes rise to the occasion and you think, would I fight or flight or freeze? How would I respond to that moment?"

You may not have your moment starring down a barrel but maybe you can create your moment to be someone that surprises yourself.

The People Problem

Stuck professionals often isolate. They stop networking, stop engaging, stop being visible because they don't feel "ready" or "successful enough."

John suggests: "Surround yourself with the kind of people that you would like to be like. If you go to that green little bogey man of envy or jealousy... that's a beautiful opportunity."

Instead of avoiding people who trigger your insecurity, lean in: "How do I be inspired and not downtrodden by that and push forward?"

The Real Definition of Success

After speaking to the Queen and Commonwealth heads of government, flying home, John had an epiphany:

"It doesn't matter where you're from, it's where you want to be. It's not the ability to be intelligent or rich or connected or beautiful or popular or powerful—it's the ability to believe you can do it."

He started writing feverishly: "I've just spoken to the queen and heads of government from around the world... as this goofy ginger kid who dropped out of university, struggled, has all this self-doubt. If I can do it, so can all of us. Why not?"

That moment created Dare2Lead. Not from a business plan. From belief.

Your Three-Move Game Plan

If you're feeling stuck, anxious about AI, or just tired of the same script, here's John's playbook:

1. Find Your Why, Then Say Aye

"Find your why—what's your purpose, what's your drive—coalesce in something that is greater than you, that is bigger than the I, that is more than the me."

Then commit. Say yes. Take action. Even small steps.

"Your yes can be a small step. It could be supporting someone else. The power of followership—get behind someone you admire initially."

2. Own Your "Too Much"

"The thing is, all the things you usually don't like about yourself as an awkward teenager, that's the stuff that becomes the gold. That's what we're going to call in 15 years your personal brand."

Stop apologising for being extra, loud, unconventional, or different. That's not the bug—it's the feature.

3. Trust Your Vehicle

"I trust that this big ginger ball of sparkly loudness will get me towards that. That's really important. I think sometimes people prune and prep their life and their proposition so beautifully that it's not actually confidence, it's deep insecurity, because you need the armor perfectly polished every moment."

The Bottom Line

John’s focus isn't about awards or recognition. It’s the things that last longer.

"Make people smile a bit bigger. Love the idea that you can have a disarming but motivating presence. That your failures can become the kite marks and the blueprints for other people's successes."

"You have to choose to be good to the world... Don't just be better than the person next to you—make the person next to you better."

Watch the full interview with John and Bec McIntosh: The Campaigner's Career Compass: Finding your way to a purpose-led career on the Career Jam YouTube channel