Lekan Alli Balogun on Transformation Truth and Turning Pain into Power

There are people who talk about change and there are those who live it. Lekan Alli Balogun belongs firmly in the latter. From his early years in Forest Gate to a career that has taken him through music, technology, leadership and now authorship, his story is one of courage and continual evolution. His new book Trauma to Triumph is not just a personal memoir, it is a guide to rebuilding the self, placing mindset and purpose at the centre of transformation.

In conversation with Hinton Magazine, Lekan speaks with depth and clarity about the process of rewriting old stories and reclaiming identity. What follows is a discussion about growth, mindset and the decision to turn struggle into strength.

Your journey spans music, technology, leadership, and now authorship. At what moment did you realise that personal transformation was not just something you experienced but something you had to share with others? 

I was on a flight to New York in 2021, preparing to interview top professionals for my YouTube series 6 Figure Mindset, when a thought hit me: when are you going to share your own story? At first, I dismissed it. I told myself I was still on the journey, that my vision hadn’t fully materialised yet. 

But then memories came flooding back, growing up in Forest Gate, sharing a house with eight people, buying my first home, and the many challenges in between. I also remembered how, since university, I’d been coaching people through their own changes without even realising it was called transformation. 

By the time I started writing those first pages on the plane, the emotions of my victories and setbacks came rushing back. I knew then that if just one person could see themselves in my journey and take courage from it, I had a duty to share. 

Over the years, I’ve told many people the same thing: transformation isn’t just possible, it’s within reach, and I’ve seen them produce extraordinary results in their own lives. That’s why I couldn’t keep my story to myself. 

I  believe more people today feel lost than ever before, caught in narratives that don’t serve them. My journey offers an alternative, a reminder that your past doesn’t define your future. If you can reframe your story and believe in your vision, you can change everything.

The book places mindset at the heart of overcoming trauma and achieving success. How did your own mindset shifts shape the man you are today, and which change felt the most profound?

 For me, mindset was never just a motivational phrase, it became the difference between staying stuck in my old patterns and moving forward into the life I wanted. Growing up in Forest Gate, I didn’t see examples of success that looked like me. 

What I did see was struggle, and it would have been easy to adopt a mindset of limitation. But I made a choice early on to believe that my circumstances would not define my destiny. I moved from seeing life as something happening to me, to something I could actively shape. 

This began when I was a teenager learning to play the guitar. The most profound change came when I reframed failure. In the past, I would see setbacks as proof that I wasn’t good enough, that maybe the vision I carried was unrealistic. 

But over time, through experience as a musician and in tech, I started to frame failure as feedback.  Every misstep held lessons that sharpened me. That change in thinking gave me resilience, instead of being crushed by challenges, I started to use them as building blocks. 

Another powerful shift was around identity. I used to think success was about proving myself to others, to show I could “make it” despite where I came from. But the deeper shift was realising I didn’t need external validation. 

True transformation began when I started living for my own vision rather than someone else’s expectations. That gave me freedom, and with that freedom came courage, the courage to write my story, the courage to step into boardrooms with confidence, and the courage to share my journey openly. 

So much of who I am today is down to those mindset shifts. They didn’t erase the trauma, but they gave me tools to rise above it. And that’s why I place mindset at the heart of Trauma to Triumph: because if you can win the battle in your mind, you’ve already won half the war in life.

You introduce Transforming Your Psyche as a structured approach. What does this mean in practice for someone who feels overwhelmed and does not know where to start?

The first step is awareness. You have to pause and really notice your patterns of thought, what you tell yourself daily. Most people live on autopilot, not realising how much their inner voice shapes their outer reality. Once you can hear those voices clearly, you have the power to challenge them. 

The second step is vision. When life feels overwhelming, it’s often because we’re reacting to everything and not moving towards something specific. Creating a clear picture of where you want to go, even if it feels unobtainable, will give you focus and generate reliance for tough times. 

It’s like switching on a light in a dark room. Finally, it’s about the environment. You can’t transform your psyche while standing in the same place that feeds your old narrative. That might require shifting your daily habits, the people you spend time with, or even the spaces you live and work. 

Small changes like these will make a huge difference when feeling overwhelmed. So in practice, if you feel overwhelmed, you don’t need to fix everything at once. Start with shifting a common negative thought process or spending time in a new positive environment. 

Build new routines step by step, and over time you’ll notice your mindset shifting, and with it, your life.

Many readers carry silent burdens from generational trauma or self-doubt. How did you navigate those hidden barriers in your own life, and what guidance do you give to someone facing the same?

For me, those barriers showed up as limiting beliefs, voices that told me what I couldn’t do because of where I came from. Growing up in East London, surrounded by scarcity and challenges, it would have been easy to accept those voices as truth. 

The turning point came when I realised those thoughts weren’t mine, they were inherited. Some came from family, some from community, some from society. Once I separated my true voice from those transferred narratives, I started to break free. It didn’t happen overnight. 

It took conscious work: learning how to play guitar, surrounding myself with people doing better than me, and constantly reminding myself of the vision I was building for my life. For anyone carrying silent burdens, start by naming them. 

Give your doubts and inherited fears language, because what you name, you can confront. Then, create a new vision that belongs to you, not to your past. Anchor yourself in small, daily wins that reinforce your new story. 

And remember, self-doubt never fully disappears, but with the right mindset, it will live in the boot of your car, not in the driver's seat. You can never eliminate the memory of trauma but being intentional about your thought life will minimise its influence. 

our past will explain who you were, but it should not define where you are going. Once you accept that truth, the power shifts back into your hands.

You feature insights from high achievers across different fields. What surprised you most in those conversations, and how did their stories reshape your own perspective?

What surprised me most in these conversations was how often greatness comes from the most ordinary beginnings. One story that really stayed with me was Sebastian Wilson’s. He failed his GCSEs, spent years working in factories, and could easily have believed that was his future. 

But instead, he made the decision to retake his exams after seeing what was possible through his sister’s friends at university. Fast forward, and today he owns a multimillion-pound property portfolio. What struck me was not just the turnaround, but the trigger, it wasn’t money, it wasn’t luck, it was vision. 

He saw an example of what was possible, and that shifted his mindset. That reminded me that transformation often starts with a spark, one glimpse of a different life that makes you say, why not me? Hearing stories like Sebastian’s reshaped my perspective. 

It reinforced my belief that no one is ever too far gone, and no failure is final unless you accept it as such. It showed me again that mindset is the foundation of transformation. That lesson flows throughout my book: you don’t have to have a perfect start; use it as leverage to drive you towards your goals.  

Trauma to Triumph combines lived experience with scientific insight. How did you strike the balance between sharing your personal journey and grounding it in research and practical strategies?

When I was writing Trauma to Triumph, I wanted it to be more than a story of survival, I wanted it to be a manual for transformation. I’ve read countless self-help books over the years, and many tend to lean to one extreme: either very personal and emotional, or deeply scientific and detached. 

I knew there had to be a balance between the two. Real transformation happens when the heart and head meet. My goal was for readers to be able to apply the learnings immediately. Every chapter was written with the question, “What can someone do with this today?” in mind. 

I wanted people to finish a page and have something practical, an exercise, a reflection, or a mindset shift, they could use straight away to begin changing their situation. Sharing my personal experiences allowed readers to see that transformation is possible, but grounding those stories in psychology and neuroscience showed that it’s also normal. Science helps people understand that what they’re feeling, fear, doubt, procrastination, isn’t weakness; it’s human. And the individuals we admire as “high achievers” aren’t superhuman. They’ve simply learned how to overcome the same emotional and psychological barriers we all face. 

That’s the balance I wanted to strike: storytelling that connects emotionally, backed by insight that builds belief. My story gives the book its soul, but the science gives it structure. Together, they remind readers that transformation isn’t mysterious, it’s methodical, and it starts with the mind.

You have built platforms, led communities, and now written a book that aims to empower others. What do you hope your legacy will be for those who take your words to heart?

 When I think about legacy, it’s never about recognition, it’s about impact. For me, legacy means leaving behind tools, stories, and spaces that help people realise their own potential. Everything I’ve created, whether through digital platforms, community projects, or now Trauma to Triumph, has had one purpose: to show that transformation is possible, no matter your starting point. I want my legacy to be about ownership, helping people take control of their mindset and their story. Too many people live below their potential because they’ve accepted limitations placed on them by others. 

If my work can help someone shift from survival to self-belief, then I’ve done my job. Through my writing, I hope readers see that their past was preparation, not punishment. Every challenge, every failure, is shaping the person they’re becoming. 

If my words remind even one person of their strength and help them take that first step towards change, then that’s the legacy I want to leave behind, transformation through truth.

If a reader takes just one lesson from Trauma to Triumph and applies it to their life today, what would you want that to be and why?

If there’s one lesson I’d want every reader to take from Trauma to Triumph, it’s this: your circumstances don’t define you, your mindset does. So many of us carry pain, disappointment, or self-doubt from the past, and it’s easy to believe those experiences set the limits of what’s possible. 

But transformation begins the moment you decide to see yourself differently. Once you shift your mindset, you shift your direction. That’s why I always say transformation isn’t about perfection it’s about progression. You don’t need to have it all figured out to start. 

Take one small, intentional step toward the life you want, and the next one will reveal itself. I wrote Trauma to Triumph to remind people that power doesn’t come from avoiding struggle, but from understanding it. The same experiences that broke you can also build you,if you choose to learn from them. 

That mindset changed my life, and it’s the lesson I hope changes someone else’s. 

Lekan Alli Balogun does not sell the idea of perfection or instant success. What he offers is far more real, a practical path to understanding your story and taking control of it. Trauma to Triumph reminds readers that transformation is not about leaving your past behind but learning from it, using every challenge as a foundation for strength.

As the conversation draws to a close, one message remains clear. Power begins with perspective. Change starts when you decide that your past was preparation, not punishment.