ONKEN radio: Recent Episodes
Nick Onken
In ONKEN radio (Formerly NION radio) Nick Onken explores the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur, bringing you inspiring guests to help take your creativity, business, and life to the next level.
In this episode, I delve into my transformative experience with Noya Rao during my second dieta in Peru. Many people are familiar with the profound effects of their first plant medicine journey, but I can confidently say that the second dieta takes the experience to an entirely new level.
I begin by introducing Noya Rao, a rare plant medicine derived from a tree that is nearly extinct, with only a few remaining in the world. This tree, known for its phosphorescent leaves, is protected by the Shipibo tribe, who have safeguarded its legacy. The medicine is extracted from the tree's sap and is traditionally consumed alongside ayahuasca during a dieta, which is a focused period of working with a specific plant.
Reflecting on my first experience with Noya Rao, I describe it as a powerful dismantling of my ego and identity, likening it to an explosion that reshapes one's understanding of self. This year, I returned to deepen my journey, eager to explore the next level of expansion in my life, business, and relationships.
Throughout the episode, I share the nuances of my ceremonies, highlighting how each one differed from the last. The first ceremony mirrored my previous experience, stripping away layers of identity and ego. However, the second ceremony took an unexpected turn, leading me into a darker space that required me to confront deeper issues. This was a necessary part of the journey, allowing me to prepare for the subsequent ceremonies.
As I progressed through the dieta, I learned to navigate the medicine more effectively, utilizing sound and vocal toning to move energy within my body. This year, I felt a greater sense of agency and connection with the medicine, allowing me to actively participate in my healing process.
The shamans played a crucial role in this experience, singing personalized ikoros that enhanced the medicine's effects. I emphasize that the insights gained from Noya Rao transcend language, operating on a frequency level that is difficult to articulate. The medicine works beyond the mind, installing new frequencies within my system that I can feel integrating into my being.
In the final ceremonies, I focused on integrating the experiences and frequencies I had encountered. I describe the post-dieta phase, which requires strict dietary restrictions to honor the medicine's growth within me. This period is essential for allowing the medicine to fully integrate and expand in my life.
Ultimately, I reflect on how my relationship with Noya Rao has matured, evolving from a purely healing experience to one of activation and living from an elevated frequency. I invite listeners who have experienced Noya Rao to share their journeys, emphasizing that each medicine journey is unique and deeply personal.
As I conclude the episode, I express my gratitude for the opportunity to work with this master medicine and my excitement for the year ahead, eager to see how these experiences will continue to shape my life. Thank you for joining me on this journey, and I look forward to sharing more insights in future episodes.
00:00:00 - Introduction to Noya Rao 00:01:30 - The Tree of Light: A Rare Medicine 00:02:50 - Understanding the Dieta Process 00:04:20 - First Experience with Noya Rao 00:05:50 - Differences Between Ayahuasca and Noya Rao 00:07:10 - The Importance of Surrender 00:08:30 - Post-Dieta and Integration 00:09:50 - First Ceremony of the Second Diet 00:11:10 - Navigating the Second Ceremony 00:12:30 - Third Ceremony: Deep Purging and Energy Work 00:14:00 - Fourth Ceremony: Working with Sound 00:15:30 - Fifth Ceremony: Integration and Frequency Upgrade 00:17:00 - Reflections on the Second Retreat 00:19:30 - Conclusion and Future Outlook
In this transformative episode, we dive deep into the healing power of music in psychedelic journeys with renowned musician and sound healer East Forest. For centuries, music has been a key component in spiritual rituals and ceremonies, serving as a guide to unlock deeper emotional, mental, and even mystical experiences. But when it comes to psychedelic therapy, the role of music becomes even more profound.
East Forest, known for his meditative and therapeutic soundscapes, shares his insights on how music can shape, support, and enhance the psychedelic experience. Drawing from his years of experience working with plant medicine ceremonies, he explains how the right frequencies and melodies can help individuals navigate the unpredictable nature of altered states of consciousness. His work, which blends ethereal soundscapes, binaural beats, and indigenous-inspired rhythms, offers a grounding yet expansive soundtrack that can be both a refuge and a mirror during challenging moments of a psychedelic journey.
During the conversation, we explore how music can deepen emotional processing, open pathways to hidden memories, and facilitate states of surrender, allowing individuals to let go of their ego-driven defenses. Music, East Forest explains, acts as a bridge between the conscious mind and the deeper realms of the psyche, helping participants access insights and healing that might otherwise be inaccessible. The discussion delves into the importance of intentionality when choosing music for psychedelic therapy and how certain tones and instruments resonate with specific chakras, influencing energy flow and emotional release.
East Forest also touches on the psychological and neurological impact of music in these expanded states of awareness. The role of rhythm, harmony, and silence are discussed as essential tools for guiding the psychedelic process. The importance of ceremonial intention and presence, along with the power of surrender to the flow of sound, are highlighted as keys to fully benefiting from the experience.
Listeners will gain a better understanding of how carefully curated music can act as a guide, amplifying the therapeutic potential of a psychedelic journey. East Forest offers personal stories from his own experiences and collaborations with others in the field, discussing the mystical and scientific aspects of sound healing.
Whether you’re a seasoned psychonaut, a curious explorer, or someone interested in the intersection of sound therapy and psychedelics, this episode will inspire a deeper appreciation for the role of music in healing. Tune in as East Forest shares his wisdom on the alchemy of sound and psychedelics, offering a fresh perspective on how music can lead us into altered states of consciousness, self-discovery, and emotional healing.
Join us for a mesmerizing journey through sound, where music becomes not just background noise but an active, transformative force in your psychedelic experience.
Nick Onken and Nicky Clinch delves into the intricate relationship between body-mind maturation and personal identity formation. The discussion begins by exploring the concept of body-mind maturation, emphasizing its role as a continuous process where physical and mental development are intertwined. This maturation not only influences how we perceive ourselves but also how we engage with the world around us.
Nicky underscores that body-mind maturation isn’t just about physical growth or cognitive development in isolation but rather how these two aspects work together to shape our sense of self. This process is framed as a dynamic journey, where our evolving identity is constantly being reshaped by our experiences, beliefs, and the way our body and mind respond to various life stages.
One of the key points discussed is the idea that as we grow and mature, our body-mind connection strengthens, allowing us to better understand and articulate our identity. This connection also impacts our reality—how we interpret and react to external stimuli is deeply rooted in our body-mind alignment. For instance, someone who has undergone significant personal growth may view challenges as opportunities, while someone with a less developed body-mind connection might see the same challenges as insurmountable obstacles.
It also touches on how external factors, such as societal expectations, culture, and relationships, influence body-mind maturation. These factors can either support or hinder our development, affecting how we see ourselves and our place in the world. The host suggests that by becoming more aware of these influences, individuals can take proactive steps to foster a stronger body-mind connection, leading to a more authentic and resilient sense of identity.
Another significant topic covered is the role of self-awareness in body-mind maturation. The host argues that self-awareness is crucial for understanding the changes happening within us. By being mindful of our thoughts, emotions, and physical responses, we can better navigate the complexities of our identity. This awareness allows us to make conscious decisions that align with our true selves, rather than being swayed by external pressures or outdated self-concepts.
In the latter part of the podcast, the host offers practical tips for enhancing body-mind maturation. These include engaging in regular physical activity, practicing mindfulness and meditation, and seeking out experiences that challenge and expand our current understanding of ourselves. The host emphasizes that these practices not only promote physical and mental health but also contribute to a more cohesive and empowered identity.
The podcast concludes by reinforcing the idea that body-mind maturation is a lifelong journey. As we continue to grow and evolve, so too does our identity. By nurturing our body-mind connection, we can shape a reality that is more aligned with our true selves, leading to a more fulfilling and purposeful life.
As body-mind maturation progresses, it fundamentally shifts not just how you perceive yourself but also what you project into the world. This maturation refines your sense of identity, aligning your inner beliefs, values, and physical presence. As you develop a more cohesive body-mind connection, the energy you emanate—whether it’s confidence, peace, or resilience—becomes more authentic and powerful.
This process transforms your external reality, as the world responds to the more integrated and genuine version of yourself. This emanation attracts experiences and relationships that resonate with your true self, reinforcing your evolving identity and further shaping your reality. In essence, body-mind maturation not only alters how you see yourself but also how others perceive and interact with you, creating a feedback loop that continues to refine and evolve your identity.
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Working with different plant medicines gives you a different depth every time and today Nick shares his recent experience with the Tree of Light plant medicine.
“This was the deepest surrender I’ve ever had to give way to a medicine.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/treeoflight
“This was the deepest surrender I’ve ever had to give way to a medicine.” – Nick Onken
Today I am excited to share with you some takeaways from my personal plant medicine journeys in 2023 and to explain in-depth my most recent recent experience with a new plant medicine for me: the Tree of Light plant medicine. I just got back from this amazing trip to Peru and in this episode, I explain the ceremonies I took part in and talk about managing ego deaths.
You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“It was very subconscious. What I learned, I don’t even know; it was very in the body.” – Nick Onken
Some things we learn in this podcast:* Nick’s 2023 plant medicine recap [1:46] * What is the Tree of Light medicine [13:52 * ]Takeaways from the Tree of Light ceremony [18:22] * How to manage ego death [29:33]
Links Mentioned:* Connect with Nick on Instagram * Get your Nick Onken original hat at Onken Made
“In this moment, are we bridging our own gaps?” - Rev. Briana Lynn
Today I continue my conversation with Reverend Briana Lynn. Last week we discussed unraveling religion from society and culture and how to avoid the pitfalls of leadership. In this episode, Briana shares how she came to be at peace after having spent so much of her life trying to escape her own body. She argues that art is anything we interact with or participate in. She and I also discuss the importance of both celebrating the kink in each of us and avoiding the guru-fication of the self. Listen in as we talk about learning to be okay with things as they are while also striving for personal growth.
You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“The battle or the journey that we all have…is about bridging the persona and the person.” - Rev. Briana Lynn
Some things we learn in this podcast:
How does Briana define identity alchemy [4:00] What are the dangers of adopting a persona to mask your personhood [5:54] How to close the gap between persona and person [14:29] When is judgment healthy [22:27] How does Briana Lynn define narcissism [30:08] Ways to work through Narcissistic Personality Disorder [33:31] Can judgment be a good thing [39:58] How to create from a place of self-expression [42:17] Final takeaways from Briana [45:49]
Links Mentioned:
Listen to Onken Radio Episode 222: Burning Religion and the Witches with Rev. Briana Lynn Sign up for the Free Masterclass for Entrepreneurs: Go from Invisible to Influential Connect with Reverend Briana Lynn on Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Orgasmic Oracle Mystery School
I continue my conversation with Reverend Briana Lynn about avoiding the guru-fication of the self, celebrating the kink in each of us, and finding a balance between learning to be okay with things as they are and also striving for personal growth
“What you are calling identity alchemy or what I call spiritual art is this conversation of how to bring forward our most authentic self in a way that shares our purpose and creates positive income.” - Rev. Briana Lynn.
onken.co/brianalynn2
“Our greatest joy comes when we are giving our purpose for the highest good of the most people that we can.” - Rev. Briana Lynn
Today I talk with Reverend Briana Lynn about the journey of getting to a place of self-expression. Briana is a coach, mentor, and ceremonialist and the Founder of the Orgasmic Oracle Mystery School. We talk about treating ourselves like a piece of art and how to use our angst as fuel. We also touch on the ideas of bottling of our ecstasy and mastering energy. Listen to this episode to learn more about burning witches, unraveling religion from society and culture, and how to avoid the pitfalls of leadership.
You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“The more I stepped away from the church, the more hungry I was for spirituality and actual experiences of God.” - Rev. Briana Lynn
Some things we learn in this podcast:
Briana’s journey [6:17] What is Briana’s work [11:24] How do people get in the way of their full self-expression [12:50] What is Briana’s religious background [24:12] How to avoid the pitfalls of leadership [33:00] What do people get out of religion [42:14] How to unravel religion from society and culture [50:05] What is the history of the witch [55:37] Are witches relevant today [1:02:49]
Links Mentioned:
Sign up for the Free Masterclass for Entrepreneurs: Go from Invisible to Influential
Connect with Reverend Briana Lynn on Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Orgasmic Oracle Mystery School
Listen to this episode to learn more about burning witches, unraveling religion from society and culture, and how to avoid the pitfalls of leadership.
“The more I stepped away from the church, the more hungry I was for spirituality and actual experiences of God.” - Rev. Briana Lynn.
onken.co/brianalynn
“Your identity is a blank canvas for who you want to be.” – Nick Onken
Today I share some of the identity alchemy that I have been working on and go into detail about what it means to master ourselves. These past few years I have been going through some major changes that I talk about.
I have been doing some serious work to grow as a person and I’ve been searching for a partner who is on the same path. Identity alchemy and the five C’s of self-mastery are helping me to get where I want to go. What do commitment, containers, and celebration have to do with becoming who are meant to be in this world? You can learn all of these things in your head, but if you’re not practicing them, they don’t get integrated into this vessel that we call our earthly body.
In this episode, I define what self-mastery actually is and share a list of the five C’s that you can implement in your own life. I also explain how to use containers and introduce my upcoming Identity Alchemy course.
You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“Self-mastery is something you have to care about.” – Nick Onken
Some things we learn in this podcast:* What does it mean to master oneself [3:37] * What are the five C’s of self-mastery [5:23] * How is Nick working towards mastering himself [7:05] * What are containers [7:52] * What is Nick’s Identity Alchemy course [12:33]
The Five C’s of Self-Mastery:1. Care and awareness 2. Commitment 3. Containers 4. Consistency 5. Celebration
Links Mentioned:* Listen to Onken Radio Episode 215: The Statistical Importance of Building Your Personal Brand with AJ Vaden * Connect with Nick on Instagram
Listen in as Nick shares the five c’s of self-mastery, how to incorporate them into your life, and how to use containers on your journey to self-mastery.
“Your identity is a blank canvas for who you want to be.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/self-mastery
Connor Beaton and I explore the shadows of men’s psyches, break down the patterns of arousal, and discuss his new book, Men's Work.
“Like a lot of men, I was convinced that nothing would change until I hit rock bottom.” - Connor Beaton.
onken.co/mensworkbook
“I’m really interested in activating a collective sovereign awakening in this lifetime for humanity.” – Kaia Ra
Today I talk about channeling our divine creativity with author Kaia Ra. Kaia says that creativity wants to self-heal, expand, and regenerate and that we can prepare ourselves as vessels for this process by facing our trauma head-on. In this episode, Kaia and I talk about normalizing and accessing the psychic gifts inside each of us. We also define the divine genome and discuss how resonance re-sculpts reality.
You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“We were bred for our gifts and specifically for our psychic gifts and creativity.” – Kaia Ra
Some things we learn in this podcast:* What was Kaia Ra’s path to creativity [3:42] * How to define Kaia’s psychic abilities [14:37] * Ways to access our psychic abilities [17:06 * ]Tips for spiritual protection [23.45] * What is the divine genome [27:00] * Unpacking the teachings of the original masters [34:31] * What are some belief systems about interstellar religions [43:50] * Kaia’s healing journey [46:33] * How Kaia got started making jewelry [48:49] * Why is there a divine feminine and a divine masculine [54:05]
Links Mentioned:* Sign up for five free days of the Identity Alchemy course * Get your copy of The Sophia Code: A Living Transmission from The Sophia Dragon Tribe by Kaia Ra
Connect with Kaia Ra on Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | Kaia Ra
“How we feel, move, and be in life directly affects our business.” - Nick Onken
In this episode, I offer up a list of the best business tools for entrepreneurs that I have learned over the past few years. Listen in as I explain how our mindset affects our business. I share the morning routine that I have cultivated to set myself up for success each day. I also talk about when it makes sense to hire a consultant for your business, when you should outsource work, and how to optimize your business networking skills. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“When you dive into yourself to develop and evolve as a human your business will grow with that.” - Nick Onken
Some things we learn in this podcast:
Nick tools for entrepreneurs [0:01] How does mindset affect business [1:07] Personal development tips for business [1:25] Nick’s morning routine [2:39] Moving your body to clear your mind [4:17] Should you hire a consultant for your business [9:13] When to outsource [9:52] Tips to optimize business networking [11:09] Finding your social media sweet spot [11:59] Helping yourself by giving back [14:03]
11 Tools I use as an Entrepreneur
Personal Development Morning Practice Meditation Movement/Exercise Books/Education Consultants Outsourcing to other professionals My Network building & Relationships Social Media Psychedelics Giving Back
Links Mentioned:
Learn more about Ziva Meditation Listen to Onken Radio Episode 148: Jordan Harbinger – Secrets To Building And Maintaining Lifeline Relationships
“We can all be polyamorous.” - Meleza Morris
I am going through a phase of exploring my sexuality, so today I talk with Meleza Morris, an intimacy coach and intimacy coordinator for television and film, about love, sex, tantra, gender-bending, and more.
In this episode, Meleza breaks down ethical non-monogamy, conscious non-monogamy, and consensual non-monogamy and shares the journey she took to re-learn her boundaries through kink, bondage, and BDSM (discipline or domination, sadism or submission, masochism). We also talk about using sexuality as a tool to heal trauma.
Listen in to learn how to step into polyamory, what consent really looks like, and the role of an intimacy coach. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“Understanding the definitions and the differences between gender, biological sex, and sexual orientation is so huge.” - Meleza Morris
Some things we learn in this podcast:
Meleza Morris’ exploration of spirituality [7:12] Stepping into polyamory [10:49] Defining sexuality terms to know [12:17] The real definition of bisexual [14:11] Exploring gender transcendence [15:28] The pull of sacred sexuality [22:27] Perks to controlling ejaculation [27:15] The balance of giving and receiving [33:39] Sexuality as a tool to heal trauma [37:54] What consent looks like [44:47] How Meleza created her boundaries [52:04] Dealing with unwanted advances [55:39] What does an intimacy coach do [1:04:49] Polyamory and the Gene Keys [1:07:57]
Links Mentioned: Connect with Meleza Morris on Instagram | LinkedIn | Eat My Cake | Meleza S Morris
“It takes courage to be able to do plant medicine.” - Nick Onken
I am flying high after my last retreat in Tulum, Mexico, and today I am sharing my experience with not only my own personal metamorphosis through the guided use of plant medicines but also co-hosting one of these powerful events for the first time with my spiritual co-creator, the wonderous and mythic E11even, who has been featured in past episodes of the show.
We are all on our own paths and it is my pleasure to be able to share a piece of my journey with you in the hopes that you might find something useful or relevant in my story. In this episode, I talk about more of my recent experiences with plant medicine and the purpose behind these spiritual journeys. I also talk about plant medicine as a beautiful tool to help us know ourselves better and to work through past trauma. The impact of working with plant medicines is wide-reaching and is having a profound effect on my relationship with the world. I dive into those effects in this episode.
Listen in to learn how to accept the uncomfortable side effects of plant medicines and how recent experiences with plant medicine have opened my eyes to the world around us. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“The more you can surrender to the medicine the deeper the healing.” - Nick Onken
Some things we learn in this podcast:
Recent experiences with plants as medicine [0:47] Accepting discomfort [3:49] Plant medicine as a tool [4:30] Tools to work through trauma [6:11] What is the purpose of shadow work [11:40] The impact of plant medicines [17:26]
Links Mentioned:
Link to next retreat HERE
Connect with Nick Onken on Instagram | TikTok
“People are following people more than companies more than ever before.” - AJ Vaden
Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Today, I’ve got an extra special guest for you to discuss critical elements that help us build our identity alchemy by focusing on building a solid personal brand. To do that these days, it’s essential to establish trust with your audience.
I met both AJ Vaden and her husband Rory through our mutual friend, Lewis Howes, who many of you might know from this podcast. Here’s a taste of some of her wisdom: “60% of Americans said the number one most important thing that dictates who I purchase from is testimonials. What do other people have to say [about] working with you? That is the cheapest, fastest thing you could do to grow your business. Testimonials are by far the most important thing.” - AJ Vaden I wanted to have AJ on the show to speak more about the strategies for building a personal brand. If you are interested in doing a personal brand photoshoot with me as I did with Rory and AJ, you can visit here to get more information and submit a form to see if we're a good fit.
But right now, let’s jump straight in! Who Is AJ Vaden? AJ Vaden started a company called a Brand Builders Group with her husband, Rory Vaden, and is an international speaker, million-dollar producer, and co-host of The Influential Personal Brand podcast. As a personal brand strategist, she challenges and inspires people to reinvent themselves as part of building and monetizing their personal brand. AJ has personally worked with thousands of individuals to help them focus their expertise, expand their reach, build their reputation, and brand the one thing no one else has — their name.
Over the last ten years, she has been a part of the founding, launching, and building of a very successful 8-figure coaching business, a multi-million-dollar consulting business, and a 7-figure speaking business. Along with her company, Brand Builders Group, AJ was featured in a 3-page spread in Success Magazine on the impacts of personal branding and recently being named one of the Top 5 Personal Branding Speakers of 2019.
Her client roster includes working with top-level executives from organizations such as Bridgestone, Verizon Cellular Sales, Home Franchise Concepts, and DirecTV as well as working with well-known speakers, best-selling authors, entrepreneurs, and online influencers such as mega podcast host Lewis Howes and original “shark,” creator of the infomercial and serial entrepreneur, Kevin Harrington.
AJ has taken 25 years of setbacks, successes, and tragedies and distilled them into simple yet powerful lessons that will help anyone become better than ever. What People Care About Brand Builders Group recently conducted a study in the United States using a third party, The Center for Generational Kinetics, which is free to download here. From their six months of gathering research, AJ shares the number one thing people highlighted as important when evaluating a personal image and brand. “The number one thing is: It's all about the authenticity of the human connection. One of the biggest things that we've learned and what we buy into is that people don't care much about what you sell and what you do — they care more about who you are. We've been doing these own studies with our own set of audiences, and we will post something about our study, a podcast, or some piece of original content, and it gets a third of the engagement of posting a video playing tee-ball with my two boys.” - AJ Vaden I wasn’t expecting to hear that. It’s interesting, too, that AJ has tested the research and seen the effect of posting personal things above a more formal piece of content and getting mo...
“Are psychedelics the Google Maps to the kingdom of heaven?” - Brian Muraresku
Hello and welcome to another episode of ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey because it’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level.
Today, my special guest is a good friend of mine, Brian Muraresku. He is the author of the book The Immortality Key. — This is a topic that I've been quite fascinated with recently because I grew up in a very conservative Christian home, but over the last few years, I've been diving down the rabbit hole of plant medicines, and this book unveils a phenomenal storyline. Brian went to the Vatican and spent some time there with the elders in the library, and he shared in this book his discoveries about how ancient people were tapping into the divine and discovering transcendent portals into the universe.
In this episode, Brian and I discuss what was in ancient wine, what they drank at the last supper, and when Christianity became mainstream. He also shares some of the research he came across while writing his book that points to early psychedelic use within the communities that gave rise to Christianity. While looking into the historical records of mysticism and the birth of religion as we know it, Brian found examples of people seeking out the meaning of life by bringing about experiences of “mini deaths” and coming out on the other side understanding their true identities. Who Is Brian Muraresku? Brian Muraresku is a lawyer who has been practicing globally for more than fifteen years. He graduated from Brown University with a degree in Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit. He is also a member of the New York Bar and an alumnus of Georgetown Law. In 2016, Brian Muraresku became the founding executive director of Doctors for Cannabis Regulation, and their works were featured on ESPN and CNN as well as in the San Francisco Chronicle and The Washington Post.
Brian has appeared on several media platforms including CNN, Goop Podcast, The Jenny McCarthy Show, Vice Magazine, the Tom Hartman Show, Reddit Ask Me Anything, and more.
His debut book is The Immortality Key, which aims to uncover the ancient wine, what they drank during the last supper and the connection of wine to the birth of Christianity. The Ancient Wine and the Role of Women It's no secret that wine is a big part of many cultures around the world. In fact, wine has been around for centuries and played a major role in ancient civilizations. Wine continues to be an important part of contemporary culture, and it's fascinating to explore its history, how it has evolved over time, and the role of women in the preparation of wine for religious rituals. “There were many women mentioned in Paul's letters … consecrating wine. So whether that was a proper Eucharist or a hybrid of something pagan, Christian women were typically in charge of mixing these potions, both in early Christianity and all those ancient Greek cults that I was mentioning and probably deep into prehistory. Now, women are gathering the herbs. Women are mixing these potions, and these are the same women like Circe in Homer's literature who become our witches much later on. It's always women who possess this really deep, drug expertise.” - Brian Muraresku Ancient wine is believed to be significantly far off from the wine we know today. Tracing back to the time of Homer and the Roman Empire, wine was considered like a psychedelic spiked with toxins, herbs, plants, and potentially lethal substances that produce hallucinogenic and intoxicating effects. Also, ancient wine has been at the core of many rituals, including Christianity. Wine and the Beginning of Christianity Christianity's communion wine has been at the core of worship since the Last Supper. Today, it remains a focal point of the Christian liturgy where Christians...
Listen in to learn who Jesus really was and what he wanted, why beer is such a fascinating beverage, and what Brian Muraresku learned from a near-death experience.
“Are psychedelics the Google Maps to the kingdom of heaven?” - Brian Muraresku.
onken.co/immortality-key
“Create your moments.” - Nick Onken
Hello, my fellow alchemists! Nick Onken here for our last solo episode of 2021 on ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the soul, mind, and body of the creative entrepreneur. Today, I'm going to recap 11 things that I learned this year. 2021 has been another crazy year, but life is always a learning process. It’s important to keep on learning new things as we face the new year, and I think having that attitude of either winning or learning is essential.
Every year, we go through different pieces of our life’s journey, and this past year was quite a journey — it's been a different space of life, a different space of creation for me. I’ve been diving into new modalities and new mediums, especially the medium of music, learning how to DJ, and now I'm learning music production. Just following where my joys and passions are and the things that I'm interested in is a huge piece of growth. That’s why I am sharing with you my stories and the lessons I’ve learned this year. Eleven Things I Learned From the Past Year Every day, we are exposed to new information, perspectives, and opportunities that can help us become a better version of ourselves. Sometimes these lessons come from our own experiences. Other times they come from the people and things around us. For 2021, these experiences served as lessons we can learn from, and I’m sharing with you the eleven things I’ve learned from this past year. 1. Health Optimization Is Important There is no question that optimal health is important. After all, if we're not healthy, we can't enjoy life to the fullest extent possible. Fortunately, there are things we can do to keep ourselves in our best shape, from eating a healthy diet to getting enough exercise. Being able to dive into health and wellness has been something that's become an actually bigger passion of mine over the last couple of years. I’ve learned that by taking steps to improve our health, we can boost our energy levels and feel better overall. So don't wait — start optimizing your health, and you'll be glad you did. 2. Identity Alchemy Is Never Ending and Is a Personal Growth Process We all have moments in life where we feel like we need to change but just don't know how. We want to become something new but struggle with figuring out who that is and where to start. This is natural! It's a sign that you're growing, evolving, and becoming more yourself. Transformation is never easy, but it's always worth it.
The journey of self-discovery is an endless one, and there's no wrong way to do it. So let go of your doubts and fears, and just dive in! Identity alchemy is a process that I've been developing over the last couple of years, primarily oriented toward creating a personal brand that aligns with who you are from the inside out. But the identity alchemy process deconstructs and curates, and it is becoming something that I continue to go through over and over in my life. As we grow, we let go of old identities and create new ones. 3. Uncomfortable Conversations Are Growth Life is all about growth. If you're not growing, you're dying. It's as simple as that. One of the best ways to grow is by having uncomfortable conversations. Yes, those conversations make your stomach churn and your heart race. However, if you want to grow, you have to face them head-on. So get out there and have those uncomfortable conversations! 4. The Universe Has Bigger Plans It's easy to get bogged down by the small stuff. The day-to-day grind of work, bills, and household chores can be overwhelming at times. However, it's important to remember that we're all a part of something much bigger. The universe has big plans for us.
This is an interesting one because my mom passed away this year from cancer. She's been battling it for a couple of years, and at a certain point, we knew this day would come. At one point, I went out to LA to visit my parents,
In this episode, I share some of the most important things I learned in the past year, how I've been affected by them, and how I am incorporating them into my outlook on life as we glide into 2022.
“Create your moments.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/past-year
“It’s an in-your-face moment.” - Nick Onken
Hello, my friends! Welcome to another episode of the OnkenRadio podcast (previously NION Radio), where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
I appreciate you being here, and today is going to be slightly different as I share my recent experience and the lessons I’ve learned from my mother passing away a couple of weeks ago. I’m still navigating how I feel, but it’s fresh, and talking through all of it helps me process my emotions and get things out instead of all bottled inside. Who knows — maybe I’ll discover something new with you.
Have you lost a parent? Maybe a dear friend? A partner? With all the craziness from COVID, perhaps you understand exactly what I’m going through. Losing a parent is a new experience for me, and I will do my best to walk you through everything, so let’s jump right in. My Momma’s Journey With Cancer My momma was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019, and that news was shocking. The idea that my momma, one of the sweetest people on the planet, could get cancer tore my world apart.
The doctors caught cancer in stage one, and she immediately had surgery to remove the tumor from the pancreas six months after detection. I live in New York City, but I flew out to Seattle for the surgery. Being there for her during that time of need taught me a valuable lesson about making an effort to fly out more. Supporting a loved one through cancer had never entered my mind, but that’s how quickly things can change.
My focus became supporting my momma and my dad and spending as much time with family as possible. Jumping across the country frequently isn’t easy, but it became vital to me.
I’m one of the lucky ones who had both an amazing set of parents and a great upbringing filled with encouragement and love, and I was able to return what they’d given me.
Our worldviews might not be identical as my parents are conservative Christians, and that upbringing didn’t resonate with me — no matter how hard I tried to believe it. I simply see our differences as how we operate and move through the world — it’s only a different perspective. Whatever works for them works for them, and the same goes for you — whatever works for you, works for you!
I’ve been on a journey to expand my consciousness, tap into other worlds, and learn to bridge the gap between this world, the matrix, and other worlds. I’ve come to realize the movie The Matrix feels more like a documentary now than a movie! I saw a clip of Bruce Lipton, a doctor dedicated to bridging science and spirit, talking about our world as a hologram — and we are consciousness receptors in human form.
Developing that perspective has shifted how I see and interact with the world, which created a different journey with my momma’s health. Early in 2020, we received the awful news: Her cancer spread to her liver and stomach. The doctors decided to take her off chemotherapy because it was doing her body more damage than good — they gave momma three to six months to live.
Unfortunately, she ended up having even less than that. Differing Views on Cancer Treatment Our differing world views came to a head as we discussed how to deal with cancer. Hearing their point of view was a battle for me. I believe in alternatives that work in conjunction with Western medicine, and throughout my life, I’ve discovered many different healing modalities that aren’t tested or seen in the light of day because, in my opinion, they don’t support the profit incentive that currently exists.
I witnessed first-hand the world of Western medicine and big pharma’s focus on profit and keeping people dependent on medications and processes. It’s not all bad. There are certainly places where Western medicine is helpful — I just don’t believe it’s done with the best in...
Nick talks about navigating his mother's last few days, grappling with the loss of a parent, and the ways grief evolves.
“It’s an in-your-face moment.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/death
“All of these things around joy and pleasure are so penalized and stymied in this country for the business of capitalism.” - Grace Harry
Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey.
In today's episode, we will talk about how you can cultivate joy in your life. I think that many people start this creative business journey with the best intentions of creating a joyful or fulfilling work environment for themselves. Yet the reality is that a lot of times, we beat ourselves up. We feel like we're working really hard and not getting any results. Then we start to think, "Oh well, maybe I just don't have enough energy to do this full time, or maybe I don't have all the skills that I need. Maybe I just don't have what it takes, and there's no way I could get to this next level."
But what we really need to do is get ourselves some joy snacks! Joy snacks are the little things that give us a quick boost of energy to focus on feeling good and being inspired for a little bit longer.
Our guest for today is my dear friend, Grace Harry. Grace is a boss and a keeper of wisdom. Most importantly, she is a joy strategist. So, what does that even mean? It means she teaches people how to take control of their own joy in life. It's been a pleasure to witness her go through her own deep work over the last couple of years!
Read through as Grace and I discuss the many times we shift identities throughout our lives, how to cultivate our own "joy snacks," and what we lose when we don't protect our joy.
Who Is Grace Harry? Today's guest, Grace Harry, is a Joy Strategist, among many other things. After dropping out of high school in tenth grade and working for The Cosby Show, Grace ended up working in the record industry for 27 years. When she decided to move on from the industry, she was the Executive Vice President of Marketing and Creative Services at Def Jam Records. She has also worked for MCA Records, Jive Records, and Geffen Records.
We had met through our friends, Scooter Braun and Usher. We all ended up on a bit of vacation together a few years back, and I really loved getting to know Grace and all that she represents. She shares her fear that people are forgetting how to be themselves and explains that, now, her thing is people who create art to connect with others. She and I talk about how to get back to how we feel and the process of shedding the things that don't grow us.
She has done a tremendous job of moving herself to find her own joy and help share that with others. So with that, I bring you, Grace Harry!
Shifting Identities Throughout Our Lives I believe that our identities change over time because of the different experiences that we have. In the process of changing, we all shed and let go of our previous identities so we can step into new and brighter ones.
I asked Grace to share about how her identities have changed over time, and she shared, "Growing up, my mother and I moved to different places every year. I went to six elementary schools, one middle school, and four high schools and still didn't finish after 10th grade." - Grace Harry This experience allowed her to meet new people. Yet for every encounter made, all she craved for was to be wanted. So she had to create for herself these new identities to keep up with these personalities she met along the way.
Over the years, Grace would find herself being a chef at The Cosby Show. Then she would work in the record industry for 27 years, running creative and marketing and digital at times and working with artists in so many exciting ways. She had her third divorce, and those changing identities all came down to one thing: "I can't get rid of them. When I look in the mirror,
Listen in as Grace and I discuss the many times we shift identities throughout our lives, how to cultivate our own "joy snacks", and what we lose when we don't protect our joy.
“All of these things around joy and pleasure are so penalized and stymied in this country for the business of capitalism.” - Grace Harry.
onken.co/grace-harry
East Forest and Nick discuss the line between commerce and art, why we need to take back control of our consciousness, and how music informs psychedelics journeys.
“You have to allow the messiness and the struggle.” - East Forest.
onken.co/eastforest
“You have to allow the messiness and the struggle.” - East Forest
What’s up, my fellow earthlings? Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), a space where we explore the worlds of creativity, consciousness, and everything else in between. My goal is to help you optimize your life and to unleash your full potential, and I am so grateful to have you all on this journey with me.
I can’t wait to introduce today’s guest on my podcast — East Forest. East is one of my favorite musicians and a kindred creator. He has created music that has been monumental in my own personal journey through psychedelics and mushrooms. Experiencing my magic mushroom journeys through East’s music has truly been transformative and life-changing. “There is a glue that unifies everything I do. My podcast, talks, retreats, writings, events, and the music I make are all about inviting introspection. It’s a form of trusting an individual’s inherent wisdom as they dive into their inner world and learn to make their own decisions. I want to share the experiences, tools, and sounds that I have learned for other people to get closer to their own essence.” - East Forest Through his music, East aspires to bridge the tools of our past with our rapidly advancing future by forging a modern pathway that can act as an antidote to our way of life in this fast-paced world. He has toured extensively around North America and through parts of Europe, bringing his message to thousands.
East is an incredible artist, and his soulful music is loved by many across the world. I can’t wait for you guys to feel inspired by this man’s life and journey. Let’s get to know him a little more —
Who Is East Forest? East Forest is an American musician who plays blissful and immersive electro-acoustic music. East’s natural talent for creating soundscapes helps him speak directly to one’s heart and can unlock profound spiritual experiences.
After experiencing depression early on in his childhood, East started using psychedelics and creating music for others on their own psychedelic journeys. What began as an experiment with music turned into a pathway for spiritual growth for many because of the compatibility of East’s music with meditation, technology, and psychotropic substances.
Due to his music’s nature and popularity, East has collaborated with multiple personalities like the late psychologist and spiritual leader Ram Dass and artists including John Hopkins, Nick Mulvey, Dead Prez, and Peter Broderick, among others. He has also partnered with Google, Johns Hopkins University, Yale Psychedelic Science Group, and he has even been a TED speaker.
East is a creative soul brother, and I’m excited to share with you this episode where we talk about creativity, healing, mindset, psychedelics, and how music lies at the core of it all.
Using The Power of Music to Heal After a brief stint as a photographer, East started making music while under the influence of magic mushrooms. This unlocked a new dimension for himself that allowed him to use his music to help people heal, and over the years, he created a musical language that formed the backbone for all his work. It’s incredible how East channels his music into a tool for healing. “I don’t know how it works, but it’s a lot about humbling myself and trying to clear my way to open myself to those energies. … I also do a lot of rehearsal, which is a matter of getting fluent with the same gear — … it’s sort of doing any sort of exercise to get your muscles in shape — … and one of the biggest things I am rehearsing is improvisation. … I realized that I couldn’t plan it, and started discovering what worked and what didn’t [while I performed]. … And when I reach a point where I feel that it sucks to keep going … or when things are not working, then I keep returning back to the process and the flow and allow it to develop.” - East Forest Through the launch of East’s first album,
“Follow your feels.” - Nick Onken
Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) — the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey.
Today, we’ve got something slightly different. I want to share 11 excellent life-optimization hacks that have helped me out over the last few years to access my creativity. Not only that, each has been instrumental in helping me live a better life and feel good. I’ve been disciplined about learning what techniques there are and figuring out what works for me over the last couple of years.
It’s important to realize that not everything I share will work for you, but these 11 optimization hacks can start your journey. I’m excited to share them, so let’s get into this episode!
Personal Development
There was a time my business was failing, so I decided to enroll in the Mastery In Transformational Training (MITT) that my friend Lewis Howes introduced me to. It focuses on teaching about living in possibility and how our negative thoughts construct limiting beliefs. Once I understood the limiting beliefs creating my life, I could break free and build new beliefs that have been game-changers for the last few years.
Interviewing hundreds of guests on this podcast has shown me that any form of success starts with mindset — I can safely suggest that this is a great place to start.
Not all beliefs are conscious, though, and through my emotional intelligence leadership course, I learned that the subconscious mind makes up 95% of our beliefs while the conscious mind represents only 5%! Traumas and belief systems are embedded in the subconscious, so utilizing tools like psychedelics such as psilocybin and ketamine to navigate the subconscious — to rewire the subconscious — can be tremendously advantageous.
It’s on the rise, and people are using psychedelics for therapy to treat depression, PTSD, and addiction. I’ve learned the important difference between medicines and drugs — medicines help heal trauma while drugs tend to focus on symptoms.
Psychedelics can be daunting, but more studies are coming out showing how highly transformative they are, and if you’d like to hear more on the subject, Episode #185 talks about my journey with psychedelics.
Health
Health has been one of the most significant investments I’ve committed to over the last ten years and that I’ve accelerated to optimize my body during the last three years.
As I get older, I’ve become more in tune with not just how my body looks but, more importantly, how I feel after eating foods like carbs and sugar. To start, I changed my diet to include fewer carbs and sugars.
It’s important to recognize that everyone’s body works and reacts differently based on our sensitivities to different foods. Eating fewer carbs and sugar is working for me — but you’ve got to investigate what’s good for you and create healthier habits. A documentary that helped shift my perspective, That Sugar Film, shed light on what sugar does to your body.
The effect of sugar hits home too because my mother has cancer, and sugar feeds cancer. My decision to decrease my sugar intake has become abundantly clear for longevity. It’s taken discipline and new habits, but it’s been hugely rewarding, and I can feel it physically.
Avoiding sugar doesn’t mean sacrificing taste either! If this too feels daunting, listen to Episode #78 with Rocco Dispirito, where we discuss incorporating healthy eating into your lifestyle.
Supplements have also become a big part of my regime, and after loads of experimenting to feel what worked best I settled on Organifi. When I’m on the road, it’s easy to add their sachets to water and all the nutrients and electrolytes I need. When I’m at home, I have my protein smoothies, which start my day off perfectly.
Nick shares some of the important steps you can take to determine your life values, access your creativity, and live a better life.
“Follow your feels.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/values
“Whose story was I living?” - BLU
Hey, fellow earthlings! Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
As a creative person, I believe it’s essential to integrate creativity into every part of your life — mind, body, spirit, business, and anything else you can think of! That kind of creative alchemy is what I live and work for, and I want to inspire you to do the same.
Today, I’ve got an extra special guest for you. She’s a personal creative hero of mine, and her art and mission to bring beauty to the world has massively inspired me in my own career as a photographer and creative entrepreneur.
Her name is BLU, and she’s here today to teach you how to deeply listen and carve out your own unique path in this world. Here’s a little preview: “The more people living from their heart, living from that gift, and the more people sharing their creative gifts unabashedly and like fully just going for it — it will heal the world.” - BLU It’s so true. Whatever your creative gift is, it is essential that your creative projects, at their core, are true to you. When you’re being your true, authentic self, that’s when you can impact the world in a big way.
And you guys, that’s just a little taste of the love bombs BLU dropped in this interview. We’re about to dive into a ton of knowledge taken from the transformative journey she has been on. Today, she’s going to help us discover that our greatest struggle can actually be our superpower. Let’s go! Who Is BLU? BLU or BLU Cosmic Eagle is an artist and musician from England. She grew up in a boarding school for girls and served in the Royal Air Force before moving to the States to attend college in Florida. She found herself living a perfect textbook life, but she felt empty inside — like all of her creativity that she enjoyed as a young girl was stripped from her and replaced with a sterile cubicle. She knew her life had to change.
Her neighbor invited her to try magic mushrooms or shrooms for the first time, and that led her on a path to becoming a curious mystic. She discovered that everything she grew up knowing may have been false, which included her internal narratives. When she learned that she would gradually lose her hearing due to an incurable hereditary disorder, she decided to follow her lifelong dream of becoming a musician. She bought a guitar and went traveling with it.
Now an accomplished musician, BLU had to work through her own shifting identity alchemy to reach the point she’s at today where she sees her hearing loss as an invitation to listen deeper. She encourages others to turn their traumas into their greatest gifts in her recent TEDx Talk where she shares the amazing story of how she turned limitation into liberation.
In this episode, BLU explains what it looks like to live to blow your own mind. We also discuss what it was like for BLU to lose her hearing, the difference between prayer and performance, and why she wants everything in her life to be beautiful. Making Beauty a Calling BLU’s name is an acronym for “Beauty, Love, and Unity.” She named herself when she discovered that her life’s work is to bring beauty and light everywhere she goes. By renaming herself she was rebirthing something new in her life.
“If I was to summarize everything in my life’s work, it is to restore beauty, love, and unity on the planet again.” - BLU BLU does try to bring beauty into as many facets of life as possible, whether that’s how she decorates her house, how she treats her body, how she interacts with people, or how she creates her art.
She explains that the artificial glamour pushed on us through society is a false beauty that completely distorts what true beauty is supposed to be.
Blu shares what it was like to lose her hearing, the difference between prayer and performance, and why she wants everything to be beautiful.
“Whose story was I living?” - Blu.
onken.co/blu
“Our ego is our teammate.” - Nick Onken
Hello my fellow alchemists! I’m your host, Nick Onken, and we're back with another solo episode of the ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. Today. I'm going to talk more about identity alchemy, and I want to share with you my journey of finding my self-worth and my identity.
As I've gone through this journey myself, I've realized that the more you attach your self-worth with the identity that you put out into the world — whether that's your career, your relationship, or your family — if you're solely attached to that identity, what happens when that goes away? What's left for you?
What I have learned through my 20 years of experience as a photographer is something that I am applying to help people tell their visual stories and build their brands. People want real authenticity, and the story you are telling the world is what needs to resonate. This is where identity alchemy comes in — to help you tell a personal story that is authentic to who you are and allows you to find your self-worth. My Journey of Finding My Self-Worth as a Photographer Photography is a personal and creative outlet for me. I often find myself putting my heart and soul into my work. It's always been something that fills me with joy, but my journey wasn’t an easy ride — it’s had ebbs and flows.
Believe it or not, I actually started out as a graphic designer. I went to school for graphic design. I bought a digital camera to start shooting for my design work, and that was the start of my journey as a photographer who has been building and enhancing brands for almost 20 years now.
When I started doing commercial photography, I figured out that it was what I really wanted to do. Being a commercial photographer is who I wanted to be in the world. So I pursued my passion, even to the point of slaving myself away, working up to 16 hours a day doing foot tests, photoshoots, building my portfolio, designing my website, and marketing myself. I was living in a small room in a house in Santa Monica where I paid $800 in rent per month.
When I moved to Los Angeles, I started all over again, building my business from scratch. It was a long journey, but I knew that's what I wanted. I wanted to be a commercial photographer shooting campaigns for lifestyle photography, traveling the world, and doing various campaigns. Eventually, I got a job for Nike shooting some pro sports players that catapulted my career as a commercial photographer.
However, after completing the job for Nike, I wasn’t able to get another photoshoot job for the next two years. So, I started to question myself. I started to question who I was. I started to question if what I was doing was the right thing. A mentor told me, “Just keep going. You’ve got to keep pressing through because nothing happens overnight.”
It’s true! Success doesn’t happen overnight. When we look at others’ Instagram stories, sometimes we envy their successes. But what most people don't realize is how much work goes into achieving success. It takes a lot of time, dedication, and commitment to reach your goals. There will be times when you want to give up, but if you push through the hard times, then the good ones will come.
For me, the good came in 2008 when I finally got my first big advertising campaign. It was a full production campaign with 30 people working under me on the set in Miami, Florida. It was a campaign for Secret deodorant, which ended up being a huge print ad. I could still remember sitting on planes and noticing somebody flipping through a magazine and seeing my ad — it was a cool feeling and an ecstatic experience.
When I moved to New York at the peak of my career, I was throwing parties and going around the city till 2:00 to 4:00 AM every night, drinking, partying, and eating whatever I wanted. Money was constantly flowing while the campaigns were ru...
Listen in to this episode as I discuss the process of detaching yourself self-worth from your identity, how to rebuild your self-worth, and what action steps I took right before my career took off.
“Our ego is our teammate.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/detaching
“I have made a conscious decision to evolve without pain.” - Maejor
Hello, my friends! Welcome to another episode of the Onken Radio podcast (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey! Today, I’m excited about my special guest and music master, Maejor. I really wanted to have him on because he is all about frequency and healing the world through frequency in his music. He’s produced albums and songs for Justin Bieber and is also a leukemia survivor.
All these things have given him a unique perspective on life, making him a great guest to talk to about the alchemy of life. We will also share with you his mission to heal the world through frequency by creating all of his music in 432 Hertz and other healing frequencies.
Here’s a quick taste of what’s to come from my interview with Maejor: “I believe this year has been a rebirth in many ways for myself [and] for a lot of people. How can I use this moment in this time in the best way to give love? I’ve made a conscious decision now to evolve without pain.” - Maejor Maejor is a quality guy who feels deeply connected and has the greatest heart. In my opinion, I think most people that reach his level of success live in a different world — one that’s not tapped into what most people experience. What I really appreciate about Maejor is he’s still tapped in and because of that is challenging his own creativity to be a light in the world for healing. Who Is Maejor? Brandon Michael Green, known by his stage name Maejor, is an American record producer, singer, and songwriter from Detroit, Michigan. Maejor has written and produced songs for several prominent artists in the music industry — most extensively Justin Bieber — and is half of the EDM (Electronic Dance Music) duo Area21 alongside Dutch DJ Martin Garrix.
In honor of Maejor’s grandmother, Edna Mae, who passed away, he used her name in the spelling of Maejor because of the closeness of their relationship and her impact on his life.
Maejor has been producing music from the age of 17, and it’s been his focus ever since. “I always had a vision that I was going to do something very positive and impactful for the world — I don’t know where that came from. I just had that thought when I was a kid.” - Maejor As Maejor’s career progressed, big names started noticing him in the industry. Part of his vision for making an impact in the world was to create centers that teach underprivileged kids music. However, this plan always felt like something “down the line” that he was going to do. The success in his twenties led him to rapidly build on the momentum he was creating until he was dealt a devastating blow. “I got leukemia when I was in my twenties. [I thought] ‘Whoa, this is pretty crazy — what does that mean?’ I never [even] knew that word, I never [even] knew what that was. My timeline switched [from] ‘something I’m going to do [in] 20 years’ to ‘who knows [if] I’m going to be around [in] 20 years?’ What could I do now?” - Maejor Maejor’s second chance has given him a different perspective on life and how to create an impact in the world using his music. It’s a great honor to bring you his story and dive into the creative process that he’s developed. Maejor’s connectedness to the world we live in and journey through spirituality made this a magical interaction.
Let’s jump straight in! How to Remain Present The past year has created chaos in most people’s lives, and while it’s easy to say things like “Be more present,” putting that into practice when the world feels like it’s collapsing around us is another story. Maejor shares how he remains present and what he does to create space to hear messages tapping him from the universe. “One thing that’s helping me is a regular meditation practice.
Listen in as Maejor shares why it’s a good time for growth, how to heal the world through frequency, and how Nikola Tesla influences his work.
“I have made a conscious decision to evolve without pain.” - Maejor.
onken.co/maejor
“Nick was such a huge part of capturing the beauty of our relationship.” - E11even
Hello friends! Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey.
Today, I’m excited to bring to you another episode with my dear friend, Eleven. We chatted in Episode 204 about their transition to non-binary. As a follow-up, we both decided to create another podcast that dives deep into how our relationship has progressed since we first met in 2013.
We’ve been able to explore different spaces in our lives as friends, creative collaborators, and Eleven’s even been a muse for me, my photography, and ONKEN hats. Today’s episode is all about blurring the lines between the muse and the artist as we explore beyond friendship. Let me just give you a little preview here: “We’re dealing with sexual identity and identity alchemy and it makes a lot of different processes. [Throw in] a kindred relationship with best friends [and we are] blurring the lines between the artists and the music in a really potent and powerful way.” - Eleven Through all of our experiences, we’ve remained friends. As our friendship deepens, we wanted to share that journey with you while challenging ourselves and our friendship in a space of vulnerability. It’s a powerful episode I hope you find value in as well, so let’s go! Who is Eleven? Growing up as Lynette Cenee, Eleven was raised in a world blended between religion and stage magic, with parents that were both involved in the church, as well as practicing magicians. This provided a pathway to growing up as a performer and developing a keen understanding of hair and makeup to create all the glitz and glamor needed on stage. “I found myself living in LA and getting cast to be the hair and makeup [person] for some really incredible projects. I felt very conflicted, because I grew up on stage as the talent, and then found myself behind the scenes thinking, ‘Okay, this is great [but] I really want to be the one that people are preparing to be on screen.’ I just needed to believe I’m worthy of it, and decided to start seeking outside of being the hair and makeup [person], and seeking casting calls to be the talent.” - Eleven Choosing to focus on being in front of the camera again led to an opportunity to be cast on a new TV show that required hair and makeup professionals on camera as experts. Participants would be given help to launch a new YouTube channel with a whole production company behind them, as well as a team of 13 people to manage all the social media components. That’s what launched the career of Lynette Cenee — the name Eleven was given at birth — for the next 10 years.
The show focused on creating different beauty videos while also telling Eleven’s story transparently online, which included their marriage in 2015. It was a challenging relationship requiring a lot of alchemy to work through. It was after deciding to leave the marriage though that Eleven was invited to visit Peru. “I had been feeling the call towards doing deeper plant medicine work with ayahuasca. This whole evolution began in 2018, and it’s been this wild journey into this space of psychedelic Renaissance and deeper work and a whole new transition. A new avatar kind of made its way through the process and now I am identifying as Eleven — a non-binary cosmic being, and it feels more myself. I’ve never felt this authentic and true, and it feels great.” - Eleven Each step along Eleven’s journey to becoming the person they are now has built upon the lessons they’ve learned at each growth stage. Nick and Eleven’s Backstory Eleven and I were first introduced on set in 2013 when our mutual friend Scooter hired us for the Teen Vogue photoshoot of Tori Kelly. Eleven said: “I remember this whole thing about,
Nick and E11even discuss blurring the lines between the muse and the artist, how to be more vulnerable online, and how to make space for creativity.
“You are my muse, too.” - E11even.
onken.co/muse
“It’s been quite the hero’s journey, y’all.” - Eleven
Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Today, I’m excited to bring to you a dear friend of mine, Eleven. We met about eight years ago on set shooting for Tori Kelly, who’s actually a previous podcast guest from 2014. Eleven was doing makeup for the shoot and after meeting we became friends — we even went out on a couple of dates way back in the day!
I’m excited to have Eleven here today to teach us about what it means to transition into non-binary. Let me just give you a little preview here: “Vulnerability is your superpower. Sharing with people the process and what’s coming up in real time goes back to that same thing — authenticity. I think when we can be vulnerable and show up and be like, ‘Hey guys, I don’t have all the answers. I’m just showing up and that resonates with people.’” - Eleven It’s so true. Too many of us wait to reveal ourselves when we feel we have it all figured out, when the truth is nobody ever does and it’s how we show up with love and compassion for ourselves and each other that creates the space for our true expression to flow through us.
And you guys, that’s just a little taste of the wisdom Eleven has to offer. We talk a lot about Identity Alchemy, a topic of interest for me as of late. It’s a signature process that I’ve been developing for my personal brand. It’s about creating congruence between who you are as a person, your vision, your message, your service to the world, and how that translates into visual imagery and the visual brand that you’re putting out into the internet and into the world.
Identity Alchemy is a process that can be used for life in general — it’s personal development, and it’s constantly creating our new identity in every moment.
I wanted to interview Eleven here and talk about their transition into non-binary, whichrequired deep inner alchemy, and it’s something that’s really at the forefront of our culture and society today. I know you’re not going to want to miss that, so let’s get started. Who Is Eleven? Growing up as Lynette Cenee, they grew up in a world blended between religion and magic with parents who were both involved in the church and practicing magicians. This provided a pathway to growing up as a performer and developing a keen understanding of hair and makeup to create all the glitz and glamor needed on stage. “I found myself living in LA and getting cast to be the hair and makeup [person] for some really incredible projects. I felt very conflicted because I grew up on stage as the talent and then found myself behind the scenes thinking, ‘Okay, this is great, [but] I really want to be the one that people are preparing to be on screen.’ I just needed to believe I’m worthy of it and decided to start seeking outside of being the hair and makeup [person] and seeking casting calls to be the talent.” - Eleven Choosing to focus on being in front of the camera again led to an opportunity to cast for a new TV show that required hair and makeup professionals on camera as experts. In fact, this was to launch a YouTube channel with a whole production company behind them and a team of 13 people to launch and manage all the social media components. That’s what launched Lynette Cenee, the name given at birth, for the next 10 years.
The show focused on creating different beauty videos while also telling their story transparently online, which included a marriage in 2015. It was a challenging relationship, requiring a lot of Identity Alchemy to work through. It was after deciding to leave the marriage though that they were invited to visit Peru. “I had been feeling the call towards doing deeper plant medicine work with ayahuasca.
“The idea is to align your identity with your optical brand.” - Nick Onken
Today, I will be talking about something that I have spoken a lot about lately. It’s a new process I am developing to help entrepreneurs build their personal brands. This process is really applicable to life, and it directly correlates with everything that I have been going through personally over the last few years.
Hello, my fellow earthlings, and welcome back for another episode of the ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) podcast, where we explore the worlds of creativity, consciousness, and everything else in between. Identity Alchemy is the topic of the day, and I am breaking it down so that we all can learn and use this process to change our lives.
I am a photographer who has been building brands for almost 15-20 years now. What I have learned through that creative process is that there is something that I am applying to help people tell their visual stories and build their brands. People want real authenticity, and the story you are telling the world is what needs to resonate. The identity alchemy piece comes in to tell a personal story that is authentic to who you are.
I know that your mind is brimming with questions, but rest assured — through this solo episode, my mission is to help you live a life of creativity. This is the kind of creative alchemy that my entire work and life are focussed around, and I want you to make the most of my learning and observation. I am glad to be a part of your creative journey, and I hope you find your full potential.
Understanding the Alchemy of Identity Deconstruct-Curate-Become: Identity alchemy can be summed up by this three-step process: the deconstruction of the self, the curation of the new version of yourself, and then becoming who that is, becoming your authentic self. Because people, they love authenticity and that’s what keeps them coming back to you.
Have you ever had an encounter with someone in real life, someone you followed and admired, and when you finally met them in person, you realized that they are nothing at all like their online persona? I personally find this a weird thing. I want to meet people who are putting out content online that directly aligns with who they are, and that demands the process of identity alchemy.
The truth is that most entrepreneurs struggle with sharing themselves online, and they experience imposter syndrome. I, too, feel imposter syndrome often; it’s really hard to align your identity with your brand. But if done right, the exposure naturally attracts opportunities and audiences while creating alignment and authenticity.
Cleaning up the process, creating congruence between who you are, your message, and the content that you are putting out there into the world — this is the process of identity alchemy.
Constantly throughout our lives, we are shape-shifting into new identities. You go through something in life, and then that incident reshapes you a little however you allow it to. The idea is to start a deconstructing process to perform the alchemy of transmuting that energy, that ill-feeling inside you, into something beautiful, but that takes deep work and different modalities. We all have the choice to do that, and I promise you will be in a much better place on the other side. Curate Your Story and Imbibe It in Your Personal Brand There are some hard questions that we all must ask ourselves — Who do we want to be? What type of narratives and values do we want to live with? What kinds of beliefs do we want to have? Then, we use our answers to curate the future. Use the narrative to become the identity that you envision for yourself. You can play any character you want in the world, as long as you resonate with it naturally.
All of us create the world around us. We create the world that we want to live in as we think the world revolves around us. You think a thought, take action on it, and then you start creating from it.
E11even talks about the process of becoming E11even, blurring the lines between the muse and the artist, and how plant medicine has helped them along their journey of self-discovery.
“It’s been quite the hero’s journey, y’all.” - E11even.
onken.co/e11even
Listen in as I explain the identity alchemy process, how to build a personal brand, and how brands can connect with their audience.
“The idea is to align your identity with your optical brand.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/what-is-identity-alchemy
Gary Zukav shares what multisensory perception is, how to create authentic power, and how we can expand our consciousness.
“The basic choice is love or fear.”- Gary Zukav.
onken.co/gary-zukav
“The basic choice is love or fear.” - Gary Zukav
Welcome to another episode of the ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. I’m on a mission to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level, and it brings me great joy to know you’re joining me on this journey.
Today, I'm excited to bring you a very special guest. His name is Gary Zukav, and he's on a mission to show us how we can grow beyond the limitations of the five senses through expanded consciousness, spiritual growth, and a process of consulting our intuition. “Every creation is a co-creation.” - Gary Zukav It’s all about spiritual partnerships in relationships where two people are dedicated to each other's growth, both spiritually and personally, and we are all mirrors for each other. We attract people into our lives called mirrors, sometimes it's not always the most comfortable thing. However, mirrors are how we grow, and that's what spiritual partnerships are.
In this episode, we talked about mirrors and about being a universal human or a multi-sensory human, which involves learning how to create authentic power that will eventually make us universal humans. This is an exciting conversation, so let’s go. Who Is Gary Zukav? Gary Zukav is a New York Times bestselling author of four consecutive bestseller books. He's probably best known for Seat of the Soul, which captures the imaginations of millions of people. The book talks about the alignment of the personality and the soul as the fulfillment of life. Another of his bestselling books, Universal Human, invites you to a world based on love, which we also discuss in this episode.
His recent book, Spiritual Partnership, reveals a powerful new relationship dynamic that allows us to reach our full potential and create authentic power, calling us to a life of joy and fulfillment. Spiritual partnerships are not only for couples in marriage. They can be created by two or more individuals who decide to engage as equals for the purpose of spiritual development.
Gary Zukav has appeared 36 times on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and he co-created the Seat of the Soul Institute together with Linda Francis. He is all about helping people step into their authentic power, which is something I’ve been talking about, though in a somewhat different language. For me, that's the term that I use for diving deeper into the universe inside of you and me and finding a way to create power from within.
We'll never be satisfied when we are looking for external validations and external things to fill us up. And getting to a place where we are coming from a loving intention versus a fearful intention, is the space that creates authentic power.
As if all that weren’t enough, Gary is also a former green beret officer of the U.S. Army Special Forces, and after his military service, he wrote his first book, The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics. I'm really excited to check this book out because it talks about the dazzling and fascinating world of physics in the quantum field and spirituality and how they all intermix with each other. Understanding that beautiful connection is just a part of being a multisensory human and becoming a universal human. Harnessing Our Multi-Sensory Personality Beyond the Five Basic Senses We are all multi-sensory humans. Meaning, our perceptions can sometimes go beyond what we physically see, hear, smell, or taste. We somehow have an understanding that there is another kind of power taking its roots from the deepest source of our beings, which Gary Zukav calls the “authentic power.”
As we discover our authentic power, we also evolve from being a five-sensory human to a multi-sensory human where our perceptions are no longer limited by physical reality but expanded to a bigger dynamical system that the physical reality is only a part of.
“Self-care is all about coming back to a place of wholeness.”- Nick Onken
Hey, guys! Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio). In this podcast, we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
Self-care is a practice that can be so elusive, especially in the face of modern-day pressures and demands. It's easy to feel like there's never enough time or energy for self-care. But what does self-care mean, and why is it so important? What would happen if you practiced some small acts of self-care every day?
In this week's episode of ONKEN Radio, I want to share the path I've taken along my spiritual journey to discovering self-care. I'll also share with you guys some hacks and a few products that can help you practice self-care in your life every day. This is an essential episode for us as creatives, so we can be reminded that it is so important to do things for ourselves, too.
If you want to make your impact on the world more sustainable and bring a higher level of energy to your endeavors, then this episode is for you. Let's get started! Overcoming A Difficult Time I want to start out by telling you about a difficult time I had a few years ago. It was the moment that my business was in decline, and I just came from a break-up. This situation sent me into a downward spiral of my own questioning of existence.
During this dark night of the soul, I couldn't find the motivation to do anything. I even found myself asking, “What's the point and the meaning of all of this?” Being in this dark moment of my life, I ended up doing 5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5 MeO DMT) through that time, which, while outstanding, also pushed me into a deeper hole. I didn't know how to integrate the experience of a spiritual world brought by the 5 MEO DMT with this challenging part of my life.
But somehow, I knew that taking one step forward, even if it didn't feel like there was progress, was actually the thing that I needed to do. A few months later, I discovered breathwork. It was the integration that I needed to make sense of the whole other spiritual side of the world. I realized that I needed to implement the lessons that I've learned and integrate them into everyday living.
It was an extensive breakdown of my ego. From that experience, I realized how my self-worth was implanted into the external validation of my relationship, my business, and other things. I even asked myself, "When those things go away, or they crumble, who am I without them?" These accumulated feelings of emptiness and wanting to be healed were why I was in this situation first and foremost.
I integrated plant medicine and breathwork for a few months. I discovered that it was the self-care that I needed to nurse myself back to wholeness. Deconstructing Self-Care I believe that we are always shapeshifting our identity, whether it's for an outward expression of our personal brand or it's just our own personal journeys. This is what my process of identity alchemy is about, and it is composed of a three-step process of deconstruction, curation, and becoming.
Looking back at the experience after I had my first big photo job, the process of deconstruction is always the hardest one. It involves looking at the events in our life where we feel like we aren't where we're supposed to be. This is a process that can be highly unpleasant. However, it also allows us to identify our shadows and shed them slowly. It is such a massive piece of understanding who we are to curate who we want to become.
This process of curating who we want to become involves the concept of self-care. The present identities we have are formed by our own narratives, thought systems, beliefs, and constructs in the past. They aren't all good, but we have a choice. We can choose to reshape our identity or be victims of the id...
Listen in as I share what I’ve been through and how self-care has become such a huge part of my life over the past few years. I also share some of my favorite self-care tips, tricks, and products.
“Self-care is all about coming back to a place of wholeness.”- Nick Onken.
onken.co/ep201
“The relationship is a third body.” - Connor Beaton
Hey, guys! Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio). In this podcast, we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey
This week we're talking about couples — with a couple! Vienna Pharaon and Connor Beaton have been guests on podcast episodes 129 and 128, respectively, but that was well before they got engaged! Now they are an official pair, and they work together and separately as therapists.
One of the most important topics that we all are interested in is relationships. That's what both of them focus on together. They're creating, and they have courses together and separately. Though it might be a mystery to some individuals how intimate and professional relationships can co-exist, the thing is, they can — with the right tools and knowledge, of course!
So, today, read on as we talk about co-creating as a couple, what healthy co-working relationships are, and how couples can navigate conflicts.
If you're ready to know what it takes to be successful while in a relationship with your business partner, then this is definitely for you. Without further ado, let's get started! Who are Vienna Pharaon and Connor Beaton? Vienna Pharaon and Connor Beaton are therapists— and newlyweds!
Vienna has been a licensed marriage and family therapist in New York City for over five years. She's worked with countless individuals, couples, and families to help them strengthen themselves and their relationships.
This is what led her to create Mindful Marriage & Family Therapy, where Vienna focuses on helping her clients enhance their emotional well-being to improve their interpersonal relationships. She also works with them to gain insight into the root of their emotional triggers. She and her team also provide necessary tools for their clients to feel more in control of their lives.
Meanwhile, Connor is also a fantastic therapist who specializes in doing men's shadow work. He helps men work with the unknown parts of themselves — the parts that sabotage and get in the way when they're trying to build healthy relationships or businesses.
He is also a man of many talents, having an excellent knowledge of business and personal development. He can work with anyone from any background or culture with ease due to his extensive experience working globally. Connor doesn't just do online courses, retreats, and one-on-one consultation sessions: he also hosts podcasts. His podcast, Mantalks, offers modern guys advice on how they can evolve into their authentic selves while being accountable for things that matter most.
In this episode today, this duo is sharing their years of experience and knowledge in building successful relationships while co-working with romantic partners. You’ll take away so much! Let’s dive in. Co-Creating as a Couple There is a specific energy that happens when two people come together in partnership: and it's not just the romantic kind. For example, when two people with different skills come together to create something, the results are often overwhelmingly positive and may even be life-altering. This energy drives couples or business partners alike to keep creating, as they do their best work when they partner with another individual. This is what Connor saw at the beginning of his relationship with Vienna. "I definitely saw the merit, growth, and expansion for each of us individually within the possibility of working together. And I also saw the impact that we, as a couple, could have in our work that could deepen our impact with people." - Connor Beaton But before this can happen, there are struggles that any couple must face. For Connor and Vienna, their contrasting personalities proved to be the most difficult hurdle to come at first. "I was an only child growing up...
Vienna Pharaon and Connor Beaton explain what makes a healthy relationship, how to deal with codependency, and how to navigate conflict.
“The relationship is a third body.” - Connor Beaton.
onken.co/ep200
“We are the midwives of creativity.” - Nick Onken
Hey, guys! Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio). In this podcast, we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
There are many times that I'm on a schedule and my podcast producers need the content by a specific day to get it done and published for the following week, so finding time to do my own show or come up with ideas is something I often have trouble with. There are days when an idea comes into mind like an inspiration, or creativity just starts flowing from who knows where, and all seems possible! However, there are days that I feel like it's just not in me to create something.
So, when you’re being asked to create with a deadline like I am with this podcast, it can be very challenging to do your best work. But with a little guidance, a little practice, and a little help from your friends, it is totally possible to find your inspiration — even under pressure.
In this episode, we are going to talk about some practical tips to help you create under pressure. I will also share why I started this podcast, how my childhood affects my creativity today, and what process of identity alchemy I am undergoing right now.
If you want to master my recipe for creating under pressure so you can do the same, then let’s jump in! Tip#1: Phone a Friend For Perspectives Do you ever find yourself lost and confused? Do you sometimes feel like you’re always hitting creative blocks? One way to get around this is by talking with someone who has experienced the same thing you're going through. What better person could that be than a friend, right?
I remember talking to my friend Jeff Holt when I had a creative block. He reminded me that everything is some type of medicine, good or bad and that we can learn and create something from every situation, including the exact moment or predicament that we're in.
Talking to him, I was also reminded that this podcast is a labor of love. It is a creative passion of mine, especially interviewing people. But more importantly, speaking into a microphone has been a way to push me out of my comfort zone. I had a very conservative Christian upbringing where speaking and expressing your own truth, or any beliefs that were counter to Christian beliefs, were not accepted.
This brought me to another realization: my podcast is in some ways a process that helps me deconstruct. I'm developing a process called identity alchemy, which involves the deconstruction of belief systems and traumas from childhood, as well as the deconstruction of our surroundings, environment, and anything else that impacts how we operate in life.
That’s because I believe we don’t have to allow what’s been constructed for us (such as family experiences, relationships, and philosophies that no longer work for us) to determine our course in life or who we are. We can change that. Life is a journey of self-discovery, and we get to choose who we will be in the world.
These are things I’m reminded of when I call and connect with friends like Jeff, and I think you’d benefit from great conversations with your own friends, too. When we connect with people who know us and who we admire, we can get new perspectives and new ideas. We might even learn brand new things from a friend who has more experience with whatever it is we’re trying to learn or practice! They might also have some advice that could help us look at ourselves and our situation in a different way.
Because just like what Jeff said, the things that happen in our life — even creative blocks —can be used as fuel to create something beautiful. We should ask ourselves: What am I learning through this process or challenge? Is there something good here? It helps when we choose to view things as a part of the "alchemy" or transformation.
Listen in to learn how to create under pressure, ways to maximize your creativity, and how to stay present.
“We are the midwives of creativity.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/ep199
“Everything is about frequency. NuCalm is about managing frequencies.” - Jim Poole
Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio). In this podcast, we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
Last time, I recapped my trip to Arkana, where I experienced some of the most potent and profound plant medicines on the planet.I got this very vivid picture of how we get to fine-tune and take care of these human bodies of ours. I realized the importance of paying attention to what we're putting into our bodies so that we can achieve our higher selves.
Today's episode is another biohack that we can use to upgrade our system, mind, and body. It's a neuroscience technology aimed at managing the human brain to have our extraordinary lives in color. To help us go in-depth with this new technology, I have the CEO of NuCalm on the show — Jim Poole!
In this episode, Jim and I talk about what NuCalm does. We dive deep into its neuroscience and how it can help you deal with stress, fear, recovery, and so much more.
So if you're ready to hack your way into deep stress relief and body recovery, let's dive in! Who Is Jim Poole? Before he met the inventor of NuCalm, Jim had been a part of plenty of large companies.
He also worked as a managing partner for Focused Evolution. Focused Evolution is a management-strategy consulting firm specializing in developing and implementing growth strategies for companies at every stage of the business life cycle. The firm has a global clientele and has served businesses throughout the medical device, life sciences, dental, IT, and financial industries.
In 2009, he became the president of Solace Lifesciences, a neuroscience company focused on personalized evidence-based wellness and performance. After learning about NuCalm's neuroscience technology's potential power to manage the human brain, Jim became a convert.
NuCalm is now the company's flagship product and the world's first and only patented technology clinically proven to lower stress and improve sleep quality without drugs. It naturally and safely creates deep relaxation within minutes with no side effects. Today, NuCalm is used by 49 professional sports teams, adopted by the U.S. military, and is newly available for personal use on a subscription-based plan.
The insights that Jim gained over the years of dedication and work in NuCalm led him to discover and gain the wisdom he's going to share with us. Biohacking: The Science Behind NuCalm As humans, we all have the so-called “reptilian brain.” This reptilian brain pushes us to secure our survival, which sadly sabotages in various ways. Jim explained how post-traumatic disorder, one sign of our reptilian brain working, is treated in today's world. "Dr. G. Blake Holloway, the creator of NuCalm, was wholly unimpressed with how PTSD was treated with conventional therapy and narcotic-based pharmaceuticals and cognitive behavioral therapy to the brain. He believes that this isn't a place where we can calm down. So if you're in a constant state of hypervigilance and fight or flight, you're not even at a baseline opportunity to begin the healing process." - Jim Poole
The silver lining, though, is we have the resources and expertise to deal with it today. Jim shared how NuCalm, a product of wellness tech, can make this possible. "Our nervous system has two parts: the central nervous system and the autonomic nervous system. The central nervous system governs our security. It's responsible for keeping us alive. Meanwhile, the autonomic nervous system governs human fear, stress, anxiety, and depression. It's the reptilian part of our brain, which has a pretty strong, important role in our life. NuCalm's role is focused on balancing the reptilian brain, which has evolved over 40 million years ago."
Jim Poole explains what NuCalm does, how stress and sleep are related, and the key to mindfulness.
“NuCalm is designed to balance the autonomic nervous system, meaning it’s designed to stop the sabotage of fear, stress, anxiety, and depression.” - Jim Poole.
onken.co/ep198
Nick talks about his recent excursion to the Arkana Spiritual Center, an Ayahuasca Retreat Center in Peru.
“I found myself at the outer reaches of the universe.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/ep197
“I found myself at the outer reaches of the universe.”
Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio). In this podcast, we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
I just had a huge week, and I'm thrilled to tell you all about it! If you've been listening along, you'll already know that I've been doing plant medicine for a couple of years now, but this past week was something completely new.
I visited the Arkana Spiritual Center in Peru, where I was welcome as a part of the family to experience some of the most potent and profound plant medicines on the planet. Over a week, I was able to enjoy the effects of peyote, DMT, and ayahuasca under the watchful care of the fantastic team at Arkana. My own journey of consciousness is deeply linked to my creativity, and the more I learn, the more I want to share with you.
Read on as I talk in more detail about my recent excursion to the Arkana Spiritual Center, an Ayahuasca Retreat Center in Peru. I share how a sweat lodge works and why people join peyote ceremonies. I'll also share my insights on how ayahuasca and other plant medicines can heal you and make your life better.
If you're excited to know more, let's get started! Death and Healing Have you ever seen or used a sweat lodge? During the first night at Arkana, I tried using a sweat lodge. For those who don't know, a sweat lodge is a dome with one little door. The one that I used was made up of whole cement. It was super hot, they had a giant fire going outside, and they were heating up these rocks, which I think were similar to lava rocks.
Each of us piled into the lodge, and we sat around in a circle around the outsides. Some people started bringing in the rocks and putting them in the fire pit and the rock pit in the center. Once they'd get enough, they'd dump buckets of water into them, and the whole lodge just started to heat up with steam.
As we sweat, I noticed that they moved through a few different processes, kind of like a three or four-step ceremony throughout the whole thing. They started with water and air, water and earth, and then moved into fire and air.
And all this time, the one thing in my mind was my grandmother passing. Before leaving, I literally gave my goodbye to her while she was on her deathbed.
Amidst the ember and perspiration on my skin, I had this strange experience where I saw her wanting to go to eternal bliss but not wanting to leave home, too. So I reached out to her and guided her home. Once we arrived on earth, I led her to a fire. I put my hand on her lying body on the hospital bed in an almost astral projected consciousness. Then I lifted her up to the ether.
I think that this has been my attitude towards death for a while now — I believe that we can communicate with our ancestors. Their spirit is everywhere, and all we need is to invite them in. Death isn't the end, and we can always find ways to transcend death and extend our relationship with them. Having this kind of approach to death can allow us to heal better and more fully What a Peyote Ceremony Taught Me Another transcending experience I had was participating in a peyote ceremony. On the first night, we partook in some cactus and tea. Afterward, I laid back down and just had this crazy psychedelic journey of visuals. It was a little intense, but the second day was a much lighter experience.
Throughout these moments, I was reminded of the importance of one thing — being present.
The first night I partook in the peyote ceremony, I saw cactus textures, elves, and all kinds of crazy things. At a certain point, I just couldn't formulate any thoughts or words. I couldn’t really do anything with what I was experiencing.
However, this medicine ended up taking me into the present. I woke up in the middle of the night,
“There is poetry in how you treat yourself.” - Alyson Stoner
Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Today, I’ve got an extra special guest for you — Alyson Stoner. She has been in Hollywood acting and dancing since she was six years old! More recently, she became the founder of Movement Genius, where she teaches people how to tap in and heal themselves through movement.
In this interview, we talk about her story and how you can utilize movement to transcend trauma and fully express yourself creatively.
That's what we're all about here. Alyson is a go-getter, a brilliant individual. She's uber-creative, and we had a great conversation. She’s a big advocate for mental health and helping others activate their mental health. Let me give you a little preview here: “You do have to make [your mental health] a priority, [and] the way I see it is I remember that the fruit of this labor and the fruit of this process — [it] is more beauty and love that I can spread.” - Alyson Stoner Today, Alyson and I are unpacking that creative process and uncovering how it can benefit entrepreneurs like you — artists working to build creative careers. I know Alyson's advice will be as beneficial for you as it has been for me, so let's dive in. Who Is Alyson Stoner? Alyson has been casually performing since the age of three — she thought it would just be a recreational hobby in Toledo, Ohio, until she attended a New York convention when she was seven.
Unexpectedly, she won a couple of different awards where agents and managers suggested auditioning out in LA. She was fortunate to land a job with her first audition, and the momentum led to her working in the Hollywood entertainment world for a good 20 years now.
From starring with Missy Elliot in her hit music video “Work it,” she’s worked with Ludacris, Outkast, and even toured with the Jonas Brothers. Most recently, she did a guest appearance on stage with Missy at the 2019 VMA’s – a 17 year later tribute!
Alyson endured grueling hours with adult-level responsibility placed on her young shoulders — all while trying to manage school and growing into adulthood. Her career progressed into film and television, and she forged a relationship with the Disney Channel that’s maintained till this day!
While Alyson was so grateful for her journey through the entertainment industry, she started to feel like she was meant for more. Tired of hiding her true self, she began to dabble and create content with everything switching to digital. She wasn't interested in going viral or mainstream topics — reaching an audience curious about the same things and seeking deeper meaning became her focus.
Now, Alyson produces, writes, directs, and edits every piece of content she puts out into the world! . You should check out her work here.
Alyson is on a mission to make personal transformation accessible, affordable, and relevant, and I was honored to have her on the show to share her story and mission! The Beginning of Alyson’s Introspection Something I admire about Alyson is her inner journey work and how she’s deeply introspective. I’m always curious to find out how someone gets started on that journey. “I wish I could say it was a fairy tale or a flowery experience, but I think it was because I had a very chaotic household and work life, and I was still not even double digits in age. I met a friend in the neighborhood whose family had a certain glue that held them together, and there seemed to be a loving presence that was very different, and I wanted to know what that was about. I initially pursued a certain religious practice. Then I reached a point where I recognized that all I had done with my spiritual journey was repeat my patter...
Alyson and I talk about what it was like growing up in an adult world, how she learned to connect with people who shared similar interests, and how to use movement to get to know ourselves.
“There is poetry in how you treat yourself.” - Alyson Stoner.
onken.co/ep196
“At the beginning, I didn’t even feel worthy to work with a brand like Nike.” - Nick Onken
Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
In today’s episode of ONKEN RADIO, I’m going to share with you some of my history and a story during the deconstruction phase of my life. I’ve been working on a lot of identity alchemy projects recently, which pushed me to deconstruct things about my past.
I’ve been mulling over what it means to become better versions of ourselves, why there’s no such thing as a professional misstep, and how knowing who you don’t want to be can help you on your journey to finding out who you do want to be.
I’ve also been unpacking the impact of my first big job and the struggles I went through afterward. Landing a huge gig can be a great confidence booster, but if that immediate success isn’t instantly followed by a slew of new and greater successes, your path forward can become daunting. Learning all of these has helped me create the facets of my upcoming Identity Alchemy Program that I’m excited to share with you soon!
In this episode, I discuss the phases of my career, what identity alchemy is, and how my first big job affected my professional outlook forever — without further ado, let’s get started. What My First Big Photo Job Taught Me I’ve been doing photography for over 15 years. I've shot for huge brands like Nike and Coca-Cola, for celebrities like Justin Bieber and Usher, and magazines like Condé Nast, Traveler, and Cosmopolitan. But before all of these, I didn’t even think I was worthy enough to work with a brand like Nike or really any of these.
I used to work as a graphic designer for logos, websites, brochures, and other things for different clients before I started transitioning to photography, shooting weddings, and working with a few friends. It was in 2005 when I got my first huge job for Nike. It was for shooting pro sports players, like Ben Roethlisberger, Brian Urlacher, and Mariano Rivera. I had never done anything like this in my career and my life. After the job was done, I thought to myself that I knew what I wanted to do in my life — I wanted to be a commercial photographer.
So I've put all my efforts working towards it. However, I spent the next two years without another job at the same level.. During these two years, I wondered, “AM I even a photographer anymore? Or was this just like a one-hit-wonder?”
These questions perpetuated so much self-doubt within me. Something inside me was telling me to keep going, but I didn’t know if my dream would ever happen. A part of me felt like I had so much more to give to the world, but the value I was giving was tied to paying my bills, my rent, and other things.
However, something happened while I was shooting a wedding in a dingy beige high school gym in my hometown of Snohomish, Washington. I had been taking photographs of aunties, special dance moves, and cutting the cake scenes when I took a break and went to the restroom. As I was washing my hands, I looked in the mirror, put my hands on my face, and said to myself, “What am I doing? Why am I here and not being the commercial photographer I wanted to be?’
I'm sure you've had one of those moments when you also ask the same thing. Now that I think about it, I could say that I’m grateful for that time because it allowed me to feel the pain of not being where I want to be. At that moment, I decided that I would do what it took to create the life I wanted. There should be no excuses. I was going to do everything it needs to get there. What Is Identity Alchemy? Similarly to the moment I just described, there might be events in your life that you feel like you aren't where you’re supposed to be. However,
Nick discusses the phases of his career, what identity alchemy is, and why it’s important to know who you don’t want to be.
“At the beginning, I didn’t even feel worthy to work with a brand like Nike.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/ep195
“The answer to us is not an algorithm; it is so much more complex than that.” - Dr. G
Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. I’m glad to bring you another episode of taking your creativity, business, and life to the next level.
Creative Alchemy is using the process of creativity to take something ordinary and turn it into something extraordinary. Sometimes, certain blocks stop us from activating our inner creativity. It can be anything, but most of the time, these things are just within us. — trauma and unhealthy habits are just some of them.
Today, we have Dr. G in the house to help us navigate these blocks and dismantle them Dr. G is a holistic doctor and oncologist. He's got his own private practice concierge service for individuals, healthcare, and private doctors. He is also a Creative Alchemist through his podcast, Heal Thyself, where he talks about the self-healing process (and how you can do it too).
In our conversation, Dr. G shared his personal experiences and insights on healing the body and mind. We also talked about the mind-body connection and lastly, we discussed the practical ways to achieve harmony in ourselves and everything around us so that we can create with soul. I'm excited to dive in, so let’s get started. Who Is Dr. Christian Gonzalez? Dr. G is a naturopathic doctor, specializing in integrative oncology. He is also a co-founder of The Swell Score and the creator of Heal Thyself, a weekly live IG series that serves as a community for wellness and healing.
If you’re curious about how Dr. G’s work as a naturopathic doctor (ND) differs from that of a medical doctor (MD), you need to know that both have almost the same curriculum, including difficult science courses.
However, if you’re studying to become an ND, you’ll spend a number of hours on nutrition subjects, including Herbology as well! MD students don't study Eastern medicine, and a little sprinkle of healing people outside conventional medication is something that Dr. G believes is necessary to provide complete healing and cure.
Aside from providing holistic healing to his patients, Dr. G also has his podcast called, Heal Thyself. Not only does he talk about his healing process, but he also does amazing reviews of all kinds of different products, from supplements to mold.
Though Mr. G is greatly enjoying the field he’s into today, the story of how he got into the holistic side of things is a hard one. It was his mom’s cancer and her eventual death that led him to believe in the value of providing healing for one’s whole being. This is what led him to discover and gain the wisdom that he’s going to share with us today. Alchemize Your Health by Healing Your Mind and Body My philosophy of Creative Alchemy focuses on transmuting one thing into something better. I think that you can alchemize everything in your life — which includes your health, mind, and body.
There are many ways to improve one’s health. You can improve your health by eating healthier, working, out, and meditating. Another way is to conquer your fears because fear sends toxins through your body. Dr. G explained how this works: “If you're told something and the persistent message to you is that you need to be living in a fearful state, your body's going to react based on what your brain perceives. That's going to send a signal to your adrenals, and your adrenals are going to release cortisol. When there's too much cortisol, there’s also massive amounts of stress.” - Dr. G Dr. G also explained that with stress and trauma, physiological effects are also felt. Your breathing can change, and it just weakens you everywhere. This is where chronic diseases thrive. With your health hanging in the balance, it might be hard to achieve creative transformation.
To achieve healing for our mind, and ultimately our bodies, Dr. G gave the following tips:
Dr. G shares why TCM has too much influence over peoples’ health, why nature is important for health, and what a constant state of fear can do to the body.
“If you’re buzzing at the end of something you do, that’s art for you.” - Dr. G.
onken.co/ep194
“The magic happens when we’ve created a container around it.” - Nick Onken
Hello, fellow earthlings — welcome back to another episode of ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the world of creativity, consciousness, and everything in between to help you alchemize your life to its fullest expression!
A Creative Alchemist is someone who alchemizes their inner world to create a more creative expression of their outer world — and to do that, they have to be dedicated to living a life in full-color. In this podcast, I want to share some concepts on how to activate that Creative Alchemist that’s inside all of you. Together, we will distill complex spiritual practices so that you can deepen your creative flow and create beautiful things.
What I’m going to share with you today is something that I’ve been practicing for many years, and I’m just now becoming aware of what it actually means for the creative process. It’s a method I call “curating your containers.”
We have so many containers in our lives — health containers, relationship containers, money containers, etc. When we’re intentional about curating those containers, they yield the best results for creative output, allowing us to live our lives in full-color and with intention.
But first, let’s start by discussing what living life in color truly means — Create Your Moments by Tapping into Masculine and Feminine Energies Living with vibrance and radiance is such a huge piece of living fully and getting the most out of the human experience. I started a hashtag a few years back called #createyourmoments, and since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about what that phrase truly means.
Life is filled with moments, but how many of those moments are creatively and intentionally crafted? When we create moments with intention, we create more moments that are meaningful, deep, and life-changing — these moments are what truly define the human experience.
But how do we experience more of these moments? How do we transcend the mundane and start creating life in a higher reality? You all know that I love to talk about masculine and feminine energy, and I think it applies to the creative process as well. We all have masculine and feminine energy within us — it’s just a matter of how it’s balanced. When we learn how to balance the masculine and feminine energies within ourselves, we become more creative and productive individuals, living life with intention.
A lot of men embody the masculine energy of “hustle, hustle, hustle.” It’s about creating with intention and making everything work together in order to achieve results. If I'm doing a photoshop for Nike, I’m going to intentionally bring in the elements that I want to bring — location, hair, makeup, etc. That’s an example of operating from a place of masculine energy.
Feminine energy has a different flow — instead of “hustle, hustle, hustle,” it’s more about going with the magic of the moment. So after intentionally organizing the elements of the photoshoot into a container, I allow myself to feel the magic of the container that I’ve created. I tap into my feminine energy and focus my attention on what I’m creating.
This can be applied to every aspect of life — not just photoshoots. Whether you’re an entrepreneur, illustrator, or physician, you can curate your containers by flowing between your masculine and feminine energy. It’s a balance between hustling with intention and enjoying the creative process.
But how do we do this effectively? How do we actually apply this information to our lives? Three Ways to Curate Your Containers and Creative Experience
1: Think of the Results
Before you begin the physical creative process, take some time to intentionally visualize the emotions, philosophy, and message of what you want to create. Curate the space around you to stimulate your subconscious brain to create that art in your physical work.
For example,
Learn how to curate your containers, how an insight timer helps Nick, and how to trigger your subconscious.
“The magic happens when we’ve created a container around it.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/ep193
“People can’t be held accountable for that which they’re oblivious to.” - Peter Crone
Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
For today’s episode, we have with us self-proclaimed Mind Architect — Peter Crone. He helps people find a life of freedom on the other side of their subconscious mind.
How does he do it? By helping his clients step beyond their primitive survival instincts and rewire their brains to believe they are capable of achieving the best things they can imagine for themselves. Through heightening their sense of awareness, his clients shift from accepting their less-than-perfect reality to pursuing a life of vitality from the inside out.
Peter said he believes that actualizing an extraordinary reality begins with awareness: “People can’t be held accountable for that which they’re oblivious to.” - Peter Crone If you’re oblivious to your limiting beliefs or hidden fears, you can’t move past them. In the same way, if you’re oblivious of what a thriving life looks like to you, you can’t take the necessary steps to make it a reality. The more aware you are of how you’re experiencing life and the way you want to be, the more you will be able to create the life of your dreams.
If you’re ready to construct a life of love and freedom, this message is going to be your jam. Let’s get to it. Who Is Peter Crone? Peter Crone is a writer, speaker, and thought leader in human potential who works with world-class entertainers, professional athletes, and global organizations. He calls himself, “The Mind Architect.” Honestly, I don’t think there is a better description for him.
Peter explained that when he stepped into the self-help world, he felt that typical titles like “monk,” “spiritual teacher,” and “happiness guru” all came with the expectation that you walked around in robes and feathers while rubbing coconut oil on people. While Peter isn’t against any of that, he wanted to create a title that embodied an everyday person who had elevated their mind to a state of freedom, peace, and love. He explained his perspective like this: “My assertion is that every human being just by design … [has] these codes — this programming — of inadequacy, insecurity, and scarcity that drives all of these behavioral adaptations and the suffering that we see in the world. I help people discover a world of total freedom and love on the other side of those.” - Peter Crone All that to say, Peter does some legit and exciting work. He has received shout outs from multiple athletes and celebrities for the breakthroughs he has helped them achieve. If you want to rewire your brain for freedom and joy, Peter is the one to learn from.
Today we’re discussing the role time plays in rewiring your mental construct, what it means to thrive, and why you need to be aware of your physical and mental state if you truly want to prosper. This is a conversation you don’t want to miss. Rewiring Your Mind Takes Time When it comes to rewiring our brains, a lot of this stuff is very subconscious. On top of that, the thoughts we think are almost always subconsciously wired or programmed into our minds. Because of this, it takes a lot of work to uncover this subconscious programming.
Once you have brought subconscious thoughts — limiting beliefs, childhood wounds, deep-rooted fears — to a conscious level, you can start taking action to rewire them. However, if you’ve ever taken a stab at this kind of work, you’ve probably noticed that it’s more challenging than just changing a surface habit.
This is where Peter said that compassion and time play a key role in aligning your mind with freedom and joy. “[Compassion] eradicates a whole world of judgment that a lot of people have and brings in a lot more pa...
In this episode, Peter Crone shares what a mind architect does, what a survival mental construct looks like, and how to alter your perspective on your personal development.
“People can’t be held accountable for that which they’re oblivious to.” - Peter Crone.
onken.co/ep192
“The universe is going to throw you cosmic bricks and they’re going to get bigger and bigger if you don’t listen to them.”
Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Part of the journey I’ve been on in the last few months is consolidating my personal brand. Don’t worry — photography is, and will always be, a part of my work. But, if you follow me, you know I’ve been getting my hands dirty with a lot of other creative ventures, which include making hats, painting murals, and recording this podcast. These new endeavors are the result of the spiritual journey I’ve taken over the last few years to awaken deeper levels of my creativity and consciousness.
See, I believe that as we become a more true and complete version of ourselves, our work — our art — also reaches a more true and complete version of itself. This is Creative Alchemy in its simplest form. And it’s an alchemy that we get to participate in every day.
As we enter a new year, I want to share six lessons I learned in 2020 as I pursued Creative Alchemy in my life. If you're struggling with any inner pain, trauma, or what’s going on in the world, this message will be a gold mine for you — because, I’ll be real, 2020 was a doozy for me. I felt like I faced the challenge of turning circumstances I didn’t want into something I did want every day. Along the way, I learned a lot, and that’s what I’m excited to share with you now! Let’s get started. Cosmic Bricks: Life’s Greatest Gifts I've been handed some cosmic bricks over the last few years. Cosmic bricks are life-altering events that can knock you out or become building blocks for the next great thing in your life (sometimes, it does both). Here’s the catch: You decide what that cosmic brick in your life becomes by the way to think about it and respond to it.
A few years back, my cosmic brick was coming out of a relationship and declining business in the same few months. It forced me into a space where I was questioning things existentially and trying to find the meaning of anything! Looking back, I realize this was the beginning of my awakening and catalyzed a series of shifts that led me to where I am today.
You need to be on the lookout for cosmic bricks because the Universe is going to throw them at you. If you don’t listen to them, they will get bigger and bigger because the Universe is trying to trigger your awakening. When you get to the other side of pain or a cosmic brick, there is indescribable beauty.
When you realize cosmic bricks are raining down on you and hitting you in the face, choose to be grateful. Gratitude will help you transmute those hard experiences into new feelings of possibility. And, when we live with the mindset of possibility, the cosmic bricks accomplish their purpose, and we are set free to create the life we want. You’re Allowed to Not Be Okay This is something I've talked about before, but I think it’s worth talking about again because, as creatives, there’s a lot of not feeling okay. There’s a couple of reasons for this, but I think the biggest reason is that Creatives tend to be empaths. We feel a lot, and from that place of deep feelings, we create.
So let me ask you, “When was the last time you felt not-okay?” Whatever your answer was, that’s okay — don't hate yourself for not feeling okay. You are a spiritual being with a meat suit living on this crazy planet that basically just made it through hell and mayhem. You’re allowed to feel NOT okay.
Now, this isn’t permission to stay in your not-okay feelings. Actually, it’s a call to action to ask yourself, “How can I transmute this feeling of not being okay and move through it?” So the next time you don’t feel okay, choose what you want out of life and do whatever ...
Nick Onken shares 20 things he learned in 2020, from the value of plant medicine to the healing power of creativity and what your relationships say about you.
“The universe is going to throw you cosmic bricks and they’re going to get bigger and bigger if you don’t listen to them.” - Nick Onken.
onken.co/ep191
“We get addicted to scrolling, to checking Facebook, to checking our text messages, to the point where we are actually doing nothing.”
Have you ever grabbed your phone to open an app for no reason at all?
In this digital age, our brains are addicted to dopamine more than ever. We scroll through posts, check Facebook incessantly, and scan text messages to the point where we are actually doing nothing at all. If you're anything like me, you struggle to focus at work ever since social media burst into our lives. My mind is always searching for that hit of dopamine, and when I give in, I'm way less productive and focused.
Today, I want to dive into something that I'm calling "The Dopamine Experiment." I had never done a dopamine detox before, but now I've done it a few times over the past couple of weeks, and I'm hooked. This experiment goes way beyond a digital detox, too! We can be addicted to dopamine through screens, sex, food, and even music! Having some extra time at home during quarantine, I knew that this could be the perfect time to try out this reset plan.
In this episode, I share my experience with the dopamine detox and outline the three levels of the experiment. There are a few options to choose from, with varying levels of detox strictness, so you can spend some time deciding which option is best for you. I also share how the dopamine experiment has helped me regain my focus and hone my creativity.
Now is the perfect time to curb your addiction to social media. I hope this post gives you some insight into the process and inspires you to try it out yourself! Without further ado, let's get into it. What Is a Dopamine Detox? First, what exactly is a dopamine detox? Dopamine is the "feel-good" chemical that is released in your brain all the time. We usually get dopamine hits when we scroll through social media and see that someone liked our picture. The same thing happens when we get a text notification or someone retweets us. While dopamine isn't "bad," and we actually can harness it to improve our creativity, it's easy to get addicted to that rush, especially through social media.
When we're addicted to dopamine, we struggle to focus. If you're anything like me, you have had so much trouble trying to focus while you work in the office. I'm like a little rabbit running around to each thing that stimulates my intention. I'll see something interesting on social media, and then I go to research it on Google, but before I know it, I've completely forgotten what it was that I was going to search for. My mind is constantly searching for that hit of dopamine.
The more we get immersed in things like social media and scrolling, the more we become addicted. The dopamine hits create a loop in your brain that becomes shorter and shorter with each hit — basically, we get so accustomed to dopamine that we'll unconsciously seek it out to feed the loop. It's the same concept as being addicted to cocaine. I've found that a dopamine addiction can be very detrimental to my productivity. I still get a lot done, but I know I could get even more done if I wasn't addicted to dopamine.
Part of our dopamine addiction is due to the hundreds of ads we see every day. We live in an "attention economy," and corporations everywhere are trying to get our attention through ads. There have been millions of dollars put into research on how to keep people to keep scrolling through ads — this is the same with every social media platform. People are making money off your addiction.
So you have a choice. You can either play into it, get addicted, and lose yourself in the "scroll hole," or you can purposefully step away. The dopamine detox is a big part of that. It's about intentionally putting space between yourself and instant gratification. It's hard at first, but the results are incredible. My Dopamine Detox Experience Now, I want to share with you my experience of going through the dopamine detox.
nionradio.com/ep190
“We get addicted to scrolling, to checking Facebook, to checking our text messages, to the point where we are actually doing nothing.” - Nick Onken.
"If you fight for your limitations, you get to keep them." - Jim Kwik Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
Before we get into the episode, I want to ask you a question: Have you ever wanted to become limitless? It's an easy question, right? Why wouldn't you want to be limitless? Imagine the kind of Creative Alchemy you could produce if you unlocked your full potential and kept growing in your abilities! Today, I've got a brilliant man who's going to help you expand your mind and optimize your brain.
I'm happy to have my friend and brain coach Jim Kwik on today’s show! This will actually be the second time in which I've had Jim on the show. He first appeared in Episode 26, so make sure to check that out once you're done with this episode.
Jim is an absolutely brilliant guy, and his teachings will completely change your art and your life. Today, we're going to cover some of the lessons from Jim's new book, Limitless, including how to upgrade your brain, how technology can hurt your mental health, and how to shift from survival mode to thrival mode. You're going to learn a ton of helpful tips and advice today, so let's dive in! Who Is Jim Kwik? Jim Kwik is an author, founder and CEO of Kwik Learning, and host of the Kwik Brain with Jim Kwik podcast, where he gives expert weekly advice to improve yourself. He also teaches tools for speed reading and improving memory to various celebrities and actors, including Hugh Jackman, Jim Carey, and Will Smith.
Jim has such an inspiring background. After experiencing a brain injury as a young child, Jim developed a learning disability. He fell behind in his schooling, and he wasn't able to read for much of his childhood. That all changed when he discovered the power of the mind and how to improve it. Jim spent years researching and optimizing his brain, and from his experience optimizing himself, he now teaches expert courses on how to boost your brain and unlock your potential.
Jim recently released his new book Limitless: Upgrade You Brain, learn Anything Faster, and Unlock Your Exceptional Life. In his book, Jim uses his 28 years of teaching as a brain coach to advise readers on how to upgrade their brain and memory. Guys, this book will completely change your life. I absolutely loved it, so make sure to pick up a copy here. You’re definitely going to want this book after you hear all of Jim’s helpful and fascinating advice on today’s episode! Upgrading Your Brain We kicked off our interview by discussing the purpose of Jim's new book and his teachings. His main focus of the book is teaching tools for upgrading your brain and improving your learning abilities. Jim observed that very people focus on improving their minds: "More people upgrade their phones than they do their brain. … [Limitless is] a guide to be able to really tap your full human potential." - Jim Kwik You can use Jim's principles of advancing your brain to improve your life and reach whatever goals you have. Upgrading your mind can move you closer to your financial goals, relationship goals, career goals, and even artistic goals!
People often want to improve themselves, but they feel trapped because they're unsure where to start. So how can we start improving our brains to reach our goals? "The key [is] to get out of … metaphorical boxes. … And so there [are] three dimensions that keep us in that box. These three elements, I call them 'the three M's,' and they're the three M's of becoming limitless." - Jim Kwik Here are the three areas that we need to work on in order to break out of our confinement and become limitless.
1. Mindset: To become limitless, you need to upgrade your mindset and the beliefs that you have about yourself and what you're ...
nionradio.com/ep189
“If you fight for your limitations you get to keep them.” - Jim Kwik.
Welcome to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. Here, we bring you inspiring guests to help take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey.
Today, my special guest for you is the ever-fabulous Aaron Doughty. He is a popular social media influencer who has been shaping and shifting the lives of more than 1 million subscribers of his YouTube channel. I was able to catch up with him at his amazing space in sunny Las Vegas, Nevada. What I love most about his content is that he talks about everything spiritual, and it has really helped me through my own spiritual journey as a photographer and creative entrepreneur. “A lot of spiritual awakening is questioning reality.” - Aaron Doughty How true! Sometimes, it’s only when we start questioning what’s happening around us, who we are, why we are here, and why certain things happen, that we experience a spiritual awakening.
In this episode, we talked more about spiritual awakening, channeling your creativity, alignment, and synchronicity as a by-product of how reality works. The world is synchronous when you surrender to it, when you allow it to be, and when you create something magical with the universe. So with that, let's jump into this interview with Aaron Doughty. Who is Aaron Doughty? Aaron Doughty is a YouTuber whose vision and mission is to help people expand their consciousness. He went through a spiritual awakening back in 2012 that transformed his life. He discovered and learned meditation and started questioning everything he “thought” about who he is, which started his journey of self-discovery where he learned to let go of his painful past and dropped the things that didn’t serve him. Eventually, Aaron became free from what he calls the “autopilot beliefs” he was operating from.
Aaron believes that his life purpose is to raise his vibration and level of consciousness and to help others do the same. He also believes that deep down, you are on a journey of raising your vibration, and as you do, it changes the world.
Today, Aaron and I are unpacking how we can become more aware of the deeper world around us, aware of our traumas, and aware of who we are in this world. I’m sure you’ll find great insights from our conversation. If you haven't seen his videos, you should check them out. He's been doing one video a day for the last few years, and they’re incredible. He channels a lot of his content, and we talked about what it actually means, how you can channel your own creativity from the higher power that exists, and how to get into the flow of your creativity. What is Channeling? Since we’ll be talking a lot about channeling in this episode, let’s begin with Aaron’s definition of channeling: “[Channelling is] something that everybody does, whether they're aware of it or not. Everybody gets into their flow state. And when they're in that flow state, they are, in a way, connected to what is called our ‘higher self.’ We all have a higher self, and that higher self is, in a way, broadcasting us a signal. And when you get into a channeling state, it's like you're just very connected to it. And normally this channeling state that everyone has, it's something that you're really passionate about.” - Aaron Doughty In short, channeling is doing something you are passionate about. There is a connection to your inner and higher self, and what you are passionately doing makes an impact on others. For Aaron Doughty, his passion is creating videos that inspire other people. As for me, I love taking photographs. I am also passionate about my custom hat business, and recording podcasts like this one, where I get to have conversations with amazing people and creative entrepreneurs. “I started making daily videos back in 2017. It started slow, and then it started growing. But then, there was like a spiritual awakening on the plan...
nionradio.com/ep188
“A lot of spiritual awakening is questioning reality.” - Aaron Doughty.
“We have to learn to assess what is, shift our perspective, move forward, and do what we can to help other people.”
Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO, the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Today, I’m discussing what’s happening to all of us right now: The corona-apocalypse. We’re all going through some crazy times with the spread of the virus and the quarantine, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and scared during this time.
We’re going through a moment where three major things are threatened in our lives: Our health, our wealth, and our family. Not only are we worried about the virus infecting our loved ones and ourselves, but we also worry about the state of our finances. The economy is completely crashing under the threat of the virus, and everything is getting canceled. I’m already starting to feel the economic effects of the shutdown; I’ve had to cancel numerous photoshoots because of the threat of the virus, so now I have to find new ways to make ends meet.
I’m also very concerned about my family. My mother has cancer right now and is going through chemotherapy, which weakens your immune system, so she’s extremely high risk. I’m obviously also concerned about contracting the virus, but I’m far more concerned for my loved ones, and my concerns have given me a great deal of anxiety and fear.
We’ve all shifted into a survival state during this crazy time. The survival state is absolutely paralyzing, so it’s important that we take a step back and shift our perspective.
Today, I’m giving you ten steps to shift your perspective from a survival state to a creation state so that you can move forward with your life. These steps really helped me a lot during this difficult time, and I know that they will help you too. Let’s get started. Ten Steps to Shift from a Survival State to a Creation State
1. Practice awareness of what you’re feeling.
I want you to define how you’re feeling. Put a name on your fear, anxiety, and stress. What’s causing your survival state? Are you afraid of losing your job or maybe a loved one? Are you concerned about contracting the virus, and it having serious effects on your health?
Whatever it is that you’re feeling, I want you to put a label on it so that you can bring more awareness to your feelings. Everyone has underlying fears, so it’s essential that you take a step back and practice awareness so that you can understand and examine your fears.
2. Exercise.
It’s so critical for you to keep moving during this time. I know that most of you don’t have access to a gym right now, but there are plenty of exercises that you can do at home. Right now, I’m just using a little yoga mat, but I’m still staying very active.
A friend of mine has many bodyweight exercises that you can be doing right now from home. His name is John Peel, and you can check out his Instagram @johnpeelfitness and his website. Right now, John’s exercises emphasize staying fit at home, so definitely check him out.
In addition to exercising, it’s also critical for you to eat healthy right now. Just because you’re at home doesn’t mean that you have let your physical and dietary health slip. Your health is crucial during this time.
3. Reset your nervous system.
This step is going to be a key factor for shifting your perspective to a creation state. To do this, you need to understand the body/mind connection (which I’ll expand on in step four). Your thoughts are the language of your mind, and your feelings are the language of your body. Your mind and body work in a cycle. When you have negative thoughts, your body releases chemicals that make you feel stressed and afraid. Those chemicals cause you to have more negative thoughts, so then the cycle repeats.
You need to break the cycle of negativity,
nionradio.com/ep187
“We have to learn to assess what is, shift our perspective, move forward, and do what we can to help other people.” - Nick Onken.
“Maybe this should be called ‘Living Your Meat Suit.’”
This week we are continuing to unpack the list I made towards the end of 2019 on the 21 Things I Learned This Year. Our last episode was on the healing power of psychedelics and this really led me into a space of deeper understanding on the topic that we're going into detail about today: you are not your human.
It may sound like a bizarre concept at first, but lately, I have been driving down this road of consciousness and spirituality. You are your consciousness, your spirit, your soul — whatever you want to call it. You are so much more than simply your body and that can be a difficult distinction to make.
Listen in to learn what life is like after taking psychedelics, what keeps us from experiencing joy, and how to separate your spirit from your body. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“Why don’t we live the best life we can — and that is up to us to create.” Some things we learn in this podcast:
What it is like to come down from psychedelics [3:45] What stops us from experiencing joy [6:30] How to experience the difference between the spirit world and the human experience [10:30] What tv show to watch to explore the idea of your consciousness as separate from the body [10:40]
Links Mentioned:
Get your copy of Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential by Deepak Chopra M.D.
nionradio.com/ep186
“Why don’t we live the best life we can — and that is up to us to create.” - Nick Onken.
nionradio.com/ep185
“Different plant medicines will help you dive deeper into your psyche. - Nick Onken.
“Different plant medicines will help you dive deeper into your psyche.” This week on ONKEN RADIO, we're going far out, guys. As you all probably know, I recorded a podcast episode at the end of last year about the 21 things I learned in 2019. This year, I've dedicated one entire episode to each item on that list, and this week, we're on number three: the healing power of psychedelics.
A few years ago, I went through a dark time. I no longer had the desire to be creative, and I barely had the drive to do even mundane tasks. I began searching for meaning in my life, and that's when I first started my foray into the mystical world of psychedelics and plant medicines.
You may remember that I talked about all things mushrooms and creativity with Tero Isokauppila, the founder of Four Sigmatic — a food and beverage company that specializes in mushroom-based drinks. I also had an interview with Gerry Powell, the founder of Rhythmia, discussing how plant medicine can change your life. To follow up, I had Dr. Jeff McNairy on the podcast to explain how plant medicine works in your brain.
Today, you'll get my take on the power of psychedelics and plant medicine — what I've tried, what my experience was, and how it's helped me heal from a difficult time. I'll also provide some information from different scientific resources, which show that some psychedelic drugs and natural medicines may help heal depression, anxiety, and other mental illnesses.
Without further ado, let's get started. My Experience Trying DMT Psychedelics for the First Time A couple of years ago, I was going through my very own "dark night of the soul." I had lost purpose in my life, and I no longer had the creative drive I used to. I was in a lost space, and so I decided to try something new — psychedelics.
The first one I tried was 5-MeO DMT, which is crystalized toad venom. I smoked it, and it took me on this crazy journey outside my body and through my consciousness. Everyone has a different experience, but for me, it was like I left my body and ventured into the universe. I saw all these colored fractals and found myself amongst the stars. It was a beautiful experience during a dark time in my life.
At that point, I really didn't know what to expect. And more importantly, I didn't know how to interpret my psychedelic experience afterward. As beautiful as it was, I came back from that experience sort of shell-shocked. I had experienced this beautiful 5D reality, and then all of a sudden, I was back in the 3D physical world. That contrast was so abrupt for me, and afterward, I experienced somewhat of an existential crisis.
Looking back, I know that experience served its purpose. It showed me that I didn't know how to integrate my psychedelic experience into reality. I didn't even know I needed to integrate that experience into my life.
When you do psychedelics or plant medicine, it takes you to a different place. You experience and see things that are not in the 3D realm. It's important to integrate that experience back into 3D reality so that you're not using it as an "escape" but as a way to understand the world and yourself on a deeper level.
After my first experience, I realized that I had a lot to learn about psychedelics — I didn't know how to harness their power. That's when I came across an invaluable resource: a book titled How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan. Psychedelics 101: How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan This book completely revolutionized my point of view on psychedelics. You all know that I'm really interested in the concrete science behind things when I'm trying any new modality to improve my life, whether it be religion, healing, or spirituality. This book by Michael Pollan provided all that for me. It gave me the grounding to really understand how psychedelics work, their history, and their benefits — especially for people who suffer from PTSD, depression, and even addiction.
Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Before we get started, I want to ask you a few questions: How much sleep do you get at night? Do you feel well-rested and energized to work on your Creative Alchemy? Getting a good’s night sleep is essential for our art, but we often overlook getting a full, effective night’s sleep when we’re busy.
Today’s show is all about sleep and how getting the best quality sleep can improve your Creative Alchemy. I’m also discussing a revolutionary product that has significantly improved my sleep quality. The product is called the chiliPAD, and I cannot recommend it enough. I’m thrilled to have the chiliPAD inventors Todd and Tara Youngblood on today’s show, and we’re talking all about how you can improve the quality of your sleep. You’re going to learn all about creating a recipe for improving your sleep, how to develop your own sleep routine, and how getting quality sleep is more important than the quantity of sleep.
If you’re looking to optimize your sleep for maximum creativity, you’re not going to want to miss this episode. Without further ado, let’s dive in. Who Are Todd and Tara Youngblood? Todd and Tara Youngblood are the creators of the chiliPAD, a pad that sits on top of your mattress that regulates your core body temperature. This device is so cool (literally) because it uses tiny tubes that run water through the pad, and you can set the water temperature to whatever you want. I actually discovered the device a few years ago through my friend, Matt Gallant, and it has completely changed the way I sleep.
Todd and Tara are based out of Charlotte, North Carolina. They created their brilliant chiliPAD back in 2007, and they later founded their company Kyro, Inc. in 2016 based around their “Chili Technology.” In addition to the chiliPAD, they also sell the chiliBLANKET, which utilizes chiliPAD cooling and warming technology and functions as a weighted blanket.
In addition to co-founding Kyro, Inc., Tara also authored the book Reprogram You Sleep: The Sleep Recipe that Works, which expertly gives readers knowledge and advice on optimizing their sleep schedules.
In 2008, Todd and Tara suffered the tragedy of losing their youngest son. As a result, Tara began suffering from severe insomnia and depression. By the end of 2009, she had hit rock bottom with her sleep schedule. She researched and developed a full sleep recipe for herself that saved her sleep schedule. Tara and Todd have a ton of expert advice from their research that will improve your sleep, so let’s get started! The Recipe for Better Sleep We began our interview by discussing the science behind getting better sleep and how the chiliPAD meets our sleep needs. The key to better sleep starts with our chronotype: “[Chronotype] is a fancy way of talking about your body clock or circadian rhythm. And it sort of looks at what kind of sleeper you are, [like] a morning person [or] night owl [and] when you should go to sleep.” - Tara Youngblood There are different kinds of chronotypes, so discovering your best sleep is not a one-size-fits-all process. It takes research and self-discovery. It’s essential to discover your chronotype because then you can find your sleep switch. “Figuring out that ideal timing, and the magic of that really comes in figuring out something called your sleep switch. … Our neurons are triggered to sleep if we trigger them in the right window [of time] with temperature.” - Tara Youngblood We can trigger our sleep by adjusting our internal temperatures. This process of our internal temperature changing comes from our evolutionary background of sleeping outside. Our bodies used to adjust their temperature based on our environments and the time of ...
nionradio.com/ep184
“So much of the population just doesn’t care enough about sleep.” - Tara Youngblood.
“If you’re going through a dark time, know that this, too, shall pass.” While making this podcast, it has been good practice for me to step out of my comfort zone and I am actually really enjoying working on these subconscious blocks that I have always around public speaking. And that makes me really happy. I am always working to become a better version of myself and that's what today's episode is all about.
As you may or may not know, I did a podcast at the end of 2019 about the 21 Things I Learned This Year that people loved so I wanted to spend some more time unpacking that list. Today's topic is super important to me, as it helped me to pull myself out of a dark and difficult time that I was struggling through a few years ago. It is this simple mantra: this too shall pass.
Listen in to today's episode to learn what a dark night of the soul is, what you can do to help yourself out of a difficult time, and how podcasts can help you along your journey to realizing that this too shall pass. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“When you’re attached to your ego you rely on external validation to feel good.” Some things we learn in this podcast:
What is a dark night of the soul [3:20] What was the catalyst for Nick’s tough time [4:00] How has meditation helped with depression [7:10] How do podcasts help Nick [9:15]
Links Mentioned:
Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon by Dr. Joe Dispenza
nionradio.com/ep183
“When you’re attached to your ego you rely on external validation to feel good.” - Nick Onken.
“We’re not just working on the physical body itself, we’re working with the person’s humanity.” Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Today, I’ve got an extra special guest for you to explore a creative entrepreneur's body, mind, and soul, focusing on movement and how to use it organically in your life.
His name is Aaron Alexander, and he’s the founder of The Align Method. He’s here today to teach you how to integrate movement into your lifestyle. Here’s a little taste of some of his wisdom: “The practice of taking care of our bodies [doesn’t have] to be a thing we drive 30 minutes to and pay a membership. We've never received that education growing up because the people teaching us never received that education either.” - Aaron Alexander Aaron makes such a good point. If previous generations didn’t receive adequate education about fitness, we can’t judge their teaching practices that don’t include functional fitness.
We talk about different things ranging from consciousness to death, movement, and integrating exercise into your daily practice, even if it's just getting up from your desk and standing and doing specific stretches. I’m excited to share his wisdom with you — so let’s dive right in! Who Is Aaron Alexander? Aaron Alexander is the founder of The Align Method, which is all about bringing movement into your life naturally and organically. Movement is essential to keep your body flowing and healthy.
Aaron has a podcast, The Align Podcast, that I highly recommend you listen to if you want to walk with confidence, move with ease, and think with clarity. No matter who you are or what stage of life you are in, you are more than capable of applying these practices to your daily life. Aaron just came out with a new book called, The Align Method: Five Movement Principles for a Stronger Body, Sharper Mind, and Stress-Proof Life.
Whether you’re an entrepreneur or just trying to navigate high levels of stress thanks to life's ups and downs, without proper stress management, stress accumulates in life and compounds. Stress is the biggest killer — it causes sickness and can eventually lead to things like cancer. Learning the tools to alleviate stress is enormous for our well-being. What Is the Align Method? Before we dive into some detail, let's discuss an overview of the align method. “Where the aligned method [came from] was to guide people to go outside of the typical norm of fitness — something that you do in a gym. Instead, [it’s] giving people the manual on how to become fitness, wellness, yoga, dance, [and] creativity. We don't need to pay [for] the practice of taking care of our bodies [or] drive 30 minutes [and] pay a membership. We've never received that education growing up, and the reason we never received that education is because the people teaching us never received that education either. The people teaching them, for the most part, are people selling ‘stuff.’” - Aaron Alexander Our credit card is extremely valuable to people trying to sell us something. Exercise is an area where sales have exploded in recent decades as people have learned the value of a healthy body. However, we’ve become trapped in the cycle of looking for magic ways to alleviate the challenges we have in our life.
Problems usually arise because of small things adding up over time. These small things can be as subtle as how we sit and the water we drink. Over time, they have a compounding effect. “I created a manual of sorts for people to gather all that extra energy that we forego. How do we put that back into our cup in the form of movement? Our senses affect our physiology, and we get into bodyline language, and we get into a lot of different wormholes of movement.”
nionradio.com/ep182
“We’re not just working on the physical body itself, we’re working with the person’s humanity.” - Aaron Alexander.
“One of the trifecta of the things that I’m interested in exploring is creativity, consciousness, and culture.” Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO, the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Some of you will remember that on Episode 178, I talked about the top 21 things I learned in 2019. But I truly believe that learning is an ongoing process. It’s important to continually take time to reflect and see what lessons we can learn from our past experiences. That’s why I’m going to be bringing you individual solo episodes where I really dive deep and unpack each one of those 21 things I learned.
That’s why today, I’ve got a sweet little solo episode on the number one lesson I learned last year: never stop creating yourself.
As a creative person, I believe it’s essential to integrate creativity into every part of your life — mind, body, spirituality, business, and anything else you can think of! That kind of Creative Alchemy is what I live and work for, and I want to inspire you to do the same.
So let’s take a look at what it means to create yourself. I want to look at the integration of creativity with our individual selves and the broader culture we’re a part of. I want to explore what it means to make meaning and create the biggest life you can! And I want to give you a few tips and recommendations to help you on your own creative journey along the way. Creativity, Consciousness, and Culture One thing I’m really fascinated by — and that I think is related to this topic — is the intersection of creativity, consciousness, and culture. I think that for a long time, there’s been this strong divide between those three things. But the truth is, we can bring our creativity to our consciousness and our culture and vice versa. There is actually a lot of overlap!
And the cool thing is that science is beginning to prove that. You guys may have heard of people like Joe Dispenza and Bruce Lipton — these are people who have dedicated their lives to understanding how these things intersect. And what they’ve found is that there is plenty of evidence that our minds are the source of our creativity and the things we can manifest in our lives. And, of course, those things have a dramatic impact on our culture.
I’ve seen the gaps between those things closing in my personal life, too. I work with an amazing meditation teacher, Emily Fletcher, and she’s taught so much about the neuroscience of meditation. It turns out that meditation actually has physical effects on your nervous system that destress you and help you get in touch with your creativity.
We all get older, and we all go through things in life. For example, a couple of years ago, I went through a bad breakup. It was a very dark time for me, and I needed help getting back to a space where I could feel excited to be creative again. But thankfully, I’ve learned how to elevate my consciousness and get back in touch with my creativity. I’m able to work again, and I’m truly enjoying the creative stuff I get to do.
That’s why my anthem is “Never stop creating yourself.” You are a consciousness walking around in a meat-suit vessel if you will, and that means you have the opportunity to grow, evolve, and change. Every experience in your life is an opportunity for a lesson. I hope you and I will both choose to continue growing and experiencing that intersection between our own creativity and consciousnesses with our culture. We Are Meaning-Makers I fundamentally believe that we create the meaning of everything in life. Everything that happens to us — whether good or bad — is an opportunity for us to create profound meaning. In fact, I don’t even think we can label anything “bad,” because we can choose to find something good in any situation.
I mentioned earlier that I went through a particul...
nionradio.com/ep181
“One of the trifecta of the things that I’m interested in exploring is creativity, consciousness, and culture and the intersect of those.” - Nick Onken.
“Whenever I hear a no, I think it’s a no for now.” - Jason Harris Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
Let's face it, whether it be our boss, our spouse or friend, or that cute hottie at the bar, we've all had to persuade someone of something at some point in our lives. However, did you know that there's a right way and a wrong way to convince others?
This is what we're discussing today as I sit down with Jason Harris, the founder of Mekanism, one of New York's top advertising agencies. As entrepreneurs, some of us might be natural persuaders. We find it easy to use our energy, knowledge, and personality to influence others and get people on board with our ideas. Yet, some might not be lucky enough to know the right way and a wrong way to persuade others. Despite these differences, Jason believes that anyone can improve how they connect with others and even master the art of persuasion.
Are you ready to know how Jason started on his own journey and how to be more persuasive? If you are, then let's dive in! Who Is Jason Harris? Jason Harris is the co-founder & CEO of award-winning creative advertising agency Mekanism and co-founder of the Creative Alliance. He works closely with brands through a blend of creativity and performance. We call this approach Soul + Science. Iconic brands include Peloton, Ben & Jerry's, Jose Cuervo, Charles Schwab, and OkCupid, among others.
Under his leadership, Mekanism was most recently named Independent Agency of the Year by The Drum and ranked by the Effie Index as a top 10 Most Effective Independent Agency in the United States. Mekanism has also been named to Ad Age's Agency A-list and twice to their Best Places to Work.
Harris was also named 2021 CEO of the Year by The Drum. He’s been a recipient of the 4A's 100 People Who Make Advertising Great and a 2020 Campaign US 40 Over 40 honoree for his noteworthy contributions to the advertising & marketing industry. His methods are studied in cases at Harvard Business School.
He is also the author of the national bestseller, The Soulful Art of Persuasion, a book about building soulful relationships that turn into creative and business collaborations. This has been an impactful book for my own career, business, and life, and I'm sure it can impact yours, too. How the Story Began From extensive campaigns to viral videos, there's always someone who acts as a driving force behind some of today's most engaging and compelling ads. This person needs to possess a creative mind that few can match — and he leverages it daily to make brands happy and consumers think alike. This Mad Men-like characteristic is what Jason has always dreamt of having, even as a kid. "I was 12 years old when I knew I wanted to go into advertising. I thought it was a good combination of business, like moving goods and services and promoting them." - Jason Harris Aside from that, he also grew up finding a passion for other things. "I grew up as a creative. I was a comic book nerd and loved drawing all the superheroes and writing graphic novels. … Then I discovered the power of music, which opened up my mind in terms of creativity." - Jason Harris Jason played the bass for years. He had fun with it but realized it was not something natural to him. "I enjoyed it, but I realized that I don't want to go on tours. It's not like I want to be the next rock star." - Jason Harris Although Jason did not become a rockstar for music, he became the rock star of the ad world. But getting this new title came with many challenges — including convincing others to get on board with what he wanted them to believe. Creative Spaces and Relationships The truth is the world of advertising isn't easy.
“New Year’s resolutions are just trash.”
It's a new year! And, for many of us, with each new year comes the desire to turn over a new leaf and start fresh. To create yourself in the best way possible, you have to do the deep work and really investigate your life -- and a new year is the perfect excuse to do just that! There’s a delicate balance between keeping your feet on the ground and your head in the clouds. And it’s important for both the creative side of your life and for the business side, but you also have to set your intentions without getting too attached to the results.
Today I really want to talk about goal setting and intention setting for the year. I will share my method for doing so as well as the personal goals that I am setting for myself.
On today's show, we're going over the ways to set and prioritize your goals for the new year, how to balance work with pleasure, and how to balance those goals with reality. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“You should always be questioning your reality.” Some things we learn in this podcast:
How to best balance your goals with your reality [4:35] The value of balance for a creative lifestyle [4:59] The importance of gratitude in your life [8:35] The many pillars of Nick’s life [10:20] How to best prioritize philanthropy in your daily life [11:07] What are Nick’s intentions for the new year [12:00] What goals Nick is working towards this year [13:05]
The Pillars of Nick's Life
Creativity Creating life balance Love and relationships - friendly, familial and romantic Business and finances Wellness Personal fitness Personal development Spirituality Philanthropy
Links Mentioned:
Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza
nionradio.com/ep178
“There’s people that don’t learn from their mistakes, people that do learn from their mistakes, and people who learn from other peoples’ mistakes — I want to be the third one.” - Nick Onken.
“There’s people that don’t learn from their mistakes, people that do learn from their mistakes, and people who learn from other peoples’ mistakes — I want to be the third one.” Welcome to today's episode of NION Radio where we're reflecting on the past year. I will be talking about the things I learned in the past year that have had the greatest impact on my life. I have too many to count, but this list includes 21 things that I want to pass on to you so that you can begin to set your intentions for the new year ahead.
I, for one, dug myself out of depression this year through experimenting with psychedelics and proactively working towards a healthy work balance, and I am thrilled to be moving into a more expansive brand direction next year.
Listen in to hear Nick share some of the most important things he learned in 2019 and what he is looking forward to in the new year.
Join me as I unpack this list:
You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“You are a spiritual being having a human experience in, like, a meat suit.” Some things we learn in this podcast:
How Nick got himself out of a depression [5:30] Should psychedelics be considered drugs [8:10] Ways psychedelics can be used to rewire the brain [9:00] What is the shadow of your psyche [12:00] How ayahuasca can be therapeutic [13:00] Nick’s experience growing up in a religious family [13:50] How to untether from your thoughts. [17:00] How to create life balance [17:45] What self-care is [24:00] Nick’s goals for the new year [34:35]
Links Mentioned:
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle The War of Art by Steven Pressfield The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza Mantalks Podcast Chiun Kai Shih on Instagram @mrchunkyexpress ONKEN HAT on Instagram @onkenhat
“Mushrooms are more playful, more loving, and more nurturing…” - Tero Isokauppila
Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio)! In this podcast, we explore the mind, body, and soul of the creative entrepreneur, bringing you awe-inspiring guests to help take your business, creativity, and life to the next level.
Today, we've got another exciting episode with one of my favorite people. His name is Tero Isokauppila, the founder of the mushroom brand Four Sigmatic. He’s a mushroom guru who took me on an epic trip to Finnish Lapland last January 2021.
Tero knows all about mushrooms — everything from regular mushrooms you can find outside to psilocybin. Mushrooms are his passion — he writes and speaks about mushrooms, particularly their role in enhancing creativity. He is also an outspoken advocate for the resurgence of non-addictive substances as an outlet for self-exploration.
Mushrooms have been a part of many cultures for centuries, and they are still used in rituals today. They can take you on a mystical journey to another place, enhance creativity, and help you through transformative inner work. That kind of Identity Alchemy is what I work and live for, and I really want to inspire you to do the same.
In today’s episode, Tero talks about his calling in exploring mushrooms, what these mushrooms can do for your health, how mushrooms promote creativity, and so much more. So there are lots of things that we talk about that are super fascinating. I myself experienced a lot of healing through mushrooms, so I’m excited to get into this episode. . Which Mushroom Varieties Can Help Boost Your Health Did you know that there are more than 50,000 species of mushrooms, including molds and yeasts? We all know about the common white mushroom, but there's a whole world of fungi out there! From shiitake to chanterelles and morels, mushrooms come in a variety of shapes and sizes with different textures. Not only do they have huge health benefits, but they also provide an interesting change from traditional side dishes for dinner. But we’ll focus more on the ones with healthy benefits.
Mushrooms have been a major part of many cultures for thousands of years. They have been used in medicine, cuisine, and even magic. Today, mushrooms can be found on almost any restaurant menu or at your local supermarket. Of course, the most common mushroom is the white button variety that you grow in your own backyard. While not nearly as exciting as some other varieties, they are still healthy and full of benefits including their potential to boost creativity. “When people think of mushrooms, they often think of portabella mushrooms, which are known as culinary mushrooms — things that you eat for flavor and they have fiber and protein and … vitamins. So … a lot of people think they are like vegetables because they … [have] low calories [and] no cholesterol.” - Tero Isokauppila People often think of mushrooms as food and not medicine, but they can be more than just a delicious side dish. There are many different types with various benefits for your health —Tero shared his top 3 favorite varieties that you can add to your menu. “When we talk about these functional mushrooms, … superfood mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, and Lion's Mane tend to grow on trees, and they're not bioavailable, like you shouldn't eat mushrooms raw in general — you really have to cook [them].” - Tero Isokauppila Reishi, Chaga, and Lion's Mane are easy to use in your everyday cooking. . All three have been found to be powerful anti-inflammatory agents, and they are considered medicinal mushrooms that can aid in weight loss, boost the immune system, ease depression, and so much more. These mushrooms will make your life healthier if taken regularly at the right dosage. “[One] of the top three are Chaga mushrooms — known as the king of all mushrooms. It's super high in antioxidants. So one cup of that could equal 30 pounds of carrots in antioxidants,
nionradio.com/ep177
“Mushrooms are more playful, more loving, more nurturing…” - Tero Isokauppila.
“A lot of times what’s on the other side of that risk is beauty.” Welcome to today's episode of NION Radio where we're talking about the ways that I actively work to design the life that I envision for myself and the tools that you can use to design your life. Have you ever wondered "how did I get to where I am today"? When I was deciding what I wanted to do when I grew up, the combination of art and technology sparked my interest in design, so I started with this goal and worked backwards from there to figure out what it takes to get there.
These practical steps have helped me to realize my goal and to appreciate the joys and challenges of making a career from your art. Why is it so important to be able to separate yourself from your art? What does it mean to create your life by creating every small moment and how can we allow ourselves the space to make magic happen?
Listen in to learn about Nick Onken’s background, his path to creating art as a career, and his outlook on how to design your life. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
“I created that vision then broke it down in reverse and said, how can I get there?” Some things we learn in this podcast:
Nick Onken’s first career [2:14] Why Nick decided to go to school for graphic design [3:00] The book that changed the game for Nick [3:40] What it means to create a moment [5:28] A practical exercise to achieving your perfect day [6:50] How Nick created a lifestyle that includes travel [10:15] When Nick decided to become a commercial photographer [12:20]
Links Mentioned:
Tim Ferriss and the Four-Hour Workweek
nionradio.com/ep176
“A lot of times what’s on the other side of that risk is beauty.” - Nick Onken.
“It’s a material that is half not there and I find that fascinating.” Hey everybody, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
For today’s episode, I talked with artist Benjamin Shine — he may not seem like a tutu guy, but he has a background in women’s wear and makes fantastic art with single pieces of tulle fabric. In addition to tulle, Benjamin uses other unconventional materials and tools, such as irons and fence metal, to make some stunning pieces.
Finding clarity from chaos, Benjamin Shine reached success in the art world by using gravity and the density of material to create form rather than still images. I brought Benjamin on the show today to talk about the pivot from his fashion career, his graveyard of old iron, his spiritual journey with art, and so much more.
Benjamin Shine is the perfect example of a Creative Alchemist — by using unconventional tools, excellent business strategy, and tying it all back to his spiritual experiences, he has made a career in the art world that truly stands out from the rest.
Without further ado, let’s dive into the interview. Who Is Benjamin Shine? Benjamin Shine is a multidisciplinary artist who is most known for his work using tulle, which centers on ideas of energy, impermanence, and the relationship between the spiritual and the superficial. In addition to having several of his works displayed around the world, Benjamin has collaborated with several celebrities and famous designers, including John Galliano.
After being encouraged to leave fashion school in his third year, Benjamin focused his efforts on creating two items of clothing from a single piece of fabric before going down the inventor-designer rabbit hole. Now, he’s creating revolutionary tulle portraits. If you haven’t seen his work, you need to go over to his Instagram right now @benjaminshinestudio. His work with tulle is absolutely breathtaking.
He has an amazing technique where he uses an iron and creates depth and shadows by fusing pieces of the tulle together onto a canvas. If you check out his Instagram, you can watch videos of this technique in more detail!
I met Benjamin’s wife, Danielle Shine, at an event a couple of months ago — she’s an amazing nutritionist, chef, and human being, and she connected me with her husband so I could interview him on the podcast. We talk about so much today, so make sure to listen to the full episode to get all the details. With that, let’s get started. Pivoting From Fashion to Investor Design to Fabric Portraits As I said above, Benjamin began his artistic career in fashion. He attended two universities — one in the U.K. and the other at St. Martins — and he specialized in women’s wear. At the time, he didn’t really know anything about fashion besides a tiny bit of work experience from when he was sixteen. “When I got there, I sort of discovered that I really knew very little. … All these other students … knew all the designers. I really didn’t know how to serve. So I was starting right at the bottom. But I picked it up pretty quickly and I just loved working with fabric, which was a totally new medium. … I was like the art kid [who] was good at drawing and painting, but we were never taught to venture outside that … so it was a whole new medium.” - Benjamin Shine After designing some t-shirts when he was 16, Benjamin saw that fashion was a potentially profitable career. In school, he learned very quickly and loved being able to experiment with new materials, such as tulle. It was in his third year of school that he developed an obsession with the fabric: “By the third year, I sort of developed an obsession for making clothing out of one piece of fabric. It was outside of the idea of fashion trends and that sort of ...
nionradio.com/ep175
“I didn’t have a good perception of artists in the big wide world.” - Benjamin Shine.
nionradio.com/ep174
"The mental game is the biggest game you'll ever play." - Nick Onken.
"The mental game is the biggest game you'll ever play."
Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
I receive a lot of questions through my website, and this week I want to answer one of them. This particular question asks for ways to stay motivated and focused, and if you're any sort of creative, this episode is something that’s close to your heart. As a creative myself, I know that despite the beauty and inspiration that comes with it, the lifestyle is attached to the pressure of creating all the time.
However, this might be the easier part because the real challenge lies in maintaining discipline in creating, particularly when there are persistent obstacles experienced along the journey. Yet, it's something that all creatives must learn to deal with because, at the end of the day, our success lies in our ability to focus and get going.
Today, let's take this chance to look closely at how the creative journey happens. In doing so, I'll use my very own experiences starting as a photographer and now as an entrepreneur. I'll also share the five things I've learned throughout the years that kept me motivated and focused. Finally, I want to end this post by explaining how the right perspective has helped me pursue the life I've always wanted! Describing the Creative Journey When we are young, we are often told to study and get a degree for our future careers. This is what every parent hopes for their child, and so most of us simply follow that route without asking why. But there are many reasons why people should pursue creative journeys — to find out who they really are, to discover hidden potential, and finally just to have fun while doing it. Looking at my journey, I can say that I experienced all these things mentioned above.
Luckily, I also learned more.
When I first started photography years ago, I wanted everything — to be at the top and be a commercial photographer for big brands. It was also during that time that I learned the importance of patience. I had to stay patient to build my portfolio. I had to accept that it will take me time and daily practice to reach my goals. Malcolm Gladwell and many influential people talk about this through the 10,000-hour rule. I think this is true, as it took me roughly 10,000 hours of working or about five years just to get to a space where I was making decent money and my craft was becoming commercially viable.
This success eventually led me to the decision of becoming an entrepreneur. Throughout the years, I've seen my business go far down the drain only for it to go back up, then go up some more, and finally down again. When you're first starting, this can be very difficult. Many times, this scenario has kept me from creating, moving forward, and building. But I realized that what I'm doing is not just my livelihood — it's something that I've always wanted to do, and I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else.
Now you might think that it's probably easier today than it was years ago, but the answer is no. Even after 15 to 20 years in my career, I still go through these challenges. But with time, patience, and experience on my side, I have learned that these ups and downs are all a part of the journey. Most importantly, I’ve learned that the key to success in any creative endeavor lies in staying mentally focused and motivated. How To Stay Motivated and Focused While learning that motivation and focus keep the creativity flowing, the truth is, staying that way isn’t easy. It takes work and consistent practice.
There’s no single way to stay on track with your goals. Everyone has different needs — different ways of doing things — and you have to find what works for you. In my experience,
"To exhibit that you recognize that you are not alone in your creating of art, that keeps you humble and that's a quality that I love and admire."
Today on NION Radio, we have Jason Naylor, an award-winning artist, designer, and creative director who has been working in NYC for 15 years. After earning a BFA in graphic design from Brigham Young University, Jason moved to NYC to immerse himself into the life, color, and magic of New York. Jason began his professional career working in the Creative Department of MAC Cosmetics, where he learned about the business of art and design and developed his taste for spreading life and color into any and every project he could get his hands on. Six years later, Jason set out to start spreading his own message into the world.
Ever since I discovered his work on a mural during one of my shoots, I have been a big fan of Jason, his work, and the positive messaging he is sending to the world. Jason's tagline is "CREATIVELY POSITIVE x POSITIVELY CREATIVE" and his work expresses this vividly. With such a developed and specific aesthetic and message, I wanted to bring Jason in to talk about building a brand around your art, and we got to talk about that as well as a lot of his artistic growth and inspiration, and I can't wait to share this episode with you.
Listen in to learn how Jason has created his brand, developed his craft and style, and what his unique upbringing gave him to share with the world. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
The actual painting is fast, what takes time is creative decisions. Some things we learn in this podcast:
How Jason's religious upbringing and his art have intertwined [4:53] Why Jason always keeps his community in mind in creating his art [7:47] Jason's transition from corporate work to becoming a freelancer [10:52] How he found spaces to create his art and the key to his success [15:03] Jason's creative process [19:15] What Jason sees in the public topics of vulnerability and authenticity [23:38] What coming into the graffiti world 'through the back door' has taught Jason [28:58] Jason's favorite artists and how he develops his craft [32:02] How Jason developed his brand and strong aesthetic style [43:54] The ups and downs of life and what Jason has done to work through his difficult parts of life [50:49]
Connect with Jason Naylor on Instagram | JasonNaylorCreative.com
nionradio.com/ep173
"To exhibit that you recognize that you are not alone in your creating of art, that keeps you humble and that's a quality that I love and admire." - Jason Naylor.
"When you make shit art, you just have to get up and make more art." You just got done with your big project. Your magnum opus. You had been envisioning it for years, it was beautiful, it was impactful, it was amazing! But when all was said and done, and you stepped back, it didn't look like that at all. It looked like shit.
If this has happened to you, contrary to what you may have thought at that point, you are not alone. And today's episode of NION Radio is all about what to do when what you make doesn't live up to what you saw in your head. Listen in to learn what it means if you find yourself making shit art, what to do next, and what it takes to stop making shitty art. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
"When you feel like you're making shit art, it's really about the fact that you haven't closed the gap between what you envisioned and what you actually produced." Some things we learn in this podcast:
What it means if you think the art you're making is shit [1:19] Why accepting the process is key to long term growth [2:15] Learning from our mistakes and how to move past them [2:51] When quantity might end up being better than quality [5:48]
Links Mentioned:
Ira Glass on Storytelling
nionradio.com/ep172
"When you make shit art, you just have to get up and make more art." - Nick Onken.
nionradio.com/ep171
"IST gets back to that root of your beliefs, so you can open up that belief that was formed in your life." - Bryce Kennedy.
"IST gets back to that root of your beliefs, so you can open up that belief that was formed in your life." - Bryce Kennedy Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO, the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey.
My guest for today is a powerful facilitator of higher consciousness, transformation, and liberation from self-limiting patterns of behavior. He believes that when you tap into the deepest layers of your being, you have the potential to thoroughly and completely resolve long standing patterns, troublesome behaviors, and unhealthy ways of living.
His name is Bryce Kennedy and he’s a guide for deep transformatioal work via the healing modality Inner Space Techniques (IST). After undergoing his own awakening, Bryce committed to helping others make life-affirming and powerful changes that bring them greater vitality, creativity, and joy. “I'm holding the space open so you essentially get to be a part of who you truly are, a part of your true, highest nature. … Some people have called it spiritual surgery. Essentially I'm opening up the space and then the person goes to where they need to go.” - Bryce Kennedy If you're ready to learn more about tapping into your deepest being, stick around. We're going to learn Inner Space Techniques, how it drove his decision to pursue spiritual development, how you can convert anger into power, and much more. Who is Bryce Kennedy? Bryce Kennedy is a Feng Shui master, meditation instructor, coach, and one of 50 Inner Space Techniques (IST) healers in the country. A self-described former badass lawyer, Bryce serves as a spiritual luminary and facilitates deep transformation for clients across a range of industries and lifestyles. He and his wife Katie Tyson also run an executive coaching business called The Other 50. Accessing the Deeper Self for Healing What causes a corporate lawyer to completely change their life and pursue a life dedicated to inner healing? For Bryce, it was a growing dissatisfaction with a life that had no deeper purpose and that drained him emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.
As a corporate lawyer, Bryce lived for happy hours and the weekends, struggled with anger issues, and was extremely unsatisfied and stressed.
His first IST experience revealed to him that his life path was based on an early childhood wound. He’d failed kindergarten and was in for a second year when his teacher humiliated him for not being able to cut out paper shapes of bats. “My teacher in front of everyone goes, ‘Boy Bryce, for failing kindergarten, you think you'd be better at cutting bats.’ And it just shattered me. At that moment, I realized two things: One, I was stupid, and two, I would never let anyone think I was stupid again.” - Bryce Kennedy Bryce referred to those early wounds as “Samskara,” which is a word from ancient yogic philosophy. Samskaras are psychological impressions that form the seeds of future behaviors, actions, thoughts, and feelings. They initiate a direction that may last for years or even for a lifetime.
Bryce said that even when we think we’re making conscious life decisions, most of us are still fueled by Samskara — unconscious patterns of thoughts, reactions, and so on.
In Bryce’s case, his Samskara led to his overachieving and eventually his decision to be a lawyer. He then adopted the lifestyle of a lawyer — work hard, play hard, and a mindset of competition and aggression. But once he connected to that deep place of wounding where it all began, he quickly gave up being an attorney and chose to become an IST facilitator instead.
Bryce’s work now centers around getting to the root of our problems, the circumstances, and situations that hurt us and then dictated our life path. When we go beyond the conscious mind and access the unconscious,
"I'm always starting over, and you have to find the things that motivate you, you have to find your inspiration." Whether you're just starting out in your field or you're a seasoned veteran, we've all been in this space: Where do I start? Who do I talk to? What am I even trying to do?
It all feels overwhelming and can make you feel like you're never going to get anywhere. But fear not! Everybody has been there before and on today's episode, we've got the answer. On today's show, we're going over five steps to get you moving in your career, your art, or whatever project you're looking to work on. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
"Whatever you do, you have to start somewhere." Some things we learn in this podcast:
Why Nick thought that tackling how to start was so important for creatives [1:11] The importance of choosing as your first step [1:56] Why keeping your work as playful as possible is key [4:26] What you can gain from getting deep into the work that is in your medium [6:07] The momentum of having a good structure [7:08] How accountability can help you keep your momentum [9:27]
Links Mentioned:
NION Radio 166: ABC – Always Be Creating The War Of Art NION Radio 50: Elle Luna – What It Means To Follow Your MUST Join the NION Life Community!
nionradio.com/ep170
"I'm always starting over, and you have to find the things that motivate you, you have to find your inspiration." - Nick Onken.
"We all naturally do this. We aspire to be the heroes that we see out there, and we put on their uniform or jersey and try to activate that better version of ourself." - Todd Herman Would you believe it if you heard that Beyoncé uses an alter ego called "Sasha Fierce" to overcome her stage anxiety? Did you know that many of the top performers in the world, from the sports to the arts, perform as somebody else?
Believe it or not, using alter egos can help us get past our own blocks and stories to get in the zone and perform at our highest abilities. Take a moment and think about your weaknesses. Maybe like Beyoncé, you struggle with being in front of a crowd. What if, before you went on stage, you acted as though you were someone who was not afraid. What if you acted like someone who loved being on stage and even received energy from it?
Right now, it may seem hard to visualize such an abrupt change happening, but with practice, our alter egos can actually become our greatest assets. And today's guest on ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), Todd Herman, will help us get there.
Todd has clocked over 15,000 hours working one-on-one with people from all backgrounds and circumstances to develop an impenetrable mindset. He knows the mental performance game better than anyone, and his mindset strategies are used by entrepreneurs, entertainers, and athletes worldwide.
Read on to learn the importance of an alter ego in your creative work, how to develop your own, and how best to put it into practice in your daily life! Who Is Todd Herman? Todd Herman has been working with elite performers, athletes, and entrepreneurs for over two decades. He's the creator of the multi-award-winning Leadership & Skills Development program, 90 Day Year, and he's the author of the Wall Street Journal bestselling book, The Alter Ego Effect: The Power of Secret Identities to Transform Your Life. His elite programs are delivered annually to over 200,000 professionals in 73 countries.
Named by the Boston Herald as a "Training Superstar," Todd has been featured by The Today Show, Inc Magazine, CBS, Business Insider, and many others! He also received Inc. 500's "Fastest Growing Companies Award" and the "Rama Award for Wisdom and Leadership."
Originally from Alberta, Canada, Todd grew up on a large farm and ranch (where he developed a healthy dislike of chicken coops). Todd now lives in New York City with his wife and three young children and calls himself the "world's worst ukulele player."
As a high-level coach for today's top performers, athletes, and creatives, Todd teaches people how to step into their alter egos to help them succeed. If you're a photographer like myself, an entrepreneur, or even a parent, Todd has the knowledge and advice you need to operate at peak performance.
Todd is a good friend of mine, and it's been exciting to see the impact he's making on people's lives. I was honored to have him join me on the podcast. If you consider yourself a Creative Alchemist, then this is one interview that you can't miss. Let's get started. Todd's Story: The Power in Activating Your Alter Ego Growing up in the middle of nowhere in Canada, Todd had a big imagination. He pretended his driveway was an ice rink, and he'd pretend to be his favorite hockey star, stopping goals right and left. As he grew up, he continued investing in sports, and he even went on to become a nationally ranked badminton player!
Eventually, Todd began volunteer-coaching football, and it was then that he realized he had a talent for managing his own mental game. He saw that the greatest challenge with these young football players wasn't that they didn't have the skills they needed — it was that they hadn't prepared their minds well for the game.
Todd grew a reputation as the "mental coach," and he started serving some high profile clients — even Olympians. Throughout these years working with top athletes,
nionradio.com/ep169
"We all naturally do this. We aspire to be the heroes that we see out there, and we put on their uniform or jersey and try to activate that better version of ourself." - Todd Herman.
"Pretty much anything of yours that's used online without your permission is considered an infringement of copyright." What if I told you that you may be losing tons of money from others illegally using your work? And what if you knew exactly how to get that money that is rightfully yours? Today on NION Radio, we're talking about exactly that, why registering your copyright is important.
As a photographer, I have found my images being used in many different places without my permission. While much of it is harmless, I have found that sometimes they are being used to sell products for other companies, and as they are circumventing my normal fee, I can claim that lost revenue in court. Learn how to register your copyright for your work, why that's important, and how you can use technology to do the hard work for you and get you paid. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
"If they're making money on it, then I should be making money off of the work that I did." Some things we learn in this podcast:
What got Nick thinking about copyright [1:06] What registering your art as copyright can do for you in the future [2:55] How to get copyrights for your images [4:46] Why you should use a site like Image Defenders to look for others using your work [6:26]
Links Mentioned:
Register your copyright at Copyright.gov Image Defenders
nionradio.com/ep168
"Pretty much anything of yours that's used online without your permission is considered an infringement of copyright." - Nick Onken.
"Once I started sewing clothes for myself, I realized it was something I was wildly passionate about." - Paige Mycoskie Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) — the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey.
I’m extra excited about my guest today because I’ve known her for 10 years. I have worked with her on creative photography on multiple campaigns for her brand — one of my absolute favorite clothing brands. You’ve probably seen me wear some of her stuff on my Instagram.
Her name is Paige Mycoskie, and she’s the inspired creator behind Aviator Nation’s luxury seventies hoodies and sweatpants.
Paige masterfully understands how to develop her craft and express her creativity in a way that becomes a beacon of positivity in the world. Here’s a preview from our interview: “How can I use [a bad experience] to create a positive experience for the world and make a positive difference? [Making a positive impact] gives me a lot of satisfaction, and so when young girls reach out and tell me I’ve inspired them to do what they want and start their own business and stuff like that — that makes me feel better than selling hoodies.” - Paige Mycoskie I resonate deeply with that. Paige’s story is fantastic, and I’m excited to share it with you today.
In this episode, we talk about how she started sewing clothes, the inspiration for sewing her first collection in her parents’ house in Texas, her creative way of approaching buyers for the clothes, and how she hustled to build her empire into what it is today. Paige will give you some excellent advice on applying yourself diligently in pursuit of your creative expression, so let’s go! Who Is Paige Mycoskie? Paige attended college at Arizona State University where she studied journalism and was an avid athlete, and she continues to enjoy surfing, scuba diving, water skiing, and snowboarding. Paige did The Amazing Race with her older brother Blake (the founder of TOMS Shoes). The Amazing Race pulled Paige to California, and she fell in love with Southern California’s wilderness between Calabasas and Malibu — particularly enjoying the mountains to hike and ocean to surf. “I came out to California for the race and also for an internship working for Shape Magazine for a summer after my junior year of college. I was at the beach a lot because I was staying with a friend in Malibu, and I pretty much fell in love with surfing and spent the summer doing that internship, and as soon as that internship was over, I packed up my bags and pretty much moved to LA. I made a lot of friends through The Amazing Race, so they gave me a job casting for Survivor.” - Paige Mycoskie Paige explored her creative side by doing photography on the side and even began shooting weddings and whatever other small gigs she could to make money and keep surfing on her downtime. The surf community connected her with a surf shop looking to hire someone part-time. “I just loved the people I was working with and kind of fell in love with that retail world, but specifically the small mom-and-pop retail world. While I was working there, I was also shopping at flea markets and thrift stores. I realized my style was super soft t-shirts, hoodies, and sweats, but all the brands selling in the surf shop [didn’t] feel right for me. I could never find something I really loved, or I would find stuff I love, but it was never the right fit. Finally, I just bought a sewing machine, some dyes at an art store, and I started learning how to make clothing.” - Paige Mycoskie If you can’t find what you’re looking for — make it! Paige was simply trying to satisfy her own desires. Through finding the soft fabric and a comfortable fit, Paige, being a nature lover, also realized she wanted to put designs like sunsets and mountains onto her clothe...
nionradio.com/ep167
"Once I started sewing clothes for myself, I realized it was something I was wildly passionate about." - Paige Mycoskie.
"I always want to be in a state of creation." As an artist, we always have our art in our sights. What we're working on, what we're inspired by, what we're learning, all things that contribute to success in our field. But what are we not focusing on? On today's episode of NION Radio, we're getting into the ABC principle, Always Be Creating, and how you can apply it everywhere in your life, not just your art. We'll also go over some of the common pitfalls in the life of an artist and how to overcome those. So get out there and create your life by creating every small moment. Always be creating! You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
"You have to consciously create the space to create your art, your business, and your life balance for relationships." Some things we learn in this podcast:
Why you need to always be creating as an artist [1:54] What creation is and isn't [3:46] The importance of creating and maintaining awareness [6:50] Are you creating more than you're consuming? [8:14] Why searching for value in our work is a bad idea [10:13] What can be learned from Tim Ferris's 4 Hour Work Week for our creative process [13:04]
Links Mentioned:
Why The Foods Podcast The War Of Art The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich 161: Experimenting with Plant Medicine 162: Gerry Powell – How Plant Medicine Can Change Your Life 163: Dr. Jeff McNairy – How Plant Medicine Works In Your Brain 164: How Breathwork Has Helped My Creative Flow 165: Christian Minson – Healing Your Life With Breathwork A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
Connect with Nick Onken on Instagram
"Plant medicine and breath were the mandate to bring Rythmia into existence." - Christian Minson Hello everyone and welcome back to ONKEN Radio (previously NION Radio)! I am so excited to have you all here with me today, and we have a great episode in store for you today. You all know that my main goal with this podcast is to heighten your creativity, business, and life to the highest level possible, so it comes as no surprise that today’s guest possesses unique tools to help all of you creative entrepreneurs out there do just that.
If you tune in regularly to the podcast, you may remember my previous episode, #164, in which I discussed my journey with breathwork and how it has helped me improve my creative flow as well as the immense healing potential it has. Going back even further to episode #161, I told you all about my first experience at Rythmia. In the following episode, I sat down with founder Gerard Powell and had a great conversation all about his story and how he founded Rythmia.
Today, however, we have the director of breathwork at Rythmia, Mr. Christian Minson, here to talk about all the wonderful things this practice can do for not only your creativity but your life in general. So, without further delay, let’s jump into today’s episode. Who Is Christian Minson? Christian has been a breathwork facilitator for the past 12 years and is a senior trainer with the Transformational Breathwork Foundation. He has traveled to the far reaches of the world giving seminars and meeting with individuals privately, giving them this breathwork technique for the healing of physical ailments, emotional balancing, spiritual connection, greater connectivity, and connection to their intuition. 10 years before all of this, however, Christian lived as a monk.
Christian said he likes to include this fact about himself because as a monk, the meditation techniques that he practiced were really just modified breathing techniques, which he further simplifies as “manipulating the breath to send the energy up and down the spine so that we could let go of body consciousness and attain higher states of awareness.” Including his time spent as a monk, Christian credits himself with 22 years of working with the breath in some way. For the past two years, Christian has been the director of breathwork at Rythmia, and he says he is loving the program there. Christian’s Story When I asked him how he found himself pursuing the life of a monk, Christian had this to say: “[After taking psychedelic medicine in my senior year of high school,] … I just felt this communication happening. There were no words, there was no message. It was just this understanding that God, if you will, and I were in communion. And from there, that really kickstarted my desire to seek deeper into what the true meaning of life was and the true purpose of my life in particular. And through that seeking, I basically came upon a book called Autobiography of a Yogi by a spiritual master called Paramahansa Yogananda. And he basically laid it out and said the purpose of life is our own self-realization, our own evolution towards embracing our own divinity and realizing that in body, mind, and soul, and the way to do that — his primary way — was through meditation.” - Christian Minson Christian went on to join the self-realization fellowship called The Yoon Organization, which was actually headquartered in Los Angeles and lived there as a monk for 10 years. If you’re like me, you may be wondering how you can live as a monk in downtown Los Angeles. Christian said that they resided on top of a hill called Mount Washington with a beautiful view that stretched out over the pacific. Even though they were a mere 7 minutes from downtown, Christian says he felt so removed from everything that it hardly felt like you were in the city at all.
After a full decade of living as a monk, I wondered what made Christian decide to leave the monastery and integrate back into soc...
nionradio.com/ep165
"Plant medicine and breath were the mandate to bring Rythmia into existence." - Christian Minson.
"The space we want to get to that's a great space to create from is a space of internal validation." Welcome to today's episode of NION Radio! Today on the show, we're talking about breathwork and how it has changed my life for the better. Particularly in my creative work, I've noticed that the work I've been doing has freed me up to create in a non-judgmental and inspiring space, almost on command.
Listen in to learn more about breathwork and its many types, the way it has improved my self esteem and creative work, and how you can get started on your own journey with it. You can Subscribe and Listen to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts. And please leave me a Rating and Review!
"I didn't realize I didn't have that awareness, so I've created it [with breathwork]." Some things we learn in this podcast:
What the ego needs and how it impairs your self esteem [1:36] The best space to be creating from [2:53] How breathwork incorporates internal validation [4:18] What breathwork has taught Nick [5:25] Why we should be cognizant of our default node network and what we are setting it to [7:29] What you should know that can amplify breathwork's effects [9:21] What Dr. Joe Dispenza means by "living in a higher spiritual and emotional state " [11:56]
Links Mentioned:
Check out Nick's video on breathwork Listen to the breathwork guiding track here
nionradio.com/ep164
"The space we want to get to that's a great space to create from is a space of internal validation." - Nick Onken.
nionradio.com/ep163
"Gerry wanted to have a place that was safe and had clinical people and shamans all together in one place, so that people that would never go to Peru or the jungle would actually come here." - Dr. Jeff McNairy.
"Gerry wanted to have a place that was safe and had clinical people and shamans all together in one place, so that people that would never go to Peru or the jungle would actually come here." - Dr. Jeff McNairy You all know that I'm very interested in the science behind things — if someone suggests that I try something — whether it be exercise, food, or medicine — and it doesn't have science supporting its function, then I won't try it.
I've recently been doing a podcast series on Rhythmia, a luxury resort and life advancement center, and the science behind plant medicines. I've had the pleasure of talking with the founder of Rhythmia himself, Gerry Powell, on the subject, and I learned so much from that interview. His whole life changed when he started studying plant medicine and how we can use it to heal subconscious trauma. It was a fascinating conversation, and it encouraged me to study the science behind plant medicine even more!
That's why I have the chief medical officer of Rhythmia, Dr. Jeff McNairy, on ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio) today to share his story about discovering plant medicine, how it can improve mental health, and how meditation and breathwork are essential parts of healing trauma.
Without further ado, let's dive into our conversation. Who Is Dr. Jeff McNairy? Formerly the Head of Passages, a rehabilitation center for celebrities in Malibu, Dr. Jeff McNairy, PsyD., MPH, is now the Chief Medical Officer of Rhythmia, a life advancement center that is dedicated to helping people heal from trauma and experience spiritual enlightenment.
Since Dr. McNairy started working in the healthcare field 25 years ago, he has always felt like the standard Western treatments for trauma and depression weren't the right answers. He has worked in a variety of medical environments and seen the struggles individuals have when actually trying to heal. The current Western system of healthcare is deficient in healing the population. It is more concerned with managing symptoms and using external sources for "change."
But when Dr. McNairy started treating Gerry Powell at Passages, his journey took a completely different turn. "He came into [Passages, and] he was wild … just a madman. I just started talking to him every day. ... And we formed this bond. And after he left, I continued to see him, … [but] he was not getting any better. … He heard about this place in Costa Rica that did plant medicine, and he was suicidal at the time … [so] I said, 'Dude, go for it because I don't know what else to do.'… [But] the plant medicine was amazing, and the shaman was amazing. … He really needed [that] to turn this corner, and it changed his life." - Dr. Jeff McNairy At first, Dr. McNairy was skeptical. He hadn't studied plant medicine in the past, and it wasn't something that was discussed in medical school. But the results were undeniable. Jerry, who had suffered from acute mental disorders and an addiction to Demerol, had cleared out his subconscious with the help of spiritual guidance and plant medicine and was doing better than ever. "And so Gerry and I wanted to have a place that was safe and legal and medically licensed and has clinical people and also shamans … so altogether, one place so that people [who] would never go to Peru or the jungle would actually come [there]." - Dr. Jeff McNairy And thus, Rhythmia was born! Through Dr. McNairy's intense experience with the most desperate patient populations (those who suffer from addiction, acute mental health disorders, and trauma), he has seen that the only real healing can come from within. Since he started his work with ayahuasca, Jeff has seen himself and others transformed by it and has endeavored to create a safe and certified space for people to learn from plant medicine and experience its many benefits. Why Plant Medicine Is Revolutionary for Mental Health I think it's safe to say that right now in the world,
"I'm not a thought leader, I'm not woke, I'm a guy that's a cheerleader for a plant." - Gerard Powell Hello, my friends! Welcome to another episode of OnkenRadio (previously NION Radio), where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Episode 161 last week was about my experience with plant medicine down in Costa Rica at a fantastic wellness resort called Rythmia. The resort provides a full-on body, mind, and soul cleanse using plant medicine as the instrument for change, and I believe it’s an excellent place for personal development. To learn more about plant medicine from a scientific perspective, check out the book, How To Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan — it shifted my whole outlook on plant medicines.
In today’s episode, I chat with the founder of Rythmia, a great place to do ayahuasca for the first time. Gerard Powell is a fantastic guy who’s been through tremendous change in his life. Gerard went from selling his company for $94 million (and not being the most decent human being) to having a life-changing experience and creating the haven of Rythmia for others to enjoy life-changing experiences too. Gerard (Gerry) has brought over 8,000 people through Rythmia and seen an extraordinary amount of miracles and remarkable healings, which I’m excited to share with you!
Here’s a quick taste of some of Gerry’s wisdom you’ll hear: “You still have to do the work. Anybody who tells you that [you] come to Rythmia and have a good time [is] lying. It’s hard work. It’s relentless here; you can’t escape it. In other words, you’re at lunch or at breakfast with people talking about the same thing and [being] pointed [to look] back at yourself, and then you go to a metaphysical class and [again] the answer is you. Next, in the ceremony, the medicine’s pointing back to you [too]. You can’t get away from it.” - Gerard Powell In this episode, we talk about Gerry’s story, the spiritual side of plant medicine, and how you can connect to the world around you. I really enjoyed my time at Rythmia and especially enjoyed the opportunity to chat with Gerry and go deeper into what makes Rythmia so unique. Who Is Gerard Powell? Gerry’s beautiful and hilarious take on his story is best experienced in his book, Sh*t The Moon Said: A Story Of Sex, Drugs, And Ayahuasca, which I’ll summarize here for context.
Gerry became a business mogul and constantly chased money, thinking it would make him happy. It didn’t. “I got to the point where I had amassed enough [money] to last [a] couple lifetimes, [but] my life was a wreck. I was [miserable], a drug addict, a sex addict, an alcoholic, a misogynist, chauvinist, a wife-beater — just a terrible guy and greedy on top of the whole thing. I hated people. I hated my own life. I [even] tried to commit suicide a couple of times. Finally, I got pushed into rehab and discovered metaphysical stuff through Agape. My life started to get turned, but I was in such bad shape that [the changes] weren’t nearly enough.” - Gerard Powell Through a series of circumstances, Gerry ended up doing plant medicine in Costa Rica, starting with iboga. After one night with iboga, everything changed for Gerry, but his ayahuasca experience told him to open a center called “Rythmia.” “The medicine told us, ‘This is what you’re gonna do.’ It told me not to [open up a strip club] and that I would have to [open Rythmia]. She said it would be the hardest but most enjoyable thing I ever did. She told me what to buy, even where to buy it, and what to pay for it — to the penny. My offer was about 40% of the asking price, and it was accepted, which is crazy!” - Gerard Powell In Gerard’s entire life, he had never listened to anyone, and he’d made a life out of telling everyone off — and now he was listening to the medicine on everything. Every single thing,
nionradio.com/ep162
"I'm not a thought leader, I'm not woke, I'm a guy that's a cheerleader for a plant." - Gerry Powell.
nionradio.com/ep161
"It's like if you got shot by a bullet and it got lodged in your body. Well you're not just going to leave it in there. You're going to want to excavate it." - Nick Onken.
"It's like if you got shot by a bullet and it got lodged in your body. Well you're not just going to leave it in there. You're going to want to excavate it." - Nick Onken Hello, my fellow alchemists! Welcome to another episode of ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the soul, mind, and body of the creative entrepreneur. Today, I'm doing something a little different. Instead of interviewing a guest, I want to share my recent journey with plant medicine in Costa Rica at a beautiful place called Rythmia.
Rythmia provides the perfect space and context to journey with plant medicine. Whether you're a first-timer or back for another one, they are focused on helping you reset the body, mind, and soul. It's not my first time with psychedelics, but it was my first time being intentional about it in a safe space to explore.
About a year and a half ago, I tried 5-MeO-DMT, which was quite an experience. I wasn't in a very good place at that point though, and I questioned the meaning of life and asked existential questions. I read books like A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle and watched Jim and Andy, a documentary on Netflix with Jim Carey where he spoke about his own eye-opening existential experiences.
After trying DMT, I felt a huge contrast between what I'd experienced and reality that pushed me into a dark night of the soul and a very questionable space in which I spent most of last year. It wasn't until I discovered breathwork as an integration tool that I started coming out of that dark space and utilizing my breath to tap into similar states of consciousness.
Right now, though, let me take you back to the beginning of my week at Rythmia. Finding the Magic Gerard Powell founded Rythmia, and his story is quite remarkable. He wrote a book called Sh*t The Moon Said, which details his journeys with plant medicine and how it shifted, changed, and ultimately healed his life. Part of that journey led to Gerard creating the retreat center Rythmia.
I had some psilocybin mushroom journeys a few months before I arrived, helping me be more precise in setting my intention. The mushrooms helped me tap into more creativity and get through my different questions about life. Still, ayahuasca is another level, and this being my first time, I entered with a healthy dose of respect.
Ayahuasca is an eye-opening journey that shows you who you become. It reveals things about your life, but it also takes you to the depths of where these issues and triggers started. When you get triggered by something, you get angry, those triggers are subconscious. Triggers can be from childhood or traumas we experience later in life.
We all want to be happy and live a great life. I believe that when you're living in alignment with your highest self, and you're using your creativity to build things — that's when you're alchemizing magic in life.
The more we follow our own guiding stars to create magic, I believe we experience beautiful synchronous moments — moments of pure happiness and joy. Living in bliss is beautiful, but we have to dig, excavate, and get to the bottom of what keeps us from experiencing that. Fears, anxieties, stresses — all of it come from the circumstances of life, and it comes from how we were raised and what we saw growing up as kids. Whether you had an excellent or terrible upbringing, we always create our own stories. Our limiting beliefs come from our experiences, no matter who we are.
I had a great upbringing, yet I still grew up feeling judged even though it wasn't my parents' intention. That stuck with me my whole life, and it's what I've been working on letting go of with the aid of plant medicine.
Suppose you're still not completely sold on the idea of plant medicine. In that case, I can share how grateful I am for learning things like meditation, which has provided me with tools to manage how I feel. Emily Fletcher, who's been on the podcast three times,
"If you are a creative and you want to make money with your art, you gotta do this one thing." If you are a creative and you want to make money with your art, there’s one thing that you HAVE to do and another thing you must absolutely AVOID.
Over the past 20 years that I’ve been making art, there are a few things that really have made me lose my cool — like, really, really made me frustrated. When I’m working with somebody and they do one of these things, I just don’t understand why they would do this to themselves.
By making this one mistake, they begin to ruin their reputation, their work, and even their art.
In this episode of ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), I’m sharing the biggest mistakes that creatives make. My hope is that this episode inspires you to avoid making those same mistakes and, instead, do the very opposite so that you can establish an impeccable reputation as a Creative Alchemist in your space. Let’s get started — The ONE Mistake You Should Never Make First of all, I want to say that this mistake doesn’t just apply to creatives — this extends into everyone’s life and career. If you continually make this mistake in your business and personal life, fewer people will trust you, value you, and give you their business.
I believe that dishonoring your word is probably one of the most harmful things you can do.
Dishonoring your word can mean a lot of things, but in this context, I mean not delivering on the expectations that you have set for the job you’re completing. This looks like going past deadlines, charging more money at the last minute, or just not being able to do what you said you could do for the client. In your personal life, this may look like going back on a promise, not supporting a friend in need, or just being dishonest.
Have you ever been on the other side of this? Someone said that they would do X, Y, Z for you, but they never delivered on their promises? Or maybe, they said they would have your project done by a certain date, but they’re constantly pushing the deadline back? It’s probably one of the most frustrating things I’ve come across in the creative sphere, and I’ve seen it ruin careers.
I’ve hired a lot of creatives myself, such as graphic designers and web designers, who I’ve had to chase down to get the finished product. And a lot of times, hiring creatives is an expensive investment, which means it’s imperative that I get what I paid for. Sadly, it doesn’t always work out that way.
For example, I hired this guy to redo my website, and he promised me that he was going to do SEO optimization, create graphics, design WordPress themes, coding, and everything else of that sort. He assured me that he had a full team to do all of these specialties, and he said it would be $10,000.
He gave me a contract saying that he would deliver the first round of updates within a month. So when that first month came around, I emailed him. I didn’t get a response. I emailed again, and he came back a week later, saying that he needed more time because “something” came up.
Naturally, I was frustrated. This went on and on, and then I found out later on that he was doing everything himself — the SEO optimization, coding, design work — everything! He was a team of one. Obviously, you need to have a team of multiple people working within their own zones of genius to make a project like this work. No person can do all of those things really, really well, and he had promised to complete all of those things at a professional level.
Eight months later, I have nothing. I don’t even have an outline of a design for the website. Remember — his original promise was that he would have something for me within the first month.
Finally, I got a hold of him. He said he was still working on everything. I told him he needed to hire a coder to help him out. Eventually, he just dropped off the planet, and I never heard from him again. I’m still out $10,000 because of this guy.
nionradio.com/ep160
"If you are a creative and you want to make money with your art, you gotta do this one thing." - Nick Onken.
"If I was going to [make it as an artist], I wanted to prove that I could do without any favors or any connections." - Sean Yoro Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) — the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey.
Today, I’ve got an extra special guest for you. He’s a truly unique and amazing visual artist. Check out his Instagram page so you can understand the context of his incredible paintings.
His name is Sean Yoro, and he paints mostly from his paddleboard on water and out in nature, which he uses as inspiration for his artwork. Some of Sean’s most impressive projects have seen him painting on icebergs, painting underwater, next to waterfalls, and even on the stumps of burned trees. Sean’s initial insecurity about people seeing his paintings and laughing at them led him to search for remote walls to paint on. Let me just give you a little preview here: “I found this waterfront that was abandoned, and that’s the first time where I was looking at these walls and I [thought], ‘Why don’t I go out on the water?’ My original thought was to use some kind of barge system to put all my supplies and everything on and then the idea came, ‘Why don’t I just throw everything on my paddleboard?’ I lived on a surfboard, I’m comfortable on a surfboard — so it was a crazy idea. I ended up testing out doing some experimental trips, and it all worked out.” - Sean Yoro How incredible is that! The confidence he had in himself to stay stable on a paddleboard and paint on the water is what helped him overcome his insecurity about painting in populated places. By focusing on his strengths, he found the space where life started to flow smoothly and his creative alchemy could work itself out.
That’s just a little taste of the wisdom Sean has to offer. We’re about to dive into an extraordinary story about a unique career in art and creativity. Sean knows how to build a life you love by incorporating all of what you love into working in a creative industry. And today, he’s going to share how to focus on what you love as the way to feed your creative outlet. Let’s get started. Who Is Sean Yoro? Sean was born in Hawaii and feels privileged to have had the community life values in the countryside of Oahu instilled in him at an early age.
Growing up on the east shore gave him the advantage of being close to the quiet north shore beaches while also close enough to Waikiki beach to become a surf instructor as a kid teaching tourists.
When Sean wasn’t in the water surfing, he was going to community college. Sean felt uninspired at school, and for the longest time he believed his biggest dream was destined to be a lifeguard for Oahu’s north shore beaches — a very respected profession in Hawaii. He was passionate about lifeguarding, but something inside told him he was playing it safe.
A pivotal moment came when he was failing community college and removed from financial aid — he had one more semester to choose an elective course. Sean decided to take a charcoal drawing class. On the first day of the course, Sean watched his instructor draw with charcoal and was filled with a sense of magic.
That’s when Sean decided to give art a chance, knowing that even if nothing came of it, lifeguarding would always be waiting in Hawaii. The next summer, Sean moved to New York to try out this artist’s career. With just $800, he naively thought it would last at least six months. The money quickly ran out, and Sean had no choice but to sneakily live in his small art studio — without any bedding or cooking equipment. Sean slept on a yoga mat on a hardwood floor next to his easel for three years.
During that time, Sean went into survival mode, and his absolute focus was to spend as much time painting to reach 10,000 hours.
nionradio.com/ep159
"I saw what my instructor could draw with just charcoal and a model in front of him, and to me that was magic." - Sean Yoro.
"I think a lot of my self-worth in the earlier times in my career was found in who and what I was shooting, and there was a point where that kind of fell to the wayside." - Nick Onken Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio). In this podcast, we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
You've probably seen on Instagram that I've been going through a dark time over this last year. As challenging as it may be, I think that the dark times are necessary so we can experience the light times, too.
That's why today, I want to talk about how we can go one step further into exploring this sometimes isolating, scary, and deep world around us. I believe that doing so is an essential step to fully undergo the process of Identity Alchemy. I think it can help us bring our most creative selves into the world.
So in this solo episode, I'll use my personal experiences to talk about the dark times of our lives and why they happen. I'll also discuss why it's crucial to heal from them and share the different modalities I used to aid my own healing. In this way, I can help you stay resilient, happier, healthier, and more productive! The Dark Night of the Soul Have you ever felt a deep sense of feeling lost or empty? Sometimes that feeling is brought on by specific factors, but it can also just appear out of nowhere. If you've had that feeling, then you might be experiencing the dark night of the soul.
The dark night of the soul is a kind of spiritual depression where you can't find meaning in anything. It's what Eckhart Tolle describes as an interruption into your life where you feel a deep sense of meaninglessness. Last year I found myself in that exact hole, trying to figure out what was left of my identity and being.
Many different things can trigger a deep night of the soul. It can be a break-up, losing a job, the death of a loved one, or the loss of your own health. Sometimes it may just happen because you're changing and people around you aren't ready to accept it.
In my situation, I experienced that dark time when I was navigating my career and finding meaning in a different space from it. In my earlier days of being a photographer, I found my self-worth was on who, what, and which brands I was shooting for. So when the business went wayward, it deeply affected me emotionally.
That was the first trigger to my dark night of the soul. The second one was watching the Jim Carrey documentary, Jim and Andy. Andy Kaufman was an actor who took comedy and performance art to the edges of irrationality and blurred the dividing line between reality and imagination. Similarly, Jim Carrey is a method actor, and he becomes the character he portrays on and off the set. In the documentary, Jim Carrey shares his experience of feeling lost when a film wraps up, and he had to go back to being Jim. He was like, "Who is Jim?"It was as if he went through a massive identity crisis too tricky for him to solve.
Now, this dark night of the soul is something we all go through at some point in our lives. It doesn't necessarily mean that we're going crazy or losing touch with reality. Many artists and creative entrepreneurs go through this: They feel there's no meaning in what they're doing, feel like it's not enough, or something is just missing. However, again, this step is crucial in the process of knowing ourselves more profoundly. Healing from a Dark Night of the Soul There are ways to heal and stay healthy when going through these dark times. In my experience, I’ve discovered specific modalities that helped me to be in a much different space and explore the world around me deeper. These are a few I suggest for everyone.
1: Read Books
I know it's obvious, but reading books is vital. There are so many excellent books out there that can help us get through...
nionradio.com/ep158
"I think a lot of my self worth in the earlier times in my career was found in who and what I was shooting, and there was a point where that kind of fell to the wayside." - Nick Onken.
"We can't choose our circumstances or what happens to us, but we can certainly choose what we do with it." Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
I’ve got an interesting episode for you all today about a recent experience I went through. Have you ever gotten scammed? If you have, then you know it’s a horrible feeling. When people steal something from you, it makes you feel violated, duped, and just generally terrible inside. It’s easy to blame yourself for letting it happen and wallow in that feeling of guilt and negativity.
But really, the best thing that you can do for yourself is to learn from the experience. You can take responsibility for it for sure. But instead of beating yourself up about it, it’s better to find the lessons from it all and help others not fall prey to the same thing you did.
Today, I’m going to be sharing the story of how I got scammed for $4,000 and the lessons I learned from that experience. I don’t want to share this for sympathy or to whine about what I lost. My main goal in sharing this is to warn other artists and especially photographers about what happened so that they can be wary.
I have already posted this story on Instagram, and thankfully I was able to help another photographer avoid the exact same scam I unfortunately fell for. This just goes to show that good things can be found in even a sucky situation like this. Hopefully sharing my story here can help even more people.
So let’s dive into the story of how I got scammed for $4,000 and what I learned from it. How It All Started: The Setup First of all, I have been shooting photography professionally for the last 15 years, and I have never run into this type of situation before. It all started when I got an email a few weeks ago from a guy named Michael Beckert, who claimed that he was a writer for W Magazine. This wasn’t strange in itself — writers often have to reach out to find photographers for their assignments.
So naturally, I didn’t think anything of it as “Michael Beckert” proceeded to tell me that he found my work on workbook.com, a well-known and highly esteemed sourcing industry for photographers. He asked me if I would do a shoot for the magazine and sent me links to specific editorials on wmagzine.com with inspiration images and talent suggestions for the shoot.
Of course, I was thrilled to accept the job. W Magazine is a huge magazine, and I was excited to get my foot in the door there. So I proceeded to set up the shoot with him via email correspondence.
Michael told me that they had chosen to work with a talent agency called MXtalent.com. When I tried to access the website, the domain wasn’t working, but he informed me that it was under maintenance. This happens a lot, so I thought nothing of it.
As we continued emailing, Michael informed me that the talent agency would be providing transport, food, refreshments, etc. Because of this, they would need the money advanced to them. Although this might seem sketchy in another context, it’s totally normal in this line of work. As a photographer, I often get an advance from my client and then pay the production expenses upfront.
I told Michael that I needed the payment check in hand before I could front the amount of money he was asking for. In response, they sent me a check. To be cautious, I asked my assistant to come to my office and verify the check had arrived because I was traveling for work. Sure enough, he sent me photos of the check to ease my mind.
Unfortunately, there wasn’t time to deposit the check and make sure it cleared before I fronted the money. But since I had it in hand, I figured it would be okay due to the timing of our shoot. We were definitely under the pressure of a short ...
nionradio.com/ep157
"We can't choose our circumstances or what happens to us, but we can certainly choose what we do with it." - Nick Onken.
nionradio.com/ep156
"When you expect nothing, everything comes to you." - Srinivas Rao.
"When you expect nothing, everything comes to you." Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey.
Today’s guest is a creative entrepreneur who helps organizations and individuals increase productivity by expressing their creativity.
His name is Srinivas, and he’s here today to teach you how to practice your creative art effectively. He believes that producing a high volume of work and being process-oriented are two of the fastest ways to accelerate your progress.
Think about people who have risen to stardom — it isn’t just that one thing they did that put them in the spotlight, it was the years and years of practice and putting themselves out there that created that opportunity. “We don’t see any of these things because they’re so buried by stardom that you forget that, wait a minute, this person has created a large volume of work probably as an actor, been on thousands of auditions, potentially appeared in hundreds of films that you never see, until suddenly they have this one moment in the spotlight that catapults them. What people don’t see is that everything they had done up until that point was practice and preparation.” – Srinivas Rao I loved the metaphor he used from author Neil Gaiman about creating a large volume of work: that basically it’s like putting lots of messages in bottles out to sea and eventually one comes back or washes up on the shore and reaches the person it was meant to reach.
These are just a few of the many gold nuggets that Srinivas has to offer. We’re about to dive into a ton of knowledge taken from a decades-long career in creating content. Srinivas knows the systems and processes needed to be more creative, and today, he’s going to give us his top process hacks so you can focus on what you’re good at — creating. I know you’re not going to want to miss this, so let’s go! Who Is Srinivas Rao? Srinivas Rao is an Indian-American author, speaker, and entrepreneur who helps creatives become more productive and efficient in their work. His book, The Art of Being Unmistakable is a #1 Amazon bestseller that discusses how to stand out in a world flooded with talent and noise to be unmistakable. In order to do this, you must take risks and cross lines both personal and professional.
(By the way, you can — and should — check out his books as well as his Unmistakable Creative podcast at his website here.) Paradigm Shifts for Creatives Creatives have always had to pivot when new technology has come into the spotlight, and today is no exception. An interesting paradigm shift is happening where artificial intelligence is being used to create things that originally only humans could create before. Resources that used to be in the hands of only huge corporations are quickly moving into the hands of the common person. AI is definitely speeding up the ability for people to do things, but according to Srinivas, creatives don’t have to fear that AI will take over completely. “It’s not going to replace humans, and it’s not magic. I think we’re headed into one of the most prolific periods in history for people who want to be creative. There’s never been a better time, which is ironic because we have tools that enable us to be more creative than we’ve ever been, but the very tools that have facilitated so much creativity have also inhibited it at the same time.” – Srinivas Rao Another paradigm shift we discussed is the power distribution for media creators. Not long ago, only big radio stations or big broadcast networks had the power to disseminate information, but now anyone can use a platform to share information or have a podcast. It’s only a matter of time, according to Srinivas, that the playing field becomes completely level.
"It's that monkey brain chatter of worry, fear, and anxiety, and all the thoughts that come from worrying about the future and regretting the past." Hey, guys! Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio). In this podcast, we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
This is an important topic for creatives. Your mind can be your worst enemy or your best friend, depending on how you treat it.
We might have had our fair share of mental health issues because of the work we do and the way we think about what we create. Sometimes, it feels like there are too many thoughts in our heads—which may not all be good. They may be based on our failures in the past or the anxiety of what the future might bring. Whatever it may be, it can be a frustrating cycle that keeps us from creating our moments and, most importantly, our lives.
In this episode, I talk about the causes and the effects of all these negative things in our minds. I also share a simple way I was able to take charge of my thoughts so I could get back into the rhythm of things again without feeling that I am not enough. If you also believe that you can be the author and the director of your lives and want to learn how, let’s dive in! Monkey Brains And Rabbit Holes Have you heard about the monkey brain? The monkey brain refers to the primitive part of the brain that is responsible for our instincts and urges. It makes us jump to conclusions without rational thought, make up stories to fill in gaps when we get bored or stressed, and take risks with little regard for safety or likelihood of success. It's not a flattering portrait, but it does provide an intriguing insight into why we do what we do.
The problem with this chatty primate inside our heads is that he doesn't know how to take a break from his own thoughts. This leads us into going down into a rabbit hole of negative thought patterns and making up stories in our heads about things that haven't even happened yet. We always feel anxiety and stress because there are never any breaks from the fears and all the thoughts that come from worrying about the future or regretting the past. With all these thoughts and worries clogging up our minds, it's hard to see the sky for all the clouds.
Also, when we allow these monkey chats to go on for too long, we'll get trapped in our own self-created prison. The monkey will keep us inside of that prison, and he won't let anything else enter his kingdom to bring light or happiness into our lives.
I'm not saying that we should never think about what's going to happen tomorrow or reflect on what happened last week or even last year. Reflection is good and it’s an important a part of life, but I think that we shouldn't let it take over our days to the point where we can't enjoy what's happening in front of us.
Remember that it can be really easy to get caught in a rabbit hole of negativity if we don't stop these anxious thoughts from taking over our lives. This habit will lead us into a downward spiral where anxiety overtakes us. How Thoughts Alchemize Life And Health With the monkey brain constantly generating worry and anxiety, we might have the constant feeling of getting overwhelmed. There's no time for restful sleep because we are always on guard against something bad that could happen in the future if we don't vigilantly stay on top of everything right now. We spend our days jumping from one task to another with barely a moment to pause, and we're constantly dealing with the emotional baggage from our past. Then one day, we wake up realizing that we're sick or that our health is already suffering.
This is a scenario that Dr. Joe Dispenza talks about in his book, Becoming Supernatural, on how our thoughts affect our lives. When you think negative thoughts,
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"It's that monkey brain chatter of worry, fear, and anxiety, and all the thoughts that come from worrying about the future and regretting the past." - Nick Onken.
"I think we all begin in the same place. We came in awake." - Allyn Reid Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey.
Before we jump into our episode today, I want to start off with a question for you.
As a creative, have you ever been pressured by the need to produce a masterpiece that is relatable, shareable and, of course, profitable? I mean that’s the goal, right? We all want to create art that is beautiful, thought-provoking, relatable, and profitable. However, this isn’t always easy.
The creative industry often leaves us empty and worn out, right? We’re accustomed to getting disappointed when others don’t receive our work, and we’re constantly working on new things to create. So the question becomes, when we get absolutely exhausted, how do we get back on track? How do we reignite our passions and reawaken the true creatives within us?
If you’ve been asking yourself that recently, I’ve got good news for you. Today’s show is all about “waking up” — creating self-awareness and coming back to your true creative self.
I am delighted to have Allyn Reid in today’s episode. Allyn is a wonderful human being who believes in the limitless power and creativity of our alter egos and how life-changing soul sovereignty is! I’m sure you’ll learn some helpful insights from her today, so let’s begin! Who Is Allyn Reid? Allyn Reid is a soul behaviorist, entrepreneur, and leadership facilitator who founded WooManity — a platform that provides soul support for leaders, entrepreneurs, and creators in activating their relationships with their souls to make an impact in their work, family and lives. Allyn is also the Producer and Co-Founder of the Secret Knock Conference, which Forbes’ dubbed as the “Can’t-Miss Conference for Entrepreneurs.''
Not only is Allyn super accomplished in the business world, but she was the first Filipina to summit Kilimanjaro, and she’s the resident Sherpa at Sherpa Press — a publishing company that helps new authors get discovered.
Above all these, Allyn is a Creative Alchemist who specializes in helping people amplify their businesses from the inside out. When you’re aligned with who you are, and you’re living in your passion doing what you love, you will succeed — today, Allyn Reid is here to teach us how to do just that. Waking Up, Sleeping Again, and Waking Up Others “We all begin in the same place. We came in awake.” - Allyn Reid I began the interview by having Allyn explain how she became the amplifier and motivator that she is now. Allyn explained that like the rest of us, she began her journey by waking up to this world and falling back asleep. Like everyone else, she had her fair share of being held captive by the world’s expectations and giving in to the pressure to survive.
As a ten-year-old, young immigrant from the Philippines, Allyn knew well that she had to fight hard to succeed, but that idea didn’t sit very well with her. The hustle mentality proved to be exhausting. Despite making it to a top university, she became suicidal and felt cut off from herself. She no longer knew who she really was.
At this point in her life, Allyn found herself asking powerful questions. Who am I? Where am I? What am I supposed to be doing with my life? While this period of her life was extremely hard and upsetting, these questions are what jump-started her career as an amplifier.
From a young age, Allyn was a natural encourager. When she was in private highschool (that required uniforms), she started observing behaviors and learning her classmates' stories. She discovered different personalities, hobbies, talents, and alter egos that were way different from the ones seen inside the classrooms. This diversity was exciting to her — and she knew t...
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"I think we all begin in the same place. We came in awake." - Allyn Reid.
nionradio.com/ep153
"The inner world is the most important world to generate success." - Nick Onken.
"The inner world is the most important world to generate success." This past year has been challenging for me, but I've learned more than ever how important it is to take care of myself.
Can you relate? Do you constantly feel stressed and burned out on your work? Maybe you're out of alignment, and it's time for a career change, or perhaps, you're struggling more with personal relationships. Whatever the case, it's essential that you take a step back from all the chaos and practice some self-care and inner work.
Over the past year, I went through a lot of personal stuff, and I discovered some things that weren't serving me anymore. I think we often portray the highlights of our lives on Instagram, but in reality, we're actually going through a lot of stuff that we don't want other people to see. Sometimes, we can get stuck in negative thought loops and severely limit our potential and creativity as a result. But when we realize that we actually do have agency over our minds, our bodies, and our spirituality, we can start manifesting abundance in our lives.
As I worked through this dark time, I found five tools to help me develop my inner world, and today on ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), I'm going to share them with you. If I've learned anything from all the top artists, performers, and entrepreneurs I've interviewed, it's this: Your inner world determines your outer reality.
So without further ado, let me give you these five tools to help you develop your inner world and become more creative as a result.
1: Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza
The first tool is a book — Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza. This book completely rocked my world. I've read it three times, listened to it three times, and also taken his online course, which was a deeper explanation of the book. Needless to say, I'm definitely a fan.
Dr. Dispenza's work is all about the science behind energy and matter. You all know that I'm a huge science guy, and when investigating anything spiritual, I need the science to back it up. In Becoming Supernatural, Dr. Dispenza explains the science behind extraordinary events, such as healing from his broken back.
After breaking his back in a triathlon accident, Dr. Dispenza was told he would probably never walk again. His doctors suggested that he take the surgery route and then spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Dr. Dispenza declined the surgery, saying that he wanted to heal his body with his mind, and if he succeeded, he would dedicate his life to researching that phenomenon and share his findings with the world.
That's exactly what he's doing now. As a former chiropractor, Dr. Dipensza basically visualized the reconstruction of his spine every day to promote self-healing, and now, he's fully recovered. In his most recent book, Becoming Supernatural, Dr. Dispenza explains how you can heal your body with your mind, how your thoughts manifest the world around you, and how we operate in different frequencies. Emotions produce chemicals that can either toxify our bodies or heal them, so when we get clear on how to control our minds, we can control our bodies as a result.
In addition to providing the scientific research backing his claims, Dr. Dispenza also offers different meditations to help you activate and shift your emotional frequencies to promote self-healing. This book has helped me out so much, and I hope to get him on the podcast sometime soon! Until then — definitely check out Becoming Supernatural and get ready to be blown away.
2. A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle
The second tool is also one of my favorite books — A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. I've read this one multiple times as well, and each time, I get something new from it. The book is essentially about how to separate yourself from your ego and gain self-awareness.
The ego needs to feed on thoughts in order to survive,
"Patterns are often the precursor for frameworks." - Michael Roderick Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio)!
Before we get started, I want to ask you some important questions: What characteristics does a person need to have in order to become referable? Where do you find people who can help you network in order to take the next steps towards a referral? Once you’ve created a constant stream of referrals, you can imagine how much business and experience you’ll gain as a Creative Alchemist as a result!
Today, I'm very excited to share with you today's guest, Mr. Michael Roderick, who knows all about the importance of referrals and how to score them. Today, we’re talking about how he made some big career changes in his life and how artists can secure funding with investors in their industry. Let’s get started. Who Is Michael Roderick? Michael Roderick began his career as a high school English teacher, and in only two years time, began producing Off Broadway and then on Broadway. This combination of experience in the arts and entrepreneurship led to Michael starting an arts incubator program to teach more artists about building and growing their own businesses (PLAE). Eventually, Micahel decided to develop a workshop on networking which grew into a full-time consulting practice and that became Small Pond Enterprises.
Now a successful entrepreneur in the arts industry, Michael Roderick is a super-connector and a relationship builder who has created an amazing program for artists needing help with evaluating and designing their professional relationships as well as building and growing their own businesses. In his networking programs, he asks participants to simulate meetings, job interviews, and cocktail parties in a free-flowing, improv style. “I started to realize that most people focus on the idea of differentiation and how important it is to be different from everybody else. But they forget about the fact that very, very often, if somebody can't remember your ideas, if they can't share it with their friends, then it doesn't matter how good your stuff is. It doesn't matter what you're doing. If people can't actually talk about it.” - Michael Roderick Through his networking workshops, Michael began to have an understanding of how people interact with each other and noticed behavioral patterns, which he later turned into frameworks that he shared with participants. The people who received these frameworks later on applied them in their own networking process and began to receive higher-level opportunities in advancing their careers. Isn’t that awesome? With just the right amount of networking training, you can turn your career around without having to rely on others to make the connection for you!
And that’s just the start of his interesting career. But before we begin talking about his techniques and tips, let’s discuss how Michael broke into Broadway by the simple art of networking. Breaking into the Broadway Scene Before pursuing networking opportunities in Broadway, Michael was first curious about how the industry worked. He wanted to know all the details behind the scenes, including the way every Broadway show was funded. And naturally, he became curious about the roles of Broadway producers and how things work around them. ”One of the things that I learned about Broadway was that in essence, it was an aspect of just basically raising money. So if you want to be a Broadway producer, you raise money to make sure that shows happen." - Michael Roderick To get started on his mission, Michael started conversations with Broadway Producers he knew and respected. He offered to help them raise funds for projects without asking for credit first. It took awhile for him to gain credibility from these producers, but through persistence and even more research, Michael started asking the right questions and made his way into the industry.
But while the subject of connecting with a Broadway pr...
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"Patterns are often the precursor for frameworks." - Michael Roderick.
"No matter where you're at or what you're going through, it's important to keep moving, keep your head up and keep going." Hey, guys! Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio). In this podcast, we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
2018 was a bit of a dark year. I had a really hard time personally because there were a lot of things that I was going through with business, relationships, and everything in between.
But I believe that through difficulty, we have the ability to transform into more complete and true versions of ourselves. We can do this every day through Identity Alchemy.
Now that it’s 2019 and the first episode of this year, I'm excited about bringing you guys some awesome guests and elevating more things over here with the podcast.
But before that, let me share with you what I learned from last year and hopefully it resonates with you and helps you where you're at. Let’s get started.
1: Keep Moving
As I said, 2018 has been a very hard year for me. But I also realized that no matter where you're at, no matter what you're going through, it's important to move, keep your head up, and continue forward. Sometimes, things get hard and dark, but knowing that you're going to get through it can help you get the courage to just move forward.
More importantly, though, I think it’s important to know that there’s no need to rush. You’ve just got to take one step at a time. But if you don’t and choose to stay still, you stay stagnant, and you won’t live your life to its full potential.
2: Create Something Every day
I bought a bath mat that has this saying on it, “Create something every day even if it sucks.” So every time I get up in the morning and take a shower, I look at this mat, and I’m reminded of its truth. Sometimes, even if you just don't feel like creating and making anything, you've just got to go through the process.
The good thing about this is you're going to get better and better if you just keep creating. Creating something is a hundred times better than creating nothing at all.
3: Don't Let the Scroll Get You
In 2018, I noticed that I got caught in the endless Instagram and the social media scroll. I think that it’s important to become mindful of the people that you put in your feed and how they make you feel. Follow people that are inspiring to you and don’t make you feel bad about yourself.
It can be easy to get into a negative space of comparing yourself to others, especially on social media. You gotta be careful not to fall into that emotional trap. If you notice yourself doing that, maybe take a break from screens for a while, or transform social media into a great tool by following people that inspire you to create better art and do bigger things in life. Personally, I've curated my feed to that.
4: Dive Inward and Do the Work
It's definitely not easy, but personal development lets you explore a lot about yourself. Personally, I had to dive in and do the work —whether it's therapy, meditation, reading books, or going on a plant medicine journey.
I believe that in order to truly alchemize your life, you have to dive in and work on yourself from the inside out. This is especially true when you're going through a hard time and you're feeling depressed. It isn’t a pleasant experience but it’s a crucial process in Identity Alchemy. Keep in mind, though, that it's important to see the end of your journey. Have that silent confidence that you'll get through it.
5: Prioritize Your Health
The older I get, the more I want to take care of myself, both mentally and physically. Some of the things I started working on are...
I started working out every day or at least four or five days a week. It helped me stay healthy and feel better about myself and stay on top of things.
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"No matter where you're at or what you're going through, it's important to keep moving, keep your head up and keep going." - Nick Onken.
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"The human mind is the most powerful pharmacy on the planet." - Shawn Stevenson.
"The human mind is the most powerful pharmacy on the planet." - Shawn Stevenson Did you know that your sleep can massively impact your ability to be creative?
It’s true. Our minds and bodies depend on getting good, quality sleep to do everything from produce hormones, process memories, and lower our stress levels. It’s more important than you may think! But thankfully, my guest today is here to share a ton of great information about the power of sleep.
When he was just 16, Shawn Stevenson broke his hip running. Suddenly, his dreams of an athletic career were dashed, and he spent the next four years feeling hopeless. But eventually, he realized that he didn’t want to live in hopelessness and poor health. He decided to do some research and discover ways to heal his body, and since then, he’s made it his mission to communicate his research to the world and help us all achieve better sleep.
I’m thrilled to have Shawn Stevenson here on ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION radio) today! Shawn’s story is inspiring, and his thorough scientific knowledge is impressive. I’m excited to get into our conversation — I hope you learn as much from it as I did. Who Is Shawn Stevenson? As one of the world’s foremost authorities on the science of sleep (in a world that’s constantly struggling with it), Shawn Stevenson has increasingly found his insight very much in demand. But he wasn’t always an authority on better sleep, though.
Shawn set out to become an expert on all things fitness, health, and wellness after suffering some severe pain and mobility issues at 20 years old. His doctors told him he had degenerative disc disease, that it was progressive and incurable, that he had the spine of an 80-year-old man, and that he could only expect to get worse as time wore on.
But instead of accepting the doom-and-gloom prognosis of his medical team, Shawn decided to take matters into his own hands. He started taking a more holistic view of his health, and incorporated some significant lifestyle changes — everything from a better diet to increased physical activity and to the one thing many treatment plans overlook: proper sleep.
By applying a total-body treatment plan, Shawn was able to not just halt his condition in its tracks, but in some cases, even reverse some of the effects. At that point, he knew he had a mission: to educate the masses on the importance of diet, exercise, and getting better sleep.
Today, Shawn is the host of the #1 podcast on Apple’s “Health and Fitness” chart, The Model Health Show, which covers everything from diet and exercise to relationship advice. His books have consistently topped bestseller and audio download charts. And he’s been hired as a keynote speaker to deliver his message of total-body health to companies such as Hilton, US Bank, Google, MasterCard, and Whole Foods.
Shawn offered so much wisdom and practical knowledge in this interview. We talked about everything from sleep cycles and brain waves to the effect of physical activity on your creativity and the massive positive effects of meditation. This is an interview you don’t want to miss. Shawn’s Story: From Degenerative Disc Disease to Sleep Expert Have you ever heard of the placebo effect? It’s a term often used in medical research, and it refers to the effect we see when someone believes they’re taking a real medication or receiving a real treatment, but in reality, they’re not. It happens all the time — researchers have seen blood pressure drop and even cancer cells die just because the patient thought they were taking an effective medication.
But here’s the thing — the placebo effect works in reverse, too. That’s called the no-cebo effect, and it’s where the patient thinks they have no chance of recovery and so their condition actually starts getting worse. That’s what happened to Shawn Stevenson when he was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease. “[The doctor] kind of looked at me … and [said,
“What is catnip? Catnip is powerful, memorable, and very fast. Everybody has a story, but the decisions that you make about people and brands is much faster than the story.” - Marie Griffin Hello, my friends! Welcome to another episode of the Onken Radio podcast (previously NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey!
Today, I’m excited about my special guest Marie Griffin, the founder of Griffin Marketing and PR. Marie’s developed a wealth of experience working with many high-level celebrities, (Stella McCartney, to name one) helping them with their PR and media training. Marie is focused on helping you deliver your message to the world in a very clear way.
Here’s a quick taste of what’s to come from my interview with Marie: “Keep chipping and chipping and chipping away so that [your message] is just absolutely you. For someone like [Nick Onken with] so much talent, so many interests, and so many ways of expressing themselves — [the major question is] ‘How are you going to package all that and put a bow on it and own it?’” - Marie Griffin When we see people who dominate in our chosen professional field, it’s almost impossible not to know their work when we see it. Still, often creatives have a hard time figuring out what sets them apart from their peers, and this is where Marie comes in. She has a trusted, holistic method to find this part of our brand, our “CATNIP,” and the process has been described as “honest, insightful, grounding, and transformative.”
Marie uses her wealth of knowledge to help big companies and brands refine their messaging to connect with consumers as well as transform some of the biggest stars in entertainment to help make their messaging congruent.
Congruence is when the inside and the outside match, and Marie believes this is as vital when conveying your message through body language as it is with how you speak. Her passion and commitment to help people are demonstrated by her clients and her innovative program #whatsyourcatnip?
In this episode, we discuss how to find what is uniquely you, some of Marie’s tips for finding your CATNIP, and what helps you stand out in a world full of competitors. Who Is Marie Griffin? Marie Griffin is the sought-after authority in media and communication training for leaders and personalities in business, film, fashion, music, beauty, sports, media, wellness, and design. Her immersive process is informed by a profound understanding of people and a deep knowledge of the media, branding, marketing, and public relations landscapes. Marie’s hallmark is her one-on-one work from the inside out to elevate clients to their highest potential to help them answer the question, “What’s your catnip?”
As the second of four girls, Marie grew up in Scarsdale, New York in the sixties. Both her elementary school and high school were Catholic all-girls schools where she constantly felt tremendously supported and empowered by the nuns — always believing there was nothing she couldn’t do. Marie used their support to fuel the fact that she always knew she wanted to be involved in fashion.
Marie’s dream was to work for a magazine, and when it came time for school, Marie chose the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising, which is now LIM College in New York City. Located in Manhattan, the college was perfectly positioned to help her get an internship right out of the gate with Seventeen.
Marie grabbed this opportunity with both hands and, still only 19 years old, was offered a job by Seventeen starting as soon as she graduated. Marie was immediately dropped into the deep end and sent on a 48-city tour around the country to do “meet and greet” events with retailers supporting the magazine. Among other things, she started to produce fashion shows and promote advertisers,
nionradio.com/ep149
“What is catnip? Catnip is powerful, memorable, and very fast. Everybody has a story, but the decisions that you make about people and brands is much faster than the story.” - Marie Griffin.
“Even people with huge networks, they're not thinking about what they can do for other people most of the time, and that's the mistake.” - Jordan Harbinger At the beginning of 2018, Jordan Harbinger was running his successful company and podcast, The Art of Charm. By February, he and The Art of Charm executives had a falling out, and he found himself back at square one, looking to start down a new path.
Jordan started The Jordan Harbinger Show, which had millions of monthly downloads in a few months. He was also able to host several interviews with top influencers and authors throughout the industry.
But how was Jordan able to bounce back so quickly from such a problematic situation?
Jordan says that he had been planning on this exact moment for years by taking care of his network and seeking ways to provide value to his friends and colleagues. So when he fell onto hard times, these colleagues were there to support him. He had his "layoff lifelines" waiting in the wings, ready to go when he needed them.
Today on ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio), Jordan Harbinger talks about what he's learned since he started his new podcast, how he bounced back, and the key elements of keeping and maintaining one's network. We also go over the importance of honesty in building lifeline relationships.
So if you want to maintain your network for the future and prepare for when you go through a career change of your own, then let's get started! Who Is Jordan Harbinger? Jordan Harbinger is a Wall Street lawyer turned podcast interviewer with an approachable style and knack for securing high-profile guests. His show, The Jordan Harbinger Show, was selected as part of Apple's "Best of 2018."
Hailing from Michigan, Jordan was a curious kid fascinated by the internet at an early age. He went to law school at the University of Michigan, and shortly after he landed a job on Wall Street as a corporate lawyer.
However, Jordan wasn't interested in climbing the corporate ladder. But he was curious about a partner, Dave, who was never in the office. Dave spent his days at charity events and playing racquetball, and Jordan always wondered how Dave could keep his job.
Dave told Jordan that he brought in business for the firm. To do that, he didn't sit at his desk: he spent his time building and managing personal relationships. After hard work and intelligence, Jordan felt like he was learning a "secret third path" that nobody ever talked about.
This kicked off an obsession with body language and non-verbal communication, persuasion, influence, social psychology, and networking. When he started uploading what he learned to the web, he inadvertently became one of the first podcasters.
Today, The Jordan Harbinger Show has over 11 million downloads per month and features a wide array of guests like Kobe Bryant, Cesar Millan, Simon Sinek, Eric Schmidt, and Neil deGrasse Tyson, to name a few. Jordan continues to teach his skills, for free, at 6 Minute Networking.
In addition to hosting The Jordan Harbinger Show, Jordan is a consultant for law enforcement, military, and security companies and is a member of the Northern California Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.
But before reaching this massive success with his podcast, Jordan deeply struggled after he was fired from his old company, The Art of Charm podcast. Fortunately, he was able to bounce back from this, and today, he's excited to talk about what he's learned! Doing Things Differently in The Jordan Harbinger Show Before Jordan started his podcast, he hosted The Art Of Charm, which had four million downloads a month at its peak. During his stint in the show, he interviewed personalities like Shaquille O'Neal, Lewis Howes, Mike Rowe, or Russell Brand. Because Jordan wanted to take the show away from the pickup dating business that his business partners were running, they negotiated an amicable split that didn't happen. Initially,
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“Even people with huge networks, they're not thinking about what they can do for other people most of the time, and that's the mistake.” - Jordan Harbinger.
"The game of money making and staying creative has always been the challenge of the artist's journey." Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
I've got an insightful episode for all you Creative Alchemists out there. Today, I'm discussing an essential part of being a creative entrepreneur: staying creative and sustaining your business at the same time. Striking a balance between your business and creative sides is essential for both your career and your inner self. Making money and making time for your creative vision is always a challenge in an artist's journey, regardless of how long you've been in your creative industry. I still struggle with this at times even though I've been a creative entrepreneur for 15years. Mastering the art of striking a balance between money and creativity takes time, and a lot of ups and downs can occur throughout your creative career, which can affect your balance.
Fear and uncertainty also affect your balance between creativity and business and can be detrimental to your success. I've interviewed many successful creatives on my show, and dealing with their inner fears and uncertainty is the biggest thing that they had to overcome to become successful and balanced.
Today, I'm sharing five tips for staying creative while also sustaining your business. I'm going to talk about becoming scrappy, getting creative in your business, working on your inner self, finding things that inspire you to create, and creating for the sake of creation.
Even if you're already successful in your creative field, these tips can still help you create a healthy balance between your business and art. You may even be aware of some or all these tips already, but let them serve as a reminder for you. There's a quote that I love that says, "A novice says, 'I already knew that,' while a master says, 'Thank you for the reminder.'" No matter what stage of your creative career you might be in, you can still benefit from the lessons I'm discussing today, so let's dive in!
1. Get Scrappy or Get Back to It
The first tip is becoming scrappy to start your creative career or maintain it. This was so important to me when I was first getting started with my photography business in New York City. I had to be scrappy and really hustle through a ton of work and many late nights. I was building a creative career in an incredibly competitive city, so I had to work diligently to make connections and get my work out to the public.
There will always be ups and downs in your creative career, so you need always be prepared to hustle and grind. It takes a great deal of effort to get your work out to people, regardless of how many years you’ve been working. It’s especially difficult to be a creative entrepreneur in the digital age because there's so much content to compete with. Now more than ever, you need to become scrappy to succeed in your creative business.
Do whatever it takes to distinguish yourself creatively and get your work out to the public. Maybe you need to learn a new skill within your creative medium to distinguish you from other artists, or maybe you need to get out of your comfort zone and put yourself out there to make more contacts. I had a great interview with Jordan Harbinger about building professional relationships with people to advance your creative career, so you should definitely check that out once you finish reading this post. Never stop meeting people, building your network, and hustling when you need to.
2. Get Creative in Business
The next one is getting creative in your business, and this transcends any medium that you might be working in. A huge part of succeeding in your field is developing creative approaches for marketing your business.
nionradio.com/ep147
"The game of money making and staying creative has always been the challenge of the artist's journey." - Nick Onken
"It’s not about how quick the story is, it’s about how fun and entertaining the story is." Hey guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio), the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
Today, I've got a very special guest on my show. His name is Alex Banayan, and he authored the groundbreaking book The Third Door: The Wild Quest to Uncover How the World's Most Successful People Launched Their Careers.
Alex is an awesome guy, and I especially wanted him on the show because his book is all about the business side of creative entrepreneurship. In this interview, we're discussing his journey from being a freshman pre-med student to becoming a bestselling author, how to write a good story, the meaning behind "the third door," and how to break into your creative industry. You're going to learn a whole lot about success and storytelling from Alex, and you're also going to be entertained on the way, so let's dive in! Who Is Alex Banayan? Alex Banayan is the #1 International Bestselling Author of The Third Door. Alex started the book while he was a freshman in college, and it took him seven years to complete it. He learned countless lessons from the people he interviewed for the book and from the writing process itself. He interviewed some of the most successful people of all time, including Bill Gates, Lady Gaga, Larry King, and many more.
Alex began his journey writing The Third Door from his freshman dorm room at the University of South California. From a young age, Alex's parents pushed him to become a Doctor of Medicine. He always assumed that he would become a doctor, and he never planned to do anything else with his career. He even wore scrubs for Halloween as a child and attended pre-med summer school programs. But once he entered the pre-med program at USC, he found that becoming a doctor may not be the path for him. "I started to feel like something was off. I couldn't put my finger on it. … I remember lying on my dorm room bed, staring over at this stack of biology books and feeling like they were sucking the life out of me. ... Then I started to wonder, 'Maybe I'm not on my path.'" - Alex Banayan Alex's realization threw him into a whirlwind of confusion. He suffered a life crisis at age 18 and began searching for a new career path. He went to the library and began trying to figure out how successful individuals had started their careers. He wondered how people like Steven Spielberg and Bill Gates had changed the world at such a young age.
He poured over biographies and self-help books but found no suitable answers for his questions, so he decided to write the book himself. He came up with the idea to interview some of the world’s most successful people and find the secret to their success. Seven years later, he released The Third Door and became the youngest bestselling business author in American history. Hacking The Price is Right When Alex began his journey in authoring The Third Door, he realized that he would need funding to write his book. The night before finals at USC, he found what he thought might be a golden opportunity to make money. "I'm on Facebook, and I see someone posting saying, 'Free tickets to The Price is Right.'… [My thought] was what if I go on this show and win some money to fund this dream?" - Alex Banayan Alex knew that the idea was absolutely absurd because going on The Price is Right would conflict with his final exams the next day, but he couldn't stop thinking about going on the show. "It was one of those ideas that keeps like clawing itself into your mind. So I remember in the library making this pros and cons list to prove to myself it's a bad idea. … . There's like 20 cons. And the only pro was maybe win[ning] enough money to fund this dream.
nionradio.com/ep146
"So much of getting people to come along on your journey is to inspire them, and the best way to inspire them is through story." - Alex Banayan
"How do we embrace all our messy and uncomfortable emotions and treat them as allies on our path rather than enemies that are trying to hurt us?" - Amber Rae How much time do you spend a day worrying about something?
5%? 20%? Maybe even 50%?
Let's be honest — even when we're feeling comfortable and secure, it's hard to completely stop worrying about our lives. We deal with messy and uncomfortable emotions on a daily basis, and it's just part of being human.
But what if we could transform our worry into wonder? What if we could understand that these feelings are just trying to keep us safe instead of trainwreck us? When we spend time processing our emotions, especially the negative ones, we can use them for good and even unlock our creativity as a result!
Today on the show, we have the wonderful Amber Rae, one of our most popular guests. It's easy to see why: Amber is all about diving inward to find, express, and develop your inner creativity.
Amber has been on a journey since we last spoke with her back on Episode #40 and Episode #97. Her new book, Choose Wonder Over Worry, is a guide to diving within yourself and asking the right questions to propel yourself forward in the world of creativity.
Today, I have her back on ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) to share her inspiration behind the book, how we can channel our negative emotions into curiosity, and how "struggling artists" can succeed. Amber is full of joy, wisdom, and creativity — I know you're going to enjoy hearing from her. Who Is Amber Rae? Amber Rae is an author, artist, and global voice for emotional wellness and self-discovery. She turns highly relatable insights on the human experience into viral art, performs at sold-out venues, and writes best-selling books.
She's the author of Choose Wonder Over Worry: Move Beyond Fear and Doubt to Unlock Your Full Potential, and her work has been featured in publications such as The New York Times, NY Mag, TODAY, SELF, Fortune, Forbes, and Entrepreneur.
Amber has collaborated with brands such as Kate Spade, Apple, ABC, and One Medical, and she reaches over 9 million people per month online with her words and art. She lives in Brooklyn — and travels around the world — with her husband, Farhad.
On her website, Amber offers courses to help you unlock your creativity and make progress on a dream that you've been waiting to start. You can also grab one of her Wonder Journals or Notepads, which will help you process your emotions on a whole new level.
In Episode #97, we heard all about Amber's dream and how she wanted to inspire the world, and now she's done it through her new book. I was excited to hear the story of how this book started and how we can experience the same transformation in our Creative Alchemy. Let's get started. The Process of Writing Her New Book: Wonder over Worry In our interview, Amber shared that coming on ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) was a pivoting point in her creative journey — she had this ethereal idea about confidence and creativity, and now she's alchemized it into a concept she can share with others.
On her 31st birthday, Amber woke up and immediately felt sad. But instead of pushing past this emotion and opening the champagne, she decided to journal: "I'd been doing a lot more inner work, and so I opened my journal, and I wrote at the top of the page, 'Hey, sadness, what is it that you want me to know?' [I knew] that in this emotion, there was an insight for me if I just turn[ed] toward it rather than push it away." - Amber Rae When you feel anxious and sad, do you try to suppress those emotions instead of feeling them? Amber had done that for a long time, but when she finally embraced the sadness, it said something amazing to her: "And what the sadness said to me [was,] 'You're playing small, and I'm sick of it. You're hiding — stop hiding.'" - Amber Rae This was a wake-up call for Amber — she realized that she wasn't happy with ...
nionradio.com/ep145
"How do we embrace all our messy and uncomfortable emotions and treat them as allies on our path rather than enemies that are trying to hurt us?" - Amber Rae
"Once you have the why, the how shows up." I've heard it before — "I'm just not a creative person."
If you resonate with that sentence, I want to challenge you to think differently — creativity isn't exclusive to artists. In fact, every single person in this world possesses their own unique creativity. Whether you work with paint, words, or computer code, you are a creative being. You can make beautiful things, whether they be relationships, stories, or an impact in the world.
As creative entrepreneurs, we often get stuck in a rut when it comes to our creativity. If our work is not received well, we doubt our self-worth. And like everyone on the planet, our mindset can get off-balance sometimes. Instead of living in abundance and gratitude, we retreat into scarcity and pessimism.
If we can learn how to control our mindset and rewrite our stories, we'll create a bigger and better life for ourselves. Creativity and abundance are strongly linked, and so to better understand our unique creativity, we need to understand abundance. Thankfully, today I have the perfect guest on ONKEN RADIO (formerly NION Radio) to discuss how we can shift our mindset, practice gratitude, and become better creatives as a result.
Not only is Chris Lee a dear friend of mine, but he's a transformational coach who has trained a lot of buddies of mine, including high-level executives, CEOs, artists, and entrepreneurs. An all-around amazing, fun, energetic guy, Chris's mission is to serve the world and create transformation from within. I know you're going to get so much from this interview, so let's dive in. Who Is Chris Lee? Chris Lee is a transformational lifestyle coach who has worked with several successful entrepreneurs (including my friend Lewis Howes), artists, musicians, CEOs, and performers to create bulletproof mindsets for abundance and success. Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Chris has been traveling the world for over 30 years, leading seminars and workshops for over one million people. His mission is to serve the world by creating massive transformation in individuals who seek to live an abundant life!
Chris has worked with companies such as Dreamworks, Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Sony and has collaborated with top Latin IV networks and radio shows. He coaches several celebrities and business leaders to create unprecedented results. In fact, he's been featured on Lewis Howes' podcast, The School of Greatness, for a total of 14 times! If you're looking to learn more from Chris, those interviews are a great place to start.
In addition to being a transformational speaker, Chris Lee is the author of the bestselling book Transform Your Life: 10 Principles of Abundance and Prosperity. In his book, Chris shares the life-changing principles of abundance and prosperity that he teaches in his workshops.
From all the incredible people I've photographed, I've learned that mindset is the key to creating the life you desire. Your thoughts create your actions, and your actions create your results. Chris understands this better than anyone, and he uses his own creative outlet to invoke that same realization in others: "I use words to convey feelings and emotions to empower, to have people discover, [and to] wake up consciousness. So through language and through my communication — that's one of my creative outlets." - Chris Lee While Chris may not consider himself an artist in the traditional sense, he's a passionate creative who is changing the world through his words. He understands abundance and creativity on a deeper level than most, and I'm thrilled to share this interview with you all. The Secret to Abundance: Detach Ego and Be Grateful You may have heard the word "abundance" often used in the self-development space, but how do we achieve it? Is abundance measured by our bank accounts, our followers, or external success? Not exactly — it's much more a spiritual state than a material one.
nionradio.com/ep144
"We’re all artists of something. Everyone has the creative means to be an artist." - Chris Lee
"Taking on a proper perspective can temper us for great success and creating a full life." Hey, guys, welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio). In this podcast, we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It's my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I'm so glad you're joining me on this journey!
We all go through funks in our creative journey. In fact, I’m going through one right now. It’s really challenging when your creative outlet is also your living — it adds a whole other level of complication and can make your funk even worse because not only is your creativity not at its best but neither is your money-making.
When I get in a funk, I find myself questioning everything: Am I good enough? Am I on the right path? Am I an impostor? When is the next job coming? My inner critic is raging, and it’s a constant battle not to take any rejection personally.
We can’t choose our circumstances, but we can choose how we deal with them. So today I’m sharing 21 tools to help you get through a funk in your creative career. What’s Your Funk? Funks are part of everyone’s journey. They’re all part of the up and down wave of life. Now the thing about funks is they come from different sources. Sometimes, it can be in the lack of presence or judging one’s self. When your funk comes from the latter, expect that its stink will crawl in every aspect of your life, whether it’s business, personal relationships, or career.
But if you think that’s bad enough, there’s something a lot worse about funks—they’re experienced by everyone and your situation doesn’t really matter. You can be in your lowest moment and feel it, but you can also be at the top of the world, and still smell funk everywhere.
Because the reality will always be that we’re humans. Though we might have different backgrounds and upbringings, we are bound by the lack of uniqueness when it comes to experiencing emotions. We all can be happy, feel giddy, and of course, feel despair and failure as well. We are all capable of emotions.
Despite that, it doesn’t mean that we all react to things similarly. As they say, we can never choose our circumstances, but we can always control how we react to them. I’ve personally known from experiences that powerful people have risen from the trenches of their circumstances and upbringings that are direr than anyone can even ever imagine. And based on the successful people I’ve interviewed and photographed, the common theme is that mindset is the key to get over your funks and reach success.
So before we go through all the different tools to manage their funks better, I challenge you to ask yourself this, “What’s my funk?” Remember that the answer doesn’t need to be solely about money, but it could be about your life in general. Knowing the answer to this question will help you maximize the tools I’m about to share with you. Let’s get started. 21 Tools to Get You Through a Funk These are some of the tools I believe are beneficial to get you over a funk.
1: Perspective Is Key
Always remember the Persian adage that says, “This too shall pass.” Despite how dark or low of a place you’re in right now, have comfort that all your suffering is destined to end. You’ll be able to get through this, and you'll be back up on the top of your game in no time.
2: Awareness Is Key in Life
I believe that awareness of your emotions, what you're going through, everything around you, and what you're thinking is important so that you can know the things that you can change. This is a part of the process I call Identity Alchemy. It might not always be the most pleasant experience, but it can help you shift your perspective to make your life better.
3: You Are Not Your Thoughts
Thoughts are just thoughts. Whether we choose to believe them or not is what’s important. Remember that despite everything you’re hearing in your head right now,
Are you willing to invest 2% of your day to make the other 98% better? Emily Fletcher is a three time returning guest. A meditation teacher and creator of the Ziva Technique, Emily taught me everything I know about meditation, and I’ve been a huge advocate of the practice every since I learned three years […]
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It’s easy to find yourself analyzing everything and not actually creating. Today I want to talk about some of the mistakes I see people make when they are just beginning the journey of their career in art. And while these mistakes are common when you’re just starting, they can be made (and often are) no […]
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Jewelry is not an organic kind of art: it’s a lot of measuring and calculating. Today’s guest, Gabriel Urist, is a big name in streetwear world. A jewelry designer and artist, Gabriel has designed for LeBron James, Jay-Z, and has collaborated with Supreme, Nike, and other big brands. In today’s show, we dive into Gabriel’s […]
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The art of the start is the hardest thing. One of the questions I get asked most often in my Nion Life Community is, “How do I start?” And it’s an important question. You can be someone with passion, you can be good at your art, but it’s completely different to take this thing and […]
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The only thing that was really holding me back was time and full-on commitment. Something I’ve been thinking about lately is the connection between fitness and the creative lifestyle. Bringing movement and fitness into my life and taking care of my body allows me more clarity of mind, which in turn helps me continue to […]
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Business is always going to have ups and downs, and the creatives that succeed are the ones that push through that. Today I’m talking about something that has been on my mind for a long time now, something that relates to my own creative journey lately and what I’ve been going through, and that is […]
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I’m very lucky that I get to do something that has a simple message but reaches so many people. Today I’m talking to returning guest James Goldcrown. I had him on in the early days of Nion Radio but James’ path has changed since then. These days he is known for the creation of the […]
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I was just in Mexico with a mastermind, which is a group of high level individuals who come together to help each other with life and business. My time there got me thinking about people, networking, and relationships, and how people can come together to create conversations that take your brain to the next level. […]
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If I’m not excited about something the readers aren’t going to be excited either. Mark Manson has blown up over the last couple years selling over 2 million copies of his newest book, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, which stemmed from his blog article and pdf. I recently met Mark though a […]
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When you create a higher self, that elevates your game. Happy new year! I hope you celebrated and had fun sending out 2017 with a bang. I also hope you took the time to write down some goals for 2018, to think about what you want to build and create this year. I did a […]
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We all have these things we want to do, and they’re all intangible until you speak them or write them down. Today I’m talking to Ben Nemtin, one of the founders of The Buried Life. When he was younger Ben struggled with serious depression and today he’s talking about how he got through it. From […]
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Real artists will take the time to create a business around what their craft. Today I’m sharing with you some of the books that have helped me along my creative and entrepreneurial journey. Some of these books are what got me started down this path of art and commerce, and others are ones I have […]
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It’s great to be able to communicate with people and to be able to get ahold of people as you’re getting through a country and making plans. I travel a lot, probably logging 75,000 - 100,000 miles flown every year. The majority of those miles are international, and I’ve learned a lot from traveling so […]
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If you want to take off, build your runway. Connor Beaton has taken a unique path. After graduating from college not really feeling passionate about his major in technical engineering, he became an opera singer. Normal, right? Connor’s path is unique, as is his message. His organization ManTalks aims to encourage men to develop and […]
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If you’re not taking care of yourself, there’s no way you can show up as your best self for others. Your inner world affects your outer world, your relationships, your art, your career. Understanding and knowing yourself allows you to pursue the things you care about. Today I’m talking to Vienna Pharaon from Mindful MFT. […]
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I thought it was so cool that this toy could interact with all my other toys. Today I’m talking to a truly unique artist whose medium is Lego: Adam Ward. Adam makes sculptures and murals, does commissions, and worked on the Lego Batman movie. He has a series with Soul Pancake on YouTube called Brick […]
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Now more than ever I have to keep reinventing. Today I’m talking about one of the biggest things that we as creatives deal with on a daily basis: uncertainty. It is easily the most challenging part of a career as an artist or entrepreneur. Some days it’s hard to imaging where your next job or […]
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You can come for a really sick lineup and know that you’re getting some feminism mixed in there. Being a woman in the music scene is very different from being a man in the music scene. Playing classical violin is very different that playing rock violin. And Anna Bulbrook knows a lot about these differences. […]
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Creating moments is all about pushing yourself over that ledge into that uncomfortable zone. This past weekend, I was out in LA taking a workshop with my friends Quddus and Carmina (Camera Ready) about being in front of and behind a camera, interviewing, speaking on stage. I did this because I want to get better […]
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What good collaboration should do is inspire you. Today on the podcast I’m talking to co-founder and creative director of Dannijo Jewelry, Danielle Snyder. Dannijo Jewelry has a unique aesthetic and breaks the mold that often restricts high end jewelry and accessories, and it has been worn by everyone from Beyoncé to Taylor Swift. Danielle […]
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I’ve finished more books in the last month than I have in two years. Today I’m sharing a new discovery with you. I’ve never been much of a reader, but I love learning more and educating myself and feeding my brain. So I’ve found a secret to help me read books quickly. Listen in to […]
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If you can master the way that you think, you can manifest and create greater results in your life. Today I’m talking about a challenge that every entrepreneur faces, especially creative entrepreneurs. This question and idea came from the Nion Life Community, which you can join to connect with other creatives to ask questions, get […]
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I have a lot of drive and a lot of will power and I will stick to something and I will get it done. Today I’m talking to Jonas Blue, a major recording artist in the UK. Jonas is known for a tropical house cover of Tracy Chapman’s Fast Car and his single Perfect Strangers, […]
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Your relationships and your network are huge key components of success. Today I’m talking about a question that was recently asked by previous podcast guest Andy Murphy, who teaches neurlinguistic programming for peak performance, in my Nion Life community on Facebook. How do you make friends when you arrive in a new place? Creating a […]
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Whatever place you are in your career, I don’t think the struggle lessens. I think it’s just a different set of struggles. Today I’m talking to Emmanuelle Chriqui. You might know her as Sloan on the hit show Entourage, or from the film You Don’t Mess With The Zohan and In The Mix. She also […]
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It’s about being self aware of your own limiting beliefs that challenge your vision. Today’s topic was inspired by a question asked of a member of my Facebook group, Nion Community. How do you, as an artist, learn to trust your creative vision? What can you do to gain more confidence in your craft? Listen […]
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The whole secret to being an artist and building a career is just being prolific. I’ve been thinking lately about creative momentum, and how important it is. It’s something I talked about with this week’s guest, Eric Ray Davidson. He’s a brilliant photographer who has been showing up more and more in the last few […]
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You must use every asset of knowledge, every skill, everything that you can do to help generate time and money for you to create the sandbox for you to practice your craft. I was hanging out with some friends the other night when we started discussing the age old question of art and commerce. It […]
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Use everything you know to do what you love. Use it all. Today I’m talking to celebrity choreographer and creative director Luam. She works on events, concerts, music videos, galas, and more with celebrities like Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Janelle Monae, and Kelly Rowland. The list goes on and on. I love Luam’s story of transitioning […]
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To elevate your work, you must invest. Today I’m giving you a five minute takeaway about investing in your creative journey. It’s important not only when you are starting out, but also as you continue to build your career, you have to constantly invest back into your art with time, money, and more. This conversation […]
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If you put art or something creative out into the world, of course you want to see it do well. Today I’m talking to Jared Kleinert, a returning guest, and one of the youngest people I’ve had on the show. Jared has a new book out, 3 Billion Under 30, that he is self publishing […]
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I lucked out into loving what I did enough that I was willing to deal with the scrappy moments. Today I’m talking to Sarah Jones, an extremely talented actress. Sarah has been on Broadway in a one woman play with over 20 characters, for which she won a Tony award. She has also won an […]
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That’s what creating your moments is all about - taking a proactive approach to life. Welcome to the first episode of 2017! What a year it has been - there have been a lot of amazing moments, but I have also been put through the ringer, just like a lot of people I’ve talked to. […]
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Anything that could get me stronger, faster, smarter, more creative, I’m into it. Today I’m talking to my friend Matt Gallant, who is a poker champion, ex-rock guitarist, has a degree in kinesiology, and is the CEO of BiOptimizers. I really wanted to share with you some of Matt’s tricks for mind and body hacking. […]
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People love to be appreciated. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about showing appreciation and gratitude to those that help you. It’s not something that I have always been great at, but it’s something that my girlfriend Stacy does really well, and she has inspired me to think about it and work a little harder […]
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Without a doubt music is what I’ve always wanted to do, music is what I feel like I was born to do, it’s what I feel like I do best, it fills me, fulfills me, it fuels me. I’m super excited about today’s guest, Alex Lacamoire. My girlfriend Stacy London and I have been on […]
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The scope of your life, the size of it, is in direct proportion to how uncomfortable you’re willing to be. Today on the show I’m talking to returning guest Jon Levy, who has just come out with a book about the science of adventure. Last time Jon was on the show we talked about his […]
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"Social media is a time thief of anyone who wants creative greatness." Today on the show I’m talking about something that has been on my mind: Is social media killing your creative success? Lately I have found myself getting sucked down the creativity death trap that is social media - Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram - […]
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I had no idea how it would evolve, I just went all in and I had no expectations, and I think that’s the best way to do it. In this week’s Nion highlight, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine that I met in Antarctica last year, Mark Van Der Heijden. When […]
The post 104: Mark Van Der Heijden – How to Travel the World Using Your Talent appeared first on NIONlife™.
My work is in this what’s called connectivism, it’s all about this intersection of art and networking. Today I want to introduce you to Gareb Shamus. Gareb is currently an artist but is also the creator of Wizard World Comic Con. He has since stepped away from the publishing and event business to focus on […]
The post 103: Gareb Shamus – How To Connect People With Art appeared first on NIONlife™.
It takes hard work to let things go but I think when we do, we’re a lot better off. Today I’m talking about something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately: letting go. I hate having anger or resentment on my plate, and I’ve been thinking about why that is. I love to feel free, […]
The post 102: Nick Onken – Letting Go appeared first on NIONlife™.
The less stress you have in your body the better able you are to perform in your waking state, and I really believe that that’s the point of meditation. A year ago I took a class with Emily Fletcher of Ziva Meditation and started my daily meditation practice. The results have been amazing: jet lag […]
The post 101: Emily Fletcher – How to Meditate No Matter Where You Are appeared first on NIONlife™.
For me the biggest key to success is being able to master your mind. Today I’m bringing you the first episode of NION Radio, formerly ShopTalk Radio. With the help of my girlfriend Stacy London, we’re turning the tables as she interviews me about how I got to where I am in my creative career, […]
The post 100: Nick Onken – How I Went From Struggling Artist To Where I Am Today appeared first on NIONlife™.
"It’s a space for them to be who they are instead of who they think they’re supposed to be." It’s almost time. If you’ve been following ShopTalk Radio for a while, you’ve seen us evolve. We still have the same mission, and we’ve brought some incredible guests onto the show to help keep you inspired. […]
The post 99: Emily Greener – How to Teach Girls to Lead appeared first on NIONlife™.
I had to build everything that I have built now now from the ground up on my own. I often get asked what advice I would give my 20 year old self, so I thought I would put it in a podcast. There are definitely some things I wish I had a better grasp on […]
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I’m excited today to bring back Amber Rae, who was a guest about a year ago. Amber explores creativity from the inside out and today we’re talking about wonder over worry and how to quiet your worry and look for the wonder in your creative life. Amber has been diving deep into the idea of […]
The post 97: Amber Rae – The Power of Choosing Wonder Over Worry appeared first on NIONlife™.
Because I didn’t fit in and no one pressured me to fit in, I could be different and I could do art. I’ve been wanting to get today’s guest on the show for quite a while now, and I’m excited it’s finally happening. Shantell Martin is an amazing artist that I met at Summit Series last year. […]
The post 96: Shantell Martin – How To Find Your Unique Path As An Artist appeared first on NIONlife™.
Creating your sandbox is about creating the structure and time to play. This week on the show, I’m talking about your sandbox. I’ve mentioned the sandbox on the show many times before, and it’s something that I got from my good friend Elle Luna. Your sandbox is a space where you can play with your art without boundaries or expectations, where you can experiment and try new techniques or subjects. Listen in as I tell you how to create your sandbox in three steps. Creating your sandbox takes capital, sacrifice, and discipline.
Some things we learn in this podcast:
What creating a sandbox means [1:30] How to practice your craft [2:00] Why you need capital to create your sandbox [2:50] The importance of having discipline [4:30] What sacrifices you’ll have to make [5:30]
Links mentioned:
Check out my ShopTalk Radio episode with Elle Luna Read The War of Art by Steven Pressfield Music Credit: For You by Mercy
"I realized that if I wanted to do big things in this world that I needed to associate myself with good people." Today’s guest is the youngest guest I’ve ever had on the show. At the age of 20, Jared Kleinert has already don’t a TEDTalk, been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Huffington Post, and […]
The post 94: Jared Kleinert – How to Connect with People by Adding Value appeared first on NIONlife™.
"It helps me crunch and get some work done and helps me focus because we all know that sitting in front of a computer can be very distracting." I mentioned this on a previous episode, but it’s official: Nion Radio will be the new name of the show! We’ll be talking a lot about the […]
The post 93: Nick Onken – Twelve Productivity Tools appeared first on NIONlife™.
"I wanted to sing like Barbra Streisand and dance like Martha Graham." I’ve got a really exciting and special guest for you guys today. Donna Karan is an icon in the fashion industry, and the creator of her companies Donna Karan and DKNY, which are two of the largest fashion brands in the world. Her […]
The post 92: Donna Karan – How to Create a Career in Fashion appeared first on NIONlife™.
It’s important for us to be grateful for the things we do have in our lives, all the way down to the very breath we’re breathing. I just got back from trip to Guatemala where I was shooting for Pencils of Promise. I also was lucky enough to see pictures of the school that I […]
The post 91: Nick Onken – 10 Tools for Mental Greatness appeared first on NIONlife™.
Photography is such a great thing, to be able to capture the moment and have it live past the actual moment. Today on the show you’ll hear part two of my interview with Cal Fussman. Cal is an expert interviewer and the writer of a great series in Esquire called What I Learned. He’s an […]
The post 90: Cal Fussman – The Art of Interviewing Part 2 appeared first on NIONlife™.
You can palm the basketball, that doesn’t mean you’re going to be a great basketball player - you’re gonna have to work at it. I was lucky enough to hear today's guest Cal Fussman speak about the art of the interview on the Summit at Sea boat. Cal is an amazing storyteller, interviewer, and speaker. Having […]
The post 89: Cal Fussman – The Art of Interviewing Part 1 appeared first on NIONlife™.
In personal branding it’s really about the people; It’s the person at the center, it’s the people that influence their lives, it’s the people that they touch. Being a creative entrepreneur can be a challenge, especially when it comes to branding and marketing yourself as a business. It’s important to be able to identify the […]
The post 88: Matthew Loyd – The Art of Personal Branding appeared first on NIONlife™.
It’s one thing to want to do something and it’s another thing to just do it, whether or not anyone’s asked you to. Today I’m talking to one of the funniest guys I know, someone I’ve known since my Seattle days, Nick Thune. Since our time in the Northwest, he has moved down to Hollywood […]
The post 87: Nick Thune – How to Become a Successful Comedian appeared first on NIONlife™.
Your self worth doesn’t equal what, how much, and who you’re working for. I’d be lying if I said the freelance entrepreneurial life was easy. There’s definitely phases of feast and famine, slow times and busy times. I go through dry spells with work, and I wanted to share what I’ve learned through these times. […]
The post 86: Nick Onken – What to Do in the In-Betweens appeared first on NIONlife™.
Since I’ve started making work it always feels like whatever idea I’m delving into in the present is the last good idea. Art is all about people’s expectations. Some artists represent the world as it is, and some artists have a goal of manipulating that representation. Daniel Arsham aims to do just that with his […]
The post 85: Daniel Arsham – How to Twist People’s Expectations with Art appeared first on NIONlife™.
I’m constantly reminding myself to be grateful for what I have and where I’m at, and also to think outward. Today I’m continuing my list of my top books for the creative entrepreneur. You can listen to part one of my list here. These books are great for learning about creativity, both the artistic process […]
The post 84: Nick Onken – Ten Books for Creative Entrepreneurs Part 2 appeared first on NIONlife™.
Time and age and growth are great assets to one’s brain. When you pay attention to do what you do, and you do it well, people will take notice. That’s one of the things Christopher Makos taught me during our conversation, and I can’t wait for you to hear the rest of the amazing advice […]
The post 83: Christopher Makos – How To Get Your Work Noticed appeared first on NIONlife™.
The more that you listen to that inner voice and let inspiration be your guide, the more you are accessing your flow state. Today I’m talking about books for the creative entrepreneur. In the first of a two part series, I want to tell you about five books that have inspired me. These books are […]
The post 82: Nick Onken – Ten Books for Creative Entrepreneurs Part 1 appeared first on NIONlife™.
It’s not just about someone telling us to go do something, they need to be part of it, they need to own it. I believe that art can change the world, and it is empowering and inspiring to meet people who feel the same way. That’s why I’m excited to have Sergio Fernández de Córdova on […]
The post 81: Sergio Fernández De Córdova – How to Use Media to Make an Impact appeared first on NIONlife™.
You’ve got to decide what makes sense for you and that you feel good going into it. Setting expectations is all about clear communication, and it’s something that I’m still learning. Expectations are like ground rules in the game - once everyone is clear then you don’t have to deal with a lot of […]
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As I’m growing older, I’m growing into who I am, more so because I’m starting to love who I am. Today I’m super excited to introduce you to my longtime friend, Arden Cho. Arden not only plays a lead character on MTV’s series Teen Wolf, but she is also a musician and has recorded an […]
The post 79: Arden Cho – How to Overcome Insecurity as an Actress appeared first on NIONlife™.
We’re basically consuming the worst kind of fuel that we can consume without replenishing any nutrients. There are a lot of self-proclaimed health gurus out there giving all kinds of advice on how you can change your diet, eat healthy, and lose weight. We’ve all heard them, right? But changing your habits and quitting sugar […]
The post 78: Rocco Dispirito – How to Integrate Healthy Eating Into Your Lifestyle appeared first on NIONlife™.
I’ve been to over 70 countries at this point, and life has been an epic journey. I often get asked what my favorite travel destination is, and it’s a hard question to answer because it’s always changing. I love different places for different reasons. Today I’m telling you my top 12 travel destinations and why […]
The post 77: Nick Onken – My Top Travel Destinations appeared first on NIONlife™.
Part of the problem we have now in society, and I know this sounds crazy, is too much freedom. As a creative entrepreneur, I often wish that there were more hours in the day, that I had gotten better sleep or had been able to be a little more productive today. And there are ways […]
The post 76: Ari Meisel – How To Optimize, Automate, and Outsource Your Life appeared first on NIONlife™.
My vision is to create a positive mental change through art and design. Welcome to the first episode of 2016. The new year is a great time to reflect on where you are going and where you want to go in the next year of your life. You want to set goals for yourself, but […]
The post 75: Nick Onken – 5 Tips for Setting Up Your Year appeared first on NIONlife™.
Dive into who you are as a person and let that drive your art. I can’t believe the year is over. It was a big year for me, a lot happened. Today, as a way to reflect on all that I’ve accomplished and to be grateful for the things I’ve been able to do, I […]
The post 74: Nick Onken – Twelve Things I Learned This Year appeared first on NIONlife™.
The more you stretch as an artist, the more space you have. Have you ever heard a live spoken word performance? The kind that makes you nod your head and makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up? That’s how I felt when I first heard In-Q. This man is an uber […]
The post 73: In-Q – How to Build a Career as a Poet appeared first on NIONlife™.
The creative block always happens, no matter where you are in your journey. If you’re an artist or a creative, chances are you’ve hit a creative plateau. Making it difficult to create something new and causing problems with seeing how to get out of the slump, creative plateaus are a part of the process. This week, I’m […]
The post 72: Nick Onken – 3 Tips on Pushing Through Creative Plateaus appeared first on NIONlife™.
People are not only essential for our growth but also give us a lot of happiness. You know how important people skills are. You know how important charisma is. You know that human interaction and building relationships are both huge parts of building your own business and brand. But did you know there are things […]
The post 71: Vanessa Van Edwards – How to Develop Your People Skills for Business appeared first on NIONlife™.
If you repeat a process, it becomes a habit, and habits create growth. In many ShopTalk interviews, you've heard my guests discuss their morning routines. These routines are such an important part of the day: they get you started on the right foot, get your mind moving, and set the tone for a productive and […]
The post 70: Nick Onken – The Value of a Morning Routine appeared first on NIONlife™.
Sometimes you have to jump before you know where you’re going to land. Imagine being a kid playing with action figures like G.I. Joe. Can you imagine growing up to become a Hollywood film director and directing the G.I. Joe movie? That’s exactly what happened to Jon Chu, this week’s guest. You may know him […]
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Staying freshly inspired is something that fuels your new work and evolution. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned a few things that might be useful to […]
The post 68: How to Create a Career in Art Part 15/15 – 5 Ways You Can Evolve in Your Creative Journey appeared first on NIONlife™.
Greatness is more about discovering and cultivating our unique talents and gifts to pursue and live our dreams. On today’s episode, we’ve got something a little different. I’m talking with Lewis Howes, who is the first ever returning guest on NIONradio. Lewis is a very good friend of mine, and has had a very big […]
The post 67: Lewis Howes – How To Create Greatness in Your Life and Business appeared first on NIONlife™.
When people start meditating, they just start feeling a lot more serendipity, a lot more synchronicity. These days, I am always looking for ways to optimize my health and performance, to activate my creative state, and to be an all around better human. That’s why, after hearing Emily Fletcher, founder of Ziva Meditation, speak at […]
The post 66: Emily Fletcher – How Meditation Boosts Your Creativity appeared first on NIONlife™.
I feel grateful for those that have helped me out along the way, and I want to pass that on. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned […]
The post 65: How to Create a Career in Art Part 14/15 – 4 Things I Learned From Mentoring Others appeared first on NIONlife™.
I took one of my favorite pictures of all time with just myself and the subject, and that’s something I’m always trying to chase to get back to. Today on the show I’m talking to one of my favorite photographers of all time, Jeff Lipsky. Jeff and I met when one day I just hit […]
The post 64: Jeff Lipsky – 3 Things It Takes to Have a Career in Art appeared first on NIONlife™.
We have a responsibility as humans to help make the world a better place. My career in photography started because I decided to give back. Here's how it happened... In 2009, I connected with my friend Adam Braun. Adam started a charity to build schools for kids in developing countries. He called the organization, Pencils […]
The post 63: How to Create a Career in Art Part 13/15 – The Power of Giving Back appeared first on NIONlife™.
We all have times in our life that we were on fire, we were kicking ass. As a creative, sometimes it’s hard to break old habits, to build a new version of yourself that is anchored in success. But that’s what Andy Murphy does. Or rather, that’s what he helps multimillionaire CEOs, world class athletes, […]
The post 62: Andy Murphy – How to Activate Your Peak Creative State appeared first on NIONlife™.
It’s about creating the lifestyle you want to live and building a business around it. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned a few things that might […]
The post 61: How to Create a Career in Art Part 12/15 – Why A Business Degree Is Important In Art appeared first on NIONlife™.
It’s great to have been relevant back then and to still be going right now. Relationships are important. Nurturing your relationships and being reliable and creative can help you create an empire. It certainly helped D-Nice do just that. He started out his career as a musician in the 90s just as the rap and […]
The post 60: D-Nice – How To Use One Creative Field To Build Another appeared first on NIONlife™.
Every time you do something new and you practice, you’re learning. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned a few things that might be useful to the […]
The post 59: How to Create a Career in Art Part 11/15 – 5 Tips on Embracing the Creative Journey appeared first on NIONlife™.
I think a lot of people’s success is going to come from standing for something. In this age of technology, it’s easy to lose that sense of empathy, to feel disconnected and alone even while oversharing. That’s why Brian Sirgutz is trying to change the way we connect. Founding member of Causecast and former SVP of […]
The post 58: Brian Sirgutz – How to Integrate Empathy Into Art and Technology appeared first on NIONlife™.
We end up living in a world of limitation and not a world of possibility. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned a few things that might […]
The post 57: How to Create a Career in Art Part 10/15 – How To Build Your Emotional Intelligence appeared first on NIONlife™.
If you try to create for everybody, you will reach no one. As an artist, your style, your point of view, your lens is what people come to you for. It’s your voice, it’s what you have to say. And you have to harness that voice. You have to cultivate it. You have to figure […]
The post 56: Todd Henry – How to Develop Your Voice as an Artist & Entrepreneur appeared first on NIONlife™.
Fill your time with people and things that inspire you. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned a few things that might be useful to the up-and-comers. […]
The post 55: How To Create A Career in Art Part 9/15 – 3 Tips on Creating Your Center Circle appeared first on NIONlife™.
Fashion is an industry, but style is for everybody. We have all had trouble accepting ourselves the way we are. Sometimes, people use clothes and fashion as a way to cover up who they are, or to beat people to the punch of putting them in a box. But fashion can also be impressive, thought […]
The post 54: Stacy London – How to Turn Personal Struggles Into a Career appeared first on NIONlife™.
You have to be proactive in your learning, development, and relationships. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned a few things that might be useful to the […]
The post 53: How to Create a Career in Art Part 8/15 – 5 Tips On Finding a Mentor appeared first on NIONlife™.
Why be normal? Go for something special. Go for something tremendous. Amazing stories run in the Braun family. I am good friends with Scooter and Adam Braun, and over time have gotten to know their father, Erv Braun. Erv is an incredible man with, of course, an incredible story. His family fled Hungary after the […]
The post 52: Erv Braun – How To Raise World Changing Children appeared first on NIONlife™.
You don’t want to rent your life, you want to own it. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned a few things that might be useful to […]
The post 51: How to Create a Career in Art Part 7/15 – 5 Reasons to Get a Capital Job appeared first on NIONlife™.
'Must' feels like being in love: when you know you just know. As artists, it is important to allow ourselves the time and the space to create. This is what artist and author Elle Luna calls play. And where does she play? In the sandbox. Creating a sandbox is key to creating art. Another key […]
The post 50: Elle Luna – What It Means To Follow Your MUST appeared first on NIONlife™.
If you try to be all things to all people, you will never rise to your greatest possibilities. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned a few […]
The post 49: How To Create a Career in Art Part 6/15 – 5 Keys to Developing a Lens appeared first on NIONlife™.
When you hit rock bottom in life, you’ll be left with two things: the integrity of your word, and your relationships. Surrounding yourself with inspiring people is a great way to push yourself. Creating those connections and investing in relationships can truly change the world. That’s what Jayson Gaignard thinks, anyway. He founded the Mastermind […]
The post 48: Jayson Gaignard – How Investing in Relationships is the Key to Success appeared first on NIONlife™.
Creating is a conscious choice. Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned a few things that might be useful to the up-and-comers. In this collection of episodes […]
The post 47: How To Create a Career in Art Part 5/15 – Create Your Moments appeared first on NIONlife™.
In order to live your dream, there’s a lot of sacrifice that has to be made. Street culture has been around for almost twenty years, but is still evolving and growing. A combination of hip-hop, punk rock, and skate, the culture is a perfect amalgamation of creative, independent lifestyles. No one knows this better than […]
The post 46: Jeff Staple – How to Create a Street Culture Brand appeared first on NIONlife™.
No matter where you come from, you still have to put in the hard work to master your craft. Part 4/15 How to Create a Career in Art: The 10,000 Hour Grind Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. […]
The post 45: How to Create a Career in Art Part 4/15 – The 10,000 Hour Grind appeared first on NIONlife™.
Generosity is less like an arrow and more like a boomerang: it has a way of coming back to you. We all know business savvy is valuable, but it can only take you so far. The most successful businesses in the world put people first, whether that means members of their own team or anyone around the […]
The post 44: Dale Partridge – How Putting People Over Profit Can Build a Successful Business appeared first on NIONlife™.
You have to dive into the elements of what resonates with you. Part 3/15 How to Create a Career in Art: Deconstruct Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, I’ve learned […]
The post 43: How to Create a Career in Art Part 3/15 – Deconstruct appeared first on NIONlife™.
As much as you want to create, it’s out there for you, as long as you help others. In order to live your life to the fullest, you have to identify the kind of life you want. But how do you begin to do that? Start by envisioning your ideal day: Who is in it? […]
The post 42: Jairek Robbins – How To Create Your Dream Life appeared first on NIONlife™.
Create a business around the kind of content you want to create. Part 2/15 How to Create a Career in Art: See The Destination Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten years of creating this career, […]
The post 41: How to Create a Career in Art Part 2/15 – See The Destination appeared first on NIONlife™.
“It’s important to make sure the soul is steering the ship and that the ego is supporting that journey.” It’s important to take creativity to the extreme. It's important to acknowledge how the inner world and outer world interact with your creativity. Once we discover our own world, how do we help the rest of the world with the same self-reflection? That’s […]
The post 40: Amber Rae – How to Explore Your Creativity from the Inside Out appeared first on NIONlife™.
“The most important part of creating a career in the arts is knowing WHY you’re doing it.” Part 1/15 How to Create a Career in Art: Find Your WHY Creating a high profile career in fashion and lifestyle photography is gratifying, but what it took from me to get there is the real gift. During the last ten […]
The post 39: How to Create a Career in Art Part 1/15 – Find Your WHY appeared first on NIONlife™.
"Philanthropy is the rent we pay to be on this planet." What does it take to sell more than 65 million records? 65 f___ing million... Our next guest has done all that and more. He is one of the few diamond artists which went 10 times certified platinum on one album alone. He has many hits […]
The post 38: Usher Raymond IV – Prioritizing What Really Matters in Life appeared first on NIONlife™.
“The areas of life that we tend to want to impact the most are the ones we are the least willing to talk about.” We are consistently affected by the relationships we have and the people we surround ourselves with. But this can be taken to another level, where you can truly curate the people […]
The post 37: Jon Levy – How to Connect with Influencers and Host Exclusive Dinners appeared first on NIONlife™.
"Your beliefs affect your reactions, which affect your results." We're all attracted to someone who has that charm... but... define charm... Personal magnetism and charisma are important, sure, but the ability to be self confident and authentic: That's what our next guest defines as charm. He's an expert in charm and exploring the nature of […]
The post 36: Jordan Harbinger – How Social Skills Accelerate Your Creative Career appeared first on NIONlife™.
“I can’t let the fear of hurting myself stop me from being who I want to be.” "Can my passion be monetized?" I get asked this question all the time. There are passions that are easy to monetize. If you're passionate about finance, accounting or investing, you can easily find a paying position in these […]
The post 35: Travis Brewer – How To Become A Ninja appeared first on NIONlife™.
"The end goal in mind isn't going to work unless you're fueled by passion." I was a graphic designer in Seattle. As a career, it was great. I had clients I loved and the work was fulfilling. Photography slowly grew into something I learned to love. Then I became passionate about it. This is the […]
The post 34: Nick Onken – How to Transition Into a Creative Entrepreneur appeared first on NIONlife™.
"Go get some fucking hate mail." I thought we we're going to talk about hats. I never expected the conversation to bloom into that... Satya Twena saved one of New York's last operating millenary (hat making) factories. Using KickStarter she realized $174,000 in crowd funding. A friend was able to loan her the difference for […]
The post 33: Satya Twena – How To Overcome Fear and Take Big Risks appeared first on NIONlife™.
“Creativity has become democratized thanks to technology.” Max Lugavere is an artist, musician host and awesome storyteller. He created an incredible opportunity with his show Acting Disruptive. In it, he had the opportunity to interview high profile people who where cultivating new-age business by utilizing technology. Notable entrepreneurs like Jessica Alba and Adrian Grenier. Not only […]
The post 32: Max Lugavere – How To Connect with Hard-To-Reach People appeared first on NIONlife™.
“Make the radio and labels come to you by staying true to yourself and cultivating your own audience.” - Asher Roth I Love College was a hit and for the last seven years Asher Roth has been making a living as a musician. In this interview we discuss the complexities of a life that revolves […]
The post 31: Asher Roth – How To Build a Career in Hip Hop appeared first on NIONlife™.
"I never wanted to start out with small magazines. I wanted to start out loud." It was his dream job, but something else was calling him... In this interview we delve into the life of James Goldcrown. His astonishing career, starting as a young dark room assistant in South London and evolving to the top of the […]
The post 30: James Goldcrown – The Art of Selling Your Art appeared first on NIONlife™.
"If you treat it like a hobby, it will stay a hobby. If you treat it like a job, it becomes a job." Bullet holes covered the walls while the children played around... Shai Dahan was in Palestine and he wasn't supposed to be there. No one would have been able to help him if […]
The post 29: Shai Dahan – Why Art Is The Common Language Between Diverse People appeared first on NIONlife™.
"If you want something, the only way you're gonna get it is by taking it." Creativity is sexy. Jon Contino started getting paid for his calligraphy and design work at the tender age of 14. He carried that through for years, but it all came to a halt in 2008 when the economy tanked. It's […]
The post 28: Jon Contino – What it Takes to Be a World Class Calligraphy Artist appeared first on NIONlife™.
"Once you have your vision and the end goal then you can be creative about the approach to get there." Perspective runs everything around me. How you see determines how you live. Does creativity mean you need to become an artist? Do you have to become an emotional hipster? No, creativity can be found in […]
The post 27: Nick Onken – How You See Determines How You Live appeared first on NIONlife™.
"Taking the invisible and making it visible. That's what creatives do. They use their superpower of imagination." Jim Kwik found himself on a private flight surrounded with the cast of the new X-Men movie. That's the kind of thing that can happen when you unlock your super powers. But he wasn't always like that... Growing […]
The post 26: Jim Kwik – How To Unlock Your Inner Superhero appeared first on NIONlife™.
"Creative process is hard to explain because I feel like it's something you're always in the middle of." - Kelly Framel Ever wish you had a job that inspired you to pinch yourself and wondered if life was really soooooooo good? Kelly Framel is young fashion designer living that life. She started a blog called […]
The post 25: Kelly Framel – How To Elevate Your Life By Curating Your Experiences appeared first on NIONlife™.
"My workflow is: The answer is, 'Yes.' Now what's the question?" The word SEX gets attention, so does Art Streiber's work. He is one of the top portrait photographers in Los Angeles today. His work is iconic. You've probably seen it in world class magazines like Vanity Fair, GQ, Entertainment Weekly or Fast Company just […]
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"Seeing the developing world was a huge inspiration in sparking what I wanted to do as a career." With the proper inspiration, a creative person can do anything. ...but where does inspiration come from? On this episode we learn about the fuel for Nick's creativity and where he finds inspiration. "I'm inspired by people who […]
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"Why did it catch your eye? That helps you develop your taste." Today we’ve got my awesome friend and super talented illustrator, Sophia Chang in the studio. Sophia has done some amazing collaborations including a big one with Anthony Bourdain for his No Reservations tv show poster art (which we get to hear the story […]
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"We talk around cancer a lot but we don't actually talk about it until it comes close to home." Today we’ve got the beautiful and amazing, Yael Cohen on NIONradio. Yael is the founder and creator of an organization called Fuck Cancer that was started to raise awareness for early breast cancer detection, and now […]
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"There are so many people that have this gold in them but there is no one to encourage them to change their lives." This week’s amazing NIONradio guest is my long time friend, Caitlin Crosby. Not only is she a super talented musician, but she's also the founder of this amazing company called The Giving Keys. […]
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"I love to create an experiential container that transforms and elevates." Today we’ve got my inspiring friend, Jonathan Fields on the show. Jonathan is the author of Uncertainty. In it, he talks about turning fear and doubt into fuel for brilliance. I feel like fear and doubt are things that I experience all the time in […]
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"If you're not inspired, you need to go get inspired. Now. Tonight. Tomorrow. It's what is going to keep you happy and motivated to live a good life." Today we’ve got my awesome friend Jasmine Solano here who is a super talented, lady DJ. Jazz and I met a couple years ago. Funny thing is, […]
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"When you step forward into your fear, your fear catches on." I’m stoked to have Dr. Sean Stephenson on this week’s episode of NIONradio. If you haven’t heard of Sean, you will love him. They call him the three foot giant because he’s literally 3 feet tall at most and lives in a wheel chair, […]
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“There’s only one way to learn, to really illuminate our lives, and that’s to jump” Today’s inspiring shoptalk radio guest is Preston Smiles. Preston is a heartfelt, intelligent man who is a leader in the world of conscious media. He’s a brilliant writer, thought leader and co-founder of this awesome thing called the Love Mob […]
The post 16: Preston Smiles – How To Create A Movement appeared first on NIONlife™.
"I'm a big advocate of having a vision and seeing it through. If that leads to work, then so be it." I’m stoked to bring you today’s guest, Joey L. He’s what I like to call a prodigy in the photography world. He’s in his young 20’s now, but he shot the Twilight movie posters […]
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“If you do something, you’re passionate about it and you give all your energy to make it, it’s going to happen.” Today we’re in the design studio of one of my really good friends who is a super talented Jewelry designer, Maor Cohen. His line is called M Cohen designs; he’s got a couple stores […]
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Nick discusses the importance of a physical to-do list and how it helps him stay focused on creating. Subscribe in Stitcher, Soundcloud, or iTunes. Links mentioned: Why is it important to have a written, physical, to-do list? Helps to find what to do and what to delegate Helps to keep me focused on the tasks […]
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"I'm willing to spend every last cent I have bringing my vision to reality." Today I’m happy to welcome my talented, long-time and close friend, Mr. F.E. Castleberry. Fred and I met years ago when he hired me to shoot branding images of him for his own photography business. We’ve been great friends ever since […]
The post 12: F.E. Castleberry – How to Create and Curate a Brand Aesthetic appeared first on NIONlife™.
"Make your life a story worth telling." Today I’ve got my good friend Adam Braun on the show, and I’m excited because I’ve been able to be a part of his story over the last 5 years of building his charity, Pencils of Promise. I met Adam through a mutual friend, Reid, and after a […]
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Nick explains what creative resonance is and how he considers it the "why" of his brand. Subscribe in Stitcher, Soundcloud, or iTunes.
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"You really have to listen to the person that you are and really dig to find what the source of your happiness is." Matthew Loyd is an old friend of mine, one that I’ve kept in touch with for so long as we have so many similar views in the world. One of the […]
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"Every experience I have as a dancer is going to open my eyes to different things." Today I get to bring you my good friend, Rachael Markarian. She has a very powerful story, as she was born with her legs turned inward, barely able to walk, and now is a powerful, professional dancer for […]
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Today’s guest, Michaelangelo L’acqua is one that I find truly fascinating as he does something that is very rare and unheard of, but also completely inspiring. He is known as a music lifestyle curator for the W hotels. He gets to travel around the world to their hotels and curate the musical experience for their […]
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"You sound dead to me. Wake up, start living the life you want to live everyday, as opposed to living half your life average to pay the bills." -@LewisHowes Lewis Howes has become a really close friend over the last couple years. We connected through our circle of friends of Pencils of Promise, as Lewis has […]
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My boy Quddus has become one of the biggest inspirations in my life since I met him. We both come from similar upbringings that have shaped the way we see the world. He and I both have gone through an intense leadership training that have helped shape the way we now see the world in […]
The post 02: Quddus Philippe – How Vulnerability Catalyzes Your Creativity appeared first on NIONlife™.
Being that this is the first SHOPTALKradio podcast ever, I’m stoked to bring on my good friend, Scooter Braun, as the first guest. He’s a powerful man, who is also very humble and grounded for what he’s accomplished in life. I have mad respect for him. Scooter is the biggest and youngest music mogul of […]
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