S23 Ep4: Nikki Trott — Author, Speaker, Strategist & Advisor — Trusting your gut: why following intuition is better than a business plan

26:03And I've done workshops with groups of CEOs and included this topic. And one of the male white 50 year old CEOs said, I just want to run when I hear the word patriarchy because I can't help being a white man and I don't know what to do about it. And I said, thank you for being so honest. And this is exactly what we want to do here is come together on this journey. And all of the men there found feminine traits that they wanted to bring more into how they worked. And so it's really nice when we do it all together. But the feminine side, I'm talking about nurturing, being intuitive, empathy for others, receptive, power, creativity, collaborative, relationship focused and flowing.

26:42and on the masculine side, it's about stability, rational, focus on self, assertive, control, structure, competitive, goal-focused and actioning. And I talk about in the book why I reframe power on the feminine side, which it most certainly is because power is not about power over others. That's control. And we have got that a bit mixed up and confused in our culture a lot. Power is not about over others. It's about alignment within oneself. And so when we return to that understanding of power as a feminine alignment, that's when we can really unlock our own power. And it's nothing to do with anyone else.

27:24Absolutely. Oh my God. I'm just, okay, I'm just buzzing. Tigger, Tigger, the yellow jumper is so, the yellow jumper is so right for this podcast.

27:37On Conversations of Inspiration, I only ever invite guests with fascinating stories to tell who aren't afraid to go there. People brave enough to be vulnerable and share that life isn't always as shiny as it appears. Those who show that to become successful, we have to experience some tremendous downs as well as the ups. Because isn't that ultimately what gets us where we need to go. It's why I've also built my marketplace in this way. Yes, you'll find thoughtful gifts for birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions like Christmas, for example. But I also wanted to create a place where you could shop not just by department, but through emotion.

28:19The moments in life we don't always share with the world. A place that helps you celebrate the huge milestones, but also helps you find the words or the right gift when darkness creeps in and you don't know what to say. It's why we celebrate people's niches too, those funny things about us that makes us us. Whether you know someone who's really into wild swimming, passionate about birds, or just happens to love Munster Munch like I do. If this sounds like an interesting way to shop, I'd love you to head over to holly.co and explore. Now, back to our conversation of inspiration.

29:05So I'm just coming back to the next part of your journey, because at this time, your career was thriving. As you said, you're this fantastic director and you were certainly going for it. And yet I read that you've touched on this earlier, that you didn't feel completely fulfilled. And you described to the escape London for Berlin and set up your own consultancy company. And again, you were working with some of the huge global names, Mercedes, Vans, but something was still missing. And I read that you felt that your work didn't align, you touched on this, with your values and that you felt that you were encouraging overconsumption.

29:45tell me about that feeling and what gave you that different perspective was there like a light bulb moment or was it sitting within you and I have my values and I have my career and they're two separate things and myself I talk a lot about the 365 days I am blessed with in my year and that I get to run my company, which is my entire being, along with my career. And I know that actually, I've worked very hard, by the way, to make that happen. So I call it a privilege, but it's one that I have created. But sometimes people might not feel like they can do that, that they can blend those things. So tell me about what, was it a light bulb moment?

30:32And were you fortunate enough to be able to mould your world into this, what you've created, where other people might be feeling a bit stuck, you know, that they're just in a job, and they don't know how to do that. I mean, when I look back now, and I described the journey, it all makes sense. But it was many moments of stuckness, of questioning, of not knowing which path to take. And then ultimately, taking the one that felt right and letting my intuition lead. But my mind was certainly getting in the way and tripping me up at times. And I had no idea where it was going. So now it all just makes sense and looks like it's this perfect flow.

31:13So it was messy, nice and messy. It was messy at times. There were different phases to it. And it was like a constant deepening in myself and in my connection with my understanding of my intuition, of spirituality, of what that means to me, which is constantly still unfolding and definitely not complete. So it started when I decided to walk to work in London instead of get the tube. And I was walking to and from work two, three hours a day. And I felt like there was a niggle in my stomach saying, you're telling yourself a story that you're living your dream life, but you're not fulfilled. And I had this sense that whatever skills and gifts I have, surely they are meant to be in service of life.

31:57And surely that is my most expansive and successful path. I mean, I am sacred because I am life. We're all sacred expressions of life. We're not this other thing to nature. That's why I don't use the word nature in the book at all, because it's a divisive word. The definition is everything apart from human life. And that's just not true. We are nature. We are part of this web. And I believe that when we allow ourselves to attune with what we are truly driven by and what matters to us, that's when we're in alignment with life, with the unfolding of the universe, which is so much greater than any of us can comprehend or control or predict.

32:39and that that's when we're in the slipstream. I see it like a slipstream with the universe and suddenly things are happening and they're unfolding. And, you know, imagine if someone said to Michael Jackson, being a singer, no one makes money from that. They'd be stupid. Get a real job. You know, he followed his gift and he gave his gift to the world. And I do think that when we follow our true values and gifts and find the alignment of that, that is when we have our greatest offering to share and therefore our greatest success. You might need to also redefine success for yourself. Is success really as much money as physically possible and as much fame as physically possible?

33:20Maybe it is for someone. For someone else, it might be, this is my number. This is where it's enough. I want to have that so I feel full abundance. I also want to have all of these other things, my creativity, my authenticity, my freedom to travel or whatever it is that your success looks like. But to define our own personal success, I think is number one in being able to craft this authentic life of expressing your values and aligning your work with it. And it's step by step. But I guess for me, it also took a faith. It's blind faith in a way. It is. That this has to make sense. Surely that when I am in alignment with life, life is going to support me and carry me forward because we're all working together as one because we are one.

34:06And we know that whether you look at quantum physics or Buddhism or whatever perspective you're coming from, we are one. And that actually worked for me. And I kind of took a gamble on it. Yeah. And it has actually made sense because things like my book deal, people say, oh my goodness, how'd you get a book deal with a top publisher that's so difficult? It's true. How did I get it? it's what I was meant to do. You know, the story of getting this book deal is crazy where I wrote in a conscious mom's group, hey, I know I meant to write this book. I was literally asked after a 10 day meditation retreat by the forest I was sitting in, write this book.

34:43It came to me. It was really clear. I knew that this was meant to happen. And I said in the WhatsApp group, does anyone know anything about book publishing? Because I'm researching it and self-publishing doesn't feel like my thing, but I'm not famous. I don't think I can get a book deal. I don't really you know. And one person replied and said, one of my childhood friends is a really great book literary agent in London. Can't promise anything, but send me a paragraph about your book. So I sent a paragraph and she said, my friend wants to talk to you. And I thought, oh my goodness, okay. Had a call with this woman.

35:12And as soon as we got on the phone, I said, where are you from? When I heard her voice and she said, London. It said, me too. But where in London? Muswell Hill. Me too. What street did you grow up on? And we grew up on the same street. She grew up on the bottom and I grew up on the top. We're 15 years apart in age, so we didn't know each other. But her voice was so familiar to me that there was just no way that we weren't from the same tree, basically. And I got goosebumps in that moment. And I knew I'm going to get a book deal because this kind of serendipity doesn't just happen. And sure enough, she said, yes, I'd love to represent you.

35:50I love what you're doing. And the funny thing is I wouldn't have got a book deal without my podcast. And I'd had my podcast for maybe four years then. And that was just a purely intuitive thing that had no commercial reasoning. I wasn't even trying to make it into a whole marketing thing or it was just, I just knew I was meant to do it. And then I would never have got my book deal if I hadn't stuck with that, even when it didn't have a strategic business plan to it. And indeed, yeah, we got the book deal. I asked her to send it out at 11.11 on the first full moon of the year. And she said, okay, I mean, no harm.

36:26She contacted the five top publishers from her perspective for the book at that time. And I signed a book deal three full moons later on the full moon with Bloomsbury. How unbelievable. You know, people are going to be listening to this and now you're going to be very, very used to this. So I'm just going to take a pause in your journey to talk just about this thing that we're tapping into. So let's just call it spirituality. Let's call it this belief in something else that there is afoot. I talk a great deal about it from helping people with their options and understanding the doors that keep slamming in your face.

37:10And then like your book there, you open one door and then it's not just that door opens. It's like it has a wind tunnel and it just opens every single door afterwards. People on this podcast have talked about business angels. Just angels that pop up within your journey for no reason whatsoever. I mean, maybe your lady was an angel in your existence and we have different language that we're talking about it, or the ability to listen to your inner soul, the quiet voice that tells you something. And that you, for some reason, have the courage to do it, even when it doesn't make sense to do it. And you're trying to sort of tell people why, but you sort of stumble on your words, because actually, I don't have a great definition of why at this point in time.

38:09But I just know, I just know. Lots of people listening run businesses, are self-employed or are curious about life or they're in their careers and they have that way of thinking. Can you tell me about what you need to do if you want to even start this journey? You know that you might not be on the same page of what we're talking about right now. you started with a walk to work yeah it was it was reconnecting with my body not as something I push to serve me right but you know you need to look like this you need to have this energy now I need you to be able to perform late tonight and early tomorrow but something that is a vessel that I'm so lucky to be in that I can integrate with and listen to and understand the wisdom of it was embodiment, I guess, was the start getting out of the mind.

39:06And would you say, so would that be your advice to someone listening right now? I want to do a bit of this. You know, you guys are speaking and I like this. This is, I know there's something maybe missing. What would you say to someone? So for me, it's three things. It's connecting with your body in a new way and just making sure you're connected to your body. Just dance more or go to Pilates or go walking or whatever makes you feel whatever you can do and whatever you have a physical ability to do, just connect with your body. Breath can be breathing, breath work. The second one would be to understand surrender.

39:47One of my favorite books is The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer. It's a really nice audio book as well. He narrates it himself if you like audio or read it. It's not too long. And it's a really amazing book. It was a life-changing book for me to understand that life is a dance with the universe and there are always going to be things presented to you and you always have the free will or the opportunity to say yes or no, or to go with it or to resist. And when we understand surrender, that's how we can really get in what we talked about, the slipstream or the wind tunnel of life, where the doors are just opening and being blown open because you're on the right path.

40:26And so surrender for me is massive. And there's also one chapter in the book all around there from a business context as well, from control to trust. It's that principle because there are nine principles, but control to trust is all about that and how to trust life and the flow. And the third one I would say is intuition. I think intuition is so underrated in our culture. And like you said, you need to validate and justify and rationalize things. And there's nothing wrong with that. That's also good and important. And I do include the brain and the rational part in the process. And that's in the book as well.

41:02But the principle from overthinking to intuition in the book is the one that I think is probably the most vital because we all have experienced a time where we haven't listened to ourselves and we've done something because it doesn't feel right, but it could be good money and so I should do it and it doesn't work out. And then you go, I knew that wasn't going to work out. I felt that. And so why did you do it? You did it out of fear, scarcity, any other reasons coming from the mind, comparison with others, they're all doing it. So even though I really don't feel good about it, I have to. And when we get rid of that and allow ourselves to go deeper into our own intuition, we unlock so much ease, actually.

41:50Like I'm just no longer sitting around debating things and struggling with the direction. I'm just doing it because I know. It might sound a bit radical. Like in 2023, I said, okay, this year I'm going to make every business decision with my body. And if something doesn't feel right in my body, I'm not going to do it. And I think most of us might be more used to doing that in our personal lives. Like if somebody is not making you feel good you're not gonna invite them over for coffee but in business we kind of divorce ourselves from the body and that wisdom and that knowing and follow the mind so much yes that we can just keep on making these same mistakes and doing things that we know are not actually right for us so that intuition and then for me so it's it's really a process the surrender the intuition of step by step and it works and then I trust it more and then I get a little bit more radical.

42:45And then I'm able to just faithfully follow that even more deeply. And year by year, slowly, slowly, over the last years that I've been working on these things, each year, I'm just gradually able to go deeper and to commit to that more. So it's not saying throw everything out now and just blindly do these things. But just when you set yourself on that path intentionally, you can keep deepening your ability. I mean, that is an answer that right there, everyone, if you just follow those things. And I mean, I'll just like take it to like a Holly level here, not a Nikki level, but just to make us laugh.

43:22I talk about the gut and the decisions, but not as eloquently and beautifully like you have. But I have a and I've spoken about this little picture frame that I look at in my home office often. And it's cross stitched from one of my small businesses. And so it looks like it's from your nan's, you know, old days. And it says it's better to have a hole than an asshole. And the reason I have that stitched is because that's a reminder of how many assholes I hired against my entire gut instinct. Yeah. The second the second I sort of was hiring them, I knew I should not be hiring them. And that is a little sign to myself on my past of when everyone said it was the right idea.

44:10The VCs told me it was right. The CVs told me right. God, they're earning such an extortionate amount of money. They must be right. and everything in my fiber was saying that this is wrong but my brain and everything like that told me no it doesn't matter what you feel this is on paper correct and every person I did that to took my business back one or two years and so I had that cross stitch there just to remind me that that is my gut instinct was right at every single point in time and I damaged my business enormously, enormously from not listening to it. And so that's my Holly way of your beautiful, eloquent way of actually describing it and so much more class than mine.

45:00But it's the same point, which is this incredible thing that we do in business, which is everything's telling me no, and yet I say yes. Exactly. I want to, your work as a transformation coach, and I mean, I'm feeling like I'm being coached right now and I'm sure everyone listening does as well. It resonates because of the spirituality that you had. And during this time that you were traveling the globe, you were also consulting and coaching visionary entrepreneurs and conscious brands around the world. I haven't heard it being spoken about as much as now when I now know about you, but the conscious entrepreneur.

45:40Who are they and what do they stand for? And can anyone become one? Wow. Well, certainly anyone can become one. And it's really about aligning your inner world with the work that you do, bridging the inner and the outer. And so looking at your values, looking at how to be more conscious. Conscious is a word that's been used so much. It's maybe lost its meaning a bit, but it's around having the awareness. So thinking beyond just input, output, money in the bank, ka-ching. It's about what is the impact I'm making in the world? How is this impacting me and my family to be working on this in this way?

46:24How can I build a culture that is intentional, that is positive for people who are touching this business? So there are so many areas. It looks at everything. How can we do this in alignment? With awareness. It's not just strategy, is it? In terms of this is the whole thing. It's sort of like when we're thinking about business and we say business, and this is what I'm loving your book for, is that this cookie cutter, this thing that we all think business is. And you were consulting top brands and you're coaching top entrepreneurs. It's basically like what you're trying to say. It's the mindset.

47:03It's the mindset you bring to your business, right? Because how we turn up today in our businesses is the difference between us going down one path and another path. And this is where you're promoting this conscious entrepreneur, the power to do more than what is normally written down of what a business would do and perform. Exactly. And it completely changes the energy of you and your life when you allow yourself to be in that space of integrity and authenticity. And when you know that what you're doing every day is not only benefiting you, but it's benefiting so much more. And that is so rewarding.

47:44And that's something that everybody feels good about and everybody enjoys doing. and when we have this cognitive dissonance between I'm so successful because I'm so rich. Oh, but you're selling loads of shit that's harming people on the planet. No, but I'm so rich and successful. Oh, but it doesn't feel right. You know, that's a really hard thing to live with. And that's something which a lot of people are living with and are burying and burying and suppressing. And that's very constraining and exhausting. And I think that often leads to burnouts as well. A lot of the people who've had burnouts, who I've interviewed on my podcast, They've all been in that kind of state of forcing themselves to do something that they know is not right for them.

48:24So indeed, it's about understanding that business is an expression of human consciousness, just like a piece of art or a symphony. It's humans coming together and expressing themselves and their consciousness to create something, to create an entity, a culture, a service. So we have to take full responsibility for that. We've divorced business from that. I think it was a lot to do with the industrial revolution when business became very mechanistic and humans became like cogs in the machines. Just show up, leave your identity at home. We do not care. You need to perform this job. You need to repeat this.

49:05Then you can go home. You can be yourself again, your family. And we're still living that so much in business today. And we need to bring it right back and say, no, business is an expression of our sacred consciousness of life, just like everything else. How can we align it with life so that it thrives when life thrives? Because when you walk through the woods, that's what's happening. Everything is thriving when the life around it is thriving. And that's how the universe works. to maybe a cynic right now, not actually a cynic because we don't have cynical podcast listeners here, which is fantastic.

49:41The niggle that they might have is where does money come into all of this? This is all great, Nikki. Thanks. I'd like to do that, but I've also got a mortgage to pay and I actually do want to make money and be profitable. I'm assuming you're saying because the money will follow this. This energy is tapping into your best self. It's like an athlete, like getting to, well, you can be in the Olympics because this is the journey that you've gone on. What would you say to that? Exactly. Look, money is a reality. We have to do things sometimes because we need money to support our families, to support our responsibilities.

50:24And that is a fact. and at the same time, it also means, okay, maybe don't throw everything away today to follow this, but take steps in a way that you feel make sense and are protecting you and keeping you safe. That's personal to everyone. And that's obviously a really important consideration. But at the same time, I've found that by following what's aligned with life, the abundance comes. and this is where I kind of knew this for ages but didn't really know if I could truly believe it but wanted to believe it and then it's really shown itself to me in my life. I can't speak for everyone but I know that there's no other way.

51:07You don't have to sacrifice yourself and your values to have money and like I said earlier, what is your definition of success? Is it 50K? Is it 10 million? Yeah. is it 150 million is it 25k I don't know I can't tell you I can't tell you what's right or not and also by the way that dial moves that dial can move and we allow it to move but we allow it to move as well right that's the you know what what you couldn't believe could be in your world 10 years ago and obviously I'm not talking about inflation and all that I'm talking standing on the balcony type of comment here but certainly what you believe was enough you just move the dial up a bit and so it never is enough exactly but actually if you've done what you're saying the work to understand and this is what I'm pulling from your book so much and I almost feel just actually emotional saying this to you because you know that question for everyone listening, this is the biggest question if you're running a business.

52:18My business is my business, but my business is here, yes, to make money, profit, et cetera, pay salaries, grow, do all the things business should do because it needs to pay and do all these sorts of things and pay myself and all that sort of stuff. But what are all the other riches in my business? And I have never had the language, but thanks to you now I do. Because I've said it a billion times over, it's what I've done for 20 years. I've helped small businesses and I live to help make people's dreams come true. That's what I literally live for. It'll be on my gravestone. And so I'm lucky to have found that place in my life, but I hadn't got the language to explain until I read your book or I'm reading your book about these other elements in my company that I'm not woo-woo, that this is what I have built.

53:15And it's for everyone listening is, have you thought about that in your company? You know, so many people, we just go blindly, don't we? We just do. And we don't take that moment to reconnect. And that is what you have so brilliantly brought into my world and what I want everyone to listen to. And I can't thank you enough. Can't thank you enough. Oh, Holly, thank you so much. I've got tears in my eyes. Thank you. I can't thank you enough. Especially coming from you. Everyone should understand the riches coming out of their businesses and what they're building outside of money. Yeah. And it's about taking back that agency as well and saying business is many, many things.

53:56Business can be many, many things. Business is not good or bad. Business is a vehicle. how am I going to use my agency that I have to create business that creates the ripple effects in the world that I want to leave behind when I'm gone? Because those ripple effects will still be there. And it's up to you. And of course, there are lots of practical things to consider. But that's part of the game. That's part of the fun also, how to align those things. It's magic. And it's totally possible for business to serve life. That's where it came from originally. and that's where we can go to again. And I love that when you're talking all over the world now, you've got all these industries who are, as you said, you're just open to the people who are open to this, right?

54:43And that's actually all you need, isn't it? You just need an amazing group across the planet that believe in something. I mean, I was reading one of the reviews on your book, Nikki Trott is a rare fusion of business powerhouse, spiritual guide and grounded visionary. I couldn't say absolutely yes, you are. She bridges the worlds of strategy and soul, proving that success and impact aren't mutually exclusive. They're inseparable. I mean, yes, when I was reading this book and I want to now, I know we've been speaking about the book the whole time, but actually we've been speaking about all the elements of it.

55:22But what I loved about it is woo-woo. I brought up the word woo-woo right at the start there. It is so soulful and it's so grounded and it's so business. And I actually feel it actually makes me more ambitious than less. Sometimes I think people think that if they tap into other sides, right? So the lady that spoke about the planets, and by the way, she meant it nicely. I'm not actually saying in case she's listening, but I didn't mean that in that way. It was more that I know that I maybe came across in a certain way that people don't expect from people speaking about business. Do you think that this shift that you're talking about makes people more ambitious?

56:06Again, I think it depends what ambition is because it's no longer fuck the world, excuse my language, I'm just going to go for it because I have to be the richest person in the universe. It's like, how can I create incredible ripples of abundance and health and joy and creativity and beauty. It's a new definition of ambition, isn't it? It's a new definition of ambition. And if you think about it, if you look at our culture today and some of the people that we've put on pedestals in our culture as kind of heroes, they are ultimately cancerous because the amount of money that they're sitting on, if you are the richest person why are you holding on to all of that that's not a good sign there are cultures and indigenous communities in the world where you would ultimately be expelled from and we can't survive alone we're humans we need each other you don't want to get kicked out and sent off into the rainforest on your own because you're just taking everything from everyone and holding it for yourself and sitting on it when you don't even need it that's not how life works that doesn't make sense.

57:10So yes to abundance, yes to thriving, joyful, fun, celebrating, beautiful lives where nobody should be worrying about money or scraping around. But we have to understand that we need to shift what we're ultimately aiming for because it needs to be in this joyful shared abundance that we can all have together. And it's not a good thing to look up to people who don't act in that way, who are harming and harming again and again, so that they can sit on something way beyond what they could ever possibly need. And what is that that you see happening right now? Because you're right. If we look to basic levels, let's just say kids looking at successful business leaders, you're just going to be naming three or four, five men, right?

58:04And that have built businesses that you couldn't have even imagined, you know, X amount of years ago. And congratulations on imagining something and it happening. But now that's all we look to, to be successful. It's when we look at TV or, you know, all our media is around the super yacht or the, you know, whatever that's happening and the weddings and the front pages of Vogue's and the rockets and all these sorts of things. What's your thought there? Do you think that we will change? Yeah. If you want a super yacht, go for it. I don't, but that's cool. I'm not going to say this or that is bad.

58:47Don't have a super yacht. Don't have a private jet. You shouldn't be a billionaire. I'm not going to put a limit on anything for anyone. That's not my place. Maybe in the future, I'll think that is a good idea. But at the moment, for me, it's more about what is your intention? What is the impact you're leaving in the world? And if it's just about taking and taking and taking, harming people, we know some of those small groups of men that you mentioned, we know some of them are horrendous to the people they work with, that they are, you know, abusive, that they are not having good relationships, that they are not able to support anything beyond their own agenda.

59:22And that's absolutely not the mark I would want to leave in the world. So whether you want a super yacht or not, it's not really the point. And if you're desperate for one, then OK, you know, but make sure that the overall impact is positive.

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1:00:35Before we come to the end, I just wanted to ask if so the men that we've just spoken about are not doing this, but you've coached and been involved in companies that have made changes that you advocate. Do you have an example that comes to mind just to sort of bring this to life? There are so many. I mean, everyone I've worked with, which is more than 100 companies now. And in the book, you'll get loads and loads of examples because I kept it very concrete and specific and real. But the first one that popped in my mind was actually a newer company that was being founded by a veteran of the fashion industry who I have worked with and known for many years.

1:01:16and she wanted to build a new kind of fragrance company that would help people to transform themselves and find more connection with themselves. So to go on that inner journey, basically, of course, it needed to be natural, completely natural fragrance with nothing harmful in it and all of those things. But the idea and the concept was really about it helping people to go within. And she called it Within 51-49 because it's about that 1 % tipping point. So look it up. It's amazing. And I worked with her on finding ways to develop this business and to follow her intuition and to bring her all of her knowledge and all of her creativity and all of her incredible business skills and acumen, but by staying really true to the vision that she had.

1:02:00and so it was a very interesting process and she achieved amazing things. I mean in year one she won an award from Tatler and various other things. She was in Harvey Nichols and I can't remember all of the details specifically but just the fact that she had followed this specific vision and not given up on it and had merged soul and scent. It was a really beautiful one. Yeah but it's a journey of the leader as much as it is a journey of the business. So it's finding those things within yourself. Because everyone I work with, then something will come up, a lack of trust in the self or not feeling confident or doubt or whatever's coming up.

1:02:43We need to go into that as well and work on the internal part of the self and then align that again with the strategy and what we're doing. So it's constantly bridging the two rather than keeping them separate. And that's the fundamental core of my work and my approach is we're not separate machines with a human inside bit. We're one. And let's bring that internal development into it because we can only lead in ways of what we've become. You know, we can only lead what we've become. We can't lead from a place that we haven't yet found within ourselves. And I think that's what people are often trying to do because they're not given models of how to bridge these two parts.

1:03:22Oh my gosh, you are just the, I think you're the living embodiment of everything that you coach and that you write and you speak so eloquently and it's just utterly so powerful. You're so kind, Holly. I just think it's magic. Absolute magic. So we're coming towards the end of this podcast now and I wish we weren't because I could spend forever talking to you. I like to end this podcast with the analogy that running your own sort of world, which you have been doing in all countries, is like an epic roller coaster. Can you tell me what you would say has been one of your biggest lows whilst on this journey?

1:04:03what's been my biggest low or the hardest thing is sometimes it's felt quite lonely I'm incredibly extrovert and I am so lucky to have so many friends and people I know and love all around the world and my life is so rich in that way my goodness but there have also definitely been times where I realized that I needed to let certain people around me go and to shed people that I was holding on to who just didn't fit my life anymore. And there was nothing dramatic. Not once was it a dramatic kind of, I'm not your friend anymore. But it was just a sense of, whilst I really love and treasure and have friends that I've known since I was six years old, actually, I was just in the sauna at a festival where I was giving a speech and I looked at the woman next to me and I said, are you from North London?

1:04:58And I remembered her and we hadn't seen each other since we were three. We've been in the same nursery school. Now we've connected and she lives in Ibiza and she's on her conscious business journey and it's wild. But, you know, I really, really treasure these old connections, but at the same time also just making space for the new to come and allowing things to go. I think that's what I found hardest on the journey was letting go when it's just not serving anymore. And I'm going to speak from my own personal experience, but potentially allowing people listening to think the same generalization.

1:05:33But just generally, I think us women tend to hold on like we're the keepers of relationships and we don't want to sort of, you know, hurt anyone's feelings and all of those sorts of things. And so we can become exhausted by keeping relationships going that need to just maybe pass and move forward. And I think it's only when you've been through that experience of maybe doing that, you realize that you allow space for other relationships to come in that serve your world that you're in today far better. I know it's a generalization, but I think that there comes a stage where us women need to let go of things that aren't working for us.

1:06:15And I see so many people still battling with that choice, I suppose. But you're saying it wasn't easy, right? It isn't easy. It was challenging at times. It gets easier. Now I'm able to let things go more easily. I mean, there have also been situations, you know, where I've just known that someone's not supporting me, really owning my path because it shows them something they don't want to see in theirs. So keeping yourself small so that you don't make other people feel uncomfortable. And that's been something that I've had to also deal with and find my way around. And maybe it is a female thing.

1:06:55Women generally can have more social needs and connection anyway, potentially. so it seems like it could be. Tell me about conversely when the wind's in your hair you're sewing your sunbeams and your female empowerment figures and you're happiest with singing at the top of your lungs on that roller coaster. Was there a moment for you that you can place there as one of your greatest highs? It's actually really not any great high it's like a series on the journey. And I remember on the day my book launched thinking, should I feel more? Should I be crying? But I just felt like, well, yeah, it's come because of all the things that came before.

1:07:40And now this is another beautiful day and it's a special day. And it was very special day, but it's another one. And then there's another one. And so for me, it's this feeling of when I'm really flying on the top of the roller coaster, it's when I'm in full flow and I'm allowing myself to be really good to myself. Like no hustle energy is present whatsoever. I'm in the flow of things and I'm just in trust and then beautiful surprises just come. Oh, I love that. Recently. So I knew I was being called to create a sacred business summit, which will, the first one will be a small embodied experience for 50 influential leaders where we're really aligning with the internal, the embodiment, the connection, the spiritual and business.

1:08:34And for all of those business leaders who also feel very lonely in that, because a lot of them have come to me and kind of come out and been like, by the way, I had a spiritual awakening 25 years ago and I speak to my spirit guides before board meetings, but I can't tell anyone because they'd think I was insane and fire me. And so these people who've come to me, it's like, well, what would happen if I bring all of them together? I mean, how powerful will that happy. And so I knew that I needed to do this for a while. They'd be allowed to talk to each other in the same language and be out. Yeah.

1:09:03And go deep in experiences. And so I said to the universe, two weeks after my book was published, okay, I know I need to create this. Just let me know. I'm ready to know where it's meant to be. And the next day, the owner of this incredible estate in the UK, which is like a beautiful rewilded estate that's 900 years old, but also has a healing sanctuary and all these other amazing parts, reached out and invited me to collaborate. And I was just like, that's when I'm flying. Just like, wow. Not only is this an amazing opportunity and just the most beautiful aligned thing that I would love to do and have so much fun doing, but also the way it unfolds is just wild and beautiful.

1:09:46Yes. How beautiful. Oh my goodness. Wow. I'd love to be a fly on the wall. This has just been wonderful. It's that moment that I need to hand over to you. I need to. I want to. I can't wait to hand over to you where you prepared a letter to your younger self. And I have no idea what it's going to say, but it's a blessing to hear it. And thank you for sharing a part of your soul with us today, Nikki. Holly, thank you so much. I could speak to you for another 10 hours. Oh, good. Feelings mutual. Yeah. And I love this exercise. I'm sure everyone who comes on the show just adores this task. Well, they don't love it when I ask them.

1:10:25They want to poke my eyeballs out because everyone's busy, but you're just nice to say that. But then when they do it, they're really happy about it. So here we go. Dear little Nikki, You already know you're here with a mission. You feel the pull. But I want you to know that you don't need to rush. Everything unfolds in its own perfect rhythm. Trust that timing. work on yourself this is the greatest investment you can ever make try to look around at what others do less and go inwards more the more you grow inside the more your light radiates outwards your frequency shapes the world around you and it will lead you to the people the places and the sacred work that you're here to do in this life.

1:11:19Learn the art of surrender. It is not passive, but an active dance with the universe. When you trust life enough to follow its signs and unfoldings, you'll find yourself carried further than you could ever push alone. Remember, it's not all about doing. Simply by being, by laughing, loving, dancing, singing, celebrating, you are already fulfilling your destiny. Joy is more important than action. You'll find a way to integrate your feminine grace with your masculine strength. I know you're courageous enough to be true to yourself and to walk your own path. Just know that there is no other way, even if you feel scared or lonely at times.

1:12:04There will be pain, you will lose your mother too soon, but love does not end and one day you'll discover how to feel her with you in new ways and that bond will become an everlasting source of strength and nurturing. And above all, love yourself. Be gentle with the vessel that carries you. Forgive yourself quickly. Treat yourself with kindness. Trust your intuition more than anything else. You already know more than you realise. All the answers are within you. You are love shining through a human form. Your voice is an ancestral gift. Use it with truth and it will carry you to joy, creation and abundance.

1:12:49You are part of the fabric, a student in reverence and life, an agent of creation who evolves each day. Just keep listening, keep loving, keep dancing and never stop singing. With all my heart, your future self. Of course, it was going to be one of the most beautiful letters. I mean, everyone listening, the cogs in their brains, they're on overdrive right now, on overdrive from not only a business sense, but the fact that you're having such an important conversation with us. and I just cannot thank you enough for being you and for the universe creating you. I feel like the universe brought us together having this conversation.

1:13:40I hope that we might be friends forevermore and that that little space that you've created, could I slip in a little bit? I'll just come in and you won't see me. I'll just be there. But I just can't thank you enough. This is such important work you are doing and I am going to just be there on the sidelines. Anything I can do. Just honestly, thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being you, Nikki, and for joining us today. Thank you so much, Holly. You are amazing. Thank goodness I have a new friend for life. Thank you. You heard it here first, everyone. Thank you for joining me today. If you've enjoyed this episode, can I ask that you share it with a friend and like, subscribe and review it too, so that together we can inspire even more people to follow their dreams to build a life they love.