Gorgeous Guest – Nicola Judkins

Introducing our next Gorgeous Guest…Nicola from nicolajudkins.com.

Nicola is one of my favourite people because she is REAL. Nicola believes that we can all find our own version of “balance”. She inspires me everyday to prioritise the important things in life rather than simply following the latest online trends. I am so honoured to call her my friend, and I know you will find her story valuable.

Tell us a little about yourself and how you’re making an impact on this world.

Thank you! My name is Nicola and I’m a part-time Physiotherapist, full-time dog mum, writer and novice photographer.

Late last year my fiancé and I bought a Purple House on four acres in North-West Tasmania. At the time I was working hard to build an online business. I was following all the online business bloggers. Listening to all the business podcasts. And doing all the business courses. But, in all honesty, I wasn’t enjoying it.

When we bought the Purple House something changed. I found myself wanting to spend my time walking the dogs, gardening and even cooking! So I took a break from the online business world. To figure out whether it was something I wanted to continue pursuing or not.

I stopped writing. I stopped sending my newsletter. I stopped doing all the courses. And I stopped working with clients.

I loved this break from ‘hustling’ but in time I did start to miss writing. So I started a personal blog. It’s where I share stories and the life lessons I’m learning.

I’m not sure whether I will work with clients again. Or whether I will choose to create a course or product in the future. At the moment I’m happy living a very quiet and simple life. With a slight curiosity of what the future holds.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your business/career? How did you overcome this challenge?

The biggest challenge I faced, and still continue to face, is learning to quiet the noise we are bombarded with from the online world.

Everywhere you turn someone is telling you how you should be running your business, or living your life. And the advice is often conflicting. So you start thinking you need to do everything. And it can become overwhelming.

How many times do you see a new coach dive head first into the online world with passion and excitement, only to burn out a year later?

It’s not an easy industry to be in. I personally don’t think everyone is cut out for it. But we are made to think (from what we see on social media) that if you follow ‘simple six steps’ you will be successful.

Interestingly, when I decided to step away from online business I was at a point where I was gaining traction from the hard work I had put in. My online presence was growing. Clients were paying me good money to work with them. I just wasn’t enjoying it. There are a number of reasons why. But I won’t go into them here. I talk about it more over on my blog if you are interested in reading more.

And the whole point of life is that we are enjoying it. The one question I keep top of mind is always … ‘if this was my last day on earth how would I want to spend it’? The answer is never hustling for clients.

So I stepped back and began spending my days how I would if they were my last on this earth.

I’m not sure I would say I am making an impact on the world, but I am definitely making an impact on my own. And if, through my writing, others make changes in their life for the better then it’s a lovely small impact to have.

In recent times women have used the words “hustle” and “busyness” as badges of honour. Having experienced the impacts on my own health of being too busy, I am on a mission to change the mindset women have towards busyness. What is your take on these concepts? Do you have any personal stories to share? 

You and I have had so many conversations about this and it’s a topic I’m passionate about. Personally I don’t like words ‘hustle’ or ‘busyness’ but they are thrown around a lot, particularly in the online world.

You are right that busyness is often worn like a badge of honour. How many times have you asked someone how they are and they say, ‘I’m so busy’? But busy doing what is always my question. That is the key.

If your day is filled with things you love doing and are moving you towards your dream life then I think that is fine. But if your days are filled with things you simply said ‘yes’ to because you thought you ‘had to’ then that’s not ok.

And there has to be a balance. Yes, I said balance. And I do think you can achieve it. You just have to figure out what balance means for you.

For example, I work hard during the day but once my fiancé is home at night that’s it. The phone and computer are turned off, and we spend the evening relaxing. The same goes for the weekend. Of course there’s always things that need to get done. That’s just life. But we take time each day to do something that’s not ‘work’, whether it’s taking the dogs for a swim at the lake or going for brunch. For me that’s balance.

At the end of the day the choice is yours how you spend your time. If you are stressed because you are busy then something needs to change. There is always something you can let go of.

I think Gabrielle Bernstein sums it up best when she says, ‘No is a complete sentence’!

What is your favourite book, website or podcast at the moment?

I am going to share one of each if that’s ok!

My favourite book that I recommend to everyone is The Effortless Everyday by Katie Lee. In this book Katie shares her method for creating a daily life that frees you up to do what you want … while still getting everything done. She teaches you how to strip everything back to free up your time and energy so you can design a life that you actually want to live.

My favourite website at the moment is The Healthy Patch where our friends Anthony and Crystal share all about the power of Organic Wholefoods and teach you how to grow your own healthy edibles. A vegetable garden is next on our list of projects at home, so I have been diving into their monthly planting guides ready to get stuck in. Plus the recipes they share are delicious!

And my favourite podcast is Real Talk Radio with Nicole Antoinette. Her podcast is filled with refreshingly honest conversations about the wonderful mess of being human. Nicole dives into the truth of what is really going on in the lives of her guests – including athletes, writers, parents, coaches, artists and more – to remind us that we are all just doing the best that we can and that we aren’t alone in how we feel. Each episode is quite long so it’s a great one to listen to while you are on a walk.

Please share with us what you are currently offering and how our Gorgeous Presence tribe can find you!

You can find me writing over at www.nicolajudkins.com. This is where I share my articles and where people can sign up for my newsletter. The only other place I hang out is Instagram, where I share lots of photos of where we live and our dogs.

Thank you for interviewing me! I’ve really enjoyed it.

 

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Nicola Judkins is a part-time Physiotherapist, full-time dog-mum, novice photographer and permission giver who writes over at www.nicolajudkins.com.  

After burning out on self-development and trying to manifest her dreams at the new moon, Nicola now believes much of what we absorb online actually leads to more stress in our lives.  

Through her writing Nicola wants to give people permission … permission to slow down, simplify their life and discover what truly makes them happy.  

Originally from New Zealand, Nicola now lives in a purple house on 4 acres in Tasmania, Australia, with her fiancé and four fur-kids.

 

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Nicola’s words inspire me so much and everything she writes about is refreshing and from the heart. I would encourage you to jump on her newsletter list – her posts are thought-provoking and serve as a reminder for us to take action if we are not satisfied with our current state of “busy-ness”. Until next time, please remember to take care of YOU!