April 2018 - Nicky Moran

Never Stop Searching for Meaning – I Didn’t

Tuesday, April 24th, 2018

When I was about 14, I felt incredibly confused. I often sat in a heap on a chair, feeling despondent. I disliked school and remember feeling a deep emptiness about life. What exactly was the point of my existence? I had a longing to experience something deeper.

I remember my pragmatic mother becoming exasperated by my need for answers and her advice was: “Just get a job you don’t hate too much and marry someone you don’t mind. Don’t overthink it, Nicky – just get on with life.”

This would usually make me feel much worse. I would judge myself for wallowing, but deep in my heart I knew that this advice must be wrong. I had watched my parents become exhausted doing jobs that they devoted themselves to and yet didn’t seem to give them any satisfaction.

My mother spent most of her spare time doing amateur dramatics to avoid the awkwardness of being at home with my father, who was often so stressed out that he would spend most evenings boiling with anger in front of the TV.

Both my folks passed away very young. They were dutiful, honest people but their approach to life was guided by society’s rules rather than any search for meaning. I knew they had avoided asking the bigger questions.

My search for answers started as a child and has never stopped. I yearned for a life with a deeper sense of satisfaction and have often felt that this desire has caused me to feel ‘different’ to those around me.

However, last Thursday night, I celebrated an event that made me realise I’d finally found the deeper purpose I’d been searching for.

It was the launch of a community – Trailblazer Tribe – that I’d dreamt of building up for many years.

I hosted it with one of my best friends, Bev, and we invited three artists from our community to share stories about their work and lives.

Lisa, a heartfelt photographer, talked about how the difficult times in her life had helped her bring more authenticity into her photographs. Her raw emotions had given her permission to be more real in her expression.

Pearl, a fantasy artist, described her experiences of feeling incredibly shy and isolated as a teenager. Unable to fit in, she was inspired by role models such as Queen Elizabeth I and developed characters to inspire her journey that she began to paint.

Finally, Rebecca, a positive psychologist, came on stage with a straw bag filled with pearls, hairpieces and colourful clothes. She told us about her journey of trying to figure out how to share her love of finding meaning and joy in what she wore. How she had become an academic for years but struggled to find a place to share her message. She described how meaning had come when she joined our Facebook group and felt bold enough to launch a community to help people wear clothes that gave them a feeling of wellbeing, rather than follow fashion’s rules.As I listened to their stories, I realised they were women just like me. They had yearned for a life that had meaning and depth and wanted to express their work in a way that added beauty to the world.

As the evening progressed, I spotted a group of musicians I’d coached at various times in the past few years. They were all geeking out about music, talking about the pentatonic scale. They shared a passion for making music and creating projects they cared about.

I also saw a young actor talking to an artist who had just helped launch a magazine called Goldie, which celebrates getting older in style, about her aspiration to help northerners achieve their creative dreams.

I realised that my community is made up of idealists – creatives who are kind, ambitious and passionate. They want to change and add meaning to a world that can be feel so corporate and hollow.

This crowd reflected back to me that they are my tribe – creative people who aren’t satisfied with getting a job or settling. They are people who have carved out a life for themselves based on their need to do something that satisfies a deeper need.

I love what creative people can bring to the world. We can make a difference through our stories, our songs, our ability to think differently and add meaning.

I am still finding my way in building up a community. I am learning how to host events and hire people to do social media – and throughout this learning I know that I am being guided by the belief that through creative community we can all become a little bit better at what we do and take bolder steps with our lives and careers.

I want to thank you for your creativity and encourage you to keep going with your projects and be guided by your desire for a deeper meaning in life.

And whenever you lose faith, it is sometimes that younger part of you that wasn’t understood by the people around you at the time.

A question you can ask is: “What would I say to my 14-year-old self?”

I would say to mine: “Trust in your longing. Follow that heart of yours and learn to listen to what it wants.”

If you’re not in my community, then I’d love you to join. It’s full of great people doing interesting things. Here is the link: Join Trailblazer Tribe.

And – if you are interested in learning about how to tell stories to market your work, then Bev and I will be launching our new 10-week online programme Storytelling for Self-Promotion at the end of May. The early bird price will end on 10th May. The full lowdown is here.

If you have any questions, do send me a message.

Nicky xx

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Find networking tricky? Make friends instead. Here’s how..

Tuesday, April 10th, 2018

Years ago, when I came down to live in London, I was really nervous. I had absolutely no idea how to carve out a career for myself and did what I thought I should do, which was to send out dozens of CVs and phone people to try and create an opportunity to get work I enjoyed.

I had some success, but it was tiring and stressful.

What really made the difference was when I joined a networking group of freelance professionals who wanted to support each other in finding work. I buddied up with a man called Charlie, one of the kindest people I’d ever met. He ran a computer business and had been self-employed for years.

We set up morning calls and almost immediately I noticed that these conversations buoyed me up. I went about my day with more positive energy. We shared our struggles, talked about our goals and somehow I felt less isolated. I was also given referrals through the group and one or two members became my first coaching clients.

Over the years, I’ve realised that most of my work has come through relationships. People I met on courses and at networking events referred many of my early coaching clients to me. When my computer goes down, I still call my friend Jamie who always knows what to do. When I need to find a venue for a workshop, I ask my network for advice.

I’ve also realised that I only do business with people with whom I have a natural bond. I work with friends, and my clients eventually become friends too, because I have a heartfelt connection with them.

I realise that this has come about because I’ve become more aware of who I am and what my values are, and I’m good at connecting with people who share my world view.

My career has motored forward when I’ve put myself into environments in which I can meet like-minded people who share my values.

I do think marketing skills are important to learn, but in my opinion marketing is about building positive relationships.

On April 19th, I am running the first event for my creative community, Trailblazer Tribe, at a private members’ club in London. My main intention for bringing this community together is that I want people to build relationships with each other.

I am so excited about this event, as it’s bringing together people I really care about. Our three storytellers are dear clients who I now consider to be friends; I have attracted a DJ I met at a friend’s house; and I will be co-hosting with one of my best buddies, Bev Glick.

There are people coming from all phases of my life – many I know well and some are new members of my Facebook group, Trailblazer Tribe.

If you come to this event, I guarantee you will meet some of the loveliest people. I seem to attract interesting, caring and ambitious creatives who are not only interested in their own career advancement, but also care about other people and the world.

You may be an actor who meets a graphic designer who can create a good logo for you. You may simply meet someone who is inspiring and with whom you want to maintain a connection.

I’d absolutely love you to join us – here is the link to my website. Tickets are only £15 – but book soon as places are limited.

Here are the details:

If you want to come along, book soon as places are limited. Click HERE to buy your tickets.

The lowdown

Date and time: Thursday 19^th April @ 6.30pm (until around 10pm)
Venue: King’s Head Private Members Club, 257 Kingsland Road, London E2 8AS
Tickets: £15

What’s going to happen

A mini workshop by Bev and myself on the Trailblazing Archetypes* and how to use them to define your brand story.
Stories from an artist, photographer and a fashion psychologist who are all members of the community.
Mingle with other like-minded creatives – from actors, designers to creative directors and musicians.

What is Trailblazer Tribe?

An online community of ambitious creatives who want the freedom to do the work they love and live a life on their own terms. To attend the event, you must be a member of the Facebook group. You can ask to join here: facebook.com/groups/TrailblazerTribe/

Our vision

To ensure that creative people honour their unique gifts and create work that is heartfelt, engaging and uncompromising.
To help creative people share their stories and become well known for the work they love.
To create a positive and inspiring community of creative professionals who will support each other and form collaborative partnerships.

Who can attend?

The event is aimed at creatives who are self-employed or work in the creative industries and wish to progress their career or business.

Who is perceived as a creative?

Traditionally, we mean artists who create work to share with the world, from photographers, directors and actors to writers and graphic designers. We also welcome creative people whose work has a positive impact in the world.

*Trailblazing Archetypes
This is a tool we have created to help identify the energy you lead with as a creative. To get the most out of the workshop, you’ll need to take the quiz first to discover your primary and secondary archetypes. You can sign up here: www.nickyjmoran.com/archetype-signup/

We look forward to meeting you on April 19th! Book your place HERE.

Nicky

Archive for April, 2018