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 all around great guy and is just fascinating to talk to.
This half of the interview is definitely a little different, as Cal flips the script and interviews me for a while. It’s a great peek into his interviewing skills, plus you get some perspective into my views on photography, meditation, and more. You’ll also get to hear his amazing story of interviewing one of his idols Muhammad Ali. Listen in to hear this entertaining and inspiring man talk more about his journey and his art.
If you grow up without the internet, it’s much harder to inspire people.
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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 all around great guy and is just fascinating to talk to.
This half of the interview is definitely a little different, as Cal flips the script and interviews me for a while. It’s a great peek into his interviewing skills, plus you get some perspective into my views on photography, meditation, and more. You’ll also get to hear his amazing story of interviewing one of his idols Muhammad Ali. Listen in to hear this entertaining and inspiring man talk more about his journey and his art.
If you grow up without the internet, it’s much harder to inspire people.
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/cal-fussman-2″ title=”The Art of Interviewing – Part 2″ artist=”Cal Fussman” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/90_CalFussmanPart2_NIONradio_02.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]







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 all around great guy and is just fascinating to talk to.
This half of the interview is definitely a little different, as Cal flips the script and interviews me for a while. It’s a great peek into his interviewing skills, plus you get some perspective into my views on photography, meditation, and more. You’ll also get to hear his amazing story of interviewing one of his idols Muhammad Ali. Listen in to hear this entertaining and inspiring man talk more about his journey and his art.
If you grow up without the internet, it’s much harder to inspire people.
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/cal-fussman-2″ title=”The Art of Interviewing – Part 2″ artist=”Cal Fussman” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/90_CalFussmanPart2_NIONradio_02.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]

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Emanate is a creative-direction-led photography experience for entrepreneurs, speakers, and thought leaders in a moment of expansion. This isn’t about better photos. It’s about aligning how you’re seen with who you’ve become. For seasons of rebrand, visibility, and next-level leadership.
Magnetic Authority is a self-guided container for people who feel visible, but not fully anchored.
If your message keeps shifting, your brand feels inconsistent, or your presence doesn’t match your capability yet. This is where you build the foundation before you scale.
For founders, creatives, and leaders who want a trusted long-term partner. This isn’t coaching or traditional consulting.
It’s an ongoing creative partnership focused on bringing your personal brand identity to life.
Your brand. Your website. Your visuals.
All shaped as a direct extension of who you are. The work also includes a bespoke process of identifying and aligning the right experts when needed, so nothing gets built out of sync with your core.
Quiet. Precise. Highly Selective.

A daily creative practice is making one real thing every day, however small, to stay in a proactive state. A working definition, and how to build one that lasts.

AI describes your brand by averaging your public record. How to codify one identity, repeat it everywhere, and get the machines to echo you back accurately.

I’ve photographed Justin Bieber several times and seen fame up close. His stripped-down Coachella set showed the thing I keep relearning about creative work: production amplifies, and only artistry carries.

You recover from creative burnout by treating it as a nervous system state: build real down-cycles, read your own signals, and return to the work you love.

A magnetic personal brand comes from coherence and one clear through-line. Here is how entrepreneurs build one, in order, and the trap that keeps most brands scattered.

I spent a month training kung fu in Wudang at 47, the oldest and slowest learner in the room. What being a beginner again in midlife taught me about pace, comparison, and starting anyway.

You develop taste through thousands of reps of looking closely and deciding what works. A photographer’s honest answer on how taste gets built.

You make a personal brand more coherent by naming the identity underneath it, distilling a one or two word through-line, and bringing the four layers into agreement. The full path, in order.

You cannot pour from an empty well. Travel is how I refill mine. Here is why new places are creative input rather than a break from the work, and why output without input runs dry.

There is a difference between making something and performing the act of making it. Here is what I learned about the creative act, content, and why the resistance is the whole game.

AI can generate endless brand content, but it cannot construct the identity underneath it. Here is the real line between what AI can do for your brand and what only you can.

Burnout is less a willpower problem than a nervous system running with no recovery. Here is what I learned about creative recovery from social media burnout and a reset in Costa Rica.
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.
I was born in a low middle class conservative religious family in the suburbs of Seattle. Art was and always has been my passion, and more than that a way of life. Starting as a graphic designer, I taught myself photography, built a commercial/editorial business shooting for the worlds biggest brands like Nike, Coca-Cola, Adidas and more. I've also had the opportunity to photograph the world's biggest celebrities like Justin Bieber, Usher, Jessica Alba and more. I've curated a lifestyle around creativity and have learned a lot along the way which I get to share here.