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 at my craft.
I started this podcast as a way to push myself out of my comfort zone. One of my biggest fears is talking in front of people and communicating effectively, putting myself out there. Now, at 124 episodes, I am definitely feeling out of my comfort zone. I’ve been feeling a little stagnant with growing the podcast, so I wanted to refresh that passion and work on my skills, and this workshop definitely did that. It made me think about my commitment to the show, and how, once you push yourself to new places and to learn new skills, you really grow as a person.
Put the camera down, put the iPhone down and get in there because that’s where the fulfilled richness of life comes from.
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Some things we learn in this podcast:
- The challenge of doing this podcast [2:00]
- I challenge you to push yourself out of your comfort zone [2:40]
- Creativity doesn’t always come in the form of art [4:00]
- Why I push myself to participate in life [4:30]
- Learn more about the Camera Ready workshop I did [5:00]
- Why it’s important to get feedback [5:30]
- My challenge to you [5:40]
Links mentioned:
- Listen to my episode with Quddus Philippe
- Learn more about Camera Ready
- Join the Nion Life Community
LET'S CONSPIRE & CREATE
CULTIVATING YOUR VISUAL UNIQUENESS AND STREAMLINING YOUR BRAND'S EVOLUTION
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 at my craft.
I started this podcast as a way to push myself out of my comfort zone. One of my biggest fears is talking in front of people and communicating effectively, putting myself out there. Now, at 124 episodes, I am definitely feeling out of my comfort zone. I’ve been feeling a little stagnant with growing the podcast, so I wanted to refresh that passion and work on my skills, and this workshop definitely did that. It made me think about my commitment to the show, and how, once you push yourself to new places and to learn new skills, you really grow as a person.
Put the camera down, put the iPhone down and get in there because that’s where the fulfilled richness of life comes from.
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/throw-yourself-into-the-fire” title=”Throw Yourself Into The Fire” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/124_NickOnken_NIONradio.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]
Some things we learn in this podcast:
- The challenge of doing this podcast [2:00]
- I challenge you to push yourself out of your comfort zone [2:40]
- Creativity doesn’t always come in the form of art [4:00]
- Why I push myself to participate in life [4:30]
- Learn more about the Camera Ready workshop I did [5:00]
- Why it’s important to get feedback [5:30]
- My challenge to you [5:40]
Links mentioned:
- Listen to my episode with Quddus Philippe
- Learn more about Camera Ready
- Join the Nion Life Community
6/28/17
124: Nick Onken – Throw Yourself Into The Fire
infuse your vision with a fresh breath of creativity and vitality
BOOK A BRAND PHOTOSHOOT
GET THE DETAILS
GET THE DETAILS
infuse your vision with a fresh breath of creativity and vitality
PODCAST
BRAND INTELLIGENCE
CREATIVE INTELLIGENCE
LIFE INTELLIGENCE
masterfully aligning perception and reality through personal branding
masterfully aligning perception and reality through personal branding
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 at my craft.
I started this podcast as a way to push myself out of my comfort zone. One of my biggest fears is talking in front of people and communicating effectively, putting myself out there. Now, at 124 episodes, I am definitely feeling out of my comfort zone. I’ve been feeling a little stagnant with growing the podcast, so I wanted to refresh that passion and work on my skills, and this workshop definitely did that. It made me think about my commitment to the show, and how, once you push yourself to new places and to learn new skills, you really grow as a person.
Put the camera down, put the iPhone down and get in there because that’s where the fulfilled richness of life comes from.
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/throw-yourself-into-the-fire” title=”Throw Yourself Into The Fire” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/124_NickOnken_NIONradio.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]
Some things we learn in this podcast:
- The challenge of doing this podcast [2:00]
- I challenge you to push yourself out of your comfort zone [2:40]
- Creativity doesn’t always come in the form of art [4:00]
- Why I push myself to participate in life [4:30]
- Learn more about the Camera Ready workshop I did [5:00]
- Why it’s important to get feedback [5:30]
- My challenge to you [5:40]
Links mentioned:
- Listen to my episode with Quddus Philippe
- Learn more about Camera Ready
- Join the Nion Life Community
6/28/17
124: Nick Onken – Throw Yourself Into The Fire
When you need a trusted creative partner in the room.
Take the Fit Check
Be seen at the level you’re stepping into.
Hey! I'm Nick.
PHOTOGRAPHER
BRAND ALCHEMIST
TEACHER
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Build authority from the inside out.
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.
Take the Fit Check
Start Here
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.
Explore the Partnership
Quiet. Precise. Highly Selective.
read the latest
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.
Most brand photographers take good photos of you. Few capture who you actually are. Here is what to look for when hiring a brand photographer so your images match your authority.
Taste is less a gift than a discipline you build through thousands of reps of seeing. Here is what twenty-five years behind a camera taught me about the art of seeing.
Visual Frequency of Authority is the energetic signature your images transmit before anyone reads a word. What it means and why two people with the same credentials read so differently.
About the Blogger
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.
