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9/28/16

102: Nick Onken – Letting Go

It takes hard work to let things go but I think when we do, we’re a lot better off.

Today I’m talking about something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately: letting go. I hate having anger or resentment on my plate, and I’ve been thinking about why that is. I love to feel free, to be present without negative thoughts weighing me down or holding me captive. When I hold onto things, it eats me up and keeps me from making progress in my life and in my art.

Why? I think it has to do with creative resonance, and the role that being present plays in that process. You can’t be present and do your best work if you’re holding onto resentment or negativity. Plus if you’re holding onto that negative energy, that’s what you’re putting out into the world and therefore attracting into your life. I don’t know about you, but I would rather attract positive energy, people, and work into my life and business.

So today I’m sharing with you three thoughts that have helped me let go of negativity and embrace positivity.

The way you show up in life is a reflection of the internal thoughts and processes and negative thoughts that you tell yourself.

[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/letting-go” title=”Letting Go” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/102_LetItGo_NIONradio_02.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]

Some things we learn in this podcast:

  • Why do we hold onto bad things [1:20]
  • How to avoid burning time and energy on negative experiences [2:45]
  • What holds you captive [3:15]
  • How anger and anxiety can manifest themselves physically [3:35]
  • The challenge of letting go of emotional trauma [4:35]
  • The value of emotional intelligence [5:05]
  • Why you should practice gratitude [5:50]
  • How meditation has helped me reduce stress [6:45]

Links mentioned:

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CULTIVATING YOUR VISUAL UNIQUENESS AND STREAMLINING YOUR BRAND'S EVOLUTION

It takes hard work to let things go but I think when we do, we’re a lot better off.

Today I’m talking about something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately: letting go. I hate having anger or resentment on my plate, and I’ve been thinking about why that is. I love to feel free, to be present without negative thoughts weighing me down or holding me captive. When I hold onto things, it eats me up and keeps me from making progress in my life and in my art.

Why? I think it has to do with creative resonance, and the role that being present plays in that process. You can’t be present and do your best work if you’re holding onto resentment or negativity. Plus if you’re holding onto that negative energy, that’s what you’re putting out into the world and therefore attracting into your life. I don’t know about you, but I would rather attract positive energy, people, and work into my life and business.

So today I’m sharing with you three thoughts that have helped me let go of negativity and embrace positivity.

The way you show up in life is a reflection of the internal thoughts and processes and negative thoughts that you tell yourself.

[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/letting-go” title=”Letting Go” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/102_LetItGo_NIONradio_02.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]

Some things we learn in this podcast:

  • Why do we hold onto bad things [1:20]
  • How to avoid burning time and energy on negative experiences [2:45]
  • What holds you captive [3:15]
  • How anger and anxiety can manifest themselves physically [3:35]
  • The challenge of letting go of emotional trauma [4:35]
  • The value of emotional intelligence [5:05]
  • Why you should practice gratitude [5:50]
  • How meditation has helped me reduce stress [6:45]

Links mentioned:

9/28/16

102: Nick Onken – Letting Go

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It takes hard work to let things go but I think when we do, we’re a lot better off.

Today I’m talking about something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately: letting go. I hate having anger or resentment on my plate, and I’ve been thinking about why that is. I love to feel free, to be present without negative thoughts weighing me down or holding me captive. When I hold onto things, it eats me up and keeps me from making progress in my life and in my art.

Why? I think it has to do with creative resonance, and the role that being present plays in that process. You can’t be present and do your best work if you’re holding onto resentment or negativity. Plus if you’re holding onto that negative energy, that’s what you’re putting out into the world and therefore attracting into your life. I don’t know about you, but I would rather attract positive energy, people, and work into my life and business.

So today I’m sharing with you three thoughts that have helped me let go of negativity and embrace positivity.

The way you show up in life is a reflection of the internal thoughts and processes and negative thoughts that you tell yourself.

[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/letting-go” title=”Letting Go” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/102_LetItGo_NIONradio_02.jpg” color=”#de4b9b” ]

Some things we learn in this podcast:

  • Why do we hold onto bad things [1:20]
  • How to avoid burning time and energy on negative experiences [2:45]
  • What holds you captive [3:15]
  • How anger and anxiety can manifest themselves physically [3:35]
  • The challenge of letting go of emotional trauma [4:35]
  • The value of emotional intelligence [5:05]
  • Why you should practice gratitude [5:50]
  • How meditation has helped me reduce stress [6:45]

Links mentioned:

9/28/16

102: Nick Onken – Letting Go

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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.

Nick Onken travel image, Life Intelligence essay on travel as creative input that sharpens the eye

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.

Nick Onken portrait, Creative Intelligence essay on the creative act versus performing one

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.

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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.

Nick Onken portrait, Life Intelligence essay on nervous system regulation and creative recovery

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.

Elevated Realism brand portrait by Nick Onken, a subject looking unmistakably like themselves

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.

Nick Onken portrait, Creative Intelligence essay on taste and the discipline of seeing

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.

Nick Onken portrait illustrating visual frequency of authority, presence matching identity

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.

Nick Onken portrait, three gaps in a personal brand

Every personal brand stalls in one of three gaps: Identity, Signal, or Infrastructure. Most people have the third and spend years fixing the first.

Nick Onken portrait, Life Intelligence essay on martial arts as a daily practice

A month of kung fu training in Wudang, China taught me that the body learns at the speed of honesty rather than the speed of ambition. Here is what martial arts taught me about practice.

Nick Onken portrait illustrating creative coherence between identity and image

Creative coherence is when who you are and how you’re seen are the same thing. A short, clear definition of the term, its four layers, and why it makes a brand magnetic.

Nick Onken studio self portrait, magnetic through-line

A magnetic through-line is the one or two word idea your whole brand becomes associated with. What it is, why it matters, and how to find yours.

Nick Onken, creative coherence, brand portrait

Creative coherence is the state where who you are and how you’re seen are the same thing. Why it matters more than frequency, and how to build it.

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. 

NICK'S STORY