“You really have to listen to the person that you are and really dig to find what the source of your happiness is.”
Matthew Loyd is an old friend of mine, one that I’ve kept in touch with for so long as we have so many similar views in the world. One of the big things I’ve admired about him is his creative entrepreneur spirit where through the years he has used full time jobs as stepping stones to build his skills for creating his own company as he is doing now. He recently left his mid 6 figure job as the Vice President of Brand experience at Old Navy to start his own company.
One of my favorite things about Matthew is that he has “Fear Regret, Not Failure” tattooed on his arm which gives you an idea of how he lives his life. In this episode, we get deep into the mindsets of doing things that you fear instead of ending up living with regrets.
We also get into capturing people’s hearts and minds through a good brand and ways to do that. I’ve always been a big believer in branding and design. In fact, him and I met back in the beginning when we we were both starting out as graphic designers. Now he’s created brand experiences for huge companies, and is taking those methodologies to his own brand.
“The best thing a brand can be is a point of view.”
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/matthew-loyd-branding” title=”Matthew Loyd – How To Create the Stepping Stones To Your Dream Job” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/09_MatthewLoyd_NIONradio_02.jpg” color=”de4b9b” ]
“You really have to listen to the person that you are and really dig to find what the source of your happiness is.”
Matthew Loyd is an old friend of mine, one that I’ve kept in touch with for so long as we have so many similar views in the world. One of the big things I’ve admired about him is his creative entrepreneur spirit where through the years he has used full time jobs as stepping stones to build his skills for creating his own company as he is doing now. He recently left his mid 6 figure job as the Vice President of Brand experience at Old Navy to start his own company.
One of my favorite things about Matthew is that he has “Fear Regret, Not Failure” tattooed on his arm which gives you an idea of how he lives his life. In this episode, we get deep into the mindsets of doing things that you fear instead of ending up living with regrets.
We also get into capturing people’s hearts and minds through a good brand and ways to do that. I’ve always been a big believer in branding and design. In fact, him and I met back in the beginning when we we were both starting out as graphic designers. Now he’s created brand experiences for huge companies, and is taking those methodologies to his own brand.
“The best thing a brand can be is a point of view.”
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/matthew-loyd-branding” title=”Matthew Loyd – How To Create the Stepping Stones To Your Dream Job” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/09_MatthewLoyd_NIONradio_02.jpg” color=”de4b9b” ]







“You really have to listen to the person that you are and really dig to find what the source of your happiness is.”
Matthew Loyd is an old friend of mine, one that I’ve kept in touch with for so long as we have so many similar views in the world. One of the big things I’ve admired about him is his creative entrepreneur spirit where through the years he has used full time jobs as stepping stones to build his skills for creating his own company as he is doing now. He recently left his mid 6 figure job as the Vice President of Brand experience at Old Navy to start his own company.
One of my favorite things about Matthew is that he has “Fear Regret, Not Failure” tattooed on his arm which gives you an idea of how he lives his life. In this episode, we get deep into the mindsets of doing things that you fear instead of ending up living with regrets.
We also get into capturing people’s hearts and minds through a good brand and ways to do that. I’ve always been a big believer in branding and design. In fact, him and I met back in the beginning when we we were both starting out as graphic designers. Now he’s created brand experiences for huge companies, and is taking those methodologies to his own brand.
“The best thing a brand can be is a point of view.”
[smart_track_player url=”https://soundcloud.com/nickonken/matthew-loyd-branding” title=”Matthew Loyd – How To Create the Stepping Stones To Your Dream Job” image=”https://nionlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/09_MatthewLoyd_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.

Your personal brand feels off but you can’t explain why. It’s not your logo or colors. It’s a coherence problem, a structural gap between who you are and how you’re seen. Here’s what to do.

Authority isn’t binary. You’re not either an authority or not an authority. Authority exists in levels, stages, and progressions. Each level has distinct characteristics, distinct positioning, distinct challenges, and distinct requirements for advancement. Most people get stuck at Level One. They’re visible, active, creating content, showing up regularly. But they’re not building actual authority. They’re […]

You had the insight. The breakthrough moment, the realization, the epiphany, the profound understanding. Deep knowing about who you are, what you offer, and how you’re different. Life-changing clarity about your positioning, your value, and your authority. Then what changed? Actually changed? Behaviorally, practically, visibly? In how you show up, how you speak, how you […]

You are established. Actually established. Years in business, real results created, genuine expertise developed, actual clients served, tangible transformations delivered, proven value demonstrated. You’ve built real authority through real work over real time with real outcomes. But you don’t look established. Your brand doesn’t show it, your presence doesn’t reflect it, your positioning doesn’t communicate […]

Connor Beaton leads men into their shadows. Not the surface-level masculinity work. Not the “alpha male” performance. Not the toxic patterns disguised as strength. Shadow work. Carl Jung. Integration. The parts men hide. The parts they fear. The parts that control them when unexamined. His brand needed to reflect that depth. That willingness to look […]

You keep rebuilding. New brand, new colors, new photos, new messaging, new positioning, new website, new everything. Every six months, every year, every time it feels wrong and stops working. Hoping this time fixes it, this time solves it, this time creates the authority and positioning you need. It doesn’t. It never does. Because you’re […]

You know things. Real things. Earned through years of experience. Patterns most people miss. Insights that could transform how your audience operates. But nobody knows you know them. You’re the hidden expert. Competent. Skilled. Valuable. Invisible. The shift from hidden expert to recognized authority doesn’t start where most people think. Not with better marketing. Not […]

Devotion isn’t soft. It’s the hardest thing you’ll ever practice. Most people think devotion means passion. Excitement. The feeling you get when inspiration strikes and everything flows. That’s not devotion. That’s infatuation. Devotion is showing up when inspiration is gone. When the work feels mechanical. When no one is watching and there’s no immediate reward. […]

You redesign your logo for the third time. Still doesn’t feel right. You hire another designer. Try different colors. New fonts. Different aesthetic entirely. Still wrong. So you conclude: “I just need better branding.” But the crisis isn’t your logo. It’s not your color palette. It’s not your website design. The crisis is deeper. You […]

You can be visible without being recognizable. Most people confuse the two. They post constantly. Show up everywhere. Maximize exposure. They think: “The more people see me, the more my brand grows.” But visibility isn’t the same as recognition. Visibility is being seen once. Recognition is being remembered. Visibility is impressions. Recognition is identity. You […]

Emma Reicher was hidden. No real brand. No photos of herself. Just lofi graphics that looked student-made. She had the credentials. Maturation coach. Qigong practitioner. Psychotherapy background. Real expertise. But nobody could see her. Nobody could feel her. The gap between who she was and how she showed up publicly was complete invisibility. The Fear […]

You’re not one person. You’re three. Right now, in this moment, you’re simultaneously living as three different versions of yourself. Most people never realize this. They think identity is singular. Fixed. One coherent self moving through the world. It’s not. You have a private self. The person you are when no one is watching. The […]

You got the photos back. They’re professionally lit. Perfectly composed. Technically flawless. But when you look at them, something feels wrong. That person in the images looks like you. Same face. Same features. But the energy is off. The presence doesn’t match. When you see those photos, you don’t think “that’s me.” You think “that’s […]
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.