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1/29/14

My New AdVenture, SHOPTALK radio

SHOPTALK radio is a new venture that was inspired by my good friend, Lewis Howes. I love his School of Greatness podcast, but I never really thought about doing my own until he interviewed me for his show. After talking with Lewis and my boy, Ian Robinson, over at Freedom Podcasting about the value of podcasting for building a brand, I started giving it some serious thought. In the realm of living inspiration, what inspires me is amazing people doing amazing things. Beyond that, what goes on in their minds. What fears and struggles did they have to break through in order to create success in their business and life? It’s inspiring to hear, which motivates me as I’m sure it will connect with those who listen.

I realized something about myself when I spent 24 hours with Dr. Sean Stephenson. He is one of the most inspiring people I have met. You can learn more about him through his upcoming podcast. What I learned about myself was that this podcast is a form of pushing myself out of my comfort zone. As a photographer with my style of shooting, I don’t get much time in the spotlight or in front of the camera. Speaking on audio or video recorded media has always been a fear of mine. In a world of personal growth, you’re only growing when you’re playing out of your comfort zone. Learning a new skill like this for me and putting it out there for the world to hear is uncomfortable. I may fail, but my new perspective on failure is that it’s closing the gap between what you want and what you envision.

So join me on this new venture. My vision for SHOPTALKradio is to inspire the world to unlock their inner creativity and share it. I’ll be bringing on successful creative entrepreneurs and others in the big league. We will be creating a space to dive deep into what it takes to create success, and what true success means in the world of what I like to call a “Life Baller.”

Check out the show!

LET'S CONSPIRE & CREATE

CULTIVATING YOUR VISUAL UNIQUENESS AND STREAMLINING YOUR BRAND'S EVOLUTION

SHOPTALK radio is a new venture that was inspired by my good friend, Lewis Howes. I love his School of Greatness podcast, but I never really thought about doing my own until he interviewed me for his show. After talking with Lewis and my boy, Ian Robinson, over at Freedom Podcasting about the value of podcasting for building a brand, I started giving it some serious thought. In the realm of living inspiration, what inspires me is amazing people doing amazing things. Beyond that, what goes on in their minds. What fears and struggles did they have to break through in order to create success in their business and life? It’s inspiring to hear, which motivates me as I’m sure it will connect with those who listen.

I realized something about myself when I spent 24 hours with Dr. Sean Stephenson. He is one of the most inspiring people I have met. You can learn more about him through his upcoming podcast. What I learned about myself was that this podcast is a form of pushing myself out of my comfort zone. As a photographer with my style of shooting, I don’t get much time in the spotlight or in front of the camera. Speaking on audio or video recorded media has always been a fear of mine. In a world of personal growth, you’re only growing when you’re playing out of your comfort zone. Learning a new skill like this for me and putting it out there for the world to hear is uncomfortable. I may fail, but my new perspective on failure is that it’s closing the gap between what you want and what you envision.

So join me on this new venture. My vision for SHOPTALKradio is to inspire the world to unlock their inner creativity and share it. I’ll be bringing on successful creative entrepreneurs and others in the big league. We will be creating a space to dive deep into what it takes to create success, and what true success means in the world of what I like to call a “Life Baller.”

Check out the show!

1/29/14

My New AdVenture, SHOPTALK radio

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SHOPTALK radio is a new venture that was inspired by my good friend, Lewis Howes. I love his School of Greatness podcast, but I never really thought about doing my own until he interviewed me for his show. After talking with Lewis and my boy, Ian Robinson, over at Freedom Podcasting about the value of podcasting for building a brand, I started giving it some serious thought. In the realm of living inspiration, what inspires me is amazing people doing amazing things. Beyond that, what goes on in their minds. What fears and struggles did they have to break through in order to create success in their business and life? It’s inspiring to hear, which motivates me as I’m sure it will connect with those who listen.

I realized something about myself when I spent 24 hours with Dr. Sean Stephenson. He is one of the most inspiring people I have met. You can learn more about him through his upcoming podcast. What I learned about myself was that this podcast is a form of pushing myself out of my comfort zone. As a photographer with my style of shooting, I don’t get much time in the spotlight or in front of the camera. Speaking on audio or video recorded media has always been a fear of mine. In a world of personal growth, you’re only growing when you’re playing out of your comfort zone. Learning a new skill like this for me and putting it out there for the world to hear is uncomfortable. I may fail, but my new perspective on failure is that it’s closing the gap between what you want and what you envision.

So join me on this new venture. My vision for SHOPTALKradio is to inspire the world to unlock their inner creativity and share it. I’ll be bringing on successful creative entrepreneurs and others in the big league. We will be creating a space to dive deep into what it takes to create success, and what true success means in the world of what I like to call a “Life Baller.”

Check out the show!

1/29/14

My New AdVenture, SHOPTALK radio

When you need a trusted creative partner in the room.

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Be seen at the level you’re stepping into.

Hey! I'm Nick.

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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.

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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.

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read the latest

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.

Nick Onken portrait, identity alchemy phases

Identity Alchemy runs in five phases: Deconstruct, Curate, Architect, Become, Express. A walkthrough of what happens inside each, and where people get stuck.

Nick Onken, brand photographer and creative director, portrait

Identity Alchemy is a five-phase method for rebuilding who you are and how you’re seen so the two finally match. Here is the full process.

Elevated Realism environmental portrait of an author and authority, representing a coherent personal brand built on a Brand Brain.

A Brand Brain is one authored source that holds your identity, voice, and frameworks so every AI tool writes like you. Here is what it is and why you need one.

Elevated Realism portrait of a composed expert, representing the coherent authority on the far side of the expertise-to-income gap.

Being great at what you do doesn’t automatically turn into income. Here is the expertise-to-income gap, why it exists, and how to start closing it.

Elevated Realism portrait of a polished personal brand, the kind of presence a full brand team is hired to build.

A real brand team runs $30,000 to $70,000 a year. Here is the full breakdown of what each role costs, and the engine I built to replace it for $997.

Elevated Realism portrait of a confident founder, illustrating a brand voice that sounds like a real person rather than generic AI.

Your AI sounds generic because it reads the whole internet and returns the average. Here is how to make AI write in your actual voice instead.

Elevated Realism portrait of a recognized personal brand, the kind of coherent identity behind the Brand Intelligence Engine.

For two decades I made other people’s brands coherent while my own waited. Here is the Brand Intelligence Engine I built to finally close that gap.

Elevated Realism brand portrait demonstrating the visual authority that results from building a complete brand through the Brand Intelligence Engine's three-phase AI system

The Brand Intelligence Engine is an AI personal brand system that builds the complete infrastructure of a premium brand in three phases. Here’s exactly what happens inside, what it produces, and who it’s built for.

Elevated Realism portrait of a personal brand client whose content strategy works because identity and visual translation are built underneath it

Your content strategy is not working because the problem isn’t content. It’s what’s underneath it. When your brand lacks identity and visual translation, posting more just amplifies incoherence. Here’s the trap and how to escape it.

Elevated Realism portrait of a personal brand client who has passed the coherence test where identity, visual translation, content, and business all align

This personal brand audit takes two minutes and reveals exactly where your brand is broken. Four questions, one for each layer of brand intelligence. Most people fail at least two. Here’s the diagnostic.

Elevated Realism portrait demonstrating how personal brand identity is a deliberate translation of the person rather than an unfiltered copy

Your personal brand identity is not you. It’s a translation of you. When you confuse the two, you either freeze up or perform. Neither builds authority. Here’s the distinction that changes how you show up online.

Elevated Realism personal brand portrait demonstrating the visual authority that comes from investing in brand photography at the level that matches your expertise

The biggest personal brand photography investment mistake isn’t underspending on photos. It’s investing $50,000 in coaching, ads, and masterminds while spending $500 on visual identity. Here’s what that costs you and how to fix the order.

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