Who am I and what does nikdavis.com do?
I am a life explorer, my work is to explore all that it is to be human, to help us understand what limits us, what scares us, what liberates us, what feeds us and ultimately, how can we be all that we can and help others to be so too.
Nikdavis.com is an exploration of life in order to move our thinking, our actions and ourselves forward.
It is a combination of many facets - spirituality, philosophy, real life experiences, ground breaking research, a deep understanding of change at a personal and organisational level and an endless curiosity about life and all that it has to offer.
nikdavis.com is the on-going dissertation of a life long student - that being me. It covers a variety of topics based on where I am in my life, what I am learning and what I can share in the belief that it can help others.
Right now I am exploring better ways to navigate death, to live more meaningful lives, to improve how we experience the menopause, how we can support our mental health better and how to create more joy, purpose and creativity in organisations.
This website is an invitation to other life explorers, to join the conversation, to consider new perspectives, to challenge the status quo, to embrace change and to help others to do so too, to have the difficult conversations, to do the real work we need to do in order to understand ourselves and therefore others and to be all that we can be, by living life with our eyes, hearts and minds wide open.
A tree for life
I'm a great lover of nature - I live a lifestyle akin to the good life, everything is a little worn, quirky and imperfect. I am a passionate advocate of sustainable living, I love the taoist philosophy and I believe mother nature is a great teacher so, it's no surprise that I choose a tree as a metaphor, a structure upon which to organise my world.
Trees signify strength, beauty and longevity and there are many parallels to be drawn with our human experience. We all need strong roots to to enable us to weather the storms and strong roots can only be achieved given the right nutrients and environments. No two trees are exactly the same and it is their differences rather than their similarities, that create such a rich and varied landscape, upon which we feast our eyes. Trees have many branches, some of which stay for the duration and some of which do not, they may loose their leaves in the autumn, only to regrow them, stronger and more bountiful in the spring, after taking the time to rest, reflect and replenish - constantly demonstrating the cycle of birth and death, change and growth.
My branches ebb and flow, they are not static just a representation of where I am at any given point in time, but my roots, my nutrients and my trunk never change, they are the foundations upon which many different worlds can be built, because none of us are just one thing, we have many parts to play, life is constantly changing as does our experience and response to it, as the years go by and our studies continue - whether or not we are aware, we are all simply students of life, doing the best we can, given the hand we are dealt, with what we have in any given moment.
And that knowledge is incredibly grounding and bonds us all - no matter what we have nor what our perceived status is, we are connected as humans. Our material, man-made world can disappear in the blink of an eye and we actually have far less control over that than we dare admit to ourselves. No, it is our inner selves, often the very parts we hide from the world, because we fear judgement, prejudice and being the lone wolf, that are ours and ours alone, that cannot be taken unless we give them, that cannot be copied unless we copy them for others, that cannot be polluted unless we allow to to be, that is where real freedom, opportunity and growth lies. It is the unshakeable belief and knowledge that it is who we are on the inside, not what we have on the outside that is true, constant and the essence that binds us all.
The greatest gift we can give ourselves and others, is to always share our genuine, authentic selves, warts and all, no matter how it changes and flows, so that others may do so too and know that they are not alone, that we all fall and stumble, love and loose, take seemingly wrong turnings, play smaller than we really need to and know all too well, the knot of fear in our stomachs, the darkness of shame in our souls and the intimate illusion of hopelessness when adversity outstays it's welcome, but that none of the circumstances, the narrative, the parts that we play in life, diminish who we really are, not unless we allow them to, by becoming them rather than remaining our true selves. Remember the ego is a wonderful servant but an appalling master.
So, please remember to feed your roots with the right nutrients and choose your environments well, take your rest and retreat when you need to, take off the old branches and enjoy the growth of the new ones.
How can you explore with nikdavis.com?
Having exploration conversations
"If you have knowledge, let others light their candle in it" Margaret Fuller
Creating space for people to have conversations to explore life in all of its guises - death, grief, the menopause, creating joy in our lives, finding peace within ourselves, challenging the status quo, finding better ways to be be, mental health, embracing change, creating organisations with heart and soul, are but a few of the subjects I touch upon.
These conversations are liberating, enlightening, fun, truthful, comforting and inspiring. The aim is to simply share our perspectives, experiences and knowledge, in order to move our thinking on and make a difference to someone, somewhere. The rules are also simple: be honest, be kind and be you.
The conversations are held on-line, they are free, they last around 1.5 hours and there are a maximum of 6 people in each session - it's important that everyone has the time and space to be heard and seen.
If you would like to explore a little of life with me and other life explorers, please drop me a line. I'm very much looking forward to meeting my fellow travellers on the journey through life.
Creating organisations with heart and soul
It's pretty much the accepted norm that organisations create change to basically improve, grow or mend something that is broken. No matter how the change initiatives are dressed up, it generally comes down to productivity, profit and market share.
Well what if that was not the primary focus? What if the primary focus was igniting passion in people, unleashing creativity, building a community, defining a new business model, really understanding people and what motivates them and creating a real heartbeat within the business?
Perhaps organisations might just find that they no longer have to constantly drive profits up, push costs down, rack their brains for new ideas, or fight for space in over-saturated markets, because all of that simply becomes an outcome delivered by empowered, engaged and liberated individuals, doing what they love alongside other people who are also doing what they love in, a community that connects and genuinely cares for them all.
Perhaps the focus and drive for organisational change needs to change. Perhaps you need to try something new and just see where it takes you.
My story
I believe in owning our truth and sharing our authentic selves without shame, fear of prejudice or judgement. And the more of us that can do that, means that more of us can do that and that is truly liberating, empowering and really quire beautiful - the words 'me too', are perhaps some of the most powerful we have.
I do not have a pre-defined list of topics that I am an expert in, I'm not an expert, just a human being having a human experience. I simply write about a feeling, experience or observation that has come to me, raw, unfiltered and very much in the moment.
My blogs are varied - some happy, some sad and some mad. It just depends on what is going on at that time in my life. But they are all honest and written in the hope that they can help someone, somewhere, just as the process of writing them and owning my truth helps me.
Death, grief, depression, parenting, debt, addiction, the menopause, organisational change, life lessons, conscious capitalism, sustainable living, defining new ways to live, work and play, are just a few of the topics that have exercised my mind so far.
All written with love, honesty and a desire to help us all live more meaningful and sustainable lives.
Speaking to inspire
I try to live my life as fully and authentically as possible and as part of that quest, I observe many things - about myself, about others and about life. And I like to share my thoughts, honestly and in the moment.
Some weeks are more fruitful than others, you never know when a thought, a realisation, or an epiphany will hit, but when they do, I talk about it and then I share it.
There is no rhyme or reason to my vlogs - they are just my story or as I like to think of them, messages of love and hope from me to you.
Sometimes I add several a month and sometimes not - it just depends when the thoughts come, because I do not work to a script, schedule, brand, or even an audience, I just talk from my heart, in the moment, in the hope that it will help someone, somewhere.
Please do take a peek and see if my words can help you too.
My personal mantra
"Someone once told me the definition of hell; on your last day on earth, the person you could have become will meet the person you became" Anonymous
So, I spend my days trying to be the person that I am going to be happy to meet.
And that means being honest with myself about myself - the good, the bad and the ugly.
It means not being defined by a label, a job, a failure or a success, but being defined by the very essence of me - my values, desires, strengths, weaknesses, hopes and fears.
It means not being afraid to share who I am with the world - because it is my quirks, my imperfections and my truth that makes me worth having.
And that is why I do not cultivate a professional versus personal brand. Because I am all of those things and more. I do not want to turn up at work pretending or hiding, or carrying the heavy burden of shame. My personal experiences do no limit my ability to perform my profession, they add to it, because they make me more real, more able to connect with others through our shared experience of human messiness.
So, my world is a mixture of all that I am and all that I do.
And once we can accept and embrace that, for ourselves and for others, our world will be more diverse, more equal and so much nicer to be in.
With love
Nik x