Nicollette Halladay on Finding Your Voice Through Publishing

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Step into the world of success with Your Brand Amplified, the ultimate podcast designed to unravel the intricacies of thriving thriving businesses. I'm your host, Anika Jackson, and I'm on a mission to uncover the stories, strategies, and secrets that have propelled entrepreneurs and business leaders to success. A lot of times our pivots and our epiphanies come out of, of great transition. I know that I've had a few over my life in the past 10 years particularly, and Nicolette Halliday, my guest today, has certainly born an amazing company out of What, you know, could be a traumatic time, like a time where you're finding yourself, or as you say, becoming Nicolette. So I am absolutely thrilled to have you here. You're the founder of Inspired Hearts Publishing and have shepherded hundreds of artists into print. You also released your own book, The Golden Thread and the Lineage of Light, of the Light. And I'm really intrigued by that title. I did read a couple of little pages and just super excited to have you here.

Thank you.

And talk about not just strategy, but also, you know, what pulled you into the world of building a publishing house and what did you discover about yourself in that process? So thank you very much for joining me on Your Brand Amplified.

It is absolutely a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much, Anika, for having me, and I'm so excited to be having this conversation with you.

Well, I, I love the name of your company. I'm really intrigued by your book, and I'd like to hear a little bit about your journey from what you were doing before into deciding, oh, I cannot just, you know, be behind the scenes and help people, but I can also start a publishing house and I can do so much more and I can give people the thing that I also realized I needed.

Absolutely. So I come from a lifetime of corporate working in corporate America. I did a lot of project management and project coordinating roles. And about 10 years ago, I was working in corporate America and actually working for a business broker at the time. And it was an incredibly demanding job. And I had 3 daughters and my middle daughter was in first grade and she was having such bad anxiety that she was actually like getting to the point where she was like getting sick and throwing up like frequently. And it was just this moment of being trapped, kind of stuck in between these 2 worlds of needing to be, you know, able to nurture and care for my daughter and give her what she needed and really kind of balancing the demands of work and, and all of the kind of the inflexibility of it. And so at that time, I decided without really being ready, just kind of having a knowing that I needed to do something, that I needed to shift. I ended up starting a virtual assistant company and I did that for 4 years. I supported kind of as the right hand to online business owners.

Mm-hmm.

Communication and tech marketing, kind of all the things supporting their business on the backend. I went to a networking event, an online networking event, and the woman who was facilitating the event, you know, I did my introduction and she said, oh, I teach women how to become publishers. And I think some of them could probably really use your support. So she ended up really just kind of bringing, sending me leads and I ended up inevitably being full support for other publishers. And so I got to learn the backend. I got to, I felt so aligned with the work and the opportunity to support people in sharing their stories in a really kind of just tactical way. And so I felt ready and I was, I had done that for quite a while and I was ready to take the leap and I thought, I can do this. I can do, I can do this on my own. So I decided to start Inspired Hearts Publishing and that has taken me on a trajectory that I would never have anticipated, but it's been incredibly, it's been just such an incredible journey the whole time. So.

Yeah.

And I love the fact that you, you already had a background in project management and the corporate world, so you could bring all those skills and assets to your VA company, but then you also got to see the publishing business from the inside out. In that support role where a lot of the other women, I'm sure, starting publishing companies just thought this is a, you know, it's a business opportunity, but they didn't have that depth that you had bringing into it.

Yeah, I think it's such, it's been something that I've gotten to both observe for myself and then share and kind of support my clients and understanding that all of these things that we've done in the past, and even if we're pivoting or completely starting over, all of that gets to come with us, all the skills we built and things we learned along the way. And so, sometimes, like, the vision we have isn't as far as what we maybe think it would be when we start taking account for everything we've already accomplished.

Yeah. And that flexibility point, that inflection point, we all have those. For me, it was also about 10 years ago, and I went through a divorce, and then I had, I actually went back into the world of work. And I had to figure out how to balance that with my young daughter and making sure I was there for her. So a little bit different circumstance, but still, when you are a mom, our children are, are everything.

We have this. Yes. And, um, I know for me, you know, I always, you know, supporting my family, contributing financially to my family, and then also having this really desire to be fully present with them. And, and I didn't want to sacrifice one for the other. I believed I could have both, that there— we live in this incredible time with a lot of different opportunities. And so I said, I can have this, but I can work in a way that's more supportive of being a mom. So.

What were some of the things that you decided you wanted to bring into your business that you saw where maybe gaps in the businesses that you were supporting?

I think it's kind of been an evolution, so it wasn't necessarily me like seeing it on the outset, but it was kind of recognizing it as I was moving through it. I like to say I do business not as usual because my clients become my, just, they are near and dear to me. I want them to be the full person who they are. I don't want us to have to show up with facades. And I mean, yes, there's a certain level of professionalism always, But I really want the human-to-human factor. And that's something that has been just kind of an anchoring point in my business is just being human. And especially with the work I do, I'm supporting people and sharing such vulnerable, some vulnerable stories sometimes, or, you know, there's so much at stake for people when they're sharing something meaningful in a book. And so holding space for like all of them is something that I love to do.

And what's the first thing that you started with your company? Because I know you have free sessions that people can join. You have books that are more anthologies, right? Where there's multiple writers, then you have individual authors. Yeah.

So another little pivot that happened, or a big pivot I should say, is so I decided I was going to start my publishing company. I was like getting ready for this big uplevel because it felt like there was this opportunity that required more visibility and more presence and being kind of the face instead of just the support role. So I was preparing for this big uplevel. I'd made the decision and I had let go of my retainer clients because I didn't want to have any conflict, which funny enough, I continued to do publishing support well into it, but I was preparing for this big uplevel and my husband of 20 years said he wanted a divorce. So right in the middle of me doing this pivot and, you know, kind of taking this leap, the rug was literally pulled out from under me. And so it took me a minute to re— kind of, okay, wait a minute, what's going on? And in hindsight, it was actually kind of a blessing because I had let go of the retainer clients. I had a lot of space and I needed it to really grieve and process, become a single mom for the first time. And so the first project I did was an anthology, and it was as important for my professional pursuits as it was for my personal healing. And the authors— the book was called Mystics Revealed: Unconventional Success Stories from Extraordinary Leaders. And the authors who ended up being aligned to write in that book were some of the most incredible humans, and I'm still friends with a lot of them today. So the anthology work really kind of kickstarted my publishing new pursuits, but then also doing a lot of backend support, continuously doing that. And it's kind of funny that, you know, once I, I was like, oh, I have to let go of that. And then I was like, no, that can still, that can coexist. So.

Yeah, absolutely. I, I think that is something that as entrepreneurs, we're constantly fine-tuning. Do we wanna do this part of the business or do we wanna do this other part? Who do we wanna support? How do we wanna support them? And I think that's one of the beautiful things is we have that freedom and flexibility to do what's working in the moment, what we feel more called to do, and what we see will be most helpful to others as well on their journeys.

Yes, absolutely. It's, it's kind of like both is true. It's incredibly freeing and also like a big weight and responsibility to have to, you know, hold all the roles and see the vision and then also figure out how you're going to— it's There's a big, I always say it's kind of like a double-edged sword cuz it's like there's no roadmap, there's no kind of like job description. It's like you're creating it, which is amazing and also, you know, can be challenging too.

Yeah. So started with an anthology. Talk to us about the continuation of the company and the evolution of the company.

Yeah.

So I, Inspired Hearts Publishing started about 5 years ago. Since then, I have produced— I'm working on my 8th anthology right now and supporting mostly women in sharing their stories, their vision, their work in a multi-author book, which is just such a great kind of first toe in the water of publishing because it's less of an investment, less of a time commitment. You get to join with other like-minded people who are kind of having this goal of having a successful outcome for this book. And the book itself can serve as, uh, do a lot of the same things that a solo-authored book can do when, you know, you kind of stand behind it and you use it in that way. So I've done that. I've supported in over 50 books coming to the market, either supporting behind the scenes or kind of being the lead in bringing solo-authored books also to the market. And then, yeah, I got to walk my own talk this last March in publishing my first solo-authored book, The Golden Thread and the Lineage of the Light, which was It's just a whole evolution of itself. So.

What was it about being involved in the publishing world and the storytelling that you're bringing forth with all the women that finally encouraged you to create your own solo book? Because I, 'cause I've heard other people, right, who had success with a book that they didn't realize they were gonna have success. And then that was what prompted their journey into getting more into the world of publishing other people.

Yeah, I've heard that story too.

That's great.

Yeah, absolutely. Or just the experience They just kind of fall in love with the process of bringing a book into the world and they're like, hey, I don't want to just have this stop. I think it, for me, it was a, my life is always such an extension of who I am. And like my business is an extension of who I am. And writing has always been this opportunity for connection to, it's, you know, been cathartic for me to share openly and vulnerably, to build trust through kind of sharing in a way that is connecting to others. And so it was actually a personal, another personal relationship. And this was like, you know, a couple of years into my divorce and I had this really toxic relationship that taught me so much about boundaries and being discerning and relationship dynamics and how some people, how when we don't resolve our trauma, it can create such a kind of harmful situation for other people inside relationships. So it was, it was one of those things that it wasn't the most important relationship, but it was, it taught me so much about all these things. And so that kind of triggered me to start writing. And long story short, I actually had a vision. And it was a, it was about a month after the relationship had ended. And I was just kind of reeling, trying to learn, kind of coming back to myself. The relationship had really like taken me outside of my own inner knowing. And so I had this vision of a golden thread. It was like a hand, and I never had like a vision like that. And simultaneously I had a vision of like a dam busting loose and me kind of getting caught up. And it was very separate, but it was kind of simultaneous. And I was like, what is this? And what is this golden thread? And within a month of having that vision, I had written probably 75% of the book. So it just really wanted to pour through me. And, um, and then the rest of it was really just showing up. And like, okay, now watch, how am I putting this together? And kind of having to show up and do the things that I, you know, kind of talk to people about, which is like the discipline and having the kind of space to commitment that you, the book deserves. But I think for me it was the, like, the moment that really clicked for me is I think I was getting ready to publish it. I was having some, there was, it was, I was kind of It was kind of take— I was kind of getting in my own way. But then when I decided, I was like, no, I'm doing this. And I like just was able to put everything together so quickly. So it was like all of my experience, it was just this opportunity to see how far I'd come. And like, so I think not that— I think just the experience and skills that I had developed gave me the confidence to be able to not just write, but then publish the book. So that is, I think, kind of what, yeah, how the publishing kind of contributed to the book actually.

Yeah.

Because I think, you know, a lot of times people maybe write a whole manuscript and don't end up publishing it because they don't have the, you know, next step. And I had all the things, I had all the infrastructure, I had all the tools, I had the people I needed to be able to do it really successfully. And so that practice of just continuously writing and staying connected to that and then being prepared and equipped for the publishing side.

Right. Yeah. And have you been in any of your anthologies as well?

Yeah, I've written in all of them. So, okay. Yeah.

Yeah.

So, and so I'm, I'm a writer and I love to write. I love to write for my own marketing and just, I'm also just a prolific journaler. And so communication is just like my kind of So I love to write. So it's, it was such a beautiful opportunity to get to like show up for this book, to pour myself in it, to walk through a lot of the things that I've experienced somewhat on like the anthology side or leading the anthologies. I have heard a lot from the authors I've worked for about like imposter syndrome and self-sabotaging our efforts and all of those things. And I gotta confront all of that. Which is honestly one of my favorite things about the whole journey for authors, because you get to kind of confront some of these things and then you get to keep standing up and moving through it. And we become a different version of ourselves as we write and then publish a book.

Yeah.

I, and I think that that part is so important because what I'm hearing from you is you already had this expertise. You already loved writing. But even making, and you had the skillset, right? But even getting yourself to publish what you had written as a solo, there was still one more level that you had to get through, one more barrier to break.

Absolutely. And it was like the full, you know, it took me about 5 months to have finished the full manuscript, which is pretty fast, but so much of it just came through me so quickly. It was also my first kind of experience with what I think of as creative flow, which isn't something we can necessarily manufacture. It's really just taking It's like opportunity meets inspiration. And so going through the whole process, there were just things that would come up. And, you know, I remember waking up and thinking, oh my gosh, what are people gonna think when I share the— like, there was, you know, some of these things that are so— feel so real inside our bodies. And then I got to like use my techniques to work through it and then be like, okay, I'm ready for the next thing. So yes, there is so much evolution that happens when we put ourselves out there. there when we're sharing like personal truths and, and doing it in a really public way. It's really, really common to have the, is this even good enough? What are people gonna think? Who am I to write a book? And I'm sure you've experienced a lot of that just with your podcast even.

Yeah.

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Yeah, and, and I wonder sometimes, I'm Actually, when we're thinking about anthologies, I've been part of an anthology.

Hmm.

And it is interesting to go through that process because it is a different type of writing, even if it's just a chapter in a book, right?

True.

Yeah. And I finally found that, like, I know what I wanna say, but I just had to start recording it while I was walking my dog because I couldn't sit still long enough to get, I mean, that was the fastest way to get the words onto paper. And then I could organize it and Reframe it, right? Yeah. And I do think sometimes I wonder, are we writing books for ourselves just to get it out of us? Are we writing them for other people? Is it a little bit of both? So, you know, sometimes people say, let's write books for your thought leadership. The same thing people do for podcasts, right? Or any other medium. What would you say the majority of your clients come in with? You know, what is their end thought? And does that change?

Objective? Yeah. I think so many people, like, the thought leadership really, you know, come in because they know that being published is a great way to create authority, distinguish yourself from other people doing similar things, to kind of get on bigger stages or kind of position yourself as a leader. I think that is kind of the surface level. I think a lot of people just have a story they just know they need to share. Like, it's just something that has just been so present for them, and people have told them like, oh my gosh, you should write a book about this. I hear that a lot. I hear people who just, they just have this knowing that this kind of insight or this wisdom or this experience has the opportunity to maybe reach someone else in their kind of dark moment or transfer, you know, the moment they're moving through something. And so I think even though a lot of times people come in for like the surface level, like business objectives, like a marketing tool, what I think happens mostly is that they find so much clarity in understanding their own story that, that ends up trickling into areas of their business, areas of their life, how they relate to their own story.

Is it hard to get stories out of people, right? I'm sure some people come in and have an idea of what they wanna do. Maybe they're partway through and you have to help them shape it and, and figure out what they're actually going to put out, right? And then I'm sure some people are like, I know I have something inside, but I don't know how to get it out or where to start. So what are some things that you do to help authors and what do you recommend?

Yeah, well, I love your tip for narrating it. That is a great tool. That's a great strategy, honestly, because like how we talk and like our kind of brain dump and how we communicate can come out a lot smoother sometimes. So just getting it out that way can be a really effective tool. I also recommend like having someone interview you. It's a great way, especially if you're someone who responds well, instead of having to be like, oh, this has to be this big meaningful thing. It's like sometimes we can say it in a way that is natural and true without overthinking it. I also always, always, always with all of my authors encourage them to start with the end in mind. So a lot of times, even though these are meaningful stories and experiences and depending on what your outcome is, but if it is somewhat related to like business growth or visibility, then kind of knowing where you're bringing the reader, what the next step is, can shape the story in a way that's not only gonna create the clarity for you and give you some of the cathartic, you know, release that sharing it is, but it's also really considering them so that when it's time at the end of your chapter or your book, they know exactly the next step if they feel aligned to working with you. Yeah.

So for somebody who's listening and they know that they have something in, right, but they're maybe afraid to be too vulnerable, what would you say to them?

Hmm. Well, a very wise mentor once told me, write from the wound and share from the scar. And so there is something so palatable about writing through our grief. And sometimes that ends up just being for Sometimes that ends up being something that we decide to share, but I always encourage people to be ready to be past that, to not be holding that kind of grief when they're ready to share it. Because the message of whatever you're receiving from writing it isn't always the message that you actually want to present to the readers or something that you have the hindsight of looking at. So that One of my kind of suggestions for people is write, document, take pictures, journal. If you feel like you have a book in you when you're moving through it, do it. Document, document, document. You'll never be sad that you did that. And even if you don't end up doing something, you know, more like legitimate with it, you're still gonna have that for yourself. And then the other thing is you don't have to share everything. It's okay not to feel like you wanna share something. Some things can be yours. Sometimes you write it and then you take it out, and that's okay too. But I do wanna say that when you do feel aligned to share it, when you're in a place to share it, it's one of the most connecting ways for people to feel camaraderie with you, to build trust, to understand you in a different way, to build dimensions to you, especially when you're a business person and you're operating this way, and then they get to hear this really personal thing. It helps them and see you as a whole human. So it can be incredibly connecting and just this opportunity to like, to speak directly to people who need to hear it. I think it's such a value, but you don't always have to. And there is also a time when it feels more stable and safe to do that.

Do many of your clients come in with a perspective of the book is one part, right? So they may have courses or they may have other things.

Oh, sure.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And have you seen, I'd love to hear, you know, how a book has helped transform in small ways or in large ways, some of the clients that you've worked with.

Yeah, absolutely. I think I kind of touched on it before, the clarity that comes through when you're telling your story, because when you're creating a course or training, or it's very detached from you, even though it may be like, this is your wisdom and this, a lot lot of times you aren't sharing your more personal experiences to include. Sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. But I think when you're writing inside a book, it's this opportunity to have this clarity personally about you. And so that, and then some of the vulnerable pieces that end up coming out when we're writing are different than what we end up kind of how we present ourselves. Oh, the question is how those things lead So I think the clarity ends up trickling into places that we don't always expect. So I've had people who end up writing a chapter and they're like, oh my gosh, I totally am seeing my business differently and how I'm talking about it. So that is like an undercurrent. I think it's kind of hard to, you know, like understand fully, but it has such an impact. And I know business, like people who are in business understand The meaning of that. I think it creates this confidence because when you've done something like write a book, it's like this commitment that you put out there and people have such a high value still for authors and people know the time and energy commitment that it requires. So people will see you in a light, even if they don't end up reading your book, they still will see that book as such an accomplishment and kind of treat you in a way that is maybe a little different. But I think also the confidence inside ourselves. So then, okay, we did this thing, it was scary, we did it anyways. It maybe turned out exactly how we wanted or not at all, and that's okay. We learned a lot through it. Okay, I'm ready for the next thing. It kind of builds the momentum. And I think anytime we're doing, we're putting ourselves out there in new ways, we're doing things that are meaningful, that can feel scary, that we don't feel fully equipped for, we move through that and we become a different version of ourselves in the process.

Yeah.

And so then the next time, the next thing, it's like, oh, I, yeah, I'm gonna do this and I can do this. So it builds that confidence. And then another big thing, especially with the multi-author books and then the author community that I'm building, is having the camaraderie, the networking, the connection with other, you know, heart-centered entrepreneurs, oftentimes doing similar work and connecting, supporting, becoming referral partners, that kind of thing. That's something that has had a very tangible impact, I think, on the authors that I work with.

Yeah, that's wonderful. And how do you choose the topics for your anthologies and make sure that you have the right— that you've curated the right authors for each one?

Yeah, so it's kind of been a mix. A lot of the anthologies have just been like, this is something that is really like sparked inside me and something I would love to talk about. I wanna have these conversations. Sometimes it's conversations I like keep coming up and I'm like, oh my gosh, I need to put a book together around this. And then also I partner with publishing partners who are kind of putting their vision behind the book and I'm supporting them in creating that anthology. So that's more of just supporting them and kind of creating that framework. But it's kind of a, it's a, it's a mixed bag of my interest, kind of my intuition, the kind of pattern recognition of things I'm hearing, and then kind of what do I think would be a great book?

Nice.

Yeah.

And obviously the market has, you know, shifted where yes, there are traditional publishers, but you can self-publish, you can have an Audible, If you self-publish, there are, you, you can have every version of the book. Are there, uh, and then of course we have technology and AI and all, all that whole side of things. Are there any specific trends that you see happening right now in independent publishing and personal story-driven branding, or are there any things that you hope to see in the next few years?

Oh my gosh, it's changing so quick. It's hard. It's hard.

I know.

Yes, it's hard to kind of be able to, but like audiobook production is easier than ever. I mean, a lot of books on Amazon have an opportunity to, for free on Amazon, they will create your audiobook using AI. Yeah. So that, you know, the whole production and whether or not that's the route you decide to go may or may not be aligned with you and your brand and what you're trying to put out. But that opportunity, that's huge, explosive. I feel like because people are so getting so kind of trained on like short-form content, social media, like quick hits that a lot of times, especially for like business books, like you don't need a big massive, like not like the more succinct and direct you can get, give people kind of that quick hit, the more effective people, the more effective the book is for you and kind of what you're trying to do, the more likely people are going to be to read it. So I do think that. just the nature of social media and how we consume content has kind of changed the way we even consume a book, for example. So I do think that is something, not to say that people still don't want to get lost in a long novel and, you know, but there's, it's, it kind of depends on the type of book too. I think both the publishing, the, the, you know, the gatekeeping has pretty much just is gone as far as people being able to express themselves in books and publish those books. Now it's kind of a question of the quality of the book. And then the second question is authors having— I don't think this is necessarily new, but I think it's still so relevant, is you still have to be your book's number one spokesperson. And you have to drive interest and use it as a tool and do whatever it is that you set out to do A lot of people write a book and think, okay, I did it. And it's like, oh, you're just getting started.

Yeah.

So, so I think that's a big thing. And I just think things are shifting so quickly. But I do— people still love books. People still hold books in such high regard. And there is something really satisfying about having your full published book in your hand, I will tell you that.

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Yeah, I think it's a mixed bag and I always work with my clients based on like kind of who they are as individuals. I've worked with authors who don't have any interest on being on social media and And social media is a great tool for visibility and connecting with new readers, but that's not the only way. So I worked with one author and she loved to write. That's what she loved to do. And so she ended up creating a Substack to connect with her audience. So, so there's different, you know, kind of like modalities and ways, different platforms. So connecting with the one that feels kind of authentic to you. I think that Social media can be an incredible tool, but you have to know how to use it effectively because just because you post about your book doesn't mean people are actually going to do the thing to click and end up purchasing it. So you kind of have to play with kind of your unique skills and personality and what you enjoy. I love coming on podcasts. It's enjoyable to me. I love connecting with the host. I love communicating what I'm saying verbally. So this is a great tool for me. So I think the important For authors is to just find the strategy and then be consistent enough to keep showing up for it. Not that it's necessarily like a one-size-fits-all, but kind of to find the path. And then it is something that has to, you know, whether either you are outsourcing that to a marketing team for you or you're doing that yourself, someone has to have the attention of, we're showing up for this. We have the intention of leading people to the book, of leading people to the author, and kind of creating Yeah.

I, I love though that you're still rooted in this authenticity and the, the personal experience, right? So, you do need to put yourself out there, but it doesn't have to be the same thing for everybody because it's exhausting, just like keeping up with every trend and everything going on right now, thinking about if you have different social media accounts depending on your books, right? You have your personal account to keep up with friends and family and everything else. It can be really difficult to know where to focus our attention on and what's actually going to be the biggest driver.

Yeah, it really can be. And it can just create burnout and exhaustion where you don't do anything, and that's not a great outcome either. And I just, I love to help authors connect with a way of sharing their book that they really enjoy, because I think that's going to have the most sustainable outcome for them. And so kind of finding the platform or, you know, whatever it is, I think is, or, you know, the way that they're sharing that feels good, that they're kind of excited to share from. I think that is going to create way more opportunities and connections than just doing something out of some kind of idea of obligation that this is like a checklist. I'm going through the motions. Sometimes we have to be on the checklist, right? But when it's in a realm of things that you genuinely enjoy, it makes it easier.

I wanna go back to your daughters and that moment when you moved from corporate into, you know, being able to start your VA company and also be there for your daughters and then having them see you go through this transition with the divorce and also starting a book company.

Yeah.

What is that like? I would love to hear a little bit about What have you seen your daughters say or do because they saw that mom was able to achieve these things?

Yeah, I'll, I'll never forget when I was getting ready to publish Mystics Reveal, the first anthology. And really that first year, so much of like life kind of came to a halt. And that was like the thing that I was just like, okay, if I can do this one thing, because there's needing a lot of space for healing and all those things. So it had taken a lot of my attention and I kind of let myself just say like, I'm not okay, and I'm not just gonna keep going through the motions, which is like a whole nother conversation because I think it's so valuable. But my daughter, it was, she, my youngest daughter was at her kindergarten Christmas show and she had made a flyer because she wanted to hand out to everyone that I had this book coming out. Oh my God, that's so sweet. She still, she brought it up not too long ago. She was like, remember when I did that? And she's like, oh, I've always been your number one cheerleader. So, so I think, geez, it's hard to say, and I don't necessarily want to speak for them, but I can tell you that the mother I've become is someone who has so much more space and intentional presence with them. And it's also a woman who is is capable of feeling the full spectrum of emotions and have, may have been able to process it in a way that is beneficial for the people that I'm interacting with. And I think that they get to see me showing up for work that is so meaningful to me, that feels so connected to me, and I hope that that gives them permission to do the thing that doesn't always make sense. Because sometimes our calling doesn't, sometimes our passion, sometimes the path we take isn't the path that everyone expected us to take. And so I think that, and yeah, I don't know. That's a— I feel like I have to ask them that question, but it's funny. So my oldest daughter, is 24 now. And she, right before she was 18 when my ex-husband and I divorced. So it was a really kind of like impactful time for her. But right before that, she was going to school and she had, she went with the intention of becoming a nurse. And she had done some like paramedic training stuff in high school and, like, had the certification, and that was, like, the path. And I'll never forget, one day she said to me— we were talking about if we won the lottery. Like, there was a big lottery, and we're like, oh, what would we do? And she said, oh, I would be a PE teacher. And I was like, what? Well, you don't have to win the lottery to be a PE teacher.

Yeah.

And so, I really encouraged her. I said, oh, my gosh, if that's what you want to do, that's what, you know, you should do. She hadn't even started college yet. So she did. She just graduated with her teaching degree in the spring, and she's working her first year as a PE teacher. And she is so, she is so well fitted for that role. And I am so, so proud that she followed her heart, her own. You know, sometimes we have a lot of reasons why we should do something, but like, if you have this part of you that's like whispering, oh, this, this, this, Please, please, please listen to it. And so I think that kind of sums up the mother, the type of mom I am. I'm always going to encourage you to follow your own inner wisdom and your own intuition, your own passion. Not to say we don't have to do the practical and right things sometimes too, but please trust that that will guide you to the places that are going to be the most rewarding.

And that's a callback to another thing that you said earlier, which is that everything you do is an extension of who you are because you're talking about yourself as a mother, but that's also who you work with and how you lead your business.

Yeah.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. Which is, it's like such a conundrum for me because sometimes it's like, I love that. And sometimes it's like, oh, it's so, it's so personal, you know?

But, um, yeah, but I, I think that's what we get, we give our best, right? And we show who we are and people can say, yes, that's for me or no, that's not for me. And that's okay because that attracts the right energy to us.

Yes.

And I think there's such a, in, when you present yourself and you say, this is who I am and you don't try to like create a facade or this perfect image of, and people really have a real understanding Them picking you is usually very intentional. They're choosing this for a reason. They're choosing it. And I am such a big believer in giving people opportunity for choice because that gives us sovereignty. When we have information that we need to know, then we get to make a decision. If this is, you know, that goes for relationships, that goes for business, that goes for everything. The more transparent, the more honest we can be in presenting what it is, the more opportunity, people can actually choose with an emphatic, yes, this is what I want, which makes in business just the connections, the relationships. I was on another podcast and they were asking the challenges I had with working with authors, and I couldn't really think of any because the people I work with are very aligned with who I am. Not to say there's not challenges that come up, but difficult authors or Like, not really. It doesn't, it's not like something that is like something that I have to like deal with a lot of times. So I think the aligned authors, the aligned clients, when you can really say, this is who I am, and people can in their own sovereignty and having the information choose, it's always going to be a more aligned connection. Yeah.

Yeah, it truly is. And I think, I mean, when I look at your website, the, the words just jump out at me, right? Write the story only you can tell. You work with soul-led creators, you have writing retreats, you have an inspired author circle, you have the multi-author books, you have the boutique publishing. So you have a little bit of something for everybody, but it's all still in that same vein of, you know, exactly who you're for when you look at what you do.

Oh, thank you. I appreciate that. I I appreciate insight. And I think, yeah, it just goes to that. I'm just, I've always seen my business as an extension of me, like for better or for worse. And not to say everyone needs to, because I don't think some people really want to have this kind of a little bit more of a wall in their pride. That's fine too. Like it's not, but for me, it's always been like, this is what I believe. These are the things that are most important to me. And whether I have my publishing hat on or my, you know, I'm driving the kids around as a mom, they're still, those things still carry through. So I think at the very least, like really as far as like branding or marketing perspective is like being really like, who, who are you a stand for? What are you a stand for? And like, why, why does it matter? I think being clear on that is always gonna be a gift for you and the people that you could work with.

Absolutely. So can you talk a little bit about the differences between ways people can be involved with what you're doing? If something, if they're resonating right with our conversation?

Yeah.

What's a good starting point?

Yeah.

So they are welcome to check out my website. And it kind of breaks down the different ways that you can work with me. I do have an aligned author circle that meets monthly for authors, aspiring authors, anyone from writing to marketing, to connecting, to networking. So come and join. It's a live call on Zoom monthly where authors can join and just get the kind of more specific support that, that might need. That's a great kind of first step. You can connect with me on social media. I'm pretty, I'm pretty active on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube a little bit, and TikTok a little bit less. But I, you know, the, the thing about me is I don't ever wanna feel like I'm like a slave to the algorithm. So sometimes I'm super present, sometimes not so much, but that's a really, really good way to connect with me and stay in the loop on what kind of I'm working on right now. now, as well as just my own personal kind of insights and things that I share. And then I have several free resources, but I'm trying to think. I've updated my website a few times now, and I don't know if there's any. I don't think any of them are super visible on my website, but if you reach out to me, I do have several resources. If you have a book in mind and you're not exactly sure, like, you know, you wanna write a book, I have a book blueprint activation session, which is a great first step. And basically it's us coming together, kind of framing out the book, having the themes that you're going to be writing about, the blueprint, getting into some of the deeper questions about like why you're writing it, who you're writing it for, and then like the momentum and the schedule for making that come into fruition. So that's a really good like first step. And if you have a full book, but feel free to reach out to me on email. You can find my email on my website if you just have a question, and always open to connecting and having a conversation and finding the right kind of pathway. Or maybe it's not with me. Maybe I just need to recommend you to someone else, which happens sometimes too. Nice. Yeah.

And we will have all of your links in the show notes for everybody. So I always do ask, do you have a favorite book, right, that you're reading, or do you have a favorite poem, motto, you know, verse, words that continue to inspire you to be your true authentic self and continue doing what you do?

I think, I feel like it's kind of an echo of what you just said is just know thyself, find opportunities to know yourself personally, professionally, relationally. When carve out intentional time to understand themselves better, they become more aligned with the work, the relationships, the experiences that they're meant to have. So I just encourage you to be curious about yourself in your life and be a lifelong learner in that pursuit.

Thank you, Nicolette. I, you know, I think all of this is so important no matter what we're doing For work, we all do have a story, and whether we wanna just write it to get it out of ourselves for our, you know, just for ourselves, our own edification, or whether we do want to use it to inspire others and connect with others, there's a lot to think about. And I think the most important thing is starting somewhere. And you've definitely given us some thoughts and some resources on ways we can start getting that story out and connect with others. others who are doing the same. So thank you for being here and having this conversation. I always love talking to moms, especially when we've had different life experiences that have brought us to where we are today.

Yeah, I think we could probably have a whole nother conversation around that. It sounds like—

yeah, absolutely. Yeah.

Thank you so much for having me. This was such a great conversation. I appreciate you having me on and giving me the space to talk about the things that are so meaningful.

Yeah. And, and I do wanna give a quick plug for your book. Do you wanna talk a little bit about The Golden Thread and the Lineage of the Light? You, I, you talked about how you wrote it, you know, it came to you, but it's not, you know, it's a little bit of a mythic memoir is what you're calling it. Yes.

Yes. I'm calling it, I kind of coined the phrase. I feel a lot of people are like, I've never heard that.

I'm like, exactly.

That's why I called it that. It's funny because I wrote the book as a fiction, even though it was based on my own story. And I think writing it that way kind of gave me like, I was detached enough to share things and go places that maybe if I thought I was like presenting it as me felt a little bit too close for comfort. But by the end, I had realized I didn't say anything about like the person that I had like envisioned was the— and so I was like, this is my story, I'm owning it. But I wrote it that way because a lot of the things that I had experienced were so hard to kind of, for even me to understand that I thought a lot of people aren't gonna believe or, or understand. kind of these things. Like, a lot of people aren't gonna believe this if I tell them the way that I experienced it. And the book itself, it was kind of triggered from this kind of really tumultuous relationship. But the, the real theme of the book is how we lose ourselves inside relationships and how we can build self-trust back so that we can be have a more firmer ground underneath us. And it explores, you know, elements of spirituality, how we are supported in understanding symbology and kind of what is under— like there's more than meets the eye sometimes, what's going on under the surface, how, you know, how supported we are and the amazing path when we understand how supported and trust it, how things can come together in a really miraculous way. So if anyone is curious, I would love for you to check out my book and give me some feedback, leave me an Amazon review. That would mean the world to me.

Okay, fantastic. Yeah, more conversations to come, whether they are just the two of us or whether they're with Mike Sinner.

I would love that. Yeah, sounds wonderful.

Yeah. And thank you to everybody who's watched this episode or listened to it on your favorite platform. Please leave us a rating review, check out Nicolette's links. I think this is a time when we all need to really be thinking about who we are. There's so many changes going on in the world, whether it's politics or tech or anything else.

And so it's a confusing conundrum for some time.

So being really centered and rooted in who we are is such a gift. Yeah, absolutely.

It's a gift for us and the world. So absolutely.

I love that. Fantastic. Well, I'll be back again with another amazing guest to share their story and their journey very soon. Until then, take Thanks for listening or watching to this episode of Your Brand Amplified. Don't forget to leave us a rating or review on your favorite podcast listening platform, and if you want to learn more, check us out at yourbrandamplified.com.

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