Looking for the Gaps: Turn Obstacles Into Opportunity

Instead of looking for the problem or continually complaining and blaming about obstacles, what about if we looked for the ways through and we focused on what works instead? Just based off this intuitive knowing that this was gonna be the thing in which I was gonna build a career, I went to, um, study an undergrad in psychology and then went on to do another 2 degrees specializing in positive psychology.

What a mind-blowing story. Seeing how passionate you are about positive psychology, you clearly did trust your gut. And listen to your intuition and went in a path that was right for you. Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Your Power Move by PassionFit. I'm Reena Vokoun, your host, and I am so excited about my latest guest for today. Her name is Nick Pidgeon and she is an award-winning international positive psychologist. She has an amazing online continuing education academy called Unstoppable Success, where she has worked with tens of thousands of clients all over the world to help them with their positive mindset and psychology so that they can be successful in all aspects of their lives. She's also an award-winning author, um, with books from Hay House, and she has literally spoken on stages all over the world. I am so thrilled to introduce you to her, and I had the honor of being on her podcast recently as well. Um, and so I just wanted to welcome you, uh, Nic, to the podcast.

Well, thanks for having me. I'm so excited to, to have this conversation today.

I am as well. Um, you have such an amazing background and we were just joking before, um, we started recording that every time I talk to you, you're in a different city and a different part of the world. So if you could share with our viewers and listeners a little bit about your background and how you got to where you are today, I think everybody would love to hear it.

Yeah, so my— I've been working in positive psychology for the last 17 years, which makes me feel so old. And I've also been running online businesses for that same length of time, but that wasn't originally what I was supposed to do. So I actually got two scholarships to study mechanical and automotive engineering at university. I wanted to work in Formula One and work on the cars. I studied maths and physics. My dad kept telling me, "You know, you need to get a job where you can be a girl in a man's world, and you will get paid more. You will have a better career trajectory, and you will make £30,000 a year, Nik." I was like, "Yes, 30K. Yeah, I can do this." Then I had this experience when I was probably 18 years old, and I was living in Australia. So I have always had the travel bug. Apparently. I was living in Australia at the time, and my partner, who was a professional athlete, came home from a sports psychology session. And he said to me, "Nic, the guy had me like laying on the couch and practicing this thing called visualization. And he told me to close my eyes and imagine that I was on the cricket field and I had the bat in my hand and I was going to hit the ball. And he said to me, 'Don't look at the fielders.'" 'Look for the gaps in between them instead.' And I was just like, 'Oh my goodness.' Like, imagine if we applied that to life and not just to sport. And instead of looking for the problems or continually complaining and blaming about obstacles, what about if we look for the ways through and we focused on what works instead? So from that one conversation, I cancelled my degrees. Everybody thought I was crazy. I had never studied psychology in my life. And I went to study an undergrad in psychology and then went on to do another 2 degrees specializing in positive psychology, just based off this intuitive knowing that this was going to be the thing in which I was going to build a career. So it could have gone horribly wrong, but I'm glad that I'm here to tell a positive story and a good outcome from that.

What a mind-blowing story. I am just so— fascinated and intrigued by how that one conversation really changed the trajectory of your career. And clearly you are smart, you're very educated, you could have gone in either direction and been successful. Um, but seeing how passionate you are about positive psychology, I mean, just even hearing it in your voice, you clearly did trust your gut and, uh, listen to your intuition and went in a path that was right for you. And I think that is something that's not easy to do. There are a lot of people that take the path that they think they should, that's going to to give them the most security and the most financial stability and all of those things. But yeah, I mean, if you take a bet and a chance on yourself, and like you said, just that one conversation with your partner at the time, I mean, what amazing, not only athletic training, but life training. I'm curious, do you yourself participate in sports or was athletics ever a part of your life as well?

I mean, great question. I do now. But I did not when I was younger. So I actually grew up and I got bullied really badly in PE. And it was kind of like the bullies could not get me when I was in a normal academic classroom environment. But as soon as the teachers were out of the way and it was a little bit more relaxed, that is when they could get to me. And when I was— goodness, when I was 11 years old, I actually had a suicide attempt. And it was because of that PE class. So I associated— I put the two things together and I thought sport means distress and struggle and it's not safe. So I went through high school absolutely hating sport, really, really hating it and dreading it. It was only when I found a love for running that I fell completely head over heels in love with physical activity and working out. So those 3 psychology degrees, they actually all have a specialism in physical activity or in sport. So the first one is with sports science. Then I went on to teach and lecture sports science and psychology. And then the master's degree is positive psychology with a specialism in physical activity, because we know that when you move your body, you move your mood. So it's almost like this little kid had this separation experience, this mean girl, high school, horrible, scary, like fear of, like, unsafety, being judged and rejection. But it's like I came back to myself through exercise and through movement and through the confidence that moving your body can give you. And I just think that's such a beautiful thing because I went on to train as a personal trainer. I managed a gym, I ran a marathon a couple of years ago, and I never thought I would be the girl that said I could do those things.

Yeah. Wow. That's— I mean, I'm so sorry, first of all, that you had to go through that experience. You know, I think that's a really important message that you shared about bullying and the impact that it can have on young kids, teenagers, or at any stage of life. So I'm really proud of you for getting through that tough period. And, you know, that probably did affect your mental health in such a profound way that maybe that also sparked your interest in psychology, especially positive psychology. And then obviously with, you know, hating sports and athletics, but then somehow, you know, facing that fear head-on and turning it into, you know, education and physical activity and pursuits in physical activity that have given you that confidence. I mean, it's almost like that situation, I don't want to say that it was meant to happen, but it happened happened for some reason in your life to really shape you into who you are today. And I hope anybody listening or watching out there can, you know, hopefully, you know, recognize that even if you're in a tough situation and you are being bullied, there are better days ahead, right? And you can turn it around and come out on the other side and learn from those experiences. And hopefully all of those people that bullied you in the past grew up and matured and learned from their experiences as well. But wow, I mean, that was one of the next questions I was going to ask you is to tell tell us about a challenging time in your life and how you overcame it. To me, that sounds like one of the biggest ones. But if you have any others that you would like to share, whether it was through childhood, teenage years, or even in your career as you started your business.

There's been a lot. How long do we have? And I think that it's something that we don't talk about enough because there's something that happens, especially in the world of entrepreneurship and coaching. Everyone focuses on the successes, they focus on the highlights. And so we should, we should celebrate what is good. And we have to get connected and get honest and get vulnerable with each other about what it actually feels like sometimes behind the scenes. Because when you are trying to handle things on your own and you feel like it is so difficult, or it is maybe bringing up shame that you have not done a good job at something, or things are going wrong and you are not necessarily coping as well as you would hope, There's nothing quite like a friend or somebody, a peer who's in a, in the same line of work to turn around and say, "Don't worry, I get it. I was there too." That has been one of the most healing phrases I have heard, because when you realize that you're not on your own and you realize that these hard times don't just happen to you, you kind of let go of some of the tension and the resistance around them. So when you shared before and you said on some level I was supposed to have that childhood experience, I fully agree with that. So I wrote a book a couple of years ago, my second book, and it was a book about hope. So it's about how to build mental and emotional resiliency so that you can get through challenging times when they arrive, because they will arrive. The difference the opportunity that we have is to choose how we navigate them, to choose what context we hold through them, and to decide how resourced we are going to make ourselves before we actually end up experiencing them. So when I was writing that book, it was born from the— I lost 3 of my best friends who died by suicide. And that's like, it's, it's It's a lot of people to lose, right, to the same thing in the same city in the UK. And it got to the point where I thought, you know what, there is a purpose in this and it doesn't make any sense why this is happening. And it's called suicide contagion theory. So once one person dies by suicide and then it's on the news or it's in a high school, it can kind of go viral in the worst possible way. So I started doing research and I got really curious around this message of suicide and what we could do about it. And there was so much amazing research that was buried and had never been brought forwards before to show that actually positive psychology is not just powerful for the days when you want to go from good to great, but it actually helps on the really, really difficult, hard days as well. So this was during COVID It was 2020. I remember going on a hike, listening to an audiobook, and all of these epiphanies and aha moments. I was like, how does nobody know this information? I need to tell the whole world. So I started writing the book, and it had come from that place of a lot of grief, a lot of loss. And what I remembered and realized through writing the book was actually my grandmother. When I was growing up, she used to say to me, Nick, I've been volunteering at the Samaritans. And, you know, like they call up and the people are calling and they're about to actually make a decision to end their life. And she said to me, you know, darling, they don't want to end their life. They just need someone to talk to. So it brought me full circle to realize that it's not just been my soul's purpose, but my grandmother, she volunteered for the Samaritans for 30 years, and it's in my lineage. And it felt so special that we can transform that pain into purpose. And that book has helped save so many lives now as well.

That is absolutely incredible. And yeah, for you to have gone through— again, sorry for your loss of your friends and the fact that you can take that and try to help so many other people around the world and have that connection with your grandmother is, is so important. And, and you're right. I think sometimes it is, and your grandmother's right. Sometimes it's just a matter of talking things through and feeling understood. Like you were even saying about being an entrepreneur, right? Um, it can be exciting and exhilarating, but it's also a very difficult path. It's, it can be a lonely path, right? I get it. I'm an entrepreneur. I left a corporate career to do this as well and took a chance and followed my own intuition against probably what I was also raised to do with the stable careers and all of that stuff. So that really resonated with me as well. And having community, whether you're an entrepreneur, whether you are going through COVID, whether you're going through your own internal struggle— struggles, whether you're a kid in PE class, right? I think having people to understand you and to feel that support, and also experts like yourself to shift— teach people how to shift their mindset out of a bad place to a more positive one. You're right, it's not just going from good to great. But sometimes it can be for survival for people. So it is such an important topic. It's an important field. And I really just wanted to thank you for the amazing work that you're doing and the lives that you're impacting through that work.

Thank you.

Yeah. So if you look at whether it's the last 17 years or even a larger part of your life, was there a pivotal year? And again, you've alluded to some really big life-changing moments. So it could be within one of those years or Is there another year that just really shaped your life into what it is today?

I would say 2015. So 2015 was a surprise in many ways. It was the year that I decided I was going to leave the UK and I was going to write my first book. Now, I kind of decided that I was going to leave in the middle of the year. So my birthday is at the start of June. I thought, that will be a good time. I will have my birthday and then I will go.. And before my birthday, I actually won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in my hometown in the UK. And it was such a shock to me. I went to the awards. I took my dad with me because him and I had got super close. He had just gone through a triple heart bypass and heart valve replacement. My dad would normally never come to anything with me, but in that particular moment I said, Dad, let us go and support all of the people that have been nominated. Not thinking I would ever win anything. And then I ended up winning the Breakthrough Barriers Award and the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. And it was such a shock because people in my city had nominated me for that. And it was a time where I'd been working so hard and I'd been doing a lot of stuff for free and I'd been pouring into people. And I was thinking, can I even do this? Like, am I actually insane to think that I can be an entrepreneur. And just having that, almost like people see you, people are celebrating you, people believe in you. It was the biggest boost that I didn't know that I needed. And it gave me almost like this springboard to launch energetically and with more certainty when I left the UK. So I went on my little around the world trip. I went to Australia to start off with. Started writing my book and entered the Hay House Writers Workshop. So that is a competition where you can win a book deal. And I was so determined to win the book deal that I entered in the UK before I left. And then when I got to Australia, I entered in Australia as well. So then I had two chances to win. And I ended up winning the UK Writers Workshop. So again, it was like this big boost, thing that I had been wanting for so many years, having grown up reading Gregg Braden books and Louise Hay books as a teenager. Now I was like in the family and I got to write this book about positive psychology. So I decided that I was going to spend 3 months doing that. I was going to take my business fully online, launch a group coaching program, and life would be good. I had seen everybody on the internet making these things, $10K months.. And I was like, I'm going to do that. I'm going to make a $10K month. This girl from Newcastle who'd never done that in her life. So I learned how to do Facebook ads, set up this group coaching program, launched it. Everything went to plan apart from the sales part of it. So I had one person sign up to the group coaching program, which is not a group. So I was in a place where I was like, oh my goodness, I'm going to have to go back to the UK. I can't do this. And everyone around me at that time was seeing what I was putting myself through. They were seeing me writing the book for free at the time. They were seeing me build these marketing campaigns, build this course, and then none of it work yet. But I just knew inside me, I was— I just, you know, when you have that feeling, I knew it was, it was more than just a decision. It was like this knowing in all of my being that this was going to work out. So I ended up doing what I would teach other people to do and working on my mind first. And I would put in a Marianne Williamson podcast or some sort of spiritual podcast, and I'd go walking for hours. And it was the winter across there, so it was raining, and I just put my hood up and I'd go walk. And I was priming my mind whilst also taking action in the business. And I managed to transform my reality from having sold my car, moved out of my apartment, gone to the other side of the world, and invested all of my money into a coach to the point where I actually had to borrow money from a friend to make it happen. So I was minus $1,100 at the time, and I put all of my energy into this and made the decision it was going to work., and I went from -1,100 to $35,000 in the first 35 days. I then went on to make $100K in 100 days, and that was how I ended 2015. I then left Australia and I moved to Los Angeles where I spent the next 10 years. So that year was a pretty big year.

I would say so. Wow. I mean, just hearing this story is just Fascinating and compelling. And, um, it just goes to show that award was really the, um, sort of the kickoff to all of these things that were yet to come. Um, and, and it is funny how when you are an entrepreneur or in any profession, sometimes you need validation when you don't even realize that you need it. And, and of course, yes, and positive psychology will tell us that we need to have our own internal validation, right? And have our own internal confidence. It has to come from within, which is true. But at the same time, to be able to be recognized when you're putting all your blood, sweat, and tears into your business and you're not seeing the results, I'm sure that that was just, like you said, a huge boost that you needed to really catapult you into where you are today. And I mean, to take you from the UK to Australia to Los Angeles, I mean, I mean, 3 amazing places with, um, you know, just different environments, different areas for you to learn and grow. I mean, what a launching pad and what a huge year for you. That's amazing. Thank you for sharing that. And as you know, Nick, this podcast is called Your Power Move. And even just from the stories that you've shared so far, I know you have a lot of them probably tucked away in your back pocket. But power moves are, as you know, they're basically these little micro actions that we take in those moments when we're feeling down and out, we're burnt out, we're stressed, maybe we're feeling hopeless about a situation, or just even a task that we have to get done because we're just, you know, too exhausted to even get out of bed in the morning. And so that power move is that small little micro action that we can take to really help motivate us to then take the next step and the next step and then to keep going. So I'm curious, what is one of your major power moves that you use? It could be obviously a, you know, psychology tool that you have from all of your years of training, a physical tool from, you know, your time as a personal trainer and running a marathon or something else. But I think our listeners and viewers could really benefit from hearing what what your power move is.

I love this question, and it's so valid because some— on some days you don't want to pick up a journal and journal for 30 minutes, or you don't want to go and do the hour workout. You need something that is so accessible that you're actually going to start. So for me, it is the breathwork patterns from Kundalini Yoga. I've been practicing for 14 years, and it's been the best all-in-one hack for my life and business. And it literally has transformed the way that I feel. It's helped my nervous system, it's helped my energy, just everything. And one of the practices that I love, 3 minutes in the morning, it's called the Ego Eradicator breath pattern. And it is, it's a rapid inhale and exhale through the nose. So it boost your energy and you have your hands in the air, you're going to YouTube it and you can see all of the tutorials. That is a game changer. And I always say, like, I would rather people get consistent with something that's short, simple, and easy rather than try and do this full-on morning ritual that's perfect that they do once or twice or 3 times and then they never do again because it feels so difficult. So 3 minutes a day, and that is is completely transformational.

I love it. And I'm a huge fan of breathwork and meditation and yoga myself. I practice it, I teach it, um, so I, I know the power of it. And you're right, because that is something that is simple, but the transformation that can have— it can have on your body and mind to really help motivate you or reduce stress or fear or anxiety or whatever it is. You even mentioned the ego. I think sometimes the ego isn't just the side of us that Wants to be complimented and think we're great. Or, you know, it's also, I think, the mask for the insecurity and fear that people have underneath, right? So if you can cut through the ego and get into that fear or whatever it is that's holding you back, that's really where the magic happens. Um, so I love that. I think that is a wonderful power move and I hope people will look it up on YouTube, um, and try it themselves. That's, that's great advice. And I guess when you look at, you mentioned 2015 was a big year. We're in half, I cannot believe it, halfway through 2026 almost. Where do you see yourself in the next 10 years? What does the next decade look like for you?

Wow, that is a long time. Where do I see myself next week? I mean, I've got a couple of other books that I'm writing at the minute. So there'll be a business book that's coming out. So Unstoppable Success, which I'm really looking forward to. And then I've got another one lined up after that. But what really excites me is the potential impact that we can have through positive psychology. So as you mentioned, I have the Academy, which is a certification program, and I want to get that out to, to train 10,000 coaches. And I'll tell you why, because I know that when one person is coached in positive psychology, that person goes on to influence 135 people. So it's a positive emotional contagion effect to counteract the other suicide contagion effect that I mentioned earlier on, because suicide impacts 135 people too. So 135 people positively impacted. If I can train 10,000 coaches, they then have 1,000 clients each. That activate the 135-person ripple effect, that's over a billion people that are impacted just 3 layers deep. Because I know I can't get the work out into the world on my own, so I need leaders to take it out and to coach people and to help transform lives. So that is big picture vision. I also love the work that I do in government, raising awareness and going into the and the Senate and things like that. Because as well as us as entrepreneurs having like the bottom-up approach where we're working with clients one-to-one or in our groups, I also really want to do more to affect policy change and have the bottom-up approach but also have the top-down approach as well.

Absolutely. Well, those are some big, huge goals, and I know that you are going to reach them. And I did read that about you, about reaching a billion people. So, I mean, that is basically a masterclass in how to scale, right? And scale not just for the purposes of your business, but scale for the greater good and the impact that you want to have with humans in the world, which I know is your top priority. That's my top priority as well. And I think when you can come from that place of humanity, the effect that you can have, the legacy that you can leave is that much greater. So I salute you. I wish you all the best in this amazing, amazing pursuit. And I know you will hit it.

Thank you.

Of course. Yeah. And is there anything that people do not know about you? Maybe a fun fact, Nick, that you can share with us?

Yes. I mean, I always say I am like 50% genius and 50% complete disaster. So I am literally so clumsy. And I also have ADHD. So a couple of friends came to stay with me recently, and they were like, Nick, it is hilarious just watching you go through life because you try and leave the house, and it takes you 3 times to leave the house. So as well as being a high-functioning, high-performer as an entrepreneur, I'm always constantly balancing and managing the nuances of having ADHD as well. And sometimes that's frustrating. A lot of times it's hilarious. So that's the thing.

Wow. Well, it makes you unique and special, and it's probably just humbling and keeps you balanced Yeah, in your life.

Never a dull day.

Never a dull day. That's right. It sounds like your friends find it quite entertaining as well. Well, that's amazing that you're able to manage all of that, and your self-awareness and your honesty is much appreciated. I think, as you mentioned earlier at the beginning of the conversation, the more we can be open and honest about struggles and challenges, I think the more people can really feel like they relate and that they're not alone. And that's really what I also hope to get out of these conversations with others and and even the solo episodes that I do myself. So thank you for, again, sharing so vulnerably and authentically with all of us today.

Of course, thank you for having me.

Of course. So Nick, where can people find you? You are such a fascinating person. I know people are gonna wanna learn more about you and your work and your positive psychology and your mission to reach a billion people. So tell us how we can find you.

So I love to hang out the most on Instagram. So I'm fond of a voice note over there. I'm @nickpidge. And I am on stages all around the world speaking. So that is why I am never in one place. And then my website is nickpidgeon.com.

Wonderful. And we are going to have that all in the show notes. And I am curious, I am a June birthday as well. When is your birthday?

Oh, June 4th. When is yours?

Okay, June 13th. So we are fellow—

Gemini.

Fellow Geminis. Yes. Amazing. Very similar. I sense that similar energy. Just, you know, big dreams, big goals, people, you know, people, people, um, extroverts, all the things.

Amazing. I love it.

Well, thank you so much. This has been such a joy and such a pleasure to have you on the podcast, and I'm looking forward to sharing, uh, this episode out with the world and all of your contact information. And yeah, everybody listening and tuning in, we will be back with another episode of Your Power Move by PassionFit very soon. This is actually our last guest interview of season 1, and we're going to take just a little summer break and we will be back with season 2 in the fall. So after June, we will not have any episodes in July and August because we are going to be working hard on prepping for the new season. But then you can expect your next, uh, guest and solo episodes again starting in September. So thank you for tuning in. Please feel free to subscribe and rate and review and tell your family and friends. And until next time, thanks so much. Reena Vokoun.