In this month’s Juliette Interviews, I had the pleasure of doing a virtual Q and A with motivational speaker, business coach and positive psychologist, Niyc Pidgeon.
JH: Tell us a little bit about your business. How did it come about?
NP: Well… funny story… when I left high school I was actually headed for a career in mechanical and automative engineering – something completely unrelated to what I’m doing now! I changed my career path entirely aged 18 when I had an insight into the world of psychology from my boyfriend at the time, who was a professional cricket player. A sports psychologist had asked him to focus on the gaps in between the fielders when playing the game, instead of focusing on the fielders themselves. I loved this story and think it applies to our lives – why focus on problems when you can focus on opportunities instead!? So I changed my path and went I on to study positive psychology at university in the UK to masters level, and have had businesses for the last 10 years too. My company, Unstoppable Success, was born out of my love for supporting the realisation of human potential through positive psychology and entrepreneurship. I tried and tested motivational events, private coaching, and even a supplements company, before I launched Unstoppable Success in 2015. Since then we’ve grown to a million dollar+ company, and have helped other women entrepreneurs make more than $17 million in their businesses. We support women entrepreneurs through our masterminds, online courses, live events, and personal coaching.
JH: You have also written an amazing book called Now Is Your Chance. Tell us more about that and what the experience was like to write and publish your own story.
NP: Now Is Your Chance is my little baby! Someone dubbed it “the bible for happiness” which is super cool – it’s a 30-day guide to living your happiest life using positive psychology, it became a best seller overnight, and won an award for psychology book of the year in 2017 too. I’ve always loved writing and knew I wanted to write a book that helps people see and think differently – it teaches the power of self awareness and getting present in the now, and is fully backed up by the scientific references from positive psychology in the back of the book too. Writing the proposal for the book is actually the most challenging part of the process – once you have your book deal you’re able to get into your creative flow so much more. I write well when I block off days at a time, rather than writing a little bit every day like other people do. My friend actually wrote a book about willpower and taught that you should write in the first few hours as soon as you wake up when your willpower is strongest – but I can’t do that! I’m a “book a nice hotel for a long weekend and go bang the entire book out at once” kind of girl. You have to find what works for you. There’s a lot of stuff inside the book that was hard for me to share – I was bullied really badly when I was a kid, and in 2012 I was raped. That took some processing to be able to share, but they’re important defining moments that offer context to the power of positive psychology to work both in good times and in bad. There’s millions of people we have helped through the book, social media, and traditional media, which makes it very fulfilling, meaningful, and worthwhile.
JH: You are a very inspiring person and you radiate positivity. I’d love to know who inspired you the most in your life to be the person you are today?
NP: First of all, thank you! You ask a great question – I’m always being inspired every day by people and situations around me, and I take the mindset to always be the student. There’s always something we can learn from each other. In terms of my early inspirations, my boyfriends dad was the first person to introduce positive thinking to me. I remember he had a quote carved into the gates of his home which said “If it’s to be, it’s up to me”, and he slipped a piece of paper into our passport holder when we went on vacation which had a list of positive quotes including the famous Henry Ford quote, “if its to be its up to me”. He was an orphan who went on to become a very successful businessman, and was the first person to franchise The Body Shop with Anita Roddick. Looking back I think he gave me a strong association with doing good and being successful which has helped me develop a great outlook for life as a result.
JH: You have accomplished so many wonderful things. You have a multi-million dollar business, written a book, spoken on stage in front of many large crowds… which of them are you the most proud of?
NP: My favourite thing is to speak and to write. I’ve spoken on some really prestigious stages and I love the energy of being able to impact an audience live in the room. Thats when I feel like I’m most in my power and purpose. What makes me proud is who our clients become through working with us. Seeing a woman completely transform her life, the way she feels, thinks, and the success she has in her business, and the ripple effect that has on her marriage and children is very very fulfilling for me. I love the person I’m becoming in the process. Running a business is hard. Everybody says you have be borderline crazy to do it, and I agree! There are many times I’ve want to give up, but looking back thats actually what’s made me who I am, my willingness to never quit. Thats something I’m proud of.
JH: And what are you the most proud of accomplishing outside of your business ventures?
NP: It’s interesting when you build a lifestyle business thats all over social media – everything is turned into a business activity! I think personally I’m really proud of my discipline towards growth. Growth is my core value and commitment and it comes through everything I do, whether it’s having worked out 6 days per week for the las 15 years, or diving into the deeper spiritual and subconscious work to restructure my own thinking and behaviours, I’m proud of my daily commitment to doing the work. I’m also an aunty to two gorgeous little kids which is something I’m super proud of as well!
JH: Who is your favorite motivational speaker?
NP: I love my coach Brendon Burchard who I’ve worked with for the last 4 years now. He always manages to raise the bar whether we are having dinner and he shares his insights into successful relationships or when he’s on stage dropping knowledge bombs about high performance and digital marketing. Definitely check him out if you don’t know him already.
JH: When it comes to the business retreats you host, what are a few things an attendee can expect to leave with?
NP: Oh wow. More than you expect thats for sure!! Our retreats are actually one of the toughest things for me to market because I find it hard to put into words how amazing they are. The retreats are always a combination between personal growth and mindset, and business strategy and tactics. Women tend to arrive at the retreats looking for the next big thing for their business, and they leave as a completely different version of themselves compared with when they arrived, armed with their next level mindset, and a personalised plan for the next few months ahead. Plus we have amazing private chefs, fun dinners and experiences, as well as doing the work.
JH: Tell us about some of the charities you work with.
NP: I’m part of a group of women entrepreneurs who partner with Virgin Unite, and were the first ever all women group to go to Necker Island with Sir Richard Branson. We meet a few times per year to discuss what and how to make positive change happen for our world. I also partner with United Nations Women Onebracelet campaign in the UK to support awareness around human trafficking, and sexual violence. As leaders and business owners we must be using our platforms to do good.
JH: How are you handling your business during the COVID-19 crisis?
NP: COVID has been wonderful for our business – we teach women how to make money online and so being positioned with my background of positive psychology and sales, we’ve seen a lot of growth. Our audience and clients trust us because we’ve been around for a while, and we are able to teach them what really works when it comes to creating unstoppable success online.
JH: What is the most important piece of advice that you tell your budding entrepreneurs?
NP: When you’re setting up a business you need to figure out what problem your ideal client has that you can show them you can help them to solve. Notice I’m not saying “figure out what problem your product or program solves” – because that’s different. We want to know what the top 3 struggles are that your specific person has that you can show them you can solve. That’s when you’re able to powerfully connect and communicate with your people, and in turn you’ll make more sales.
That, and remember to always help other people find their greatness. That’s where you’ll find your greatness too.