Join Sarah Noll Wilson and guest “Coach Nick” Papadopoulos as they explore questions of personal identity. How much of our identities do we define based on expectations of, and comparisons to, other people? How can we go about redefining success?
Nicholaos “Coach Nick” Papadopoulos is an author, speaker, executive coach, facilitator, consultant and disruptor who’s committed to inspiring leaders, teams and people to live life purposefully and to transform the world. An energetic and charismatic speaker, Coach Nick has been a keynote speaker nationally on the topics of transformation, men, inclusion, culture engagement and leadership.
Coach Nick is committed to male transformation so that men redefine what it means to be a man therefore showing up differently in today’s world. He’s been successfully running Men’s Groups and retreats for over 14 years and currently facilitates two groups. He’s had a Top-25 ranked podcast in delivering male driven, transformational and leadership topics called Dudes of Disruption.
Coach Nick currently lives in New York City and serves in a senior leadership role at a healthcare organization. During his career, he has consistently delivered transformational and organizational change that gives today’s most forward-thinking leaders and their organizations unique ways to generating high performing cultures that produces change and results never imagined before.
Coach Nick’s strengths lie in delivering leadership and team development, organizational consulting and culture engagement which are all designed to align leadership teams, inspire people to connect to something larger than themselves and to create highly inspired environments where teams are deeply engaged in a culture of collaboration, accountability, learning and recognition.
X: @CoachNickNYC
IG: @coachnicknyc
Email: coachnick@coachnick.com
TRANSCRIPT
Sarah Noll Wilson
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Conversations on Conversations. Where each week we explore a topic to help us have more powerful conversations with ourselves and others. I’m your host, Sarah Noll Wilson. And joining me back is one of our OG guests from the first season. (laughs) Coach Nick, aka Nicholas Papadopoulos. You, so, you win for the best, like, I don’t know what it is about your name. But Papadopoulos brings me joy every time I get to say it. So Nick Papadopoulos.
Nick Papadopoulos
(laughs) I’m glad that it fits on the screen, Sarah. It’s good, it’s good.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah. (laughs)
Nick Papadopoulos
That’s why did Nick Papadopoulos on the screen rather than Nicolas. Just to make sure it’s all, it’s all in there.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Well, so for those of you who may remember, Nick and I had a really, really powerful conversation for me and so many people since then on men and intimacy. And if you haven’t checked it out, please be sure to do so. And I’m so excited to be in conversation with you again. But for those of you who haven’t met Coach Nick, let me tell you a little bit about Nick Papadopoulos.
Nick Papadopoulos
You did it again.
Sarah Noll Wilson
It’s just so great. Okay.
Nick Papadopoulos
By the way, Sarah.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yes.
Nick Papadopoulos
Nick Papadopoulos is the John Smith of the Greeks. Just a whole lot longer.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Oh, is it? (laughs)
Nick Papadopoulos
I needed to say that. Just you know, just for people for clarification.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Sure. (laughs) Nick is a author, speaker, executive coach, facilitator, consultant and disrupter, who’s committed to inspiring leaders, teams and people to live life purposefully, and to transform the world. An energetic and charismatic speaker, Coach Nick has been a keynote speaker nationally on topics of transformation, men, inclusion, culture, engagement and leadership. Coach Nick is committed to male transformation so that men redefine what it means to be a man therefore showing up differently in today’s world. He’s been successfully running men’s groups and retreats for over 14 years, and concurrently facilitates two groups. He’s had a top 25 ranked podcast in delivering male driven transformational leadership topics called Dudes of Destruction. (laughs) I love the –
Nick Papadopoulos
Disruption, not destruction.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Not destruction. Sorry. Yeah. Disruption. (laughter) There’s plenty of podcasts on dudes with destruction.
Nick Papadopoulos
Yes, yes, yes.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Very different.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
But his strengths lie in delivering leadership and team development, organizational consulting, and culture engagement, which are all designed to align leadership teams, inspire people to connect to something larger than themselves and to create highly inspired environments. Welcome to the show. Coach Nick, welcome back.
Nick Papadopoulos
Yes! Yes. It’s great to be back. Sarah. Thank you.
Sarah Noll Wilson
I’m so excited to be in conversation with you. But there’s been a lot that’s happened since last time we chatted. So what else do you want people to know about your world? Your life? And you?
Nick Papadopoulos
Yeah, a lot has happened, actually? It’s funny you mentioned about the work that I do, especially the work around men. I went to a comedy club last Friday night. And I got picked on for about a second because the comedian said, so what do you do? And I said, Well, you know, I run men’s groups. And literally, the comedian was like, Huh, what? Like, didn’t know what to do? Like literally went to the next person.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah, I can’t make fun of you. Because that’s actually a very healthy thing that our culture needs.
Nick Papadopoulos
Exactly. He’s like, What do you guys do? I’m like, you know, vulnerability, connection, community, support. Literally, literally went to the next person was like, Okay, you’re gonna ruin my show, dude. Hopefully I add to this show. (laughs)
Sarah Noll Wilson
You will, you will.
Nick Papadopoulos
I’d say so last time we talked which, which is hard to believe it’s been two years. The good news has been that I’ve been in remission. I had, as you know, multiple myeloma had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma cancer, and, you know, went through a series of steps to get healthy, including back surgery, because the cancer cause breaks in my back. So there was cancer treatment, there was back surgery and rehab. But I would say over the last two years, I’ve been in remission, which is, obviously the best news of all, you know, rehabbing my back to get stronger. And what’s happened over the last two years, is that I’ve been finishing the final touches on a novel called The Men’s Group. And it’s – so it’s literally, literally,
Sarah Noll Wilson
A fiction novel?
Nick Papadopoulos
Yeah, it’s fiction. It’s fiction. It’s, I would say it’s, you know, I call it an inspirational fictional novel. So it’s based on – the book is called The Men’s Group and it’s based on a fictional men’s group. Obviously, I have experience, as you mentioned, running groups, men’s groups and men’s retreats over you know, umpteen years and it’s completely fictional and super excited. I’m co-authoring the book with, with a dear friend of mine and we are literally, literally on the final, you know, steps if you will, in completing and you know, then move to the you know, securing a book agent, if you or any of your listeners know, we’d be open to an introduction. But yeah, that’s been really, really exciting over the last couple of years, you know, alongside, you know, getting healthy as well.
Sarah Noll Wilson
I, there’s – okay, I had no idea. I love all of that.
Nick Papadopoulos
Oh, good. I surprised you.
Sarah Noll Wilson
You did. And now I want to be an early reader.
Nick Papadopoulos
Yes. Yes, yes, yes.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And what I love – what I, what’s coming up for me is, I imagine how it will be experienced might be is showing what it can look like to be in a relationship differently and showing what’s possible. And I that has been, I think every week, I think and or say, most people, like many people don’t know what it looks like to be in a truly healthy relationship with themselves or with other people. And that’s not just men, that goes for all folks.
Nick Papadopoulos
Absolutely.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And so that’s really exciting. Um, so yeah, if there’s things we can do, we’ll talk afterwards. And then when it when it gets closer to publishing, then we need you back on the show to talk about it.
Nick Papadopoulos
I can actually show the book and all that.
Sarah Noll Wilson
No, and I’ll put it on the back shelf. Because there’s going to be a spot whenever we have authors come on.
Nick Papadopoulos
Oh, I love it. I love it. Yes, yes. Yes, absolutely.
Sarah Noll Wilson
That’s amazing.
Nick Papadopoulos
Yeah, it’s really, it’s really exciting. And I do, you know, it’s, you know, I do believe working on the book with my, my friend colleague over you know, it’s I mean, it’s it’s actually something that we’ve been working on for almost eight years now. Not just the last two years, but I would say specifically, the last two years being in remission, it has helped in my healing process, because it has served as a Northstar or part of that Northstar, right. You know, it’s, it’s, it’s exciting to think about being published, you know, and being an author. But more importantly, I mean, that’s more of a personal, you know, goal or preference, but more importantly, the opportunity, what you’ve just said, right, to be able to share whatever we have found, in our experience, you know, working with humans, specifically, you know, men’s groups and retreats. Being able to share that gift, you know, share the experience. I mean, I think, I think so highly of sharing, sharing is actually one of the core values of our groups. Because there’s so many, there’s so many positives about sharing, and one of the positives or why it’s a core value of ours, it’s because when you share, you are – to me, it’s an act of generosity, right, because you are likely informing others, you’re likely informing others so they also have the experience of not being alone. At times, right, they go, oh, you think that or feel that too? Oh, thank goodness, right? And, you know, hopefully, there’s insights there that other folks can actually take on, you know, and use and apply, so that they can be or continue to expand their life of being healthy, you know, a mindset of being healthy and empowered.
Sarah Noll Wilson
I, this is why I love you.
Nick Papadopoulos
(laughs) Thank you.
Sarah Noll Wilson
You know, and to be clear, when you talk about sharing, it’s not explaining or telling, it’s, it’s sharing. It’s, it’s sharing your experience, it’s sharing, how – I assume, right? Like, that’s my assumption I make. So how do you define? How do you define sharing, then?
Nick Papadopoulos
I think one of the criteria of sharing is to move the proverbial or metaphorical room. Right? You know, so that sharing is meant to be something that moves the needle for others, and which, by the way, includes yourself.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right? You know, one of the, I’m going to try to connect the dots here. There’s a concept that a mentor of mine told me a long time ago, which is love the relationship more than yourself, love the relationship, the relationship could be the relationship between you and I, right, we have a relationship, right? The relationship, you know, that I have with myself, the relationship I have with the world, the relationship I have with my partner, with my kids, etc, right? So, love the relationship more than yourself, because guess who’s included in the relationship? You are.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Mm, mm.
Nick Papadopoulos
So you and I are in a relationship and if I can love our relationship more than myself, I get included and get taken care of, you’re included and you get taken care of, etc. And so, to go back to the question about sharing, I believe sharing, I believe, you know, or, you know, my invitation for my, obviously myself and others is to share from a place where you love the relationship more than yourself. That you get to share from a place of moving, moving people forward. Right? You know, because of what you share, how you share it, what’s in the share, again, does it give somebody some insight they didn’t have before? Does it give the person the experience of, oh, I now feel gotten and known, right? Because it’s not just, I just thought I was a Martian walking around this place called Earth, right?
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah. (laughs)
Nick Papadopoulos
Oh, like Nick or Sarah, whomever you know, feels the same – you know, is speaking my language, right? They’re having, they’re sharing a similar experience. So to me, sharing is about moving, moving people forward. Which is very different than venting, which, again, I think, venting can be healthy. You know, just needing to be heard sometimes. But I think sharing is really, has a, has a purpose. I think the other thing I would say about sharing is, or its purpose is to get it out of your head. This is especially for men, you know, men generally, I’m making a generalization, keep things in their head. They sort of, you know, everything is in here, right? We’re sort of processing in our head, which which, which in a way is called, which is really the cave, right? And, and if we stay there for a really long time, we’re really digging our heels and going really, really deep into the cave. When you share, the value of it is you’re getting it out of your head. And that’s actually how you can change your relationship to that thing, that concept, that thought, right, those little voices in your head. And oh, by the way, we all have those little voices, right? Some of us have, like, you know, big, big, you know, sales rallies in their and big, you know, big, you know, town hall meetings. Or maybe that’s just me.
Sarah Noll Wilson
(laughs)
Nick Papadopoulos
But, you know, I think, I think that when you get it out of your head, by sharing what you’re actually doing, it becomes a vehicle to changing the relationship, because – the relationship to that thing. Right? So, you know, sometimes when you share that thing, you go, well, that sounds ridiculous.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
Or, gosh, that sounds really paranoid, or that sounds really unhealthy, or the opposite. It might be like, Hey, that’s a really great idea, you know, or, you know, what, I’m even more excited now, right? By having gotten that out of my head, right? Or, by getting out of your head, you might be able to say, you know, what, the thing that’s been holding me back around, you know, it’s like getting healthy, right, you know, improving my wellness, I get this thing out of my head, this disempowering conversation I have in my head, now I can actually tackle it. I can literally do something, I can take actual tangible steps around it. So yeah, I’m a I’m a big fan of sharing. (laughs) As you can see.
Sarah Noll Wilson
I, well, I don’t know that I’ve ever talked to anyone who said one of our core values is sharing. And there’s something really beautiful about that. And you’re right. I mean, from the standpoint of getting space, of being – from a trauma, from a healing from trauma, that’s something that I’ve learned in my own journey, is one of the ways you can process the trauma is talk about it.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
So it can reduce maybe the heat, it can give you that space to see it differently. You get validation. I know, this isn’t what we’re going to talk about. But I have to ask this. How do you help people or what advice do you have for folks in receiving the sharing? Because so much of the work we do is around conversations and connect – I mean, we have very similar passions and paths. And in you know, specifically talking about men, right, a lot of my experience has been that they’re not as equipped with how to show up when somebody shares vulnerably, right? And it’s not just men, to be clear, I see that, that sometimes when somebody shares something vulnerably I see a couple of things happen. Maybe they get dismissed. Of that’s not that big of a deal. Maybe they get sugar coated or whatever, right? Even if it’s good intentions to minimize. Sometimes they’re teased. And I think one of the, for me anyway, personally, one of the worst things is to just not say anything, and then you’re like, oh shit, won’t talk about that again. Like hey, noted. Not, not gonna talk about pain with this group.
Nick Papadopoulos
(laughs) Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
How so? (chuckles) You know, what I’m talking about? Is like, –
Nick Papadopoulos
Oh, I, I, yes.
Sarah Noll Wilson
I don’t care if you just all you say is thank you for sharing that with me. Yeah, just yet. Come to the ready with somebody who’s sharing so vulnerably. So what? So what advice or how do you support people in how they show up when somebody is sharing? Oh, and the fix it, sorry, and the fix it. Like, well, here’s what you should do. That’s another like classic. We’ll you should just do this. Have you thought about this? Like, oh, you’re cute. I won’t worry. I’ll tell my anxious brain. Just don’t worry. I hadn’t thought about that.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right, right. Exactly. Or, well, or the, you know, the, the sympathy card. You know, like I sympathize with you or like, almost like, you know, poor you.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
I think that can be degrading, disrespectful, flatten somebody as well. You know, just because I’m sharing about something, let’s say it’s something either traumatic or heavy or, you know, upsetting doesn’t mean poor me. I may not even feel like – I actually think sharing is not an act of victimhood, you know, sharing actually is, you’re actually on the court. It’s the opposite, you know, so I don’t need poor you. You know, so I think that’s important to avoid the, you know, oh, my gosh, you know, poor you, like, you know, can’t believe that happened to you kind of thing. I would say the, I would say the biggest, or most important thing around when listening is to be a generous listener, you know, and one of the ways to be a generous listener is to be with the person, right? And when I say be with, you know, I’ve actually done this exercise physically with people, right, where they’re standing, sort of, almost like nose to nose, maybe an inch or two away from each other, right? Whatever the – I can’t remember how long, you know how far it is to be respectful of space, but more or less, an inch or two, right? Where you’re being with the person where the person is sharing, and without speaking, without actually any facial expressions, or body, body language. You’re actually putting yourself over to the other human’s experience. You’re, you’re getting over to the other side, if you will, right? Now, you might call that empathy. You might even call that, you know, getting someone or being gotten if you’re doing that with, you know, to me, if I’m sharing and you’re sort of getting yourself over to me. The be with is for me, I mean, a way to explain that is clean canvas, clean sheet of paper, there’s no story, there’s no rap sheet, there’s no, there’s none of my interpretation, I actually don’t exist inside of that generous type of listening, right? It’s like, it’s all you and you’ve got this sort of open this open canvas, this open space where you can just express whatever needs to be expressed in whatever manner you need it to be expressed in. I believe, I believe people need what I’m describing more than the solutions.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
I actually think the solution part is easier. I don’t want to say easy.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
Because I don’t want to be disrespectful of whatever challenge somebody may be going through. I would say that when we feel like we, we’re clear, and I do think sharing allows you to sort of, again, clear that space and get it out there. So now I can actually do something with it. Right? I’ve said it out loud. I’ve said it a few times, I’m connecting the words to my body. It’s there now. I think people are more than enough in general to figure out, okay, I need to go left, I need to go right, I need to go backwards forward, whatever it may be. I think what they need most is that clearing so that I can actually get it out in a safe, concise, meaningful way. So that I can then do something with it. So for me, I know it’s a long explanation of be with –
Sarah Noll Wilson
I love it. Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
I would say it’s a be with which, which you said before, does not include any fixing. You know, there’s no fix it in that case. Now, do I do I believe it’s important to acknowledge the person verbally or through you know, facial or body language? I do. I mean, having eye contact, nodding like you are right now, right, moving forward, if you will. Saying thank you, like, thank you for that generosity. You know, thank you for trusting me. I also think a great question to ask is, How can I support you? You know, just or, you know, I would love to support you if that’s on the table or when when you want or want that. And I’m very I’m actually just as a sidebar, I’m very conscientious about the word support versus help. For me, help implies you Sarah can’t do it without me or with without others. To me support is I’m going to come from underneath like you’re more than enough already.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
And, and, you know, you might be climbing a big mountain so like, I might just come from underneath and kind of kind of just, you know, kind of boost you a little bit or give you an extra jug of water or something like that. But you you’re more than enough to know what you need to get up to that mountain. And as any human, partnership is important, so, you know, having others, you know, contribute is important not having to do it alone. So I actually like the word support versus help. And I love to ask the question, you know, how can I, how can we depending if you’re talking to several people support you and/or when you’re ready for that?
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
But I think the biggest mistake you can make is to go into fix it mode, to go into tell mode. Because again, I also think that when you go into that fix it/tell mode, like, well, let me tell you, let me say what I think of Sarah, or let me tell you what I have done immediately. In some, in some ways, it may leave the person either not heard. Because you’re making it about yourself, you might also leave them with, well, you don’t really know how to handle this, you’re not more, you’re not more than enough to figure this out. Thank thank goodness, you came to me, because I’m the expert. You know, I’m the, I’m the All Knowing around whatever it is, you know, you know, career relationships, or intimate relationships or whatever it may be.
Sarah Noll Wilson
(laughs) I may have encountered people like that in my life. And if I’m being really honest, there’s likely times in my life where I’ve been that person too. So let’s be very clear. And transparent.
Nick Papadopoulos
I agree. Yes, I’m guilty as charged.
Sarah Noll Wilson
You agree that I’ve been like that? No. I’m just teasing. (laughs)
Nick Papadopoulos
No, no, no, not you. No, no, no, at least not with me. But yeah, no, I mean, of course. I mean, of course, I think we can all you know, go there. Right. So it’s about practicing how to be a generous listener. I actually never liked the word active listener.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Me either.
Nick Papadopoulos
I know, especially in the corporate space. First of all, I don’t know what that means. But I don’t know. There’s generous listening, a generous, engage, connected listener, which is how I frame listening, if you will, I believe when you’re when you activate those ways of being and that kind of listening, I do believe people share differently. And they share more and surprised themselves. Because they’re sharing into a space that is generous, and connected, and engaged and engaged has nothing to do with again, solutions, or telling somebody or giving them advice. It’s really about just okay – I’ve actually seen people share so powerfully, let me say differently. I’ve, I’ve because I actually facilitate listening exercises like this where the listener was so generous, connected and engaged, that the person shared and then came up with their own solution at the same time, because the person listening was being with them in that way, that allowed the person the opportunity to roam around, if you will, in that space, you know, and, and kind of explore and make their own connections, deductions and get to a different place.
Sarah Noll Wilson
The visual of be the blank slate so that they can throw stuff that this happened just yesterday with my Nick and I. A little confusing having two Nicks on this, but everybody’s familiar with my Nick. You know, a tough situation with a client and and I basically just went to him, I said, I just need to process this with you out loud.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And I know, one of the things that’s so helpful for me, is, it’s something I’m trying to do a better job of, is kind of checking in with people with what do you what do you need right now?
Nick Papadopoulos
Absolutely.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Right. And after and this is something my Nick does a really nice job of, would it be helpful if I shared how I’m reading this? Would it be helpful if? And sometimes it is like yeah, and and that idea of, you know, my coaching training was all about everyone is whole, resourceful, and can solve their own problems. And, and I love that visual of hey, even telling somebody, you know what, I’m just going to be a blank slate for you. Like you just throw it all out. And I, my observation is that sometimes we jump to solutioning because we’re uncomfortable with a vulnerability. And we want to resolve it either for them and for us, or maybe just us. Also, when you’re in the work environment, you’re solving problems all the time.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And now we’re asking people to show up differently. And we also, our brain gets rewarded for being right, right? Like there’s also that biology but it is such a gift to to be a generous listener and think of – that visual is very powerful of I want to be a blank slate.
Nick Papadopoulos
Yeah, what you just said Sarah about, about sometimes we’re uncomfortable, right? Which is to connect it back to something I said a few minutes ago that when you’re in this be with and you’re being generous, engaged and connected and you’re putting yourself into the other person’s world, right, you’re sort of, you’re kind of you’re in, and by doing so you make yourself invisible. What I really mean is remove your ego, remove yourself so that you’re, let’s say, uncomfortableness with vulnerability, or with the content that the person is sharing, you remove yourself from it. Because if you don’t, then it’s not an open slate, it’s not a clean, a clean canvas, right, a clean sheet of paper. It’s got your name, and all of your stuff now, right? And so it’s no longer my shares, it’s now yours or ours. And that’s not what I need sometimes, you know, I just need to just, you know, I just, I just need to throw the paint up on the canvas and just see where it lands for a minute.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah, I want to, I want to draw this connection to the topic that we had talked beforehand to share, because I think it’s a very natural transition. There’s a lot of folks that I’ve worked with, or lived with, or loved, or, and it’s been true of me, that there’s these rules we create about who I am. And how I show up. There’s rules about my identity, so to speak, about. Yeah, just how I show up in relationships, I’m thinking, you know, thinking about listening, for example, I was working with a team a couple of months ago, and we were talking about this idea of, I like using the language of listen to learn, right? What like, what can you learn about the other person in the situation? And, you know, and the response was the sarcastic, “What you mean, I gotta listen now?” Because the, the, the identity for him was, I’m not soft. I’m not, you know, I don’t like, somewhere he was shaped, and informed that that was a weakness and a bad thing. And he couldn’t resist, you know, so I just, I feel like that might be a natural transition. I mean, I could talk about listening and sharing. And I mean, this could be our topic. And I think this topic of identity is so important, and one that we haven’t talked about enough on the show.
Nick Papadopoulos
I love the segue, an introduction of where we find our validation or identity, right? Listening is a really good place to look because, you know, especially as men, often we’ve, you know, or even as a coach, right, as a business coach, as an executive coach, you know, it can go through my head to say, you know, Sarah just shared this, if I want to be a valuable coach, I must respond, right? Or I must ask the right question to be valuable to her, you know. Rather than – the doing may be just the be with rather than, you know, having to actually, you know, physically do something or, you know, say something, right. So, it is it goes back to my point about ego, you know, we get, you know, we, you know, our ego can get in the way. And the ego can get in the way because we, we identify, so using again, myself as an example, well, I’m a coach, I’m a facilitator, I’m a trainer, you know, I’m a consultant, right? I’m Nick, I’m Coach Nick, I’ve got to have a response here. You know, my kid just asked me a question, you know, about something, I must be able to impart wisdom, otherwise, I’m not effective. And it can do a real number, a real number on everybody. Right? Because – I mean, the thing about identifying with your work and getting validation either exclusively, mostly, a lot of the time is that there’s no finish line.
Sarah Noll Wilson
(laughs)
Nick Papadopoulos
I mean, there’s there’s never enough evidence that that I’m a good coach or or or something different, right? Never – you’re laughing.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Oh, just that hits. (laughs) That’s a painful laugh. That is a very painful –
Nick Papadopoulos
(laughs) You want to cry actually. (laughter)
Sarah Noll Wilson
Keep going on there’s no evidence that – I’m just – send me your invoice for this therapy session. (laughter)
Nick Papadopoulos
There’s, there is, you know, there’s never going to be enough evidence that you – and when I say you, I’m including myself, there’s never enough evidence that you are smart enough, that you are good looking enough, that you are funny enough, that you know enough. There’s never going to be enough evidence if, if and when you are attached to external validation. When you are attached, and even addicted to the external validation, and many of us regardless of gender, for that, this has nothing to do with gender actually. Regardless of gender, we are attached to whatever identity we have, it is a recipe for disaster, because that’s when you become exhausted. That’s when you feel less than. That’s when you start comparing yourself to others. That’s when you have trouble celebrating other people’s successes or other groups successes. That’s when you even stop learning because well Sarah, you know, Sarah’s more successful than I am. And so now I go into back into my head with that committee, and that town hall with all the little voices, instead of learning about what you, Sarah, are doing sharing, saying, whatever, you know, your approach, whatever, I can’t even learn from it, because I’m so filled with envy, jealousy, beat up for myself. I can’t even appreciate, I can’t, I can’t, I can’t learn anything in that case. So it can be really, really dangerous, actually. And really, really unhealthy.
It’s – I see this show up a lot when people are, are, maybe they’re laid off. They retire. I do a lot of work with folks who are retiring, after being a CEO. And they’ve had all the power and the privilege that had come with that. And that’s one of the biggest questions that clients will ask is, “Well, who am I now?”
Yeah.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And there’s, there’s, there’s, there’s a sadness to that. And that’s something that I’ve been working on personally, is trying to get really clear about what is the life I want? How, how do I want to show up? What, how do I want to spend my time and even as a you know, as a business owner, it’s so easy to –especially you know, we have we have a global audience. So let’s speak explicitly through an American culture perspective. Hustle is king, right? Growing at all cost is the sign of success. And I’ve been trying to really untangle myself from how do I actually want to be? How do I want to feel? How do I want to show up? What are the relationships that I want to have? And measuring my personal success differently?
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
It’s so easy to be seduced by, the did we hit our numbers, didn’t we, right? It’s so easy to be seduced by, did we get the clients we want? Or didn’t we? Instead of? Like, for me, it’s like, am I spending more time with my husband and my parents? That’s, that’s success. Am I resting and sleeping well at night? That’s, that’s a form of success. And, but it’s really hard to untangle when all the messages you get is you should be busy, you should be hustling, you should be whatever. And I know a lot of folks who are questioning things, especially sort of as we’re in this phase post pandemic, or in this phase of the pandemic, of really thinking I don’t want work to be my only identity.
Nick Papadopoulos
Absolutely, you know, I, I shared with you offline about how when I was going through, when I was in the heat of the cancer journey, the treatments, you know, the rehabbing of my back, I was crystal clear, crystal clear. It was like no, you know, it was like, like, right there in front of me that I was the most successful person or one of the most successful people in the world because I always had cancer, or what I got, was cancer had zero chance against my friends, against my family, against my people, against my circle. Like no, like zero chance because the quality of those relationships, the depth of those relationships, the meaning that we were getting, the learnings that we were getting, you know, I guess it’s no coincidence for myself, my favorite movie is It’s a Wonderful Life, which every year on Christmas Eve, I torture my kids to watch. And they always say, why do we need to watch it? We know what’s gonna happen, although they were crying this year, because they noticed new things. And I said, Okay, well, speaking of listening, you want to listen differently as if you’re watching it the first time. And, lo and behold, they, they got something different. And you know, at the end of the movie, and I know, I may spoil it for a couple of people who may not have seen this movie, but the main character is celebrated for being the quote, unquote, richest man in town. And it has nothing to do with the amount of money, it has to do with his friends and family rallying around him. And I really, really embodied that sentiment. And it’s really interesting, I was sharing with you offline, how, over the last two years, I have found myself deviating from that or disconnecting from that, and comparing myself, especially for me, for me, specifically, you know, am I making the amount of money that I want to be making? Which then leads to comparing myself to others? You know, am I, do have the right title? Which then has me comparing myself to others. You know, am I involved in the right kind or the interesting kind of projects, which then has me comparing myself to others, right? And I found myself to be honest with you really down in recent past, really down. It was really fascinating, subdued, lower energy, you know, almost feeling a bit flatlined. All because I had been taking inventory of I’m not enough because – I’m not enough because of career, I’m not enough because other people in, let’s just say in my field or, or similar field or interest are in a different place. Which again, I go back to what I said moments ago, is a recipe for disaster. Comparing myself or, or setting goals compared to some outside external standard, your, there’s never going to be enough evidence that I am providing value, or that I am more than enough, It has to start internally. It has to start within myself, you know, me choosing me, me choosing me so that I get how much I matter. Because if I don’t start here, there’s, I’m always gonna come in, not even second place. I’m gonna come in third or fourth place.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah, yeah. It’s the one – the first coach I ever worked with, she had this great phrase that was, I might butcher it a little bit. But anytime you aim your, like anytime you aim yourself against someone else’s target, you’re going to miss.
Nick Papadopoulos
Yeah.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And it’s so hard. It is so – I’m with you. There are times when I can be so strong and connected and proud of what we’re doing and how we’re doing it. And proud of the decisions that I’m making or proud about how I’m showing up in my relationships or with my health with myself. And then they’re just times where that little slug gets in your brain. You’re like, I’m a piece of shit. I don’t even know why I’m doing this. Like, I don’t know anything about it. And it’s, it’s for – speaking from my own just personal experience. That’s, that’s a struggle. And it makes me think of a conversation I had with my good friend, Farah Harris. Because she had gotten this amazing opportunity, amazing opportunity. And I was super envious. And it caused a lot of doubt for me of why didn’t why haven’t they reached out to me. And I said, you know, and I think I said something like, that’s really cool. And I’m gonna be honest, I’m envious. And bless her. Like, a couple days later, she calls me she said, Hey, we need to talk. Because in my relationships, I don’t want envy to exist. And it was a fair, it was a totally fair call out. And, and the language she used that I really loved a little bit in the moment is I’m so happy for you and I’m hopeful for me.
Nick Papadopoulos
I like that.
Sarah Noll Wilson
As a way to to kind of hold that of, I’m really happy for you and and I’m hopeful for me. And if it doesn’t happen, that’s okay, too. Right? It’s, and it’s hard and obviously, like the science is pretty conclusive of social media, right? We can edit our lives and we can just show the best part of our lives and we think everyone has their shit together. And that’s not the case for most people, right? (laughs) Anyone who’s a human doesn’t, you know, they’re figuring it out. But it is hard. And the other thing that’s coming up for me, as I’m reflecting on what you’ve shared is (pauses) the amount of control and influence we give to other people, or things outside of our control about who we are and how we feel, and our value as a human. I mean, that’s, that kind of feels profound for me in this moment. Thinking about that.
Nick Papadopoulos
It is we actually just ride your coattails, we literally give all our power power away.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
You know, and it’s funny, you know, a lot of people take pride in being controllers, including myself, you know, I would probably fall into that category, and I give my power away. I have no control then, right? Because I have no idea what the external world is going to do, say, not do, not say, right? So as a controller, I’m giving my, I’m actually setting myself to lose, and I’m setting myself up for disappointment, right? So if you want to use, you know, a different strategy, which is, hey, I’m a, I’m a proud controller. Great. I’m going to just focus on me like what, you know, what’s my truth? Right? What are my unique talents? Right? What’s my contribution to the world? What fills me up? Because I can control that for the most part, I can certainly influence it. You know, I love to watch dramas, you know, movie, I love to watch it, I can control that I can watch those versus, you know, waiting for somebody else to take me to the movies, right? I can be waiting all day for that. Right? I know, it’s a silly example. But you have no control of that. You don’t know what’s, you know, you have no idea what’s happening over there. I know what’s happening over here. So it is interesting that we give, we give our power away so easily.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
Which then makes us even more upset. So not only am I envious, not only do I feel less than, and now I’m beating myself up, because I’m dependent on you, I actually think I actually think it’s, it’s an addiction, honestly. That we’re addicted to comparing ourselves, we can be addicted to these standards that we set. You know, one of the things we talk about in our men’s group, in general, in our conversations, is that it’s all made up, the whole darn thing is made up. Literally, it’s all made up. It’s all made up. And I always like to say, Well, if you can really buy into that, that we weren’t sort of born into and assimilated and socialized into a matrix that existed before we physically entered this world, okay. We enter this matrix that’s got its ground rules, and it’s red lights and green lights, right. And it’s got seven days a week and all these things that have been sort of the infrastructure, if you will, it’s, it got created. That’s your good news. Because then your good news is that if it’s all made up, then I can go ahead and make up stuff that’s going to serve me and my truth, while also serving others and being in contribution to them. If that make sense?
Sarah Noll Wilson
It totally makes sense. Yeah.
Nick Papadopoulos
And I think that is a, now that can be a really, really exciting place. Right? So just to use a simple example, personal simple example. You know, you know, I started running men’s groups. I mean, now it’s more, you know, it’s whatever, 16 17 years now, and, I don’t know, 16 17 years ago, nobody was doing men’s groups. I just made it up. I’m not, I mean, I’m sure others did as well. So I’m not taking credit for the, the concept of the structure. I’m saying that in my, in my circle it was not, it was not, you know, like a possibility. I made it up. And guess what, here we are, you know, years later, and it seems like, you know, folks have been positively impacted. I know personally, I feel filled up. It seems, it seems like it’s created other opportunities, right? I just think that we rely way too much – I’m going to say it differently, we rely too much on others, but we give others way too much credit that, you know, I entered this matrix and you know, much smarter people than me, you know, must know something to create the seven days a week concept and this red, yellow, green light concept and, you know, we, you know, we drive on a two lane road or whatever. It’s all made up. It’s all made up. It’s really important to get connected to your truth, what fills you up, what’s important, while also again, can it make a difference for others, can it you know, bring people together? To be more loving, more respectful, more inclusive, whatever, whatever it may be, that’s positive and fulfilling as well. So I, I think it’s really, you know, my very, very first coach did this exercise with me, which I have stolen from him, of course. (chuckles) But he did it, speaking of identity, he said, “Tell me all the all the hats you wear in your life?” Now, at the time, I was single, I didn’t have kids, right. But if, you know if I was doing it now, I, you know, well I’m a dad, I’m a brother, I’m a son. I head up the learning and employee engagement and talent management for health insurance company. I’m a facilitator, a facilitator of men’s groups. I am a domestic partner, right? I can keep going. I’m a citizen of the United States, right? I wear all these different hats. He then started to take each hat each role away. And then there was just sort of Nick. And even Nick is made up, right, somebody made it up. Someone just gave me that name, right. But it was interesting. He said, When I take all those hats away, facilitator, coach, dad, brother, you know, et cetera, son, what are you left with is just you and I remember having at that moment, this really immense sadness. And he said, on a scale of one to 10, 10 being the highest, what would you give yourself? And I remember giving myself I think, a four or five at the time. And in that moment, there was sadness. And in that moment, there was also the aha, which is boy, oh, boy, oh, boy, I am really addicted. I am addicted to being a brother and being a son and being, you know, a worker at this company, you know, and being a director of, of such and such, you know, I’m really, I’ve literally given all my power away, because what he did was he just kind of took, he stripped everything away. And it’s like, and then you’re just left with you, with me. And to be a four. I mean, gosh, think about any, it’s almost how nuts that can be that I’m actually I’m giving everybody else more credit than giving myself and so the the aha was, and still is because it’s an ongoing conversation. Well, who am I? What’s important to me? What fills me up? What turns me on? What inspires me? You know, what, what are all those weird things that I love to do that I don’t care what others as long as I’m being respectful and responsible, right? You know, I love going and seeing movies. I don’t care, you, you want to think I’m weird that I might go by myself, okay. No problem. You know, I like to sit in the dark on a Friday night and watch my, you know, New York Yankees play, you know, I get filled up by doing that, right. I, it was a really, really important moment for me, because I realized how much I need, or how much I defined myself, not just by those roles, but by, I was defining myself by the results, that results became me. The results are a part of you, it’s part of your experience. But it’s not all of me, that doesn’t tell the entire story that that is really being short sighted on my part, or anybody’s part to say, the result I produced in this role means I deserve a promotion, or I have worthiness. No way. Maybe you don’t get the same bonus. Because those are the rules that you created at work. You didn’t you know, hit a particular number. But that doesn’t, that doesn’t define your self worth. And what you bring your uniqueness.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Yeah, it’s, and there’s so much – the timing of this conversation is really lovely, because the I, one of the previous episodes that’s going to air, I think two weeks before ours is a conversation I had with my colleague, Dr. Teresa Peterson about unlearning is just as important as learning something new.
Nick Papadopoulos
Oh, I love that.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And, and as I think about my journey with my identity. You know, I’ve been shaped by being a woman. I’ve been shaped by being a white woman living in the Midwest. I was shaped by growing up Catholic. I was shaped by I say this with love, but I was shaped by the trauma and anxiety and everything that my parents brought to the table.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Right. I was shaped with the beliefs about the world, finances, all of that. And it really has been this ongoing evolution and it’s something my Nick and I we talk about a lot especially inspired from the conversation we had with you two years ago of how much gender roles, especially in American culture, confine us to who we are. The thing that’s so fascinating – and I’m sitting here, as you talk about like, and this brings me joy, and I’m looking at my wall of Disney Loungefly bags. This is my newest – and I’ve had to really work through being okay, this sounds so dumb saying out loud, I’m going to share with you. (laughs)
Do it.
Yeah. I’m doing it. (laughs)
Nick Papadopoulos
Here’s the big reveal. Here we go. You heard it here, folks, first.
Sarah Noll Wilson
(laughs) It’s so not. They’re gonna be like – but, one I’ve never collected anything in my life. Right? Because it never, I don’t know, I just never did, never was into anything. But I love these bags, they make me so happy. You might notice people who are watching, there’s a few, like, easter eggs that are kind of hidden there. And, and (laughs) I’ve had to work through being okay, that that’s how I’m going to spend my money. It makes me super duper happy. And, and you know, I’m really I’m so fortunate. I will say this and and sometimes met with, Wow, how many bags do you have now? Do you have too many bags? And then I’m like, maybe I have too many bags? And my Nick has been so good with, “Does it bring you joy?”
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
“Are we fine financially? I’m like, I don’t care.” You know, because there’d be times where I would say, but you know, I could resell this. And he’s like, don’t.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Use it. And and even when you intellectually know, even when you’ve done the work, you know. I’ve been doing so much work, there are just these moments where you’re pushed against, who am I really, with who have I told myself I am because it’s been shaped by everything that’s just again, it’s just a social construct. (laughs) And I really I think that’s such a gift of, yeah, this was all created. So what do you want to create for you? And, and, and sorry, real quickly, and and something that I have become so passionate about personally and professionally. Just in my relationships is don’t like support someone else in their joy, support someone, don’t criticize, don’t make comments about, don’t minimize. If it’s not your thing, cool. It’s not your thing.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And, and there’s so much power in saying, I love that that makes you happy! Does Nick get excited about my bags? No, but he gets excited about me getting excited about my bags.
Nick Papadopoulos
Yes. Yeah, absolutely.
Sarah Noll Wilson
You know, and, and it’s like, don’t don’t yuck the yum, I know that that’s like a term used in other ways. But but it’s true. Like.
Nick Papadopoulos
Absolutely, I’m no, I’m with you. I’m with you on that. You know, I, you know, what you’re describing is a form of success, meaning you have discovered something about yourself that inspires you, turns you on. fills you up, right? To me, it’s a form of success, because you have a partner. Of course, it helps that his name is Nick. I mean, just saying.
Sarah Noll Wilson
(laughs)
Nick Papadopoulos
You found a partner who support you, right? Because there’s a lot of people out there who don’t have that as you’re describing, right? So to me, that’s, that’s a way to define success, that’s very different than I’m successful, because my podcast hit a certain number of views or downloads. And I’m not saying not to pay attention to that, by no means, or by the amount of money you’ve made or making, right, or, you know, how many new clients, corporate, you know, individual, whatever it may be, I just think that there’s an opportunity, as a whole, as a general sentiment, and I’m included in this, to redefine what it means to be successful. And so, if we’re so addicted, that we need to put the amount of money or the number of houses we have, or the number of trips we take as part of our success, okay. As long as we’re also including that you discovered your love for these bags. That you discovered how you have people in your life, ie your partner, who support you. You know, I had a conversation with my sister this this week, in fact, actually it was Monday about – I swear we have, we have less intense conversations like this, but we were talking about generational trauma.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Sure.
Nick Papadopoulos
Because we had done a conversation about generational trauma, my men’s group, and a lot stirred up for me even as the facilitator and we were having this conversation and she acknowledged me about what I went through. I’m older than she is. And so she acknowledged my experience as someone who you know, as a sibling, right, sort of from afar is going yeah, I could see how some of that generational trauma was transferred to you being the eldest, It had a different impact that it had on, you know, my sister who was younger, et cetera, right? She was, she was acknowledging me. And I remember getting off the phone going, Man, I am the richest man in town because I have, I have a human like this in my life. I have a human like this in my life that I can have conversations with. And I thought, you know, yes, maybe, you know, maybe Sarah has more clients than I do, or, you know, somebody got something that I didn’t get, you know, or, you know, my bonus wasn’t or whatever it may be, I didn’t get the promotion. And sure, I’m not saying not to pay attention to it. But if you’re gonna do that, then you better pay attention to that conversation that you’re having on a Monday night that really leaves you – like, honestly, to me, it was one of the greatest gifts, that conversation because I really felt like, oh, man, I’m not a Martian, you know. And that, to me is worth three promotions. It’s worth two houses. And I just think it’s, I think it’s time that we redefine what it means to be successful. And I do believe we need to look at our relationships, first starting with ourselves. Right? Are we seeking out our truth? Are we connecting to our truth? Are we, are we celebrating our truth and and nurturing and expanding it? And then inside of, inside of that, how are we interacting with the people around us? At home, at work, et cetera, in our community, and start judging our success by the quality of those relationships, the depth of those relationships. I mean, there’s, there’s the research, I might butcher this research, but I know, I’ve seen and heard in a bunch of places. I was listening Michelle Obama’s book, and she was talking about how I think half the Americans, they did some research in 2021, half the American half, half the American population in the survey – I can say it differently. Half the people in the survey in the US don’t feel like they have any quality, meaningful relationship in their lives. I mean, you know, this sort of notion of loneliness being on the rise, which has obviously, lots of mental and emotional consequences, right, including suicide, et cetera, right? I do think that being able to connect to yourself in a meaningful, authentic, fulfilling way, being able to connect in that way with others, man that is like, that is pretty darn cool. And something to really, really be proud of, and something to certainly strive for. You know, we always talk about being on the court or being in the arena. Again, as you know, work harder, work longer hours, work smarter, you know, get that better job. Okay, great. Go for all that. How about seeking your truth? How about, you know, calling your sibling and having, you know, that kind of conversation or at least trying to or trying to find people you can have that conversation with?
Sarah Noll Wilson
It’s life changing.
Nick Papadopoulos
It is.
Sarah Noll Wilson
It’s something that I’ve realized, I always felt that I had close relationships. Until I actually had close relationships. Right? I always felt that Nick and I had a good relationship until we had a great relationship.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And, and the thing that, and that’s something that became really clear for both of us is what kind of relationships do we want, we don’t want to surface level. We don’t I want relationships where my friend can call me and say, hey, we can’t show up for each other that way. And she knows she can call me and she knows that I’ll receive it, even though it was hard. I want those relationships where we can say, hey, that, yeah, you took a lot –
Nick Papadopoulos
Right.
Sarah Noll Wilson
As my older sibling. And I just, I see that and naming that. And the thing that and it’s been a, for me, it’s been a relatively newer, right, because I mean, in the grand scheme of my 42, going on 43 years, it’s really been the last five to six years. And it is just so much better. Life is so much better. Life is so much better in being able to like, and I also I just I have to name this. And there’s elements of having a privilege to be able to do that work, right?
Nick Papadopoulos
Yes.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Because when you are thinking about, where’s my next meal coming for my kids, your mindset is totally different.
Nick Papadopoulos
Absolutely. Agree.
Sarah Noll Wilson
So I want to just like name that. Some of this self actualization work comes when your basic needs are met. And so people don’t like feel down on themselves or react – so just like I have to name that privilege. But it’s just better. I’m more fulfilled. I’m happier. I am more joyful. I’m more relaxed, it’s, you know, I have this core circle of people who we could talk about anything, anything, and it would be okay. And, and that’s the thing that drives me is like, Oh, you don’t even realize how good it can be when you’re able to be connected to you and be connected to other people in a really meaningful way, in whatever way fulfills you. Right? Like, whatever that looks like for you.
Nick Papadopoulos
Absolutely. You know, this has been a really fulfilling week for me, right? I described the conversation with my sister. Saturday night, with another couple, they wanted to celebrate my birthday on the early side. It’s not yet but they said, hey, you know, we’ll make you dinner and all that. And they said – I’m the biggest Beatles geek. And they said, you know, and they found all these LPs in their, the building in their basement. Somebody had left them there anyway, they said, We’re gonna listen to all of these LPs. We listened to about seven hours. I know, I know. It didn’t feel like it, though. But for seven hours –
Sarah Noll Wilson
No, I’m not responding holy shit. Seven hours. I’m, I’m, that’s, I think it’s so beautiful.
Nick Papadopoulos
Yeah, we got there at 5pm. And it was midnight. And we’re listening to all these Beatles albums. And we’re talking about politics, and we’re throwing in SNL in the middle of it. And, and, and, and I walked away going I am, again, I’m the richest man in town. I’m like, this is pretty darn cool. Regardless of my title at work, and regardless of how much I’m making, and regardless of how many clicks I get on a post on LinkedIn, or whatever the case may be, and I’m not again, belittling those things. Because that is also part of my experience. It’s part of my expression. And it starts with me, which is I love listening to Beatles, I love talking about politics. I love having heated conversation, like I love – when I say love, like, I’m talking to the healthiest human being if I just did that every Saturday night. And I did right. And that’s that to me that that to me was the great, that’s, that’s the best birthday gift I can give myself is to say yes to that invitation, and and to say, wow, I’ve attracted this into my life. I have, this is available to me. How do I activate more of this? And I think that’s available to all of us if we just, we just start to untangle a bit, give ourselves permission, and really know that we can, we can really, we can really matter by just focusing on us. We don’t need other people to tell us how much we matter or or the opposite for that matter.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Coach Nick Papadopoulos, that feels like the place for us to wind down our conversation.
Nick Papadopoulos
I thought so too. Yeah.
Sarah Noll Wilson
That was good. That was a nice, nice pulling together. I clearly can talk to you all day. And we need to make sure that it’s not two years.
Nick Papadopoulos
Absolutely.
Sarah Noll Wilson
You’re, you’re such a gift.
Nick Papadopoulos
Thank you.
Sarah Noll Wilson
And for people who are listening who go, I need more of Coach Nick in my life. Like I’m thinking, what’s the best way for people to find your work and connect with you?
Nick Papadopoulos
The easiest way, I have a website, coachnick, all one word, dot com. My email is coachnick at coachnick dot com. I try to keep it simple, especially for myself starting with myself. So coachnick dot com or coachnick at coachnick dot com is the easiest way to get a hold of me. So I really appreciate you. I appreciate the space that you’ve created for folks like me to come and share and, and connect with you and talk about really important topics. So hopefully this was valuable for folks. And I, like you, I enjoy our relationship. I enjoyed connecting with you. I again, I feel successful right now.
Sarah Noll Wilson
I do too. I’m like –
Nick Papadopoulos
Oh, I’m hanging out over here doing this with you. I’m like, This is great. Regardless, –
Sarah Noll Wilson
I feel complete.
Nick Papadopoulos
Right. I’m great. Exactly. I’m whole. (laughs)
Sarah Noll Wilson
I feel very complete. I am so grateful for you, my friend. Thank you for being you.
Nick Papadopoulos
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Be well.
Nick Papadopoulos
Thank you.
Sarah Noll Wilson
Our guest this week has been Nick Papadopoulos. And – you can hear in the conversation, there were so many moments. One of the things that I didn’t share that I’m holding on to and I want to have a conversation with my husband and my colleagues is just really defining what would success look like in our relationship? What, what would that be? And how do we be really intentional about it? And I want to hear from you. What resonated for you? Maybe what have you shed, what have you let go of, what do you want to let go of so you can connect with your true self? You can always reach out to us at podcast at Sarahnollwilson dot com. And just so you know, I read all of them and I respond to all of them and I do love to hear from you. So send us your thoughts. What resonated for you, what came up for you? You can send that email to podcast at sarahnollwilson dot com. You can also send me direct messages on social media. I’m predominantly on LinkedIn. That’s the best way to connect with me. And if you want to support the show, there’s a couple of ways you can do that. First, easy is to rate, review and subscribe to the show on your preferred podcast platform. This helps with our numbers, exposure and to be able to bring on amazing guests like Nick Papadopoulos. Another way you can support the show is financially by becoming a patron, you can go to patreon dot com/conversationsonconversations where 100% of your financial support goes to the team that makes the show possible. So not only do you get to feel good about that, but you get some pretty great swag and you get early episodes without ads. So it’s a win win win.
Speaking of the team that makes this show possible, let’s give some love to the crew. To our producer Nick Wilson, to our sound editor Drew Noll, to our transcriptionist Becky Reinert, our marketing consultant Jessica Burdg and the rest of the SNoWCo crew. I am so fortunate and grateful for all of you. And finally, a thank you to Nick Papadopoulos for bringing his heart, bringing his insight, bringing his generosity and his wisdom. I’m so grateful to have him on the show. Well, my friends, that’s it. This is another episode of Conversations on Conversations. Thank you all so much for showing up, for listening. And remember, when we can change the conversations we have with ourselves and others, we can change the world. So till next week, please be sure to rest, rehydrate and I’ll see you again soon.
Sarah Noll Wilson is on a mission to help leaders build and rebuild teams. She aims to empower leaders to understand and honor the beautiful complexity of the humans they serve. Through her work as an Executive Coach, an in-demand Keynote Speaker, Researcher, Contributor to Harvard Business Review, and Bestselling Author of “Don’t Feed the Elephants”, Sarah helps leaders close the gap between what they intend to do and the actual impact they make. She hosts the podcast “Conversations on Conversations”, is certified in Co-Active Coaching and Conversational Intelligence, and is a frequent guest lecturer at universities. In addition to her work with organizations, Sarah is a passionate advocate for mental health.