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it’s about me.
Which it shouldn’t be. If you are employing someone to do something, better do so for what they can do for you, not what they tell you about themselves. But hey, here you are! So maybe you want to know, and who am I to reject your curiosity?
Anyway, to break the ice, I’ll give you a little personal statement about what is at the heart of everything I do. Remember though, if you employ me as a coach, we will pursue your values, your vision. Not mine.
My Values
Health and Happiness – for the individual, those are the only two things that matter.
Happiness embodies both hedonism and longterm contentment born from delivering whatever contribution we want to make. The right balance for me is more towards the longterm, but I wouldn’t put a percentage on it.
For human culture: Open-minded is good. Tribalism is bad.
Beyond the essentials of life, we should aspire to a culture of creativity, diversity inclusivity and appreciation.
Anger should be avoided whenever possible. It always betrays weakness – anger admits the inability to deal with people rationally.
Violence and threats of violence are either failures of diplomacy,
or failures of character.
Money is best when used for nothing but as a unit of exchange. It can have vast power over people, some of whom believe they wield that power. They don’t.
In the analysis of options, and when searching for strategies, scepticism is wiser than faith, but when we find something or somebody we trust, a bit of faith is a wonderful thing.
There is no Planet B. The most inhospitable environment on Earth is far cosier than the most comfortable spot on the best exoplanet.
My Vision(s)
A positive future for this world. Enjoyable, enriching, broadminded and encouraging.
Embrace creative, exploratory, curiosity-driven inclusive endeavour, both artistic and scientific.
Search for angles on life that aren’t obvious – speak at different levels. The sensual/child, the intellectual discovery/geek and the historic context/adult
Better to do simple things with excellent style than draw a mediocre result from magnificent intentions.
We should enjoy whatever we do – doing it well – rather than live in frustration, wishing we could be doing something else.
To spend the majority of my productive time practicing what I enjoy and what I’m good at. To spend the balance expanding that range of skills.
Keep busy – Being productive is the best tonic for melancholy.
My Mission
To add value to my own and to humanity’s stories by the enrichment of life, fun, and character.
To share what joy I find in life. This isn’t a zero sum game, the more we share the more we get.
I didn’t say preach it, I said share it. There’s a big difference.
To pay forward; to enable others to develop within themselves positive values that have cost me a lifetime to learn.
Extracts from three reviews posted on Linked in by Nick’s staff
Nick was . . . successful in building a strong relationship with the client, he maintained rapport with the contractor and was well-liked by his team. It was a pleasure to work under his leadership and truly quite a learning experience for me.
I truly admire Nick’s ability in setting a straight track through simple and clear communication which made it easy for the team to follow. He is an ambassador for simplicity and innovation. ..
Nick is a top class professional . . . even in difficult situations.
He steers the team to achieve successful handling of the workload, but in the same time provides friendly support for his team members in their personal issues where he can and when he is asked to.
In 2018, Nick moved from a four-decade international career as an architect and senior manager in the design and procurement of major construction projects, to concentrate on his lifetime loves of illustration and travel. He also realised that with senior experience in a complex contractual profession he had developed strong interpersonal skills – not just for construction but about the whole trick of enjoying being productive. His sidelines include writing silly poems and serious essays.
Nick lives with his wife Ania and their twin children in what he describes as a multi-home life. Ania and Nick own property in both England and Poland. They spend most of the summer months in the Polish Beskid Mountains and their winters housesitting – so far in Iceland, Italy, France, and Chile, and with shorter stays in Montenegro, Greece, Belgium, the Far East, and Australia. Nick and Ania homeschool the girls who share their love of world-exploring.
He lists his interests beyond illustration, storytelling, and family, as food, travel, music, film, recreational maths, science/philosophy, and visual art. He loves all kinds of beautiful things, both abstract and physical, natural and manufactured.