My guest this week is business and career coach Nick Davies. As you’ll hear, Nick is from England, though he’s currently living in the States. I really enjoyed talking with Nick, not only because he’s easy to listen to, but because he speaks very clearly about principles that we find in cognitive behavioral therapy.

He and I talked about things like how to develop better habits, learning to recognize the stories we tell ourselves, and the importance of a compelling Why for our goals. I’m sure you’ll find a lot of value in this conversation. Topics we discussed included:

• Nick’s work as a “practical psychologist”
• My impactful conversation with Doug Holt (a previous podcast guest)
• What makes for a really effective business or personal coach
• What led Nick from banking to coaching
• Recognizing the choice we all have in how we live our lives
• The sometimes long process of discovering what happiness is about
• How to become more aware of our thought processes
• Learning to recognize the stories we tell ourselves
• Finding your purpose vs. creating the life you want
• The innate ability all of us have to find passion
• How to develop new, more helpful habits
• What the scope of our goals reveals about our beliefs
• Finding the motivation to catalyze important change
• The interplay between our thoughts and behaviors
• The value in breaking down tasks into the smallest steps necessary
• The importance of reminding ourselves of the “Why” for our goals
• Complexity as the enemy of execution
• How to deal with stress, anxiety, and uncertainty
• Finding opportunities in the midst of crisis, including the COVID pandemic

Nick offers a free assessment on his website, available here: Awareness Assessment.

I described making broccoli sprouts at one point in our conversation; here’s the video that taught me how to do it: How to Make Broccoli Sprouts. And these are the lids I use: Set of 4 Stainless Steel Sprouting Jar Lid Kit (affiliate link). Please note that you’ll need wide-mouthed canning jars, too.

Nick Davies is a business and career coach, with 20 years of background in financial services. Originally from London, England, Nick has also lived and worked in the Philippines, Florida, New York, and now calls Charlotte, North Carolina, home.

Over the last four years, Nick has shifted his focus, and now finds his purpose in helping people and businesses through coaching. He is trained through Tony Robbins coaching and is also a certified health coach.

Find Nick online at his website, and follow him on Facebook and Instagram.