“I remember taking a step back and thinking, yeah, this needs to be different. This needs to be changed. And that was a piece that I changed. So I guess in some ways this episode is more of a, oh, hey, by the fucking way, I’m no longer on social media, I’ve stepped out of the noise and out of the machine, and I suggest you do the same thing.”

Today on the show, Nick shares about how he recently left social media and how it took years to get to this point. It took that long because of the story he was telling himself about who he was with or without social media and how he couldn’t imagine what life could look like without it.

What to listen for:

Nick's background and history with social media

Stepping back from social media and planting your feet on the ground, staying present.

The impact social media has or doesn't have on his business

The challenge to you regarding social media

“I think the first time I was able to get onto any sort of chat room or anything like that I was maybe 12 or 13 and there were a handful of different websites like early dating sites and just connecting sites, communities, and stuff like forums for different bands I’d listen to, regional bands or big national acts”

Social media was supposed to make us more social but feels like it’s done the opposite of that in most cases

Early “social media” weren’t considered social media but actually felt more social

My early experiences with chat rooms and forums feel like the olden days of the great early internet

“It felt like social media was fun and playful at that point. I also didn’t try to make any money off of it. I didn’t try to do anything that was business related or anything like that, especially in high school.”

Early social media was an exploration of new people and new interests

About when I started to really look at social media as a tool for business and my entrepreneurial mind started to shape ideas around the concept of social media

About a business I had that was geared towards small businesses using social media and how I was “late” to the party

What I learned from that entrepreneurial experience and what my takeaways were for moving forward

How we can’t feed into the lie and story of “if you’re not on social media you don’t have a real business”

“About a month and a half, two months ago at this point, deactivated all my social media accounts and it’s been beautiful. Well, correction, it’s been fucking beautiful. It’s been a lot less noisy. I’ve been able to work on my business, work on myself, work on my relationship, work on my internal world, read a lot more, work on my music, work on my hobbies, work on my tiny home, work on so many different things that I wanted to be able to do instead of just doom scrolling on Instagram or just getting sucked into something or feeling like I have to do all these things to produce all these different pieces of content or have my team produce different pieces of content.“

Feeding into the peer pressure is never a smart move

Being able to step back, assess, and figure out what is real and what is not is important but can be tough to do at the moment

Being honest with ourselves about what we really want and what we want to spend our time on

My challenge to you in regards to being an active participant in the noise machine we call social media

About Nick McGowan

Nick is all about mental health and self-mastery. He works daily to manage his mindset and emotions and helps others do the same. His journey is one of resilience—he’s owned multiple companies, overcome addiction, and bounced back stronger after life’s toughest challenges. With over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing, Nick has helped purpose-driven businesses grow and make a real impact. He’s got a creative spark, a ton of tenacity, and a passion for helping others navigate both personal and professional growth.

www.linkedin.com/in/thenickmcgowan

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