178: Things I Learned This Year

“There’s people that don’t learn from their mistakes, people that do learn from their mistakes, and people who learn from other peoples’ mistakes — I want to be the third one.”

- Nick Onken

Hello, all, and welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. My main goal is to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I love bringing inspiring guests on the podcast for some perspective on these subjects we tackle, but today I’ve got a great solo episode for you guys. 

Time moves so fast when you’re constantly enhancing your life and living creatively. When was the last time you looked back on your year as it closed and took into account all the important things you learned and changes you made? I know, life gets busy and it can be difficult to slow down and just think about everything you learned throughout the year, but it really puts things in perspective when you reflect. 

In today’s episode, that’s exactly what I’m doing — I’m going to take you on a journey through my own self-reflection and share some of the most important things I’ve learned about myself along the way. 

I’ll be honest with you guys, this year hasn’t been easy. There are a lot of ups and downs, but you know what? Such is the life of a creative entrepreneur and I wouldn’t trade the life I have for anything. My hope is that by sharing all these things I learned, you can benefit and learn from them as well and level up your creativity and life. 

I’m so excited to share what I’ve got in store for you guys today, so without any further delay, let's jump right into the 21 of the most important lessons I’ve learned after reflecting on my life.

Creativity

If you’ve been here before, you might have guessed what my first topic was going to cover. I can’t argue that I try my best to live a creative life and inspire others to do the same whenever I can. 

I want to start off this list by acknowledging that there are three types of people in this world — those that don’t learn from their mistakes, those that do learn from their mistakes, and those that learn from others’ mistakes. While I try to be the third person, too often do I find myself as the second person — and that’s okay! We are never going to have all the answers in life. 

So how do you get the answers? Well, you learn from the mistakes you make, and you keep going. 

I just want you all to know that you have a choice. You have the ability to choose which person you want to be. You are not destined to keep repeating the same mistakes throughout your life without learning from them. You can choose to observe the world around you and learn from the mistakes that others make. 

Never Stop Creating Yourself

You get to design your own life, and it’s a process that never truly ends. When you think of creators, you think of painters, designers, and artists. In reality, we are all creators. We’re the creators of our own lives and of ourselves. 

I like to think of this as a life mantra, the idea that we get to create the life we want, right down to every detail. You create the person you want to be — in relationships, in your job, in every aspect of your life. In much the same way that I’ve utilized photography as a tool to get where I’m at today, you have the ability to create the person you want to be in this world. 

Creativity is a Choice

Everything in life comes down to a choice. We have the choice to be who we want to be and become the best version of ourselves. When life gets you down and forces you into a hole of sadness or depression, you have the choice to either stay there or keep moving forward. 

You are not going to be miraculously lifted from a dark place in life, you have to actively and consciously choose to take step...