Nick Williams Interview

Nick Williams provided the last piece of inspiration I needed to launch Senn-Sational Limited. Reading his book 'The Work We Were Born To Do' gave me the courage and clarity to finally leave my very comfortable but deeply unsatisfying corporate job. And I have to say that my life has been an extraordinary adventure ever since. The Interview. DS: What inspired you to leave your corporate job in search of a more fulfilling life? NW: A combination of being desperately unhappy and feeling deep down that there had to be more to life. I was selling computers to Japanese banks in the City of London, and was well paid, but it had very little meaning for me. I had got to the point that I was pretty clear that I had not been put on this planet to sell computers, but was much less clear about what I was born for. Deep in my heart I felt I'd love to teach others, inspire people, be creative and somehow serve, but had no idea whether I was deluding myself or how on earth I would do it. I had no real plan, but somehow sensed that if I had the courage to keep following my heart, the plan would unfold and reveal itself. DS: Did you experience any fear around making this decision or did it come very naturally to you? NW: I was terrified. I think I had 5% inspiration, 5% self belief and 5% self confidence, and 85% fear, doubt and uncertainty. But that was enough to get me going, and I have just kept going ever since. Today I have understand that learning to recognise and dissolve my resistance is one of the great skills I have needed to develop as I build my dreams. But I have also learned that resistance is also a pointer, and that what I have resisted most is usually also the true direction of my life. I have found that the more I have gone out on a limb and been bold, I have found fruitfulness and rewards beyond my dreams. DS: What exactly is the 'Work We Were Born to Do'? NW: I think our desire to discover 'The Work We Were Born To Do' is our most natural and heartfelt wish. To experience the full development of our gifts and hidden talents, to take up our true place in life, to contribute to the welfare and success of others and for us to prosper on every level in the process. I believe it is a spiritual impulse to have our life be the full expression of who we are in essence. I believe that everyone has a positive destiny, a person to become and gifts they have come to share with the human family. But most of us aren't bought up to believe that, let alone know how to discover it. I think we all have the plan for our life encoded within us, so I am passionate about helping as many people as possible discover, live and prosper in the work they were born for. I feel it is one of my missions in life. DS: What is the piece of work that you've carried out that makes you most proud? NW: I think probably overcoming all my resistance and managing to write my first book The Work We Were Born To Do. I could have easily talked myself out of it, but didn't. Although the book has now been out for six years, I still feel truly blessed and honoured that something I wrote from my heart has positively impacted thousands of people and helped many people become happier, more inspired and more fulfilled. I am also deeply grateful for how rich my own life is now for having written it. I have been invited around the world to give talks and workshops and now have a family of people I know in different countries. DS: Dreambuilders is a fascinating community that yourself and Barbara Winters established. Tell me a little more about it? NW: I recognised that when many people find the work they were born for, it leads them away from employment towards creating and running their own inspired business. Yet for so many people this is a break in their conditioning that they should stay in a boring but safe job, and often they have no road map about how to build a business around their dreams. I met Barbara Winter in 2000 in London, and it was like two old friends starting an old conversation in this lifetime. She is one of the wisest and most experienced people I know when it comes to being heartfelt and entrepreneurial and her book Making A Living Without A Job, has sold over 150,000 copies and has inspired thousands people to start their own small businesses. We both believe that isolation is a dream killer and that we evolve at the rate of the tribe we are plugged into, so we created Dreambuilders Community to be the community that we wish we'd had when we were starting out. DS: Your work has taken you all over the world, where has been your favourite place? NW: Yes, I am very blessed that I get to travel. There are not many places I wouldn't want to go back to, but I guess my favourites have been Kauai, one of the Hawaiian islands, and also Africa. I have been to both South Africa and Botswana to work, and now understand what people mean when they say Africa gets into your soul. I love it there. DS: Who is the most inspirational person that you've worked with and why? NW: Having been involved with Alternatives at St. James's in London now for 14 years, I have been blessed to have been exposed to hundreds of inspirational people. Spiritually I would say one of my favourites has been Marianne Williamson. She is fearless, a spiritual warrior, and after reading her book A Return To Love I ventured into A Course in Miracles which is one of the best decisions I ever made. DS: You're already the best selling author of 5 books. What challenges lie ahead for you? NW: I am amazed that after sixteen years of following my heart and inspiration, I am more inspired than ever. I am passionate about developing The Work We Were Born To Do to help more adults, young adults and teenagers. My dream is to have core elements of it taught in schools and universities. I want to continue to grow Dreambuilders Community so that the world has thousands more inspired people living their dreams, and that will make the world an even more wonderful place. And I am also excited about a new project, Dreambuilders University, in which we are creating lots of courses to help people with the knowledge and practical skills they need to discover their dreams and bring them to fruition. DS: Do you think anyone can live an inspired life? NW: Inspiration is the expression of the spirit within us and as every human being has a spirit, so I believe that everyone has the potential to live an inspired life. However, not everyone knows how to access and maintain that sense of inspiration. I am passionate about teaching that too, and wrote my latest book How to Be Inspired in order to help people learn how to get and stay inspired and learn how to move through their resistance. I think regular inspiration is crucial for our emotional and spiritual well being.