In early December of 2019, I did something I never do; what I'm "supposed" to. I don't typically run Holiday campaigns but for one of my companies, it made sense to do a "12 Days of Christmas" type thing to sell my R3 program (which is now CFL). On Dec 15th I realized that in order to do 12 Days of Christmas, the campaign would need to start on the 13th.
Oops.
So I said "fuck it, I hate Holiday campaigns anyway"
The next day it occurred to me that if I started on the 17th I could have 12 days leading up to my birthday, and the best thing to do would be to just show up and share as much as possible; instead of doing a campaign to sell R3, I would just take 12 days to give it all away.
A few minutes before I hit the "send" button to let people know it hit me: "12 Days of Nicsmas". And Nicsmas was born. It was a ridiculous name then, it's a ridiculous name now.
Nicsmas 2019 was a breakdown of R3 (Retention, Referrals and Raving Fans) and a look at inverting processes.
I didn't plan on Nicsmas 2020, but last minute (again) I decided to go all in and share everything that is wrong with the coaching and consulting industry and the deep psychological issues that hold us back. Nicsmas 2020 is the first time I had voice messages of grown men in tears flooding my inbox.
Nicsmas 2021 was also unplanned. I decided to stream it live on YouTube about 5 minutes before Day 1 started. The theme: DALA: "Directions For Acting Like an Adult" or 'Don't Act Like an Asshole", whichever you prefer. More about what this actually means below.
Nicsmas in July and Nicsmas '23 happened this year and can be found below.
One of my dear friends, mentors, and business partners Jeff Moore wrote this to describe Nicsmas 2020, he called it:
"My Best Advice of 2020, Maybe Ever"
From the Desk of Jeff Moore:
Seek NOT a coach, advisor, mentor, or program that is going to give you something new to do.
Seek a SCULPTOR that is going to carve away at the noise and complexity of what you think you are supposed to do in business and in life based on all the posts, ads, programs, and offers out there…
And deliver upon you a beautiful piece of art that reveals your most fulfilled, happy, and prosperous self, uniquely carved specifically to represent your best you.
Before you follow what you think this advice is saying, it is important to understand the difference between and Blastor and a Sculptor.
A Blaster is the one that blows the most obvious perspectives and advice to the masses… removing falsehoods and misconceptions of the most unlearned in the population.
A Sculptor is the one who sees the vision and makes careful and unique moves to reveal the work that best represents the best version of the desired outcome by removing the subtle and not-so-subtle assumptions, detractors, and distractions that do not represent the overall goal of the project or person.
To explain further, let’s give you a familiar frame of reference… Mount Rushmore.
Mount Rushmore was created to commemorate our national history and progress through the features of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt.
There is much we can use from this creation that will best differentiate and symbolize what a true sculptor can mean in your business and life… let’s just say life, because business is a big part of how we lead our adult lives.
Mount Rushmore took just about 14 years to create. Great things take time.
Many will see the image of a Sculptor and this dude with big hands, a big hammer, and a large chisel and they would not be wrong, but this is the Blastor.
For instance, 90% of Mount Rushmore was created using Dynamite. That took roughly 6 months of the 14-year project.
The remaining 13.5 years were completed by 400 men carefully chiseling the side of this Granite mountain to form the features as presented in the model held in the station below. The artist and leader would radio the teams and direct them on what else to remove to shape the finished product you see today.
They started with Dynamite, then big chisels, but the real art comes from removing the smaller pieces of stone that shape the detail of the visage and finally very carefully shaving away the parts of Granite to form this magical monument.
Never once did they “ADD” Granite or another substance to make the monument more substantial.
As humans, we tend to look to “ADD” elements, processes, and other components to our lives to help us grab our share of the American Dream.
Modern Advertising has done a hell of a job getting us to believe that we are “One Funnel Away” from prosperity… and once we have that One Funnel, we find we need a new copy, a sales force, and some fancy software to manage it all.
This is the same with weight loss, relationships, happiness, and anything else we want in life.
Have you ever felt that the further along you get in your entrepreneurial journey, the more complex, time-consuming and resource-sucking things seem to get and the less the image looks like the original idea and vision you had when you started?
If so, you are one of the 92.5% of all entrepreneurs that are suffering from “chronic plastic surgery syndrome”… adding more to create a more perfect vision, only to find that the new version looks nothing like the original image you had when you first started.
You feel like this “thing” is no longer yours because it is just a compilation of other people’s vision… coaches, advisors, so-called mastermind groups… the list of additive detractors is long.
Then you feel like blowing the whole thing up.
Sound familiar? Me too.
I came up with this realization for myself after working with Nic for the last 2.5 years, and after spending a good part of this time trying to figure out how to introduce Nic to other super-achievers and thought leaders. Saying, “Nic is a Genius, was not working for me.” True, but not nearly as compelling as I thought it should be.
Actually, it came to me finally and clearly after Nicsmas 2020 Day #7.
Nic had sent out a follow-up email talking about the content he had delivered over the previous days. Here was my “stream of consciousness” response…
“Hey, Nic,
To refer to what you are doing as “content” is a big-time understatement… but if you were to call it what it is to the participants of Nicsmas2020, your description would make you sound arrogant and egotistical. Leave that to the people you have served, saved, and guided.
Maybe I was just ready to hear it finally at 56 years, but this has been among the most transformational 7 hours of my life… and there are 5 days of Nicsmas to go!
You have delivered with such grabbing clarity and actionable simplicity (aka “Nicsplicity”) that I am absolutely certain of what I want, why I want it, how I am going to get there, and what to do every day to close the gap between where I am and where I want to be.
You are not a coach, a consultant, or a teacher… you are a sculptor, carving away at the noise and complexity of what we think we are supposed to do based on all the advice, posts, ads, and offers out there; and finally delivering a beautiful piece of art uniquely carved to reveal our most fulfilled, happy and prosperous life… the best version of our individual selves and the role we play in the service of others.
Nicsmas2020 is a blessing and an investment that will continue to pay off for the rest of my life.”
Nic is a sculptor… it is as obvious as the day.
This is how I will introduce Nic for the rest of my life.
I hope this advice serves you… for the rest of YOUR Life.
– Jeff Moore
Director, Global Protein Group / Founder Thursday Night Boardroom
It was on Day 7 of Nicsmas 2020, an unplanned campaign/event, that it became clear to me I am best a sculptor; removing the parts of people that simply aren't them.
I don't write (or make video) so that more people will be like me. On the contrary, I hope you are less like me every day and more like you.
Nicsmas Directory:
Nicsmas 2019: Inversion, optimizing from the bottom up applied to R3 (Retention, Referrals, and Raving Fans). Taught in exact reverse order. Mastery Mode then re-ordered it and turned it into the book: Customers For Life.
Nicsmas 2020: Fundamental concepts and principles designed to discredit the charlatans and give you back the power they have taken from you. Sculpting away the things in your life and opinions that are not actually you.
Nicsmas 2021: DALA: Directions for Acting Like an Adult or Don't Act Like an Asshole. "Acting Like an Asshole" is relative. Any time you behave in a way or make a decision that gets you further away from what you want, you are an asshole. Anytime you complain about situations you created for yourself, you are being an asshole.
Nicsmas in July ('22): The Adaptive Dilemma. I couldn't sleep for a few days because what I now call the adaptive Dilemma became so clear to me I couldn't let it go. So I did a Nicsmas in July. This one is only 3 days long and I've done cleaner versions of it since, but some people like the original, raw presentation best.
Nicsmas 2023: Nicsmas '23 was just one day. Biggest lessons and a sort of reference manual as to where to get caught up on those lessons if they are interesting to you.
How To Get Nicsmas Replays and Resources For Free:
Nicsmas, like most of my stuff, is live and stream of consciousness with little structure outside of sequencing. If you want the original, raw, experience the Nicsmas replays are all hosted for free in the NP Archive:
GET THE OG NICSMAS EXPERIENCE FREE HERE
A Force Multiplier: Make Nicsmas Better.
A force multiplier is just a form of leverage, a tool that makes everything else more effective. Realizing that many do not have a shared language or the base knowledge to get the most out of Nicsmas (or anything I do free form) I lined out a curriculum to give you the shared language and base knowledge.
The Guardian Academy hosts this curriculum, but it's free and it's organized. If you go through it in the order its listed on the syllabus it will act as a force multiplier in the sense that it will make every minute of Nicsmas (or anything else you do) more effective. This compounds pretty quickly.
GET THE FULL SYLLABUS AND RESOURCES HERE
If you don't like to opt into shit, I get it. HERE is a copy of my working syllabus for TGA. You can read, watch or listen, but I recommend you do it in the order/sequence presented.
Watch Nicsmas. Don't watch Nicsmas. It's all the same to me.
But ignore Jeff's advice above at your own peril. The sooner you stop adding more shit to your plate and sculpting (figuring out who you actually are) the happier, healthier, and wealthier you will become.
Nic
PS. As you know, by now, I do not have comment enabled because I don't want another thing to monitor. Questions, comments, 6WU's, and perspectives are welcome here.