Rebuilding Life After Tragedy: Mandy Nicholson's Triumph

WEBVTT

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I put water. I love it. So it looks like we're

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live and the music is not keeping us. So I need

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to get rid of that music, everyone. I'm sorry.

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Do you hear the music? Yes. Oh, you do too. Yes.

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Okay. We're going to go here and we're going

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to say goodbye background music. Okay. So this

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is really live. So welcome everyone. We're not

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fooling around. When we say live, we mean live.

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And we're not fooling around when I say no prep

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needed. I haven't even met Mandy. So Mandy is,

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I can tell you what I know about Mandy. She's

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brave. She's bold. I think she's from UK. And

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I love the fact that Mandy was brave enough to

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say, yes, let's go live and let's see how you

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are. Mandy is a trustworthy person because if

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she's trusting me, I bet you we all can trust

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Mandy. So Mandy, I can't even say without further

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introduction because you have to introduce yourself.

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That's the beauty of this program. Yep. OK. Well,

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it's a pleasure to be here. I am Mandi Nicholson,

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and I am the creative genius consultant. I'm

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an artist and an author, and I own a creative

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retreat space in Scotland in the UK. And I help

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creative women to launch, grow, and scale their

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businesses and make more money. So tell me about

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your background. My background, I went to uni

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and did a degree in art and design but couldn't

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find a job that I really loved after I'd left

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and they don't really prep you for work when

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you're at uni. So I ended up in retail and had

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a very successful career there. 20 plus years

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left the creative side of me behind a bit, which

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is what a lot of women do when they leave uni.

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They tend to be an admin job. So I went a bit

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further than that. I was a store manager for

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big brands like IKEA and B &Q, and I was a division

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executive running multiple sites. So I did really

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well in my career, six figure job. But there's

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this void inside of you that is the creativity

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that you are not expressing. Even though it was

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coming out within the role I was doing, it's

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not the same as canvas and it's not the same

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as... you know, being creative with the mediums

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that are available. But like everybody else in

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life, I suppose, it's a societal myth, isn't

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it? The myth of the starving artist. I believed

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I couldn't earn money as a creative. So I kind

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of just carried on in that career. And then I

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had a series of unfortunate events. In 2009,

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where I ended up at rock bottom and lost everything.

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I lost my career, my husband, number of things.

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My dad died. I ended up in council house with

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no money, no job, on my own as a single mom with

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two kids and two dogs. So since then, 2009, I

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have rebuilt my life and my wealth working for

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me, not for anybody else. Are you able to share

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what happened? Is it very personal? Well, I wrote

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a book about it. It's called The Life I Won,

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and I wrote it. I fictionalized it. I had a car

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crash. It was one of those profound moments.

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We all have a moment, I think, in our lives that

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we know is a profound moment that's going to

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change things. And I was driving to work one

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morning, and a huge stag jumped out in the middle

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of the motorway. And I swerved to miss it rather

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than hit it. And I crashed my car and seriously

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injured myself. So it was almost like a trigger

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point for everything that was going wrong. Because

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what happened was I was no longer in that career.

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I then found out lots of things. My husband had

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been having an affair. My sister, who I was in

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business with, had got into tens of thousands

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of debt in the business, which I was liable for.

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things started to become uncovered because I

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was no longer at work earning all this money.

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Oh like the snowball effect ended up happening

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and how long was this process like when you're

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finding out so you're were you very let's go

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back to the accident first of all how were you

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very hurt like what was what was that? I was

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about four months in recovery um so I was quite

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seriously hurt um I was ready to go back to work

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and they made me redundant. Because when you're

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not there, you're just a number, aren't you?

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Even though I was a senior leader with a great

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track record, when you're not there, you're not

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needed. So I ended up being, because I've been

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off sick for four months, being made redundant.

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And that was a complicated thing. But that's

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in my book because they just wanted me to go

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away. And I fought for 12 months severance. and

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got it, but I was in that snowball effect of

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everything. During that time when I was recovering,

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my dad was diagnosed with cancer. He lived for

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four months. So in the course of 12 months, I'd

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lost my job, I was injured, my husband left,

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my dad died, my sister got the business into,

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you know, 100 ,000 pounds worth of debt and I

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had to go bankrupt. And I ended up then being

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made homeless on Christmas Eve and ended up in

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social housing, you know, with the kids and the

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dogs. But in all of that happening, I realized

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what was really important, what really mattered

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was my kids, my health. And I had everything

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I needed up here in my brain. I just needed to

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use it. And you're alive. So I picture the snowball

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effect, and then I picture you, you're at the

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bottom now of the big hill, and now you're bringing

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it back up. You're gonna pull it back up. So

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what takes place as you're slowly getting the

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ball back to the top of the snow cap? I think

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because I've been a lifelong learner, And I already

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had my degree in art and design, and my company

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had paid for me to do another degree in business

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management. I knew that investing in me was the

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best thing I could do, even though I had no money

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at the time. And I looked around me, and I thought,

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you know what? I need to make money quickly,

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and I need to invest in myself. And I was living

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in Northumberland at the time, the north of England,

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which is a huge holiday destination area. So

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I started a cleaning business. Really quickly,

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just started a cleaning business, put it out

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to the world. And within three weeks, I had enough

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clients with holiday cottages and pubs and things

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that I had to start hiring staff. So really quickly,

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you can build any business really, like a business

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really quickly. Not every business, but that

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one was easy to do because I looked at the demographics.

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I looked at the area. And what happened was I

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was working with a secret and, you know, manifestation.

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From that point on, I never looked for work again.

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It found me. And that kind of built. I still

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notice I still didn't go back to my creativity

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yet. Yes, and I'm trying to figure out. So you've

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got the business of the cleaning, which I'm curious

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if you enjoyed. There was some kind of peace

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or satisfaction that you were getting. And then

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I want to hear how then were you able to move

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forward? So yeah, I think the cleaning business

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served me well for a few years because I didn't

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have to think about it. I didn't have all those

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business things going on like I'd had as a senior

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leader. I just needed to get people's houses

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cleaned to a good standard and get paid. So that

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really served me well. But what happened was

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I took on a client who had a number of holiday

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cottages but he also had a financial services

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business and his wife got cancer and she died

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and he asked me to help him sell the holiday

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cottages and then he invited me into his financial

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services business. So I changed direction and

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from there I found another opportunity in a wills

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and estate planning business so I'd had at that

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point been had my own business. I've been part

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of three businesses that were completely different

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to what I've been doing. So along the way, I've

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met my soulmate, my dream man, Gary went to a

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party and he was sitting next to me by and we

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started chatting. And, you know, you know, you

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just know, and I'd met him then. So he was the

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one who actually said to me, I met him in 20

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13. And he watched me build all these businesses

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with other people. And eventually he said to

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me, why don't you stop talking about this creativity

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thing and just do it? And you've made money.

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Yeah. You've made money in lots of other places.

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Why can't you make it from creativity? And I

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was like, do you know what? He's right. He is

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right. So I started to look into that around

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2017, 2018, invested in a coach. In the meantime,

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because I was in financial services, I've been

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very, very smart with the money that I'd earned.

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I'd sold the cleaning business, I'd invested

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wisely, I'd scooped up and moved pension pots.

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And by 2019, which is 10 years after I had the

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accident, I launched my creative business, wrote

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my book and published it and bought my dream

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home for cash. And you know, 350 ,000 pounds

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in cash. And that was just such a, you know,

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a 10 year journey that took me to this place.

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I had my dream home, my dream man, my dream business.

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I'd got my book published and we went into 2020

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and what happened? The pandemic. So my business

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was still doing well. You know, through the pandemic,

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I built an online business and it was doing well.

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And then in April, 2020, my husband went into

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a normal appointment at the hospital and never

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came out. He was in hospital for a month. They

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blue lighted him to another hospital. I never

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saw him. And three days before he died, they

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called me in and said, you need to come, we've

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stopped all treatment. You need to come in and

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say your goodbyes. So that was 2020. So I know

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it was quite, and it was the pandemic. You weren't

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allowed in to see anybody. It was really difficult.

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And I was at home with the kids, grown up kids,

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but still kids, 16 and 19 at the time, 16 and

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20, yeah. So we then had that to deal with, and

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that was really awful. You know, you couldn't

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have a funeral. You could only have eight people

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at the funeral sitting two meters apart. We had

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that to deal with. So I took a few months after

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he died to really steady myself. During the pandemic,

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we were locked down, the three of us in the house

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together, grieving. And in the start of 2021,

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I said, you know what? When I'd bought my dream

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home, I put a castle on my vision board. My big

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vision was to have a castle in Scotland where

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I could hold creative retreats for women from

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around the world. So I looked at this castle

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and I worked up the numbers and I thought, I

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can't afford it now, but you know what? I think

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I'll sell the house and move to Scotland at least

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then I'm in situ of where I want to be. So I

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put the house on the market and sold it the same

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day for the full asking price from a cash buyer

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so it was obviously meant to be. So in 2021 me

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and my son headed to Scotland while my daughter

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went back to university to finish her degree

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and The universe put in front of me a miniature

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version of the very castle that was on my So

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I still there now, yeah, this is where I am so

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we need to see pictures we need pictures in the

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description Oh my gosh, that's crazy. Yeah Well,

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it's an old bank actually, it's an ex -bank.

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The castle I had on my vision board was Brecon

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Castle in Scotland, and this is in Dalbeetie

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in Scotland, and it was a bit of a wild card

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because it was up on the market. It had been

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empty for two years. Nobody wanted it because

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it was a big project. It's seven bedrooms, and

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it's three stories, and it looks a bit like a

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castle, but it's not. It's an ex -bank. and it

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needed fully renovating. X what? X bank. It was

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a bank. Like an actual bank? A financial institution?

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Yeah, yeah, X bank. Was there a vault in there?

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Yeah, there was, yeah. That's actually attached.

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It's not part of the house. It's next door, but

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it's still there. So this was the bank manager's

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living quarters, if you like. They were very

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grand in those days in the 70s, 80s, and 90s.

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The bank manager was really important in little

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towns and villages. So yeah, so we're on the

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highest. I know. I walked in and we've got like

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13 foot ceilings. Wait, you bought on sight and

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scene? You just bought, you purchased it without

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seeing it first? I walked in and I pulled up

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outside and it didn't look very much and I walked

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in and I saw all these cornices and molded plaster

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balustrades and big high skirting boards and

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huge doors, you know, six foot six doors. And

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I thought, wow, this is quite substantial. By

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the time I'd gone up three floors and seen how

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many rooms there were and then found out it had

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a walled garden just like the castle on my vision

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board. I was like, you know what? Yeah, it's

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in a bit of a mess and it needs renovating, but

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I've got the cash. I'm just going to buy it.

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So I did. And what it did for me was give me

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purpose because having lost my husband. I needed

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something in my life that was going to replace

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that loving relationship that I'd had with him.

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And this was the biggest project I'd ever taken

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in my life. But I'd just been to rock bottom

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once and then had something awful happen again.

00:15:28.850 --> 00:15:30.350
And I thought, you know what? I survived the

00:15:30.350 --> 00:15:33.190
first time I'll survive this. I need to do something

00:15:33.190 --> 00:15:37.519
big. So I'd been building my coaching business

00:15:37.519 --> 00:15:39.659
through all of this. So that was doing well.

00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:43.919
I've moved it to six figures. And then I bought

00:15:43.919 --> 00:15:46.340
this. And there's such a synergy because a lot

00:15:46.340 --> 00:15:48.820
of the clients that do my programs, the Creative

00:15:48.820 --> 00:15:52.320
Mastermind program, end up coming here for a

00:15:52.320 --> 00:15:56.039
retreat because I do four day and seven day retreats.

00:15:56.100 --> 00:15:58.480
But outside of the retreats, we do bed and breakfast.

00:15:59.059 --> 00:16:02.080
I've monetized it in every possible way and I've

00:16:02.080 --> 00:16:04.750
renovated it. Top to bottom, it needed a whole

00:16:04.750 --> 00:16:07.649
new roof. We had to pull walls down, ceilings

00:16:07.649 --> 00:16:12.850
down, remold plaster, new kitchen, three bathrooms.

00:16:12.990 --> 00:16:17.190
It's been a big project. Wow. Wow. I have a question

00:16:17.190 --> 00:16:19.230
for you. All right. So first of all, I'm going

00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:22.470
to assume that you probably, during this, with

00:16:22.470 --> 00:16:25.509
your new business coaching, you probably help

00:16:25.509 --> 00:16:27.529
other people that have gone, other women that

00:16:27.529 --> 00:16:30.710
have gone through similar. Yeah. Because I can

00:16:30.710 --> 00:16:32.779
just tell that you have the heart for that. But

00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:34.960
if you don't mind, I ask you this question. I'm

00:16:34.960 --> 00:16:37.360
trying to figure out the best way to say it.

00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:40.940
Have you ever thought to yourself, what if I

00:16:40.940 --> 00:16:44.360
didn't have the accident? What if I was still

00:16:44.360 --> 00:16:47.179
that day, no accident happened? Would I have

00:16:47.179 --> 00:16:50.960
ever had your father still? But what would things

00:16:50.960 --> 00:16:53.320
have looked like if you never had that accident?

00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:57.120
And what this accident really ended up propelling

00:16:57.120 --> 00:17:00.240
you to do? I just like to hear what was going

00:17:00.240 --> 00:17:03.070
on in your mind. Well, I think that's why I wrote

00:17:03.070 --> 00:17:08.450
the book, because the story itself, for me, it

00:17:08.450 --> 00:17:10.609
really was a pivotal moment. Had I not had the

00:17:10.609 --> 00:17:12.670
accident, I would never have done any of this.

00:17:13.230 --> 00:17:18.289
It really did give me a huge, fearless view of

00:17:18.289 --> 00:17:23.029
life, of when you lose so much and you can still

00:17:23.029 --> 00:17:25.809
find a way to keep going, anything is possible.

00:17:27.269 --> 00:17:30.859
Can I? Could you tell, first of all, do you have

00:17:30.859 --> 00:17:35.119
a book in front of you? Okay, what is the name

00:17:35.119 --> 00:17:39.940
of the book again? It's called The Life I Won.

00:17:41.000 --> 00:17:44.200
The Life I Won? Yeah, by, and it's written under

00:17:44.200 --> 00:17:48.799
my pen name, which is AJ King. Oh, I love that.

00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:53.259
The Life I Won, W -O -N by AJ King, available

00:17:53.259 --> 00:18:01.200
Amazon? Amazon, yeah. Wow. Okay, and it has my

00:18:01.200 --> 00:18:06.279
own art on the cover, so the cover has a painting

00:18:06.279 --> 00:18:09.220
on that I've done called Let Her Rise, and it's

00:18:09.220 --> 00:18:11.500
purposely used because of the name of the painting.

00:18:13.460 --> 00:18:16.500
Wow, Amanda, your story is amazing. And then

00:18:16.500 --> 00:18:18.980
so the book goes through the first I want to

00:18:18.980 --> 00:18:21.460
tell everyone I know about that logo on the like

00:18:21.460 --> 00:18:24.000
blocking him as bothering me like crazy. I can't

00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.339
wait to get rid of it. And I never met Mandy

00:18:26.339 --> 00:18:28.400
before. So if you're blown away by the story,

00:18:28.480 --> 00:18:32.960
I am too. Except I love the fact that Mandy's

00:18:32.960 --> 00:18:39.170
bold, brave and has a beep load of grit. Like

00:18:39.170 --> 00:18:42.109
talking about grit, Mandy, you are, you have

00:18:42.109 --> 00:18:44.410
the grit to do all of this. And then it does

00:18:44.410 --> 00:18:46.630
feel like when you share the story that Gary

00:18:46.630 --> 00:18:49.630
kind of was the one that helped you even in his

00:18:49.630 --> 00:18:51.869
passing. Like, do you ever feel, Gary? Do you

00:18:51.869 --> 00:18:54.470
ever like feel like, oh, tell me, tell me. I

00:18:54.470 --> 00:18:57.230
love stories like that. Oh, no, I feel him all

00:18:57.230 --> 00:19:01.230
the time. He would have loved this place because

00:19:01.230 --> 00:19:04.559
he did say, I mean. Losing him was inevitable.

00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:07.279
He did have a life -limiting condition when I

00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:09.720
met him, so it was a risk. I didn't know how

00:19:09.720 --> 00:19:12.420
long we had, but then with Covid, he was immune

00:19:12.420 --> 00:19:15.779
suppressed, so it happened. But I still feel

00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:18.059
him with me today. There'll never be anyone else.

00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:22.700
He was a wonderful, wonderful man. He's actually...

00:19:22.700 --> 00:19:25.940
He's on my windowsill because he said... Wait

00:19:25.940 --> 00:19:29.660
after I go I want to be with the dogs because

00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:32.180
we've still got the ashes of two of our dogs

00:19:32.180 --> 00:19:34.579
On the windowsill looking out and he's looking

00:19:34.579 --> 00:19:37.900
out into the garden from my bedroom, so He's

00:19:37.900 --> 00:19:45.500
with me all the time. Yeah The accident you you

00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:47.019
probably could have still ended up being married

00:19:47.019 --> 00:19:48.920
to that you think you would ever found out about

00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:53.380
your first husband's possibly and Possibly, I

00:19:53.380 --> 00:19:55.539
don't know whether I would have stayed or whether

00:19:55.539 --> 00:19:58.599
I would have let, I don't know. And it's funny,

00:19:58.740 --> 00:20:01.799
isn't it? I see that accident as possibly the

00:20:01.799 --> 00:20:05.200
greatest thing that ever happened to me. And

00:20:05.200 --> 00:20:09.559
that's weird. Well, no, to me it's not, but I'm

00:20:09.559 --> 00:20:11.680
also 61. So like, you know, we have a little

00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:13.539
bit more wisdom and understanding, but when you

00:20:13.539 --> 00:20:16.460
were going through it. Do you even want to hear

00:20:16.460 --> 00:20:19.019
people say, oh, it's okay, Mandy, you're laid

00:20:19.019 --> 00:20:20.640
up for four months, but this was meant to be

00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:22.960
like, how do you, what were some of the things

00:20:22.960 --> 00:20:25.220
actually that you would have liked to have heard

00:20:25.220 --> 00:20:29.200
from your friends and maybe you did during that

00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:31.519
time? What should people say to someone that

00:20:31.519 --> 00:20:34.420
is facing so much traumatic things happening

00:20:34.420 --> 00:20:36.559
in their lives? Can you kind of tell us what

00:20:36.559 --> 00:20:39.049
would have been good? I was very lucky in my

00:20:39.049 --> 00:20:41.890
friendship group that I had great friends that

00:20:41.890 --> 00:20:47.710
were just there for me to say, do you Mandy,

00:20:47.910 --> 00:20:50.910
just do you and don't worry about anything else.

00:20:50.950 --> 00:20:53.289
And they were there to pick me up and to listen

00:20:53.289 --> 00:20:57.069
to me. And I actually write about one of them,

00:20:57.509 --> 00:21:01.849
Naomi in the book, who was just... Like, we would

00:21:01.849 --> 00:21:05.170
drink Baileys and rum together and, you know,

00:21:05.250 --> 00:21:08.690
put the world to rights. And she just listened,

00:21:08.690 --> 00:21:11.609
and I just listened to her. And that's important.

00:21:11.789 --> 00:21:14.230
I think your friendship group is so important.

00:21:15.529 --> 00:21:19.150
And then they lifted me up. They didn't. Yeah,

00:21:19.150 --> 00:21:22.190
they lifted me up. And that's important for everybody.

00:21:23.450 --> 00:21:25.509
So they were telling you that things will happen.

00:21:25.529 --> 00:21:27.829
That'll be good and that just get through this.

00:21:28.230 --> 00:21:30.910
OK, thank you. All right, you mentioned First

00:21:30.910 --> 00:21:33.450
of all, I have a very important question to ask

00:21:33.450 --> 00:21:36.470
you. Brandy and rum, I'm confused. Do we mix

00:21:36.470 --> 00:21:38.730
that together? Is it half and half? Does it taste

00:21:38.730 --> 00:21:43.549
good? Brandy and rum. Bailey's and rum, no. Bailey's

00:21:43.549 --> 00:21:46.529
and rum, do they go together? No, no, we drunk

00:21:46.529 --> 00:21:49.910
separately. Oh, OK, that helps. I'm not a drinker,

00:21:50.009 --> 00:21:52.369
so I'm like, I like Bailey's and I like rum.

00:21:52.849 --> 00:21:56.170
OK, so now another question to ask you. You mentioned

00:21:56.170 --> 00:22:00.049
about a secret so like during the part of the

00:22:00.049 --> 00:22:02.809
after that happened what was that what was that

00:22:02.809 --> 00:22:06.490
secret that you were not sharing no no that was

00:22:06.490 --> 00:22:09.849
the secret you know the book and the film the

00:22:09.849 --> 00:22:14.230
secret so i was working with um the secret i'd

00:22:14.230 --> 00:22:16.950
got the film and i'd read the book and i'd got

00:22:16.950 --> 00:22:20.549
the film and i was really you know when you just

00:22:20.549 --> 00:22:22.829
watch something and i know it was really hyped

00:22:22.829 --> 00:22:26.279
up but you just watch something you go my goodness,

00:22:26.279 --> 00:22:29.940
I've been doing this my whole life But I've made

00:22:29.940 --> 00:22:32.880
myself smaller. I need to do what I've always

00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:37.940
done and I need to go back to being able to manifest

00:22:37.940 --> 00:22:41.759
all the things that I want and That's it was

00:22:41.759 --> 00:22:44.440
a revelation to me at the time and it wasn't

00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:48.440
it was a contradiction in terms That is so it

00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:52.000
was funny when the secret came out. I I was I

00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:54.079
I really always felt like Well, I'm doing that

00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:56.539
already. I've always had such a positive way.

00:22:56.960 --> 00:22:59.319
And I've always recognized that misery loves

00:22:59.319 --> 00:23:02.660
company, right? And just how to be positive.

00:23:03.160 --> 00:23:06.000
So I feel like that's something I just kind of

00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:10.079
understood right away. So Mandy, one more question,

00:23:10.119 --> 00:23:13.079
and then we do have to go. So what advice would

00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:15.779
you have for another woman? Because everyone's

00:23:15.779 --> 00:23:18.119
going through these kind of like, not everyone,

00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:21.940
but what people do are touched by tragedy. What's

00:23:21.940 --> 00:23:25.539
the advice that you would share with them? I

00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:27.660
think it's, you know, you've got to take a deep

00:23:27.660 --> 00:23:30.660
breath and look at what you already have, the

00:23:30.660 --> 00:23:33.400
skills that you have that you may have been using

00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:36.759
elsewhere that you can use to help you get through

00:23:36.759 --> 00:23:40.930
this. very good at connecting with people. So

00:23:40.930 --> 00:23:44.130
I asked for help. I stuck my hand up and I asked

00:23:44.130 --> 00:23:47.230
for help. I said, I'm starting a cleaning business

00:23:47.230 --> 00:23:49.890
if anyone knows anybody. And loads of people

00:23:49.890 --> 00:23:53.650
came forward with, try this, try this, try this.

00:23:54.690 --> 00:23:58.710
I stuck my hand up after Gary died and said,

00:23:59.049 --> 00:24:01.789
I can't get any grief counseling on the NHS.

00:24:02.390 --> 00:24:05.630
Does anybody know anybody? And within 15 minutes,

00:24:05.769 --> 00:24:08.529
I had a grief counselor from people that I know.

00:24:08.730 --> 00:24:12.430
So I think it's be prepared to ask for help.

00:24:13.450 --> 00:24:17.549
And people around you will help you. It's human

00:24:17.549 --> 00:24:21.849
nature. But it's asking the help that's the hardest

00:24:21.849 --> 00:24:23.950
thing. That is excellent. If I'm taking that

00:24:23.950 --> 00:24:28.119
advice, I actually because I'm the worst at asking

00:24:28.119 --> 00:24:31.299
for help. So, and it's humbling. So I really

00:24:31.299 --> 00:24:34.259
appreciate that. Mandy, I really, I'm so grateful.

00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:37.539
I was doing the lives during COVID and I stopped

00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:41.480
and I'm a podcast producer for five amazing,

00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:43.599
amazing shows. And I love doing it, but I felt

00:24:43.599 --> 00:24:46.000
like I was missing a little bit of like going

00:24:46.000 --> 00:24:48.279
live and having conversations and meeting people

00:24:48.279 --> 00:24:50.700
myself, which is what I love to do too. So I

00:24:50.700 --> 00:24:53.700
love now I get to produce amazing podcasts. and

00:24:53.700 --> 00:24:56.000
speak to amazing guests. I love that you said

00:24:56.000 --> 00:24:59.059
yes. What made you say yes, by the way? Are you

00:24:59.059 --> 00:25:01.119
saying yes to a lot of opportunities to being

00:25:01.119 --> 00:25:04.759
on the show? I am, yeah. I think it's important.

00:25:04.839 --> 00:25:06.720
If you want to get your message out there and

00:25:06.720 --> 00:25:09.319
you want to help the people that you love helping,

00:25:09.779 --> 00:25:11.740
you've got to put the effort into saying, hey,

00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:14.829
I'm here and this is what I do. I love that.

00:25:14.990 --> 00:25:16.809
Okay, can you connect with me on LinkedIn? Because

00:25:16.809 --> 00:25:19.829
I don't know if you actually accepted my, and

00:25:19.829 --> 00:25:23.049
I, and so I like to find you on every channel.

00:25:23.410 --> 00:25:27.609
So are you on LinkedIn? I know you're on as everywhere.

00:25:28.750 --> 00:25:32.670
Is there a website? Yes. Mandy, I've got to Mandy

00:25:32.670 --> 00:25:41.049
Nicholson .co .uk. Mandy Nicholson .co .uk? Yep.

00:25:41.650 --> 00:25:48.150
Okay. And? And the Art Bank Dalbete. Oh, that's

00:25:48.150 --> 00:25:51.390
a little harder. .com. .com. Can you spell that

00:25:51.390 --> 00:25:59.210
for me? So the Art Bank, B -A -N -K. And then

00:25:59.210 --> 00:26:11.869
Dalbete, D -A -L -B -E -A -T -T -I -E. Let's

00:26:11.869 --> 00:26:17.750
add that and see if that, let's see if it's scrolling.

00:26:18.329 --> 00:26:20.930
Let's see if we got that right. Hold on. I want

00:26:20.930 --> 00:26:27.029
to make sure. And the life I want and show it.

00:26:27.869 --> 00:26:31.349
Okay. Oh my God, the bank, that's so cool. Mandy,

00:26:31.609 --> 00:26:34.309
I am so grateful. I feel so bad that my photo

00:26:34.309 --> 00:26:36.410
is like sticking in your, like, I'm just so mad

00:26:36.410 --> 00:26:38.910
at myself. But I'm so grateful that you came

00:26:38.910 --> 00:26:40.849
on. It's so interesting. And then it's so lovely

00:26:40.849 --> 00:26:43.569
to be global and to be talking to you from, I

00:26:43.569 --> 00:26:46.049
don't even know how many miles away. So that's

00:26:46.049 --> 00:26:50.069
amazing. And then, wait, so then how many, what's

00:26:50.069 --> 00:26:52.690
the... How many retreats have you had so far

00:26:52.690 --> 00:26:55.069
and how many people? I know I said one last question

00:26:55.069 --> 00:26:57.309
but I can't help myself. How many treats have

00:26:57.309 --> 00:27:00.450
you had so far and what's the maximum amount

00:27:00.450 --> 00:27:04.769
of humans you could have? Right, we've only got

00:27:04.769 --> 00:27:07.069
three rooms, but they're three themed rooms.

00:27:07.089 --> 00:27:10.829
I've got a Van Gogh room, a Monet room, and a

00:27:10.829 --> 00:27:15.450
Picasso room. We can take up to five with two

00:27:15.450 --> 00:27:18.369
couples sharing. So if you want to come with

00:27:18.369 --> 00:27:20.029
a friend or you want to come with a partner,

00:27:20.069 --> 00:27:21.930
then we can take up to five. But normally, I

00:27:21.930 --> 00:27:26.329
have three women here. And I do four -day and

00:27:26.329 --> 00:27:29.289
seven -day retreats. And I've done retreats right

00:27:29.289 --> 00:27:34.450
through 2022 and 2023. fully booked already for

00:27:34.450 --> 00:27:38.349
the first three retreats of this year. So it's

00:27:38.349 --> 00:27:41.509
doing well. Can they bring their pets, their

00:27:41.509 --> 00:27:46.630
turtles and birds? Oh, I love it. I am pet friendly

00:27:46.630 --> 00:27:49.930
because I have three dogs. So we'll have to do

00:27:49.930 --> 00:27:51.930
this again, because I even get to talk to you

00:27:51.930 --> 00:27:54.269
about the art. I'm curious. I grew up with art

00:27:54.269 --> 00:27:57.150
galleries. My parents loved art. This is Melanie

00:27:57.150 --> 00:27:59.950
Taylor Kent right behind me. And my parents,

00:28:00.390 --> 00:28:04.980
my dad and mom really had a heart for starving

00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:09.400
artists, like you said, and would always, always

00:28:09.400 --> 00:28:11.740
help and have room in the art gallery or have

00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:14.420
them come in and do a show. So I love it. I love

00:28:14.420 --> 00:28:16.579
it. Mandy, thank you so much for being here today.

00:28:16.579 --> 00:28:20.059
You were amazing. You were my second conversation

00:28:20.059 --> 00:28:23.339
to have live. I really appreciate it. We did

00:28:23.339 --> 00:28:25.180
not meet each other before, right? So everyone

00:28:25.180 --> 00:28:29.259
knows. Having these kind of conversations is

00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:31.740
so good for the heart. You shared so much. Have

00:28:31.740 --> 00:28:34.279
a great rest of the day and weekend. Have a great

00:28:34.279 --> 00:28:36.420
night. Because I know it's, I think it's 5 .30

00:28:36.420 --> 00:28:39.259
where you are. It is. 5 .30. Yes. Thank you so

00:28:39.259 --> 00:28:43.000
much. Look at me. Look at me so global. I'm global.

00:28:43.500 --> 00:28:45.299
All right. Have a great day. Thank you so much

00:28:45.299 --> 00:28:46.980
for joining us. Thank you everyone who's listening.

00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:49.480
If you're listening, we appreciate you. Have

00:28:49.480 --> 00:28:50.619
a great day. Bye -bye.