“Follow your feels.” - Nick Onken Welcome back to ONKEN RADIO (previously NION Radio) — the podcast where we explore the body, mind, and soul of the creative entrepreneur. It’s my goal to help you take your creativity, business, and life to the next level. I’m so glad you’re joining me on this journey. Today, we’ve got something slightly different. I want to share 11 excellent life-optimization hacks that have helped me out over the last few years to access my creativity. Not only that, each has been instrumental in helping me live a better life and feel good. I’ve been disciplined about learning what techniques there are and figuring out what works for me over the last couple of years.  It’s important to realize that not everything I share will work for you, but these 11 optimization hacks can start your journey. I’m excited to share them, so let’s get into this episode! Personal Development There was a time my business was failing, so I decided to enroll in the Mastery In Transformational Training (MITT) that my friend Lewis Howes introduced me to. It focuses on teaching about living in possibility and how our negative thoughts construct limiting beliefs. Once I understood the limiting beliefs creating my life, I could break free and build new beliefs that have been game-changers for the last few years.  Interviewing hundreds of guests on this podcast has shown me that any form of success starts with mindset — I can safely suggest that this is a great place to start. Not all beliefs are conscious, though, and through my emotional intelligence leadership course, I learned that the subconscious mind makes up 95% of our beliefs while the conscious mind represents only 5%! Traumas and belief systems are embedded in the subconscious, so utilizing tools like psychedelics such as psilocybin and ketamine to navigate the subconscious — to rewire the subconscious — can be tremendously advantageous.  It’s on the rise, and people are using psychedelics for therapy to treat depression, PTSD, and addiction. I’ve learned the important difference between medicines and drugs — medicines help heal trauma while drugs tend to focus on symptoms.  Psychedelics can be daunting, but more studies are coming out showing how highly transformative they are, and if you’d like to hear more on the subject, Episode #185 talks about my journey with psychedelics. Health Health has been one of the most significant investments I’ve committed to over the last ten years and that I’ve accelerated to optimize my body during the last three years.  As I get older, I’ve become more in tune with not just how my body looks but, more importantly, how I feel after eating foods like carbs and sugar. To start, I changed my diet to include fewer carbs and sugars.  It’s important to recognize that everyone’s body works and reacts differently based on our sensitivities to different foods. Eating fewer carbs and sugar is working for me — but you’ve got to investigate what’s good for you and create healthier habits. A documentary that helped shift my perspective, That Sugar Film, shed light on what sugar does to your body.  The effect of sugar hits home too because my mother has cancer, and sugar feeds cancer. My decision to decrease my sugar intake has become abundantly clear for longevity. It’s taken discipline and new habits, but it’s been hugely rewarding, and I can feel it physically. Avoiding sugar doesn’t mean sacrificing taste either! If this too feels daunting, listen to Episode #78 with Rocco Dispirito, where we discuss incorporating healthy eating into your lifestyle.  Supplements have also become a big part of my regime, and after loads of experimenting to feel what worked best I set...