Hello and welcome to another episode of the Perception Podcast with me your host Caroline Partridge. Today I talk to author, publisher and mentor Nicola Humber. Nicola describes how she became lost through years of trying to people please, consumed by doing what she thought other people expected of her, and how she found herself again by reconnecting to her love of writing. Nicola explains how she went from good girl to unbound self accepting woman and how she now teaches other people to do this by discovering their inner author. She shares the secrets of her unique writing process, we talk about how creativity helps us remember who we are intrinsically, and we ponder the resurgence of physical books as an antidote and welcome escape from endless hours of scrolling and overwhelm. Please join me as we look at life through a different lens. KEY TAKEAWAYS Nicola's journey from being a "good girl" to an unbound, self-accepting woman involved breaking free from external expectations and reconnecting with her love for writing. Writing a book is a transformational journey that helps women express their authentic voice and share their stories in a vulnerable, brave space. Nicola's unique writing process involves radical self-trust, writing in alignment with one's cyclical nature, and making personal stories the centre of the writing. Community support is crucial in the writing process, helping writers overcome doubts, celebrate successes, and witness each other's transformations. Physical books are making a resurgence as people seek a tactile, immersive experience away from constant screen time and digital overwhelm. Creativity helps us remember who we are intrinsically and express ourselves authentically, even if it means facing criticism or ridicule. The inner "good girl" or "good boy" can show up in various areas of life, such as people-pleasing, creativity, and relationships, limiting our self-expression and authenticity. Writing a book is not just about the outcome; it's a transformational experience that allows authors to step into their power, build confidence, and create magical portals for themselves and their readers. BEST MOMENTS "I could describe my journey to this point really simply. It's like from good girl to unbound, you know, that's the kind of terms, phrases that I use." "It ties in because a lot of the fears around expressing ourselves creatively and certainly when it comes to writing a book, what I hear and what I've experienced myself, especially when we're sharing elements of our story and we're allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, well what will other people think of me, particularly the people close to us, but then out in the world and on the internet, will I attract criticism, ridicule, you know, all of these things." "The approach that I take to it for myself and when I'm holding space for others is I guess, it's a process of like radical self trust. So you really are like, you're coming to the page, like not having this expectation that you will have like the whole book mapped out at the beginning." "What I love about books in particular is that like you get to hold this actual physical thing at the end of it. I mean, the way I think about and talk about books is like, they're like these magical portals that we get to create for ourselves as we're writing them and also our readers get to experience them in that way." "I think sometimes because we don't know, we know we want to make a change, but will it work out? Like, you know, where will I end up? We don't know. So it's, it is trusting that first step. “   ABOUT THE GUEST Blog Nicola Humber is the author of three transformational books, Heal Your Inner Good Girl, UNBOUND and Unbound Writing and creator of the #unbound365 journal. She's also the founder of The Unbound Press, a soul-led publishing imprint for unbound women. After playing the archetypal good girl up until her mid-thirties, Nicola left her 'proper' job in finance to retr