Why Your Mind is Like a Puppy (And How to Train It for Success) with Nikola Howard

Doug has an inspiring conversation with Life Alchemist Nikola Howard, about turning personal struggles into business success. After dealing with her mother's death, chronic health conditions including polycystic ovaries and endometriosis, and years of business uncertainty, Nikola has created her mission: helping women with chronic conditions build sustainable businesses without burnout. From her award-winning HOPE protocol for nutrition to her new FLOW formula for business, Nikola shares her advice for goal setting, energy management and the power of being specific.   KEY TAKEAWAYS Nikola shifted from being the UK's leading low-carb expert to serving women with chronic conditions in business after realising her most loyal clients shared these two characteristics and needed specialised support. Nikola sold her property to go all-in on her mission after years of managing her mother's illness and death. The HOPE protocol for nutrition, PATH for mindset work, and FLOW formula for sustainable business practices tailored to chronic conditions are three interconnected systems Nikola has created. Rejecting the 9-to-5 model, Nikola schedules high-energy tasks after 2 PM when she's naturally most productive. She works as a night owl and designs her business around energy patterns. Nikola has won 26 awards with her lifestyle approach, focusing on permanent change rather than temporary diets, emphasising adult choice and eliminating shame-based language around food decisions. She resisted goal setting for years, believing goals would trap her, Nikola only embraced them when she realised they're actually requests to the universe, not restrictions. Her business model prioritises collaboration over competition, incorporating feminine energies of cooperation and win-win outcomes rather than traditional masculine hustle culture that leads to burnout. Nikola's currently beta-testing her signature program and discovering it's more comprehensive than initially planned, requiring six months rather than nine weeks to properly serve her clients. BEST MOMENTS "The mind is like a puppy and it will run around all over the place. And our job as the thing in charge of our mind's puppy is picking up the puppy and bringing it back to where the focus is." "When you ask the universe what you want, it will give it to you. Might take a while. Sometimes it delivers sideways, but it will always manifest itself." "You can never be too specific. Would be my one goal setting tip." "We always, always overestimate what we are able to do in a year and seriously underestimate what we can achieve in five." "Never be scared of having a goal. Because when you have it, it can happen. But if you don't have it, you are just gonna wander along in your life on autopilot and things will happen to you rather than be caused by you." ABOUT THE GUEST Nikola Howard, Life Alchemisthttps://www.linkedin.com/in/nikola-howard/https://bsky.app/profile/nikolahoward.bsky.socialhttps://nikolahoward.uk/securitysix VALUABLE RESOURCES Website: http://dougbennett.co.uk/ Email: [e-mail] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/financialdoug/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/FinancialDoug Facebook Wealth Tribe: https://join.dougbennett.co.uk/ Download Your "Ten-Step Guide To Financial Freedom" Here: https://bit.ly/Struggle-Success BOOKS: Goals Do Come True is now live and available to buy on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3phcy6Z Think Simple, Win Big is now live and available to buy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Think-Simple-Win-Big-Business/ Enjoy, and come back for the latest podcast each Wednesday. Thank you for listening.