Mick Unplugged - Nick Nanton: Winning Gold with Bourbon, Branding and Bold Moves

Episode Date: August 16, 2025

Nick Nanton is a 22-time Emmy Award-winning director, acclaimed storyteller, and the mastermind behind Impact Branding. He’s renowned for transforming ordinary lives into extraordinary legacies through the power of narrative, having worked with legends and industry icons across boardrooms, backstages, and even the bourbon world. As an entrepreneur and creative visionary, Nick has built empires on connection, authenticity, and the relentless pursuit of standout stories. He’s also the co-founder of The Difference bourbon with best-selling author Chris Voss, further proving his expertise in crafting unique, meaningful experiences both on and off the screen. Takeaways: ·        Build a World-Class Team: Nick’s journey illustrates that you don’t need to be an expert in everything. Surrounding yourself with talented people is the fastest way to bring bold ideas to life—whether it’s launching a new bourbon or producing award-winning films. ·        Experience Outshines ROI: Nick emphasizes the value of delivering unforgettable experiences rather than focusing solely on monetary returns—when you prioritize experience, success and connections naturally follow. ·        Your Brand Is Your Story: The most powerful brands are those whose stories others tell before you even walk in the room. Craft your narrative intentionally, starting from your unique life experiences, and let authenticity drive your impact.  Sound Bites: "A brand is just a story—a great brand is a story that other people tell before you walk in the room." "Money is the cheapest commodity in the world—it’s the unique experience and connection that make all the difference." "Being different is better than being better. You don’t have to compete—you just have to stand out by being authentically you."    Connect & Discover Nick: Website: https://nicknanton.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicknanton/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicknanton/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Nicknanton?ref=ts X: https://x.com/nicknanton1 YouTube: @nicknanton5771    🔥 Ready to Unleash Your Inner Game-Changer? 🔥   Mick Hunt’s brand-new book, How to Be a Good Leader When You’ve Never Had One: The Blueprint for Modern Leadership, is here to light a fire under your ambition and arm you with the real-talk strategies that only Mick delivers.   👉 Grab your copy now and level up your life → Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million    FOLLOW MICK ON: Spotify: MickUnplugged Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mickunplugged/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mickunplugged/   YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@MickUnpluggedPodcastLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mickhunt/ Website:  https://mickhuntofficial.com/ Apple: MickUnplugged

I have to work out. Like, I have to get my energy out so I can be a normal human. And, like, I do my best thinking or my best, like, I listen to audiobooks. If I'm not running with a friend, I run five miles a day or three and then I lift. But if I'm not with a friend, I listen to audiobooks or podcasts at 2X because that's, but I'm like, I'm getting all the nervous energy out and I'm actually able to focus and think and all that. Welcome to Mick Unplugged, the number one podcast for self-improvement, leadership, and relentless growth. No fluff, no filters, just heart-hitting truths, unstoppable strategies, and the mindset shifts that separate the best from the rest.

Ready to break limits? Let's go. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged, and today I have a story of connection. He is the mastermind behind Impact branding. He is the go-to storyteller for legend. He is the go-to storyteller for legend. and he is also a 22-time Emmy Award-winning director who's turned ordinary lives into extraordinary legacies. From boardrooms to backstages to bourbon, he's built empires through narrative. Please join me in welcoming the bold, the brilliant,

the boundary-breaking, my guy, Mr. Nick Natton. Nick, how you doing today, brother? Oh, man, I hope I can live up to all that, man. I'm doing great. It's good to see you, man. I'm excited to chat with you today. Dude, I am the excited one. And I think we just need to tell the story of how we connected, man. Like, most outrageous connection possible.

We're on an early bird 5.30 in the morning from Vegas to Dallas, Texas flight. There's weather in Dallas so we get rerouted to Austin, Texas. But what the people don't know is this. I sit down in my seat, Nick sits next to me, and puts on his eye shades or the eye blinders, and passes out. So there's no conversation. Nick wakes up and I have to inform him, Hey, bro, we're not going to be in Dallas. We're going to Austin.

I remember, yeah, because I like, I'm like a narcolept on planes. I can't stay awake. And so I remember hearing like, please put your seats up. And I'm like, okay, I'll do that. And then we're landing in Austin. I remember turned to you like, is that for, is that a joke? Is that one of those like, welcome to Jamaica, New York that he usually do, right? I'm like, is that a joke because we're supposed to be going down.

So I'm like, no, no, there's like weather. I'm like, oh, all right. And I was like, well, that sort of sucks, but okay. And then we hit the tarmac and for way longer than any of us expected. Yeah, three hours sitting there, but I didn't know I'd find my future best friend, man. Like we had some amazing conversations, realized we had some folks in similar circles, and literally got to know each other, man. And so the power of connection, the power of conversation, but I think more importantly,

just the power of networking, because how do we know? not talked about our mutual circles it probably would be like hey i'm nick hey i'm nick nice to meet you and move forward right absolutely well and that is you know my whole thing is like i well like i said i just fall asleep on planes uh but i also you know what i don't like about certain settings is i'm not ever looking for a shallow conversation right i'm looking for deep connections and usually you know i value the people beside me they're working or they're sleeping or they're doing their things so i typically like i have great relationships in my life but i typically don't say more than hello goodbye to the person next to me on an airplane flight

just because, you know, that's, I don't need to, I don't need to do more than that, right? And, uh, and let them do their thing. But it was funny because I remember when you informed me of this and, uh, you know, we decided that there wasn't a whole lot more to do because they also rerouted another 300 planes into, uh, into Austin, uh, into Dallas, into Austin, sorry. And so no, like people were losing their minds, right? Because, and it is frustrating. when you plan to get somewhere, but like they can't affect tornadoes. And so there was actually so many planes we couldn't even go anywhere to get off the plane. And I remember them saying, well, you could get off the plane, but you can't get back on

the plane. And wherever your luggage goes, like, we're out. I'm like, well, that doesn't seem like the best customer support. But okay, I'll roll with it. I was thankful. I only had a dinner to get to and we had seemingly hours. I was late to the dinner, but I got there. And then I remember, so there wasn't a whole lot to do, but maybe have a couple cocktails.

And you, I heard you order a Woodford Reserve, which is a beautiful bourbon. And I said, hey, we got to keep this on the DL. But I got some bourbon that I think you might really enjoy because I founded The Difference, which is a bourbon with Chris Voss. His book has never split the difference. Some of you might have seen him on Masterclass. And so it was my dumb idea. We should start a bourbon called The Difference because you never split it.

And so I have these little airplane bottles that you can travel with. They're actually liquid bottles. You can put anything legal in them and you don't have to check it. They're all small and they're little rubber-coated. They're very cool. And so I happen to have some with me. So I think at some point the flight attendant didn't care because I think they were running out of alcohol. And we were there for so long.

But yeah, it was fun to let you try some of it. Since then it's won six gold medals, which is pretty exciting. So I knew we were on to something. I knew it tasted good, but I'm more of a red wine guy than bourbon guy. I'm learning. But yeah, I mean, it was fun to just be able to sit there. And of course, yeah, we know like a hundred of the same people, which is fun too. Yeah. So the crazy thing is Nick told the real story. I wasn't going to go into, hey, we were drinking the difference on the plane. You know, both of us are going to have to go through extra security the next time. I'm not saying what airline.

But what was crazy? So Nick's exactly right. We were stuck for three hours. The only way to get off the plane was to stay off the plane. And even if you elected to get off the plane, because they only had so many buses or vans, it was taking like 45 minutes to an hour once you said you wanted off the plane. I'm not going to say that I saw people faking emergencies so that EMT could come get them. But I saw some people that all of a sudden were not feeling well. There were some of that. And then there were some guys like six guys got off and said they were going to

drive to New York. Yeah. And it was like, I don't know they're YouTubers or what. I mean, they're pretty funny, but I was like, man, that's a wild, that's a wild trip. Okay, good luck. Yeah, I would wait four or five hours before I decided to drive from Austin, Texas to New York City. Amen to that. Amen.

So, Nick, so much I want to get into, let's just go straight to the difference. Literally, and everyone knows I'm a bourbon connoisseur. The best bourbon, I have. I have ever tasted in my life is the difference. And it's not just me saying it because it's a newly released, not even to the public, and you've already won six gold medals. So it's not just me saying it. The world is also saying it.

The difference is the best bourbon that is on the market today. Well, thank you. I love that, man. Yeah, that was a fun story. So I met Chris Voss through some mutual friends. My friend is Joe Polish and Dan Sullivan. And I don't name drop, but I just like to give credit where credits do. So you'll hear me say names because if I learn something for somebody, I want you to know who they are.

And so I met Chris, and I remember Joe said, hey, you want to come sit down with us? It was at the end of an event with Dan Sullivan. I was like, sure. And Joe, you know, Joe actually runs an entire organization for addiction and recovery. So Joe does not drink, which is a good thing for everybody. And Chris ordered a bourbon, four roses. I ordered a glass of red wine, and we started chatting, whatever. Like a week later, I went to Iraq to do an anti-human trafficking film that I was working on,

and COVID broke out when I was in Iraq. And we decided we didn't want to get stranded there. So we bailed out, went to the airport, went home, and then very shortly after that, the entire U.S. was shut down. And I remember asking myself, like, well, I'm grounded for a little bit. I mean, it was really a sweet time with my family, which was great, you know, at three kids all at home at the time. But I just started thinking, like, what can I do to actually provide value to my community,

whoever that is, whether it's parents at my kid's school or kids that are stuck at home and everyone's anxious, like, what can I do? I have a good friend named Dr. Nito Cobain. He's the president of High Point University. He taught me what I called Dr. Cobain's rule of thirds. He said, Nick, a life lived one third earning, one third learning, one third serving as a life while I lived. And I'm like, oh, I like that, right?

so that's that's wisdom right there that's wisdom so like okay so even though my life is no one knew what life is going to be right i mean we all remember that you will never forget where you're at when the world shut down right yeah so i was trying to figure out every day a little bit more like what does what is earning going to look like in my future and soon uh what could i be learning because when you're learning i thought i hated learning by the way because they used to make me sit in a desk for eight hours a day and learn now i've realized i love learning because i only learn now speaking to the best in the world about everything. And when you are learning, or I listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts, like,

man, it just, it allows your mind to stay positive and be focused on opportunity and hope if you're listening to right things. And so I was like, okay, what can I be learning? I need to keep my chops up. And then how can I be serving? And someday serving would just be like I put my parents on the very first Zoom call because they'd just gotten back from a trip and they were quarantined for 14 days and they want to see their grandkids.

And so it doesn't have to be fly to India and feed a bunch of people. not as a bad idea, but like, what does serving look like? And so it was a really cool time for me to realize, like, all the things I love doing out in the world daily, I can just do here and I can really help a lot of people. So I just say, how can I serve my community? You know what? I know a lot of pretty interesting people. I'm going to host like a live stream once a week, whatever it was, and whenever I could get them.

And I had two astronauts on one time. I let a bunch of kids ask them questions. Of course, they don't want to know, how do you poop in space, you know, stuff like that. And then I would, you know, I just had a bunch of my. celebrity friends on and I was like you know I really like to have Chris Voss on I'd probably be a good idea he's a big deal but I didn't want to read his book because I read like so many bad negotiation books where I read like half of so many bad negotiation books in law school I never want to read another one again like all right I'll listen to it and I was blown away and I tell

Chris now this is like one of my top 10 books ever like that book is so well written and the it's just so good so I had Chris on my podcast and we had a great time And then I pitch him not long after like, hey, man, you should let me do your documentary. He's like, all right, let's talk about it. So I ended up doing Chris's documentary. I remember being around the country, D.C., New York City, L.A., wherever we were. And at the end of his shoot day, Chris and I'd have a nice dinner. Chris, we get a bourbon.

I get a red wine. So eventually my dumb brain goes, spits out, Chris, we should start a bourbon. I just called The Difference. Do you get it? He's like, yeah, we should. And so that to me was permission. and then I went bird dog the rest was introduced to our partner Roy Milner

who's sort of a sorcerer when it comes to spirits were able to acquire our first barrels that you've now tried and so that was really fun and you know I've never done anything in consumer package goods so it's like a really fun way to like express your creativity

and something that you can consume you can hold it, the bottles, all that stuff it was a fun journey so I'm so intrigued Nick you know you told me this obviously when we were on the plane for two hundred hours. But it really started to sink in. And I said, I'm going to wait and ask him this, not in a phone call, not in a text, but on the podcast so I can see the true

reaction. How does one just say, yeah, we should start a bourbon? Like, not, you know, we should think about it. Do you know any connections? No, let's go do it. Like, how did that in that split second just come to your mind? But then more importantly, for the viewers and listeners, what was that process like to actually start it? Yeah, so I have been really blessed with being so bad at so many things that I have learned that like, if you can build a world class team, you can pretty much accomplish anything you want. And so my idea muscle has gotten strong.

I had a guy who used to work for me and he got into a role where he was like pitching me all these ideas and I was like I was trying to explain to him trying to help him have better ideas in a way and I and I said you know and there weren't bad ideas but like monetizable ideas and I had to make a distinction that I had never thought of it I said you know what I love the fact you have these ideas but I've realized that I have you know 30 something years of experience because I started my first businesses when I was you know entrepreneurial kid in the neighborhood whatever, of monetizing ideas, which is very different than having ideas. And so I've been blessed with, you know, through immigrant parents and everything

where we struggled when I was growing up with financial. So I had to learn certain things and I had to make money. And so like I had to I had to struggle and learn these things. I learned a lot of times what I was really bad at. But I learned how to monetize ideas. And I learned to do it. I can do it. I can execute on anything in a world-class way.

if I have a world-class team. And so I didn't think it would be hard to build a world-class team. I hadn't done it in Bourbon, but my idea muscle is so strong now, for better or for worse. Like, I'm now at this place where like, oh, yeah, that's not a problem. Let me just go find the right team.

I knew I had a team of great designers. I've been having people trying, I've had people trying to invest money with me for over a decade. And I would never take their money. I would like with my documentaries. I only take contributions. Like, I guarantee you no return because I don't want you. Documentaries usually are not profitable.

And I don't want you. I just tell people, I sell great steak dinners, not poker matches. Like, you know, you know exactly what you're getting. And I'm going to do my best to over deliver. But there's none of this like, oh, I don't know. You know, like just that, like I spend a ton of money on great food and booze. I don't like losing money at the, at the craps table. I just don't or whatever, right?

So I tried to demonetize it. And so I finally, when I had this idea, I actually called a couple of friends of mine. My buddies own a company called Blue Delta Genes. They made custom jeans for like everybody, right? And they've been very good to me. And I knew they worked with some people in the bourbon industry. And so I called my friend Nick Weaver there. And he told me, he's like, man, I love Chris Voss and I love bourbon.

Let's do something with this. I'm like, all right. and so originally I thought we were just going to host like a two-day seminar in Kentucky and we're going to bottle some custom bourbon and everyone's going to take a case home or whatever and we're going to charge whatever for the two days with Chris and whatever everyone goes home and then my buddy keeps he's super busy he owns like a mattress company the gene company they do FEMA cleanups like he's just like a straight-up entrepreneur first time I met with him him and his partner business partner Josh took me to a barbecue joint and a bait shop

in Mississippi. It was like, all right, these dudes are, they're awesome. So I got restless. So I started talking to some other people I knew and like, oh, no, it doesn't work that way. Like, you can't just go get bourbon. Like you could get like a barrel pick, which means you like taste a barrel. You like this barrel better than the other one. Great. And they put like, you know, let's say it's four roses. They put a little sticker on the side of it that says, you know, Nick and Chris's barrel. I'm like, well, that's not what I want to do. And so kept bugging my buddy Nick. And he's like, dude, I'm too busy. But let me introduce you my friend, Roy Milner. Roy built one of the top 100 brewer. in America at Blackberry Farm in Tennessee and he owns a bourbon brand and Roy and I talked on

the phone for maybe eight minutes before we had like 14 different connections that were mutual and we both had trust from this other guy and he says why don't you and Chris just meet me in Louisville in Kentucky I'll take you around some distilleries and we'll show you what I think we can do so great so within a month we were there and then by the end of that trip I'm like Chris I don't think I want to just bring some people in for like an event I think I want to like why don't we start a bourbon together and let our friends play too he's like i was thinking the same thing so i was like roy could we do that he's like yeah yeah we could absolutely do that i got the right partners whatever and so that's what we decided to do and i did it pretty uniquely

and i maybe this will be helpful to people listening the only reason i'll share the whole the deal structure um i invited my investors in i said i'm not taking i'm taking 25 investors and it's a hundred and twenty thousand dollars each but it's 30 thousand dollars a year for four years so that because I don't need it all now and I and I told him on like think of it like a mastermind think of it like a mastermind like that you might make some money back but I can guarantee you a great experience so first of all if you don't want to learn about berg like I don't know that much about bourbon but if you don't want to learn about bourbon and you don't drink you're not invited because you're in it for all their own reasons and if you are interested in that then why don't you come

join me on this journey we're going to learn a ton you're going to get a lot of bourbon you're going to own a bourbon with Chris Voss and I said if you can't make more than your back annually by saying you own a bourbon with Chris Voss, don't do this. So I like told them all the reasons not to do it. And then everyone's like, take my money. I'm like, wait a minute, now I got to get, now I got to get everything drawn up. And I got, so we held a dinner in Nashville. I think I had 18 people. I then got my first 15 investors from that 18. And then I went to some other friends and we closed it out very quickly. And we're about a year in and, you know, showing some great promise. We also trademarked business bourbon.

It's the first spirit in the world to celebrate the art of fair dealing instead of just partying. We decided we did not want to go retail with it because retail is very difficult, very, I mean, you can't outspend the pappies of the world, the Buffalo traces of the world. I mean, name and name and name it, right? And so we've decided we were going to do something different where it's a, we have a thing called this Shareholder Society. So, and again, this is no pitch. It's just I'm sharing how my brain works.

It's the difference. Never split, always share is our slogan. And so if you want to hold your share of our bourbon, you have to join the shareholder society. And so we, it's an invite only community for entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and investors. We meet up twice a year in different locations, usually at least once a year in Kentucky. And you get quarterly allotment suburban shipped to your house. We have full-sized bottles. Then we have what we call shareables so you can share it with your friends and business acquaintances.

It's been, the community is incredible because we set the, the boundaries, right? We said, this is why you would fit. This is why you wouldn't. And you also, we have a no-a-ho rule. So that gets rid of a lot of people quick. And it's just been amazing. The amount of deals are starting to get done in those rooms. And the amount of friendships are being created. So that's the story of the difference. And hopefully it helps people see that there is, number one, money is the cheapest commodity in the world. It is worth what it is worth. I often promise people R-O-E return an experience because I can promise that. I cannot promise R-O-I. I don't know what's going to happen in the world. But if you are, if I can create an

experience, my goal would be that you, you do this only for the experience. And if you got money back, it would just be gravy. And everyone's like, yeah, and we have the right people involved. We have some really cool, some heroes of mine who actually invested, which has, which has been really fun. So, you know, think, I would just encourage people to think in a way that, like, if I was offering it the way everyone else offered it, I would be competing. My friend Sally Hogg said, great author says, different is better than better. Like, being better is almost impossible, but being different is pretty easy. So in whatever it is you're doing in your business and your life, reframe to what would make me different. This is a different, by name, by name,

it's a different offering. It allows people to join a community, get to know Chris, get to know, and to learn about bourbon together and to socialize to network and do business together. Well, I am looking for it to my first experience. Again, it is literally the best bourbon I have tasted and I consider myself a connoisseur. I told you that on the plane, man. Well, the new release, dude, the new release is, my mind is blown. It's a bottle and bond release and it's, I get you some before I see it. All right.

I'm excited about that too. I'm excited about that too. So let's change gears a little bit. You talk about experience, which is going to segue to 22-time Emmy Award winner. Bro, like, when you told me that on the plane, you didn't say it like you were bragging, right? It was more like, I looked it up, and I was like,

wait, that's you? And then you started talking to me about what you do in film. 22 times to win the Emmy, bro. Like, we're not even talking about the nomination. but to win, that means that people appreciate the experience that you're able to deliver through storytelling, which is freaking hard. And it's harder now that we have cell phones that, you know, the average person is trying to get into that business.

Not saying it's right, wrong, and different, but you have more competition now than you ever had. And you still are a 22-time Emmy award-winning guy. when did you know that that was a passion that you had so it's funny i i never intended to get into making documentaries by film like i just didn't i mean i did some stuff in you know elementary middle school with like projects you know like the stuff that they make you do and i thought it was fun i didn't do tv production or anything in high school in college i managed some bands i ended up you know i don't recommend this to everyone but i took out some extra student loans bought some video equipment

filmed some music videos and even made a mockumentary for one of my bands. It actually ended up getting me my business partner to invest with me. He's 30 years older than me at the time. So like it worked out, but I just, I used it as a tool. And I never, until I did a bunch of podcasts during COVID, I never would have considered myself a storyteller. Although I've been a songwriter since the age of 15, 16. I'm currently ranked in top 5% of songwriters in the world.

I just didn't ever internalize that as I'm a storyteller. And so what it's wild because I was doing, I played guitar since I was six and I've been songwriting forever. And when I, the way I got in the documentary is funny because I was coming back from, I don't remember my fourth or fifth Grammys, whatever it was. I was a Grammy voter for years. And I was like, man, I still haven't gotten any nominations. This is not going well.

And so, you know, I also knew that awards can, really, you know, help a career. And so I literally on the plane, I was thinking, like, I wonder what awards, other awards I could win. And I literally Googled how to win an Emmy. And I followed the directions. And I, I, so, you know, it said things like, you know, by the way, the only reason I was able to get in a filmmaking was because technology was, was moving forward.

Like the very first five Emmys I won were shot in Canon DSLR cameras or the first, you know, Canon 5D Mark 2 that allowed beautiful, you know, low F stop, you know, just beautiful footage from a, you know, like a $5,000 camera. I don't think, I think it was maybe $2,500. It wasn't that much. And so it made it accessible to me. So I'm not mad at, as you say, a new technology just allows more people in the game, but allowed me in the game. So it said, you know, look, everyone has access to great equipment now.

You know, everyone had, you know, at least Imovie, if not Final Cut Pro, nonlinear editing, digital cameras. It's like, so it really comes down to you got to execute well and you got to have a great story. So I'm like, hmm. So then I just started like my brain subconscious, like looking for story. And then I found my first story, made it, got two Emmy nominations, and then won my first Emmy. But the wildest part about that was that I got nominated for the documentary and I got nominated for directing. And the story is about a little boy who was five years old, third kid in the family.

His older brother played baseball, older sister played softball. ball. It was his turn. His name's Jacob. It was Jacob's turn to play, but Jacob had Down syndrome, and his parents were really worried about how the community was going to receive him. And then, of course, the story is like, it will make your ball your eyes out, but it's a short seven-minute story. And I, when we lost for the documentary, I'm like, first of all, I was like, there ain't no way if that, like, if that doesn't win, I quit. Like, this is like the most heartwarming, like, whatever. And I like, and if I don't win that, there's no way I'm going to win for directing. and I won for directing

and what I learned from that a couple things number one when you're when you're submitting for awards submit as many as you possibly can because you never know which one you're going to have the luck because I've had so many Emmys that I thought like dude

this this is the best thing I've ever made there's no way this isn't going to get recognized and it doesn't and then I've had stuff like dude there's this stuff I'm up against is way better and you win right so as many as possible the other thing that most people don't ever awards sort of have this shroud of secrecy around them but the awards organizations for the

most part they have people whose job is to make sure they run well which means you need to know how to be a good applicant right or a good nominee and so you can call your industry awards or 99% of the time they will help you they can't help you win but they can help you because I realized songwriting, like half the time, later on in life, I realized I was losing songwriting competitions because I was classifying something as a ballad that they thought was a mid-tempo or like, whatever, right? So even as like, hey, which category should I enter in? They'll be like, oh, you should enter in this category.

Oh, and you could also enter in this category. And it's like, oh, so, so like, hopefully I help people, you know, ask questions of award bodies and submit as many as you can because you never know which one it is. Because if I had only entered the one, I may have never made another documentary. again. Now, not that I should only be making them for awards. That's not what I'm saying, but I might have been like so intimidated like I'm never going to make it in this field. I might have moved on, but I entered two and I ended up winning one and it's sort of my business partner is like, you should do more of that. And so, you know, 90 docs later, you know,

we've done a few. Dude, it's so crazy, but you're exactly right about the award houses and the places because I've had different entities. reach out to me recently that's like, hey, you should apply for this award in podcast. I'm like, what are you talking about? Like, no, not going to say you're going to win, but you definitely want to be nominated. And here's what you need to do. And oh, by the way, here are three of the categories that you're a natural fit for without me having to research or think other than making sure that it was a legit company.

Right. But you're so right. They actually do want to help you because it helps them. It truly helps them. And even if it's a nonprofit, it is their business. They're doing the business of awards. And that's okay. I mean, that has changed my life in many ways.

And so I highly encourage, look, would you rather work with a team or an award winning team? Clearly an award winning team. I get conversations that I get a shortcut to having conversations that often I wouldn't get because whoever introduces me says, hey, this is my friend Nick. He's 122 Emmys. And all of a sudden, they're not asking, you know, is this a conversation I should have? I don't get every conversation, but they're like, oh, okay, but it's just such an easy way. So anyway, I just, I highly encourage people to look for the things.

What are the, look, don't let it define yourself worth. That's really important. Do not let the wins and losses define yourself worth because that's a whole other monster. However, I would encourage you to find as many things you can that can help you just start stacking that resume because at some point, the resume gets good enough you get a seat of the table that you knew you were destined for but if you don't put in the work to get some of those and there's other ways besides awards of course but that's one of the ways to build credibility that can really help you get a seat of the table where you can have the most impact of course you could do all of these things just for narcissism

and ego and all this stuff too i can't stop you from doing that it's not what i'm recommending but it does work very well to open doors for you uh when you get those type of credentials Oh, absolutely, because as you start to elevate yourself and your brand, and we'll talk about branding in a moment, there are entities that research that, right? And so they're going to want to see the credentials that are behind you, not the credentials that you can go create yourself, but what has the industry said about you? And so having award winning just helps, right? Like it helps validate without you having to tell your own story, which I want to segue to Nick. One of the best people in the branding game that I know is Nick Nanton. Thank you. How important is it for businesses and individuals to truly focus on brand awareness first? So branding is a really interesting topic because you can find a thousand different people who will tell you a thousand different things and charge you a thousand different prices for branding,

right? Right. So I try to first break it down and just say, look, here's my definition of branding. to me a brand is just a story your brand is your story a great brand is a story that other people tell before you walk in the room right and so i think that that's i mean that's everything that's how you connect with people that's how you network that's how you grow relationships look when you and i were on the plane and you mentioned who you work with and i said oh i know that person i texted and they texted right back it's like all of a sudden we're like okay we both know

we both know everyone's playing on the same field you know right and so it's just simple things like that. So I think it's massively important to, um, to have a brand that's so good. Other people want to talk about it for you. I've also learned, I learned it probably first in music that if you don't articulate your brand for someone, they will articulate it for you the wrong way. So I would have bands who would be like, I don't know, they're across between Blink 182 and you two. And they're like, oh, we don't like comparisons like that. I'm like, okay so when your best friend grandma wants to tell her other grand kid or friend her friend you know doddy's grandson about your band what do you want her to say like you want her to

decide what you sound like no and so it's all about it's all about creating a story um that's uh that's obviously true and believable uh that others can latch onto and they can uh they can become a part of it and then they want to share it for you so you know i think when you do that it allows it allows you to go way further because you're traveling in circles you don't even have to travel to right i mean you've obviously achieved massive success in many things and you know speaking podcasting it's pretty fun when you reach a level of significance in people's lives that the invitations you get are pretty good you know what i mean like and that means and you know it because when you walk into a room now you know they've been sharing your brand before you got there by the way that people greet you, right?

Whether it's the event organizer or the person hosting the party or whatever it is. And so I think you owe it to yourself to have the most amount of impact. If you want to be able to have that, you have to build a great brand. And it's not hard. I mean, you don't, you know, I love look and feel. You can see by the difference. I mean, I think packaging, luxury feel. I love all that stuff.

but at the end of the day, that's not as important as your brand is just your story. And if you don't know where to start, start at the beginning. Like, where did you come from? What made you who you are today? What were the pitfalls and where were the areas you realized, oh, man, I love this. And I could make a difference doing this. Where are the points where, you know, what are the things that you could share with me that would help me realize that you are the most suited person in the world?

tell me with what I'm dealing with right now and all that honestly comes from the life experiences you you've had and the gifts you've been given and the funniest part about that is most of us undervalue our greatest gifts because it came easy and most of us undervalue our life experience because we experience it's not that big of a deal and so no one knows where to start start at the beginning and you will learn when you start sharing your story there will be parts that people will lean into I'd let you tell me I don't have a story we're sharing I'm like what and I end up telling her story and she's she lived in china earthquake hit her family lived on the streets of china for three years in a tent village i'm like you know and now she's a successful financial

advisor in america i'm like you think you now now unfortunately now everyone else looks at her story and go oh i don't have a story like that like you can't tell my story i don't so it's like it's all this imposter syndrome comparison stuff you know the best thing that happened in your life is the best thing to happen in your life and the worst thing that happened in your life is the worst thing to happen in your life those are stakes we can use those two ends of tension to create anything you want to help people feel who you want and how you can help them. So there's a couple things on that. I love it.

I love it. Nick, you know, I can talk to you forever, right? But I want to, I don't want to end this call without me giving you your flowers, bro.

So I'm an energy person, right? I feel like we bonded for a specific reason. And it wasn't over the bourbon, which is amazing. It wasn't over the 22 Emmys, which is freaking wild. What bonded me to you?

you was that above all else, you're a husband and a father. And I think those are the two things that you hold above anything else. So I wanted to tell you that, man. I appreciate that part of you because that's how I feel about life. And so I love being a husband. I love being a father. And I love inspiring those around me to achieve whatever level of success that that means for them. And that's why I was drawn to you, man. So, like, one, I wanted to thank you, two, I want you to tell the world why that's important to you, husband, fatherhood, and friendship. Oh, man, well, thank you.

I love that. I'm honored by that. So, look, I go out and do crazy things in the world. Others would consider crazy. Start a bourbon, make a documentary on anti-trafficking, do whatever. And the best part of it, I would say, is that my kids now, by the way, I have a 20-year-old son in college. A 17-year-old is about to start his senior year of high school, and a daughter's going to turn 14 next month.

It's about to going to eighth grade. And so still in the thick of it and loving it. But the coolest part about it is as long as I don't do something that I would embarrass my family or, you know, be unfaithful or steal from someone or cheat in the world or whatever, like my kids practically could give a damn what I'm doing in the world. I didn't think it's sort of fun or neat or whatever. And most of their life, they didn't even really know. And, like, because how do you explain what an entrepreneur does?

Like, it's tough. And so I actually remember when my first son was being tested for kindergarten, I went in from the test. And one of the questions asked him is, what does your dad do? And he couldn't answer it. So the second one, I forgot. And he couldn't answer it. So by the third one, I thought I had it worked out.

And my wife actually ended up asking us, we're walking out the door to my daughter, hey, what are you going to say when they ask you what daddy does? And she turns down to his smile. She goes, he cuts deal. is it makes it rain cash she's like no i was like i figured i was going to get her on that i was going to give her an answer anyway you know as long as i don't as long as i act with dignity in the world they could really care less if i if a business deal doesn't work out the way i think it's going to work out and for me i've been married uh 23 years uh this in in july and so my baseline

is what i love about my family is that my floor is right here like it doesn't get any lower than that like it's just here so i can go out and i can take a risk a business risk and it doesn't work out and they don't care like because and also because i've intentionally spent enough time with them building relationships with them uh and and being present uh that not that i don't struggle with all those things with my phone around and i limit my travel dates and it's it you know it's it's intentional it has to be and if it weren't from my wife i probably wouldn't have been as intentional um she helped me to be more intentional but i have great relationships and they're They're my favorite people in the world, which when you do, when you pour enough into your family and they're able to pour back into you, that's what gives me energy and allows me to thrive in the world outside because I'm not basing my self-worth on the circumstances of the world.

You know, things get me down. Things frustrate me. It's by far as not all sunshine and lollipops. But my baseline is covered because I've poured into them and they're there for me. And that's what makes the rest of it just fun. I love it, brother. I love it. All right, Nick, I'm going to get you out of here on my quick five. You ready? All right. Your favorite documentary that you've directed. It's always the next one. But I would say one that I think is really unique is the truth about reading. It talks about how since we've started measuring reading in America for six years, whatever, we've never passed 40% proficiency. and we still aren't. And so we're one of the richest countries in the world and there are solutions. And most importantly, the way most people are taught to read is not helpful for more than

about 40% of people. So if there's an adult or, and by the way, once you get past like third grade, you don't talk about it anymore. You just start acting out. You start pretending. I interviewed a guy who was a high school teacher for 17 years in California, did not know how to read. I interviewed a surgeon who passed his medical exam without knowing how to read.

He just knew how to memorize words. And he failed his first surgery boards because he didn't know how to read. So he had to learn how to read to pass his surgery boards. Meantime, he's been practicing medicine, been doing surgery, been to, so like, it's a, it's a secret that is really painful to people. So if anyone is listening to this and is struggling, know that there are solutions. It's not you. It's not your broken brain. It's the system and the way they teach you out to read.

And there are solutions. or if you have a kid or a family member or someone who's struggling to read, check down out because that can really help help people get out of this cycle of shame. I love it. I love it. Question two, what's your dream collaboration?

Oh, my dream collaboration. It's all for me. Yeah, yeah. Well, hey, my dream collaboration would be, well, I have many, but I just put this one out there. I want to do Jackie Chan's life story. I want to do his documentary. I've read his book.

I met him once. We got an award together. His life story is just he's such an icon. He's such a good human. I would put, from what I know of them right now, too, Dwayne the Rock Johnson would be up there. Mark Wahlberg would be up there. I just interviewed Dolly Part and her story's already been told or she's like my number one.

So I'll put it out there right now, Jackie Chan. All right. I'll call Chris Tucker, see if he's got some pull for you. Perfect. I appreciate that. So speaking of books, what's a book that changed your life? The Gap and the Gain, Dan Sullivan, love that book. It just really talks about, it just make you feel better about who you really are and who you're meant to be. There it is.

You're a musician. First concert you ever went to. First concert I ever went to, they might be giants. Really? Yeah. Okay, okay. And then Cheryl Crowe, who opened for Blues Travelers, my second. Okay, good stuff. What's one daily habit that fuels your connectivity? Daily habit fuels my

connectivity. I have to, I have to work out. Like, I have to get my energy out so I can be a normal human. And like I do my best thinking or my best, like I listen to audiobooks. If I'm not running with a friend, I run five miles a day or three and then I lift. But if I'm not with a friend, I listen to audiobooks or podcasts at 2X because that's, but I'm like, I'm getting all the nervous energy out and I'm actually able to focus and think and all that. So for me, I just feel so much better when I'm able to start my day that way. It doesn't happen every day. Things get in the way sometimes, flights, early flights, but just moving and expressing energy

and being able to think clearly, that really helps me. And then I guess I would absolutely say, too, like talking to my wife and all my kids every day, too, is another massive one. Because, again, it allows me to keep that floor. and you know there people people don't well sometimes people break apart very quickly uh for for known reasons but a lot of times people drift apart and it it happens unknowingly and unintentionally so make sure you're intentionally nurturing the people around you care about the most because if not you will you will wake up on day and you'll find you're not quite as close as you thought love that brother Nick I appreciate your friendship I appreciate the man an example that

you are to many and I just appreciate your creativity brother so honored to have you on can't wait to do it again where can people find and follow you thank you so much well thank you for all the kind words um at nick nanton on instagram or all the things more or less uh thankfully there's not a lot of people with my name uh or nick nanton dot com you can go there as well so it'll i got a new book coming out here hopefully soon i'll keep in the loop on that and um yeah man it's an honor to be on the show i'm so glad we connected and can't wait to see you uh in Chicago in a couple weeks. Yes, sir.

And for all the viewers and listeners, remember your because is your superpower. Go unleash it. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Mick Unplugged. If today hits you hard, then imagine what's next. Be sure to subscribe, rate, and share this with someone who needs it. And most of all, make a plan, and take action. Because the next level is already waiting for you.

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