Natalie Nixon: Professor to Creativity Strategist, Speaker, & Author

When Natalie Nixon had to declare her major, she called home, terrified.

Worried that her parents would push her towards something more “practical”.

Instead, her dad told her:

"If you study what you love, you will have to turn away opportunities."

That statement became her North Star.

Today, Natalie is a creativity strategist, global keynote speaker, author and CEO of Figure 8 Thinking, LLC.

And in case you haven’t guessed it, her career path has been anything but linear!

𝗛𝗲𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆: Watch on YouTube →

Middle school English teacher → hat designer (Nat’s Hats) → fashion sourcing executive in Sri Lanka (during a civil war!) → professor and MBA program director

From the outside, these career pivots might not “make sense”.

And yet, they did.

But actual clarity came only after she hit her breaking point in the Spring of 2016. Walking down a hallway at 5.15pm, arms full of papers to grade, late for dinner, again, she found herself saying, through clenched teeth:

A moment that made her go:

“I don’t want to do this.”

She took a week-long personal retreat to journal (and cry, a lot) and realized she had already been building her next chapter.

That “side hustle” evolved into 𝗙𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝟴 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, where she now helps leaders navigate uncertainty by mastering the balance between Wonder and Rigor.

Other things we covered:

✓ Her mom’s ninja parenting trick, i.e. how ‘only boring people get bored’
✓ How an unprofitable first business landed her a dream job
✓ Her 50/50 rule
✓ Why productivity isn’t about doing more

If you’re ever felt the pressure to be ‘practical’ at the expense of your curiosity, or stood in a metaphorical hallway wondering what’s next, then Natalie’s story for you.

Listen to the full episode here →