What does it really take to become unshakable when life forces you to confront your own mortality?
In this episode of Becoming Unshakable, I welcome longtime friend, innovation leader, author, and Sustainovation founder Nick Kittle for a deeply personal conversation about resilience, self-leadership, relationships, and what it means to live differently after a life-changing experience.
At 35, Nick died for 22 seconds during a medical test. What felt to him like four days became a turning point that changed how he thought about time, work, relationships, and the life he wanted to lead. He describes the experience as the beginning of “Life 2.0,” when he realized there is the life we live and the life we live once we truly understand that we only get one.
Nick shares how that realization led him to make difficult changes, leave an unhealthy work environment, reassess his relationships, and become far more intentional about where he spends his time and energy. He also explains why resilience is not something we develop once, but a muscle we strengthen by repeatedly proving to ourselves that we can do hard things.
We discuss the practices that help us remain steady when life becomes difficult, from hiking and photography to watching sunrises and sunsets. They also examine why taking care of yourself is not selfish when other people depend on you, and how leaders can become more emotionally available by protecting the time and practices that allow them to show up at their best.
Whether you are facing a major life transition, questioning your career, recovering from burnout, struggling with a difficult decision, or reconsidering what success means to you, this conversation offers a powerful reminder: becoming unshakeable is not about reaching a final destination. It is about continuing to learn, change, recover, and become a stronger version of yourself.
How are you spending the limited time you have, and what might change if you started treating that time as your most valuable resource? Listen to the episode and share your thoughts on what becoming unshakeable means to you.
About Nick Kittle
Nick Kittle is the author of the best-selling innovation book Sustainovation: Building Sustainable Innovation in Government, One Wildly Creative Idea at a Time, and spent the last 15 years in government, most recently as a Chief Innovation Officer. During his government career,
Nick won 3 national awards for innovation, directed 17 different divisions, and developed over 65 unique or first-of-their-kind pilot projects while directly generating $7.8 M in savings and pioneering the concept of innovation Value.
Nick now keynotes and trains across the country on building Sustainovation in government
and has visited over 80 different communities to help them transform their mindset.
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About Heather R Younger, J.D., CSP
Heather R Younger, J.D., CSP is a highly sought-after speaker, 2x-TEDx speaker, diversity, equity and inclusion strategist, and contributor to leading news outlets. She is also the Founder and CEO of Employee Fanatix, a leading employee engagement and consulting firm. After over 25,000 employee engagement surveys and years of working with organizations to transform employee engagement, here’s what Heather has seen over and over: When you know how to listen, employees will tell you exactly what they need to bring their full selves to work. Book Heather to speak at your event or organization.
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