Nico “NNIL” Pires shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Nico “NNIL”, really appreciate you sharing your stories and insights with us. The world would have so much more understanding and empathy if we all were a bit more open about our stories and how they have helped shaped our journey and worldview. Let’s jump in with a fun one: Who are you learning from right now?
I’m intentionally learning more from my previous ‘self’ than I have before. If there’s one thing that self-awareness and healthy isolation has shown me, it’s been the echoes of events throughout my life; the patterns that lead to my personal suffering have made themselves abundantly clear, and I’m in a season where the echo is returning. To recognize the “noise” of life for what it is and reapproach obstacles with renewed courage and additional wisdom is invigorating. I’ve been almost happy to recognize old shadows approaching, it feels like a video game or watching a scary movie for the 100th time. “Oh yeah, I remember this part!”
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Nico “NNIL” Pires; if there is one thing about me that’s consistently evolving, it’s title.
In the last year alone, I’ve been a Spiritual Advisor and Alignment Coach to personal clients, a occult researcher and author, a Brand Director for multiple organizations and influencers, a facilitator and speaker at local, national and international audiences. I’ve made the most significant strides in speaking to emotional intelligence and regulation, neurodivergence and executive dysfunction, and emotionally-informed product design and branding.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My older sibling and mentor, Q Xavier, believed in me in all the ways I didn’t.
If not for them, I would not have made it to the DMV, I would have never immersed myself in personal understanding, and that work would have never been reflected in my community. Q made sure that I was my biggest priority, because they saw the benefit the community could receive if I was centered. I am forever grateful to Q and others like them, who do the work to understand themselves before reaching out and assisting us with finding ‘self’.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering taught me that I persist. In all of my stories, all of my obstacles, worries, stresses and losses, I have survived. For a while, that was hollow assurance. What good is survival when all you can do is hope to make it to a more fortuitous tomorrow? How much can an existence of suffering really be worth?
However, what suffering taught me more than anything else, was the absurdity of despair. When I did, in fact, keep waking up (sometimes in spite of myself), it became clear how much power I had to manipulate my circumstance. I know that may sound cliche, but something as simple as tidying a space you’re in can remind you of the power you have to literally shift and change (re: control) your environment. You may not have everything you wan or need, but you can ALWAYS do the best you can with what you have.
Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The biggest lie the industry tells is the “toolbox fallacy”; the idea of a magic pill, a special exercise, or fix-all solution to you’re emptiness. Everyone is simply selling their version of what impacted them the most, and most people think that thing is tied up in a product or service. Yoga, meditation, that popular book, that new trend or that class, none of it is going to save you from yourself.
The truth is, there is no magic pill. There is the fun, psychological game of putting your emotional fulfillment behind different things and experiences, but life is one big game of hide and seek with our emotions. We just forget that we hide them until they jump out at us. While that may seem like it shames the romantic, the truth is far more expansive! Imagine the world you create when you hide joy in the least likely of places? When you really know what makes you tic emotionally, your ability to manufacture your feelings with intentional action is empowering!
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
I don’t know that anything I ever “wanted” satisfied me at all. I have a philosophy about the hierarchy of desire: there’s Desire, Want, Like, and then Need.
“Desire” is simply the instance of becoming aware of something attractive; it’s so surface, so shallow that it truly isn’t worth considering in living a life of intention. “Desire” is good for recognition that intrigue has entered your field.
“Want” is only slightly more informed: it is desire distilled to specificity. You may DESIRE a beautiful partner, but you WANT that beautiful PERSON.
“Want” implies a lack of lived experience, it relies on the fantasy rather than the real thing. As a result, it rarely matches up to expectation.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.NNIL.art
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neeknil/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicopires/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@NNIL22
Image Credits
@xovonlee
@hustlengrowdc / @allgoodfriendss
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
