We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Nella. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Nella below.
Hi Nella, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?
I don’t feel like I found my purpose as if it was something I didn’t have and needed to search for. I had it my whole life and one day the concept of my purpose was more so realized. There’s a thread throughout my life that connected so many things. I had no idea of this underlying connection or how any of it would play the role that it does today. I could outline each element in detail. Collectively they provide striking evidence that what I am doing now, is undoubtedly what I was always meant to do. Shaun Lether said at the last IANDS (International Association for Near Death Studies) conference I attended, “It was my path to go off my path” and that struck me deep. I believe everyone, whether they know it or not, is already living their purpose and hopefully one day it’ll be realized.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I interview people about their Near Death Experiences. For anyone who doesn’t know about this community, it is what it sounds like, people have a close encounter with death but it is so much more than that. The commonly used term is “near death” however, these people have died and come back to life. It is an actual death experience. There are medical records of time of death, people flatline while resuscitation teams work to bring them back. What they experience on the other side is what makes this kind of experience fascinating. Highly educated and revered Doctors, PHDs, Neuroscientists, and known skeptics alike have been captivated by this phenomenon. Many have had near death experiences of their own.
I gratefully have not crossed over to the other side in this lifetime. As amazing as these experiences are to listen to, to actually experience, it comes with significant challenges. Identity and narrative shattering truths that are impossible to ignore. I have had what I call a spiritually transformative life rather than a spiritually transformative experience. For me, there wasn’t an isolated event where everything changed. I had a drip feed of experiences that helped me to approach conversations today with empathy and clarity.
I work with a team of people on 3 podcast/YouTube channels and I also have my own personal podcast/YouTube channel project called Ethereality that I work on with my brother, Darren. The team started with The Other Side NDE, a YouTube channel that now has nearly half a million subscribers. David Weeks is the founder of this channel and he found me on Upwork (a freelancer platform) and for three years we have worked closely to contribute to this growing community. I could never have imagined how fulfilling this work is. People reach out to me all the time explaining how our videos have changed their perspective on life and death.
We aim to encourage people to live transparently in a world that can be very harsh. When people come forward to share these experiences it grows an already massive safe space to become larger and more welcoming bringing comfort and acceptance to many people who used to live in fear of death. For anyone grieving the loss of a loved one or someone who is just searching for answers about the universe, these videos are medicinal. We are working together to bring awareness to this phenomenon and collectively raising the vibrations of the world.
I work with a team of people on 3 podcast/YouTube channels and I also have my own personal podcast/YouTube channel project called Ethereality that I work on with my brother, Darren. The team started with The Other Side NDE, a YouTube channel that now has nearly half a million subscribers. David Weeks is the founder of this channel and he found me on Upwork (a freelancer platform) and for three years we have worked closely to contribute to this growing community. I never could have imagined how fulfilling this work is. People reach out to me all the time explaining how our videos have changed their perspective on life and death.
We aim to encourage people to live transparently in a world that can be very harsh. When people come forward to share these experiences it grows an already massive safe space to become larger and more welcoming bringing comfort and acceptance to many people who used to live in fear of death. For anyone grieving the loss of a loved one or someone who is just searching for answers about the universe, these videos are medicinal. We are working together to bring awareness to this phenomenon and collectively raising the vibrations of the world.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The number one skill that has helped me throughout finding my place in the world of entrepreneurs has been learning how to move forward in bite sized steps.
“You don’t have to see the whole staircase to take the first step” -Martin Luther King Jr.
If you look at everything as a whole when starting a new project, it is incredibly overwhelming. Instead of focusing on the big picture, just find one little thing you can do and focus on just that until it is completed and move onto the next. In my early twenties I was pushed by someone in my life to start a business. I was intimidated and overwhelmed looking at the list of steps necessary; business entity type, Secretary of State, Department of Revenue, L&I, Employee Identification Number, IRS, business bank accounts and proper accounting. My head was spinning but I forced myself through the discomfort and took one step at a time. After it was done, I did it again and it’s no longer a scary process to me.
Taking baby steps forward was incredibly helpful but another thing that has been helpful for me is something my brother says all the time, “If it’s a 7 ship it”. You don’t have to make sure everything is perfect before throwing it out there. You always have the ability to correct, improve and make things better moving forward. Also, it’s cool to see your journey of progress. For me, because I have a YouTube channel, I have a record of my progress and I am sure someday it will be fun to look back and reflect on how far things have come.
This overcoming of perfectionism did not come easily for me. I still struggle at times but overall I believe I have reframed things and I am excited to see the difference in what I am producing now vs what I will be working on two years from now. Trust in the journey and take the leap because you will never be 100% ready. You just have to jump in the deep end and learn to swim.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me was 1, bring me into this world and 2, traumatize me. Don’t get me wrong, I had parents that were loving and tried their best but they were both deeply flawed in their own ways as everyone is. I have learned throughout my life the number one thing I am most grateful for is my traumas because they have taught me lessons, helped me grow, helped me develop and shatter narratives that ultimately led me to establishing a solid identity and place in this world.
We need to recognize that suffering is not “bad”. It feels bad, sure, but often it turns around, after we heal and learn from an experience, to be a blessing. As humans we try to label things as good or bad but many times something we think is a blessing from God ends up ripping us apart and the things that rip us apart we consider bad but in the healing is where our blessing lies. It’s a futile effort to label anything as either “good” or “bad” it is all simply contrast and we are here to embrace the journey. Learning neutrality is not about numbing or inhibiting our full spectrum as humans. It’s about cultivating a deep inner peace and trust that cannot be waivered by things in our environment.
I don’t want to discount experiences that are significantly painful. How could losing a loved one to a drawn out painful illness or tragic accident be considered serving us in some way? Heartbreak, loss, grief are all things that need to be addressed sensitively. It is very important to see these experiences as deeply sacred. Sometimes it’s hard to see the light in the darkness but in the work that I do, unraveling the mystery of life after death, you can get a glimpse at how beautiful all experience is.
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