Nelia McNicol of New York City on Life, Lessons & Legacy

We recently had the chance to connect with Nelia McNicol and have shared our conversation below.

Nelia, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
Right now I am facing a lot of my fears. I am in a chapter of surrender, following my instincts and staying curious.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi! My name is Nelia and i moved from a small coastal town in Australia to NYC at 17 to pursue my career in the arts. I grew up as a dancer and spent my younger years performing in the Theatre and on stages. I always loved the sense of freedom and escapism that came with performing. After graduating from Joffrey Ballet School, i was led to self-producing theatre as i felt the struggle and frustration of auditioning and chose to create plays that inspired so much growth for my artist.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
I felt really lost and disconnected from my authentic self for many years. Being so far away from home and putting so much pressure on myself to be successful quickly I was searching for meaning and safety. I became obsessed with the human condition, started dabbling in spirituality and my consciousness started to expand. Though, the moment my entire life shifted was when the teachings of Kabbalah came into my life. It was the security, answers, guidance and ‘warm blanket’ i needed to be able to navigate this career that i felt destined to pursue. It shifted how i viewed my struggles, why things were happening the way they were and weren’t working the way i maybe necessarily wanted them to and it gave me certainty and hope.

What did suffering teach you that success never could?
The resilience i have built through suffering has served as my greatest weapon. I also hate to sound cliche but as an actress the spectrum of experiences i have gone through have served my actress in wonderful ways that my imagination never could. As an actress you are living truthfully in imaginary circumstances so having a well of life experience within really helps my artist.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Trusting my intuition and staying brutally honest with myself has been very important to me. I am always doing my best to stay authentic and stay in the flow of what i am being called to do instead of listening/ relying on others opinions.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I know that we create our own reality with our thoughts. Our subconscious wiring that was developed as a young child is what is driving our life today so if we don’t proactively change our negative beliefs, we will go through life on cruise control wondering why we feel disconnected from the person and life we dream of living.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://neliamcnicol.com
• Instagram: neliamcniicol

Image Credits
Corey Hayes
Geve
Jen Leno
Kevin Link