Your mindset is your greatest asset.
Bio for Nick Mornard
Nick is a Director within a Fortune 500 organization and owns a travel agency. Born in Belgium, he moved to Florida in June 2013 and achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a U.S. citizen in 2021!
Nick recently became a published author with the launch of his first book on October 1, 2024. It is a biography focusing on mindset and his leadership experiences. He loves helping others achieve what they once thought was impossible. He co-hosts a podcast called “Two for the Win,” where he discusses leadership, mindset, travel, and sports weekly. He enjoys blending his passions with his daily activities so that work never feels like work.
Episode highlight
In today’s episode, we hear the extraordinary journey of Nick Mornard, an ambitious individual who transformed his mindset into his superpower. From excelling in professional swimming and basketball to climbing the corporate ladder at a Fortune 500 company and eventually launching his own travel agency, Nick’s story is one of resilience and determination.
Nick shares moments when he called his father to complain about how hard things were in the U.S. but still refused to return to Belgium despite his father’s persuasion.
Listen and get inspired by Nick.
Links
- Website: www.jetsettinglifestyle.com
- Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-My-Degree-Transform-Thinking/dp/1950336956
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolasmornard
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/niconomy/
Quotes
- “When you put your mind into something and you refuse to accept the situation that you are in, you will get anything or learn anything you put your mind into if you have the right mentality.”
- “A lot of people are afraid to make mistakes, and that’s why they never try anything.”
- “If you want something in life, go for it. Don’t look at everything that can go wrong. Look at everything that can go right.”
Takeaways
Childhood Incidents:
At the age of 3, Nick’s parents enrolled him in swimming lessons to ensure his safety during summer vacations near a lake and pool. Although he initially feared the water, he became determined to conquer that fear and improve his skills. What started as a basic effort to prevent drowning soon evolved into a passion for swimming, as he eagerly learned different styles and pushed himself to get better. From the beginning, he aimed to excel and be the best he could be.
Swimming became his first love, and his dedication paid off when, by the age of 9, he reached the Belgian championships and even qualified for the European championships. This early experience profoundly influenced his mindset, instilling a drive to give his all and never give up in any activity he undertakes. Nick credits those formative years in the pool with shaping his determination and approach to challenges throughout his life.
At 16, Nick received his first professional basketball contract in northern Belgium, where Dutch is spoken. Born in the French-speaking south, he struggled with the language and disliked relying on others to speak French while he couldn’t reciprocate in Dutch. Determined to change, he enrolled in online language training and, within a few months, could hold conversations. After a year, Nick became fluent, entirely self-taught. This experience reinforced his belief that, like in sports, with focus and determination, he could overcome challenges and achieve anything he set his mind to.
Influential Groups:
At 16, Nick moved from rural Waterloo to bustling Brussels after his parents’ divorce, a significant adjustment that exposed him to urban life. Living with his father, an oil company engineer, he observed the demands of a 9-to-5 job and realized it wasn’t the path he wanted. Instead, he developed a strong interest in entrepreneurship, despite having no entrepreneurial background in his family. He began reading books on business and self-employment, marking the start of his journey toward building his ventures.
Nick’s father made him work as a blue-collar labourer for a few months each year, performing tasks like pulling electric cables up ten floors and doing electrical work inside buildings. The intent was to teach him the value of education and specialization, showing that without such efforts, he might have to rely on blue-collar jobs. Although he disliked the experience at the time, looking back, he sees it as an eye-opening lesson that reinforced his determination to pursue a different path in life.
He highlighted entrepreneurship as one of his most influential groups but also emphasized the significant impact of his early experiences in the U.S. during sports camps at ages 16 and 17. During this time, he formed close relationships with European peers and other international players, collaborating to compare training methods and improve collectively. This experience reinforced the connection between sports, leadership, and mindset, shaping his current approach to leadership.
He attributes much of his development as a leader to being part of a group of strong team leaders in sports. This foundation helps him relate to and guide others effectively, particularly those with a history of leadership in athletics. For instance, he often selects candidates with experience as captains of successful college sports teams, recognizing the transferable leadership skills developed in those roles. This alignment of sports and professional leadership continues to influence his perspective and methods today.
Temperament and Personality:
Nick describes his temperament as one that initially lacked patience. When he wanted something done, it had to be done immediately. Through his mentors, Nick has cultivated patience as a virtue.
Cultural Epiphanies:
When Nick first moved to Miami, he was shocked by the wealth around him. He didn’t know people could live the way they did in Miami. He quickly relocated to Southwest Florida because he felt uncomfortable.
Soapbox Moment:
Nick encourages us to dare to do what is uncomfortable to achieve the best version of ourselves.
Extro:
Nick Mornard was a focused, driven child from a young age. He turned his ability to excel into a mindset superpower that launched him into professional swimming, basketball, working for a Fortune 500 company, and becoming an entrepreneur. In Belgium Nick turned a swimming experience into an opportunity to learn Dutch. In the US, at a basketball camp, Nick developed a deep friendship with other youth who had the same desire to excel in basketball. Together they became a mentoring and learning self-development group. As an entrepreneur, Nick wasted no time before using his travel experience to build a travel agency.
For me what stands out from Nick’s interview is his ability to shape the cultures around him to ignite the desire to grow and learn.
Here are some of my takeaways from Nick’s interview:
- Temperament matters – although Nick had no examples of entrepreneurship around him, he recognized business as his calling and moved towards it.
- Mastery is less about talent and more about dedicating yourself to the work required to set the bar higher each time.
- Not allowing yourself to lose hope requires reinforcing positive details that confirm your vision until you start to see it open up and can take more rapid steps towards it.
To end I would like to quote Elizabeth Mars left on our fanlist recently:
“I thoroughly enjoy the guest interview format on Culture and Leadership Connections. It is unique and helps the guests provide very authentic responses, making me feel like I really get to know them. I also love hearing about how people grew up and how that impacts their sense of culture and leadership in the workplace today. Lastly, the Insights episodes offer practical examples for addressing the issue at hand. I am looking forward to future episodes!”
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