Meet Nicole

I’m Nicole Antoinette, and I’m obsessed with living a bullshit-free life.

If you’re someone who struggles with all the things you think you “should” do vs all the things you actually want to do, then yeah, you’ve definitely come to the right place.

Word of warning: We do a lot of glorious swearing and all-caps yelling here. (Sorry, Mom!) But really, what’s life without some juicy four letter words, right?

If you’re new here, you should know that I have three guiding principles that spill over into everything I do:

1. There’s no cap on the amount of success that’s available in the world
Spoiler alert: no matter what your big dream is, someone else is already better at it than you, and that’s okay. Just because your friend from college already has a crazy profitable start-up and your neighbor is a five-time marathoner doesn’t mean that you can’t start your own business or run your own race. Who cares if people are already insanely successful at doing whatever it is you want to do? Success isn’t like cake – there’s no such thing as someone grabbing the very last piece. Because guess what? Even if 10,000 people are already doing what you want to do, none of them are doing it exactly the way you’re going to do it, which is why the world needs you to step up and bring yourself to the table.

2. You are not alone
Since we’re the only ones with access to our own heads and hearts, it’s easy to feel like everything we’re going through is totally unique and that no one will ever understand. But, guess what? We aren’t that unique. And thank goodness for that, because it means that no matter what you’re going through, there’s someone else out there who will be able to say, “Hey, me too!” And truly, there’s no better feeling than connecting with someone who understands you. Someone who can say, “Oh, that thing you’re feeling/working on/struggling with/crying over? I know exactly what that’s like, you’re not crazy, and I’m here for you.” Life is all about finding your people, and then loving them and supporting them as whole-heartedly as possible. People are everything.

3. There’s always more than one way to get from point A to point B
Listen, just because other people are doing something doesn’t mean you have to do it. If you want to get in shape, that doesn’t mean you have to run if you don’t like running. It doesn’t mean you have to do yoga if you fucking hate yoga. Try kickboxing. Try CrossFit. Try Bar Method. Try any one of the eleventy million types of exercise available to you and know that you never have to be boxed in by the most common choice. If you hate Facebook, don’t use Facebook. If you don’t want to work for yourself, don’t work for yourself. I promise you that no matter what your goals are, no matter what you’re deliciously obsessed with, there’s always more than one way to make it happen.

Which brings us to my mission here at Life Less Bullshit: To help you create a simple, clear, bullshit-free action plan for making your goals a reality.

Truly, all I want to do is help you work through the bullshit so that you can start living the life you want. Less bullshit = more awesome, right?

What I Do & Who I Work With

I help real people feel safe about making big changes by providing simple, actionable, and bullshit-free strategies for building a life they love.

Operating from a position of full-frontal honesty and absolutely zero judgment, I give you the specific tools and systems you need to set (and shatter) your goals. Within the world of goal setting, I’m particularly passionate about debunking common myths about motivation and helping people handle the emotional side of making big life changes. As a recovering couch potato and distance running/clean living convert, I’m also obsessed with helping beginners who want to run smart and eat clean.

Speaking of the people I work with, you know you’re a good fit for me if…

• You’re curious about what your life would be like if you stopped focusing on what you should want and started focusing on what you actually do want
• You’re sick of the empty, ineffective, “woo woo” cheerleader crap and are ready to get to the heart of what really works when it comes to setting goals that truly support your deepest desires
• You know that you can’t bridge the gap between where you are and where you want to be without being willing to change and evolve, and you’re excited about making some changes
• You’re ready to be your best, happiest, and most fulfilled self
• You want to work with someone who will take the time to understand and get to know you, and who will be as dedicated to your success as you are

Does that sound like you? If so, we’re going to have a fucking blast working together, and you can find out more about my products and programs by clicking here.

12 Random Facts About Me

1. When I was four years old, I used to bite people. Finally, my exasperated mother warned me that if I ever bit her again, she’d bite me back. Well, I bit her again, so she bit me back. Guess what, parents of the world? That shit works.

2. I currently live in Los Angeles with my boyfriend, Kelsey, who I used to refer to as “James Bond” in earlier iterations of my blogging life. But, since he’s not British, doesn’t own a tuxedo, and has never fired a gun while standing on top of a moving train, I figured it was time for him to get on a true, first name basis with you guys.

3. If you’re reading this in January of 2013, it’s been 20 months since I quit drinking, 13 months since I started the process of building a sugar-free life, and six months since I transitioned into a fully plant-based diet. If you’re reading this later than January of 2013, I trust that you can do the math on your own.

4. The summer after third grade, my parents and I moved to London where I spent six years living on Abbey Road, directly across the street from The Beatles’ recording studio. You show me that album cover and I’ll show you my childhood bedroom window.

5. I’m an endurance runner (for Oiselle Team) who went from never playing sports or doing anything even remotely athletic to spending all of my money on races and running skirts. If you want to read about the time I ran an unofficial marathon through Central Park, click here. If you want to hear about the time I just barely broke 2-hours in the half marathon, click here. If you want to know how I got started with running, check out my favorite running gear, and grab some juicy free resources, click here. If you want to avoid being gently peer pressured into running with me sometime in the near future, well fuck, I think it’s probably too late for that. As all of my friends will tell you, I’m shockingly good at convincing people to do shit with me. They call it “The Nicole Effect.” I call it bullying done right.

6. In fifth grade, my best friend got suspended from school for skipping recess to make out with her boyfriend at the bottom of a stairwell. I escaped the situation with a slap on the wrist and a warning from the principal that “real friends shouldn’t ask you to guard the door while they engage in un-ladylike behavior.” Now, 18+ years later, I can assure you that, actually, that’s exactly what real friends should do.

7. I have a BS in Food Studies from NYU, and I spent three years teaching cooking classes at Williams Sonoma. If I’m being honest, the highlight of those three years was the afternoon I sold $650 worth of baking supplies to Mary Kate Olsen. A close second was the time a large, high-powered chocolate fountain exploded all over me and the 25+ people who were watching me demonstrate “how easy” it was to use.

8. My inexplicable and undying obsession with the Twilight Saga has reached a point where between the original books themselves and the eleventy thousand supplementary books of critical essays I’ve purchased and refuse to get rid of, we’re about to need a new bookcase. Seriously. Seriously. What can I say? I love me some Edward Cullen.

9. I spent the first five years of my professional life as Director of a children’s summer camp, where I learned two important lessons: 1) Every person, no matter how small, should be allowed to express an opinion, and 2) I look really awesome in purple facepaint.

10. Once, when I was unemployed, I did an unpaid internship with The Bloggess in which I was tasked to research porn movie titles, falcon hunting habits, and oddly shaped potatoes.

11. I sincerely believe that everyone should write a personal manifesto. One of the most important parts of mine, which you can read here, is: “Be loud about the things that matter.”

12. Right after my 24th birthday, I spent three months living out of a small pink duffle bag while I trekked around the US and slept on the couches of random blog readers. The weekend I ran out of money, I crashed someone’s family holiday party, went skinny dipping in the Pacific Ocean, and then moved into a hostel in the shadiest part of San Francisco. It sounds like this wouldn’t end well, but less than a week later I met my best friend, Jamie, and then only two weeks after that I met Kelsey. Which is to say that, really, you never know what’s just around the corner.

Life Less Bullshit – As Featured On…

I’ve given talks on motivation, self-limiting beliefs, goal-fulfillment, long distance running, and entrepreneurship at conferences such as World Domination Summit and Find & Follow Your Passion, and I’ve been featured on and interviewed about everything from making big life changes to how handle the emotional challenges of quitting sugar to setting realistically powerful goals to how to build a strong online community to quirky productivity tips by sites such as Lifehacker, Brent Smith Lifestyle, Stratejoy, Tech Cocktail, and Young Female Entrepreneurs.

Want a peek at my professional bio, headshots, and a list of topics I can’t shut up about? Click here!

Kind & Lovely Praise

“I’ve always been a big goal-setter and personal development junkie, but I’ve also always struggled with turning what I wanted to accomplish into my actual reality. I’ve worked with Nicole for over a year in setting and accomplishing the big goals in my life. Since I began working with her, I have accomplished more than I ever thought possible: I’ve run five races, had my writing published six times, and launched a business, to name a few. And I attribute the change – that shift from the goal-setting me who dreamed big and accomplished almost nothing to the goal-setting me who achieves a lot more of what she really wants – to Nicole and her unique approach. Her take on the psychology behind motivation, why we want the things we want, how to optimize your time, and how to achieve those goals you inherently want to achieve, is unrivaled and brilliant. And her own life is a testament to the value of her approach – in one year, she overhauled her diet and ran the New York Marathon (to name just a few changes)! These are the kind of results I’m looking for  - big, exhilarating, positive changes in my life – and I consistently get them with Nicole.” - Jenna Britton, Writer & PR Rockstar

“Choosing to run my first half-marathon with this program has been one of the best decisions of my life. Aside from including every detail I wanted into the training materials, Nicole made herself available via email and the Facebook group to answer even the silliest questions (no really: I emailed her about how to work the water bottles of my running belt). When you’re training for your first major race, you are going to want the community that comes from being a member of From 0 to 13.1 along with the solid, timely, and always supportive advice and answers straight from Nicole and Coach Ryan. My race is in a little over two weeks and I couldn’t feel more ready, thanks to Nicole!” – Amy T, From 0 – 13.1 member

“Where do I begin? Finding Nicole and From 0 to 13.1: a bullshit-free program for completing your first half marathon was a welcome and serendipitous event in my life. Nicole’s style and encouragement has kept me hooked for months now! She is a breath of humorous fresh air, accessible, supportive, and real. I have emailed her in the depths of self-doubt as a 50 year-old new runner, and she has consistently responded quickly, compassionately, and with a supportive voice that is just right. 

My friends are marveling at my stick-to-it-ness with my running (which I am happily surprised to be enjoying, not just tolerating!) and I simply have to give credit to Nicole and the thoughtful structure she has put into this program. She leveraged her own experience as a beginning runner to carefully develop this program and, with the input of a host of experts, has included recipes, real-life tips, and accountability. In addition, I have the structure of knowing what I need to be doing every day, which has made a world of difference for me in comfortably pushing myself and sticking with the program.

I have made many promises to myself over the years and have set goals that I’d like to reach, and in spite of myself, I think I may just make it to one, thanks to Nicole and her running program! Just a few months ago I would have never thought I would not only be entertaining the idea of running(!) a half marathon(!!!), but actually looking forward to doing so. Thanks, Nicole!” - Kathy D, From 0 -13.1 member

“From the moment I first met her, Nicole struck me as a grab-life-by-the-balls, no bullshit go-getter who is brilliant at going after what she wants. But as I got to know her better, I realized that she is all of those things WITH a huge heart and deep passion for helping others at the same time. Her lifestyle changes in the last few years have been incredibly inspiring to me, but it’s also the direct, transparent, hilarious way that she shares them with her community that puts her in my “must-read-right-now” folder. Whether it’s a blog post, book, course or meet-up, Nicole truly has a gift for helping others make things happen in their own lives—without the woo woo overcoat—in a meaningful, lasting way. ” - Jenny Blake, Life Coach and Author of Life After College

“Nicole’s approach to goal-setting and accountability has been a hallmark in many of the successes I’ve had over the past few years. She has taught me how to be productive (um, stop doing the shit that doesn’t matter), how to set meaningful goals that are truly important to me and not things I think I should be doing, and how to prepare for the obstacles and excuses that may try to jump in my way. She asks insightful questions that get to the heart of the matter, and always seems to know the exact moment to move from asking questions to creating a plan. Nicole is fierce, no-bullshit, compassionate, and understanding, and she uses those mad skills to karate-chop her way through all of my fears and excuses so that all I’m left with is a straightforward and exciting plan for moving forward.” – Doniree Walker, Blogger & Founder of Eff Yeah Media

“Nicole is a force of nature. She takes her finely-honed insight and drills it straight into the center of your soul, coaxing out what you truly want and then presenting you with a detailed, but not overwhelming, plan to actually get it. I’m pretty sure she’s a wizard.” – Amber Adrian, Copywriter & Blogger

“My favorite part about Nicole is her unrelenting honesty. If she doesn’t like something, she’ll tell you. If she struggled with something, she’ll tell you. She never sugarcoats her experiences, and that’s what makes her so great to work with. She makes it very clear that she didn’t just wake up one day as a vegan-eating, endurance running machine. She worked hard for it, and you can, too!” - Ameena Khan, Blogger

“As someone who prefers honesty over sugar-coating, I fully appreciate and seek out Nicole’s brand of no-nonsense, real-life advice on goal setting, self-discipline and embracing your truth. Whether you want to become a runner, change careers, move across the country or the world, start your own business or turn online connections into real-life friends and collaborators, Nicole is the person to turn to for bullshit-free inspiration on achieving those big dreams, handling change and accepting who you really are, no matter what.” - Kelly Hayes, Asst. Athletics Director, Communications & Events