Twenty-five-year-old multi-award winning social entrepreneur, Nicole Gibson, will add author to her many titles when she launches her first book ‘Love Out Loud’ this month.
The recipient of many notable awards, including Queensland Mental Health Week Youth Award Winner 2017, and the youngest person to have held the position of Commonwealth Commissioner for Mental Health, Nicole’s remarkable journey was sparked by a life-threatening teenage battle with anorexia nervosa.
During her long recovery, Nicole came to the realisation that love is the only true healer, and for the past decade she has travelled the world spreading her message of love and connectedness; reaching over 300 international communities and 250,000 people.
“Life’s about finding what you love and what lights you up, and for me, the moments that keep me doing what I do are when someone comes up to me at the end of a presentation or in a workshop, and gives me a hug and lets me know that I have said something or held a space for them to really have a genuine breakthrough that is going to change the trajectory of their thinking and their life.”
Community-connectedness and self-connection is at the heart of Nicole’s message, and with the launch of ‘Love Out Loud’ Nicole is set to turn up the love even further. ‘Love Out Loud’ isn’t just a book but a body of work, with a seminar series and a retreat series also in development.
“One of my biggest beliefs is every opportunity for connection is a really amazing and often quite a profound opportunity and experience for people where you can actually come together with a common goal to learn and grow and expand your horizons.
“What I know from my own experience is that connectedness is one of the primary solutions for some of the biggest challenges that people face today around themselves, disengagement and addiction. Connection plays the role of really healing and expanding people’s perspective, because when you’re isolated and disconnected, I think it’s a lot easier to believe that things will never change because you’re not having new experiences. When you have that feeling and those experiences of being connected, it just opens up whole new worlds.”
CEO/Founder of The Rogue and Rouge Foundation, an Australian charitable organisation that helps decrease mental health challenges using a community-based approach, and CEO of Startup Apprentice, a social enterprise committed to inspiring young minds, Nicole is a fierce ambassador for mental health, innovation and connection. While undoubtedly proud of the many achievements that have earnt her the title of social entrepreneur, Nicole prefers to see herself as an unstoppable messenger of love and human potential.
“I go to bed thinking about what I do and how to make what I do better, and I think when you live like that, and actually immerse yourself in something that’s helping you grow, that’s when you have found something that’s worthy of being proud of because it’s helping you express yourself.”
Prior to forming The Rogue and Rouge Foundation and becoming a speaker, Nicole attended an excellence school for the arts where she majored in theatre. Whilst her 10 years of theatre training already forms the basis of her facilitation style, one of Nicole’s future goals is to bring her two loves – performance and speaking/facilitating – closer together.
“Part of my long-term vision is to look at how I can bridge the gap between performance and creating an experience, and what I do as a facilitator and a speaker. I’d love to run massive events that bring elements of performance and music together to create really transformational experiences for people. That’s my ultimate vision.”