Meet NANCY GOUDIE: Motivational Speaker and Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with NANCY GOUDIE and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi NANCY, how do you think about risk?
I have learned along the road of life that risks are always going to be a choice that you have to take in order to see any dream/vision come into being. 40 years ago, my husband and I took a huge risk. We left our home, our jobs, our families, our friends, our church, our car and even our dog to follow a vision of starting a band which not only would be great at making music, but also would carry a message to the youth of our land and beyond. My husband was a drummer and I was a singer. We both left our secure jobs to follow this dream. From that one risk, many more followed along the road of life as we put ourselves out there. Our band which we founded was called Heartbeat and we played to thousands of people all over the UK and beyond in the ten years we were together. We recorded many albums and eventually were on Top of the Pops (a massively popular TV show in the UK) when our single got into the UK charts. Our recordings were released all over the world. We took risks again and again as the journey proceeded. We changed our overall name to ngm (new generation music) and eventually we took the risk of building an arts facility (containing two music studios, dance studio, media suite, performance venue, training rooms, engineer rooms etc.) which we use to train others in music, vocals, dance etc. When we started the journey to get this building we had no money in the bank, but five years later we had two buildings which cost us £3million and we didn’t have one loan on them. I took the risk of stopping singing to become a motivational public speaker and then an author. My husband stopped drumming to become a music producer and then to write his own musicals. Each one of these things were a huge risk as I had no experience in writing a book and Ray had never written a musical. Risks played a huge part in our journey through life and still does.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As I said earlier, I was a singer and had been in a couple of bands/choirs in my late teens and early twenties before pursuing our dream to be in a travelling band. Nowadays I am a motivational speaker and author, but the underlying purpose and aim has not changed. I want to make a difference in society and see lives transformed. I love creativity and want to show that in all I do, whether that is speaking at a conference, an event, on Radio or TV, but I also have a message that I want to get across to the people who are in my audience, or who read my books. I want to tell them that they are unique, precious and incredible human beings. I want them to realise that they are not only a physical being but that they are a spiritual being too and therefore it is important not only to be physically fit, but also to be spiritually fit too. I introduce them to a way of life that is creative, but also brings them alive spiritually. In 1997 I started my own Spiritual Health Weekend conference held in a 4-star luxury hotel. This is an event for women of all ages and many hundreds attend each year. In 2021 I would have celebrated my 25th year of doing these weekends. Because of COVID-19 we are holding this in 2022 in Birmingham. I have people attending from all over the UK and from many places in the world such as USA, France, Germany, Spain, South Africa etc. Some have said that these weekends are better than a two week holiday in Florida. Many go home transformed. I’ve had letters from children thanking me for what I did for their mummy and telling me that she is a different person now. I train my team who help me run these events to treat everyone as special from the moment they arrive until the moment they leave. I absolutely love to see the difference in people after they have attended one of these unique events. What am I proud of? I am proud that despite the challenges along the way and there have been many, that I have kept going and not given up. So many give up and turn away. It would have been so easy for me (and my husband) to turn back and to give up on the dream – but I and we didn’t. We were determined to keep going through the tough times and it has reaped a huge reward not only in our own lives, but in many others that we have met and taught throughout the years. I am also proud of the fact that when my husband died, and I didn’t have him by my side, that I did not give up, but continued with the same heart and vision. So many people have asked me how I managed to keep going, but I just knew that as I walked forward, I would have the strength to continue.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If a friend was visiting me in the UK, then I would take her to a beautiful hotel in Wales called The Celtic Manor. If we were able to afford it, then I would book a 5-star lodge on the hotel’s estate which has its own hot tub on the balcony and stay for a week. I would book a spa day at the hotel where we would have massages and facials. The best massage I have ever had was at this hotel. We would enjoy the swimming pool which is stunning, but mostly I would encourage her to sit in the incredible jacuzzi and experience the steam rooms too whilst we talked for hours about everything in life. I would make sure that we had a glass of champagne to drink before eating out in one of the best restaurants at the hotel. This hotel has around 6 restaurants and each one is amazing but my favourite one is on the 6th floor of the hotel and is called Steak on 6. Often in this restaurant they have a performance from two professional Latin dancers whilst you eat your meal. The atmosphere is always great and the view is amazing as the hotel sits on a hill overlooking the countryside. If you like golf then you could play on one of their championship golf courses (The Ryder Cup was held at Celtic Manor in 2010). As I am rubbish at golf, I would steer my friend in a different direction and that would involve walking on the estate or driving a few miles into the country to another delightful 5 star restaurant which is owned by the same hotel. The main hotel is also a great place to spot many celebrities who stay there. When Obama was President he and other world leaders visited here as the G8 summit was held in this hotel. Also Manchester City players and pop stars like Tom Jones have been seen at this hotel, so perhaps we might sit in the lounge with our glasses of champagne and try and spot the celebrities as they walk by. Above all, we would have a lot of laughs, lots of chats and lots to eat. .

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There have been many along the road who have encouraged me and championed the dream and vision, but if I was to pick one person who has helped the most, I would pick my husband, Ray. If it wasn’t for him, I would never have had the courage to become an author or a public speaker. My husband was a visionary and was very prophetic; he would often see in others what they could not see in themselves. This was certainly true of me – I would never have imagined that I could write one book. However, I now have written 17 books and it all started with Ray believing in me and giving me a massive push. Unfortunately, my husband died in 2016 and of course I miss him massively especially when I have to take risks without him. We would, however, both attribute our success to our faith and belief in God.

Website: www.nancygoudie.com
Instagram: nancygoudie
Linkedin: nancygoudie
Twitter: @NANCYGOUDIE
Facebook: /nancygoudie

Image Credits
All photos by Christopher Mathison