Welcome to The Iconic Edge, your playbook for thriving in the AI age.
In this edition, you'll see why having courage is essential right now, and how you can start strengthening your courage ‘muscle’ today.
The first time I posted something online as me, not my job title, not on behalf of a company, I read it back at least nine times before I hit send.
My heart was going, my hands were a bit shaky. I felt sick, and completely exposed. I actually shut my laptop and ran out the door to escape to the local coffee shop to avoid the response!
For the first time in my career, I had no corporate coat to hide behind. Just me, my name and my opinion, out there for anyone to pull apart.
Nobody did (actually barely anyone saw it!). But that one post led to a process that opened doors that the safe, hidden version of me had been waiting years to walk through.
That post took all my courage at the time. Now I post comments and videos online with barely a thought.
That first post was my first rep.
Courage is a rep, not a trait
Courage is doing the thing that scares you, even when every fibre of your being wants to put it off.
We talk about it like it's something you're born with. Some people have it, some don't, And if you don’t you are destined to play life small.
It's not as black as and white as that.
Yes, there are some people who have natural bravery. But for the rest of us, the good news is that it’s a skill that can be developed.
Those women you admire who look calm, confident and certain in any circumstance are that way because they have done the scary thing before.
Lots of times.
They felt the fear, did it anyway, and felt it a little less the next time.
What you're watching is practice. Reps.
Small counts. You don't need to blow up your life. The first rep just has to happen, then the next one.
That's how the muscle grows.
Why courage matters now
Here's why those reps matter more now than they ever have.
The world of work is changing fast, and AI is speeding it up. Gartner, a big tech research firm, calls 2026 the year AI really lands at work.
And it's spreading faster than anything before it: Stanford's 2026 AI Index found generative AI reached more than half the world's people in three years, quicker than the PC or the internet did.
The change keeps coming, and it keeps getting faster.
So the question is whether you're ready for it. Being ready means doing things differently from the old career path, taking a risk, trying the new thing before you've got it all figured out, rolling with the punches as the ground shifts.
That readiness is courage, and just like muscle in a gym you build it one rep at a time.
The women who practise it now will be the ones who stay strong and confident whatever comes, and will be well ahead of the AI curve.
That's why I include courage as one of the keys to building an Iconic Identity (part one of The iconic Edge framework.) Because the nerve to meet each change head on and take it in your stride is an essential skill to succeed in the AI age.
So much of what used to hold women back is quietly falling away, and I really do think this is one of the best chances women have had in a very long time.
A chance to own your path.
That opportunity will go to the women brave enough to move first.
Your first rep this week
One small thing, done first, before you feel ready.
It doesn't have to be big. Do it once, then again, and being first stops feeling like a leap. That's the habit that opens doors later, and you build it alongside the job you already have.
1. Pick the thing you'd go first on.
The LinkedIn post sitting in your drafts. The opinion you soften in every meeting. The advanced AI tool you keep meaning to properly learn. The income stream you want to create, the one nobody you know has tried yet.
You already know in your gut which one it is.
2. Do it before you feel ready.
Ready rarely turns up. Your brain just keeps moving the line. So do it anyway. Publish the post, say the thing in the meeting, open the tool and build something with it.
Keep it small if you like. Being first is the whole point.
3. Line up the next one fast.
One rep is a fluke. The muscle grows on rep two, then five, then ten. Book the next while the first still has your heart going.
That's how going first stops being a one-off and turns into how you work.
The Bottom Line
Imagine it’s two years from now, and AI has moved as fast as they say it will.
Some women will be ready. They'll have a voice, a name, own something that's truly theirs, built back when it still felt new and a little frightening.
Ask them how, and the answer will be almost boring.
One step, taken while their heart raced. Then another. Then another.
And every one was easier than the last.
Now, think how it would feel to be one of those women.
Be iconic. Be one of the first.
All my best,
Nichola
P.S. One day soon this will be more than a newsletter. It'll be a room full of women who saw the shift early and built for it. If that's someone you know, send this her way. We rise together.