“Falling short is when we learn to pick ourselves back up”
Build your own blueprint
The world is louder than ever. Social media sells shortcuts. Influencers package identity. And young people are growing up in an environment that tells them success is instant, and if it isn't, something is wrong with them.
Nicholas Timmings knows a different story.
As a two-time Australian Winter Olympian in skeleton, He spent 14 years building a world-class athletic career without funding, without a conventional support structure, and without any guarantee it would work. No shortcuts. No easy answers. Just a young person who learned slowly, honestly, who he was, what he stood for, and how to keep going when the path wasn't clear.
Build Your Own Blueprint brings that story into your school.
the workshop
This is a two-hour, fully interactive experience that combines a keynote address with structured group activities and a personal workbook that students take home. It is designed to challenge, to provoke honest reflection, and to leave every student with something real, not just a good feeling that fades by lunchtime.
Part One — The Keynote Nick opens with his story: the Olympics, the setbacks, the years of self-funded training, and what it actually takes to build something meaningful without a roadmap. Raw, honest, and directly relevant to the pressures students face today.
Part Two — The Activities Students move through a series of guided group and individual exercises built around the four workshop themes. Structured to be engaging without being performative, this is real work, done in a safe environment.
Part Three — The Workbook Every student leaves with a personal workbook completed during the session. It captures their goals, their self-assessment, their action plan, and their own blueprint, something tangible to refer back to long after the day is done.
The Four Themes
→ Meaningful Goals: Learning to set goals anchored in personal values, not external pressure, not what the algorithm tells them to want. Students leave knowing the difference between a goal worth chasing and one they've been handed.
→ Honest Self-Assessment: Identifying real strengths and genuine areas for growth, without ego, without excuses. The same process Nicholas used to turn falling short into success without the systems behind him.
→ A Personal Action Plan: Concrete, individual, and achievable. Students map where they are, where they want to go, and the first real steps to get there. This is across all areas of their lives.
→ Identity: Who are you when the titles are stripped away? Students explore what they stand for, what drives them, and how to build a sense of self that holds up under pressure, and doesn't depend on someone else's approval.
Workshop Details
Duration: 2.5 hours of working time. It is recommended to run the session around a recess or lunch break for a refresh halfway through.
Format: Keynote address + group activities + personal workbook
Year Groups: Years 7–12
Group Size: Flexible, single class to full year cohort
Suited To: Wellbeing days, PD programs, leadership days, pastoral care sessions, student orientation programs, career days, pre-exam periods, or any time students need some extra motivation.