About

Happiness is a choice. Every day when you get up, you can choose happy or you can choose crappy. I choose happy…and this site is dedicated to the people, places, and things that make me happy.

Hi, I’m Nicole Nicolay…my friends also call me NikNik.  I’m passionate about choosing happiness, being healthy, and helping my clients make smart decisions when it comes to buying and selling their homes.

Oh and I love creating videos. In this day and age, everyone is online and when you can’t be with someone to share an experience in person…the experience can often times be delivered to you. Video can also do a better job of sharing emotion vs. reading a text, email, or Facebook post.

I started making Birthday Dance Gram videos about a decade ago to wish my friends and colleagues a “Happy Birthday” in a unique way. These days, I enjoy creating videos to share health and wellness tips. I also find that creating videos for the homes I sell, the neighborhoods I love, and the clients I work with is fun and a beneficial marketing strategy.

This website is a mashup of all my videos. You will find:

  • Videos focused on HAPPINESS: birthday dance grams, Livermore Bucket List
  • Videos focused on HEALTH: 30 day challenges, fitness tips, Ironman training, local cycling routes
  • Videos focused on HOMES: homes I sell, places I love, people I work with, events I speak at

Read more about what I do and what I love. Or you could just watch a video.

I’m a full-time Realtor who absolutely loves where I live…in LIVERMORE! I grew up in Pleasanton and have been living in Livermore with my family for the last 13 years. Like I said, I love it here. Our community is diverse, eclectic and fun-loving. We have the world’s fastest and smallest rodeo and the oldest family owned winery in the country. We are relaxed and refined, and have something special for everyone! Check out my newest video series…Livermore Bucket List. I believe the best journey takes you home…and I’m passionate about helping my clients take the right steps to get to where they want to be. But I haven’t always been an award winning Realtor.

I avoided becoming a Realtor for 2 decades. My parents are the most amazing Realtors I know. They’ve been helping their clients buy and sell real estate in the TriValley for nearly 30 years. So I grew up in the biz. But instead of joining them, I went off to college where I got a degree in Environmental Science and my teaching credential. I taught 1st & 2nd grade for 7 years and LOVED it! But when I got pregnant with my first child I decided to take some time off.

While being a mom to 2 absolutely awesome kids is my greatest honor and privilege, I needed something more. Something that would provide me with the flexibility of spending time with my kids, but fulfill my inherent drive and creativity. So I became a mompreneur and launched my first startup company.

Like any new company owner with zero marketing budget I discovered that blogging would become my most successful strategy for building our brand and generating business. My first company, Effektive Solutions, created a product that delivered valuable on-demand marketing resources to title operations, title reps, and escrow officers throughout the west coast. That company would later be acquired by Fidelity National Financial.

The incredible bonus of being an early adopter of blogging was that Realtors across the country were not only following my posts to learn from me, they wanted me to teach them how…and in person! So it wasn’t long before I was traveling far and wide teaching on blogging, content strategy and social media.

For almost a decade I found myself speaking in everything from a small conference room to a giant 12,000 person arena. And it was FUN! I loved being able to teach and speak in these settings and meet Realtors from all over the world. Speaking at these events definitely fulfilled the teacher in me. And then it happened again…this momprenuer became a serial entrepreneur by launching another company. Agent Evolution quickly became the premier custom website company for discerning real estate professionals looking to standout from the status quo.

While traveling and speaking gave me the opportunity to work with every major real estate brand and the National Association of Realtors, there were 2 incredible kids growing up way too fast at home. I needed to make a change. But focusing my efforts at home was bitter sweet! I got to spend more time with my family and my company was acquired by IDX Broker. Sounds like a win-win, right?! But I was left without a job and without an outlet for my intense drive.

And then I was riding in a car one day that was totaled by a texting driver. Nothing like getting hit while you’re already down. My body needed some repair. After several months of rest and recovery I decided to sign-up for an Ironman because I’d never done a triathlon and why not!? Also, it would be a great way to reclaim my body and fundraise for cancer research since I had just learned my cousin was battling an aggressive breast cancer that would become leukemia. Training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s IronTeam became a huge part of my life. From the workouts to the inspiring people I would meet along this journey, I finally had a place to channel my drive and passion.

After finishing Ironman Lake Tahoe I realized many things. (1) My journey was not really over, it was just beginning. (2) My family became more active as a result of my focus on training. (3) I was stronger than I ever thought I was. (4) Doing things that scare me help me learn and evolve as a person…whether I fail or succeed.

I continue to train and race. I absolutely LOVE riding my bike along my favorite Livermore backroads. There are some things you can only see from the perspective of cycling. After finishing Ironman Lake Tahoe, I raced and finished 10 more Ironman 70.3s, Escape from Alcatraz, and recently finished my 2nd full Ironman at the first annual “Ironman Santa Rosa”. I went to Sonoma State University…so it only made sense to rock an Ironman in my old college stomping grounds. I’m honored to be racing as a member of #BettySquad17, representing strong and fearless women who live ALL IN!

And that pretty much sums me up…I’m ALL IN! Whatever I do…whether it’s working with my clients, selling a home, being a mom, speaking at an event, training for a race, teaching cycle…I do it fueled with passion, drive, creativity, and love.

If you’re ALL IN for whatever you do and whatever you love…let’s connect! You can send me a message or find me here:

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