The day after I’d left Austin, TX this fall on the final leg of The Freedom Tour from Scottsdale, AZ to Wainscott, NY (where I currently reside – there’s been some confusion about that so I’m clearin’ it up) I got a very sweet, very cool email from a woman named Carrie Contey. She said such lovely things to me that I couldn’t help but head over to her website and find out what this woman was all about.
I was delighted to take in not only Carrie’s gorgeously designed online presence (yay Jennifer Elsner of Viewers Like You) but also the fact that she’s a parenting expert. I was immediately drawn in by her contagious smile and her unusual, yet refreshing perspective on parenthood, and really, humanhood:
By guiding, supporting and inspiring her clients to live the life they are here to live, Carrie‚ encourages living with a wide open and courageous heart.
How awesome to guide people to be amazing parents through guiding them to be amazing human beings? It makes perfect sense, yet I’d never thought of it that way before. Granted, this is most likely because I don’t have kids yet. However, I bet I think about parenting more than the average woman who doesn’t have kids, except Carrie perhaps, because I’m so clear that being a mama is on my future path.
Because I’m so enthusiastic about kids and because being a super present mama was the reason I began pursuing financial freedom I was really psyched to talk to Carrie more. We had the most delightful and insightful conversation just before the holidays that we captured for you on Skype. We chatted about:
conscious parenting
the whole reason I started my business in the first place
how kids are actually here to grow YOU more than you’re here to grow them
what to do when you’re a mom and you find yourself not liking it very much
how to resource yourself and why
Carrie’s Evolve 2012 program where she’ll guide you in rewiring your brain, nice and slow
a HOT parenting tip you can try immediately (that I’m going to be using with my boyfriend and everyone else in my life) that will make your life easier as soon as you implement it!
Tune in and leave a comment to let us know about your own parenting foibles and tips, how you consciously are becoming better at humanhood, and anything else you want to share!
Click HERE to find out more about having Carrie as your personal trainer for your emotional health this year in her Evolve program.
More Carrie:
Personal training for your emotional health: Evolve 2012
Yes, we have infinite choices and infinite possibilities in life. Yes the world is our oyster. Yes, in this exact moment there are myriad versions of how my life could turn out based on what I decide to do in the next 30 seconds.
And yet, there is no such thing as a wrong decision. There is only the decision that you make. As soon as you choose, that’s your choice. The other choices you could have made but chose not too dissolve and their existence becomes immaterial. What lays before you now is a fertile, endless field of new choices and potentialities that is only possible because you just made the choice you made.
To those who are afraid of making a wrong turn, of choosing the wrong person, of missing something, of looking one direction and not seeing what was happening the other direction, listen up:
What is for you cannot pass by you.
(My dear friend and very wise woman Sandra Chiu tells me this from time to time when I get lost in the tangled web of my mind. Thank you angel Sandra.)
Since you can only make one decision in any given moment and since the next choices in your life unravel only as a result of the decision you just made, how could you choose wrong? You can only choose what you choose.
And therefore, I do not believe in regret. Regret inherently means that I made one choice but that I should have chosen something else. It means that I chose wrong. But how could you possibly unravel every single moment from the present moment to the moment in which you felt you may have made the wrong choice and discard it with a quick flick of regret?
How can you dismiss all of the pregnant moments between here and there, now and then and say that those precious gems, heart warming or heart breaking, should not have been?
Here’s the thing: the web of our lives is far more intricate than we could possibly comprehend or even imagine. The choice you make today makes tomorrow possible. And tomorrow when you’re living in the richness of every moment full of more choices and possibilities, please, please, please don’t throw them out with the overly simplified idea that you could keep all the moments of today (which is yesterdays tomorrow) and still go back and make a different decision. It’s, in a word, silly.
So next time you’re faced with a decision, may you hear Sandra’s words whisper in your ear:
What is for you cannot pass by you.
May you remember always that there’s no such thing as a wrong decision. There is only the decision you make. Make it with gusto. Make it with panache. Make it with the wonderment that must accompany something without which the rest of your life would cease to unfold.
And don’t worry. There’s no such thing as opportunity only knocking once. If you miss her the first time around she’ll come back later. What is for you cannot pass by you. Don’t worry, you can’t screw it up.
Throw regret out the window. Treasure today because without your brilliant choices yesterday, it wouldn’t even exist.
2011 was quite a year. I changed almost everything that it’s possible to change in one’s life. I’ve spent the past couple of weeks reflecting and digesting. After some back and forth I decided to share some of the best of 2011, things I learned, and my plans for 2012 with you. I do this not so much because I think my life is inherently that interesting to you, but more to inspire you to digest your own year and to consciously create the next one.
I find that when I skip the digestion step of everything that’s happened, I get cranky. I forget my blessings, I start finding myself wrong, and things kind of go bland. But when I take the time to notice all the good (and some of the challenges, as well) that I’ve just experienced, life gets back to its usual sparkly sheen.
In no particular order, here are the significant things that happened in 2011:
I got rid of most of my stuff and left my home in NYC and hit the road on The Freedom Tour. (34,000+ miles by car, 30,000+ by plane, over 60 beds, hundreds of hours spent looking out the car window)
I fell in love.
I started and ended a business partnership with grace and love.
I ended another business partnership that was a little tougher to unravel with just as much grace and love.
I learned to say no far more often and with far less angst.
I bought my first car.
I sold my first apartment.
I reached a level of financial abundance and consciousness I’ve never achieved before. (This manifested as making, giving, and saving more money.)
I explored what freedom is and is not to me.
I spoke in 18 cities in North America to hundreds of different people.
I spent time with people, like my aunt and uncle Penny and Phil and my Granny, who I haven’t ever spent as much quality time with.
I got a book deal.
I individuated from my mom financially, business-wise, and emotionally. We are both all the better for it.
I realized how much open space there is in this country. Having lived on the tiny island of Manhattan for 6 years this awareness calmed me down in a way I found surprising and refreshing.
I gave myself a demotion and stepped down as the CEO of Team Northrup so that I can now focus on running my own show instead of other people’s. I’m now the co-creator which feels much more expansive.
I was invited to become a part of Hay House’s new Ignite initiative, which is focusing on attracting a new generation of authors, speakers, and audience members.
I started and maintained a 6 days a week meditation practice.
I received profound support from friends and family on The Freedom Tour as Mike and I traversed the country. Thank you to all of you. You know who you are.
I made new friends.
I got better at doing nothing.
Some things that didn’t go as well as I had thought they would:
I thought The Freedom Tour would be better for building my Team Northrup business but given my lack of strategic planning around this and my burn out early on in the trip, it wasn’t. That’s okay. It was really amazing for a lot of other reasons.
I wanted to document The Freedom Tour more. I had visions of daily videos, more pictures, more updates, and more transmitting my adventures to my readers. But instead, I enjoyed a lot of adventures and precious moments that went undocumented. And because I was there in the experience instead of capturing it for the future I suppose this is really a good thing.
I wanted to do more connecting with people I didn’t know on my travels. I had visions of tweetups, donation yoga classes, and meeting people at coffee shops to talk about freedom. That kind of conversation only happened once and I wrote about it here. It was enlightening, but not exactly what I had imagined. It turns out I’m scared to talk to strangers and sometimes I have social anxiety. Another lesson in learning that sometimes it’s okay, and even necessary, to do less.
During The Freedom Tour I didn’t take that great care of my body and I ended the year with about ten extra pounds on me. Ooops! A reminder to prioritize self-care in 2012.
Luckily, far outnumbering the things that didn’t turn out the way I thought they would were wonderful things I hadn’t even thought to think up (like falling in love and getting a book deal!) So, overall the year ended significantly on the upside.
Taking everything I learned from 2011, I spent some time focusing on how I’d like to create 2012. I still have some more refining to do (using some of the tools recommended below). But I’m sharing my 2012 creation plan with you now, even though it’s not complete, because the idea that I could create the perfect 2012 plan and control how the year goes is not only absurd, it’s also exhausting.
Here are my 2012 intentions/goals/desires/creations:
Tighten up my brand to clarify and expand upon my message of financial consciousness as an inroad to spiritual and emotional freedom.
Spend more time alone and more time doing nothing.
Get better at asking for what I need/want.
Continue to say no more often and with more grace.
Dance more.
Intentionally align with organizations that uplift and serve women such as Women For Women International.
Prioritize self-care.
Create The Freedom Family. (More on this soon and NO, I’m not planning on getting pregnant this year.)
Tools for 2012 Creation
Something I’m adding to my planning of the year this year that I’ve never done before is assigning measurable goals to each intention and then tracking them through the year. This is inspired by Chris Guillebeau’s Annual Review. I’ll also be scheduling specific events, actions, and goals into my calendar and breaking them into action steps using my new Getting Things Done system a-la David Allen.
Lastly, as I’m going through my intentions/desires/goals for 2012 I’ll be creating a list of things that I’ll be delegating to the universe. For example, if my goal is to enroll twelve people in my mentoring program, I may write down that I’ll be personally responsible for attracting six of them, and I’ll ask the universe to attract the other six. This will act as a reminder to myself that I’m not responsible for everything, that synchronicity and magic abounds, and that there’s help for me (and you) available at all times if I’m simply willing to ask.
If you’re wanting to some guidance in your 2011 review and 2012 creation, I recommend the following resources:
Creating Your Magical Year by Molly Mahar (Molly interviewed me about how I wrap up the year and plan out the next one and I gave her some juicy, honest answers including sharing the family New Year’s Eve ritual we started when I was six. Click the green and yellow button on the right to get access to it.)
As the year tiptoes to a close (it really snuck up on me this year) I’m taking stock.
And I’m making stock. (Yes, I have been cooking non-stop since Mike and I settled into our new home for the next five months. My inner Susie Homemaker has come out in full force. I’m just as surprised as Mike is.)
Part of my taking stock has involved going through all of my “stuff”, digital, physical, and mental, and deciding what to do with it. More on this in a future post when I tell you why I’m obsessed with Getting Things Done by David Allen. In my process of diving into my notes and bits (it’s amazing how much you can accumulate while living in a car) I found a note I’d written to myself sometime this year entitled, “Here’s what I know.” I don’t have a clue when I wrote it, but I know that when I read it it made me feel good.
Here’s hoping it makes you feel good too.
Here’s what I know…
Doing something for the money never ends up being worth it.
If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a no.
You are valuable because you exist. Period. (Or, full stop if you’re British.)
You are enough. You always have been. You always will be.
Your place of greatest ease and joy will also be your place of greatest service.
It’s okay to sleep for ten hours or more a night from time to time. In fact, it’s critical.
No accomplishment or moment of recognition will ever replace feeling loved, by yourself or anyone else.
Glimpse TV has been rocking the airwaves since June 2010 and yet, somehow, I’ve never interviewed my mother…until today! She’s not only an amazing mama, she’s also a NY Times best-selling author, has had several very successful PBS shows, and has been a guest on Oprah 10 times! But, Glimpse TV really is the big time so I had to wait to have her on the show until I really felt she had proven that she has what it takes to be a guest
Seriously, though, I think my mom is my biggest fan and I’m pretty sure I’m hers.
Our relationship isn’t perfect, but as far as mothers and daughters go I think we’ve got it pretty good. She’s paved the way for my sister and me, not to mention millions of other women, to be more free. Not only do I have my mom to thank for giving me life, I also have her to thank for putting me on the path to financial freedom early on when she first handed me Robert Kiyosaki’s bookRich Dad, Poor Dad(If you haven’t done so already, buy this book and read it. Life. Changer.) So if it weren’t for her in more ways than one, The Freedom Tour wouldn’t ever have existed.
Here’s my favorite thing to do with my mom: LAUGH! Laugh so hard that we can’t breathe. Laugh so hard that we pee our pants. Laugh so hard that our faces hurt. Laugh so hard that we fall down.
Watch the video below if you want to laugh your face off with us. If you don’t giggle like crazy at the story we tell together I think you should double check to see if you have a pulse. Tune in to this very special episode of Glimpse TV to find out:
how to take an incredible picture with a real smile every time,
what my mom means when she says she was “born funny”,
how to break the mother-daughter chain of pain,
how family members keep one another stuck and how to get yourself unstuck,
the scientific reason why we are so desperate to please our mothers,
Spread the love and tweet about this episode of Glimpse TV:
I think as we get older we get funnier.~@coachoncall to @drchrisnorthrup via @katenorthrup #glimpsetv http://bit.ly/sbsGB2
If it’s worth taking seriously, it’s worth making fun of. @drchrisnorthrup to @katenorthrup #glimpsetv http://bit.ly/sbsGB2
@DrChrisNorthrup’s fail-proof tip for looking good in every picture you take: #glimpsetv w/ @katenorthrup http://bit.ly/sbsGB2
Scientific reason we want 2 please our mothers + what 2 do about it: #glimpsetv w/ @DrChrisNorthrup and @katenorthrup http://bit.ly/sbsGB2
Something happened to me this year and I got unscared. ~@DrChrisNorthrup to @katenorthrup #glimpsetv http://bit.ly/sbsGB2
Fear is excitement w/o the breath. ~Robert Heller via @katenorthrup to @DrChrisNorthrup #glimpsetv http://bit.ly/sbsGB2
What in your life are you taking seriously that you might try making fun of after hearing from my mom? When do you feel most free? Other thoughts and comments welcome. Leave them below!
Those of you who’ve been hanging out with me in person or here online for a while know that I very well may be Danielle LaPorte’s biggest fan. (Danielle, you can let me know in the comments if this is true.) If you don’t know about Danielle, watch our episode of Glimpse TV below then head over to her site (linked at the bottom) for the full monty.
Reading Danielle’s work about self-actualization is like sitting in a temple getting a download of ancestral wisdom that your cells remember but that you had forgotten how to articulate.
Not to mention the fact that she’s a hottie (inside and out), a generous and loving friend and mentor, a spell-binding speaker, a world-class entrepreneur, and a priestess.
Pre-order a copy of her forthcoming book The Fire Starter Sessions (April 2012, Crown): http://amzn.to/tAJkJy
Your Big Beautiful Book Plan promises to teach you how to write a book proposal that will make you a visionary writer, a stronger business person and land you a publishing deal.
I can’t tell you how many brilliant writers with ideas that will change the world can’t get their work out there because they don’t know how to market themselves (and the publishing industry certainly isn’t teaching them). Enter Danielle and Linda. If you’ve got something to say, head on over and get your copy now. I did and I can’t wait to implement their wisdom as I work on my book.
Glimpse TV with Danielle LaPorte
Back in October I met Danielle in her room at the Ace Hotel in NYC after Rich, Happy, and Hot Live to shoot an episode of Glimpse TV. I just watched the episode while editing it (well, my version of editing which is basically adding a few titles and trimming the end) and its pretty amazing.
Click below to watch the episode and you’ll find out what I’m talking about. Seriously, I’m sitting here by myself feeling very, very inspired after watching my own show because Danielle really serves it up for you.
In this episode you’ll:
find out exactly how to deal with negative feedback
learn the most important through-line that Danielle used to create her rocking White Hot Truth empire
get the goods on how Danielle turns traditional marketing wisdom on its head…and rocks her bottom line while doing her soul’s work
hear us telling secrets about Glamour magazine
get some insight into what success feels like to Danielle
meet two amazing special guests, one who’s green and squishy and rode with Danielle all the way from Vancouver, and one who Danielle calls a Spiritual Technician
This may very well be the best episode of Glimpse TV to date. It may also be the longest. And worth every single minute. So grab a beverage, put your feet up, and get ready for great questions, uncontrollable giggles, and a glimpse of the Divine Ms. Danielle LaPorte.
Tweetables from the video:
Desire should be the driver of your to-do list. -@daniellelaporte to @katenorthrup #glimpsetv http://bit.ly/w49qNh
To go bigger and to serve more, its gotta be scalable. -@katenorthrup to @daniellelaporte #glimpsetv http://bit.ly/w49qNh
I would so much rather be miscellaneous than categorizeable, wouldn’t you? -@katenorthrup to @daniellelaporte #glimpsetv http://bit.ly/w49qNh
What future to do you belong to? -@navjitkandola to @daniellelaporte + @katenorthrup #glimpsetv http://bit.ly/w49qNh
I remember when I was growing up, the other kids would tell me that they hated going to basketball or lacrosse practice, but their parents had taught them not to be quitters so they just toughed it out. I was always totally mystified by this. I had tried and quit just about every sport available and I had no problem with it. (The only thing I stuck with was tennis because I liked the skirts.)
What was the point in grinning and bearing it through hours of practicing something you had no intention of doing past graduation? What was the point of wasting hours of our precious childhood just so as not to be seen as a “quitter.” I just didn’t get it. It turns out, this same philosophy applies to my adult life (and perhaps to yours.)
I’m a quitter and proud of it. It means I’m in hot pursuit of my passion and purpose. It means I know what feels good and what doesn’t. It meant I value my time, my energy, and myself.
When I left on The Freedom Tour and told people I was going on an “indefinite road trip around North America” the most common question I got was, “For how long?” to which I would reply, “Until I’m done.”
In early September my man Mike and I decided not to go to Asia in Spring 2012 because it just didn’t feel right to either of us. So we decided to stay put somewhere for six months or so. We were already in Scottsdale, AZ and since I have family there and the weather is awesome in the winter, we decided that was our spot. We found a gorgeous apartment. We scouted yoga classes and rock gyms and juice bars.
Two weeks ago I was in NYC for Marie Forleo‘s spectacular event Rich, Happy, and Hot Live. I told my friends who I ran into on Friday night that I was moving to Scottsdale, AZ. Every time I said it, the response was, “Why?” And inside me every time I said I was moving there, I asked myself, “Why?”
Do you ever make a plan just so you can have something to tell people?
I called Mike that night and he told me my aunt and uncle were leaving Scottsdale and given that they were basically my only community there, it suddenly dawned on me that there was no good reason to move there. Moreover, it didn’t feel good, and quite frankly that’s all that matters.
Based pretty much all on instinct and what feels good, Mike and I have decided to move to Sag Harbor, NY. We’re actually going to sign a lease and stay put. I’m going to teach yoga. We’re going to eat vegetables, build solid businesses, and work out with consistency. (All of these things, and more, have been challenging on the road.) I’m going to write a book and hibernate.
Yes, it appears that that moment of “Until I’m done” has arrived. The Freedom Tour is winding down in absolute perfect timing.
Have I done everything I planned on The Freedom Tour? No. Absolutely not. In fact, the last nine months turned out nothing like I had imagined. They were better.
Those parents of my childhood friends might look at me and call me a quitter. This year I ended a business partnership that I’d invested three and a half years in. I ended another business partnership that I’d invested several thousand miles, several thousand brain cells, and several months in. I bowed out on an investment where I had a large chunk of change coming my way. I said no to a sponsorship deal with several zeros even though the paperwork had already been signed. None of these things felt right anymore so I quit.
Call me a quitter. I welcome it.
Just like it makes no sense to spend an entire winter of beautiful afternoon hours in a stinky gym if you don’t even like basketball just so you won’t be a quitter, it makes no sense to keep doing anything that no longer feels right or feels good. Even if you’ve invested thousands of hours or thousands of dollars. Even if it will disappoint someone. Even if it used to feel like a good idea and suddenly it doesn’t anymore.
It doesn’t matter. I give you permission to quit. If you feel done, you’re done. That’s the only information you need. Let it go. Expand your expense allowance for “projects that I decided not to pursue further because they didn’t feel good” and simply write it off at the end of the year. Let it go. Move on. Quit.
There will never be a payoff after spending time, resources, and precious energy doing something that no longer feels good that will make it worth it. I promise. It just won’t happen.
So, I’m quitting The Freedom Tour as it currently exists. I don’t quite know what it will morph into, but I’m certainly not quitting on freedom.
Next up: an exploration of freedom within the structure of living in one place and having regular routines. Stay tuned.
What are you doing that doesn’t feel good anymore?
What are you doing that doesn’t feel right anymore?
What do you continue to do just so you won’t be a quitter?
Have you ever been called a quitter? Why?
What are you ready to quit?
What are you ready to let go of? Leave a declaration here!
Leave a comment. I can’t wait to hear what you have to say on this!
What if you didn’t have to wait to have a million dollars in the bank to feel good about your financial status and security? To feel like you were taken care of, and that everything was going to be okay?
Is that even possible?
The truth is, we ALL feel freaked out about money sometimes. We live in a world that is completely freaked out about money. So it’s easy to get turned upside down and full of worry, anxiety and stress when it comes to your bank account, job status or the state of Wall Street.
But isn’t all this fear-based hoopla a total downer? If you’re anything like me, you know how ugly it can be when fear hijacks your bank account.
I’m so excited to share a f*r*e*e call that I’ve been invited to be a part of on Saturday, November 12, a fear busting conversation called MONEY PEACE.It’s all about kicking fear out of your bank account and getting on the path to true money peace right now. GO HERE to check it out.
My friend, inspirational catalyst Christine Arylo, has gathered four of her smartest money-minded, miracle making friends, a true Money Peace Dream Team: a Harvard MBA, a Harvard PhD Economist, a Spiritual Minister, and a Serial Entrepreneur for a transformational conversation in which we will all…
GET REAL about the truth of how fear hijacks us through our relationship with money
GET WISE about how we can make different choices, ones that lead us to MONEY PEACE instead of MONEY MADNESS
And GET INTO ACTION and receive tools for switching our minds and emotions from fear to peace when we face financial challenges
***Check out my Glimpse TV with one of my fellow Money Peace guests, Manisha Thakor, author of Get Financially Naked, and find out the three most important things you should be doing with your money.***
There’s no one better to lead this call than Christine Arylo. She’s the popular author of Choosing ME Before WE and the co-creator of the wildly successful 40-Day Fear Cleanse … suffice it to say she knows her stuff when it comes to clearing fear and becoming happy.
We all have a lot of things we could be doing on a Saturday morning … but given the current state of money fear out there, I can think of nothing more important than to be with you all kicking fear out of our bank accounts and bringing the truth about money peace (plus Christine will also send you a recording of the call so you can turn your Money Peace on whenever you need.)
If you are tired of waiting for the day when you can feel peaceful about your $$, this call is for you. Regardless of your situation, you’ll leave this call feeling like a Zen Money master, with tools, techniques and wisdom to set foot on the path to true Money Peace!
Sign up for the call now and become a money miracle maker yourself… more calm and confident about cash than you ever thought possible.
Here are the deets:
Date and time: Saturday, Nov. 12, 9:00 a.m. PST / noon EST
Call-in info:**You’ll get this info once you sign up!**
Who: Christine Arylo and the Money Peace Dream Team – Reverend Karen Russo, Dr. Margaret Smith, Manisha Thakor and me – check out the website to find out exactly who we are and why you want to jump on the opportunity to join this fear busting conversation. (And don’t forget to check out my Glimpse TV interview with Manisha Thakor below!)
Why: Gain wisdom about your relationship to money and get on the path to Money Peace right now.
P.S. Can’t make the call live? Go here now and sign up anyway to get the recording. Create some ME time this weekend and tune in. You deserve MONEY PEACE of mind.
p.p.s. No one, including you, should have to wait until the future to feel a sense of serenity about money... I like having nice things as much as anyone else, but honestly, aren’t you over people trying to sell you the secret of how to make a million dollars so you can be happy?
Why should you have to wait til then to feel secure, happy and taken care of. You are worth happiness right now, regardless of your bank account balance.
And now, I’m so thrilled to present Glimpse TV with women’s personal finance expert and author of Get Financially Naked, Manisha Thakor! I stopped by her gorgeous home in Santa Fe, NM about a month ago, shared a delicious home-cooked meal (not only is she amazing with money, she’s also a great cook!), and had a chat about the “he-cession” and the “she-conomy”, the next HOT commodity we should all be paying attention to, the three things you must be doing with your money, how to talk to your guy about money, and more. Cuddle up with us and get ready to get more intimate with your money!
The Freedom Tour has taught me several lessons about myself, love and life:
But one of the most important lessons of all: freedom is an inside job
This summer I had a chance to experience it first hand – in a dressing room. Of all places.
I took a branded shopping trip with my friend and colleague Kristen Domingue, creator of Ignite, a boutique style and brand consultancy. She specialized in helping women entrepreneurs link their style to their brand, and their brand to their purpose, so they KNOW they are attracting the right clients, on and off-line.
Given that I do so much speaking, and dress from my suitcase-cum-closet, a little style pit stop felt like a good idea.
After filling out her extensive brand assessment, and talking about my brand and purpose with her, she hit the streets and set aside clothes that were aligned with my core message. Clothes for dates, for speaking gigs, for working with clients, and just plain old hittin’ the road.
We had a lot of fun, broke a few sales associate hearts. And more than that, I realized we are aligned on something important.
I believe that freedom is something that happens inside of you when you tell yourself the truth (about money, love, etc.), and then align your life with that truth.
Inviting Mike on the Freedom Tour? Truth.
Starting the freedom Tour? Truth.
Taking a break this summer? Truth.
Not doing a daily video blog? Truth.
Cutting my hair? Truth.
And as a result, I am feeling more like me, and more free than I have in a long time.
Kristen totally understood that – in fact – just like I believe freedom is an inside job, she shares that branding is an inside job: the outer expression of your internal purpose; aligning your brand with your purpose leaves you free to have the kind of business and life you really want.
I mentioned in another post that this year, I launched a new business partnership, ended another one, then ended the one I had just started, experimented with being homeless, and fell in love.
With all that transition, my brand was a little hard to nail down.
But I can tell you for sure, my essence wasn’t.
It’s in stripping away everything that wasn’t me that the truth of my loves, likes, dislikes emerged.Which meant that while we saw tons of cute clothes, I felt most like me when we took an off-the-plan stroll into Cathryn Malandrino (a personal fave of mine) and I fell in love with a dress I wore to dinner that night, and then to a wedding the following week. It felt so much like me, that I bought it in 2 colors.
There is something magical about finding a dress that compliments you perfectly, fits you like a glove, and truly looks like you to the most important person of all: you.
And as I transitioned all year, a magic is emerging on The Freedom Tour that has it “fit me” just like my Cathryn Malandrino.
This year on The Freedom Tour (just like in the dressing rooms,) I tried on, I took off. I looked for the right fit, color, cut and shape.
I didn’t settle.
And I found freedom in the perfect little black (and peach!) dress…
What I noticed about Kristen in our time together, is that she is committed to getting down to the core essence of a person. She doesn’t want you to just look good, she really wants you to have something that fits YOU.
She’s offering a tele-class about this called Magnetic Branding. On it, she’ll share exactly how to infuse your brand with your purpose – your truth – and how this creates more freedom in your business and life.
I don’t know about you, but sometimes I just feel downright overwhelmed.
Like this morning for example. I’m packing up all my stuff (which admittedly isn’t much) and headed back across the country for the fourth, and hopefully final, time this year. (More on this very soon – big changes afoot here on The Freedom Tour.) I’m ironing out a book deal. I’m about to launch my 2012 Mentoring Program. I’ve got people emailing me about Team Northrup, interviews, bookkeeping, events, and more. How’s a girl to keep her sanity when everything always seems to be moving so fast?
Luckily, this week a new book is hitting the scene: Rock Your Overwhelm: Live in Clarity, Balance and Freedom by Whitney McMillan.
Whitney asked me to review the book several months ago and here’s what I had to say about it:
In a world full of time-management tools, stress reduction techniques, and endless overwhelming band-aids to “fix” us, Whitney McMillan gets right to the source of overwhelm: our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. Let this book be your permission to let go, get light, and be free.
Full of heart-centered personal stories of Whitney’s own journey with overwhelm and a practical Guided Journal with amazing tools to shift your overwhelm, it’s a truly valuable resource for transforming your life.
And I’m so glad I had this announcement scheduled to go out this very week, perhaps the most overwhelmed I’ve been since I left NYC in February, so that I could remind myself to dive into some of Whitney’s tools.
Each chapter in Rock Your Overwhelm: Live in Clarity, Balance and Freedom focuses on a particular step in Whitney’s proven 7-step Rock Your Overwhelm process. From acknowledging your ‘overwhelm beliefs,’ releasing them, and moving forward into visioning your life of ‘overwhelm freedom,’ you’re guided to live your dream life – with clarity, balance, and freedom.
Here’s what my girl Gabrielle Bernstein, best-selling author of Add More –ing to Your Life, & Spirit Junkie, has to say about the book:
By fearlessly sharing her own authentic experiences, Whitney serves up first-hand guidance out of overwhelm and into a free flowing life.
And guess what? The book is NOT all you receive! If you purchase Rock Your Overwhelm: Live in Clarity, Balance and Freedom today, November 2, 2011, you also receive $1000s of FREE gifts as a BONUS. Not only does Whitney know how to rock overwhelm, she also knows a thing or two about generosity
Next time someone tells you they’re overwhelmed, or the next time you find yourself telling yourself that you’re overwhelmed, tell them (or yourself) about Whitney’s book. Then open it up and join me in diving in to Rock Your Overwhelm because who couldn’t use a little more clarity, balance, and freedom in their lives? I know I could!
Here’s to you LIVING FREE FROM OVERWHELM (and free in all other areas as well!)
P.S. Whitney believes overwhelm freedom can benefit all people. Will you join the movement to start Rocking Your Overwhelm today? www.whitneymcmillan.com
The day after I’d left Austin, TX this fall on the final leg of The Freedom Tour from Scottsdale, AZ to Wainscott, NY (where I currently reside – there’s been some confusion about that so I’m clearin’ it up) I got a very sweet, very cool email from a woman named Carrie Contey. She said such lovely things to me that I couldn’t help but head over to her website and find out what this woman was all about.
