Feeling Alien, and Other Things Leaders Cure
Before the age of 13, my “leaders” were young adult novelists like Paul Zindel and Judy Blume; they made me feel less weird alone. My earliest definition of leadership, if I could have defined it then, was someone who made it possible for other people, regardless of how different they were, to feel less “alien”, less disconnected and therefore “less alone”.
Emotional Awareness: A Power Tool
Quick. You’re feeling feelings you don’t want to feel. What do you do? As I explained in Part 1 of this post, if you’re like most people, you run to your favourite vice—coffee, sweets, ciggys, your phone (or, maybe you grab your list of positive affirmations and dance...
Emotional Pain and Where It’s Born
Disclaimer: What I'm sharing is what I've learned through studying my own amygdala's complex defense systems (I grew up with PTSD and disassociation), my extensive research into how the mind processes emotions, and especially my intuitive ability to learn what my...
The True Abundance Mindset That Creates Genuine Happiness
This post is part 2 of a two-part series: an in-depth guide to abundance. Part 1. Are You Practicing The False Abundance Mindset? Part 2. The True Abundance Mindset That Creates Genuine Happiness If you’ve actually tried to practice “abundance”, you’ve probably...
Are You Practicing The False Abundance Mindset?
This post is part 1 of a 2-part series: an in-depth guide to abundance. Part 1. Are You Practicing The False Abundance Mindset? Part 2. The True Abundance Mindset That Creates Genuine Happiness Of course you want it all—what the new-age gurus call “abundance”....
Why I Quit Facebook: The Graveyard of Past Identities
This week I quit Facebook. Okay, I deactivated my account. I’m too chicken to delete it yet, but I probably will. Don't worry. This isn’t a post about why YOU should quit. It’s more of a nudge to think about how your online communities influence who you decide to be,...
How My Divorce Led to a Spiritual Experience
Today, I want to share a personal story with you that I rarely share with anyone. It’s about a powerful spiritual experience I had that showed me, once and for all, that stories shape your reality. They shape who you were, who you are, and who you can become next, and...
A Surprising App That Keeps Me Organized
If you’re an ideas person, like me, you probably struggle to keep track of all your ideas and content. I've got a pile of half-full journals lying around, and lots of orange sticky notes on my desk, some of which capture random moments of inspiration (e.g. a new,...
Podcast: Stuff You Need To Know About Yourself And Your Story
Hey Changemakers, I have a special surprise for you today. Instead of my usual insanely long post, I've got a podcast for you—I was featured on the The Life: Optimized Show—so you can just sit back, enjoy a coffee or whatever makes you happy, and listen. If you've...
When Friends Break Up (The Price of Transformation)
Image By h.koppdelaney Your heart feels like it’s being crushed. Someone you love is pulling out of your life. Maybe it’s because they want you to be someone you can’t be, someone you used to be. Or perhaps you want them to be someone they can’t be. Either way,...
The 7-Day Self Trust Challenge
It’s a terrible feeling. You see all these people making things happen, so why is it so damn hard for you to just go for that jog in the morning? You want to. You know you’ll have more energy and be more creative, and it’ll feel good to fit into your favourite jeans...
3 Steps to Your Real Business Story
This week I thought I’d lay off the intense False Self lessons to share another integral authentic business tool that’s close to my heart—understanding your life story (which is where you'll find your "real business story"). If I could wave a magic wand and give you...
4 Steps to Conquering Your False Self
Because I want nothing less than to liberate you from the tyranny of your False Self, I've structured this post in a format that takes your learning process into account (former college teacher here!). If you feel called to live at your full potential, I recommend you...
Why It’s So Hard to Change
So, you learned in Part 1 that the False Self is a troublesome thing we all need to understand. And you learned in Part 2 how that can play out in someone’s life (we looked at Robin Williams). Today, we were supposed to get into some tools and strategies you can use...
Why Robin Williams Killed Himself
*Robin Williams. Photograph: Ken Hively/Los Angeles Times/ContourPhotos.com in The Guardian [Since I wrote this, it has come out that Robin Williams had Lewy Bodies Dementia, which is almost certainly the real reason he killed himself. This article is about what...
When Shit Isn’t Working
“Don’t know why I feel so bad. Is it the weather, or am I going mad?” It’s a state of confusion, the Kinks say. You die your hair, eat some pie, start a new business (or job), have an affair (or three) and throw in a vacation—but when the distractions are gone that...
How To Be a Blogger or Coach Who Rocks This World
This one's for you hard-working coaching and blogging changemakers who are still rising up. (And, as I said in my last post, I partly write my posts to me, for us both. Because “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together…goo goo g'joob,” says the...
Why Personal Branding is So Fucking Hard
Do you know who you are? I mean really…do you know? Can you tell the story of who you are to someone else in a few sentences that highlight what’s uniquely awesome about you without stuttering? How the Pros Do "Personal Branding" For years now, I’ve been following the...
You Just Made a Big, Bad Mistake
So, you just made a big, bad mistake…AND it’s a mistake you’ve made before so you’re royally pissed at yourself. The Maybe Train ...Maybe you didn’t handle something in the best way (like you really, really didn't). Maybe you shouldn’t have had that extra cocktail...
How to Create the World You Want to Live In
Can we all agree that we're freaked out by the state of the world right now? And we're not sure what we can actually do that will have any impact? So...we can totally forgive ourselves for often feeling like giving up and just playing with our cell phones or obsessing...
What Life Experience Do You Want Next?
This is me enjoying the "Rebel Experience" when I was 14 (yes, that IS a mullet!). As you probably know by now, my greatest personal realization has been that my life is just a story; I'm the main character and also the author. This way of looking at my life has...
What’s a “Life Purpose” and How Do I Find It?
What's your purpose? It's your passion, right? Stuff you enjoy doing? Kind of. But you probably enjoy doing lots of different stuff. Your purpose is like the "north" on your life compass that guides you to focus on which of that stuff you're going to invest your time...
Why We Need to Fail More: The Suck Factor
Living your purpose requires a lot of sticking your neck out to try new things. This can be brutal if, like me, you weren't taught that mistakes lead to learning. Too many of us learned that mistakes mean we're bad or stupid. I saw this when I taught college students...
What Your Life Can Be
Read the following quote twice, so the truth of it can really sink in. (I've read it about 20 times so far, and I'll likely read it another 20.) Life is not what you see, but what you've projected. It's not what you've felt, but what you've decided. It's not what...