I saw Danielle LaPorte speak last week.

She was pure inspiration on a stage. So comfortable, not only in her own skin, but in communicating her messages, her truths, her perspectives. It was totally cool.

I took notes while I was there. I couldn’t help myself.

The thing with Danielle is that her messages, her words, her understandings penetrate a part of my being where it forces me to stay focussed, pay attention and live differently afterwards.

This is some of what I jotted down.

1. Your success has more to do with what you say no to. Not what you say yes to.

This works for so many things. Not just work opportunities, but also our habits. Whatever it is we feel obliged to do. Whatever it is that drains our energy. We need to get clear on them and we need say no and stop doing them. Even as I type this I feel an immense sense of relief wash over me. Let’s have the awareness to honour and respect what serves us and what doesn’t and have the courage to follow through and say no, and let it go.

She suggested we create A Stop Doing List. Simple. Brilliant. Effective.

2. Fear.

Her take on fear is one I learnt from her Fire Starter Sessions book. I often use it with clients and with myself. She says when fear shows up say, ‘Thanks for showing up. What do you want to tell me? Go on, get it out.’ She then goes through a process of asking her fear ‘and if that happens, then what are you afraid of?’ ‘and then what?’ and so on. 

This is a super effective process. As it allows us to get to the root fear. And to be honest, it’s usually something… kind of ridiculous. For instance, ‘my biggest fear if I leave my job and pursue my dream is that I’ll end up on the street’. Now this of course is not ridiculous, being on the street is very real, BUT the time it would take to get to that point, is a little while indeed. And we have enough sense about ourselves and enough resources to know when it’s getting to that point. It requires faith and a strong belief in self. Two things we can consciously work with.

Or like she offered, in order to manage her own fear before going on stage, her root fear would be, I might die! Now the reality of that is pretty slim, and so, out on stage she goes. And sure enough, she doesn’t die.

By giving fear a voice you give it the energy it deserves, cause it does deserve it. It’s part of you. But it’s not the entire part of you! As she said, ‘fear always comes bearing information’. Find out what that information is.

3. You clearly don’t want it bad enough!

One of the insights that stuck with me the most was her response to those clients she coached back in the day that used to come up with excuses about not pursuing their dreams. She’d simply reply, ‘Well, you clearly don’t want it bad enough’. Boom.

It’s a good statement. It puts us in our place. If we ask ourselves, how badly do we really want it? And we know we do, then we need only go through the fear process above and then take action on it. If we don’t, then we clearly don’t want it bad enough.

Take charge, push through, get over it. And start doing.

4. Generosity is the next frontier.

She then went on to say, ‘joy is when receiving and giving are so enmeshed you don’t know which is which’. Oh my god, how I love this.

I experienced this notion first hand a few months back. For a couple of weeks, when I was run down and energetically exhausted I got into the vibration that I was giving to my clients. I forgot (temporarily) that I also and always receive in my sessions with clients. My exhaustion had let my ego take over. Thank goodness I snapped out of it and came back to my truth. The vibration of generosity, of giving, of connecting is nothing short of bliss. And that’s the receiving part.

When we stop trying to get, we automatically move into a divine vibration. Sit with this and try it.

More words of wisdom.

1. Everything ebbs and flows. Periods of potent creativity are followed by periods of latent restorative energy. You need to respect this. There’s always winter after the summer. Same sort of thing.
2. Be ok to be disliked. Enough said.
3. Our true nature is joy. It is the illusions that we are removing. This statement brings me peace.
4. Lean into the uncertainty. I love this.
5. Never hold back on your creativity. Never.
6. Comparison is toxic. Healthy envy however allows you to see your own potential. Perspective. Sigh.

And then she finished off with this…

 

Decide to rise.

Devote yourself to done.

Explore your place in the universe.

 

Clare Woodward is a Kinesiologist, transformational coach, writer, speaker and considers herself a true manifesting Queen. She is insanely curious and fascinated by the workings of the mind and spirit, and understanding how these influence our experiences, in our current reality. She loves the kookiness of all things energy and gets a kick out of synchronicities, soulful encounters and hugging trees. Follow her at Woodward Institute and find her on Facebook.