Substance. Mindfulness. Deep play. Meaning-making.

Patti Digh.

(Insert a very humble bow, a Namaste, my hands folded in respect, and a “Woot! Woot! Patti’s the bomb.” Ommmm Patti.)

1. What is the question that you are currently living?
The question I live every morning is the one that started me on my current journey: What would I be doing today if I only had 37 days to live? It’s a question—and a time frame—that provides immediate perspective to my life. And it’s a tough question some days, because we are filled with “have to’s” and “should’s”. We learn those patterns at such a young age… I’m learning to really understand at a deep level that I am always, ALWAYS, in choice. I may not choose my circumstance, but I certainly choose how I am in that circumstance. That single-handedly eliminates my abdication of personal responsibility—and that, frankly, sucks some days when I’d rather blame things on others.

In this brave new 37days world, “have to” is changed to “choose to,” and “should” is changed to “will.” In this world, “I’ll try to” becomes “I will” or “I won’t” and “I can’t” becomes “I choose not to.”

Living as if you are dying provides immediate, sudden, potent clarity.

2. What makes something poetic?

Everything, EVERYTHING is poetry. Everything is poetic. If you’re alive, you’re a poet. If you’re alive, you’re an artist. Life itself is a creative act. I see poetry everywhere—in the way a waiter hands me my vegan enchilada, in the way the train doors close at the Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport, in the reflected smile of a cab driver in his rear view mirror when I ask about his children whose pictures are so proudly displayed, in the pain we feel when we encounter deep, vast soul-numbing loss.

There’s a wonderful quote from Osho: “When I say be creative, I don’t mean you should all go and become great painters and great poets. I simply mean let your life be a painting, let your life be a poem.”

What makes something poetic is our belief in poetry, of a meaning far beyond the surface of the thing itself, of metaphor, of the dance we dance daily between content and form.

3. What split intentions have you unified?

Oh, honey. How much time do you have?

I’ll start with just one.

As my business partner, David Robinson, taught me from his work as a theater director teaching young actors: “You can’t play two intentions at the same time on stage.” So you can either warn Hamlet or work to get the audience to love you, but you can’t do both at the same time.

My greatest learning about this came in the form of my most recent book. It wasn’t written for publication. I didn’t try to tailor a query to fit what an editor was looking for. I didn’t engage an agent to sell the idea of it. I simply sat down and wrote for my two daughters, completely disengaged from the market, the product. It was the process that mattered: a writer writes.

My single, solitary intention was to leave behind my stories for my two daughters so that when I die—whenever that is—I will be leaving behind an important part of myself for them, something more important than a collection of grapefruit spoons. I felt great urgency about that, because we never know when we will die. I could be on Day 10 of my last 37 right now—and I would never know that.

The greatest gifts of my life emerged from that single intention—in the form of relationships—with my family, with readers around the globe. That work, more than anything else I’ve ever done, speaks to the power of a single intention. I was writing, head down. And I try every single day to get back to that.

4. What piece of advice have you been given that you apply the most frequently?

When our oldest daughter was little, a good friend suggested that we get down on our knees and actually “walk” around the house that way to see it from her eye level. It was an eye-opening journey. In my work as a social justice activist, and also as a writer and speaker, I get on my knees and walk around in someone else’s reality a lot. It’s important to try as much as possible to see what others are seeing, particularly if they are disagreeing with you, particularly if they are belittling or negating you. What drives them? What do they see in the world? What is their vantage point? Their access point? Getting people to where you are is a hell of a lot easier if you give them directions from where they are, and not from where you stand, all sure of yourself.

5. What book(s) are you always telling people to read?

The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers. The man is, hands-down, a genius. His writing is brilliant, each sentence (each one) a combination of words so beautiful that it makes every writer jealous. He is a gracious, amazing man and this is the best book about race in the U.S. I’ve ever read.

6. I’m going to give you a word. Tell me what the first thing that comes to mind when you read it… Ready? The word is: DIGNITY.

Our dignity as human beings isn’t something defined by who we are in the world as individuals, but it’s defined only in community, by the quality of the engagement between us, by the quality of the space between us, by our ability to navigate those liminal spaces. Until we are ready and able to grant the same level of specificity to others as we grant ourselves, there is no dignity. Until we know that the homeless person in Pack Square and the hungry Haitian displaced from his home, and the refugee from Rwanda, and the white male CEO, and the shamed golf star are as fully complex and human as we are, there is no dignity, there is only privilege and judgment.

7. What do you know to be true, unquestionably beyond doubt, certain with every cell of your being, completely, passionately, righteously certain?

I know that when I am on my deathbed, I will be surrounded not by legions of people all over the world who may have come in contact with me or my work, but by a very small group of what I call my “human survival units.” Knowing who those people are is vital. Knowing that we are made up not of atoms, but of love and stories, is also vital. When we die, what’s left is love in the form of stories. I know that death ends a life, but not a relationship.

……

FIND PATTI

Why 37days?Video
37 Days site
Patti’s site
on Twitter
on Facebook
Recent reading
Recent podcast

For info on Patti’s free teleseminars, sign up for the Circle Project newsletter. I can attest, here teleseminar are truly excellent.

And check out her latest post: How to Write (a book). A Wee Rant. Brill.

Lora Sasiela is the founder of Financially Smitten. We did a Fire Starter Session last year and I was truly impressed with her knowledge (she’s a psychotherapist by training and trade) and spirit (she’s on a full tilt mission to help women make and manage real money.) When she launched her new site and workshop line up, my immediate reaction was, “yesss!” I smiled big and thought to myself, “She did it right, and she did it sassy.” Read on for a dose of sage advice that you can take to the bank.

1. Cocktail line:
I’m on a mission to put the femme in finance. You know how so many women are scared about money and think that if they don’t deal with it, it will just magically go away or somehow take care of itself? Well, I take them by the hand, and using a proven blend of financial therapy and money coaching am able to support them in creating a conscious and empowered relationship with money. Through this transformative work they are able to kiss their financial heartache goodbye and start rocking their money mojo.

2. Best lesson:
Be careful what you share with whom. I’m by nature a very open and generous person, and one of my life lessons continues to be around setting boundaries and realizing that others are not always coming from a place of integrity. I get so passionate when talking about my business vision and ideas for the future, and need to stay mindful at times to keep my cards closer to my chest….until the time is right for all to be revealed.

3. Smartest money spent:
My Fire Starter session with you. ;-) White, hot, truthfully, I’m all about getting the support I need to build my business and bring my goals to fruition, so investing in coaching, virtual assistants, training, etc. is always #1 on my list.

4. True strength: (makes you feels stronger, vital, alive.)
My deep and intuitive understanding of human behavior cultivated from many years of training and working as a psychotherapist. This way of viewing the world is priceless. To understand the motivations of oneself as well as others adds a type of efficiency to living in this world.

5. Who cares: (why does your tribe listen to your story or want what you’ve got?)
Been there, done that, came through the other side and can now show you the way. This work has been an outcome of my own financial meltdown. I am now so passionate about women not only banishing their fear of money, but also actually showing them how to put out that Welcome Mat, so more money can enter their lives.

6. Say no to: (what do you decline/limit in order to stay in your true strengths and focused on what you do best)
I am a fan of that axiom, “you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” and really monitor my feeling state as I spend time with people. If I continue to leave interactions with someone without feeling enriched in some way, it’s time to re-prioritize that connection. Life is too short!

9. Core feelings: (how do you feel when you’re in your zone, doing what you want to do.)
Like I am completely tapped into another source of knowing. I joke at times that it feels like entering the Matrix. It’s like I’m a conduit, that the ‘me’ has disappeared somewhat and I’m sourcing something much greater than myself. Not to get all woo-woo or anything!

10. Biggest blessing or best advice:
My biggest blessing is to have really nailed down my life purpose, and in a way that allows me to value all that has come before as steps along the path, retrospectively.

11. 1 Year Dream: (intend to accomplish this year.)
To continue to grow the Financially Smitten community and develop more services and products to help as many women as possible create a relationship with money most only dream of.

12. Final words: (sales pitch, requests, offerings, words of wisdom…)
Come join the growing community at www.FinanciallySmitten.com by grabbing a free Money Makeover Kit on the site. You’ll get some great tips and tools and be subscribed to my celebrated newsletter, The Flirting with Finance Diaries. Get ready to kiss you financial heartache goodbye!

….

How can the world find you?
Financially Smitten
Twitter
Facebook

My Fire Starter clients are…on fire, of course. From RealEstate, to design, to culture jammers, they’ve got the goods and they’re here to share them.

1. Cocktail line:
I’m a real estate broker and attorney by training, but what I really do is create content that feeds the informational cravings of smart women who want to live prosperous lives, and know that being a smart property owner is one way to do that. My main media for consumers are books, webinars and live events. But I also use those same media to help our corporate clients deliver their marketing messages to women real estate consumers.

For example, I’ve created about 200 articles, tutorials and video webisodes for HGTV’s listing website, FrontDoor.com.

Oh – and I also train real estate professionals who want to attract women homebuyers and -sellers into their businesses.

2. Best lesson: (jumbo mistake, repeated learning – the hard way.)
Gurus are everywhere. I honor the failed relationships – business and personal – in my life because of the lessons I’ve learned.

3. Smartest money spent:
My first home. Law school tuition. Losing a home to foreclosure (the lessons were oh-so-worth it.)

4. Money flushed:
Tara’s definition of tuition: money you paid to learn a lesson. Over-leveraging a home + losing it to foreclosure, though it empowered me to speak to my tribe from a unique hybrid expert + ‘been there, done that’ perspective.

5. Who cares:
Smart women ready to experience ease, joy and prosperity and ready to execute holistic lifestyle design using real estate as one of several tools. Women who crave to understand before they make up their minds. Grown-up (or growing-up) women.

6. Say no to: (what do you decline/limit in order to stay in your true strengths and focused on what you do best)
Cheeseballish or informercial-esque, get-rich style real estate events and folk; anything/anyone that just doesn’t seem right; anything/project outside of my core audiences and core messages.

7. Best advice:
Sh*t or get off the pot. (S)he who has the cash makes the rules. Be careful what you do or say in the press – you might want to run for President someday. (Thanks, Dad.)

8. 1 Year Dream:
* Turn my niche-y corner of the web/world into an active movement of women boldly executing prosperity practices (and taking names).
* Write 1 book (that’ll be #3).
* Pull off 1 web event series, sponsored + 1 train the trainer live event.
* Sell a bunch of certifications.
* Productize, monetize, execute.

9. Final words: (sales pitch, requests, offerings, words of wisdom…)
Remember that rap song, “When I move, you move”? If God rapped, that would be His/Her/Its theme song. Except it would be in reverse: when YOU move, God moves, and then the whole universe moves to manifest what it is that you’re meant to do on this planet. The trick is you don’t know which of your moves will activate this cosmic domino effect. So, if you have the thought or inspiration to do something, especially to create something, DO IT. Creation is inherently worthwhile.

Looking for women bloggers/authors who teach in the realm of money, mindset, personal finance or women’s business to facilitate sessions of the women + prosperity virtual unconference series, August-October 2010. Alternative or ‘woo-woo’ approaches are ideal. BTW – you can do it in your pajamas, and self-promotion is allowed advised (assuming you can offer something of true value to attendees). Email Tara at REThinkRealEstate.com for details.

How can the world find you?
Site: REThinkRealEstate.com (consumers) + Women’s Real Estate & Lifestyle Design Advisor Certification (real estate professionals)
Twitter: @taranicholle
Facebook: Tara on Facebook

. . . . . . .

housekeeping note: I recently changed the system that manages White Hot Truth subscribers. Please open the “CONFIRM” email you receive from me, or simply go to the upper right of my home page and subscribe. It would break my heart to lose touch. (For RSS lovers, nothing’s changing.) xo

Jen Louden is the author of the Oprah-loved The Woman’s Comfort Book, a coach who describes her typical client as “smart, curious, has a pretty good sense of humor, and doesn’t suffer fools lightly.” (sound familiar?) And one of the innovators of the “virtual retreat.”

Her next virtual retreat is right around the corner: Refresh, Reawaken, & Rediscover Who You are in Ways that Truly Work, February 12th-14th.

I especially love Jennifer via video. When she talks about getting the “renewal I need for my soul…” I want it. When she talks about going from “the grind to the organic flow…” I’m nodding. I believe the twinkle in her eye. I start fantasizing about radical self-care and spa time, spirit-centered creative retreats, and meandering to the beat of my heart and I…feel comforted already.

1. What do you know to be true, unquestionably beyond doubt, certain with every cell of your being, completely, passionately, righteously certain?

That I love the bejuses out of my daughter. That befriending myself is better than kicking myself. That I am never alone. That little in life is fixed. That planning isn’t the same as creating. That depletion is another name for hiding your genius. That creating stuff makes me happy. That it’s not about me. That Bob loves me. That nature restores my faith. That my body is the way in. That yoga heals. That books are a miracle. That women will bring about the change we are hungry for. That life is a hoot. Oh, and expect the Spanish Inquisition and be pleasantly surprised when all goes well.

2. What did you decide to stop doing in order to be the real Jen, instead of the gotta-have-it-all, do-it-all Wonder Woman version so many of us are burning out for?

Anything to do with details – I’m a big idea person and very bad with the details. Tracking things. Spelling. House cleaning. Cooking. Sending birthday cards. Committees – never never ever. I’m trying to learn how to hire someone who can help me hold my business. There is an energetic plus detail letting go that is next for me.

3. What happens when women find their voice?

What doesn’t happen? When I wrote my first book in 1992, The Woman’s Comfort Book, that was my feminist manifesto. True self-care liberates self-trust and trust in something larger than yourself and that creates a chain reaction from “I will keep my paycheck husband thank you very much” to “I don’t have to work at a job I hate. I can go back to school / start my own business.”

Claiming our own lives and our own desires can start to feel hackneyed as in old hat, already done, so basic. When in fact, claiming our voice, our selves, will always be the essential act of growing up. Ignore it or belittle it at your own peril.

4. What was the dumbest thing that you used to believe in?

That if I just sold enough books, I would finally believe I was cool. That there was a “done” to arrive at.

5. What are your creative habits? How do you keep the poetry, wisdom and coin flowing?

• Create daily. Something!
• Have someone else capture, polish, put together my big out pourings instead of me. Mornings are sacrosanct. I sleep late (6:45 or 7) in the winter, rise earlier as spring and then our long summers grace us.
• Meditation before anything or the day is shot. Email after that only when my baby is out of town and I need a love hit. Otherwise, wait for the real world – create first.
• Multi-tasking is dangerous and must be avoided during creative time.
• Tend my creative well often with new experiences, quiet time, being and listening.
• Take retreats!
• I read a lot.
• I have to take in new experiences and learning often or I dry up.
• I make art messes often.
• I pray to be inspired.
• I release my judgment of the first draft and dive in deeper.
• When I find myself comparing myself, I think, “Yeah for her/him!”

6. What book(s) are you always telling people to read?

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chodron
Faith by Sharon Salzberg
Art and Fear by Bayles and Orland
Poetry!

7. I’m going to give you a word. Tell me what the first thing that comes to mind when you read it… Ready? The word is: compassion.

Without compassion for myself, I become a brittle depleted self-absorbed bore who hides in fear.

. . . . . . .
FIND JEN
Twitter: @jenlouden
Facebook
JenniferLouden.com

CHECK OUT: JEN LOUDEN’S 2010 COMFORT RETREAT February 12 – 14

Seth Godin has one of the most highly respected and trafficked blogs on the world wide web; the most-viewed presentations on TED; the most charitable social and information systems in action, the best-selling series of books on marketing, culture, and idea-generation.

His new book, Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? goes on shelves and ships TODAY! It’s a whole new kind of Seth fabulous that speaks to the heart (and primal encoding) of creativity in all pursuits. It is beautiful.

Seth’s views on collaboration, endurance, and what it means to be an artist give me a deep sense of belonging and optimism. His definition of “art” contains three elements:

1. Art is made by a human being.
2. Art is created to have an impact, to change someone else.
3. Art is a gift. You can sell the souvenir, the canvas, the recording… but the idea itself is free, and the generosity is a critical part of making art.

Art is what we’re doing when we do our best work.

Ladies and gentleman, it is a true honour to bring you, The Integrity Artist, The Amplifier of other people’s goodness, and one of my biggest intellectual crushes, Mr. Seth Godin.

BURNING QUESTIONS WITH SETH GODIN

1. What do you know to be true, unquestionably beyond doubt, certain with every cell of your being, completely, passionately, righteously certain?

Somewhere, someone is going to have a spectacular day tomorrow, the best day they ever had. Maybe even more than one person. Maybe you.

2. How do we rise above the grip of resistance-addicted lizard brain into unleashed, energized, full tilt mojo and artistic moxy?

The lizard is the prehistoric brain stem, the amygdala, the part of our brain responsible for anger, revenge, sex and safety. It’s what a chicken has, all that a chicken has.

The lizard is mistaken.

The lizard successfully believed, for a really long time, that safety was good. Avoid saber-tooth tigers. Duck your head. Don’t raise your hand. That = survival.

Now, of course, that equals burger-flipping and Wal-Mart greeting. Safety is a recipe for food stamps.

What the lizard ought to be doing is pushing you to do art, pushing you to stand out, pushing you to do work that matters and to make a difference.

So, you rise above by seducing and quieting the lizard, and then, when it’s snoozing, do exactly the opposite of what it wants you to do.

3. What was the dumbest thing that you used to believe in?

Deserved.

That some people got what they deserved. That someone deserved to be taught a lesson at my expense. That bad luck hurts people who deserve better.

What’s true: Stuff happens. We dance with it. The better and happier you dance, the better you do. And every minute you spend teaching people a lesson is a minute wasted forever.

4. I think we crave originality and individuation as much as we crave belonging and the beautiful symmetry of being in tribe. How do we steer clear of, as you call it in Linchpin, the “Faustian bargains in which we trade our genius and artistry for stability”? How do we access our own originality? (This, by the way, could be the best question I’ve ever asked anyone. Ever.)

Join a tribe of artists. Lead a tribe of people intent on making a difference.

1984 is a scary book because belonging to a tribe of cogs is the most frightening thing of all. Better to be Neo or Trinity than to live in the Matrix, I think.

5. Dante and “all who entered”, had to abandon hope at the gates of the inferno. I have my own theory on that (I’m not a fan of h-o-p-e.) Is hope a requirement for Linchpins and change agents? Or trust?

Mostly faith.

Faith in your art. Faith in your ability to matter. Faith in the future and opportunities that will present themselves. The reality is you need low overhead and an ability to get through the Dip and the reality is you must put in the hours and push yourself harder than you can imagine. Then the faith pays off.

6. What question are you currently living?

Whatcha talking about Willis?

oh

how about, “How can I leverage this opportunity to spread an idea that people really need to hear… and not waste my chance.”

7. What’s your super hero name? (You have one. To discover it, stand with hands on your hips, chest up, and eyes to the sky. It’ll come to you. FYI, Mine is Agent Now, which in French translates to L’Agent Maintenent. Adorable n’est pas?)

The Amplifier.

Indeed.

. . . . . . .

FIND SETH

SethGodin.com
The Squidoo Linchpin Interviews
Linhpin: Are You Indispensable?
TED Lectures

Ronna Detrick looks you in the eye. And she listens. And when she speaks, you can see her pulling down wisdom from St. Theresa to Simone de Beauvoir through the filter of her own lived experience, to give you gem of grace – or grit. And, she can write – like a poet on a practical mission. Like a feminist with faith.

Women! (And the fine men who adore us,) come to the Red Tent of White Hot Truth. Ronna is in the house.

1. Let’s start with a big one: how do you define feminism?

I define feminism as more of a personal characteristic than a political or social statement. It’s who I am, how I am, and yes, certainly what I am. It’s an honoring of the strength, power, and inherent worth in women. It’s a naming of the places in which those realities aren’t honored. It’s a way of being that says, “I will not be silenced; I will live out loud. I will not edit or censor myself; I will tell the truth. I will not be safe; I will be dangerous, provocative, risky, and bold.”

2. Another whopper of a question – because you’re a massive spirit, Ms. Ronna, what’s FAITH got to do with FEMINISM?

Mmmm. A tough one. Much I don’t know. Lots of answers I don’t have. But here’s what I do know: the two are not mutually exclusive. Faith, whether it be in ourselves, God, Goddess, Buddha, Mohammad, or the powers of the Universe, is a potent and beautiful thing. It enables hope. It invites desire. It softens and strengthens and sings. As a feminist I want to be able to embrace and embolden every aspect of my life and my world. I want to be able to believe deeply and speak definitively. I want to be able to hope fervently and work my ass off for change. I want to have faith in “truths” beyond myself and be an agent in creating the realities I desire and deserve for myself and those I love. Maybe another way to say it is that I am a feminist with faith; indeed, I must have faith. It’s sometimes all that enables me to hope, believe, and persevere!!!

3. What was the dumbest thing that you used to believe in?

I love this question! I used to believe that saving people’s souls mattered. Now I don’t. My understanding of theology has dramatically changed over the years and, in turn, my understanding of God’s heart (no matter how that power/deity is understood). The process of people coming to believe in things greater than themselves is not mine to coerce, demand, or enforce. So, you won’t see me handing out tracts, repeating any spiritual laws, or quoting Scripture to convince you of one damn thing. If I’m going to be an “evangelist” at all, it’s going to be for great, honest, and provocative conversation. That’s salvation at it’s finest, baby!

4. What’s the best advice you were ever given in terms of business?

There are two statements I keep coming back to. Tell me if they sound at all familiar to you, as you are the one who proclaimed them on my behalf! “I don’t care why you’re stuck. I don’t want to analyze. Let’s just declare that you don’t need to know why and you’re going to rock after this!” and “All of this is going to be easy…let it be easy. You don’t have to work so hard!” I didn’t pay you nearly enough for either piece of this amazing wisdom!

6. What book(s) are you always telling people to read?

Whenever I’m talking to women who are trying to think in new categories about their faith – particularly if they’ve come out of a more conservative tradition, I recommend Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd and its fictional counterpart, The Secret Life of Bees. The classic of In A Different Voice by Carol Gilligan is super important for women trying to understand their own and cultures’ silencing. Favorite novels are A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. And then I always recommend The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo, Let Your Life Speak by Parker Palmer, and Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott. Oh, and now I tell everyone to download (and read quarterly) A Brief Guide to World Domination by Chris Guillebeau. It is sacred text to me these days!

7. What’s your favorite belief these days?

Here’s what I believe: if I follow my heart, not editing or censoring, always telling my truth, and living out loud I will know deep and profound experiences of both life and God; both are made manifest in powerful and impossible-to-miss ways when I am my most passionate, most beautiful, most alive self. Isn’t that amazing? And when I actually believe it, when I actually believe in myself? I change. My world changes. EVERYTHING changes! What could be better?!?

. . . . . . .

FIND RONNA

RenegadeConversations.com
On Twitter
RENEGADEconversation Groups + Coaching

I could stop there, because that’s one impressive conversion that would make me instantly love anyone.

But there’s so much more…Author of Career Renegade; featured in USA TODAY, Newsweek, Forbes; founder of Tribal Author – and I can tell you this man knows publishing inside and out, and is riding the edge of it; and the voice behind Awake At the Wheel – one of the most highly read blogs for entrepreneurs.

Jonathan Fields starts most of his days on Twitter with, “Good morning, how can I help today?” I was suspicious at first (but I’m like that,) but the man’s plan is to truly be of service, and it rings through all of his work. Must be all that yoga.

1. What are you positively addicted to? (Note: my shrink defines positive addiction as “a healthy high, it makes you stronger. As long as the craving for it doesn’t take you over, then it’s, like totally cool.”)

Learning. I once took the famed Signature Strengths survey run by U Penn professor, Martin Seligman, and it identified “knowledge acquisition” as one of the 5 things that makes me come alive. And, yeah, it was dead on. I devour knowledge and love, love, LOVE to create. Especially things that impact peoples’ lives in some positive way.

These healthy addictions have manifested themselves in businesses, books, painting, music and a voracious desire to help others succeed in similar endeavors. I’m also fascinated by the human body and the intersection between the way the East and West look at both the human body and spirituality.

2. What do you know the most about?

How much I don’t know. Seriously, I consider myself early into the learning curve of pretty much everything in life. Probably has to do with my love of learning. I always see the body of knowledge to be learned as being vastly larger than the nuggets I’ve stumbled upon to date.

Beyond that, though, if you look at the lists people add me to on twitter, I guess I’ve become known for launching, building and marketing passion-driven life-enhancing businesses and books and helping others do the same.

3. What was the dumbest thing that you used to believe in?

Conventional wisdom. Please, I should buy into the collective perceived limitations of large numbers of people who’ve either tried and failed or, far more likely, never had the balls to try?

Why would I ever let THAT guide or limit my own life?!

4. If you had an altar, what would you put on it.

My daughter and wife. They’re first in my heart, my mind, and my spirit. Everything else is cosmic icing.

5. What global policy, credo, practice or law would you like to decree?

Be kind.

6. In the mammoth sphere of all things on-line, who do you think has got it going on? Whose stuff do you actually read? And to put a fine point on it, would you pay to read any of it? Big question for a social media cat like you, I know.

Probably not supposed to admit this as a card-carrying member of Intergalactic Order of Social Media Heavy Users, but I don’t read ANYONE regularly.

I read a ton of books…yes, paper books. I’m the guy who returned his kindle. Go figure.

And, I have about 100 bloggers in my reader. They all write amazing stuff…sometimes. And, yes, that includes me. Nobody hits it out of the park every day. So, I scan for headlines that draw me in and turn me on. Sometimes Chris Guillebeau, Naomi Dunford, Gina Trapani or Seth Godin call me, other times it’s Chris Brogan, Brian Clark or Clay Shirky or author, Steve Pressfield and of course, the amazing Life Remix crew (disclosure, I’m a card-carrying member there, too, lol).

For me, it’s more about authentic voices, because I actually DO pay to read every post, we all do. Not in dollars, but in time. And, that’s a more precious resource to me, because I can’t make more of it. When it gone, it’s gone. So, I tend to veer away from rehashed prescriptive content and more toward stuff that makes me say, “hmmmm.”

7. What are you teaching your daughter about money?

Money is a lousy metric for a life well-lived. It matters, but it should be sought as the byproduct of following a path makes her come alive. Wealth is about relationships and experiences, not stuff. Start with passion, then if need be get hyper-creative to MAKE whatever you need to live well in the world follow.

8. What are you trying to discover?

How to be the best dad and husband on the planet.

[need proof? check out Jonathan's article: Daddies Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Strangers]

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FIND JONATHAN FIELDS

His blog
Twitter: @jonathanfields
Tribal Author
Career Renegade

A straight-talking female entrepreneurial adviser, SEO cracker jack, with a giving heart who knows her value and has a proclivity for fishnets? How could I not be smitten? What I love about Naomi Dunford’s work is that it’s a) incredibly practical and logical, and b) it radiates an intention of “I’m really here to help you. Really.”

If you feel shitty, Naomi is there for you. If your customers are telling you they’re too broke to buy your great stuff, Naomi is there for you. If you’re scared that you don’t have an ounce of creative great stuff in your marrow, yep, Naomi is there for you. With the real goods – generous intelligence and the crack of her whip. Take that! She knows you need what she’s got. Bad.

1. What do you know to be true, unquestionably beyond doubt, certain with every cell of your being, completely, passionately, righteously certain?

You know, it’s taken me a week to answer this question and now, finally, I’ve realized that I can’t let you sit there waiting for my answers forever, while I think about what it is that I’m certain about. Perhaps it’s best to be honest and say… nothing. I don’t think I’m that certain of anything. I have been certain about so many things and the jarring proof of my wrongness has always been immediate and in direct proportion to the level of my certainty.

Maybe I’m most certain that it is wise to avoid certainty.

2. What was the dumbest thing that you used to believe in?

That I had to make lots of money to be happy. Then I made lots of money and, sure enough, it’s not actually a recipe for constant and all-consuming joy. Who knew? What is it the Grinch says at the end of the book? “Maybe Christmas DOESN’T come from a store… Maybe Christmas means a little bit more”? Yeah, same is true for happiness.

At the same time, having pots of money helps, if only to make you know deep in your own bones that it doesn’t do the stuff you thought it would. It’s one thing getting lectured about money and happiness by Oprah. It’s a whole ‘nother thing when you’re lecturing yourself. (Money is also nice to have so that when you fall into bed at 4:26 am, full of terror and existential angst, you will at least be crying on a very high thread count pillow case. Also, life was never made worse by having a cleaning lady.)

3. What are you positively addicted to?

Giving shit away. I have been quite ridiculously blessed over the last few years, and absolutely nothing makes me happier than giving stuff away. I read this amazingly sweet book by Debbie Macomber called One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity, and that encapsulates my thoughts quite nicely. I will give money to panhandlers and then walk to the bank to get them more. I go apeshit for Christmas toy drives. I scour my house for change when my church does its penny drive.

I have an anxiety disorder and for years it was crippling. After too long, I finally put the pieces together. When you share, you don’t feel like shit anymore. Eventually, I figured it out. So whenever I feel myself getting anxious, I go find something to give away. I swear, it’s better than cigarettes, to which I am also addicted but not quite so positively.

The other thing is education. I dropped out of high school to give birth to my oldest son and get married, and I never went back. Now I sit around scouring wikipedia and strange sections in the bookstore. I’m homeschooling my son and really trying to push my own boundaries with regard to learning. It’s so easy to go into the bookstore and end up in the section you always end up in through autopilot. But learning something completely and utterly new? Exhilarating.

(In related news, we were out in the backwoods of nowhere yesterday, picking up a puppy for a friend. Jamie says to me, “I wonder why barns are always red.” Out comes the iPhone and bing, bang, boom, here’s the answer. Who knew?)

4. In the mammoth sphere of all things on-line, who do you think has got it going on? Whose stuff do you actually read? And to put a fine point on it, would you pay to read any of it? Big question for a social media cat like you, I know.

Ahh, see? That’s the crucial question, isn’t it? What would I read when I had nothing better to do, versus what would I pay to read? Maybe I’ll take it out of the hypothetical… whose stuff have I actually paid for? Your stuff, but that’s a cheating answer, isn’t it? I’ve paid for Havi’s stuff, although I wish the bitch would get on with writing three books a year so I can really get my fill. I’ve paid for Charlie’s stuff, when he’s not being too philosophicer-than-thou. Goddess Leonie is blowing my damn mind.

When Brian Clark is on his game, he can’t be beat by anyone, anywhere, anytime. Jonathan Fields regularly makes me cry, the bastard. Michael Bungay-Stanier is like a brilliant, rare kind of star and his books are glorious. Chris Brogan can create real, honest-to-God beauty when he’s talking about personal stuff. Pam Slim, same deal. Gary Vaynerchuk, but only when he’s in ass-kicking mode. When he’s nice, I get bored.

Can I write you back when I think of everyone I missed? :)

5. What book(s) are you always telling people to read?

I don’t tell people to read books. The only books I think you should read are the ones that you adore, and screw anybody who tells you otherwise. If I hear “Oh my God, you HAVE to read Made to Stick” one more time, I’m going to shoot myself.

Although, come to think of it, if you haven’t read Malcolm Gladwell, you might want to. I find him eminently useful for when I start thinking I’m smarter than I am.

Never mind. Forget I said anything.

6. I’m going to give you a word. Tell me what the first thing that comes to mind when you read it… Ready? The word is: SISTERHOOD.

One of the things I regret most about my life so far is that I haven’t known enough sisterhood. I lived with my single father for most of my young years, and through various combinations of my parents’ marriages, I ended up with two half-brothers and two step-brothers. We moved around so much that any fledgling relationships with girls were over before they started. And since my father had issues with femininity, I never really learned to bond with other members of my gender. No Barbie dolls and lipgloss in my house.

Then I grew up and gave birth to three boys by 25. Yowza.

Sisterhood is a big priority for me now. I’m thinking of joining a choir, God help us. I’m spending more time with my aunts. I’m trying to forge more female friendships. Most interestingly, my dearest friend is James Chartrand of James Chartrand — a woman pretending to be a man. I’m sure the analysts in your audience will have a field day with that one.

Bonus Q: What’s the best thing about living in Canada?

The lack of pretense. Maybe this is just where I live — southwestern Ontario, The Land Of Hicks and Farmers — but it seems like even in urban areas, we’re all total trailer trash underneath. We play hockey. We drink coffee from Tim Horton’s. “Double double” is literally in our dictionary. We can drive a rusty pickup truck while wearing a flannel shirt and a toque we got out of a case of beer, all without a hint of irony.

Also, there’s something very, very good about a country where men can marry men and women are legally allowed to go topless in public. It says something about a place, you know?

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FIND NAOMI
IttyBiz.com
Twitter: @ittybiz

Have you seen Kelly Diels’ cleavage? It’s deep. She writes with rapier wit and overflowing love, about “everything we all want more of: sex, money, and meaning.” And feminism. And Malcolm Gladwell. Yep. She’s hot.

I read everything she writes. EVERYTHING, honey.

1. What’s your super hero name? (You have one. To discover it, stand with your legs apart and hands on your hips, tits up and eyes to the sky. It’ll come to you. FYI, Mine is Agent Now, which in French translates to L’Agent Maintenent. Adorable n’est pas?)

Madame Passionista. I wear a chain skirt strung with laptop keys and knee high – hell, thigh-high – boots that are not made for walking. My primary super power is the blazing epistle of righteousness and my secondary one is unmentionable in certain circles but makes me very, very popular.

2. What’s the best advice you’ve been given in terms of writing or creativity?

Believe.

3. What do you know to be true, unquestionably beyond doubt, certain with every cell of your being, completely, passionately, righteously certain?

That I am loved.

4. What global policy, credo, practice or law would you like to decree?

This is heavy: an end to sexual abuse in all forms.

5. What book(s) are you always telling people to read?

Freakonomics. I freaking love it. I love work that uses old tools – like economic theory and modeling – in new and quirky ways. I also adore the way my future husband, Malcolm Gladwell, spins essays into intellectual whodunnits.

But my favourite book of all time is To Kill A Mocking Bird.

6. I’m going to give you a word. Tell me what the first thing that comes to mind when you read it… Ready? The word is: instigate.

Shit disturber. My girls. Myself. Provocateur.

7. What question are you currently living?

Faith? Faith. It is new to me. Faith in myself, faith in the universe, faith in the leap and the fall, faith in those that love me and those who don’t, faith in my instincts – I’m sidling up to faith.

Bonus Q: Before we go, Tina Turner asked me to ask you: Kelly, What’s love got to do with it, got to do with it?

Oh, EVERYTHING, honey.

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FIND KELLY DIELS
Cleavage.com
Twitter: @kellydiels
Facebook

“Porsidan” means “to question” in Persian. I know that because Jay Schryer is a questioner par excellence. He writes about in search for meaning and rock ‘n roll on his blog, Porsidan.com. Jay is one of the reasons I adore the global brain we call the internet. You get to climb inside of stories. You argue in the spirit of seeking – like when Jay took me to task on my No Pity For A Strong Soul article. You learn that the most excellent people can fall on very hard times and that love finds a way. You learn about life and near death.

You make friends and you find new questions inside their story.

What question(s) in your life have been the most empowering (either mind-blowing or gently pervasive) for you?

When I was 19 years old, I was in a nearly-fatal car accident. In fact, I was dead for about a minute or so. In that time, I had a near-death experience where I met the Goddess and talked with her. At the end of our time together, she gave me a choice. I could either stay with Her, or go back to Earth. I chose to come back. Since that time, I have often asked myself why. Why was I given a second choice? Why was I allowed to come back, when so many other people never get that chance? Why did the Goddess handpick me to come back to the physical world? Why am I here? Why are any of us here? And last but not least, what can I do to make sure that I’m not wasting this opportunity, wasting my life? What can I do to make the world a better place simply by being here?

My entire life revolves around those questions, and finding new answers all the time.

If you had an altar, what symbols of devotion would you put on it?

Actually, I do have an altar. On it, I have: A statue of the Goddess, to remind me of Divinity, spirituality, and to always do the right thing. A deck of tarot cards to remind me of the power of symbols, hidden imagery, and mystical, magical powers. I don’t believe in divination; I believe that the future is constantly in motion, and that every choice we make changes it and affects it. It’s like Schrodinger’s cat, which is both alive and dead inside it’s closed box until somebody observes it. Even the act of observing the future by reading the cards changes it in some small way, thereby making the reading useless.

But I love the symbology and the esoteric nature of the cards. I keep them to remind myself that although the future can’t be known, we can still tune into our own divinity and spiritual nature, and perhaps the cards can show us what our heart already knows. You’ll also find a living plant to symbolize the Circle of Life (a la The Lion King), and the interconnectedness between all living things. There’s a photo of my daughter and another photo of some of my ancestors. A turkey feather to represent the elemental spirit of Air, a crystal for Earth, A candle for Fire, and a bowl of water for Water. I honor the four elements as representative of all the spirits, the Kami of Shintoism, that live in all sacred spaces.

Finally, I also have a voodoo gris-gris bag that I made while on a spiritual trip to Mississippi long ago and far away on my altar. I went to go visit the crossroads. THE Crossroads, where legend has it Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. I scooped up some of that sacred soil, cut myself, mixed it with a lock of my hair and a fingernail clipping, and wrapped it in a bag with some sacred stones from a Native American shaman friend of mine, and a guitar pick. Then I sat under that tree and played the blues. The devil never showed up, but something definitely awakened within me that day. I don’t believe in the Devil, but I do believe that if you want something so bad that you’re willing to sell your soul for it, then you’ll get it eventually, no selling required.

What music has been the most healing for you?

Oh man, I love music! Freakin love it. All of it. I grew up in a very musical family. My dad introduced me to old blues and early rock n roll, up to and including Motown. That’s where my mom took over, and gave me the joys of the disco era. I have an older brother who introduced me to classic rock and early heavy metal, and I took it from there. That being said, my favorite artists are Prince, U2, the Eagles, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Fleetwood Mac, Santana, and the Cure.

Now to actually answer the question. Healing music = sappy, sappy (As in Air Supply) love songs always do the trick when I’m feelin’ the blues, and I’ll tell you why. It’s because I like to imagine the Goddess holding me safe and warm, and singing those songs to me. The best way to heal is to throw yourself into Divine Love. Take the lyrics from any love song, and just imagine God (However you imagine Him/Her/It to be) holding you tightly, and whispering those words to you. That’s the way to heal, from any heartache.

In one of your recent posts, you talked about honoring the muse. I believe there’s only one muse, and she speaks for Divinity through all the musicians, painters, and other artists of the world. So in a way, whenever anyone writes a love song for anybody at any time, it’s just like Divinity is speaking those words to us.

What book(s) are you always telling people to read?

• The Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger. Awesome, awesome love story.
• Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff, and it’s all Small Stuff, by Richard Carlson. Lots of good philosophies on life in that one.
• For men specifically, The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida is a must-read.
• Watership Down by Richard Adams is another great story, as is
• American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

Finally, I believe that everyone should read at least one book every year that challenges them or upsets their status quo. The last such book I read was The Evolution of God by Robert Wright. Changed my view on organized religion for all time.

Who or what has rendered you awe-struck?

Seeing Prince play the guitar solo to Purple Rain live in concert. Absolutely blew me away. I have never, and I mean never felt closer to Divinity. Not even when I had a near death experience, and visited with the Goddess Herself for a while. It was absolute perfection: perfectly accurate, technically speaking in that he never hit a wrong note, emotionally powerful beyond words, and charged with magic and power. Who can doubt the power of the Muse and divinity Herself when faced with such awesome evidence?

I’m going to give you a word. Tell me the first thing that comes to mind when you read it… Ready? The word is: IDENTITY.

Crisis! Identity crisis. About a year ago, I completely lost my way, to the point of not knowing who I was anymore. That led to a lot of questions, and caused me to start my blog as a way to search for the answers. It also caused me to reconnect and re-evaluate the questions I outlined above, about life and my place in it. I’m finally finding my way back to myself, and it feels fine.

{insert a great blues guitar lick here…and hails from the crowd.}

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FIND JAY
Porsidan.com
Twitter: @jayschryer