do not wait for special occasions.
do not tuck your best away in the drawers, in the back of the closet, in your heart.
don’t wait for holidays or invitations.

declare that your today is the special occasion.

call instead of emailing. (it feels so good to connect.)
go for coffee.

quit.

renounce your glory days. you’ve told all of those stories more than twice.
focus forward.

wear perfume for yourself. toss your only-wear-around-the-house clothes and let your good clothes graduate to around-the-house status.
intend to feel good all of the time.

write your book.

launch.

make great sex a priority. (this alone will make you more creative and free. on your death bed, you will think about all the great sex you had this lifetime.)

burn your to-do list.

write poetry. One a day.

make a point to be as encouraging as possible, as much as possible, to everyone possible.

don’t look back.

if you feel like you’re always failing, consider that this is part of being an artist. let it be a divine inclination. keep going.

enter.

leave.

eat real food.

often refuse to be in the presence of people who make you feel repressed, anxious, or pull your frequency down.

do not entertain haters.

send light to the haters.

give it away. you probably don’t need it and someone else does.

turn off the tv.

let it be easy.

burn candles. during the day.

fall in love. with yourself. with the person you’re with. with the persons in your orbit.
because no one is perfect, but you can let the love be perfect for the both of you.
because everyone — everyone — is a doorway to God.
because you can get there from here.

because life is short.

Which brings me to the present. Essentially, this is a sermon on presence. Because when you’re showing up in the now, you don’t have time to expect much. You’re focused on the give, not the get.

This fall I traveled to NYC twice in four weeks. To hustle. Name a major women’s lifestyle magazine. Name any of them. I’ve probably been to their office, in cashmere, talking about the meaning of life and how to be a fire starter. One particular meeting was, in my mind, incredibly high stakes. “If I land this, it’ll change, like, my grandchildren’s lives.” I don’t have grandchildren. Just biggie dreams. I lost sleep over that meeting. I prayed, meditated, worked with my advisor, rubbed my mala beads, strategized and agonized with my crazy sexy and out-fucking-standing soul sisters. Ready as I’ll ever be.

It doesn’t really matter how the meeting went (very well,) or what the outcome is (it’s just the beginning,) here’s the net gain:

show up.
shine.
let it go.

When I left that meeting, something shifted deep in me. Something I wasn’t, expecting. Out went the adrenaline, in streamed the calm. It was a little bit of Samadhi on Park Avenue. I got it: lay down the expectations. Be done with them. Will? Never. She’s my paintbrush, my potion, my lucidity. But, expectations shrink your shine and weigh you down with worry and equations. I’m more interested in my art and connecting with what’s in front of me.

Expectation liberation is the new black. Style up.

A PRAYER FOR RECOVERING EXPECTATION ADDICTS

Lord, Shiva, Yaweh, Saraswati, [insert your own deities here] pimp my shizzle and deliver me to where it’s best.

Yess’m, Jesus, life, cosmic intelligence, Milky Way Magi, take the wheel.

I know you’ve got my back. I know that you know how intensely my heart burns, how sweet is the honey at the center of my center, how much I am capable of. And God knows (that’d be you) how game I am to collaborate with you to make good stuff happen.

I accept my calling: to show up and shine. Unfurled and honest. Determined to be only that which I am.

I’m here to give…my all.

I trust that pure intention counts for plentiful support.

I trust we’ll get where I’m going, together — once I learn to be where I am.

I’ll go make my art now.

I have faith that you’ve got the rest covered.

Amen. Om shanti. Shalom.

You can only do what ONLY YOU can do.
Do that.
The universe will configure around your very best efforts.
Willingly.

do not wait for special occasions.
do not tuck your best away in the drawers, in the back of the closet, in your heart.
don’t wait for holidays or invitations.

declare that your today is the special occasion.

call instead of emailing. (it feels so good to connect.)
go for coffee.

quit.
take care of it.

renounce your glory days. you’ve told all of those stories more than twice.
focus forward.

wear perfume for yourself. toss your only-wear-around-the-house clothes and let your good clothes graduate to around-the-house status.

intend to feel good all of the time.

write your book.

launch.

make ecstatic sex a priority. (this deliberateness will make you more creative, productive and generally gracious. on your death bed, you will think about all the amazing sex you had this lifetime.)

burn your to-do list.

write poetry. one a day.

make a point to be as encouraging as possible, as much as possible, to everyone possible.

don’t look back.

if you feel like you’re always failing, consider that this is part of being an artist. let it be a divine inclination. keep going.

enter.

leave.

eat real food.

often refuse to be in the presence of people who make you feel repressed, anxious, or pull your frequency down.

do not entertain haters.

send light to the haters.

give it away. you probably don’t need it and someone else does.

turn off the tv.

let it be easy.

burn candles. during the day.

fall in love. with yourself. with the person you’re with. with the persons in your orbit.
because no one is perfect, but you can let the love be perfect for the both of you.
because everyone — everyone — is a doorway to God.
because you can get there from here.

because life is short.

Just got dumped? Lace up your runners and move your body.
Under the weather? Go in to work any way, wearing your favorite sweater.
Up to your earrings in deadlines? Go cheer on your friend. Show up at the bake sale. Call your mother.
Crying before show time? Put some tea bags on your eyes. Say a prayer. Enter stage left.

Push. Turn up the volume. Go hard. Go harder.
Re-prioritize your aches and pains.
Infuse your sensitivities with courage.
Tell fear to fuck right the fuck off.
Devote to Done.

There are soul-justified reasons to cancel. There are times to just stop. This isn’t one of them. Keep going. Show up. Full on. Full tilt. Full out. Decide to be one of those people who pull it off.

Do what you say you’re going to do.
Don’t let us down.
Decide to rise.

Why decide to rise? Not for the reasons you might think. In fact, these are the reasons that will make you sick and tired:

Do not rise out of obligation. Do not rise because of feared consequences. Do not rise because you think being tough makes you smarter (it doesn’t.)

Decide to rise because you want to expand — your being, your life, your possibilities.

Decide to rise because super powers are meant to be activated and applied in everyday life.

Decide to rise to explore your place in the universe.

On the other side of deciding to rise is illumination, ecstasy, insight. And the angel of your strength is there waiting, smiling, applauding, with a goblet of endorphins for you. Drink up.

When you transcend circumstances you get special privileges. You get evidence that you are indeed amazing, and irrefutable proof that what your heart and mind choose is what matters. And you get the deep knowing that life wants you to win.

Decide to rise.

Lean in. Listen up. Closely.
It’s your soul speaking and she says,
Get UP! I need you. I want you. I am you. Choose me.
Lean in. Listen up. Closely.

Decide to rise.

Here’s how it happened: Last year I turned my life upside down. Took a break from marriage. Moved. Shelved numerous obligations to meet a writing deadline. Avoided said writing deadline for a long time. Slammed that writing deadline. Put my health significantly further up on the priority list. Chose yoga over blog posts. Hung with friends instead of wooing clients. Launched stuff at light speed. Killed projects. Stopped cooking dinner mid-boil to capture an idea. Talked on the phone with friends…in the middle of the day…for hours.

I lived more, because it was time for some things to die. I devoted myself more deeply to liberation because the longing to be free was the passion of my inner Christ. I had to arrive at thrive or I would get stuck in survival mode. In this dimension, nothing is predictable, and unbridled is the only way to go. It was not the time to “manage” my time.

Time management systems are tricky beasts. They may help us be more productive, but not necessarily less stressed, or more fulfilled, or more in touch with our true nature. We may look freer with our priorities all tidy, but too often, time remains the master and we get “given” time for obeying the system.

I’d rather be fulfilled than obedient. And it turns out that when I’m fulfilled, I’m…fulfilled — whether I’m productive or not. And that gives me plenty of energy to be more focused on what matters most, which makes me truly productive. It’s a beautiful thing. Here’s how I got there:

HOW TO PUT TIME MANAGEMENT IN ITS PLACE.
(BUT ONLY IF YOU WANT TO.)

1. Stop keeping a detailed to-do list. If it’s truly important, you’ll remember to do it. A few post it notes and texts to yourself should be all you need.
2. Say no, thank you to four things a day. My coach gave me this assignment. It changed my life.
3. Relentlessly focus on the one or two vocational desires that turn you on so much that envisioning doing JUST those things seems so fantastical that it borders on erotic pleasure (yep, I think it’s your birthright to feel that hot about your work in the world). Everything else that is not about fulfilling your most intense vocational desires is getting in the way of making your fantasy life a reality.
4. Work with talented and excellent human beings. Amateurs, posers and mediocrity-makers are time squatters. Move ‘em out.
5. Delegate the stuff that doesn’t light you up.
6. Have (only) 3 important things to accomplish every week. Make those three things happen and you’re closer to making your fantasy life a reality. Accomplish more than that and you’ll feel like a super hero (good esteem fuels fulfillment AND productivity.)
7. Batch n’ chunk. Pay all of your bills at the same time. Create a day just for errands. Make all of your calls before noon. This “while you’re at it” kind of momentum is incredibly efficient.
8. Ask yourself every morning what you really feel like doing. Not what’s most important. Not what’s expected of you. But what you’re most excited to do. Enthusiasm is the DNA of making things happen. Start there.

Flying without a to-do list made me worry. It was scary to let go of revenue streams and planned projects. Going to yoga when I had obligations actually took some moxie. Doing what I was truly stoked to do each day was unnerving, guilt-inducing and exhilarating all at once. And… it didn’t take long for this free forming time style to reveal my most lucrative, artistically satisfying, relationship-enhancing year ever.

Easy does it.

xo

Savasana is not so much about chillaxin’, as it is about integration. Some teachers will say that if you skip out on Savasana, you lose the benefits of your yoga session.

We rest to integrate the benefits of the work that we have done.

Creative and work cycles need Savasana time – consider it divine debriefing. This is the most under-valued practice in business and busy living. We resist. We fidget. We race forward. For similar reasons, Savasana – undoing, unwinding, letting go – is considered to be one of the most difficult of all yoga postures to master.

Right now, my career / creativity is in Savasana. Which is to say: agitation, satiation, ebullience, and fresh rushes of ambition – all at once. For Creatives (and we’re all Creatives,) this is the unavoidable, slightly uncomfortable, and sacred space between exertion and renewal. If we bypass this place, we miss the most empowering insights of all the work we have done – insights that will fuel us on the next journey.

This is the first time in two years that I haven’t been operating under an intense deadline. A few weeks ago, I delivered my final manuscript for The Fire Starter Sessions. There will be copy edits. My Canadian spelling and poor punctuation will be stripped, but mostly, I am done. I hardly know what to do with myself.

I’ve done the Downward Facing Dog of deals, I’ve done the Tree Pose of multiple product and event launches amidst gusting winds of life upheaval. I’ve sweated and twisted and floated, and I have felt the breath of angels in my lungs as I lifted my ass and aspirations to new levels. So now what? Fidget. Rest. Ready myself.

rest is productive : the savasana of creativity + work

At the end of a big project, you will be pulled with equal force in three directions:

CLEANING UP. You’ve been in the creative bubble. Your auto-responder was set to “don’t bug me,” your door mat said “Unwelcome.” Now your inbox is encrusted with emails like barnacles on an ocean-liner. There are many things that legitimately need tending to, people you care about are waiting, and you genuinely want to move into responsive mode. But you also really need…

STILLNESS. Your mind has been burning for so longing that needs the cooling effect of suspension and ambling. A nap. Reading a book unrelated to your line of work. Unscheduled time. Listening, receiving.

NEWNESS. Part of you is raring to get going on the next Big Thing. You’re wired to make stuff. It’s what you do. If I was more chemically imbalanced, I would have started my new book the day after I submitted my last book, (it crossed my mind. The next tome is burning a hole in my heart.) But I knew it was Savasana time.

Prone on the floor with your eyes closed, it’s easy to fall asleep in Savasana. Some yoga instructors discourage this because it’s not about escaping per se, it’s about integration. I used to consider it nap time. But now I listen, and I hear so much more. And I re-enter the world more energized.

The same approach applies to work. I used to wrap a project, crash hard, and then zip into the next thing. Now…I sit with both the discomfort and the enthusiasm. I stay awake and look at where I’ve been and how it relates – or doesn’t – to where I want to go.

We rest to integrate the benefits of the work that we have done.

CLEAN UP without rushing, without panic or guilt, and with respect for the patience you’ve been shown.

BE STILL in the ways that your body and mind crave.

LET THE NEWNESS ROOT. Allow yourself to be sensationally excited…without acting on it…yet.

When you rest, you have space for all of it.
And when you rise to meet the future, you will be very, very ready.

I’ve come to this revelatory humility through two important practices in my life: 1) getting ready to go on stage, 2) yoga.

Like most speakers, I have a pre-presentation ritual. I review my notes, usually just a few points written on a Moleskine page; I speak my best bits out loud (it’s essential to hear your own voice); I do sit ups (helps with core awareness and diaphragm flex); and I do some fire breathing and a few Kundalini yoga/Kung Fu moves. Once I get on my heels, I’m READY.

But here’s what I noticed: a tributary of subtle panic streaming through my preparation. It’s slight, but just a drop of panic can taint pure intentions. It’s as if, in my power breathing and ritual and I’m saying to God, “I just wanna be good enough. Make me worthy. Make me better, better, better!” Oy.

I’ve had it all wrong. All these years…all the prostrations, prayers, mala bead counting, deep breathing, self help literature, workshops, visualizations, affirmations, asanas, training, and goddamn vision boards…Good rituals, not so good motivation. Right motion, wrong intention. And intention is EVERYTHING.

This revelation started brewing in a hotel room as I was preparing to give a talk. And it shimmered into liberating clarity on the yoga mat a few days later when I felt, as I often do these days, that transcendent kind of energy that eclipses your fatigue and vanity and has you realize that no matter what — at all times, in fact — the resplendent super juice of life itself is not only accessible, it’s pulsing…in me…in you…in us…for the eternal now.

That leaves very little to fix, and so much to discover.

I can sum up my new approach to progress in one declaration: “My name is Danielle, and I’m here for my power. Now, please.”

ACCESSING YOUR INNATE POWER vs. IMPROVING YOUR SORRY SELF

Self improvement infers there’s something wrong with you, so you’re already starting off with a disadvantage.

Of course there’s something to improve — always will be, life is an evolutionary equation. But liberation is about consciously choosing your perspectives, moment to moment, so let’s choose viewpoints that are advantageous and give us warm fuzzy, encouraging feelings.

You may feel broken, screwed up, neurotic, defective, sub par — take a number. You may be afraid — so very natural. You maybe just be really really excited and you’re labeling it as anxious — easy mistake.

Rather than doing whatever it is that you do to ease, mitigate and transform those states of being as acts of “self improvement” and “getting fixed” or “making better”, what if you approached those rituals and remedies as ways of getting to your power? No fixing and no anxiety, rather, a trip to the Limitless Well of Knowing and Reliable Awareness.

You show up at your therapist’s office to access your power.
You go to church to access your power.
You put on your heels, or your power suit, or your lucky charm to access your power.
You call your friend for advice to access your power.
You pray, dance, let go, breath, unplug, run, bend, drink smoothies, go on retreat, clear the air, ask for help, get enough sleep, get up early, train, set goals, affirm, chant, rock out, climb, hike, sweat to…

access your power.

If it looks good, you’ll see it.
If it sounds good, you’ll hear it.
If it’s marketed right, you’ll buy it.
But if it’s true, you’ll feel it.
- Kid Rock

Do you know KateCourageous? (real name: Kate Swoboda.) She’s smart, and courageous and she just asked me a terrific question. She was lunching with a CEO of a media company, and they got to talking about the sort of formulaic web pages where someone does the format of:

“Are you dealing with XYZ problem? Tired of such and such? Frustrated by blah blah! Then you need ______ ! You are not alone. I’ve helped (thousands) of people solve this problem. [insert testimonial] Sign up for my newsletter and get the 1-2-3 steps to lifelong happiness. Then, if you want, sign up for (bigger offering with a bigger financial investment).”

You know the kind.

Media CEO said that those sales pages personally “make him wince, but that they are really effective and that they work.” Wherein Kate is thinking of “media maven Danielle LaPorte, who has not gone this route and yet has still done well. I see aspects of selling, but she doesn’t have a formulaic page.” Here comes the question:

How and why have not gone that route, and how people can not go that route and still be financially successful (what critical components are needed?). Playing the “numbers game” with the pieces that are needed, without sounding like infomercial copy.

Told you she’s smart.

There is indeed plenty of how and why data on formulaic sale pages. I’d like to add some non-scientific input. Formulaic sales pages work because people are numbed out. That’s why. And when you’re numbed out, you make stupid choices. In terms of creativity, integrity, and style, formulaic sales pages suck, hard.

They work because we’re deluged by information, because we’re in a trance and need to be yelled at to press “click”, because we don’t trust ourselves. Because we think the answer is “out there” and if it’s only $99 TODAY (the price doubles if you hesitate to buy,) well then, we’ll take it! They work because they’re common and familiar, and therefore, strangely comforting.

Formulaic online sales tactics convert viewers into buyers. No question about it. And this how we end up with a lot of obnoxious sales pages and overpriced e-books–because everyone else is doing it. Which reminds me of what my lawyer buddy used to say when speaking of shysters and followers, (“A billion flies can’t be wrong, shit must taste good.”)

So should you write formulaic BUY THIS…BUY THIS…THIS WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE…NOW! sales pages?

Maybe. Because they work. They’ll make you money.

But you have options….

how to be a (profiting) truth o’mmercial, rather than a slickster

1. Assume intelligence. Operate on this fundamental principle: people are reachable. And there are still a lot of awake and discerning humans, with credit cards, who need what you’ve got. I believe that my folks/tribe/audience are smart and savvy, and they’d be annoyed if I treated them like autotrons.
2. Assume that everyone else’s time is as precious as yours. Get to the point, and don’t tease us with click thru’s.
3. Speak very directly about the benefits. I say, 80% simple language and 20% poetry and flash lingo. Sass and personality are beautiful, but you do need to speak plainly about the benefits of what you’re offering. And the benefits to most people usually get down to: more happiness, more money, or more love (or getting thinner, richer, or laid.)
4. Be transparent about why you created the product. Of course, this is how you make a living and you want to earn lotsa bucks with it. But tell us the story behind it. When we know your motivation, it’s much easier to trust you.
5. Test out your product. Focus groups, labs, critical editors, guinea pigs, beta users — work a customer trial period into your launch plan. This is an often-skipped phase in a lot of information products, proof reading is not the same as testing.
6. Test out your sales copy. Have at least five people give you their reactions.
7. Give us the details. Table of Contents, sneak peaks with substance, juicy overviews, visuals. Don’t be afraid of giving away so much that people won’t feel the need to buy. Show us under the hood and we’re more likely to want to go for a drive.
8. Trust people. Trust that they’ll make the right decisions for themselves and buy what they truly need. Selling someone something they don’t need is of no service to them, and it could back fire on you.
9. Feel good about your guarantees. Money back or no go? Your policies need to feel as fair to you as they do to your customers.
10. Prove it! Testimonials and endorsements are the single most powerful tool for promoting your goods. Get them. Get lot’s of them. Share them in detail, and share them generously, even repeatedly.
11. Don’t try to incite fear or panic. Pretty basic, right? Consider this the Hippocratic Oath of conscious marketing. That said:
12. Do create a sense of excitement and exclusivity — because launching is exciting, and because the people who invest in you do deserve special treatment.

. . . . . . . .

RECENT INTERVIEW
Quick clip: Watch Kate Courageous + me talking about feminine power and doing business.

SAVE THE DATE
MAY 12, NEW YORK CITY
Marie Forleo will be offering a one day event for entrepreneurs and creatives that is going to be…just…AMAZING! Announcements on the way. (We can barely contain ourselves we’re so excited about this!)

go forth and shine,

xo

$150 for the full-tilt love.

And! $5 from every copy goes to the charity you choose:
The Acumen Fund or Women for Women International

Click here to view the Table of Contents!
Click here to watch the video!

“Danielle LaPorte’s passion for her mission leaps off the page, and reading a few chapters of this book will ignite you into action.”
– Gretchen Rubin | Author, The Happiness Project

“Please fasten your seat belts because The Fire Starter Sessions is the revolution you’ve been waiting for. It will shake-up and wake-up every aspect of your life. Danielle LaPorte combines soulful wisdom with razor sharp business advice to create a blue print for moguls, spiritual rockstars, and lovers of life. Skinny dip head first into this hot and fabulous book. I dare you.”
– Kris Carr | Award-winning Author and Documentarian, Crazy, Sexy, Cancer

“Danielle’s work is jam-packed with keen insights and a force of energy that pushes you in invaluable ways. The content is practical and ignites the mind in ways that could change your career and life.“
– Scott Belsky | Founder and CEO of Behance, Author of the national bestseller Making Ideas Happen

“The Fire Starter Sessions is the new, bad-ass Artist’s Way.”
– Linda Sivertsen | Co-Author, Harmonic Wealth and Generation Green

It’s the Holy wow, I’m standing at the beginning of something that is so insanely ripe with potential that I wanna get naked and roll all over it right now, while singing rock opera…kind of faith. It makes you grin and do uncharacteristically impulsive and obsessive things. Bright faith chugs downs exhilaration at every pit stop.

“This is a state of love-filled delight in possibilities and eager joy at the prospect of actualizing them. Bright faith goes beyond merely claiming that possibility for oneself to immersing oneself in it. With bright faith, we are lifted out of our normal sense of insignificance, thrilled as we no longer feel lost and alone. The enthusiasm, energy, and courage we need in order to leave the safe path, to stop aligning ourselves with the familiar and convenient, arise with bright faith.”
- Sharon Salzberg, Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience

Bright faith is primal to creativity.
Bright faith is essential to falling in love–with people, with causes, with your own unfolding self.

Bright faith can be unnerving, slightly embarrassing, and awkward. We are trained to resist it, and we do so at the cost of innovation and the passion we crave.

THE CLARITY THAT CRAZY BRINGS
Here’s a headline for a life resume: “Selectively, but wildly excitable.” I adore exclusively stoked people. They’re discerning — not everything is a great opportunity, in fact, golden ops are rare. But when they see something that glimmers with uniqueness, or resonates with their reason for being, they just they freak the fuck out. This is how brainstorming goes with brightly faithful people: “Hmmm. Uh huh. Nope. Nah. No. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Ooh. Ahh. Wait a second. Holy shit, yes yes, yes, oh my God, we could…and then we could…and it would be so…and Holy yes and…I’ll sell it all if I have to…and what am I going to wear when I accept the award?! Who will we invite to the wedding?! How big do you think we can build it? Excuse me while I make a phone call.” They go OFF.

It’s illogical, and grandiose, crazy, and most certainly romantic. It’s FAITH. But these are the essential ingredients for breaking through mediocrity and cynicism. Bright faith is a divine kind of madness. And what the Spocks of the world don’t quite get is that the chaotic sparks of bright faith actually burn a path to clarity of mind.

To create things of beauty — in form or between two people — it’s a passion first, discrimination second formula. And yep, it’s dangerous.

COOL IS DULL
If I have to choose between two service providers with similar skill and equal pricing, I’ll always go with the one who expresses their excitement. I did a gig recently with someone who said, “Oh my God, I’m so excited to work with you! I’m going to hang up the phone and do the happy dance.” She was so uncool about it all. No pretense, just joy and bright faith in how much fun we could have. So then I said, “Me too! Now I’m really stoked. I’ll do the happy dance when I hang up too. Let’s do this!”

My best strategic meetings have been the most uncool. Un-self-conscious. Everyone comes to the table with bright faith. They’re happy to be there and they say so.

Bright faith shows up at the beginning — that extremely precious and fractional space when you need as much light as you can to see which way you want to go. The more possibilities you let shine — the more you shine with possibility — the more lucid and discerning you can be.

. . . . . . .

New here? Check out the Get Truthful box on the upper-right side of the site, and you’ll get THE AUTHENTIC DREAMING WORKSHEET when you subscribe to my pixelated love. xo

Mikki Baloy Davis, a Facebook friend nailed it with this: “I’m always curious about this question…for me it brings up the distinction between “deserving” – which implies reward or merit – and “worthy” which is unconditional.” I got a witness.

Holy-loaded questions will get you some passionate answers: “I’m not entitled to a damn thing. But I deserve love.” “I don’t deserve anything, everything needs to be earned.” “I’m entitled to be on the planet, I work for the rest.” “I deserve right pay for right work…a foot rub and to be fanned and fed grapes…no less, no more than another…to be seen, heard, acknowledged…love, respect, fun, and money. Love…Love…Love…”

We’re such hard workers. Hardened, some of us, from working so hard to deserve what we want. Working to earn. Earning more…work. Earning your keep is a vicious cycle, you know. Where as, believing in your implicit worth liberates you to create more value for the world you serve.

Of course, people with entitlement issues are goddamn irritating. They want more than they’re willing to give upfront. They operate in a fog of hunger and conflicting intentions. Entitled types are frantic below the surface because they don’t trust that they can feed themselves. What they need is a long hug and then to be sent off for some solo time, without credit cards.

Deserving and worthiness…these are the notions that get to the pulse of our consciousness and esteem.

If you don’t believe you have the right to be here, there will never be enough space for your true self to show up. If you think you need to earn your actual desires, you’re putting miles, years, between you and fulfillment. So many of us don’t even give ourselves permission to want what we want. This is the great tragedy of a malnourished spirit.

a declaration of deserving:

You are worthy of your desires. Really wanting what you want gives you the power to get it. You were born free. (The more you try to earn your freedom, the more trapped you become.) You are worthy of love and respect. Lovable.

You deserve
: eye contact
: smiles in the morning
: food made with pure intention
: clean drinking water, fresh air
: Hello, Please, Thank you.
: time to think about it
: a chance to show them what you’re made of
: a second chance
: an education
: health care, including dental
: multiple orgasms
: weekends and the summer off
: 8 hours of sleep
: play before work
: to change your mind
: to say no
: to say yes
: to have your deepest needs met
: to be seen
: to be loved for what is seen.

You deserve all this just because you showed up.
Yep, you’re that monumental.