cast your votes! strike a match for fire starter session winners!

♥ CLICK HERE TO VIEW + VOTE FOR THE LOVE MATCHEES ♥

Love Match Week yielded 130 fervent applications from aspiring entrepreneurs from New York to New Zealand. Guidelines for applicants were finicky but open to interpretation. Alexandra and I selected 15 finalists, and now it's time for the the free world to choose the winners. 7 of them. Each of whom had a great cocktail line and is revving to take their work in the world to the next level.

It's out of my hands now. I kind of feel like Simon Cowell when it's America's turn to choose the Idol. (But sweeter. And without all that V-neck exposing chest hair.) (more...)

 

saying yes to your dream: frank gehry + devotion

Even great artists sell out. Sometimes it happens post fame and fortune. Other times, as in the case of architect Frank Gehry, you sell your soul in the beginning of your career, on what you hope is your way up.

It's better to sell out early, if only because time is merciful and you can blame so much on youth and learning curves. You have time to recover and re-invent. It's exceedingly harder to redeem yourself once you've let your hit song be used for a burger commercial, or you've turned your personal touch into a factory franchise. So for all of you grinding gears in a day job while your heart is spinning bigger dreams, consider this:

One of Frank Gehry's first buildings, was a shopping mall, The Santa Monica Place. It was rigidly geometric and pale pink. He played it safe for investors and went LA-style. He hated it.

Meanwhile, as a more direct and personal creative outlet, Gehry went full out "Gehry" on building his own home. Sloping roofs, curvaceous windows, jutting peaks. Wacky and wildly organic.

The night of the grand opening of the Santa Monica Place, the president of the real estate company that had hired Frank was at Gehry's home for a dinner party.

Real estate Exec: What the hell is this?, he said to Frank, looking around Gehry's house, awestruck.
Frank: Well, I was experimenting, you know, playing with it.
Exec: Well you must like it if it's your house. You do like this, right?
Frank: Yeah. I'm happy with how it turned out.
Exec: So then...the building that you just did for us...the shopping mall...you can't possibly like that.
Frank: You're right, I don't.
Exec: Then why'd you do it?
Frank: Because I need to make a living.

Pause.

Exec: Well stop it. Don't do that kind of work anymore.
Frank: Yeah, you're right.

They shook hands that night and decided to quit everything they were working on (they were employing forty people at the time.)

"It was like jumping off a cliff," Gehry says. "It was an amazing feeling. I was so happy from then on."

Devotion can be that easy.

The moment you say yes is the beginning. It's not when you give your notice or when your novel is off the press. It's when you say yes to the desire.

"Maybe" clogs up the dream machine.
Do you want a career that amazes even you? Then say yes. Do you want a love life brimming with adoration and the sweet stuff? Then say yes. If you start to tell me why it's not possible or how bad you want it but you don't know how to get it - then you don't want it bad enough. Maybe isn't going to cut it.

And if someone great calls you out on your own greatness, consider it a sacred moment. Those opportunities are precious. To have your 'yes' witnessed is magic-making.

Even after his big yes moment, there were failures for Frank. He was supposedly cash-strapped more than once. He bid on projects he never got. He had to can staff. He questioned is own judgment.

But he never did another building that he didn't absolutely love creating.

Sketches of Frank Gehry by Sydney Pollack is one of my favourite documentaries. (The late) Pollack features in it and the interaction between the master director and master architect is inspiring and charming.

 

refuse to worry (and how to be more useful for your friends)

Some precious people in my life are in extreme pain right now. Three friends are sorting through the natural disaster that breaking up brings on. And after a traumatic and poignantly one-in-a-million accident, one of my beloveds is literally patching together a new body and life. I cry with them in cafes and on the phone. I write letters I know they're too weary to respond to. I think about them throughout every day. I ache, actively. Concerned.

But I do not worry for them. Can't do it. Won't do it. Refuse to. Not because I trust in an benevolent universe to carry them (which I do,) and not because I'm disassociated (I'm anything but.) I don’t let myself worry for them because I think it's not only futile, but it's obstructive. Worry only gets in the way of good intentions, energy, solutions. It's toxic.

WORRY vs. CONCERN
Energetically, there is a critical difference.

worry: to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; fret.
concern: to relate to; be connected with; be of interest or importance to; affect.

Worry obstructs possibility. Concern is pro-active.
Worry weighs things down. Concern can rise to the occasion.
Worry is wistful. Concern is penetrating.
Worry tangles. Concern peels back the layers.
Worry gossips. Concern enrolls.

Worry is the conjoined twin of anxiety. Of course concern can be riddled with anxiety, but it's strong enough to turn anxiety into a constructive force.

The darkest, gnawing side of worry is this: it's an illusory form of control that we might cling to in order to feel important and goodly. Yep, "goodly", not "Godly." As in, I'm a good manager, friend, mother, Christian, citizen, leader...if I express my love, smarts, interest by...worrying.

HOW TO TRANSFORM YOUR WORRY FOR OTHERS INTO POSITIVITY...
SO YOU CAN TRULY BE OF SERVICE

Stand outside of the story.
Every fearful expectation has a big "story" behind it. The trauma, the drama, the pain, the plot. Worry feeds on the gruesome details. It replays the potential saga in your head. It validates all the reasons things could go wrong by drudging up the past again and again. Worry is cleverly building a case as to why you should worry (you're a better person if you do, you're "on top of the details" it's the sympathetic thing to do, things have gone wrong so many times before, it's only logical to…worry. And on it goes.)

Don’t let yourself be pulled onto the "set" of the unfolding drama. Stay behind the camera and go where you're needed to shed light on things. Witnessing is an act of compassion. Whether it's with force or a light touch, you get to call the shots on how you will show up in any difficult situation.

Keep a soft gaze.
No one needs your judgment about why they got themselves into something, or all of the things that could go wrong. Gently observe what's going on, and stick to the facts. This is really tricky because facts can be relative. Medical test results are facts. So is someone's immense inner strength. Choose the facts that keep you moving in a better direction. Friends in pain (and we all qualify as friends who are hurtin',) need love and optimism - critique and prognostication are big fat downers.

Let your heart be broken.
Life will devastate you if you get close enough to it. Get closer. In the cosmic fabric, your pain is mine is yours is mine... When we can share this unified space we know how to be of better service to one another - because we can better empathize.

Put a stake of devotion in the ground.
How far will you let your concern take you for a friend? (Limits are okay by the way, enlightened concern isn't about martyrdom.) Are you willing to catch the next plane, withdraw your savings, find a lawyer, change bandages, mix herbs, listen tirelessly? Your devotion may shrink or expand as the situation unravels. But if you can declare how you intend to be truly helpful, then worry takes a backseat.

Send wishes.
This is the single most effectual way to diffuse worry and move into positivity. Worry will crop up. Don't let it stagnate. Cleanse your worry with precise wishes.

I'm worried that he'll stay lonely. I wish him sweet love.
I'm worried the meds won't work. I wish her quantum healing.
I'm worried she'll do something drastic. I wish her equilibrium.
I'm worried he'll sink into depression. I wish him lightness.
I'm worried this will takes years. I wish for swift grace.

While you're at it, you could do one gorgeous global wish: I wish for the end of suffering and happiness of all beings. That about covers it.

Send wishes. And more wishes. The wishes will nest in your psyche and begin to inform your concern, your words, your actions. When you're not preoccupied with worrying, you're free to serve, in so many ways.

. . . . . . .

OTHER WORRY-DIFFUSING RESOURCES...

If you're still worried, check out this lovely visual of encouragement from one of my favourite beautifiers and entrepreneurs, Alisa Barry, CEO of Bella Cucina.

More?! Right on. Nathan Hangen just released Fear to Fuel. It's an impressive collection of ambitious, creative people who clearly haven't wasted much time worrying while they defined success on their own terms. Hot stuff.

Can't get too much love and insight? 7.7.7. from Ronna Detrick, "7 Conversations. 7 Amazing Women. 7 Invitations." This is a beautiful workbook, and I'm honoured to be one of the 7 along with Patti Digh, Karen Maezen Miller, Jen Louden, Dani Shapiro, Susan Piver, and Katrina Kenison. Dig in here.

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snap, crackle, win. the love match tally is in! 2 days to play.

It was Love Match Week last week for The Fire Starter Sessions. For every program purchased, we gave one away. "Gifted" copies were directly donated by purchasers to their friends, daughters, fellow bloggers (there were tears and applause, lot's of goodness,) or, buyers could donate their copy to the Love Match Mix, for aspiring/applying entrepreneurs to win. The results are in: (more...)

 

monthly round up: september was fully-saturated, swift…and soft

Here's a White Hot recap of the planet's last 30 revolutions:

If you're opening this email TODAY, FRIDAY OCTOBER 1, it's the final day for the LOVE MATCH EVENT. Ends at midnight.
Buy 1 Fire Starter Session. We give 1. There are two ways to give: you can gift the program to someone you already know; or to an aspiring entrepreneur you haven't met yet, who will be selected through a public voting process. There is one way to receive: by applying.
CHECK IT OUT.

: the initiated woman. She knows that kindness is fertile, that compassion is a lever, and that the shortest distance between you and me is...love. INITIATE YOURSELF.

: traffic, tears and tenderness. Vulnerability is valuable. Stories are effectual. And yep — soul sells. PUT SOME HUSTLE IN YOUR BUSTLE with 17 lessons from 5 years of on-line hustling.

: 7 things I know about active letting go. De-cluttering is a practice — like meditating or playing the piano. Shedding, clearing and carving space is a creative act. AND IT'S GONNA HURT. FACT.

interviews

: it's not about the grammar, it's about the passion. My interview with Amelia Critchlow. Moxy, deep listening and a parable set in high school. My high school. READ IT HERE.

: Creative sovereignty, publishing, Paris...and lobster My interview with Girl Habits. CRACK OPEN THE SHELL.

: Crafting crafts + ideas. My interview with Moth & Squirrel. "You want enlightenment? Tile my house!" And other things my Buddhist Lama friend said to me. GET CRAFTY.

sightings + soul merch

: engaging eCourses: how to motivate others to get the results they want. Info without action isn’t worth much. To bridge the gap, Kelly Kingman + Pace Smith interviewed moi (and brilliant others like Sonia Simone, Charlie Gilkey, Mark Silver, Scott Stratten and Pam Slim). The result? Engaging eCourses — a must-read for anyone designing a virtual workshop. CHECK IT OUT.

: save the dates. I've got a stream of speaking gigs in Vancouver, Seattle, Portland and NYC. Find out where I'm gonna crowdsurf next (spiritually, not literally). PERUSE MY UPCOMING EVENTS

Autumn Love,

 

7 things I know about active letting go. (sure beats waiting.)

Note: "active letting go" is not to be mistaken for "passive letting go", whereby life rips stuff out of your grip, or you paint yourself into a corner, or things get so heavy they stop you in your tracks and you have to ditch them just to carry on. Active letting go is a little more...pro-active. It's a practice. It's awake. It's somewhat delightful (except for the agony of it.)

7 THINGS I KNOW ABOUT ACTIVE LETTING GO:

1. There's always more to let go of. It's endless and it's beautiful because it's endless. Just surrender to the endlessness of it.
2. Typically, letting go is painful – in varying degrees, from wince to damn near crippling, it's gonna hurt. Fact.
3. Hard leads to soft. Imagine ripping off a bandage; dropping an heirloom off at the thrift store and resolving to not go back to get it; kissing him or her that way for the last time and tearing yourself away because you need to grow in the other direction; boarding the plane with a heavy heart… When you steel the nerve to be tough enough to let go, you crossover over a sacred line. And on the other side, Tenderness is waiting for you, and She's very proud and she's very encouraging.
4. Baby steps are okay, but you can't avoid the pain that surfaces when you commit to the letting go. (See, you just can't get around the pain part.)
5. From the mundane to the monumental, letting go hurts. Always has, always will. (Yes, a repeat of #2. It bears repeating.)
6. Acceptance is medicine. When you just accept that the pain of letting go is part of the deal, your let-go wound will heal faster.
7. Out of, say, 123 people I've talked to about letting go of all sorts of stuff - material and emotional - 88% of them wished they'd done it sooner, and 97% of them have no regrets whatsoever. Only 3% are still confused. When you let go, the odds are in your favour.

I've let go of a dizzying amount in a relatively short amount of time. In two years: a business, a marriage that ended lovingly but necessarily broke my heart (open), a home filled with things I chose with great intention. A friendship that grew so small it choked any possibility of newness. Bags of gorgeous clothes and jewelery. Boxes of well-loved books, and photos, and legal documents, and other evidence of how smart I thought I was back then. My proud stack of Dwell Magazines. Wedding shoes. Ambitions. My hair stylist.

By nature, I'm not a collector. I am, as my friend Marianne puts it, a ruthless, serial shedder. I was joking to a soul sister that If I let go of anything else, I'm not going to have a sofa to sit on, I'll be wearing flip flops in the winter, and only two people are going to come to my funeral. But I've surrendered to the endlessness of it. And it's a resolution that softens.

For me to shed even more (I'm on ShedVenture with Bindu Wiles and 155 other shedettes,) well, I'm getting close to the marrow these days. Thankfully. The marrow is the source of vitality.

Deep deep deep beneath constructs of time, and idealism, and things I "captured" along the way is the freedom that has been pulling me forward my whole life. Always forward.

(And BTW, Why do we need to capture memories? As if they need to be tamed and penned lest they get away. My memories can come and go as they please, they're much more meaningful that way. This might explain why I have next to no photos in my home. Anyway...)

So I'm still shedding -- taking deep breaths and actively letting go. I'm not waiting until I'm ready to let go. I've waited long enough. Carried stuff long enough. Longed long enough. For lightness. For that tender place on the other side of courage.

Empty your hands and your heart. Regularly.
Take deep breaths. Often.
And move stuff over and out.
Make space (what a creative act! space-making!)
The space is full of what you really need.

. . . . . . . . .

Next month my yoga homegirl Marianne Elliot is offering a special Karma version of her 30 days of yoga online course. It's usually $100 bucks, but this time she's inviting you to pay-what-you-can and she will donate all the money to HIV/AIDS projects in South Africa.

Heard all about the benefits of yoga but can't find the time (or courage) to get along to a class? This is for you. Been going to classes for years but struggle to practice regularly at home? This is for you too. Take care of yourself while you support a great cause. Registrations close 3 October. Check it out.

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strike a love match: you buy. we give. everyone wins. a special fire starter sessions program event.

It just takes one person to start a movement. Kinda like Toms Shoes. You buy a pair, he gives a pair. Or Shauna M., a White Hot reader who emailed me to say:

"Dear Danielle...Here's a question for you: I would love to donate a Fire Starter e-book to someone who would really love it/want it but can't afford to pay. I am not starting any business myself, but I would love to give it as a gift to someone. Is there someone from your birthday give-away that you know who would do a happy dance to receive the book? Let me know!"

Wow. Just giving. To give. And I thought, There's a party in here somewhere. So let's get it started. Fellow seekers and achievers, I'm thrilled to announce:

From Monday, September 27 to Friday, October 1, 2010 -- just this week, for every Fire Starter Sessions program purchased, we'll give one copy away: either to a friend of yours (you tell me who), or one to a happy stranger (we’ll pick ‘em together). Yep — you buy one for yourself. And together, we give one away — to an appreciative someone who will put the program to use.

(more...)

 

traffic, tears and tenderness: lessons from 5 years of on-line hustling

Before I launched WhiteHotTruth.com, I was a partner in an on-line "lifestyle media company." I wrote about the soulful side of style. The stakes were high, we'd raised over half a million dollars to make it all fly. And thus, the site became...a content factory (insert sound of fizzling fire cracker.) I had 15 writers working for me. More writers = more content = better search engine ranking = more eyeballs = potentially more ad clicks-thrus = money...or so one hopes. It was a creative nightmare that I let happen. I got ousted left that lil' empire. The company folded and the site was auctioned off as a remaining asset. The new owners started running articles on cellulite cream and pregnant brides. End of story.

I learned a lot. Grateful for all of it. And when I went renegade about two years ago, I took my SEO smarts, vetted it through my artistic soul, et voila! WhiteHotTruth and more learnings...happier kind of learnings. Here are a few:

17 lessons from five years of on-line hustling, in no particular order:

1. Stories are effectual.
When I wrote about my meeting with the Dalai Lama, I thought it would be a flop. Same for my First Spiritual Heartbreak. Yet those articles elicited some of the most heart-felt responses I've ever received. This is a repeating lesson for me: TELL your story, tell YOUR story, tell your STORY. And when you tell your story...

2. Talk about how you feel.
Some people told me they pre-bought The Fire Starter Sessions just because of the admission I offered before blast-off: "launching in a few hours. hope it doesn't suck." The posts in which I'm most emotionally transparent or vulnerable have ended up being some of my most valued material.

If you're doing more the publishing data or facts, then the "real" story behind what you're teaching is how you feel about what you're teaching. The feelings are the magnetism...the white hot truth. Yep -- SOUL SELLS. Transparency is all too rare and we're all craving to relate.

3. There's nothing Tweeters like to tweet about more than Twitter.
Write about the Twitter itself and it WILL get re-tweeted.
Case in point: 3 Keys To Un-Branding and Why I Changed My Twitter Name

4. Some people have way too much time on their hands.
I've received three paragraph explanations as to the etymology of a particular word. READ: an email about a typo. If you're alerting me to a typo because you care and don't want me to look like a dork, thank you! It's energy well spent! If your alertng me to a typoh becuase your just plumm anoyed ... than like, reelly?

5. Overly sensitive types need not apply.
If you're going public with your opinions, and especially if you want to wear your heart on your sleeve on a big stage, you better: a) know what's driving you and be convicted in that; b) be just slightly arrogant enough to think you deserve your place on that stage; c) be tough enough to not let the turkeys get you down. The internet is a massive landscape, and the turkeys have email access. You need to learn to chuckle when they squawk.

6. When you cry while writing an article...it only means something to you.
Just because you're have deeply cathartic experience crafting an article, doesn't mean it will be a transcendent piece for the reader....but it may be.

7. Know the metrics that matter most to you.
I recently did an interview with Pace Smith for the Engaging E-Course program she's co-creating. She asked me all these great questions about stats for The Fire Starter Sessions and my readership. Doh! I didn't have a lick of data for her, because, I don't really do much data. I went two months without checking my Google stats and just about fell off my chair when I found out how much my traffic had increased. Do I care? Hell yes! But I keep my eye on what matters most:

I care about email subscribers. Because I hope my stuff is sweetly useful and you'll give me the privilege of getting into you in-box just twice a week. I care about the quality of emails that I receive - the nature of gratitude and opinions. I care a lot about how my exposure relates to weekly sales of The Fire Starter Sessions.

8. Give yourself three to six months to find your voice.
When I started WHT, I created categories for "fashion + beauty," "wellness + healing", and "relationships + sex". I've written maybe five articles in total that fit those categories. Within a few months of launching it was clear to me that I was most passionate about "inspiration + spirituality," and "business + wealth", with "creativity" making an frequent appearance.

Your true interests will surface if authenticity is your priority.

9. Your blog could be your book. Just maybe.
Six months into WHT, I stood back and saw the outline of a book proposal. Which then morphed into TWO books. One of which is The Fire Starter Sessions, the other is my next book, tentatively called, DESIRE. Yay!

10. When you are always intending to be of service, you will never run out of ideas, or content.
I could break this post into a series. I'd rather pack it all in. There's always more where that came from.

11. Change.

Things I've tried here:
: Burning Questions Interviews. I featured some fabulous people.
: Comments (I'd like to take the opportunity to say here, since the debate of blog comments on or off is still in the air - I think that leaving comments on until you "get big," with the intention of shutting them off at such a time is...sleazy.)
: Posting daily. Well that just about killed me. I post about twice a week now.
: Hot Songs (I may resurrect the tunes...I kind of miss them.)
: Inspirational quotes. There are hundreds of them buried in this site. They started to feel like filler. Nixed.

12. Schedule or no schedule? Your call
One of the reasons I adore Chris Guillebeau is that he is so damn reliable. If he doesn't post every Monday or Thursday, you can rest assured he's been kidnapped. Me...I post when I'm pumped. And I know there are "ideal" times of the day and days of the week to post for readability, but...I publish when I publish.

13. People will use you and you'll use them.
This is life. Favours, climbing, sincere friendship and fanship. It's up to you to keep your intentions straight up and clean. Kissing ass to build traffic gets tired really fast. Genuine interest is much more sustainable.

14. Your best stuff may not be your most "viral" stuff. Write it anyway.

15. Generosity makes for a great party.
Every time.

16. You are having an effect on people, even if you don't know it.
People may write you months after an article went up, and tell you that your words are taped to the fridge for encouragement, or that they read your piece at a banquet to a round of applause.

One line - honesty delivered, might motivate someone to do what they've needed to do for years, or to be more audacious, or more gentle with themselves and the world around them.

17. Just write it.

. . . . . .

Check it: New Vancouver + NYC gigs.

New HOT SHOP! Shop it! xoxo

 

the divine law of the ugly chair, hot shopping and nyc love

Possibilities & The Divine Law of The Ugly Chair, my guest post on BinduWiles.com

In a past life, I did a bit of interior design work to pay the bills. This was a common scene: The homeowners and I do a walk through of their house. In the living room is a garish chair. Fugly. Usually a lounger, often with some kind of floral pattern. The couple has brought me in because they want fresh, contemporary, comfort. “What’s with the chair?” I ask. “We know it’s horrible, we hate it. But we haven’t had the money to get a new one.” Me: “Get rid of it this weekend.” Them: “But what will we sit on?” Me: “Sit on the floor. Pile up on the couch. You’ll figure it out. The sooner you get rid of it, the sooner the right chair will show up.”

Here's the monumentally important philosophical point: The Divine Law of the Ugly Chair applies as much to furniture and stuff, as it does to lovers, jobs, and thought forms. Please head over to BinduWiles to read the full article.

And if you're inspired, join in The Shed Project. I'm an active member in the Shed-venture, and I'll be writing more in the coming weeks about the terror, ecstasy, and thrilling efficiency of letting go-go-go.

. . . . . .

Fresh WhiteHot
I just gave my website a facial. Newness =
: HOT SHOP! which now includes an extended list of People You Need To Know (like, coaches, writers, and other life-supporters), some Most Recommended Resources, and a spiffed up personal Amazon store.
: RAVES! fabulous things (most of it unsolicited, even!) that purchasers of The Fire Starter Sessions are saying.
: GIGS: A calendar of upcoming speaking gigs + events in NYC, Seattle, Vancouver, Portland OR, and next week in the Salt Lake City area.

. . . . . .

NEW YORK, I love you.
Two things:
1) I'm speaking at the Rich, Happy, Hot Live event at Donna Karan's Urban Zen Center on November 13. It will be an epic 3 day event. I'll be hanging for most of it because I'm mad-crazy about everyone involved and the chickas who have registered so far. Not sure, but I think it's almost sold out (only 150 places.) Check it out, make it happen if you can.

2) SAVE THE DATE. Tweet up Anniversary! Were you at the Thom Bar in SOHO last September with some really hot mamas + me? You'd remember if you were. Details are in the works but Bindu Wiles (who I met at said legendary Tweet Up) and I are looking at Thursday November 11, Wednesday November 10 for a gathering. Just to drink and laugh. No microphones or sign up sheets. The world is invited. Stay tuned.

Lovetothelove,

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7 tiny big life shifters

This summer was about deeper healing for me. Bod', psyche, bank account, relationships...relating...creating. Change can be radical but the steps to healing are usually small >> sequential >> interconnected.

This is how some of it came together for me. I:

1. Let go of my "check-my-email-in-the-morning-guilt." Screw it. I LIKE to check my email first thing in the morning. It doesn't mean that I'm a distracted workaholic, it means I'm an excited Creative who loves her friends and new friends and what she does with her day...life >> this actually led to LESS email checking throughout the day >> more creative space >> deeper meditation >> clearer ideas.

2. Got a mean blender machine. This led to smoothies >> more complex smoothies with bee pollen and greens and ginger >> less wasted food (cause you can just throw it in the blender!) >> healthier lunches >> feeling great(er) in the evening >> great enough to get my smoothie ass to evening yoga class.

3. Bought a two month pass at local yoga studio. The psychological grip of wanting to get my money's worth led to doing yoga at least 3x/week >> riding my bike more on the days I couldn't make it to yoga because I wanted to stretch >> feeling so good about riding + getting my money's worth, that I committed to an 18-month yoga pass.

4. Committed to doing 100,000 Heart Sutra mantras. I got this, like, "assignment" from a Buddhist Lama who's been good enough to humor my big Q's about consciousness. "Do 100,000 Prajnaparamitas and get back to me," he said. "Is that all ya got for me, Chief?!" Well, only 96,000 to go! Realistically, it will take me a few years to accomplish this, (unless I drop out of society and chant days on end for months.)

It's RADICAL for me to commit to something and NOT drive for velocity and accomplishment, but rather, devote myself to the journey itself. This has led to a deeper surrender to my creative impulses >> which in turn led to me giving myself permission to write a whole new book two years sooner than I had planned...but not in a rush >> which inspired me to take a lot of the summer off.

5. Started consciously smiling, gently, mostly internally, during meditation and on walks. This is probably the slightest but most effectual lil' thing I've done recently. Smiling effects brain chemistry. It's a reminder of your true nature. It let's the light in. It's shifting me.

Try it. Close your eyes. Feel a smile behind your face. (IMPORTANT: There is no need to bust out in a cheesy, forced grin. That's bad news.) Just let the corners of your mouth curl gently upwards. On the phone, falling asleep, right now...feel a smile.

6. I read Geneen Roth's Women Food & God. >> which led to the blender (see #1) >> which led to all sorts of delicious awareness. Roth has written a book of monumental importance in terms of our wellness. Want to convert years and pounds of toxic thinking and self-criticism into freedom-fuel? Read it and set yourself free. It is, as the subtitle puts it, an unexpected path to almost everything.

7. I read Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer >> which made me consider the more abstract and magical ways to tell happy-painful-true-imagined stories >> which inspired me to recapitulate all of the great stories and 'isms that my little boy and I have >> in to sitting down and writing our very stories together >> deeper love.

>> healing.

. . . . . . .

The rave reviews for The Fire Starter Sessions are rolling in. Big happiness.
Please check out the love and get your own copy for back to school brilliance.

"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

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