Fire Starter Sessions

pay what you can amazeballs: a brief update + plea for patience

re: it’s pay what you can day. happy birthday to…us!

So, like, I thought of doing this crazy "Pay what you can" event for The Fire Starter Sessions on my birthday. I didn't think much of it. I thought it would be great if 70 or so people jumped on the rad' offer. MY VA, Dawn, thought "No problem! We can so handle the response!" And while I was getting salt-scrubbed (because it was my birthday,) over SEVEN HUNDRED people made offers between $20 and $200 dollars. SURPRISE!

I accepted 99% of offers. And in the few cases where I did not, I sent out (or will be sending out) a complimentary chapter.

I'll be writing about the lessons learned and tears of wonderment and incredible stories soon. But for now: WE ARE PROCESSING ORDERS OUT THE WAZOO!

If you haven't heard from us yet, or have been invoiced but haven't received the link, please and pretty please lend us your patience. Processing 700+ orders is a very big job. A happy, delightful job, just takes a bitta time and patience.

Hang tight. Is will so be worth the wait.

Big Love,
Danielle
(and the amazing VA, Dawn, and the amazing elves recruited to help respond to the deluge.)

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INTERVIEWS

WomanzWorld cornered me in my favourite cafe to talk business. WATCH HERE

Toni Reece from The People Academy asked me about resistance and hope. READ HERE

 

4 questions to shine light on your vocation

Here are a few sparks of The Burning Questions that I ask my Fire Starter clients:

1. What do people thank you for most often? What do they come to you for, or say about you most frequently {"positive" or "negative"}?

Gratitude leads you back to your strengths. The greatest leverage you have for a return on investment is by investing in your natural talents and using them generously.

2. When do you feel powerful, on fire, free, incredibly useful? What do you get excited by?

True and sustainable success is fueled by pure inspiration. Always.

3. When someone at a party asks you what you do, what do you say? {And how do you feel when you say it?}

With truth comes grace and healthy pride ... and every entrepreneur needs a slam dunk cocktail line.

4. What do you think your form of genius is, what are you amazing at {work or life related?}

Everybody is amazing at something -- whether it's being a loyal friend, crunching numbers, motivating people or throwing great parties. {And your genius is a cousin to your joy.}

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UPCOMING GROUP FIRE STARTERS: LA, WHISTLER, PORTLAND, TORONTO... CLICK FOR MORE CITIES + INFO.

 

i’m loving: eggs + authenticity

1. I'm loving the unbounded, multi-disciplinary creativity of Stella McCartney. Check out her new horse chandelier.

2. Yoko Ono's REVELATIONS. She makes me giggle and coo at the same time. She's still out there waving the love flag and approaching "other" as "I". This sweet song put little ruffles on the edges of my heart.

3. I'm loving that, at our house, we believe in the Easter Bunny and fairies.

4. I'm really really loving that I'm working with cool chicks to produce Fire Starter events in the following cities!: Los Angeles, Portland, Toronto, Atlanta, New York. It's all happening very magically...like the right things tend to. Stay tuned!

5. Laser engraved ostrich eggs from tattoo artist Scott Campbell.

6. This very lucid perspective on Honesty vs. Authenticity from Betaworks:

There are many who see honesty as a noble goal within business or personal relationships. Though I think honesty captures the passive and reactive components to the open exchange of ideas, authenticity extends the responsibility to be a proactive representation of your true self. Where honesty has an on/off switch, the ethical center of authenticity requires it to be always on. It isn’t opportunistic. It is a contract that embodies a level of candor that is often uncomfortable. Given there is no growth without struggle, authenticity provides the fertile soil to grow at all times.

7. I rarely dis', but I'm loving that Billy Bob Thornton had to cancel his band's Canadian tour because of the backlash to his supremely asshole behavior in this Jian Ghomeshi for CBC interview.

8. And while I'm feeling patriotic, I'm loving this pop art from Timothy Wilson Hoey (who's upcoming shows are selling out before the art gets on the walls.)

9. I'm loving redefining what wealth means to me. It's flexible but focused. It's heart-based but pragmatic. And every one is accounted for. Cha ching.

It's spring. What are you loving?

 

3 questions for success + my great offer on fire starter sessions

I've got an article on Startup Princess that divulges my three top secret, highly complex and sophisticated questions for entrepreneuring. Can you handle 'em? Here goes:

1. What do you do?
2. Who cares about what you do?
3. How do you get to who cares?

Yep. Brilliance is that simple - and like most simple things, you have to examine each question from every angle to fully glean its elegance and power.

You should go to Startup Princess and read the full article for three reasons:

1. 'Cause I rarely fail to deliver on the sensible wisdom.
2. Because Startup Princess is a serious trove of how-to's and inspiration for kickin' businesses.
3. And because they got the scoop on my Fire Starter session offer for February: a 90 minute session, (regularly $500) for the cost of an hour session: $300.

I'll leave you with this Fire Starter love, from Ms. L.D. in North Carolina:

"...I just listened to our recording and wanted to thank you for hearing, seeing, and feeling me. There is no better feeling than being acknowledged, understood, and valued. You gave me the gift of listening, stitching a few pieces together, and handing it off to me. Now, I'm clear and as George Lopez says, 'I got this.' Thank you so much. You're brilliant. I definitely want to check back in a month."

Whether times are tough or sweet, it's always a good time to invest in your full potential.

 

fire starter in the news

My Fire Starter Sessions for entrepreneurs received some fine coverage on SweetSpot.ca:

"Danielle rose to fame a few years ago with her book Style Statement. ­Now she’s giving us the chance to reach our goals faster in her one-on-one phone sessions (we don’t even have to leave the couch!). The concept had us loving it from the get-go."

{I didn't reeeally rise to fame...I stalked my way to mild celeb status in some circles of hip, wise women. For which, I am delighted.}

Click here to read the full review.

And these lovely kudos arrived in my in box this morning:
"I am blown away by our time today - so much so that I did not thank you properly earlier! Ours was indeed a sacred session and as I am absorbing it all, it has really been a huge gift and a huge leap in clarity."
- RC, Think tank executive, Ottawa

 

want to start a fire? just asking.

Dear Danielle,

When you told me you were naming your business sessions “Fire Starters” everything just clicked for me. That is exactly what you did for me when I called you in an overwhelming panic about my work, my vision for my work and what I wanted to accomplish. I had so many ideas buzzing around in my head and it wasn’t until we connected on the phone that the sparks started to fly! (more...)