Tuckered out in Glacier National Park

I have a really big appetite for food, but even more so for life.

A day where I’m scheduled within minutes of my life is my idea of heaven. When I headed out on The Freedom Tour on February 2^nd this year, my eyes were wide, the road was open and the sky was big. My tummy was grumbling for some adventure and moderation simply wouldn’t do.

The Metrics of The Freedom Tour

Between February 2^nd and June 21^st I traveled 19,000 miles by car and another 11,000 miles by plane (plus 300 by boat.)  I visited 21 different states and provinces, slept in over 50 beds, taught 16 workshops, spoke to over 800 people, and attended 5 major conferences (SXSW, Summit Series, Reveal, Selling Your Soul, I Can Do It!, and the World Domination Summit.) I did this all while launching a new business partnership, ending another one, then ending the one I had just started, experimenting with being homeless, and falling in love.

After five months of going at this pace I felt full. The kind of full that makes you want to put on pants with an elastic waist band and talk about how you’re never going to eat again.

I landed in Maine at my childhood home in June feeling exhausted. I thought the summer would birth great creativity and production in the form of pages and pages of brilliant writing. I thought by this time I would have a sample chapter and outline for my first book.

But it turns out that when your eyes are bigger than your schedule, when your MO is to say yes to everything, and when you run your self more than a little ragged, what you need is sleep. And watching movies. And eating lunches that take three hours to finish And looking out at the ocean. And more sleep.

Promises, Promises, Promises

I sat with my dad over lunch the other day chatting about my blog. He’s one of my most dedicated readers, which simultaneously thrills and terrifies me. He told me that I need to be careful about what I promise to my readers because they (he) get disappointed when I don’t follow through on my promises.

Here are a few things I’ve promised over the past couple of months that I haven’t followed through on:

• Shooting daily videos (what was I thinking when I announced I was going to start doing that?!)
• A post of my pictures from the stunning drive up the Pacific Coast Highway from Laguna Beach, CA to Vancouver, BC (which was supposed to be for my dad)
• This post on “the most important question to ask yourself before embarking on any project” that I promised several weeks ago in this video (This one only half counts as not following through because I’m finally writing it. It’s just late.)
• Submitting a sample chapter and an outline of the book I’m currently gestating by the beginning of July (This one is still in process, just taking longer than I thought.)

I also have over 700 unread/unanswered emails in my inbox, some unreturned voicemails, and a few missed opportunities as a result.

Granted, I think my dad takes my promises on my blog more to heart than some of my other readers, but he brings up a really important point.

What are you promising that you’re not delivering on?

Our conversation made me pause. It made me feel sheepish. And it made me realize the single most important question to ask before embarking on any new project:

Is this sustainable?

When you’re birthing anything new there will be a period of time when you sometimes don’t shower until 6pm (if at all) and you eat takeout and don’t respond to emails. I get that AND I’m not making myself wrong for the way I’ve done The Freedom Tour up until this point.

In fact, one of my new favorite mantras is: “I am enough and I’m doing it right.”

Let that baby sink into your cells for a moment.

However, the way I started this whole adventure was completely unsustainable. I said yes to more than I could follow through on. I promised things I didn’t end up doing. I found myself way overextended. I got sick. I disappointed a few people (and thrilled some others.)

I’ve spent the past 6 weeks in Maine adoring life, adoring being in the house I was brought home to the day I was born, adoring being grounded, adoring not moving, and adoring a break.

It’s been goooooooood. It’s been beyond necessary.

The Freedom Tour 2.0

My man and I are packing up the Prius on Friday morning and heading out on the road again. We head West and will be in Scottsdale, AZ for September and October by way of Columbus, OH and Salt Lake City, UT.

The Freedom Tour continues but it is now The Freedom Tour 2.0. I now have a filtering question to ask myself when presented with any new opportunity so that I’m no longer giving a knee-jerk “yes!” I’m building in vacations. I’m being strategic about my workshops and speaking gigs. I’m standing for eight hours of sleep, no more than six hours a day in the car, meditation, and greens.

Whatever you’re cooking up right now, ask yourself: Is this sustainable?

If your answer is “no” but you’ve got an end point in mind, rock on. If there’s no end point, get one on the calendar. You can only go at full capacity for so long.

Creativity and production of great work is not a steady stream. It comes in fits and starts. Sometimes its fueled by an all-nighter. Sometimes it’s fueled by a double feature. Let your art flow the way it wants to flow. Just be sure to factor your promises, your health, your sanity, and your soul into the equation.

___________________________________________________

The Freedom Tour is hitting the road again!

Come see me on Sunday, August 14^th!

Women & Wealth: The Truth About Money That No One Has Ever Told You

6:00 – 7:30pm

The Reiki Center, 1540 W. 5th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43212

This event is free, but we have limited space. Please email rsvp@teamorthrup.com to reserve your seat.

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.

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.

I have no idea how this is going to go down — could fizzle, could blaze. Let’s try it.

Here’s how it works:

buyers. givers. philanthropists:

GIVING OPTION A: Pick a comrade who needs some fire.

STEP 1. Purchase a copy of The Fire Starter Sessions.

STEP 2. You can gift the program to someone you know. In the comments box below, let us know who you would like to have the gift copy donated to — just mention their name, and maybe why they’re wonderful (but don’t leave their actual email address in the comments box, or the spambots might find ‘em).

STEP 3: Email my lovely Communications Manager, alexandra@alexandrafranzen.com with the name + email address of your giftee. (I’m asking you to leave comments so we can publicly track how this is rolling out.) She’ll send them a gift copy. And they’ll love you forever.

GIVING OPTION B: Don’t have a friend in mind? Or simply can’t choose? Put your gift copy into the Love Match Mix. And let the world vote on the lucky winners.

STEP 1. Purchase a copy of The Fire Starter Sessions.

STEP 2: Choose to add your gift copy to the Love Match Mix. Our gifted copies will be awarded to winning applicants, who will have to apply, and then be selected by public voters. If you’re adding to the Mix, please leave a comment in the comments box below to say that you’re adding to the “Love Match Mix, please!” (I’m asking you to leave comments so we can publicly track how this is rolling out.)

STEP 3: And THEN email my lovely Communications Manager, alexandra@alexandrafranzen.com to say “Put my copy into the Love Match Mix”

then…

On Tuesday October 5 we’ll tally up the number of copies we have to give away, and we’ll open up the application process for people to win-earn the program. Applicants will be given the guidelines for throwing their hat into the ring to be gifted the program. The deadline will be tight. I’ll then narrow down that list, and post the group of finalists on the site. Then! the public will vote to select the fabulous winners!

potential winners, entrants, those who want to be on the receiving end:

Been hankering for a copy of The Fire Starter Sessions but it hasn’t been in the budget? Want to spark your dream, and throw some light on a strategy to make it happen? Okay! We’d love to help. Keep your eye on the prize. Subscribe to WhiteHotTruth.com if you haven’t already, or check back in obsessively for breaking news.

As mentioned above, on October 5, we’ll post sassy guidelines and virtual hoops to jump through in order to get into the Love Match Mix of potential winners. Soon after, finalists will be voted on by the free world to choose the actual winners! Please hold tight for instructions. If you email me this week to ask what the guidelines are, I’m just going to laugh wickedly, muhahaha! You have to wait till the 5th to apply.

Let the wild rumpus start!

Questions? Email alexandra@alexandrafranzen.com

> LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS

$150 for the full-tilt love. And! $5 from every purchased copy goes to the charity you choose: The Acumen Fund or Women for Women International

Glimpse TV: Episode 1, Bindu Wiles from Kate Northrup on Vimeo.

Today is the birthday of Glimpse TV. This show was conceived when I decided that I wanted to incorporate one of my favorite things, talking to interesting people about interesting things, into my online presence. (Plus I was introduced to Zach Galifianakis’s online talk show Between Two Ferns, which is pure comic genius and makes me pee my pants every time I watch it. I figured, if he could have a talk show online with little-to-no production value, so can I.) My coach at the time asked me if I had ever considered being on TV. I hadn’t, but the seed was planted. Now, about six months later, I am proud to announce Episode 1 of Glimpse TV, a show about falling in love with your life. Yeah, sometimes my guests and I may seemingly veer off that topic, but I promise you it all relates back to being dedicated to the art, practice, and science of loving life.

Its apropos that Bindu Wiles is my guest on the first episode of Glimpse TV because she was the main instigator who got me on Twitter, and getting on Twitter was the main inspiration for me to begin my blog and create an online presence. Bindu’s 21.5.800 project lit a fire under my tush to get her on to talk about the community of support she has inspired with her own commitment to her writing and yoga practice. And given that the project has a time limit, it was the perfect reason for me to finally launch Glimpse TV, given that I’ve been talking about it (and filming interviews) for months.

A big thank you to Danielle LaPorte because it was at her tweetup where I first happened upon the delightfully hilarious and enigmatic Bindu Wiles who told me that, in so many words, I was an idiot if I wasn’t on twitter. It was love at first tweet. A very special shout out to Danielle Vieth, my brilliant and dear friend who named the show, to USANA Health Sciences who gifted me my Flipcam for Christmas, to the really nice guy at Radio Shack who sold me their last tripod, and to Dyana Valentine for being a gorgeous and entertaining rooftop camera woman today (my episode with her will air in the next few weeks —she gives a three-step process for turning yourself on to your life —it’s brilliant and not to be missed.)

Enjoy the next eight minutes filled with Bindu’s articulate, profound, grounded, and vulnerable musings (as well as her hot new haircut and aviatorss —plus me laughing a lot.) On deck for future episodes are Dyana Valentine, Sera Beak, Dr. Lissa Rankin, Melanie Ericksen, Karen Salmansohn, Helen Kim, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Alisa Vitti, and Dr. Deborah Kern.

Lights, camera…Glimpse!

Subscribe to my YouTube channel to get all of Glimpse TV in one place.

I have a major girl crush on Danielle LaPorte. Many of you may already know this. Danielle is the creator of WhiteHotTruth.com, which has been called “the best place online for kick-ass spirituality.” She’s an inspirational speaker and business strategist, and she totally rocks my world. I met Danielle at her Fire Starter Session in New York City in September. Spending the day with her, furiously jotting down her burning questions and steely insights, catalyzed what has become quite an unraveling, reworking, and reinvention for me over the past ten months. It is largely thanks to Danielle that this site exists. My private Fire Starter Session with her in January was incredibly rich with content, practical advice, and sunshine blown up my skirt (Danielle’s words), which was just what I needed at the time. She is badass meets high priestess, business guru meets channel. She is all that and more, and I’m over-the-moon-and-stars ecstatic and grateful to share this interview I did with her last month with you, dear readers.

If you’re jonesing for a piece of Danielle’s brilliance immediately after sampling this appetizer of an interview, check out her Fire Starter Sessions: A Digital Experience for Entrepreneurs. It will rock your stockings off and get your business creativity mojo going in a huge, spiritually grounded, and totally rock star kind of way.

Note: This interview was originally conducted and recorded over the phone, and then transcribed into written form. Since Danielle is the queen of authenticity, and this site is, after all, called AuthentiKate, I’ve chosen to preserve the colloquial speech patterns from the interview even though it’s now in written form. This way, you can pretend you are listening to the two of us fabulous femmepreneurs as you read! Enjoy.

What are you most afraid of that you’re doing anyway?
Well, when I get asked the question, “So what’s the one thing you’re afraid of in your life?” I used to say, “Well, not much.” But the one thing is, I’m afraid of not living up to my potential. So, I’m living up to my potential, no matter what.

Now we’re going to do some free association. When I say a word, you just say the first thing that comes to your mind.
Normal:
Banal.
Courage:
Essential.
Money:
I shouldn’t apologize for this but . . . happiness. Okay. Happiness.
Safe:
Scared. Safety . . . safety makes me scared.
Truth:
Courage.

What is one thing that you’re compelled to tell people over and over again . . . either the same people, or different ones?
You know. You know the answer. You know, people say, “Well, I’m torn.” Well look—no, you’re not torn. You know, it’s just what you know is difficult. And I totally understand being torn. There are some things I’m torn about right now, too. But—but you know the answer. You know what you want. And it may change. It may change day to day. But right now you know what you want. You know what’s right for you.

What do you love about your life, and why?
You know what I love about my life, in addition to my kid, who makes everything just sweet and hilarious? What I love about my life is my freedom! I can do what I want. I can do what I want. You know, I launched my book, and I took the week off pretty much, which is totally counter-intuitive. I should be cranking. But I love that. You know I just—because I just moved houses, I’m, you know, I’m a bit beat. So I slept until ten o’clock today. And then I got up and put my mascara on. And I’ll probably work until like two in the morning. And I will be—I will be so blissed out at two in the morning with, like, my tribal music playing, and a candle going and rocking the social web. And who knows what tomorrow will bring? I may work all day. I may go get a pedicure. I’m free.

What activity can you recommend to anyone that takes less than five minutes and will help them thrive?
Oh, well this is immediate. I can give you something that’s faster than the speed of light. You can think happy thoughts.

I find that, often, people (meaning myself) are unaccustomed to telling the truth. And my question is, what do you suggest for those of us who’ve been raised to be afraid of the truth, if we want to start to peel back the layers and start telling it like it is?
Hang out with people who do tell the truth. Learn from example. Get interviewed. Start telling the truth to yourself.
Here’s a formula: Start telling the truth to yourself in as many ways as possible. And then start telling the truth to a few more people. Extend. I see it as concentric circles. So, you can tell yourself the truth when you look in the mirror. You can tell yourself the truth when you’re journaling. You can tell yourself the truth when you’re getting dressed, when you’re dancing, when you’re getting yourself off, when you’re going shopping. There’s lots of ways to tell yourself the truth. You can tell yourself the truth by drawing it out. Yeah, it’s about expression. And then tell one good friend, and then tell two good friends. And then start telling the people you work with, and then start telling strangers.
And it doesn’t mean telling people your deep, dark secrets, because I believe in privacy and I believe in healthy boundaries and all that. But telling the truth could be expressing to the guy in the cubicle next to you that you want to write a masterpiece novel, or that you hate [your] job or that you want to have cocktails with him. I think there is huge power in telling people about what your dreams are—[your] aspirations, your ambitions. I think it empowers them. It empowers. It’s the ambitions, the dreams themselves. It empowers you and empowers the person that you’re sharing the dream with.

And were you always somebody who told the truth, or is that something that happened later?
I think I always had the muscles for the truth. I think I’ve always been, um, outspoken. It’s been helpful to just be kind of mouthy all along. But you can be mouthy and not be telling the truth, right? In my twenties, my motto was: Fake it ‘til you make it. And then my last company crashed and burned because there was an element of faking it going on. You know, it was very deep. It wasn’t even conscious. It was unconscious inauthenticity.

What’s on your desk right now?
I have a beautiful pot of orchids with—I think I counted twelve blooms on it—that was a gift to me from Hiro Boga. She’s way cool. She’s a business intuitive. And she sent me these when I did my preorder launch, and these flowers talk to me. And they tell me, “Go team, go!” Yeah. The girl infused them with some weird magic mojo. And I have a little carnelian stone which is about creativity. And then I have some piece of glass which my kid thinks is a magic quartz crystal and I’m just going with it, like: “That is the most powerful crystal I ever saw!” And I have rechargeable batteries because I am eco-friendly. And a measuring tape to hang my new photos. And anything else fun? Some kids’ pictures from my kid because he’s a great post-modernist artist. And I have a little magnetic clip full of fortunes, from fortune cookies.

What do you wear when you write?
Uggs. I wear chocolate brown. The low—not the low, low ones—the medium-calf Uggs. Because I am more brilliant when my feet are warm. And I have to be comfortable when I write. Like I can come home from a gig looking totally hot, and forget it! I’ve got to got to put on some leggings and my Uggs or some baggy jeans. But it’s really about the Uggs. And amber oil. I’m always wearing it. I never leave the house without essential oil. I get some crazy amber oil from this woman in Albuquerque who gets it for me from this guy in Bali.

Do you ever just do nothing? And if so, what does that look like?
I’m really bad at doing nothing. Even my nothing has some kind of seeking to it. So, nothing for me would be reading. That’s not doing nothing, that’s for sure. Even meditating looks like nothing but it’s really something. Who wants to do nothing? I don’t want to do nothing. That’s why I think Julia Cameron’s “Artist Dates” work because it’s a “do-nothing” in disguise.

What books are on your nightstand right now?
Well I just dusted off Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. It’s really time to read that again. I just got Laura Day’s How to Rule the World From Your Couch. I’m excited about that. I’m into changing your past like she talks about. I’m into Rework by the 37Signals guys, Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. It’s really good. And I just got Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun.

And the final question is: What, who, or how do you want to be when you grow up?
I want to be me with abandon. And compassion.

Thank you.

More on the Fire Starter Sessions:

How’s your cash flow and your mojo?
Does your vision match your reality?
Does your brand match your soul?

THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS is: an e-book meets video transmission of acumen and love. You: are likely sitting on an empire of content, product, services, and prosperity that needs a spark—or blow torch—to take you to the next level. You: want to rock your revenue streams and do meaningful things in the world.
Worksheets that help you draw conclusions, quick videos with motivational punch, connections to current thinkers, practical smarts, and frank wisdom—THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS is packed with inspiration that you will put to use.
Danielle has worked with 462+ entrepreneurs in her 1-on-1 Fire Starter consults (which are $500 and booked six weeks in advance and SO FREAKIN’ worth every penny and more – I’ve had a one on one for my personal brand and for Team Northrup and have gotten oodles upon oodles of value for both.) For CEOs, coaches, artists, retailers, bestselling authors—from site design to big dreams—Danielle’s strategies combine passion with pragmatism to get to fulfillment and cash.

Each chapter is its own “Fire Starter Session” that includes: e-book components, video inspiration or interviews, and worksheets.

Some of the sessions are: True Strengths & The Metrics of Ease; Branding: Clarifying the Diamond of You; Products & Services: Making Stuff That Feels Good to Make; Money: More is More, Enough is Plenty; Web Design & SEO: Your Virtual Real Estate . . . and dozens of tips and motivating perspectives.
In addition to getting Danielle’s deep and detailed knowledge, THE FIRE STARTER SESSIONS brings you contributions from some A-league marketing strategists, pro-bloggers, branding experts, and creativity coaches.
Whether you’re in the early idea phase or a well-established rut, Danielle’s thorough, witty, and experience-based advice will most certainly light a fire under your . . . aspirations.

The fine print: I’m super proud to be an affiliate with Danielle.