The Art of. Christy Whitman s. Interview with. Lisa Nichols

Transcription

1 Christy Whitman s Interview with Nichols

2 Having it all is not about striving for perfection, or about living our lives according to someone else s standards or expectations (we ve done that for far too long). It s not about working ourselves to a state of exhaustion, spreading ourselves too thin, or trading inner peace and contentment for outer trinkets of success. Been there. Done that too. Having it all simply means having access to all of yourself, in any moment you choose it, and in every aspect of life that is important to you. Go here to learn exactly how you too, can Have it All

3 C: 4 Questions with Christy Whitman I would like to ask you how do you define having your all in your life? Nichols: so I look at life from a holistic perspective. So my all includes my spiritual foundation, understanding that I have something to surrender to and reach out to. That when I feel like I don t have any more energy I have something to restore me. So its my spiritual foundation. My all includes my family. It includes the fact that last night my son could make the most amazing salmon on the planet it was so much better than any salmon have made in the history of me cooking salmon. It s having that kind of time with him. It s going to see my daddy tonight and hanging out with my grandmother this weekend s family. Having it all in and in my greatness and not shrinking for anyone. Not minimizing my light in anyone s presence. I get chills on the back of my neck when I say that. Not dimming my light. Having it all had to do with owning my body and being responsible. I haven t always been responsible for my body in terms of this is the tool my body is the tool that God gave me to deliver my purpose. And to be responsible for that. I have to tell you a secret and everyone watching, every time I go to the bathroom I do 15 squats. Every time ago now it s the new thing I do and just feeling alive inside my body. Feeling alive inside my spirituality and feeling responsible connecting to my family and then doing my purpose, touching people, being financially responsible for my future, creating generational wealth for my son s children. So that to me is the it in the all is looking at life from a holistic perspective going wait a minute I don t want to do really great over there but this over here is really crappy. I want to be responsible for all of it and I want to work my balance in of passion. So that it is also being humble. And being in service. And recognizing that no one owes you anything and everything is a blessing and to live in constant gratitude. Not the kind of gratitude which is marketing gratitude, I mean the kind of gratitude that swells your eyes up with tears. I was reading an old Facebook post let me list all the things that I m grateful for that don t cost anything. So that s the it and the all for me.

4 C: What s the core belief that you hold to be true either about yourself or the universe for you to really experience your life where you are really having it all? Nichols: one? The core belief and I m kind of quirky and out there but if I can see it touch it and dream and I can have it. I don t ever question that. When I was really broke and really broken and by the way it was easier to be broke than it was to be broken. Do you know what I mean? I would go around at that time and go around my friends who I knew were really and genuinely happy and had great things in their life, and were living in prosperity, I would go around them and they knew I would come around for this reason I would tell them if God put it in my space than it is for me. So I would go around healthy people, abundant people, people who I had a conversation and possibility versus lack I knew in the universal laws that if I could see a touch it smelt than I could have it is just a matter of doing the work. Energy grows were energy goes. Whenever I focus on my finances they grow, when I focus on my health my body shrinks. When I focus on my family the relationships get solidified. Energy grows were energy goes. My third other belief is that it s my job to serve before I ever get to make a request. That come with full, come full, not with what you can do for me but full support and to people and then watch the floodgates of prosperity and abundance come back your way. Most people walk around saying what is it for me but know you got it backwards and wrong. So it s not serving with an agenda. My last thing I was telling my son this last night. I was telling a television producer this yesterday morning, he wanted me to do a show which to this television show and he said it has to be a little messy. I said that may be very clear with you, my assignment in life is to leave people better than before I crossed their path. That s my one thing I want to leave people feeling better than they felt before I crossed their path I want to contribute. I shocked him. He said do you know I could put you on a major network and I said absolutely but I said do know that I know my legacy that I want to leave. I am clear. And I can t say I was always that. I had to crack open to possibility because can I tell you that when you look for and committed to finding your purpose and discovering your it, and living through it and sharing it, it s not just the smallness or the media perceived thinking or procrastination and blamed the victim. That s not the only thing you have to be willing to admit. You have to also be willing to see and accept that you are brilliant. You are amazing. You are going to touch millions. Do you know that sometimes scarier than this other thing over here called procrastination? When I did Chicken Soup for the Soul I was blown away

5 and then what comes was the Secret tsunami over my head. And then the Oprah tsunami and the Larry King tsunami. Sometimes it s not about letting go of old toxic thinking that s enough, it s also saying how do you want to use me to that purpose I say guess yes. To that assignment I will get out of that way I will wake up early, go to bed late, do the homework, get a coach risk it all to gain at all. I am willing to put it on the line. Most people don t live at that level of conviction and if you ask what the distinction between me and most it s my level of two things: my level of obedience to my calling and conviction about what I m here to do. Every time I do that I feel like I am stepping inside a church I don t mean to take it there, it s just me. Unapologetically. I love what you said about shrinking because I walked around shrinking. I was this person at 14 and I could walk in the room and say ah. My grandmother has a picture of me like this: you could see showing up but then something happened I started dimming my light and greatness and started shrinking so I wouldn t outshine my cousin for the guy I was dating or outshine my mom or outshine my colleagues. Then after a while they would be no one around and I was still shrunken. I didn t even know how to stand back up again because I lived hunched over metaphorically for so long that I didn t even know how to stand tall in and let my light shine. I had to relearn how to let my light shine so when you experience as part of me and do see this thing every time you see me with my light shining full permission living my brilliance that s because I know what it s like to live in that denial and live as that shrunken person and I don t want to do that note I want you or anyone to listen to us do it. I don t get 2009 again however he chose to live that year it s done. So I appreciate that you acknowledge that in me because it took this journey to get to this. C: So when you re in that state, in that present moment and you really feel like you do have it all, can you just describe what it is of that essence of how you feel? Nichols: I want to give you a word that people can touch. I want to be very mindful. I know exactly what you are talking about I know exactly the moment. I guess I ve used it before but it is the word that comes up I feel grateful. The word I put in front of it is overwhelmingly grateful. A little bit because behind it I get to be who I am in spite of all my poor decisions. I recognize that we live in a universe of the thousand second chances and that s why when I am in my it and I am in my all I am so grateful because I know this wasn t my first time

6 trying this. This isn t my first rodeo and many times before I did it all wrong. Did all wrong before did all right. So gratitude swells up in me. Sometimes I get offstage or I finish an interview like this and I go into my office all my room and I just ball I just cried. I cried gratitude tears. I just cry like you would use me in such a way even with all the poor decisions I ve made I get thousand second chances and every time I get to 999 I get to press reset. Gratitude. I tell people if there is an S on my chest it s in Crayola. I wash it off every night and I put it back on in the morning. It s in my humanity that I live inside my gratitude. C: What is one tip so others can feel that essence in their lives? Nichols: I am going to say this and it s meatier and aligned but give yourself permission. Give yourself permission Give yourself permission to have Give yourself permission to have experienced Give yourself permission to be Give yourself permission to need Give yourself permission to let go of You are beginning starts with a permission to personal permission. I spent a lot of time in the mirror because that s embracing me. I do it before my makeup is on my face, or with no makeup on right after I brush my teeth, I look up and I begin to do my work, my mirror work. The three sentences I have for our community. Complete. One, look at the mirror and complete the sentence I am proud that I. And celebrate yourself. Two, I forgive myself for. Cut the shackles to blame, shame, and guilt. And three, I commit to you that. So you have to speak to yourself like I m talking to you I am proud that you I forgive you for And I commit to you that Those three sentences, begin to fill your own tank up to serve the world from your overflow.

7 Nichols LISA NICHOLS is CEO of Motivating the Masses, one of the top training and development companies in the world, a best-selling author of 6 books and one of the most sought-after transformational speakers whose global platform has reached and served over 36 million people. Ms. Nichols extraordinary story of transforming her own life from a struggling single mom on public assistance from South Central Los Angeles to now running a multi-million dollar enterprise is the inspiration behind her bold mission to teach others that it is possible to do the same. Using her signature No Matter What! system (and based on her New York Times Bestseller by the same name), teaches people how to master accomplishing unfathomable goals and to tap their limitless potential. Her featured teacher role in the self-development movie and phenomenon, The Secret catapulted her popularity across the globe. has appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show, Extra, Larry King Live and starred on NBC s Emmy Award-winning show, Starting Over. Coined The Breakthrough Specialist by her peers in the industry, her powerful message of empowerment, service, gratitude and excellence has been delivered via workshops and programs which have impacted the lives of millions of adults and over 200,000 teens through her international youth program, Motivating the Teen Spirit. Honored with numerous awards for her work, has received the 2013 Trail Blazers Award from General Motors, Humanitarian Award from the country of South Africa, The Ambassador Award, and The Legoland Foundation s Heart of Learning Award. The City of Henderson, Nevada named November 20th as Motivating the Teen Spirit Day and the City of Houston, Texas named May 9th as Nichols Day for her dedication to service, philanthropy and healing. As a founding member of the Transformational Leadership Council (TLC), joins other personal and organizational development luminaries such as Jack Canfield, John Gray, Marci Shimoff and others to co-create value and learning that help people change their lives and change the planet. As CEO of Motivating the Masses, Inc., Nichols leads a highly energetic, heart-centered and experienced team of business and leadership development master trainers and coaches who serve speakers, authors and businesses with world-class programs, masterminds and products. lives, plays and works in the greater San Diego, California area and on stages around the world. For more information or to contact/book Nichols, visit

8 Right at this moment, no matter how you are feeling, no matter how in debt you might be, no matter how old you are or how much you weigh, and no matter what the condition of your relationships might be, you have the power to re-create yourself and your life exactly the way you desire it to be and quite frankly, the way you deserve it to be. Regardless of how big a gap exists between what you want and what you currently have, within you is the ability to effortlessly and joyfully bridge that gap in virtually every aspect of your life. You can have it all, how you define it, how you want it. You do have the power to create it. Go here to learn exactly how you can start having it all today!