Get Out of Your Own Way

I love Willie Nelson. So does my husband.

We bonded over Willie in our first real conversation together. We were on a beach in beautiful St. Lucia, working on The Bachelor. I'm sure he thought it was strange that this Asian American girl loved Willie, and I definitely was surprised that a guy from Detroit liked Willie Nelson.

I've always loved Willie's music, but the main reason I love Willie is a story I heard about when the IRS put up his stuff for auction, to pay past debts, his friends came out to buy everything and return it back to him.

I just love that story because in the entertainment industry, most of the time, when you're "down," most people disappear. So, to me, this incident showed what great people he surrounded himself with and what a great guy he is for having these kinds of friends.

This weekend, my husband showed me this clip of Willie Nelson on a recent episode of The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where Willie says, "Imagine what you want and get out of the way!"

This is something I know and believe, and if you've been in my world for awhile, you've actually heard me say this.

In my business, so many times, I've imagined what I've wanted (or what I usually say is that I put out the intention) and then I let go of how it shows up, or as Willie Nelson put it, I get out of the way!

What shows up is usually better and greater than how I envisioned it.

For example, last year, right before the pandemic, I envisioned speaking more, in person. (I love being in person more than over zoom. There are ways to hide, on zoom, that you can't do, in person. Believe me, I do it all of the time.)

Once I put out the intention, I received a message from someone I met just once, who passed my name along to an organization that put me on stage with Allyson Bird, a money mindset strategist, tech founder, corporate sales strategist, with about 30x the amount of social media followers that I have. The event was filled with hundreds of creative entrepreneurs, and it was the biggest event I've spoken in front of.

It showed up bigger and better than I had imagined. I have so many stories like that.

So, what are you imagining, envisioning, intention-setting? Then, how can you really get out of your own way?

I know it's not easy because we like to control things. Believe me, I used to be quite the control "freak."

I used to be a producer, after all, and I think one of the definitions of a producer is someone who likes control and who is good at controlling the environment and all of the tiniest details. To be a great producer, you do have to care about the details - what pen the on-camera talent uses, a hair that's out of place, or checking ahead of time that a location is air conditioned on the hottest day of the year (this is a story for another time).

However, in our personal lives, we only have control of ourselves and how we choose to react to situations.

So, if bringing in money has proved to be challenging, I want you to imagine yourself making money doing what you love and then letting go of how it needs to show up.

It's a test of faith, for sure, however if you truly believe in God, the Universe, or whatever you want to call it...then how can you not let go and allow the Universe to show its infinite wisdom and expansive powers?

When we control, we are saying (as one of my coaches Preston Smiles says), "I'll take it from here, God, F----You. I know better how this needs to go." And I know that's not what you want.

I also know it will show up in a way that's better than you imagined. The reason I know? Your imagination is soooo limited because you're not God or the Universe.

Give me an Amen in the comments, if this resonates. I would also love to hear how something in your life was better than you had imagined, once you got out of your own way.

With Gratitude,

P.S. I don't think money is a one size fits all thing. I believe that we all have a distinct personality when it comes to the way you deal with you personal finances. Would you like to know what your money personality is and then what next steps to take, based on your type? Then, click below to take my new financial personality quiz! It takes just 3 minutes, and as someone who just shared with me on social media, "it's eerily accurate!"