What does fire mean to you?
Has it been a place of warmth? Perhaps you think of a coziness and wrapping yourself in a soft blanket in front of a fireplace. Or maybe you have happy memories of sitting around a campfire or an outdoor pit with family and friends while singing songs, or sharing stories.
And what does inner fire mean to you?
Do you think of it as a flame that burns bright and fuels your dreams? Perhaps you feel it in your heart, or maybe in your solar plexus, a sort of pulsing energy that stimulates you.
This inner fire may even feel like drive and determination, or inspiration. You may get an idea and be “all fired up”!
And how is that feeling these days?
Does your fire feel strong and stoked, or are you finding yourself up one day and then down the next? As we are now in February, are you clear on what you want for yourself this year, and are you finding yourself taking action, or just getting stuck?
Do you wake up some days and wonder where your fire even went?
Or most of all, do you really wonder how the HECK to light it again?
Because I imagine you have some beautiful dreams for this year. Perhaps very specific goals and aspirations that were derailed last year, so with the beginning of a new year, you feel that hopefulness, that expansive feeling that things will be different this year….
And I can only imagine you deeply want to nourish that. You want to nourish self confidence and the self trust that you can create what you want.
Your heart is calling for it.
So, where is the lighter?
Where do we find the match to ignite our inner fire when it is dim or out?
At the end of last year I was asked a really important question in a podcast interview,
“You’ve described the point in your life when things are really at your lowest, everything is going wrong. How did that morph into the person you are today?”
Considering I was describing losing everything, this was a very valid question. My life looked very different in 2013.
Before 2013 I had a really fun relationship with fire.
Sitting around the campfire with my family, licking marshmallow off my fingers from newly scorched s’mores was a deep joy, plus I always loved sitting in front of a fireplace. I had many memories of coming in from sledding or building a snow fort, to sip hot chocolate and warm myself up.
But, in a year of losing my marriage, home, and all I knew, I felt like my life was going up in a raging fire. And nothing I could do was stopping it. Rolling and destroying everything in its path, I felt completely powerless.
There was no comfort, no joy, or sweetness. Fire was destroying my life.
About halfway through the year, I was on the phone with my dear friend and said to her,
I feel like I’m burning to ash again and again.
She took a beat, and then said,
You’re a Phoenix.
And then she sent me this amazing picture of the character Jean Gray from the comic X-Men. Jean was all aglow in a raging fire, and looked so strong. And as I started at this image, something shifted in me.
I realized that even though so much of the life I had known was burning away, I was getting up every time. When I thought of the Phoenix, my mind went to how the Phoenix rises, after every burn.
So, instead of placing my attention on getting burned, I instead realized I had the CAPABILITY to rise.
And thank goodness, because after that conversation, I lost a dear friend to a heart attack, and then a month after that was in two car accidents.
But facing the devastation and challenges, I knew I could rise. I had done it before, so I would do it again.
Connecting with my ability to rise actually changed my relationship with fire. Instead of being in a fireplace or fire pit, I connected to an inner fire. One that wasn’t dependent on sweet marshmallows, but fueled by something far deeper and more sustainable.
One that could survive loss and destruction. And it was when I realized that my inner fire was there no matter what, I took the leap to create my own global business and build a whole new life.
Last year was a raging fire, in so many ways.
And with so much loss and fear, I can only imagine you are feeling insecure, guarded, and scared.
Most of all, I imagine you doubt yourself, and doubt your ability to create what you want.
You may be looking at this year and saying,
Can this really happen?
Do I really have what it takes?
You may not be trusting your inner fire.
And I want to normalize this. You are not alone. This is your vulnerability out in the open, feeling tender. Trust me, I get it.
But, what if this is more about your relationship TO your inner fire?
Do you only believe your inner fire burns brightly when things are going well?
Do you believe that everything has to be perfect in order for your inspiration to flow?
Do you know what your inner fire actually needs to thrive?
Take a moment and take stock of where you are today. You are alive and breathing. After such a crazy year, how did that happen?
I imagine you took actions.
I imagine you had strong intentions.
And I imagine you stepped forward even in the midst of so much uncertainty.
I’ve been talking to you about Powerful Presence, and I wanted to share this key component:
Powerful presence is the courage that stays with you in the face of your deepest fears and allows you to move through them and transform where you have felt stuck.
It stays with you.
It never leaves.
And it allows you to transform where you have felt stuck.
In essence, this courage I speak of in Powerful Presence IS your inner fire.
And it is the key to moving through the blocks you have created in your mind and life that have held you back.
Because the way is always THROUGH. This may have been one of the largest reasons I learned in 2013, and really was my answer in the interview.
I have an inner fire.
I can rise.
You have an inner fire.
You can rise.
You are a Phoenix, and it is this TRUST in yourself, in your ability TO rise that carries you though your fear and doubt.
So, even when you have a day where you feel low, and trust me, I have had SO many….that even then, the fire burns, because you place your attention on what will HELP you to RISE.
So, what is working?
What actually helps you when you feel low?
What connects you back to your self trust?
Place your attention there and release the fact that hardships occur, because they will continue to come. Powerful Presence is what allows you to face any adversity and continue to take courageous action.
Your inner fire needs fuel.
So, when you turn your focus on fueling this inner fire, your life transforms, because fueling your inner fire is what brings your dreams to life.
This is what I want to teach you, so this year you truly rise.
Because when you trust yourself, you are unlimited.
This is the year you claim your Powerful Presence, and I can’t wait to show you how.