Being true to yourself is not always easy. For fear of not being accepted, we tailor our personality, mince our words, and carve our opinions to fit in. It takes courage to be real… and it takes stamina because if you want the best out of life, it will demand the best of you time and time again.
When you choose to be real—from standing up for the small things that bring you pleasure, to the public ways you try to save the world—there will likely be tough choices and 11th-hour changes. There will be misunderstandings, uncomfortable silences, and sometimes, there will be isolation.
When do you feel like giving up? What discourages you, or tempts you to doubt that sweetness is on the way? Now, write down three remedies for discouragement… lunch with your best friend; a visit to church; dusting off your diplomas, re-reading a love letter, swimming twenty laps; warm soup eaten in silence.
And, I have one more for you. Here’s the backstory: last month we did a campaign called Letters for Renewal. Thirty days of wisdom + art, for more courage, conviction, and hopefulness. You received one letter a day from a different writer to help you keep going.
It was a beautiful month. Poetry, music, dance, a few tears… We collected all the letters into one potent package, so that whether you were part of the campaign or not, you could tap into all the magic in one place.
Read it cover to cover in one sitting, or open it up every morning like a daily vitamin. Go in order, or flip it open to a random page as an oracle. Whatever you need. It’s right here for you, when you need hope, ideas, encouragement, or comfort…
Keep going,
Danielle LaPorte is an invited member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100, a group who, in Oprah Winfrey’s words, “is uniquely connecting the world together with a spiritual energy that matters.” She is author of White Hot Truth: Clarity for keeping it real on your spiritual path—from one seeker to another. The Fire Starter Sessions, and The Desire Map: A Guide To Creating Goals With Soul—the book that has been translated into 8 languages, evolved into a yearly day planner system, a top 10 iTunes app, and an international workshop program with licensed facilitators in 15 countries.
Named one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” by Forbes, millions of visitors go to DanielleLaPorte.com every month for her daily #Truthbombs and what’s been called “the best place online for kickass spirituality.” A speaker, a poet, a painter, and a former business strategist and Washington-DC think tank exec, Entrepreneur Magazine calls Danielle, “equal parts poet and entrepreneurial badass…edgy, contrarian…loving and inspired.” Her charities of choice are Eve Ensler’s VDay: a global movement to end violence against women and girls, and charity: water, setting out to bring safe drinking water to everyone in the world. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her favourite philosopher, her son. You can find her @daniellelaporte and just about everywhere on social media.
