To someone somewhere you look like you have it all. Your website makes their mouth water. Your pictures on Facebook make them yearn for adventure in their life. Seeing you makes them crave more.

Feeling jealous is part of being human but what we do with this emotion is a choice. (Click to tweet)

There are plenty of religions and spiritual practices that would have us believe that to want something another has is wrong. I’d like to suggest otherwise.

I’d like to suggest that noticing the good that someone else has got going on is a reminder of what you desire. It’s a clue as to where to point your ship as you steer your life. It’s a sign that you’re a living, breathing, emotive human being.

When you find yourself envying another, remember:

• Someone, somewhere, wants what you have too. Take a moment to be grateful for how amazing your life is right now. Notice specific things that you appreciate and breath them in to your grateful body.

• Embrace your envy. It’s great information that will help you make decisions to move you towards more of what you want in life and to steer clear of what you don’t.

• You always have a choice as to which kind of jealous you’re going to be: the bitter kind who resents someone else for what they have, or the trusting kind who celebrates the success of another as an affirmation that if they can do it, so can you.

When you think the grass is greener at your girlfriends house or in your competitor’s business, get out your hose and water your own grass.

Channel your desire for what someone else has into practical actions that will get you what you want. When used this way, envy can be used for good instead of evil.

And remember, as my dear friend Danielle LaPorte reminds us, most of the time we have goal setting all backwards. We make our Bucket List or our 5-year plan and fill it with accomplishments, things we want to buy, people we want to meet, babies we want to have, and trips we want to take. But the only reason we want any of these things is because we think that having them is going to make us feel a certain way. It’s the same with envy. We’re actually craving a feeling that we think the person we’re jealous of is having.

Next week Danielle launches The Desire Map. It’s a guide to determining the way you truly want to feel so you can use that as your compass to craft your life. I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek of the program and, in a word, it’s genius. It will revolutionize how you make choices and help you think in a new way about your life that will make things easier.

Danielle is hosting a 3-day launch event for her revolutionary program that starts next Wednesday, December 5th. Pop on over to her site to get on the invite list. It’s a party that you won’t want to miss.

Whether you choose to locate your true desires using Danielle’s process or not, remember that your envy is simply a beautiful reminder of what you truly want. Don’t try and ignore it or it will seep into your cells and recycle into resentment. Or worse, numbness.

Don’t use it as fuel for your woe-is-me-fire.Instead, remember that your envy is a guiding light. Use it that way and it will become a trusted friend instead of a feared enemy.

Don’t forget to get on Danielle’s invite list for The Desire Map launch event happening next week (it’s all virtual – no travel necessary).

In the comments below, let me know what you think of jealousy and envy. How do they make you feel? Do you have a story of channeling these seemingly negative emotions into positive action? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

to stay at that job that sucks our soul

to stay with that person who doesn’t bring out our best

to stay on the couch instead of taking a walk

to stay exactly where we are.

Part of my creation of and embarkation upon The Freedom Tour was a conscious move toward simplicity. I sold an apartment, got rid of two-thirds of my belongings, and decided to be homeless indefinitely. I bought a Prius, filled it with the stuff I thought I would really need, and then threw in a few extra pairs of shoes, a sunny outlook, and an open heart. Then I said goodbye to life as I knew it.

There’s a feeling of fullness that comes from letting go that can’t be replicated in any other way. (Click to Tweet)

What I got from cultivating simplicity via releasing what no longer served me (books, clothing, a home, a city, business agreements, and some psychic contracts) was a lot of space for what did serve me.

I’ve heard it told that nature abhors a vacuum. First you must be willing to let go of what’s no longer working in your life (physical, spiritual, emotional, whatever, what have you.) Then most of the time you’ve actually got to let go of it. (And no, breaking up with your dead-beat boyfriend and then texting him for late night sleepovers does not count as letting go.)

And then this beautiful thing happens. You sit with the discomfort of the empty space (be it a cupboard, a slot in your schedule, or a place in your heart.) You get your chakras all spinning in the right direction. You get your vibration running on high.

Then the universe, God, Goddess, the Divine, all that there is, the great beyondananda, or whatever you want to call it brings you something better. Often way better than anything you could have imagined in your wildest dreams.

When I did all of my letting go in early 2011, I sat in my empty apartment and sobbed the night I left New York. The vacuum felt pretty painful at first. As each person left my apartment, holding something of mine that I’d let go of, I felt a bit panicked. What if I end up needing that thing that I’ve just given away?

I of course followed my fear of needing that thing that was walking out the door all the way to its inevitable end-point:

What if I’m making a huge mistake and my life is over? What have I done?

And thinking that thought felt extremely painful. So I reminded myself that not only was my stuff in very good friends with all of my loved ones, but I could come back to New York City any time and pick up right where I left off.

Surrendering to the great unknown of emptiness freaked me out. And it made me feel free. And in that freedom and open space I manifested great love with a man I adore, a much deeper connection to my worth, a trust in my voice I’d never found before, more money, a book deal, and a life I’m in love with.

Remember, nature abhors a vacuum. The emptiness will be filled with great if you’re willing to give up crappy, ho-hum, or even good. The sheer act of releasing something that no longer serves you is a giant message that you know you’re worth more. It’s like a smoke signal of your divine value.

A year and a half after starting The Freedom Tour on February 2, 2011 I’m probably due for a new vacuum. I’ll begin with my t-shirt drawer and shoes and see where it goes from there. The great thing about letting go is that you can start anywhere.

Vacuums are transferable. If you want to attract more clients, try cleaning out your sock drawer. If you’re looking to increase your income, see if you can create some extra space in your garage.

Let something go. Even if it’s little. Create a vacuum. Send that smoke signal declaring your divine worth out to the ether. Sit with the emptiness and feel what that feels like. And then relish the beauty that manifests as nature fills that vacuum with goodies.

And please report back.

Got Svelte?

Foxy New Group starts 7/15

Join me and a group of very fabulous and foxy women (and a few great men) who are getting svelte for summer. Balance your blood sugar, get rid of your sugar and carb cravings, lose a few pounds, and enjoy improved energy, a more even, stable mood, happier hormonal health, better sleep, clearer skin, and more. Click here to find out more and register.

The Infinite Power of Time Off: How to Make it Work for You

June 19, 2012
8:00pm – 8:30pm EST

FREE Telegathering Join Dr. Christiane Northrup, leading authority on women’s health, and co-creators of Team Northrup, Kate Northrup and Penny Northrup Kirk for an intimate, 30-minute telegathering. Many people in North America choose to take their vacation during the summer months. But have you ever experienced coming home from time off and feeling completely exhausted, as though you need a vacation to recover from your vacation? Especially for those who run their own businesses or have a lot of responsibility at work, it’s becoming nearly impossible to take an actual break. Not only does your sanity depend on taking time off from activity, so does your physical health. This call will teach you how to plan your time off ahead so that you can get the maximum physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits. You’ll also learn some strategies to use during your vacations (especially when taking them with family) to ensure that you return to your “real life” renewed and ready for action.Email us to reserve your space on this FREE call.

Wanderlust – June 21- 24, 2012, Bondville, Vermont

Join me at Wanderlust, where I’m a featured member of The Speakeasy Lecture Series.

The Speakeasy is Wanderlust Festival’s unique lecture series on subjects pertaining to the mindful life. With offerings from a wide range of presenters including prominent yoga teachers, wellness industry leaders, authors, musicians, and many others, the Speakeasy is just that — a casual experience where presenters can “speak easily”.

These are not stuffy lectures, but rather informal conversations that take place in an intimate lounge setting. Get comfy on the couch or cozy up on some cushy pillows, sip on some free tea and kombucha, and listen to some of the most fascinating people in the world of wellness talk about a wide range of topics including meditation, nutrition, technology, music, organics, spirituality, yoga, and more.

Since 2010, the Speakeasy Series has materialized into one of the most exciting parts of the Wanderlust festival. Click here to check out previous Speakeasy videos.

2012 Stratton Mountain Speakers:
Seane Corn
Elena Brower
Eli Pariser
Schuyler Grant
Kelly Morris
Gabrielle Roth
Gaura Vani
Irshad Manji
Jeff Krasno
Joel Salatin
Kate Northrup
Lama Marut
Majora Carter
Manoj Chalam
Marisa C. Weiss, M.D.
Meggan Watterson
Nick Ortner
Sean Hoess

Portland, Maine Camp Fire – Fire Starter Sessions Group

Kick-Off Fire: Wednesday, June 27th, Portland, ME

Come one, come all. We’re gonna get lit*. Together. Here in my new home town port city. This group will meet for 16, soul-powered sessions and explore, engage with, and implement Danielle LaPorte’s book, The Fire Starter Sessions.

This Camp Fire has three primary purposes:

1. to support the spectacular men and women of Portland, ME in lighting their lives afire in the best way possible

2. to create the perfect avenue for me to meet these spectacular men and women and expand my community her in my new hometown

3. to give me (and the others) accountability to read this book AND engage with the exercises in a full-out kind of way (I devoured it in a few days when I first got it and have yet to go back through and do the worksheets. I’m one of those people who doesn’t practice yoga unless I go to class, and I don’t do worksheets unless I told someone I would. If you’re like that too, come to the Camp Fire.)

Please email kathleen@katenorthrup.com to get yourself on the list. We’ll begin Wednesday, June 27th at 7pm in the upstairs space at Peloton Labs, 795 Congress St. Once we all gather round the proverbial fire we’ll discuss if we want to do every other week, once a month, etc.

*In case you’re not clear, we’re going to get metaphorically lit. I don’t smoke :)

Kate hits the Pacific Northwest!

Learn about true Freedom this Independence Day Weekend in Tacoma & Seattle!

July 3rd in Tacoma, WA

July 5th in Seattle, WA

Health and Freedom with Team Northrup
Discover the secrets of the health-wealth connection

Join me, Co-Creator of Team Northrup and USANA Health Sciences Gold Director, for a conversation about how she, and thousands of others, have created optimal health and financial freedom.

Join me and my Team Northrup Colleagues for an intimate discussion:

• Explore the relationship between the health of your body and the health of your bank account,
• Learn about a community on the cutting edge of health and wellness, championed this year by Dr. Mehmet Oz and for the past 16 years by Dr. Christiane Northrup, and
• Hear how thousands of smart people have created an additional income stream that helps them thrive from three people who’ve done it.

Don’t miss it!  Register here, and we’ll look forward to seeing you.  This event is FREE to guests, and $10 for Team Northrup associates.

More about me:

I’m a professional freedom seeker and creative entrepreneur, author of the forthcoming book Money: A Love Story (Hay House, Spring 2013), and daughter of New York Times bestselling author Dr. Christiane Northrup.

More about Team Northrup:

Team Northrup is a league of entrepreneurial men and women who are aligned with the work of holistic health pioneer and New York Times Bestselling author Dr. Christiane Northrup.  Team Northrup teaches holistic business skills to entrepreneurs and wellness advocates through conscious networking.  To learn more about Team Northrup, visit www.teamnorthrup.com.

July 3, 2012, Tacoma, WA

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm, PT

Aflac
7030 Tacoma Mall Blvd #200
Tacoma, WA 98409

Click here to register!

July 5, 2012, Seattle, WA

7:00 pm – 8:30 pm, PT*

1520 Eastlake Ave E
Seattle, WA 98102

Click here to register!

Summer Love Seattle Meet Up

Thursday, July 5th, Seattle, WA

If you live in Seattle, I want to hang! From 5:00 – 6:30pm, right before the Health and Freedom event above, I’ll be hanging in a nearby coffee shop called Voxx ( http://voxxseattle.com/) and would love to meet you. Plan to come by for an iced tea, a hug, and a chat. And of course, you’re more than welcome to saunter over to the Health and Freedom gathering mentioned above directly after.

Portland, OR, July 6-8, 2012

I’ll be joining the rest of Chris Guillebeau’s small army of unconventional people in the “other Portland” for a weekend of inspiration, community, out-of-the-boxness, and fun! Tickets for the event are sold out, but if you’re already registered, I can’t wait to meet you there! And if you didn’t get registered for this year, pop over and join the wait list for 2013.

Summer Love Vancouver Meet Up

Tuesday, August 21st, Vancouver, BC

My beautiful friend Danielle LaPorte and I are co-hosting a Summer Love Vancouver Meet Up on Tuesday, August 21st in Vancouver, BC. More details to follow, but for now, save the date! It will be a lovely, balmy summer evening time, most likely in Gastown.

Wanderlust – August 23 – 26, 2012, Whistler, BC, Canada

Join me at Wanderlust, where I’m a featured member of The Speakeasy Lecture Series.

The Speakeasy is Wanderlust Festival’s unique lecture series on subjects pertaining to the mindful life. With offerings from a wide range of presenters including prominent yoga teachers, wellness industry leaders, authors, musicians, and many others, the Speakeasy is just that — a casual experience where presenters can “speak easily”.

These are not stuffy lectures, but rather informal conversations that take place in an intimate lounge setting. Get comfy on the couch or cozy up on some cushy pillows, sip on some free tea and kombucha, and listen to some of the most fascinating people in the world of wellness talk about a wide range of topics including meditation, nutrition, technology, music, organics, spirituality, yoga, and more.

Since 2010, the Speakeasy Series has materialized into one of the most exciting parts of the Wanderlust festival. Click here to check out previous Speakeasy videos.

And a preview of coming attractions for the fall…

I Can Do It Ignite! - NYC

November 3-4, 2012: Javits Center ~ Special Events Hall 1D, New York City, NY

Join me at Hay House’s: I Can Do It Ignite! conference where I’ll be giving the Keynote, Money: A Love Story

The path to financial freedom is not what you think. Traditional financial advice misses the most important piece of the puzzle: love. Untangling your money woes has far more to do with your self worth than your net worth. I’m a financial freedom expert, having achieved financial freedom at the age of twenty-eight. II’ll teach you the crucial tools to living a life of financial abundance and joy that you won’t learn from your CPA, investment advisor, or financial planner.

I Can Do It Ignite! features 20 minute bursts of incredible wisdom from your favorite authors, speakers and visionaries.

Featuring cutting edge authors, speakers and documentary filmmakers in the mindful spirituality, health, holistic, and sustainability lifestyles movement. These trendsetting speakers will Ignite your passion with topics ranging from relationships, sexuality, finance, and personal transformation to mindfulness, youth empowerment, health and so much more!

Register today to reserve & occupy your seat and access that untapped energy & inspiration that exists in all of us! Is it time for you to be innovative with yourself & re-evaluate what you thought you knew?

I was moved by her passion and my own desire to help. I’m one of 60 contributors who wrote about love, knowledge, & freedom. (Guess which one I wrote about?)

Erin is spearheading a campaign to raise enough money to print, bind, and ship the books to prepare for End Sex Trafficking Day on September 26th, 2012 when the book launches. There are 15 more days in her campaign.

Donate $25 for love. Donate $25 for knowledge. Donate $25 for freedom.

Watch the video below for a 2.5 minute video on how this book will free women:

Here’s a little taste of my essay to whet your appetite:

Tell the truth. Say it with love. Say it even if you’re scared. Say it because you’re
scared. And then prepare yourself for true freedom.

Help Erin, the other contributors, and me remind the world that women are not for sale.

Click here to donate now.

If this is a cause that speaks to your heart, share this post on Twitter and Facebook, share the video about it, and please vote with your dollars.

YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bnKhrVZ6tk&feature=youtu.be

Link to donate: http://www.endsextraffickingday.com/

In other words, it’s easier to spring off into endless possibilities and expansion and ecstatic creation in your life if you’ve got a firm foundation, if you feel safe and grounded.

When I sold my apartment, got rid of most of my physical belongings, and headed out in my Prius to be purposefully homeless for an indefinite period of time while driving around the country teaching about financial freedom I had a strong interior sense of home. The Freedom Tour was only possible because of my strong container.

My mom still lives in the house I grew up in. My grandmother and uncle still live on the property where my grandmother raised her six kids. My dad still spends summers in the home that his mother spent summers as a child. My roots run deep and that’s why I feel so safe to fly.

What does freedom mean when it comes to our money?

When it comes to our money, we have to have a solid container in order to be able to create financial abundance and financial freedom. I define financial freedom as having your passive or residual income greater than or equal to your living expenses. What’s great about this equation is that you can move towards financial freedom both by increasing your passive/residual income and also by simplifying your life to decrease your expenses.

As opposed to models of financial success that measure only your income, financial freedom actually measures your quality of life. When your passive/residual income is greater than your living expenses, you’re officially free to choose to spend your time however you’d like to spend it. And choice is the ultimate currency of freedom.

How strong is your container?

As you’re working towards increasing your passive/residual income by doing things like investing in real estate or paper assets, creating intellectual property, building an online business and selling digital products, building a network marketing business, or joining affiliate programs, you can also start creating a strong home for your money. The stronger your money home, or container, is, the more free you’ll be able to become.

A strong container for your money includes the following:

• A great financial team (accountant, bookkeeper, financial advisor, lawyer, investment broker, etc.)
• A regular practice of keeping track of your expenses and income (use a bookkeeper, spreadsheet, notebook, or Quickbooks)
• A plan for paying off any debt you have
• A regular practice of putting attention on your bank statements and investment account statements
• A plan and regular practice of putting money away in savings/investment/retirement accounts
• Paying attention to your money in whatever way feels nourishing and important

Some of you just read that and practically fell asleep due to boredom, had your eyes completely glaze over, or left your body. For those of you who think paying attention to your money is something that somebody else should do for you, is over your head, or is terminally boring, listen up!

It’s time to start paying attention to your money like your life depends on it.

Because it does.

I used to avoid looking at my bank balance, my account statements, and my credit cards bills with mounting balances that I wasn’t paying off because I thought that paying attention to my money in that way meant a lack mentality. I had read tons of metaphysical books on money that had told me to create abundance by acting as if I had the amount of money I wanted, to trust that the universe would take care of me, and to believe that there was more than enough to go around and that I was deserving of prosperity.

That was all fine and good but somehow I missed a major piece of the equation. There’s a great African proverb that says:

When you pray, move your feet.

I was doing the praying part without being willing to hold up my end of the bargain. And as a result of my financial oblivion and avoidance I ended up in nearly $20,000 worth of credit card debt. I felt like a failure and an imposter.

One day I was on a plane flying from San Diego back to New York City writing in my journal. Something amazing happens to me when I’m on a plane; it’s as though I’m closer to God and I get really good downloads of insight. As I wrote in my journal about my lack of financial awareness and why I couldn’t seem to get myself to pay attention in the way I knew I should or spend within my means, it hit me:

My lack of financial awareness that manifested in me spending beyond my means was a way of keeping myself small.

Woah. I had never realized before that paying attention to my money and spending within my means could be a vehicle for taking exquisite care of myself and a manifestation of self-love. I did a 180 degree turn and started to create a strong container for my money. I looked at my bank balance every day and gave gratitude for what I had. I wrote down all of my debt with the APR rates and due dates of minimum payments. I started opening and reading every single account and financial statement. I started to pay attention to my money as a way of loving myself.

And guess what happened? In record time I was able to pay off all of my debt. About three years after my airplane insight about money and self-love I have more in savings and I make close to 100% more than I did when I was not practicing the proper care and feeding of my money.

I created a strong container for my money with care and attention, all sourced from love. If you want to live a life where you have the choice to spend your precious time, the most valuable commodity you have, in the ways that give you the most joy and pleasure, it’s time to start building your container.

Give your money a strong foundation. Build a home for it and gather your team. Use financial awareness to expand your self-love. And then and only then, from this stable base, can you really fly and experience true freedom.