Danielle LaPorte speaking at the World Domination Summit.

I just returned from Portland, OR to Portland, ME. (Despite my home town often being referred to as the “other” Portland, the Oregonians named their fair city after us.) I very enthusiastically attended the World Domination Summit (WDS), author and traveler Chris Guillebeau’s annual conference for bloggers, travelers, change-makers, and others who dub themselves non-conformists. It was a festival of the unconventional.

Here’s what I love about this gathering: its a community where being uncool (aka 100% yourself) is applauded. There were some freak flags flying this weekend and it was breathtaking and life-enhancing.

I sat this morning attempting to write a post digesting the weekend’s events and take-aways, but I find myself at a loss. So much inspiration, so little time.

So instead, I’m sharing the profound words with you via poignant quotes from WDS. And guess what – they’re all Tweet-ready! Just click the quote to Tweet:

The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you say to someone when you’re being uncool. ~Almost Famous via Brené Brown

“The number one barrier to belonging is fitting in.” ~ Brené Brown

“Who you are will always trump who you think people want you to be.” Brené Brown

“Unused creativity is not benign.” ~Brené Brown

“Cool is mostly about self-protection.” ~Brené Brown

“I’m going deeper, not wider.” ~Danielle Vieth in reference to spending most of her WDS time with people she already knew instead of branching out. I did the same and felt guilty about it until she beautifully articulated what we were doing.

“The opposite of fear is not courage or bravery. It’s surrender.” ~Chris Brogan

“The more willing you are to look dumb, the better you look.” ~Chris Brogan

“You will succeed the weirder you get.” ~Chris Brogan

“Whenever your friends and family tell you what you’re doing is crazy, you know it’s good.” ~Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott of UncorneredMarket.com

“Personal accomplishment = great. Shared accomplishment = sublime.” ~ Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott of UncorneredMarket.com

“Love scales.” ~Danielle LaPorte

“There’s a time and purpose for being lost. If you don’t judge the being lost you get through it sooner.” ~Danielle LaPorte

“Your desires will very often be contradictory and so will your strengths. All of our contradictions make us whole.” ~Danielle LaPorte

“You don’t need to be burned out to go on hiatus.” ~Danielle LaPorte

“I don’t have it all. I have what I want. I have my version of it all.” ~Danielle LaPorte

“I would rather get out of the game than stay in the game to change the game.” ~Danielle LaPorte

“Nobody can tell your story the way you can tell your story.” ~Danielle LaPorte

“Keep your eyes on your own paper.” ~Nicole Antoinette, a new and enthusiastic long-distance runner

“Big sexy dreams are accomplished one very unsexy step at a time.” ~Nicole Antoinette

“There’s no cap on the amount of success that’s possible in the world.” ~Nicole Antoinette

So there you have it. WDS in one-liners. Have an unconventional day.

Here was another smart, young woman who had packed up everything and was living out of her car traveling the country. Awesome!

I emailed her “Contact Us” form immediately not expecting a response (find out why in our episode below.) Much to my surprise, Molly called me immediately and…

…within 24 hours we were laying in the grass in Central Park musing on life, love, and what it means to be a young women with a world of possibilities in your late twenties.

I caught up with Molly this past June (yes, this is a semi-vintage Glimpse TV – note the long hair) at the World Domination Summit in Portland, OR. Molly told me all about the ups and downs of her road trip (which it turns out was her honeymoon!) and she filled me in on her very intriguing new product, Joy Juice.

Joy Juice is made up of 120 journal writing prompts to tune into yourself, get unstuck, and boost your confidence.

Sounds good to me! It will take you through an entire year of getting to know yourself better. Divine!

Tune in to find out how Molly went from wearing a suit and heals selling mini Cokes for $4.50 to business men to sleeping ON TOP of her car, among other inspirational vignettes and giggles.

More Molly:

Website: www.stratejoy.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Stratejoy

Twitter: www.twitter.com/Stratejoy

Get your hands on Joy Juice!

Tuckered out in Glacier National Park

I have a really big appetite for food, but even more so for life.

A day where I’m scheduled within minutes of my life is my idea of heaven. When I headed out on The Freedom Tour on February 2^nd this year, my eyes were wide, the road was open and the sky was big. My tummy was grumbling for some adventure and moderation simply wouldn’t do.

The Metrics of The Freedom Tour

Between February 2^nd and June 21^st I traveled 19,000 miles by car and another 11,000 miles by plane (plus 300 by boat.)  I visited 21 different states and provinces, slept in over 50 beds, taught 16 workshops, spoke to over 800 people, and attended 5 major conferences (SXSW, Summit Series, Reveal, Selling Your Soul, I Can Do It!, and the World Domination Summit.) I did this all while launching a new business partnership, ending another one, then ending the one I had just started, experimenting with being homeless, and falling in love.

After five months of going at this pace I felt full. The kind of full that makes you want to put on pants with an elastic waist band and talk about how you’re never going to eat again.

I landed in Maine at my childhood home in June feeling exhausted. I thought the summer would birth great creativity and production in the form of pages and pages of brilliant writing. I thought by this time I would have a sample chapter and outline for my first book.

But it turns out that when your eyes are bigger than your schedule, when your MO is to say yes to everything, and when you run your self more than a little ragged, what you need is sleep. And watching movies. And eating lunches that take three hours to finish And looking out at the ocean. And more sleep.

Promises, Promises, Promises

I sat with my dad over lunch the other day chatting about my blog. He’s one of my most dedicated readers, which simultaneously thrills and terrifies me. He told me that I need to be careful about what I promise to my readers because they (he) get disappointed when I don’t follow through on my promises.

Here are a few things I’ve promised over the past couple of months that I haven’t followed through on:

• Shooting daily videos (what was I thinking when I announced I was going to start doing that?!)
• A post of my pictures from the stunning drive up the Pacific Coast Highway from Laguna Beach, CA to Vancouver, BC (which was supposed to be for my dad)
• This post on “the most important question to ask yourself before embarking on any project” that I promised several weeks ago in this video (This one only half counts as not following through because I’m finally writing it. It’s just late.)
• Submitting a sample chapter and an outline of the book I’m currently gestating by the beginning of July (This one is still in process, just taking longer than I thought.)

I also have over 700 unread/unanswered emails in my inbox, some unreturned voicemails, and a few missed opportunities as a result.

Granted, I think my dad takes my promises on my blog more to heart than some of my other readers, but he brings up a really important point.

What are you promising that you’re not delivering on?

Our conversation made me pause. It made me feel sheepish. And it made me realize the single most important question to ask before embarking on any new project:

Is this sustainable?

When you’re birthing anything new there will be a period of time when you sometimes don’t shower until 6pm (if at all) and you eat takeout and don’t respond to emails. I get that AND I’m not making myself wrong for the way I’ve done The Freedom Tour up until this point.

In fact, one of my new favorite mantras is: “I am enough and I’m doing it right.”

Let that baby sink into your cells for a moment.

However, the way I started this whole adventure was completely unsustainable. I said yes to more than I could follow through on. I promised things I didn’t end up doing. I found myself way overextended. I got sick. I disappointed a few people (and thrilled some others.)

I’ve spent the past 6 weeks in Maine adoring life, adoring being in the house I was brought home to the day I was born, adoring being grounded, adoring not moving, and adoring a break.

It’s been goooooooood. It’s been beyond necessary.

The Freedom Tour 2.0

My man and I are packing up the Prius on Friday morning and heading out on the road again. We head West and will be in Scottsdale, AZ for September and October by way of Columbus, OH and Salt Lake City, UT.

The Freedom Tour continues but it is now The Freedom Tour 2.0. I now have a filtering question to ask myself when presented with any new opportunity so that I’m no longer giving a knee-jerk “yes!” I’m building in vacations. I’m being strategic about my workshops and speaking gigs. I’m standing for eight hours of sleep, no more than six hours a day in the car, meditation, and greens.

Whatever you’re cooking up right now, ask yourself: Is this sustainable?

If your answer is “no” but you’ve got an end point in mind, rock on. If there’s no end point, get one on the calendar. You can only go at full capacity for so long.

Creativity and production of great work is not a steady stream. It comes in fits and starts. Sometimes its fueled by an all-nighter. Sometimes it’s fueled by a double feature. Let your art flow the way it wants to flow. Just be sure to factor your promises, your health, your sanity, and your soul into the equation.

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The Freedom Tour is hitting the road again!

Come see me on Sunday, August 14^th!

Women & Wealth: The Truth About Money That No One Has Ever Told You

6:00 – 7:30pm

The Reiki Center, 1540 W. 5th Avenue
Columbus, Ohio 43212

This event is free, but we have limited space. Please email rsvp@teamorthrup.com to reserve your seat.

Exactly one year later a lot has happened for both Bindu and me. Neither of us are living in NYC anymore. Both of us are coming out the closet in different ways. Both of us are reinventing.

I was thrilled to be with Bindu again at the World Domination Summit put on by Chris Guillebeau in Portland, OR a week and a half ago. It was the perfect opportunity to hang out at the Portland Art Museum and get some updates on Bindu’s new look, how she had her basic goodness reflected back to her in group therapy, and some exciting projects that she’s cooking up that you won’t want to miss. (One of them has to do with something I’m completely obsessed with and can’t get enough of.)

Tune in to learn about Bindu’s inner secret thing that she’s now doing in public, to see the most interesting Glimpse TV background setting yet, to find out the subject of my number one stress dream, and to have a giggle with us, because, quite frankly, that’s what we do best.

(I decided to give you the uncut version as I think it’s far more entertaining.)

Enjoy and leave a comment!

More Bindu:

www.binduwiles.com

@binduwiles