It's something that I'm really going through
right now, kind of in these stages. You said
when we stop chasing the how. We start the intelligence
that can actually direct our next step. And that's
kind of where I'm at right now. It's where I'm
in my life. But there's a back and forth, the
old identity, the old nurse system to the new
one. It was the four ways to get ice cream as
a way of understanding. Can you walk us through
those four ways and help us understand the difference
between, like, I think because we're talking
about a now forced action and a lying, effortless
action? One, the discomfort is such a beautiful
part of the whole thing once we get with it.
So when I hear you actually what I saw what flashed
into the screen of my mind was almost a child,
you know, they're all over the map and they're
kind of just losing it, you know, in that moment.
And what do you do with a young child is you
take that child and you're like, come on over
here, baby. Like, let's let's calm down. If you
start to treat money a little bit like a super
important relationship because money, first of
all, the word currency, it comes from torrente,
which means flow. Okay, so money. is about flow.
And we block the flow when there's a lot of stuff
in the way. So lots of times I'll say, like,
clean up the muck, like demock. What's up, fam?
Before we get into this conversation, let me
say this. Look, I know it's a thing, right? But
if what we do here on this channel speaks to
you, if it lifts you, centers you, or helps you
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And if you want these conversations with you
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of growth and alignment. So hit the like, subscribe,
let's breathe in, get present. step into the
conversation. So Courtney, first of all, thank
you for coming back. Welcome back. Thank you.
So for everyone that is listening or watching,
I just want to just kind of acknowledging something,
you know, call up right, right up front. Courtney
and I had this beautiful conversation the first
time we tried to record this episode and we went
deep fast and then the tech gremlins kind of
showed up right and We still have a big part
of it. I may be able to kind of weave that in
but instead of Trying to act like it never happened.
I just really want to truly honor what kind of
what came through and let it shape the conversation
and where we go today and so Courtney, the first
time we talked, we opened up around the idea
that so many of us really spend years playing
a character. You know, the world is a stage,
Shakespeare was in the room. But we're playing
a character that was kind of written by expectation
and not by our own authenticity. And Courtney,
you talked about shedding those roles and stepping
into a new character at the stage of life, right?
And I think you mentioned it to be called the
white fire purification you know and you know
this isn't you know kind of like this is who
i i don't want to be anymore and we also talked
about the inner intelligence that you uh that
you devoted to and that's something that you
know it's like it was something that's beating
our hearts right through our nervous system guiding
us and so You said something that really landed
for me, something that I'm really going through
right now, kind of in these stages. You said
when we stop chasing the how, we start the intelligence
that can actually direct our next step. And that's
kind of where I'm at right now. That's where
I'm in my life. But there's a back and forth,
the old identity, the old nervous system to the
new one that I'm becoming. So today, I don't
wanna recreate that exact moment, but I do wanna
pick up that thread and take it further. So for
the entrepreneurs, the creatives, the nine to
five -ers who are stepping into 2026, wanting
to become more of the aligned version of themselves,
this is for you. And I really want to kind of
just go into it. So my question for you will
be this. Let me find it here. My question for
you Courtney, the first as we as we're going
in, you know for the person listening who is
still addicted to figuring it out because that's
kind of where I'm at and a lot of people are
and they were chasing the how did you how did
you personally learn to trust that the non doing
and the relaxation could be a like a powerful
way to create real change in your life and and
in your work. I love the fact that I'm getting
to take notes myself this time because your questions
are always so packed with richness. This whole
point of like stop to chase stop chasing the
how is something that I started picking up on
from the Dow actually. And I don't know if listeners
are familiar with the Dow to Ching, but it's
one of the most brilliant books, maybe the most
brilliant book. Anyway, one of them ever written.
And it talks about this non doing. And I remember
when I first came across it years and years ago,
I thought, what does that even mean? You know,
I don't know what it means to not do. And what
I discovered in reading it and rereading it and
rereading it was because I could tell there was
a lot of wisdom in there for me to soak up was
that it wasn't that you don't do necessarily.
It's that the doing happens through you, which
is what you and I talked a little bit about last
week. And the power of that is really one of
the ways that I love to do it. did to not do
is I will say to that intelligence we've been
talking about and I call it by many names I call
it God I call it I call it all sorts of a rose
by any on any other name is still a rose right
we still have Shakespeare with us so it's like
that piece of I will say to it I'll say oh I
have no idea how you're figuring this out right
I'll have some sort of wild vision and people
will say that's nuts like you how could you possibly
do that thing or whatever then I'll just say
I don't know and then I and then I start talking
to this and and I'll say, I'll kind of flippantly,
but kind of fun and excited. I have no idea how
the heck you're figuring that out. And somehow
the next right actions will keep coming to me
and I'll keep getting those inspirational hits
because I've surrendered to the fact that I don't
know. And I think that's such a powerful place
for us to be in is. just admitting like I have
no idea how to do this right and then going though
with that excitement that that underlying evolutionary
impulse that's guiding you to something very
specific and I love when we just hand it over
to that intelligence like you mentioned a moment
ago and we just say here take it like I have
no idea how to do this I know that this is in
me because otherwise I wouldn't be feeling it
to the degree that I am and I have no idea how
you're doing it through me but Thank you very
much. And that's it. That's kind of the extent
of what happens for me. And then I start again,
getting that next stair, that next one that I
have to walk up or walk down. It becomes apparent
to me. So again, hearkening back to that teaching,
the teaching of the Tao is it sort of it happens
through you as a result of who you are is essentially
what I got from that. And yeah, I love this approach
because it makes it a lot easier. Yeah. it does
make it a lot easier because as you're sharing
that that's really the stages that I'm going
through right now or the steps that I'm taking
that I don't necessarily know the how like there's
this all this stuff that I have to not have that
I'm dealing with um I have it you know growing
a business team they gotta pay but then I have
this purpose that I'm you know living and there's
this thing on the inside of me that's just bubbling
up it's like You know, I can divert my attention
to this or this, but there's something that's
pulling me and calling me to do this other thing,
this thing that's really kind of leading everything
else, like the podcast, the course, everything,
right? And it's uncomfortable. And I'm trying
to, I've learned to try to stop figuring out
the how. You know what I mean? Yeah. And that
discomfort. And so I know other people are also.
Go ahead. Sorry. No, no, go ahead. Go ahead.
No, I was gonna say a lot of people maybe not
I always say a lot of people but there are people
that they may be feeling that same thing and
What do they do? Like how do they really listen
to? Not trying to figure out the how but really
listen to that inner thing inside of them That's
really guiding them to the next the next step
Well one the discomfort is such a beautiful part
of the whole thing once we get with it. So when
I hear you actually what I saw what flashed in
to the screen of my mind was almost a child,
right? It was like a child when a child is like,
you know, they're all over the map and they're
kind of just they're losing it, you know, in
that moment. And what do you do with a young
child is you take that child and you're like,
come on over here, baby. Like, let's let's calm
down. Let's let's relax together. Let's, you
know, figure out next once we're calm. Right.
And that's what you do. That's that's what you
do. But we don't do that with ourselves. We basically
tell ourselves the discomfort is not OK. But
the discomfort is the white fire that I talked
about in our last time together. It's the place
where transmutation occurs. It's the place where
alchemy occurs. It's the place where you start
growing into the evolutionary principles that
you specifically were designed for. So once we
get with that. then the growth can happen. If
we're not willing to get with that, what happens
is we start to move into states that frankly
are not conducive with creating what we want.
So if we are in the discomfort and instead of
just being with it the way we would again with
a little child and say, hey, come on over here,
babe. I got you. I got you right now. This is
uncomfortable. Feel it all. Literally like enjoy
the sensations together and then let's bring
it back. Okay now now that you back in that state
of calm relaxation Now we can move forward now
we can take the next step But before that we
don't have to and again, that's part of like
I don't have to do anything It might feel like
that because society tells you got to do do do
you got a hustle? You got to make it happen,
but I have found those to be very misleading
concepts. Yeah Yeah, I agree And I think when,
for me, when I, it was a struggle to try to say,
you know what, it's okay. Like I think I told
you last time we talked is that that's kind of
who I was in a younger state at a younger age.
And throughout life, it just kind of felt like
I had to hustle. You know, I felt like I had
to go, go, go. Cause I, you know, I come in the
world of track and field, I'm a sprinter. And
I think that maybe also played a part in my world
as I got, as I got older. But there's a piece
that happens when I just kind of let it be, not
trying to figure out the how, not trying to rush
things. When you're running a company or building
a business, it's almost like there's the it that
kind of takes over and doesn't allow one person
to really just be able to allow that calmness,
the relaxation, the peace to... guide you so
what do you say for those people I know you kind
of maybe tapped into it a little bit already
but what do you say to those people that just
cannot let go of that that part of them that
keeps running them into you know a burnout yeah
well We all know rushing rushing just doesn't
feel good. It's like imagine and and also too
much noise doesn't feel good. So when I listen
to you talk about the sprinter in you and the
kind of you know rushing to get somewhere and
all this and I see that in so many and I have
had that in the past as well and still can get
very easily into that mode. What I remember is
is like space and silence and how it feels scary.
So for instance right now. i just stopped talking
it was only it was maybe what was it a second
and i bet the listeners are probably what what
what they tune in right so the minute you just
stop there's a tuning in that happens and it
happens swiftly and people forget about this
but there's a there's a great zen saying it's
it's they say the space between the bars it's
the space between the bars that holds the tiger
and it's the silence between the notes that makes
the music If we're forgetting that silence and
we're rushing to life, if we're forgetting the
pause, if we're forgetting the moment of discomfort,
if we're in a symphony, if we're listening to
a symphony, there are moments of discomfort.
You can feel them. There are moments of tension.
There are moments of of grieving. There are moments
of beauty. There are moments of of just whatever
it is. Like there's all of that sensation tied
up in a beautiful symphony. That's what life
can be like. But everyone's kind of trying to
hit that same note. keep that same note the whole
time. And frankly, that's not only boring, but
it doesn't make for good art and your life is
the same way. So if you come at it with the perspective
of like, you know what, stopping or slowing down
does not mean that that nothing's happening.
Quite the contrary, it means much is happening.
So the way the this intelligence shows up to
is when we do stop because again, it's like the
listener tuning in the moment they hear the silence,
they start tuning in a little bit more. That
listener inside you starts tuning in and saying,
Oh, finally, the noise stopped. Let me jump in
there. I've got I've got something to say. And
as far as I can tell, that's the way it works.
And it's pretty brilliant technology that we
all have. It is it is I think there is this there
may have been a little training for me for the
years When I had to go through when I went through
my health issues There was a good it's been a
good decade where life God the divine universe
Whatever it is all that work is to workings together
really slowed me down and Guess what life kept
happening But I also felt in I Felt more empowered
even though I wasn't you know, I was dealing
with you know, you know kidney failure cancer
all that kind of stuff, right and so in Like
in that quiet space through the decade I was
like, you know what I don't have to feel like
I have to rush to the get to the next point and
It's okay to just slow down because life is and
will be happening yeah yeah so last time before
we froze you teased something that that i really
wanted to talk about and it was so tasty it was
the four ways to get ice cream as a way of understanding
um you know just i think different kinds of like
actions i believe it was Um can you walk us through
those four ways and help us understand the difference
between like I think because we're talking about
it now force action and align effortless action.
Yes, yes. So this is a mix of things. The four
ways of getting ice cream. One is some banter
that I listened to years ago between Wayne Dyer
and Deepak Chopra. They were talking about they
were the ones I originally heard this idea of
how you get ice cream. And then what I did was
I embellished it a little bit and I added to
it the different brainwave frequencies that we
all experience on a day -to -day basis. So if
there are four ways of getting ice cream, the
first way is a thought impulse occurs for ice
cream. And the reason I say it that way is a
lot of people say that they think, but for most
people that's the equivalent of saying I beat
my heart. Because most of us are not consciously
forming thought. We're not consciously directing
thought. And what we know about thought from
our scientists is that we don't know where it
originates in the brain, for example. So there's
not a part of the brain like the prefrontal cortex
where thought originates. We don't know. But
what we know about these thoughts is that they
are electrical impulses. and that we're receiving
somewhere between 50 to 70 thousand of them a
day something like that okay and for most people
they're the same thought impulses every day and
so what happens is people because of that they
sort of calcify into a persona. So we can go
back and talk about that later if you want but
for now we'll talk about just the thought impulse
occurs for ice cream okay so most people are
not actively deciding that they want ice cream
and making that the dominant thought pattern
right it just this impulse comes right so you
get the impulse and the first way of getting
ice cream is you got the impulse and you decide
you're going to go out it's 3 a .m in the morning
you're going to go you're going to go to some
convenience or yeah I don't know, 7 -eleven here
in America and you're gonna and you're gonna
pick up some freezer burn variety of ice cream.
You're gonna get back to your house. You're exhausted.
You don't even know why you got the thing in
the first place. You sit down to eat it. It doesn't
taste very good. It doesn't sit well in your
stomach. You like I said, I embellish the whole
thing so. That's the first way. And it's akin
to being in high, it's akin to being in high
beta, which is where most people are all the
time. So beta, when we talk about these different
brainwave frequencies, there are cycles per second
in your brain. And so high beta, the best way
I've ever heard it described is like having a
four gear race car that you're driving around
in first gear all day long. Okay, think about
that for a second, you got a four gear race car,
you got to you got to I don't know, a Maserati
or a Lamborghini or whatever. You've got this
car and you're driving it in first gear everywhere
you want to go. That's what a lot of people are
doing and that's that rushing that you have felt
in other times in your life, right? So that's
the first way of getting ice cream. Thought impulse
occurs, you go out and get it. It's still pretty
miraculous. Like we can get that even at three
in the morning. Again, here in America, I lived
in Italy for 23 years. You could not get ice
cream in the middle of the night, but here we
can do this, right? So first way. First way,
second way of getting ice cream is the thought
impulse occurs for ice cream. And I say to myself,
you know what, my friend Michael's out. I'm going
to call him up and ask him if he could get me
some ice cream. And you're such a great guy that
you're like, girl. I got you and you get me some
ice cream and you bring it back to me and I'm
all happy because I've here I've enlisted your
help, you know, I've had a thought impulse I've
enlisted your help. You've come you brought me
some ice cream. This is the second way So this
is akin to as we move out of high range beta
into mid range low range and we move into alpha
Which is actually remarkably easy to do very
swiftly. We move into alpha We have so much more
creative capacity available to us so I can enlist
the help of others I can come up with different
solutions. I don't have to go out at three in
the morning I can slate it for whatever you know
and so we start to have just this more moreness
open up to us. Now the third way of getting ice
cream is the thought impulse occurs for ice cream
right I'm just sitting there minding my own business
and all of a sudden you know honey and and and
cream comes into my mind and I'm really you know
I'm licking my lips and next thing I know you
show up at my door I did not call you you just
show up and you're like court I got this ice
cream I just picked it up. I'm not feeling it.
I don't know why do you want do you want it or
you say I got it you want to share some with
me and I say Michael I totally yes I was just
that thought imposition now in that moment when
this occurs and it has occurred for everyone
listening every single person listening has had
something like this happen right so it's like
for instance I'm just thinking of some aunt who
I haven't talked to and five years or something
and she calls me up or she sends me an email
or something and all of a sudden you call your
friends and you say you won't believe what happened
I was just thinking to this person well this
starts to move into the realm of like quantum
entanglement when your mind starts to move into
these frequencies and this particular one that
I'm referring to is theta so when your mind starts
to move into theta what happens is the matches
for the frequency you're sending out, the vibrational
matches of that frequency start to appear. And
it seems very wild, very almost woo woo, but
we've all had it occur. So we've all had been
in these states, eyes wide open. Okay. And this
is also the state where your brain starts to
release something called catecholamines, which
are vital for learning and memory. It's a very
powerful brainwave frequency to have access to
while you're awake. And we can all access it,
it's not that difficult. And then the fourth
way of getting ice cream, and this might trip
up some people listening, but you've probably
had some instances of it, is you're just thinking
of ice cream and the ice cream appears out of
nowhere. Like you didn't bring it to me, I didn't
see any, it was just something, it wasn't there
before and now it is there. Now, I'm telling
you, Michael, when I started having occurrences
like this in my life and I wrote about it in
the second book, Give Yourself Permission, when
I started having occurrences like this, I was
like, come on, this can't be real. This wasn't
here and now it's here. Or I would start thinking
I was desiring something and I would just start
to hold it in that kind of quiet space. And the
match for it would just it would just show up.
It was like it was the most miraculous thing.
It wasn't like I orchestrated anything for it
to occur or it's even that somebody that I knew
orchestrated something. It just occurred. It
was pretty remarkable stuff. And so I liken this
fourth way. And I'll give you a more concrete
example because people are like, what are you
talking about? There's ice cream, no ice cream.
I'll give you a very concrete example. But first.
but first let me let me explain that this is
something akin to delta and so when we're in
delta and there are other brainwave frequencies
we have access to i've experienced other ones
that are quite remarkable but delta what happens
in delta is we start to release something called
human growth hormone and we start to have access
to this almost like a field of potentials that
we don't normally have access to. And again,
these states are available to all of us. And
in fact, we all go in and out of these states
every day. We go in and out of them as we're
waking and as we're falling asleep. So I'll talk
more about that if you want, but. just to bring
it back to dial it back and I'll give the one
of the examples that I noticed of this after
I started researching it was I was I was looking
for something in a space where I had been looking
for it looking and I want to give an example
that everyone knows of because it'll help dial
it in is like I was looking for something I searched
everywhere in the space right and I couldn't
find it anywhere and it was kind of important
that I found this thing and as soon as I stopped
searching I closed my eyes I relaxed. I went
inside. I imagined finding the thing. I opened
my eyes back up and literally seconds later I
find it right where I had been searching so diligently
before and not finding the same thing. Again,
anyone who's relaxed around something like a
name or anything, you know what I'm talking about.
It's like it'll show up when you relax and the
reason it shows up when you relax is because
you're changing your frequency. Does all that
make sense? It does make sense. It's so funny
that you said that because I bought a pack of
batteries and I had to send back on my little
thing back here and I can't find it anywhere
and I was telling myself the same thing. I said
maybe I need to calm down. And then I just forgot
about it. So I'm going to do that again. Do the
exercise so it can show up because I need my
batteries. Nope. Dang it. You totally disappeared
on me. You said a pack of batteries and then
I couldn't hear anything else and you froze.
So basically. What happened is like you were
talking to you were talking given that example
about the the fourth the fourth way to get ice
cream being the Delta and basically I'm looking
I was looking for a pack of batteries that I
that I purchased and I know I purchased them
I know I set them back here or by my laptop back
here and I can't find it anywhere and then a
little later I was like maybe I need to calm
down because that has happened to me before.
where he just kind of slowed down or I slowed
down and it just was there. And then I slowed
down so much that I just forgot about it. Yeah.
Love it. I love it. Yeah. So I'll just say I
want to make it in a bigger way where people
are looking at that your example and my example
as money They want you know, they want they're
a fuller bank account or they want you know a
bigger house or things like that How does that
apply or they want you know, their business to
do X Y & Z? How does that apply? to them when
they're looking for those things to Materialize
in their life. Yeah. So first you gotta you gotta
lessen the noise so people say they want something
but they want so many things at the same time
and they have so many competing desires and thought
patterns that it's like it's like trying to throw
something in a very tumultuous body of water
right if you throw something in a tumultuous
say you throw a stone in a tumultuous body of
water you're not going to see anything you won't
see anything because there's too much activity
But if you have a still body of water and you
throw a stone in, you're going to see a ripple
effect. You're going to see an echoing, rippling
effect. And it's very much the same way when
we... plant or we basically set an intention
in that field. So just like we were saying, if
there's a lot of noise, if you're in high beta
and your brain is just churning out all this
stuff and you're exposing yourself to all this
information, what happens is it's just too much
noise. Like the field can't respond back. It
can't echo back because there's too much in the
way. There's too much static. So first of all,
does that make sense? Because that's a big thing
that we need to clarify. Because if you're going
to put something in there, you got to have it.
Yeah, go ahead. No, go ahead. Because I was just
going to say that just really, it really clears
up a lot of things for me. Because my mind is
always going and it could be in 25 different
spots in one time. And in some way, I feel like
it's all, you know, it's all, you know, aligning.
But maybe that's a story that I tell myself.
And then when I have all those things going,
I really have to step back because everything
is competing and then I can't get the creative
idea. I can't, you know, move forward with X,
Y and Z because I do have, you know, multiple
companies. But what I'm kind of learning. And
it's going to take some more some more, you know,
life experiences is that even though I have these
different businesses, that doesn't mean I have
to be thinking all about all of them at one time.
Right. Right. Well, yes. Here's the other thing
is if you start to treat money a little bit like
a very important relationship. OK. I think it's
super important relationship because money money.
First of all, the word currency. It comes from
quarantine, which means flow. Okay. So money
is about flow and we block the flow when there's
a lot of stuff in the way. So lots of times I'll
say like clean up the mock like D mock. because
if you got a lot of muck the water it can't move
through just like this the the frequency of this
can't really move through so that's the first
piece we're talking about of just chill right
relax first of all and then get to this place
where you start to form a like a juicy relationship
with money so for instance imagine it like a
relationship okay No, and I'll just give you
a couple examples when you think when you start
to think about it in terms of a relationship,
it becomes kind of fun. It's this game you get
to play with with life and with abundance is
like, OK, first of all, if I was in a relationship,
would I want someone who's super clingy? Would
I want someone who's like, oh, my God, I need
you. I can't survive without you. Like, you know,
my life would suck without you in it. It sucks
without you in it. You'd be like. Oh, no. Right.
Same way people are like, unconsciously or consciously,
they're like, oh, my God, I don't have you. I
don't have enough of you. If only I had you,
I would do this. Now, you would not want to be
in a relationship with somebody like that. Same
way money, again, currency. It's a vibration.
It doesn't want to be in relationship with that.
OK. Also doesn't want to be in vibrational alignment
with somebody who's like shouting all the time.
And if you think about the noise in our environment,
it's like People's minds are shouting all the
time. They're going every which way. Like would
you want to be with someone who is just like
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, like never stopped
talking, never chilled out was never quiet. Like
would you be oh, I'm so attracted to you. No,
you would not be now. None of us probably if
we're in our right mind would be attracted to
that. Right. Same way with money. If you start
like getting all this stuff in the way of it
is like what the hell does this person want?
Right. Just silence. Right. So you kind of go
over here and distance yourself. Same way with
money. Money also really loves when you know
that you are the source of all wealth. So it's
the same way in a relationship. Like if I'm in
a relationship with someone and they don't know
that they are all that is, I get bored pretty
quick, right? Because it's like, dude, if you
think that your wealth originates from outside
of you, you're wrong. Simply wrong. Wealth is
an inside job. Wealth, being wealthy, having
wealth consciousness, I've seen it with people
who have a dime, I've seen it with people who
have millions or even billions. I mean, I hang
out, I've spent time with billionaires, millionaires,
all of them, right? And you don't always see
wealth consciousness in people who have a lot
of money. Wealth consciousness is knowing that
you have everything right now. One of my favorite
stories of this actually was something I heard
from Anthony DeMello. He told this great story.
He was talking about a mystic wandering through
the streets of, I don't know, somewhere in India.
And this man runs up to him and he says, give
me the stone. Give me the stone. And the mystic
looks at him kind of, you know, just mystified,
I guess, and says, what stone? He says, the stone
that you have in your bag. I had a dream last
night. Krishna came to me and told me that if
you gave me the stone that you have, I'd be the
richest man in the world. and the mystic stops
and he he rummages through his sack and he pulls
out the largest diamond ever seen and he says
this stone and the dude says yeah that's the
stone and so he he says sure take it and he gives
it to this guy now this guy runs off with this
diamond and he's running and he's in he's elated
and he's so happy da da da da and he's you know
he's doing the happy dance and all of a sudden
he stops and he sits under a tree And he contemplates
this, what just occurred for a few seconds. And
then slowly he finds his way back to the mystic
and he says, here, take it, take it back. Can
you give me the riches that made it possible
for you to give this away so freely? That's wealth.
That's wealth. Yeah, and if people can remember
that they will be the wealthiest. They are the
wealthiest. We are the wealthiest We have everything
we have come equipped with everything. The kingdom
is right here. You got to acknowledge it So yeah,
that's how I'd answer some of the money stuff
But I have a whole chapter dedicated to money
in my second book because I love it so much It's
like such a juicy thing to play with. So yeah,
I'm into it I love the words that you're using.
First of all, a juicy relationship with money.
Let's have it. But the way that you explain it
is so, I love that story. Because it is like,
it's an identity almost, and you have to really,
and it's remembering that you are the source
of what's happening around you. And if you're
not having a great relationship with money, it's
internal. So how does someone really check with
themselves as far as identity is concerned internally
and really start to begin to work with what's
going on internally because everything that's
external comes from what's going on within. And
if they don't, if we don't connect with what's
internal, we'll never really get to the level
that we want to. of what we're wanting to create
for our future. Here on the Thriveville journey,
we talk a lot about not just surviving, but thriving.
And a big part of that for me has been understanding
my health on a deeper level. That's why I partnered
with Livegood and brought it under my company,
Orion's Health. Not just because I believe in
the products, but because I've seen what they
can do firsthand. I've walked through some hard
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and a kidney transplant. And I know what it feels
like when your body's working against you. That's
why we're offering two free tools that help me
and can help you too. First, go to MyFreeHealthReport
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of course, always, always, always consult your
physician before starting any new supplement
or health regimen. Your body is unique and your
health care provider should always be part of
the conversation. The links are in the show notes.
Now tap in and take your next step toward thriving.
Yeah. Well, one of the simplest ways. So I I
always tell people right like meditation is not
about sitting cross legged and holding a mudra
and chanting a mantra, you know, meditation at
its root is like dancing with life. Okay. So
when you're dancing with what's happening right
now, when you decide to take it on as almost
a dance partner, that's when you're in a meditative
state. Now there are some very, very simple ways
to start accessing this and I love to tell people
My two favorite meditations are laughing and
yawning. So both of these will start to create
a whole host of like neuro chemical messengers
like flooding your bloodstream that really help
you again with your creativity and your ability
to just like get with it and dance in these ways
that we're talking about. And also really all
you got to do is kind of lay down. lie down and
people will discount this all the time and they'll
tell me I'm not gonna just go lie down in the
middle of the day and I'll tell them look if
you think you can't lie down please I beg of
you lie down a lot longer than you would you
know so if you think you don't have five minutes
take an hour which is kind of from the Dalai
Lama when he was talking about meditation but
just go lie down because when you do that when
you get horizontal like that what happens is
your brainwave frequencies start to kind of shift
on their own and you're gonna have access you're
gonna start to have more access so you don't
need to start all this regimented meditation
time breath work all the things just go lie down
when you feel like you're spinning again think
about that little kid that we talked about before
when you just take him in your arms and you say
it's all right It's all right. I love you. Let's
chill out for a second. It could be three minutes.
It could be five minutes. When you notice that
it starts to calm a little bit, that's when you're
ready for action again. That's when something
can come through you that is actually not going
to create more mud, but it's going to come in
with more clarity and you're going to start moving
closer to what it is that you want instead of
further away, which is what happens when people
are in a spin. You know, I love that there's
that line. Look at the look at the what how does
it go the violet or the daisies how they neither
toil nor spin, right? It's like they're growing
but they're not they're not all anxious about
it. They're not freaking out about it. It's just
their nature. So when you relax into it, it's
like it's your nature to be abundant. It's your
nature to be able to experience what you want
through the form, right? Because the formless
came to express through the form. So you start
to just relax into it. That's when all these
potentials start to open up to you. Yes, potentials,
possibilities, they're there. And as a founder,
CEO, or whatever, like this is, would you say
that this is a good way to really answer some,
maybe some of the questions that or issues that
people may be coming up with in their business
or in their life, just to do that practice? Absolutely.
And people will discount it. They will discount
it. And I find that to be it's so beautiful.
Da Vinci, he hasn't been known to have said that
simplicity is the ultimate sophistication and
people want to go and they want to complicate.
Yeah. And people want to complicate my the first
business I started here. It was a Over a decade
ago, I started a business called Sustainability
Simplicated because I was like, it's the opposite
of complicated. And I thought all the Excel file
terrorism that was happening was a bit extreme.
And I was like, it could be a lot simpler than
this to live healthy, to live well. And so I
started really getting on about simple. And that's
the thing. People will discount it and they'll
move on to the next thing. When you do that,
you do that at your peril. people are always
like next next next looking for something but
when you actually stop and you say it's a lot
simpler let me just calm down let me relax for
a moment let me take a beat exactly the same
way you do with the kid because that's our nature
we spin out so something's got to bring us back
in so when we come back in and again you don't
need to do this some complicated practice just
go lie down i go lie down i get some of the most
really astonishing things come through me when
i lie down i dictate a bunch of stuff. I dictated
a lot from my second book. I dictate when I get,
you know, press queries. I'll do this when I
have client summaries that I'm forming because
I know the best stuff comes to me. My brain is
like AI magnified by I don't even know how much
when I just laid down, when I just get horizontal
and I start to just let what's meant to come
through in that relaxed state come through. So
I work with the You know top ceos top athletes
celebrities and I will tell them the same thing
like look I know it sounds simple Let's give
it a shot for a month or however long you want
to you know Just set a timer on your phone and
every once in a while go go get horizontal or
when you feel yourself spinning get horizontal
and again What what happens when we do that is
nothing short of astonishing? Yeah. Yeah um as
an as an actor um one of the the biggest things
for me in my practice and even when i was um
when i was running track and field um i would
really need to calm myself down and really get
still and quiet you know both of those like running
track and feel like you run i'm running for for
one race what 19 seconds, 20 seconds. Another
race, I'm running, what, 10 seconds? But in that
10 seconds, before that 10 seconds, rather, like
I had to calm down. I played my music, oh, my
music, my favorite music. That has to be a new
word, that's a new word. I love that. Music?
Hey, let's do it. Music, yeah. So I played my
music and... I would get in this really almost
trance state. Um and there was one time when
I was uh I was running I think it was state or
was going to state or qualify for state that
I had a shin like a basically a fracture in my
split my shin and I knew that there was pain
there but I was like I'm running this race and
so I got real quiet real still Had my music and
just kind of relaxed. And I ran that race. It
was, I think it was like my second fastest time,
won the race. But right after the race, I mean,
I couldn't feel it at all, right? But right after
the race, I fell straight down. Because the pain
was like, it got real. But I'm giving you all
these examples because it really works. You know,
it almost takes you to a different, like, atmosphere
a different place and when you get to that place,
there's so much creativity much like you really
in an you're in an outer body experience and
that can in that split in that place. You can
get some things solved. You can get some answers.
You know, you can you you can just move forward
with clarity. Absolutely. I love that you're
sharing this cuz Anyone listening has probably
had something similar maybe not to that degree
because being at that level and athleticism is
something that few people get to experience but
that moment where you sort of push through something
and you think oh my gosh that wasn't it was like
I was out of body almost I was just in a different
this is the third and fourth way of getting ice
cream my friend like this is this is it. the
stillness is a prerequisite and anyone who has
hit the highest levels of their game whatever
their game is they know this they know stillness
and then move and also by the way in that is
stillness feel it like feel the thing feel what
it is that you you're desiring because that again
that's an evolutionary impulse so sometimes people
talk about it like visioning And I think that's
a bit misleading because it's not necessarily
a visual. It is almost a it's almost like fireworks
in your body. So when you get with the evolutionary
impulse that you're wanting to feel, it's like,
poof, all these fireworks going off. What's happening
is there's a cellular activation. There's an
alignment of inside of you. There is an alignment
to that which you are wanting, craving to experience.
And so if you can get into the stillness and
feel that, and again, it's juicy, like feel the
juiciness of, wow, this thing is available to
me now. And that's actually why you could experience
things that you're like, I don't even know how
I did that because it was a part of you. Again,
this intelligence that is almost acting on your
behalf. It's almost acting on your behalf. So
but it's you really getting with the the yumminess
of it and I think that those are the pieces is
like get still get with the yumminess of what
you're of what you're feeling what you're calling
into your field at this at any given moment and
then just relax know that you can you don't have
to figure that out there's something deeper inside
of you that's figuring it out yeah yeah there's
a lot of things working all the time and we don't
necessarily need to know that all the things
are working all the time You know, we just do
our part and in that there is a little thing
that kind of messes us up is I would say I would
say that we kind of slip into an old nervous
system the old identity and we do a thing that
I lived by for a long time which was which was
self -sabotage, right? you may tap into what
we're talking about and you feel that and you
know you want you know there's a like a desire
to want that over and over again but then there's
then you're then you kind of slip out and you
start to sabotage yourself and um i had a question
here i don't know what the question was but basically
how can someone like really expand their inner
capacity so that when that saboteur self shows
up that they like say, you know what, I acknowledge
you, I see you, but this is what this future,
this thing that has really called me forward,
this life where I get to connect to something
bigger than myself, that's what I want. I don't
want this sabotage. I want this other thing.
The question seems to lie in the answer. Or the
answer, sorry, it seems to lie in the question.
When I hear you, it's like your answer is in
your question, which is expanding, expanding
enough to hold everything that you're ready to
hold. And what that means is you welcome all
of it. You relax and you welcome all of it. Without
labels without so lots of times to we say stuff
like self -sabotage or we say We're feeling insecure
or we say we're feeling jealous or we say all
these things right, but those are mental constructs
Okay, they don't really exist in the body. What
is happening in your body? Okay, is that there's
some stuff happening? Right, there's some things
happening in your body. And so if you can like
get with oh wow i'm feeling this thing and instead
of it being a label that i'm sabotaging and i
don't want that or whatever welcome all of it
almost like the way you would for instance you
don't see a i mean maybe some people do this
is the irony of being human but when you see
a storm come in right you don't say oh nope nope
nope that no go go go back retreat You're not
welcome here. Like, some people might do that,
okay, but mostly we're just like, oh, it's a
storm. Okay, cool. It's gonna feed. Some of the
life around here. It's going to freshen up the
air It's going to do all this stuff like we just
welcome it in and we say okay storm do your thing
and the next thing you're like Well, it'd be
nice to have the sun back sun comes back, right?
But all of those elements are welcome because
they're all a vital part of this of this ecosystem
Same way in you there's stuff going down and
it's just like oh, that's interesting. That's
happening I'm feeling this thing when we welcome
all of it. We start to expand the vessel to receive
even more. When we say, nope, nope, not that
thing. Like not allowed. Okay. That's when we
contract and we, we diminish the size of our
capacity to hold. So my invitation, you know,
for anyone wondering about this is let's just
relax around the whatever we want to call it,
you know, sabotage, all the things like What's
actually happening in your body? So I'll ask
you right now Michael when you say you've you've
been in this cycle of self You called it self
-sabotage Do you know right now? Can you feel
where that resides like you're probably not feeling
at this moment? But do you know what it feels
like in your body when you're feeling it? What
does it feel like? I don't know if I feel it
right away I think I feel it after maybe things
because I look back I'm like, oh Okay Well, what
do you feel? So maybe I would invite you, even
if you feel comfortable closing your eyes or
whatever, if that doesn't feel comfortable, that's
fine too. But just considering, okay, when I
feel self -sabotage, where is it in my body?
This thing I call self -sabotage. It may be like
somewhere in the gut. I don't know. Somewhere
in the gut maybe. So next time you're feeling
something that you're calling self -sabotage
notice like there's actually a physical sensation
that's accompanying the mental swirl. Okay, and
if you can notice it and really get with it and
dance with it the way we talked about when we
said what meditation is like a dance with everything
that is if you can just invite it almost as a
partner almost as someone that you're saying
hey come on over like The party hasn't been complete
without you. We got a miscreant. Let's see what's
going on. What are you going to bring to this?
What are you going to bring to this dance? That's
when your whole show gets more interesting. Your
whole show because you're not kicking it out.
You're not trying to hide it. You're not stuffing
it in the back closet. You will not come out.
You are saying, hey, this is an interesting character.
Same way as if you were watching a movie, right?
You're an actor. So you know exactly what I'm
talking about. You don't say you don't say, oh,
that you get rid of that character that's an
antagonist. We only want protagonists here because
you wouldn't want to watch that movie. You would
invite it because you'd be like, oh, that's interesting.
How is the antagonist going to mold the protagonist
to something great? That's what you're wondering.
And it's the same way with these things that
we call by many different names. They are like
a storm coming in that will nourish, that will
regenerate, that will serve as almost a compost
for a new life. So welcome it and be like, hey,
what's going on? Notice where you're feeling
it. And it'll start to alchemize. It'll start
to shape you into the you you have decided to
become. We just say when you're not noticing
it. acknowledging it, acknowledging it and allowing
it to show up. Would you say that's kind of where
a little breath work would kind of help you through
the situation? Potentially, I think breath work
can be a bit almost like again another thing
that we think we have to do. What I'm suggesting
is the opposite is like There's nothing you have
to do. Literally get horizontal and just notice.
Everything will shift if you start to have the
courage to do that. Just lay down and just be
with it. Breathwork, I feel that there is a place
for breathwork. I feel especially for people
who experience apnea a lot, which is a lot of
people out there, a lot of people who are holding
their breath, a lot of people who are accessory
breathing. If you don't know how to breathe from
your diaphragm, if you don't know how to fill
all that up around just your everything like
a tire around the whole bottom part of your body,
you're not getting enough oxygen. If you're not
getting enough oxygen, breath work can be a way
to start getting enough oxygen. What happens
when you do that is again, you start to access
different frequencies. Great thing. But all I'm
talking about is like, hey, you're watching a
movie and You want the best movie, right? The
best movie has all the characters and you're
all the characters So you get to witness all
of them and you get to kind of enjoy the playing
out of where you're going next Yeah You get to
enjoy the playing out you know That's like the
best advice is like when all that stuff comes
up Like there's like don't fight against it.
Just notice it and just do nothing Just do nothing
I Think that like like so because it's like a
battle that you probably won't win anyway Yeah
So this whole like this will show in January
right 2026 January new year new you you know
um that whole uh new year's resolution thing
I'm I don't subscribe to but what I do love is
that you know my birthday is on January 31st
so that's when I realign I look at you know what's
going on with my life and how I want to carry
out the rest of my year or what I call my cycle
um And this is like you're one of the four that's
in the January series of becoming the Align U
in 2026. Not New Year, not you, but becoming
the Align U in 2026. And the question I have
is, if someone committed to like the inner practice
and the things that we're talking about in 2026,
what would you recommend? I may know what you're
about to say, rather. What would you invite them
to do over the next 12 months really to become
the person that they know that they can become
in the new cycle of their life? Put me on the
spot, Michael. All right. So first thing. First
thing I would say from that is I love and I'm
gonna take it a different drug Just cuz you think
you know where I'm gonna go. I might just go
somewhere else All right, so Alignment alignment
what comes up for me when I hear that is the
power of aligning people miss this a lot because
Again, they think it's something they need to
go out and do But really it's a question of marshaling
your energy in a specific direction Okay, so
think of it like a magnet, okay a magnet is a
magnet because all the particles in that substance
are Aligned and facing a single direction if
you took that same substance and you mixed around
the particles Okay, you disperse the particles.
It is no longer a magnet. Okay, so In the very
same way, we act as magnets when our particles,
in other words, when our consciousness is is
shaped and is facing a specific direction, a
specific probability outcome or amplitude in
the field. OK, so first and foremost, get that
get that basic, basic understanding is that if
my. If my energy is dispersed, if it is fragmented,
I will be fragmented. My results will be fragmented.
They will not carry the same gravitas or gravitas.
OK, so that's the first thing to get is, all
right, I'm feeling some potentials. I'm feeling
into them. They feel exciting for me. I'm going
to focus my energy on those probability amplitudes
in an infinite sea. of probability amplitudes,
I'm gonna choose those ones, okay? Not because
I'm after a certain material outcome, per se,
but because I am feeling the juiciness of that
evolutionary impulse that is coursing through
me. Okay, that's number one. Does that make sense?
Before I move on? It does make sense. And I had
no idea that you're gonna go there, so perfect.
I know, I gotta surprise you, man. The minute
someone says they know where I'm going, I'm like,
all right, all right, spirit. Take a different
route. All right. So so that's first is is aligning.
OK, so let's, you know, take let's build off
of your words, aligning, aligned and aligned
you in twenty twenty six. The other thing I'd
have to say is you got to give up who you been.
You have got to give up who you have been. You
have to be willing to do that. Now, it was William
Blake, I believe, who said something along the
lines of Most men die, but once and their friends
never live never are around to see their resurrection
and William Blake was talking from the perspective
of someone who had died many times while he was
living and his friends had seen his rebirth I
know my life is like that. I was talking to a
friend today. She's like, I don't know how many
lifetimes you lived in this life girl and I said
yep mm -hmm I've lived lots of lifetimes in this
life and it was the courage to be in that white
fire that you and I talked about last time of
being like I'm gonna blow this phoenix up I don't
know what's gonna happen but I'm ready to blow
it up if you are at a point when you step into
2026 they're like something's got to blow up
then re -listen to this re -listen to this because
all the answers for blowing it up they're in
this show they're in what we just shared with
each other So you you got to be willing to blow
it up. You got to be willing to align to a new
potential Okay, and in all of that, let's go
back because maybe this is part of this is where
you thought I was gonna go You got to learn how
to relax around how it's gonna happen Just chill
out be like I trust the same power that is beating
my heart. I trust the same power that is swirling
us around on a ball of dust in what appears to
be infinite space okay I trust that same that
same organizing principle I trust that there
is a cosmos in the chaos and that I can lean
into it and that I can use my free will for how
I marshal my attention and my intention in other
words how I place and align my particles to that
which is coursing through me as a an evolutionary
impulse that wants to be expressed through my
specific form. Voilà, c 'est tout. Okay, voila.
I mean, okay, first of all, I can see why you
are, you know, in demand and like, in your field
and what you do, like you just let loose and
that really that was like, really transcendental
just listening to you even though you know we're
having these little issues these little tech
gremlins again but I caught all of that you know
um you know one of our our logo is um for the
travel journey is a phoenix and you you you know
alluded to that a little bit but as you were
saying all that I mean there was just that was
that was clean it was clarity and it was very
transformational Just in that. And like you said,
if you're ready to blow something up, get back
to this podcast and listen to Courtney and what
both of us are sharing with each other. And within
that, connect with Courtney. Because what you
do, if I only experienced just a bit of it, man,
those people that get to work with you, whew.
Right like so I Mean, I'm going back to the 90s
bomb calm Like really truly Really truly Bob
calm You know We have to do this again. I mean
honestly seriously we have to do this again and
maybe from a different perspective, but you know,
like when everything is like working well. But
I think in this space, because of who you are
and how you showed up and who I get to be because
of that, this episode is probably one of the
most powerful that I've experienced. And so first
and foremost, thank you so much for being the
person that you are in the world and how you're
showing up for people and what you give. And
thank you for just the presence that you continue
to generate in the world because it's palpable.
And I thank you. Thank you very, very much. And
if people want to get in touch with you and really
feel your energy and connect with you and the
gifts that you have, how do you want them to
do that? Well, first of all, thank you. I appreciate
you so much. I Instantly felt with you. I was
like, okay, there's a friend. This is a friend
from somewhere some so many lifetimes This this
dude's real. So thank you for putting everything
out that you do You're an inspiration and it's
just I love talking to you. So yes, we're gonna
do it again hundred percent and the other piece
is What I want to come back to for just a second
is That piece of listening to this again and
when you said, you know, listen listen to us,
you know The reality is it's what you're calling
forth. If you are whoever's listening They called
this information to them. You're calling this
information to you. So I would suggest, you know
Yeah, if you want to connect with me cool, but
really connect with yourself You would be doing
me a huge gift whoever's listening in 2026 if
instead of trying to reach out to somebody else
you connect to your own deepest truths you lay
down you go lie down and you just get horizontal
and you you know listen to this again whatever
because these are truths that came up for you
specifically that's why you're hearing them right
now and yeah if you want to hang out and you
want to meet up online or whatever i my name
is spelled without a u so it's c -o -r -t -n
-e -y that's important because i think Courtney
with you McDermott leads you somewhere else.
But yeah, I'm around. I give talks. I write books.
I do all those things. So I would love whoever
wants to connect and connect with yourself. You'll
be giving us the greatest gift ever. So thank
you, Michael. I appreciate you so much. I love
that. And on that note, we're going to say goodbye.
And at this point in the show, we always say
let's make thriving our new normal and we'll
see you next podcast. Take care. you