The REAL 3 Steps to Manifesting

Thank you for all your responses to my interview with Allison Sweet Grant on the power of storytelling for healing. I’m THRILLED her work resonated with you as much as it did with me :) I loved her novel, I Am the Cage, which is the fictional story of Elsbeth and is based on Allison’s own triumph over medical trauma. I highlyrecommend it if you are working through your own medical trauma OR just want to understand what the experience can be like.?

On with le newsletter!

The Accidental Art of Manifesting

I’m often told I'm a "next level" manifester, which always gives me a LITTLE bit of the ick. Because manifesting calls to mind vision boards, positive affirmations, and LOADS of crystals. And while all of those things are LOVELY, not a single one has helped me manifest shi*

And yet…I’ve manifested A LOT: I’ve largely healed from a pretty unfun start at life (though it’s FOR SURE a journey), I went from being a lowly digital PA at Comedy Central (a job NO ONE wanted - which is how I got it!) to a high-powered television executive (a job I was point blank told I didn’t have the experience for), and then pivoted from being an executive to a full time writer (another job that I was told was impossible) and entrepreneur (another word that kinda gives me the ick because WHAT IS THAT?).?

So what do I mean when I use the word “manifest?” To me, manifesting is the process of turning your intentions, goals, or desires into reality through practical action, strategic thinking, and genuine effort WHILE AT THE SAME TIME helping yourself get a little lucky and leaving room for kismet. For me it’s a combination of 75% practical and 25% magical. It’s about not clinging so hard to a desired outcome that you’re blind to possibility. Since I know WE ALL have dreams we are reaching for (if only to re-discover our dreams) I thought I would share with you the manifestation recipe that helped become a full time writer!?

T$’s Manifestation Recipe?

First, I get curious. Like, crazy curious. I started a 600-page Google doc just trying to figure out how to reparent myself. "What are values? What are principles? What are vegetables?" Five years of questions and answers that not only saved my life but accidentally became the foundation for my first book, "Buy Yourself the F*cking Lilies." My greatest successes in life have ALL been a result of a passion for learning. Yes, I am a nerd ??. And I bet you are, too.?

Second, I get obsessively focused on quality. Once I settle on a course of action - I focus on making it the best I can. When I started writing, I wrote TERRIBLE, unpaid essays for HelloGiggles. Basically, nobody read them, but I treated each one like it was going in The New Yorker. I obsessed over making each piece more succinct and more precise. I learned the mathematics of comedy through sheer repetition. And you know what? Eventually, The New Yorker actually did publish my work. It was my life’s dream to be in The New Yorker but I didn’t focus on that goal, I obsessively focused on the process and the quality of my work way back when at Hello Giggles.?

(PS, I can’t believe I’m linking to this but here are some of my Hello Giggle pieces from 2013!!!!! Just so you can see that progress is possible!)

Third, I make myself more lucky by connecting to others. PEOPLE are one of the key ingredients to ANY success. PEOPLE are the magic sauce. It’s people, who'll believe in you and encourage you when you're writing terrible essays for free, who’ll connect you to others who might publish you, who’ll give you the feedback you need to be better. The way I got into Hello Giggles in the first place is I said “yes” to a chance dinner with one of the founders - she made the impossible possible. In basically anysituation, it’s people who will open you up to new possibilities, introduce you to new clients, have an out of the box idea, and let you crash on their couch if it all blows up. I try to be a super connector of people part because it’s fun, but part because I wanted to be all mixed up in webs of success.

So if curiosity, quality, and connection make me a "next level" manifester, well, I guess I'll take it. Ick factor and all.

What do you think?

I read and respond to EVERY comment and I’m dying to hear from you. What do you think about manifesting? Agree, disagree, want to add a point? I want to hear from YOU!?

T$ Stamp of Approval:?

An App to Help with Manifesting + A Podcast Episode to listen to:?

To Be Magnetic App: I think TBM does an AWESOME job of making manifesting practical. They give you real, science based tools, tools to heal some of your past wounds and decide what your future will be like. They also have a ?? podcast if you just want to get your feet wet!?Here is an episode of me on their podcast with host Jessica Gill.?

A follow to uplift your IG feed:?

Since being on To Be Magnetic, I’ve become friends with Jessica and I HIGHLY recommend a follow to her insta. She’s funny, delightful, gives practical tips on manifesting, and I can vouch - is just a good person you will want to uplift your feed. I know she uplifts mine!?