“Come to the cliff”, he said.
They came.
He pushed them.
And they flew. – Guillaume Appolinaire

Have you ever felt lost, stuck, empty, and disconnected from it all?

Have you ever felt like nobody truly saw, heard, or understood you?

Have you ever felt like something was missing, and no matter what you attained, acquired, or achieved, it was never really enough – you still found yourself feeling unsatisfied or unfulfilled.

Have you found yourself thinking “There’s gotta be more to life than this,” and struggling to discover or create a sense of meaning, passion, purpose, excitement, and impact in your life?

Do you ever feel like there’s SO much more to live, and you’ve got SO much more to give -if only you had more time or money or space or confidence or creativity or ____ to make it happen?

Do you ever find yourself dreaming about what life could be like, and knowing that you were meant for far more than your current experience of life?

If you answered yes to any, most, or all of these questions – CONGRATULATIONS, you’re human.

And I can totally relate…

My childhood was both toxic and magical. A teacher once said to me “You kid are either going to grow up to be absolutely amazing or a complete wreck.” That seemed to be the consensus among most of the people around me. Everyone seemed to recognize my potential, and even attempt to nourish it, while I squandered it – I now realize I was screaming and aching to be seen and heard and validated and understood and loved. Things may have looked good from the outside, but I felt trapped and hurt and disturbed and confused on the inside.

I was living a double life – I pretended I was one of the middle-class, privileged, heterosexual, white kids I went to school with, and we kept up a pretty good front for the most part, but then I’d come home to face a broke and broken home, my uncertain sexual identity, emotional instability, an identity crisis, two adults with a drug and alcohol addiction, and an unstable househould and family. It would all boil to the surface and bubble over as I continued to rebel through my teen years (and shock everyone by earning the “Most Improved Student” award right near the final stretch of high school).

I spent a good chunk of my early 20’s fumbling, faking, and in a daze – sex, drugs, alcohol, an eating disorder, sexual and personal identity crises, pressure to study SOMETHING so that I looked like I had something going for me, an allergic reaction to jobs that were unfulfilling, student loans, late rent and bill payments, a parent coping with and deeply suffering from drug addiction, the sudden death of two grandparents, and a lifestyle that had me constantly moving from place to place. Following a night of mixing diet pills and whiskey, came a moment of surrender – I stopped running and got real, and it became clear to me that the drama and chaos in my life – toxic relationships, toxic thoughts, toxic choices, toxic lifestyle – was a clear reflection of the chaos and drama inside of me. It was in that moment of admission that I finally came to terms with the truth of my life, and what it was, and what it could be – that was only the beginning.

While the miracle was real, the reality is that change happens both over night and over a lifetime. At 24, I moved to Toronto two weeks after graduating from Public Relations/Marketing Management/Management, got the dream job in Fashion PR, met and partied with the who’s-who of the Fashion/Arts/Entertainment scene, and found myself on the fast track to fulfilling my dreams of a cushy position at the top of the fashion industry, a swanky penthouse condo, a sports car, two large dogs, and the ultimate bachelor lifestyle.

But I quickly realized that what I thought I truly wanted wasn’t what I wanted – or needed. While I found myself dazzled by the sparkle and excitement and newness, the nostalgia quickly wore off, and I noticed everyone seemed so unfulfilled and unappreciative of this seemingly-lavish life. On the second week of November, 2 weeks after my 25th birthday, I scrounged up enough cash to book a flight home as quick as I could; despite criticism from those who thought I “had it all” and was giving it all up, and despite the fact that I had no clear idea of why I was being called to return home. I faithfully and curiously flew back home and dove deep into spirituality, personal development, and began developing my own brand – a combination of spirituality, style, love, and truth. Upon my return home, while deeply and devoutly immersed in the magical worlds of spirituality soulful/conscious entrepreneurship, I felt a shift in my heart, my mind, my body, my spirit, and my awareness and perception of the world.

It was as if my entire reality had shifted, and I found myself seeing life through the eyes of a child – everything seemed new, and I began to rebel against tradition, realizing that the world as I knew it would never be the same. I progressively began leaning into the decision to create an inspired and inspiring life – meaning I would only do cool and purposeful and passionate sh*t with cool and purposeful and passionate people. Some relationships ended, others improved, jobs were quit, beliefs were challenged, and my identity took a total 360-degree turn. A messy and exciting experience to say the least, but I’ve gotten the hang of it – and I’m always a work in progress.

Life since then has been nothing shy of extraordinary. In 2015 and 2016, I went to Bali (twice), launched my first ever crowd funding campaign, spent 6 months traveling and living abroad, co-created my dream relationship with an extraordinary man, and I was part of the creation of a transformational coliving and coworking space for bad asses (digital nomads, entrepreneurs, leaders, and future-leaders), earned more money in my business in a month than I’ve earned working at previous jobs for 3 months, facilitated workshops for small businesses and organizations.

These days you’ll find me engaged in all sorts of exciting, inspiring, and playfully-purposeful projects, including 1-on-1 and group coaching and consulting, workshops, speaking/hosting gigs, fashion shows, life and style consulting, television appearances, interviews, retreat experiences, and the list goes on. My relationship to people and to myself and to Creator are thriving and growing deeper as I nourish them, my soul business is growing each and every day, I get paid to do what I love and live an inspired and inspiring life, and I continue to embody truth and love and freedom and abundance each day I choose to show up for myself, and for Life.

Because I personally see and feel and empathize with the dis-ease that is currently prevalent on our planet, and because I feel genuinely inspired to serve these days, I’m developing, facilitating, and supporting creative, inspirational, and transformational projects, experiences, spaces, and people. In essence, they are the future soul-diers of the world – Oprah’s, Danielle’s, Tony’s, Gabby’s, Marie’s, and Mastin’s – and the experiences (events, retreats, summits, stages) and spaces (creative and communal hubs) that attract these extraordinary types.

I’m currently being guided to bridge, connect, lead, and inspire – to connect deeply with humanity and human potential, and to galvanize, inspire, and facilitate heart and soul transformation in order to help people experience more fulfillment, personal power, and soulful success in life, business, career, finances, relationships, sexuality, body, mind, and spirit. The path continues to unfold before me as I trust, and choose to live an INSPIRED and EXTRAORDINARY life.

So… What now!? Read on (or skip to the bottom if you desire).

 

“You’ve got it, you’ve survived it, you’ve lived it, you’ve learned it – Use it.”

I’m not going to sit here and try to sell you on this idea that I’m some expert on life… YOU are your own guru. Personally, I don’t believe anyone is an expert at life, BUT many of us are born with a unique calling or purpose, and gifted life experiences that become a personal foundation of wisdom, awareness, and emotional intelligence.

No more waiting… watching… wanting… IT’S TIME.

I’ve studied business, public relations, marketing management, personal and professional development, entrepreneurship, personal branding, and spirituality, and one of the many take-aways that brought me to this point is the understanding that we are each on a very unique journey, with a very unique message, and very unique gifts to share with the world, and there are people out there waiting for what YOU and WE have to offer – waiting for us to liberate and unleash our potential and possibility, and share our truth with the whole world.

I once read something that compared our existence and purpose to the way the world’s ecosystems operate; the bee doesn’t worry about what the mosquito is doing, because the bee is too busy being a bee – beeeeeing; get it!? We’re all part of a wonderful ecosystem; and we’ve been put on this Earth to  live EXTRAORDINARY LIVES – to love, create, connect, contribute to sustainability and to use our gifts to serve. When we begin to serve, and when we begin to do the things that are in alignment with what we truly desire and stop worrying about what everyone else is doing or how much we’re going to make, we not only discover what our unique gifts are and how they fit into this big, beautiful world, but we naturally begin to experience life in a way that feels REALLY AWESOME, and suddenly we’re experiencing everything we desire (health, wealth, relationships, fulfillment).

 I’ll leave you with some of my tips for a radical life, and an invitation to connect with me, and join our tribe of “Soul-diers”.

Change your thoughts and your environment, change your life. Follow what feels good. Build on your strengths and honour your weaknesses. Don’t just hear, LISTEN. Trust in your inner voice. Be unapologetically YOU. Express creativity, gratitude, prayer, and surrender daily. Forgive. Contribute. Ask for help.  Slow down. Be kind to yourself and others. Make time to be still, to visualize, and to dream, and remember… YOU ARE NOT ALONE. <3

With Love, Light, & Liberation,

Reno #ItJustGotReno