Lisa Nichols: "Your Breakdowns Simply Precede Your Breakthroughs."

Lisa Nichols shares a powerful lesson on permission, identity, and the unauthorized chatter that talks you out of your dreams. In this raw and personal talk, the Secret teacher explains why the internal journey is the hardest part of any external success, what her speech teacher told her that should have ended her career before it started, and the moment on Oprah she realized she was the destination she'd been chasing. This episode will challenge you to give yourself permission to be successful — in spite of your story. Source: The Secret: Teachers Recorded LiveHosted by Sean CroxtonFollow me on InstagramSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  It took a lot for me to get here. It took a lot. And it didn't just take the external journey. Oh, man. That was the easier part of the two. The internal journey was the one that really took some work. It was difficult for me to give myself permission to be successful because I had that story. It was difficult for me to give myself permission. In spite of where I've been, in spite of where I've come from, I still have the birthright to be successful.

• 0:42Speaker 01

  Welcome back to the Quote of the Day Show. I am your host, Shawn Croxton of seancroxton.com. Thank you so much for tuning in today. I hope your weekend was incredible and you're ready to kick off this week with Lisa Nichols. Today's QOD is this. Your breakdowns simply precede your breakthroughs. So Lisa's going to talk about something most people have some trouble accepting. The fact that you can have it too. If someone else can have it, you can have it too. It doesn't matter your background, your past, where you started, what you've been through. If you can imagine it, if you can create a vision in your mind and hold on to it, if you can think about it,

• 1:25Speaker 01

  and most importantly, if you can act on it with consistency, you can have anything you want to have. But here's the part that nobody really puts on their vision board. It's not going to be easy. People are going to sabotage you. Some of them will actually do it on purpose. Most of them will do it by accident. You're going to hit obstacle after obstacle. You're going to have breakdowns. You're going to have moments where you genuinely don't know if you can keep going. So Lisa, her message today is this. Those breakdowns aren't the end of the dream. They're baked into the journey of realizing the dream. Breakdowns, they happen to everyone. There are no exceptions.

• 2:10Speaker 01

  The good news is this, that your breakdowns precede your breakthroughs. Because to play, to play a bigger game, you have to become a bigger you. And becoming a bigger version of you is uncomfortable. And that is by design. Again, it's baked in. So the question isn't whether you have what it takes. The question is whether you're willing to do the inner work the dream is asking for and requires. Are you willing to go through the breakdowns to get to your breakthroughs? Lisa Nichols is coming up.

• 2:48Speaker 00

  Many of you want to know what's next in The Secret. The Secret, as we all know, is the law of attraction. What you think about, you bring about. It's from the oldest book ever developed, the Bible. Proverbs says, "So a man thinketh he is." And Matthew says, "What you wish, you ask for in prayer, and God will answer." So it goes way back. The Secret isn't new. It's just packaged differently. It has a really unique way right now of going across the cultural boundaries. We've created bridges where there were walls by putting this unique, amazing group of 27 teachers together, all saying the same thing in 27 different ways. And then tying them together. What's really amazing is that many of The Secret teachers have never met. Isn't that cool? Like, I'm still meeting them.

• 3:33Speaker 00

  And it's so cool to see that our conversations were so similar and that Rhonda Byrne had the vision and the talent to tie it together so seamlessly. Wasn't that really great? Wasn't that really great, the way she did it? And for me in particular, it was really awesome to see the diversity. Because so often, you know, I've asked, "Wow, that's a really great life that they have. Could I have it too?" Anybody? One hand up. Two hands up if you ask that question. Two hands up and stand up, I see you.

• 4:06Speaker 00

  I asked, with my background, with my history, my culture, with my family's economic status or lack of status, could I have that as well? And what's really great is through the program and through the project, what it says is, yes, that if I can think about it, if I can imagine it, then I can have it. And see, that was important for me to get because years ago, I had a dream. I had a dream that I wanted to stand in front of thousands, millions, and I wanted to inspire them. I wanted to encourage them. I wanted to give them a part of me and get a part of them. And I want us to share it in an intimate way. And I wanted to be able to lift them to the next level

• 4:50Speaker 00

  and let them see that your breakdowns simply are to precede your breakthroughs. See, I had a vision. I had a dream for that a long time ago. But there was a challenge, see? No one else shared the dream with me. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Yeah, just keep throwing your hands up, regardless if I asked you or not. I want to know that you're out there. And I remember going to the people that I love the most and that love me the most, my family, saying, I have a dream. I want to go and I want to speak and I want to, I want to talk to people and I want to encourage people. And they said, Lisa, do you remember that you got a D in speech? And my speech teacher told me, he said, I see your hands up.

• 5:36Speaker 00

  My speech teacher said, Ms. Nichols, I recommend that you get a desk job. Anyone have someone just take the helium out of your balloon? Yeah, I see your hands up. Thank you for telling the truth out loud. And so for years, I kept saying, but that's what I want to do. That's what I want to do. And then when someone else wasn't taking the helium out of my balloon, I'd say, wow, I want to stand in front of thousands and I want to inspire them and I want to encourage them on DVDs, on CDs, on stage. And then my little chatter would kick in. Anybody had a little chatter? Who turns that chatter on? I mean, it's like unauthorized, just automatic go on. I didn't tell you to start.

• 6:20Speaker 00

  And that little chatter said, Lisa, who are you to inspire people? No one looks like you on stage doing it, honey. You got moka skin, full lips, round hips, and an Afro.

• 6:37Speaker 00

  I see you waving.

• 6:40Speaker 00

  So, that chatter kicked in and have you ever had that chatter kick in and all of a sudden you're like ready to jump in? You ready like a double dutch or some jump rope? You ready to jump in? Well, all of a sudden that chatter kicks in and your momentum dies down? I see your hands up.

• 6:58Speaker 00

  That's what it was for me. I kept saying, "I wanna do it, I wanna do it." My chatter would kick in and say, "Lisa, you struggled through school. Those people on stage are smart.

• 7:09Speaker 00

  You can't fake it all the time.

• 7:13Speaker 00

  You faked it through school, but I don't know if you gonna fake it all the time." Anyone like that? Thank you for standing up. Thank you. I mean, we can act like the chatter doesn't exist, but at the end of the day, it's real. You know, we can do the high five. Yes, it's great.

• 7:30Speaker 00

  But I would prefer to be honest with you because there's power in honesty. I believe there's freedom in honesty. It took a lot for me to get here. It took a lot. And it didn't just take the external journey. Oh, man. That was the easier part of the two. The internal journey was the one that really took some work. See, before I could go out and seek investors, I lived in south central Los Angeles between the Harlem Crypt 30s and the Roland 60s, and those are not cheerleading squads.

• 8:02Speaker 00

  I had to fight three days a week to get home from school. And I was considered academically challenged for many years. But it wasn't all of those external things that made it difficult for me. It was the fact that I had all those things in my history that it was difficult for me to give myself permission to be successful because I had that story. I see your hands up. Just one hand up, two hands up if that's you. It was difficult for me to give myself permission. In spite of where I've been, in spite of where I've come from, I still have the birthright to be successful. Like, that was the conversation I had to take on. That was the conversation that I had to learn how to replay and replay and replay.

• 8:45Speaker 00

  And when this unauthorized conversation came in, I was like, "Uh-uh, stop. I wanna play something new." See, how many of you saw me on Oprah? That was a good show, huh? Well, that was a cool day.

• 9:03Speaker 00

  When I was sitting there and I was looking at Oprah, what was funny was, actually, I was in the audience at first and she was sitting onstage because the first segment was with Rhonda. And I was sitting there, she's sitting onstage and I'm sitting right here on the front row, and there's a little TV right here, and I'm looking at the TV.

• 9:21Speaker 00

  Because I'm so used to seeing her in a box. And I stepped up and I said, "Well, that's stupid.

• 9:29Speaker 00

  Why don't you look at her?"

• 9:32Speaker 00

  My mind had to keep going back to, "You are here." And then when the next segment came on during the commercial break and they said, "Would the secret teachers come onstage now?" And Reverend Beckwith and Jack and I and James and I all stood up at the same time. And Oprah jumped up, she goes, "The teachers are here, the teachers are here, the teachers..." And I was like, "She's talking about me."

• 9:54Speaker 00

  She's excited and I'm excited, we're both excited to see each other. That was a monumental day for me. Now, arriving to Oprah wasn't my destination, it's just a part of my journey.

• 10:07Speaker 00

  And so, there's no place in your life that's the destination. You're not supposed to arrive anywhere. You're supposed to keep going.

• 10:22Speaker 01

  That was Lisa Nichols leading off the week. Her website is motivatingthemasses.com. You can check out today's entire talk on an audio program you will find at audible.com. It is called "The Secret Teachers Recorded Live." All right, that is it for me today. We've got John DiMartini on the show tomorrow. Wednesday is Dan Millman. Thursday, Carolyn Mace. Friday, Earl Schoff. And so, we've got a great lineup for you. Stay tuned in all week and I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good day. Peace.