author – Jenny Ton LLC

New York Times Best Selling author and research professor, Brene Brown, is a wealth of inspiration on personal growth. When I read her manifesto for her family, I thought to myself: this is so beautiful, why didn’t I come up with this? This is how I know something is extraordinary.

Although its title is, The Wholehearted Parenting Manifesto, it is a manifesto for anyone. It’s timeless. And, lucky us, you can download an illustrated copy on her website to frame it for your home, office, or to give as a gift.

Above all else, I want you to know that you are loved and lovable. You will learn this from my words and actions–the lessons on love are in how I treat you and how I treat myself.

I want you to engage with the world from a place of worthiness. You will learn that you are worthy of love, belonging, and joy every time you see me practice self-compassion and embrace my own imperfections.

We will practice courage in our family by showing up, letting ourselves be seen, and honoring vulnerability. We will share our stories of struggle and strength. There will always be room in our home for both.

We will teach you compassion by practicing compassion with ourselves first; then with each other. We will set and respect boundaries; we will honor hard work, hope, and perseverance. Rest and play will be family values, as well as family practices.

You will learn accountability and respect by watching me make mistakes and make amends, and by watching how I ask for what I need and talk about how I feel.

I want you to know joy, so together we will practice gratitude.

I want you to feel joy, so together we will learn how to be vulnerable.

When uncertainty and scarcity visit, you will be able to draw from the spirit that is a part of our everyday life.

Together we will cry and face fear and grief. I will want to take away your pain, but instead I will sit with you and teach you how to feel it.

We will laugh and sing and dance and create. We will always have permission to be ourselves with each other. No matter what, you will always belong here.

As you begin your Wholehearted journey, the greatest gift that I can give to you is to live and love with my whole heart and to dare greatly.

I will not teach or love or show you anything perfectly, but I will let you see me, and I will always hold sacred the gift of seeing you. Truly, deeply, seeing you.

—Brene Brown

“When you know, teach. When you get, give.” —Maya Angelou

*Maya Angelou, civil rights activist, poet and award-winning author.*

Happy 2020! I wish you a new decade beyond what you have imagined. I hope what you have imagined for yourself is big, real big.

In reflecting on 2019, I have compassionately closed its chapter in order to open myself fully to a limitless new one in 2020. With this gained insight, I would like to share some inspiring reflection pieces that have expanded my inner and outer self. Both poignant pieces by the master of inner spiritual growth and wisdom, the one and only Oprah. Below is a thoughtfully edited compilation video of Oprah’s profound speeches as well as some of my favorite quotes from one of my top 2019 books, Oprah’s The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose.

Thank you Inspiring Habits.

Just like Oprah, I relish an aha moment. In her book she shares quotes and stories from her conversations with an array of seasoned individuals. It bestowed many ahas for me and I wish for you the same.

“Most of us have two lives. The life we live and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands resistance.” —Steven Pressfield

“The more important an activity is to your soul’s evolution, the more resistance you will feel to it.” —Steven Pressfield

“[Stephen Pressfield] explained that no matter the dream, the shadow of resistance is inevitable. If’s like the yin and yang—you can’t have the dream without the shadow. So, the more importance I placed on the Harvard speech, the stronger the resistance. It meant that there was no point in blaming myself for my anxiety, because what I was experiencing was actually a spiritual law. The worries running around in my head were nothing more than the natural force of negativity at work, the shadow that lives in all of us trying to convince us of our unworthiness: You’re not good enough. What do you think you’ve got to say to the kids at Harvard? Understanding this changed everything. Steven’s theory was a totally new way of looking at fear: For every dream, there is automatically going to be resistance. But your sheer will and desire can be stronger than the shadow. You get to decide. You get to declare, I want this, and confront the fear head-on.” —Oprah, excerpt from The Path Made Clear: Discovering Your Life’s Direction and Purpose.

Steven Pressfield, American author and screenplay writer.

“The ultimate care of the soul is being identified with the life that wants to live through you. So at any point, your life may give a hint that you should be moving on—maybe to a different job or even a different marriage. And if you hold back on that and say, “No, that would disrupt me,” you would be deciding to say no to life. I think that’s where the soul gets wounded most. Your individuality comes from your soul. Not from your head. It comes from allowing life to live through you.” —Thomas Moore

Thomas Moore, American psychotherapist, former monk, and award-winning author.

“If you are in a place where you’re more powerful than the people around you, listen as much as you talk. And if you’re less powerful, talk as much as you listen.” —Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem, writer, lecturer, political activist, and feminist organizer.

“Deep listening is the kind of listening that can help relieve the suffering of the other person. You can call it compassionate listening. You listen with only one purpose: Help him or her to empty their heart. Remember that you are helping him or her to suffer less, and even if they say things full of wrong perceptions, full of bitterness, you are still capable of continuing to listen with compassion. If you want to help them correct their perception, you wait for another time; at this time, you just listen with compassion and help him or her to suffer less. One hour like that can bring transformation and healing.” —Thich Nhat Hanh

Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk, poet, peace activist, and author.

“It’s a sort of prayer of intention, Please let me bring forth something that will help heal.” —Carole Bayer Sager

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A Manifesto That Will Move You

2020 Inspiration with Oprah and Friends