The 21 Universal Lessons
BY Danielle Gertner, Ownership coach and voice of the Own Your Shit Podcast
Questions and challenges from past years that are oh so relevant in this year (and beyond):
*This list is packed with free resources, so please click the links and enjoy!*
Honor every commitment you make to yourself. The commitments you make to yourself are, indeed, the most important ones you will ever make. Please honor them and hold them above anything else.
When you work to please others before pleasing yourself, you end up pleasing no one. Read my favorite poem here that is a great reminder of this.
If your life ended today, would you be happy with how you have been living? If not, what do you need to change? Start today.
Find your deeply rooted why. How do you live it every day?
There are billions of people in this world with billions of opinions. It’s wisest to get good at relying on your own. We have been conditioned to believe that we should turn to our elders, our politicians or our gurus to find our way. It is a scam. Your opinion is the most important and the most correct, always.
How much do you prioritize play? What does play mean and look like to you? What can you open yourself up to if you invite more play into your life? Check out this incredible meditation from the Magic in Me Challenge Sarah Gaines, and I are leading this month.
Whose definition of happiness, success, fulfillment and love are you living? Is it really your own? One of the greatest powers you have is choosing to redefine + expand the filters in which you see the world.
Learn to honor all versions of yourself. Who you are today is how you will become who you want to be tomorrow.
We have not outgrown or outsmarted our primal instincts - we have only become conditioned to ignore them. One of the greatest gifts we can give ourselves is relearning how to recognize our primal instincts and listen to them carefully.
Some people will serve you for a day. Some a week, a month or a year. Learn to recognize when their service in your life is complete and let them go with love and gratitude.
How you do one thing is how you do everything - so do everything really, really well.
Life is not a knowledge game, but a practice game so makes practicing a habit. One of my favorite mantra quotes of all time. What does your practice arena look like? Who are the peers you are able to practice with?
Running away is necessary sometimes. Give yourself the grace and space to do so if you feel you need to. I ran away a lot this year, and I am better for it.
You really do have all of your own answers if you learn to listen closely enough.
Define the legacy want to leave behind on this Earth. How are you living out that legacy every day?
Write a list of 22 things that scare the shit out of you. Do as many of them as you can this year. #fuckyourfears (if you are in Austin… I have a special workshop coming for you soon).
Don’t be afraid of dying. Be afraid of not living. We will all die. Most will never live.
Be here now with all that is. Stop and smell the flowers, look up at the shape of the clouds. Get out of your head and into your body.
Your ego is not your enemy (sorry, Ryan Holiday). it’s a window into the most fascinating, most beckoning parts of your soul.
How are you responsible for the negativity or tension you are currently experiencing in your life? Where do you have the power to show up differently? When you take radical responsibility over your life, you will see radical results.
If you don’t yet know how to surf, make it a point to take lessons this year. The only constant changes and those who know how to shred it, are the ones who have the most fun out in the water.
And one bonus…Owning your shit means owning your power of choice. Own your power to choose YOU every moment of every day.
Danielle Gertner is an Ownership Coach, community builder, and podcast host who is on a mission to unlock the world’s radical confidence with her signature Own Your Shit method. She uses a unique blend of neurolinguistic programming, hypnosis, trauma-informed somatic work, story work, and primal play to help her clients make soul-shifting transformations that last a lifetime.
To get to know Danielle more, visit her website: