Is everything really figureoutable?  And haven’t we already talked about it?  Yes and yes.  This book by Marie Forleo was so good that I wanted to share what I learned in the second half.  After you listen, why not buy the book and try this yourself?  No matter where you are in life, if you’ve got something you’re trying to figure out, or can’t seem to get done, practicing the Everything is Figureoutable principles can help you get and keep moving.

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On This Episode

Rhythm of Life – Where’s the Song?
Random Riffs – Batching Revisited
Feature Segment – Everything is Figureoutable, Part 2

Today’s Quote

There is a wisdom of the head, and a wisdom of the heart.  – Charles Dickens

Rhythm of Life – Where’s the Song?

“Why not make some 5-minute art about that?”  That’s something my friend Sam Bennett says a lot.  She explained it in her book “Get it Done – From Procrastination to Creative Genius in 15 Minutes a Day”

So now I’m on a group call with Sam and 5 other women.  Describing the frustration of my creative work not working.

This time she didn’t suggest making 5-minute art.  This time, she asked “Where’s the song?”  She wanted me to practice the thing that was frustrating me to express how I felt.  Get back on the horse, so to speak.

You can hear what I wrote and what I learned by listening to the episode.

So, where’s your song?  Or whatever you make?  The world needs more of it.

Random Riffs – Batch It Revisited

You know how on Episode 130 I talked about how I batched my cooking, and that you could use this method to get more done with any project?

Well, this segment isn’t called Random Riffs for nothing.  Because sometimes random thoughts just pop into my head.  Like the song that you can hear when you listen to the episode.

It’s good to find the humor in almost anything.  And, I guess I have a lot of dishes to wash.

Feature Segment:  Everything is Figureoutable, Part 2

It’s all about love.  That’s the letter my 100-year-old self wrote to my present self as part of an exercise in Marie Forleo’s book Everything is Figureoutable.  Marie asked me to go to a quiet place, get comfortable, set the timer for 15 minutes, and allow my hand to move on the paper without thinking, editing, or stopping.

Now I’ve done this before.  It’s similar to Morning Pages, an exercise taught by Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way.

Marie’s exercise is similar but not exactly the same.  Listen to the episode to hear what Marie recommends and how it turned out when I tried it.  And if you want to hear my commentary on the first half of Marie’s book, listen to Episode 128.

Anyway, what my 100-year-old self wrote to my present self was all about love.  I really had no idea what was going to come out.  I prayed before I started.  And that’s what materialized on the paper as I wrote without thinking, editing, or stopping.

I can’t even begin to describe how powerful this was for me.  To see these words and read them back out loud.  I know I said this about the last episode with another exercise, but this one alone was worth the price of the book.

So was this one, called “What I really want is…”  It's meant to be done over 5-7 days, I did it for 9.  And had some interesting observations after completing it.

1. What I wrote was influenced by how I was feeling at the time.
2. Even so, there were still some themes that consistently stood out.

After reviewing the primary themes, I wrote a summary with an analysis of my conclusions.  Listen to the episode to hear what they are.

My analysis of this exercise:

1. Its power lies in your willingness to be honest.
2. Even for someone like me who is multi-passionate, and cares about a lot of causes, you can eventually see trends/theme if you keep at it.
3. It’s important to use both your mind and heart to discern what’s right for you. .

If you’re willing to do the hard work, using both your mind and heart, get Everything Is Figureoutable.  Don’t just read it.  Do the “Insight to Action” challenges.  Because power isn’t in knowing.  Power is in doing.

Now, you and I are still limited by our own beliefs.  We can’t simply chant positive affirmations to get ourselves to believe a different truth.  That’s where next book comes in: Afformations.

I’m just about to start reading it now.  When I get far enough along to evaluate it for you, I’ll include it in an episode.  In the meantime, if you have a book recommendation, send an email to  kathleen@kathleenannthompson.com, or leave a comment.

Everything Is Figureoutable.  It’s a great attitude to have in 2020, and beyond..

Self-Improvement Series

127 – Series Introduction
128 – Everything is Figureoutable
130 – My One Word Review