But that doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun, stylish time as you ring in the new year.

Fox 40 in Sacramento asked me share some tips on how to zhuzh up your New Year’s Eve. It’s all about more intimate, meaningful and connected experiences.

Here are some highlights on how to have a safe and sane NYE.

1. Smaller soirees

Bigger is not always better — this year it’s all about staying safe and quality over quantity. Instead of big parties, many folks are opting for smaller, more intimate gatherings that are more meaningful and controllable. The key here is that you can control who and how many people come to your home.

2. What’s a celebration without food? Can I say, “Potluck, please?”

Get creative and raise the bar with a potluck-themed party by creating a DIY bar. Think nacho bar or sandwich bar. One of my friends went all out and did an Eggs Benedict bar!

Or pick your favorite cookbook and ask guests to make one thing from it. This idea helps you cut costs and the stress of having to prepare everything yourself. And it’s fun!

3. Retreat — if the pandemic’s pause has taught me anything, it’s YOU do YOU, no regrets

Don’t feel stressed about doing nothing. If you feel like not having anybody over, I don’t blame you. Nothing’s wrong with vegging out on the couch, watching the ball drop around the world and FaceTiming or doing a group call to catch up with loved ones.

4. Timing isn’t everything

If you have young folks in your life who can’t stay up till midnight, ring in the new year at noon, then have lunch to celebrate. Be flexible — when it comes to being with loved ones, anytime is the right time.

So how am I welcoming in 2022? By cooking a yummy meal with a friend, creating a list of what’s working in my life and what isn’t, and writing in the sand on the beach in San Francisco things that don’t serve my highest self and letting the waves wash them away.

However you decide to celebrate the new year, may it be full of love, gratitude, reflection and hope. Happy New Year!

Xx,
Toan

The post How to Ring in a Safe and Meaningful New Year appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

So many emotions and revelations emerged from my last session from December that I needed to sit with them. A couple days after the session, right after my morning workout, the “ahas” started to materialize. While walking to my car, I felt my gut telling me to go to a nearby park. I recorded my thoughts into this video diary. Don’t you love it when the messages flow in? Things like, “Where do I go next in my career?” “Why did I go through such big challenges last year?” “What did I learn from them?” “How can I be kinder to myself?” And perhaps the biggest revelation, “All along when I was feeling lost, I was learning more about my true path.” Hello, yellow brick road of revelations.

Here’s a recap of my three biggest lessons from 2018:

1. It’s OK to be/feel LOST

This year, I felt more lost than I ever have in my life. I realized that I put many of my professional goals on the backburner to heal and grieve the loss of my brother-in-law to suicide two summers ago. I felt guilty for not feeling like doing my to-do list and not motivated to achieve more on the professional front. Then, the realization hit me: I was grieving. I was so busy getting things done and helping my sister and her kids get things in order that I the grief didn’t settle in until a year later. I also learned this was teaching me about compassion, empathy and a deeper connection with God as well as those around me.

The truth is, we all feel lost in life. It’s not a bad thing. It’s not taboo. It’s OK. It’s is a process that leads us to the next chapter. Looking back at my career, I always knew the “why” but not the “how.” One day, I remembered thinking I had achieved all of my professional goals: TV reporter, host for PBS show and teaching at the university level. This is how I’ve remained patient and not driven myself crazy as I worked toward these dreams: I’ve become more comfortable with not having to know the how — that will reveal itself. You just need to take these steps:

a) Set your intention(s)
b) Take action toward the intention(s) that bring you excitement
c) Stay consistent
d) Surrender to what is and how things unfold (this last part is the hardest)

During a holiday party, Kelly Starrett, renowned coach and co-owner of San Francisco CrossFit, and I spoke about being OK in the lost-ness and that being lost is essential to finding the most authentic path for you. Nobody gets to where they are supposed to go without feeling lost and making mistakes. These are essential truths that lead us to becoming more of our authentic selves… #SoTrue #Adulting

He reminded me of the life lessons we spoke about during an interview with him for my “TruthDare” podcast.

2. #YouDoYouBoo

#AdultingIsHard. There is no handbook, life is truly a real-life “Choose Your Own Adventure” journey. I had many professional goals for myself this year, but felt like I fell short of some of them. But according to whose timeline? Only I know what I’m truly feeling. Only I know the challenges I’m experiencing. Only I know what my gut is telling me.

3. You Are Exactly Where You Are Supposed to Be

No matter what you are going through in life, know that it is the perfect place you’re supposed to be. Yes, even if it is a painful experience, it is here to teach you more about your best self. I’ve learned that experiences are like dots scattered on the floor. Each dot is an experience. When you learn from them, you connect the dots, which creates a zig-zag path that is supposed to be for you. No matter the experience laid before me — good, bad or ugly — each one has taught me more about myself, my character, my strength, my resilience and my spirit. I learned the heartache from the loss of a family member and helped me become more compassionate and empathetic toward others… including me.

So to all my fellow seekers, be kind to yourself. Allow yourself to feel all the feels so you can heal. It’s OK to be lost. Sit with it. Then work through it. Some people like to talk it out, some people journal, while others like to still in nature or if you’re like me, it’s all of the above. Breathe, be present and do things that excite you and use your power/talent to serve others.

Hooray to a new year, happy joyful soulful 2019!

As Oprah says, “Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.”

What were your biggest lessons of 2018? What are your intentions for 2019? Wishing you an auspicious, joyful and LOVE-filled new year.

Xx
Toan

P.S. These free-flow video diaries are fun. I think I’m going to do more of them.

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The post Why I Went From New Year’s Resolutions to New Year’s Intentions appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

Remember to be bold, share beauty and have fun this year! The words that describe the essence I envisage this new season are BOLD, BEAUTY and FUN.

This winter, as I waited patiently for buds to bloom and spring to arrive, I had a quiet epiphany: Everything leading up to the cherry blossoms and flowers started long before buds emerged from branches and stems. The soil, water and sun all played a part in determining how big the blossoms will billow and how plentiful the yield of flowers and fruit will be. Just like how the intentions we set are the soil, the conversations and baby steps of action we take are the water and sunlight.

Admittedly, I am not the most patient of peeps. I’ve already checked my Instagram and email several times as I type this paragraph. I often feel like the branches of a fledgling tree clambering toward the sun or that next story or project to tackle. I’ve realized, as my spiritual friend Terrie Crowley once told me, when things seem slow, to relax. Enjoy it. Get rest. It’s God giving you time to restore and regain energy because things will become busy again as you continue to do God’s work.

I wrestle with the word “busy.” I hate it because it seems like a cover-up for not being attentive to things such as chores, going to the doctor and doing bills. Resting is not a part of my DNA. I’ve always felt restless when I sit idly too long. That’s why I am trying my hardest to continue a meditation practice. I’m currently doing Oprah and Deepak’s 21-Day Meditation Experience, aptly titled, “Finding The Lightness In Your Life — A Personal Journey.”

Lord, do I need light more than ever. While my interactions with people and Instagram posts are a great reminder of the beauty in life, I have also been sparring with darker issues. And boy, when it comes to the topic of grief, I feel like I’ve been sucker-punched over and over again.

Just when I thought I became an expert at grieving (I lost four family members in about a year’s time early in my career), I was knocked to the ground, spiritually, last summer when my brother-in-law committed suicide. As I often do when tragedy strikes, I wrote to right the insanity in my head.

Last week, I awoke to another terrible tragedy. My creative-spirit-dreamer-sister-friend Fiona Pattison pinged me on Facebook to tell me our friend Jonathan Walker, a well-known street busker in London and gentle spirit, passed away suddenly. The cause is still unknown. My heart sank. I jumped on a call with Fiona — she’s an intuitive — to talk and catch up. I told her I was OK and started talking about projects I’ve been working on.

She stopped me in my tracks and said, “No, how are you?” She sensed I had a deep grief-stricken sadness. She suggested I do some personal writing to heal. She was dead on. While I never have had thoughts of hurting myself, I did recognize I am in a dark place in my soul.

Besides writing, I am doing other things that bring me joy: CrossFit, handstand classes, coffee and tea dates and lots of design. Most days, I am rearranging something in my home to change the energy and change up what my eyes get bored with aesthetically. Oh, I can’t forget my almost daily practices: meditation, yoga and prayer.

Since last summer, I have prayed a lot and wrote in my journal I wanted a creative shift. I sought new ways to leverage audio and video in the nontraditional news style of my nonprofit Go Inspire Go, where, for a decade, I’ve told stories of everyday heroes to inspire the hero in you to help others.

As I’ve had time to reflect, I realized in my quest to help people find the hero in themselves, I, in turn, found the hero in me. I realized more of my true power — my voice and ability to lift, gift and shift people with my words and energy. Yes, that is my power. I’m OK with saying that because at first, I was like, “Who am I to say this? Who do I think I am?” Why do we shy away from our gifts, our magic, our fabulousness?

Now that spring has sprung, I’m taking stock of the seeds of intention I planted on New Year’s Day. I even blogged about it, with the intention to inspire others to take time to plant the seeds of intention and dream big.

So, here’s how I am living out this year’s mantra — BOLD, BEAUTY and FUN.

Being BOLD

In my journal, I wrote, “I want me and others to live and be more of our truth.” I caught myself saying, “I want an easier, free-flowing way to capture audio and video from conversations that I’ve been having with my beloved friends and family.” Be careful what you wish for! I launched my new TruthDare podcast with an All-Star lineup, including a star from Broadway, CrossFit legends and the first Mexican chef to earn a Michelin star.

I realized while I loved putting the Go Inspire Go “newsy”-style superhero videos together, it wasn’t my true authentic voice. Instead, I realized the format I love is more of a talk show-style, and that practice allowed me to rehearse my new TruthDare podcast.

Sharing Beauty in Design

Everybody who knows me knows I love me some design. Whether it’s observing nature’s magic with spring blooms or fall foliage, interior design, fashion or talking to friends about designing a life authentic to them, I’m always game for design of all types.

From strangers on Insta to my soul brothers and sisters, I’ve been urged to share more of my design tips. Within the past year, I’ve been entrusted with the task of totally redesigning the homes of some friends/clients. On a whim, I’ve shared design tips ranging from candle care to choosing that perfect paint color or rug that pulls the room together. I’ve taken on the challenge and will start delivering fun videos that answer your design dilemma questions.

The first question comes from my CrossFit coach and friend, Diane Fu — and fellow pal with a penchant for one too many candles — who asked me how I care for my candles. BTW, you can never have too many candles.

FUN Being Alive and Going LIVE

I have also been obsessed with live platforms — Instagram, Facebook — wow, technology is insane!

I’m not going to lie. Going live on FB is scary because there are no do-overs. Strangely, it’s also a place I feel most alive though. A few weeks ago, I met up with my soul brother Lonnell Williams for tea and we both ended the convo by saying we wished we could have recorded that conversation (actually, we say that every time we chat). Then we thought, wait, we can record our convos through Facebook! So for no other reason than having fun, we created our own LIVE talk show-style Facebook Live chats, appropriately named “YOLO with ToLo: Loving Life with Toan & Lonnell.”

Every Wednesday, we vow to get on Facebook and chat about topics that interest us, catch up on what we are doing in life and the little life lessons that challenge us to be our better selves.

Like the branches on a tree, it seems like my projects are going several different directions. However, they’re all rooted in the idea of designing your own life. I decided to use my newsletter to deliver design inspiration to your inbox. I’m calling it, “Design a Life that is True to YOU.”

You’ll get:

1. A short video on a design tip of the week. Again, the first one is about Candle Care 101.

2. I’ll introduce you to someone who has designed a life authentic to them. It’ll be a mash-up of someone I’ve met through Go Inspire Go, TruthDare or a link from an outside source. If you haven’t listened to the podcast yet, here’s Episode 1 — an introduction, intention and how it could help you in your journey to find your personal, professional or spiritual truth.

3. And for fun, I’ll include a link to the “YOLO with ToLo” chat. Here are the first two Facebook live videos:

Very first FB live w/ Lonnell Williams:

Facebook Live convo 2 with my soul brother Lonnell:

What are you doing to be bold and have fun this season? I want to know. Tweet/Insta/FB me at @toanlamtv.

So this season, I’m not looking toward the next. Cue one of my fave Carole King songs: “Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call and I’ll be there.” (Side note: If you haven’t seen “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” you must! I loved it so much I even interviewed Salisha Thomas, who plays a Shirelle sister in the Broadway musical.)

In the meantime, I’ll be indulging in the simple things: warm laundry from the dryer, snapping a sunrise or sunset, walking in nature, a magical interaction with a stranger. My goal is to enjoy every morsel of every season — even on chilly days, enjoying a wet walk in the rain — instead of longing for spring blooms and summer sun.

Onward,
Toan

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The post A Love Letter to Me — and Spring ❀ appeared first on Go Inspire Go.

How many of you subscribe to this way of thinking? New diet? New job? New boo? Do you set new personal, professional and spiritual goals during the new year?

So cliché, no?

I personally don’t set lofty goals just for the new year. Why? Because of a pattern of disappointment and feeling like a failure. Instead, I do check-ins periodically throughout the year. I call them “intention-setting sessions” and do them with my two soul sisters, Kate and Keely.

Several people have asked me what happens during these special intention-setting sessions, so I’ve decided to share with you. Remember, this is all about what works for you, so feel free to soak in what works and expunge what doesn’t resonate with you.

The Pow Wow — Setting Intentions

Intentions are like planted seeds. While strategizing and taking action are the sunlight and water, your intentions need to bloom and manifest. A few years ago, Kate, Keely and I decided to meet up every six months to have an intention-setting sesh. Why six months? We figured we could bookend the year with a session and check in mid-year in June to see how we are doing, what we like and don’t like about our lives and how to course correct. Swerve with us….

Why meet with folks?

There are no rules. This is designed to be in-the-flow and fun. If you like to be zen and do it alone, more power to ya. No need for soul sisters and brothers to bounce ideas off of. Just do a sole intention sesh with yourself. I find it to be helpful to talk it out, share insights and brainstorm ideas on how to take action on our intentions, strategies and solutions. It also helps to “talk about it” as you are more likely to stick to your intentions if you have others holding you accountable.

Pre-Planning, Homework Before the Intention-Setting Session

A few weeks before we meet, we do a little pre-sesh homework. We each create a document that works for us. I like to write, so I have a Word doc that outlines six months of adventures, travels, highs, lows, etc. Keely likes visuals, so she includes pie-charts, graphs and photos. Kate likes to draw, so she does everything by hand, with colored pencils and pens.

If you need more structure, you could use a year planning booklet such as YearCompass. (Thanks Kate for organizing us and for the tip). This free downloadable gem of booklet helps you organize life events, goals, milestones, etc. from last year and the year ahead. It’s chock full of awesomeness and reminders to “Arrive, Put on some relaxing music, Pour yourself a hot beverage, Let go of all your expectations, Start when ready.”

How It Goes Down

We generally start out the morning with a brisk walk, 15-30 minutes.

Kate hosts the sessions in her San Francisco apartment.

We meditate for 10 minutes.

Next, we spend 40 minutes reflecting on the past six months.

Break: Kate makes us an amazing Japanese-style breakfast — yum!

Then, we spend 40 minutes reflecting on what are intentions are for the next six months. They range from personal, professional and spiritual things we want to manifest.

For example, one year, I wanted to find more truth to my journey personally and professionally. I wrote in my intention journal that I wanted to find an easier, more user-friendly platform to record conversations I have been having with friends.

I remember thinking, “There are so many life lessons and spiritual learnings from these conversations. How do I record these on the fly and get them out to a wider audience?”

Voila! My dear friend Celeste Perry, a radio DJ in San Francisco, connected me to the amazing folks at Strawberry Hill Productions. We created the TruthDare podcast, a series of illuminating conversations with badasses who took the leap of faith to follow their true calling. The goal of the podcast is to inspire listeners to dare to find their truth.

Fast-forward a year — woo hoo! I have had so many soul-stirring conversations with truth-tellers like Ari Afsar, who stars as Eliza Hamilton in “Hamilton,” Carlos Gaytan, the first Mexican chef to earn a Michelin star and Juliet and Kelly Starrett, who are legends in the CrossFit world.

As I journaled about my past year, I was overwhelmed by all the miracles and blessings. My cup runneth over with gratitude. When you speak your truth, the universe helps you find flow to support your journey.

Friends and strangers connected me to the amazing lineup of interviewees. I found support through sponsors like Moeloco (most inspiring flip-flops that are good for your soul and sole), Weal Life (an app that makes it easier to coordinate care for your loved one) and MobilityWOD (“the ultimate guide to eliminating pain, preventing injury and maximizing athletic performance”). Thank you Jesus!

After reflecting, we close out the session with an hour of sharing what worked, what didn’t, how course correct to make changes that support our journey and how we support one another. I’ve learned we are not alone in our journey. I’ve also realized the key to joy is in finding that truth that excites you and taking actions to manifest and follow it — knobby knees, heart palpitations, sweaty palms and all! When you use your talents in service of others, somehow, someway, God, the universe, a higher intelligence guides you.

This last part may or may not be for you, but since Kate, Keely and I believe in God and the divine, we pull a few angel cards, which correspond with words that may signify the year to come. My words this year were “Love,” “Unity” and “Forgiveness.” Each word corresponds with ancient wisdom in an accompanying booklet on how this angel will guide us in the coming year.

That’s it! Remember, there are no hard and fast rules to the intention-setting session. It’s your intention, so go with your gut. Create a session that works for you. Be in the flow — write, draw, play — as long as you are setting intentions that align with your values and wildest dreams. Good luck and happy new year!

Onward,
Toan

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I’ve never really made New Year’s resolutions. But last year, I resolved to do one thing that changed me (from the inside out) every day of 2012.

I finally got around to keeping a journal — why did I wait so long?!

It’s not just one of these woo woo journals for the sake of saying you keep a journal. Instead of a sole gratitude journal, I started an evidence/gratitude journal — inspired by two people, one of whom I know, another who I will know or at least meet one day: Devyn Rush and Oprah Winfrey.

I’ve always been a fan of Oprah and have always kept her crusade to inspire folks to keep a gratitude journal in the back of my mind. It sat on the back burner until December 19th of 2011 — that’s when I finally lit the flame.

An inferno of miracles ensued.

I always thought, why keep a journal? I am present now, enjoying the now already. Well, what I realized is that this is where the magic happens — when you actually put them down on paper, effervescence happens… your thoughts manifest into something tangible, something real.

My friend Devyn Rush, a former American Idol contestant who is also a national spokesperson for Hey U.G.L.Y., a bully prevention organization, told me about this journal, “Building the Best You.” If you get the privilege to know Devyn, you will walk away feeling reenergized by her infectious positive energy. At her behest, I decided to finally put pen to paper and took the penning plunge promise. My goal was to write in it everyday — I knew this would be a big feat for me because I get bored easily — but I’m proud to say I did it. Woo hoo. And whoa! Wee. Wow.

This viscerally changed me from the inside out.

What’s the difference between a gratitude journal and an evidence journal? The evidence part is when you log what you did for the day — then the gratitude part is when you write down things that unfolded that you’re grateful for.

Everyday I wrote down what I did that day, then at least five things that I was grateful for. The Building the Best You journal is a two year journal, each page is split in half. The left fold is year one, the right fold, year two.

I remember Oprah saying, “Some days I’d be grateful for seeing a squirrel in the park.” And boy wasn’t that the truth. She’s right, it doesn’t matter how simple something seemed or the lack of things you felt grateful for, it’s the fact that you’ve put this gratitude exercise into practice. And like a muscle that is put into action, I’ve become more aware and conscious of the beauty surrounding my life everyday. My favorite author, Eckhart Tolle, calls this “awareness.”

No matter how bad my day was, I found myself grateful for the lessons that came in different ways, shapes and forms. I started searching for things that I was grateful for during my days: a phone call from a loved one, discovering yet another street-corner style hero to feature in my nonprofit, Go Inspire Go, or a walk with a friend along the pier. It became habit.

I randomly flipped through my journal a couple of nights ago and was happy to see that I was grateful for “being present” and “my breath” and feeling connected to something bigger than myself were constant themes. What a big accomplishment.

Among the highlights of things I’ve logged:

1. Being more present than ever before: to nature, people and my spirit — not the “ego” or “thinking thing” rather, what Tolle calls “the watcher” — my inner compass.
2. Connections to people. I felt like the Universe sent me personal and professional connections that continue to help me grow as a person as well as progress within my nonprofit, Go Inspire Go.
3. Realization that when you become present and surrender to the ebb and flow of life, you are open to receiving more. Gratitude begets more goodness (and things to be grateful for).

What I’ve realized is that the miracles have always been there; I just became aware that they were happening — which in turn created and ignited more miracles. That’s the law of attraction at work. Ever notice how when you start the day by saying, “This is going to be a bad or stressful day” — the universe delivers a “Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day?” What about those days when you say, “It’s going to be a great day!”

As a kid, I always woke up thinking, “What will I learn today? Who will I meet? What will happen?” Now I go to sleep logging the days happenings, building awareness and counting my blessings. In a sense, keeping this journal brought back the child within and has taught me to unlearn certain things we’ve learned as adults and to go back to that innocent, creative, awe-filled child’s lens we all had when we were discovering the world as children.

I’m glad I finally took action to count the miracles and enjoy them fully — I’ve evolved physically, mentally and spiritually thanks to the simple five-minute exercise of keeping an evidence/gratitude journal.

Are you aware of the miracles showing up in your life everyday? Write them down and witness them multiply.

My favorite author Eckhart Tolle says that the universe conspires to help us all. “But if the shutters are closed the sunlight can not come in.”

Cheers to a new year of counting your blessings and logging the light that comes through your window.

Happy New Year — Happy New You.

Sincerely,
Toan

P.S. What can YOU do?

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The post No New Year’s Resolution, Instead One Thing That Changed EVERY DAY of My Life Last Year appeared first on Go Inspire Go.