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The Secret teacher, Lisa Nichols, speaks to us about how to create your best life - here are our 4 favourite quotes from her

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Nthabi Nhlapo

You may know her as one of the teachers who were featured in the Law of Attraction movie, The Secret or as a co-author of Chicken Soup for the Soul. If not, you might have seen her on one of the Oprah Winfrey shows, on Steve Harvey’s show, the Today Show, Extra or on numerous other shows where she has been featured. You might have read one of her seven best-selling books.

If you haven’t encountered her, it might be worth getting to know Lisa, one of the foremost personal transformation speakers in the world. Hers is a story that she not only tells, but she personifies it.

READ MORE: 10 famous quotes by the legendary Toni Morrison

I first started reading Lisa’s books and following her work about four years ago.  So, when the opportunity came to meet the personal transformation coach at a press event in Sandton a few days before she was due to speak at the Wealth Masters Tour at the Sandton Convention Centre, I had a sudden rush of euphoria and started a countdown to the event. 

She will be speaking about limiting beliefs, how to stay in your power at all time and delivering and impactful message.

When the day to meet this powerhouse came what I didn’t anticipate was the intimate interaction and authenticity that I (and everyone else in the room) felt as she began to take questions at the event. 

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Surely when your work has touched over 30 000 million lives globally there has to be some bravado when interacting with us? Not with Lisa, she has a way of instilling a sense of worth in her audience and being fully present in the moment.

Just when we all thought she would offer a statement on why she chose to come to South Africa for the conference when she already has a busy schedule that has her travelling across the globe for the bulk of the year, she disappointed. No statement, no rehearsed speech. 

Just good old conversation – straight from her heart to ours.

She made it very clear that this would be a press event like we have never seen before, and it was – judging from the tears that flowed freely (from Lisa and guests) as she spoke. It’s hard to be left untouched when she tells her personal story of transformation, her charisma is contagious. 

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Lisa was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth, in fact the opposite is true. She went from being a struggling single mom on public assistance to millionaire entrepreneur and corporate CEO. All this while learning to manage her weight, functional dyslexia, going through a depression, an abusive relationship and a whole host of other challenges. But she sees these as stepping stones. 

How does one transform her life so drastically? This is how she did it: 

When she couldn’t afford nappies for her son, Jelani, for several days when he was still a baby she made him a promise that “mommy will never be this broke again”. And from that day she started working on her own personal transformation.

“I grew up academically challenged and I failed almost every class. I struggled academically and socially and it wasn’t until I stopped looking for others’ validation of my beauty [that things turned around],” she says. Her success did not come by luck, it was orchestrated by the speaker long before the fame. 

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She does not believe in waiting for miracles but rather in strategy. After she made that promise to baby Jelani, it was time so execute so Lisa decided to cut out some items from her budget such as doing her hair, doing her nails, eating out etc. 

“I was willing to be mildly to significantly inconvenienced to build a future that I wanted to have. I had to be radical,” Lisa says. So, she started writing cheques from as little as 110 dollars (about R1620) to herself every week with the reference, ‘funding my dream’ – over time the amount on the cheques grew and she got a second job and saved that entire cheque. She never checked her bank balance and three and half years later she was pleasantly shocked to find out that she had saved up 62 500 dollars (about R925 500) and this is where her business, Motivating the Masses Inc started.

Today, through her work, Lisa has touched numerous lives, including yours truly. She speaks from the heart and because she has a turbulent past she doesn't teach textbook theory, but rather practically applicable steps that she has applied in her own life. 

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We put together our favourite quotes from Lisa after our conversation with her:

1. You have one job – wake up every morning and like yourself. To know that today, right now, you are 100% of what you need to be.

2. Your past doesn’t equal your future. It’s a setup – not a barrier, not a setback. What makes my story of being a best-selling author so wonderful is that I got a fail in English, what makes my story of being a global speaker is because I got a D- for speech and my speech teacher recommended that I never ever speak in public again.

3. You are your own rescue. No one can rescue you but you. Own your power and make it contagious.

4. When you liberate yourself, you liberate the people witnessing you. Your life doesn’t belong to only you. 

Who are some of the inspirational people you would like to ready about? Share your thoughts with us here.

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