As you know, I set my intentions for the coming month on the New Moon. This past Sunday, August 4th, the New Moon in Leo focused on leadership, courage, generosity, passion, pride, creativity, playfulness, and having fun. It was a reminder to put yourself first, show up for yourself, and shine.
In July, I read Overdeliver by Brian Kurtz. While the book is about direct response marketing, a simple sentence and paragraph really spoke to me, shook me, and shifted my perspective. Brian Kurtz's concept of "The Power of 100:0" encourages giving 100% in every relationship, no matter what comes back.
This fits perfectly with the New Moon in Leo, which is about becoming a leader, being courageous, and being generous. Just shine and don’t expect anything in return. Shine like the sun, be like nature, generously give, radiate, and send goodness out no matter what.
Brian Kurtz says, "Customers might not be knocking down your door, but when you make the effort to reach out with no reservations or ulterior motives, you’ll get great results because they value hearing from you. You can let the imbalance annoy you, own you, or make you quit... or you can accept it as reality and make the most of it."
My Personal Experience
This hit a nerve with me! All my life, it seemed like it always had to be me reaching out to people. I expected my relationships to be a perfect give-and-take, not only so I felt valued and appreciated, but also because I thought if it was only me reaching out, that meant they didn’t want to hear from me. I felt like I was bothering them or being a burden. As a longtime listener to my podcast, you know this negative thinking and the limiting beliefs create mental clutter, emotional clutter, and a lot of suffering.
Brian goes on to say, "It’s easy to feel hurt or to take it personally when you are making a disproportionate effort. But when you bring 100 percent to any relationship, the payoff of having those people on board is almost always worth the extra effort."
If I had expected all my relationships to be a perfect give-and-take, I would have missed out on years of friendship with some of the most important people in my life. This one stings because I can see where I have missed out on friendships because of this tit-for-tat approach of mine. Sometimes, I felt resentful because it always had to be me, and with all that mental and emotional clutter, I gave up on some friendships out of self-centeredness, pride, and stubbornness.
Setting Intentions for Connection
The word I picked for 2024 back at the Winter Solstice 2023 is "Connection." I wanted to be and feel more connected in 2024 and create more connections, but the first seven months haven’t been that successful. I think it’s because I wasn’t looking at it as giving 100% no matter what comes back.
So, this New Moon in Leo, I set the intention to give 100% in every relationship—personally, professionally, with friends and family, with colleagues, and with my audience (that’s you, my friend and reader) and my customers. This intention requires me to:
Be courageous in reaching out over and over.
Be generous, no matter what comes back, and stay open and reach out again.
Be passionate about keeping those relationships alive or building them in the first place.
Be playful and have fun with it instead of making it hard or a tit-for-tat game.
Put myself out there, show up for me, and for the relationship.
I also need to declutter my thinking:
Let go of thoughts like "I am bothering them"—until they tell me so, this is just self-sabotage.
Let go of pride, being too proud to be the one reaching out over and over.
Let go of stubbornness, thinking it needs to be 50-50, tit-for-tat, when it really only needs to be 100:0.
Let go of self-centeredness, thinking I’m bothering them or it’s always me, without knowing what’s going on in their life.
Setting Your Own Intentions
Maybe you don’t struggle with this, maybe you’re like Brian and already give 100% in any relationship, no matter what. If so, chapeau to you! Here are some questions you can ask yourself to set your own intentions on this New Moon in Leo:
Where do you need more courage?
In what situations do you want to be brave?
How can you take a more playful approach to clear clutter and get organized?
What brings you pure joy? How can you bring more of it into your life?
Where are you the most creative? How can you bring more of it into your life?
How can you live more from the heart? (Leo = heart)
Letting go of:
In what ways might pride be hindering you?
Where might you be stubborn and sabotaging yourself?
In what ways are negative thinking and limiting beliefs hindering you?
Sample Intentions
I have fun when I let my heart lead.
I practice open-heartedness and courage.
I am generous in everything I do and with everyone I interact with.
I shine and am myself with everyone and in all situations, with no apologies!
I inspire and let myself be inspired by others.
I create the opportunity to help someone else shine.
And the most important question: Where can you bring more light to humanity, and more peace to the world?
