When it comes to discovering our past, present, and future selves, the long-standing question of identity will inevitably come to mind. In this episode, Danielle gets up close and personal with you as she shares her own journey of decoupling from her relationships and reconnecting with herself through the Pursuit of Pleasure.
From redefining what pleasure means, to finding true intimacy in your friendships, Danielle bares it all by sharing her own pleasure pursuit practices so that you too may be inspired to create your own.
Tune in with Danielle, and uncover what it means to reconnect with who you truly are in this season of inquiry, expansion, and celebration of all our selves.
QUOTABLES
“Life is that journey of first discovering who we are, then creating who we are, and then remembering who we are.”
KEY POINTS
RESOURCES
GO SUBSCRIBE to SINCE3000 on All Streaming Platforms
0:00Hey, welcome to SINCE3000 where we are here to0:03access our past, present and future selves. And in this0:06episode, I want to get real personal. So I'm going to talk0:09about this process I've gone through of decoupling from my0:13marriage, a previous relationship, and then my0:16business, another previous relationship. And what that0:19process looked like of me to start accessing this portal to0:23the present.0:29I'm so excited to bring you today's episode. But before we0:33do, I need to make sure you've heard about member up. So0:36community driven products are the future. But Facebook groups0:40are a thing of the past. And after 10 plus years in the0:43online education space, I've taken all my learnings and I've0:47built this incredible platform member up. It's a customizable,0:51easy to use all in one platform where you can build a premium0:55course community or membership site without the tech headache,0:58gone are the days of having to duct tape together, your1:02content, your community, your payments, all on different1:05platforms, I want you to do me a favor, do yourself a favor and1:09head over right now to memberup.com/Danielle. And you1:12can get started for free today. I promise you, I can't wait for1:16you to see this platform. It's beautiful. Okay, the design is1:20amazing your community is going to feel at home here and you are1:24going to take pride in your online business, it is the place1:28to start head over to memberup.com/Danielle. Now let's1:31get into the episode. I think I found myself at a point where I1:35was running. Well, I was just coming out of a seven year1:38relationship. And I had spent that time defining myself in1:42reference to this other person, which is common, right you you1:46are coupled up. And so my identity was in relation to this1:49person. And once that relationship ended, I found1:52myself asking, I think the all important question of who are1:56you? And I think my whole year was spent answering that2:00question. And all the things I pursued were in pursuit of that2:03question. And I found myself in this period, when I think about2:07my life, I think about it in like three phases. The first was2:11discovering who I was, and I feel like that was like, you2:15know, childhood, teens. And I was trying different things.2:18Luckily, I had parents who expose me to a bunch of2:21different things. And I got to try piano I got to try tennis, I2:25got to try achievement, what does success look like for me?2:29What did these friendships look like for me, and so that was a2:33season of discovering who I am. That's when I said I want to be2:36an obstetrician when I grew up, and I tried all these different2:40things. And so that was my period of discovering who I was.2:44And then I reached a point where it was time to create who I was.2:48So the second phase was creating who I am. And that was you know,2:52the the time of creating course from scratch, creating my first2:56kind of big business, this empire that I was building that2:59started to define what I wanted to create and introduce into3:03this world. It was an extension of what was deep inside of me3:07this fascination with how can we translate our passion, our3:11experiences, our expertise, who we are into what we do for a3:14living? And how can we, you know, translate that to other3:18people who can benefit from it reach and teach people all over.3:22So that next phase was creating who I was. And then I would say3:26in this most recent phase, after decoupling myself from this3:29person, this relationship, I found myself decoupling from my3:33business. And it was in that moment that I realized, oh, wow,3:37like now's the time to remember who I am. I think life is that3:41journey of first discovering who we are, then creating who we3:44are, and then remembering who we are. And that goes back to3:48connecting with our past, our parents, our ancestors, all the3:52lessons we inherited in our DNA, because DNA is your divine North3:56awareness. It's that awareness of what's in your blood, what's4:00running through your veins, who you came from, what they taught4:03you. And then it is using that remembrance as a celebration of4:07who I am, as opposed to guilt and shame around who I am. So I4:11think I spent a year of answering this question, you4:14know, who am I and remembering who I was, and a way to remember4:18who I am is entering what I called a pleasure pursuit. So it4:22was the pursuit of pleasure. And there was a lot of new things I4:26had to learn. Uh, one of the things I had to learn was this4:29connection with my body. So I think in like, you know, Western4:33civilization, we're definitely taught to uphold the mind as the4:37all powerful organ, the thing that is going to direct and4:41explain and figure out everything which served me well,4:44right. I mean, it got me to where I was. And I think with4:48that was a disconnection with body with gut with what is this4:51feel like and being able to put it vocabulary around it, oh,4:55what is this behavior that I am continuing because of how I4:59feel. And so in that pursuit of pleasure, it was a reconnection5:03to my body to my feelings, you know what feels good, before I5:06would power through things, I would, you know, get into the5:10grind, whatever I deemed as success and the pinnacle and5:13achievement at that point I would go for and I would go5:17hard, and I would find myself, you know, depressed. And for me,5:21depression looks like avoidance. I'm an Aquarius. So you know,5:25there's always like, two sides of the coin, right. And I would5:28say one side of being an Aquarius is the I Exist on5:32another planet, I live in the future, we are visionaries,5:35we're able to, you know, see, think and create this new5:39reality. With that on the other side of the coin can come5:42avoidance with the present avoidance with what we're facing5:46right now. So I found myself in a lot of avoidance, I would say,5:50when I was depressed, that's what depression looked like for5:53me. And it meant kind of checking out. And so in this5:57time of being in the pursuit of my pleasure, I found myself6:00checking in checking in with how I felt my body. And I remember,6:04I had a business mentor, we were preparing to work together. They6:08sent me a questionnaire. And it was all these business6:12questions, you know, how much did your business make last6:15year? How much do you want to make? What does your team6:18consist of? And the question that stood out, and it was a6:22mind boggling I was like, why is this question in here? But the6:26question was, what do you define as pleasure? And are you able to6:30receive pleasure? And it was interesting, because when I read6:34that question, I immediately associated pleasure with like,6:37sexual feeling. And I was like, I mean, I don't know like, I'm6:41like a five on a one to 10. Like, I don't like what are you6:45asking? And it wasn't until probably a year or two later,6:48when I was in this questioning this inquiry of who am I? What6:52does pleasure mean to me? What does it look like for me to feel6:56good? In what I'm doing and who am I being where I really was7:00able to finally connect with pleasure that is not sexual.7:03It's just or it can be all you know, they have you come all7:07over. But it's a lot of other things. It's just feeling good.7:11Feeling good in your being feeling good. In the moment. I7:14found myself in practice of just asking myself moment to moment.7:18What would feel good right now? Hey, this is Danielle Leslie,7:22and I have a question for you. If you are a creative7:25entrepreneur, and your business is unique, why are you working7:29with a generic accountant? One of the best decisions I made was7:33who I would partner with on my taxes and my accounting. So if7:37you're creative entrepreneur, you are growing your business,7:40you're scaling your business, I want to introduce you to revel.7:44Revel is a firm that can help you whether you're looking to7:48prepare your taxes, or you're looking for that year round7:51support. They will tell you what's happening in your7:55business and why so if you're tired of being ignored, talked7:58down to or feeling like you are chasing around your accountant8:02and meeting to drive the relationship yourself. It's time8:06for change, head over to revel cpa.com Our EVL cpa.com Head on8:09over fill out their interest form and make sure you look into8:13working with them. Again, that is revel cpa.com r e ve l8:17cpa.com. We all deserve the right firm to partner with. It's8:20been proven that procrastination can be one of our biggest8:24enemies to success. Now contrary to belief, procrastination is8:28not based on a lack of time management or organizational8:31skills. Procrastination is directly linked to to our8:34emotions. Now, the reason I know this is because of Patty8:38Johnston. Patty Johnson is incredible. She's a course from8:42scratch member. But even more importantly, she's built8:45multiple multimillion dollar businesses once she learned how8:49to overcome procrastination. So she's created a program where8:52she shares her system on how to overcome procrastination. And8:56it's based on emotional intelligence, neuroscience and8:59accountability. She's going to show you step by step how to9:03overcome negative feelings. So you can start taking action and9:07start seeing a difference from day one. So text this number9:11right now to schedule an appointment with Patty and her9:14team to see if this is right for you, and what steps for you to9:18take to overcome your procrastination 813-789-1097 And9:21again, the number to text right now is 813-789-1097. Let's all9:25overcome procrastination together.9:27Now let's get back to the episode. So one of the things I9:31found was, you know, my, my sessions by myself because this9:34is my first time in my entire life, right? And I'm in my mid9:3830s First time ever living by myself, right? I always had a9:42roommate, or you know, move back in with mom when I was broke,9:45lived with my partner and then husband at the time, right? I9:50was always living with someone so it was my first time in my9:53whole entire life living by myself. And before I had this9:56amazing partner who was able to create great vibe It's for us10:00the music and the, you know, the lighting and everything, you10:04know, helping me modulate my mood and all of that. And I was10:07by myself. And I was like, Well, what does that look like for me.10:10And so that's when I, you know, picked up different practices.10:13And one of my like, pleasure pursuit practices was an10:16evening, right here in my living room on my couch. And I would10:20put on my Galaxy light, and be amongst the stars. And it was10:24also a reminder that that was just a reflection of what's10:27inside of me, because we all have the Galaxy inside of us.10:30And then I would fire up my hookah, let me just show you10:33what that looks like real quick.10:41Like that. And I would put on my music, my playlist, and I would10:45pull up my notebook, and I would doodle and I would just create10:49and just let whatever was flowing flow through me. And for10:52me, that encapsulated a pursuit of pleasure. And what I was able10:57to do in that practice is carry it into the other parts of my11:01life. So that meant our friends, you know, putting together a11:05birthday trip. And this year when I was asking myself, who am11:10I? What brings me pleasure, it was me saying yes, so it was11:13definitely my year of Yes. I always prided myself on being11:17able to say no, I was like, I'm so good at saying no, and I11:20would feel so good in that. And I'd be like, I say no, so good.11:24That nobody even comes around me. Like my friends are like,11:26Oh, I know you're busy. But and you know, my team is like, Oh, I11:29know you have a lot going on but and my family my own mom, oh, I11:33know you're busy Danny but, and I realized with my nose, I11:37created this moat around me. And it isolated me. And it it fed11:42into my belief that oh my god, I'm so lonely. I'm by myself, I11:45have no friends. And so this year of yes was me opening up to11:49invite others into my space, invite others to help me co11:53create this pleasure pursuit. So when my friends said, Hey, let's11:57do a birthday celebration. We started this tradition of going12:02on these like group birthday trips. So one of my other12:05practices in the pursuit of pleasure was celebration. And it12:09could look like an everyday celebration like my hookah12:11sessions, or it could look like my birthday celebration. So that12:14year for my birthday, when it was inspired by my really good12:18friend, Sean, and we were on the rooftop in New York, freezing12:22our asses off we were in our coats, and it was during COVID.12:26And so we had to be outside in this like, they have the igloo12:30type of things. And but we didn't get the igloo because we12:33didn't make a reservation. So we were out in the cold freezing12:35our asses off. There wasn't even a heat lamp. And he was wearing12:38a trench coat I talked most about him was I was like, what12:40you don't wear in a trench coat, you know better. So he was12:42freezing. I was okay. I was in like a bubble jacket. And we're12:46having drinks. And he says, You know, I would love to find12:50another location where we can be warm. And we could have one more12:53glass of champagne. And I said, all right, but let's go do that.12:57We left the rooftop. We walked downstairs and there is a row of13:01limos, a row of limos. And a gentleman approaches us and13:05said, Would you like to go for a ride in my limo and I have a13:08bottle of champagne for you and it's warm and toasty inside? And13:12we're like, Yo,13:16we were like, yes, like you're over? Yes. So we hopped in that13:20limo, we pop the champagne. We did it. Cheers. And we said this13:25is the year where we're making everything happen. And that limo13:29ride was the inspiration for how I celebrated my birthday that13:32year. And for my birthday, I invited my closest friends. It13:35was about 10 of us. And we called up Tony. And we're like13:39come through for my birthday. And I award this like outfit. I13:42basically look like I was about to do a concert. I was like JLo13:45Beyonce, and it was like a little Bejeweled breast13:48situation over here with the underboob showing. And like a13:51black dress and then these like Bejeweled boots. And you know, I13:55walked down and we all got in the limo and we rode it around,13:58and we drink champagne. And we talked about our dreams. And we14:01reminisced and shared what we loved about each other. And then14:04afterwards, we came back here, and we had a tell the truth14:08session. So I fired up my tell the truth sign, we sat in a14:11circle, and I said, share something, some truth that's14:16been living with you that you may not have shared with anyone,14:19maybe not even with yourself, now's your time, now's your14:22space to share that. And we all shared it. And that was a moment14:26where I saw what it looks like to turn your friends into14:29family. And what I learned is that it's another pursuit of14:32pleasure for me when I can sit in a room and be intimate with14:37individuals. Before that my definition of intimacy was so14:41narrow minded. It was coupled with sexual feelings. I thought14:46intimacy had to be sexual. And I realized and I think my friend14:49Tara for this, she said, You know, I think about intimacy on14:52a spectrum, and you have sexual intimacy and then you have14:55platonic intimacy. And you can have this with your friends and14:58to me intimacy means is real time honesty and transparency15:02like this, it ain't nothing big another smaller. It's like real15:04time, honesty and transparency. It's just purity. And in that15:09moment during the tell the truth session, I experienced intimacy15:12with my closest friends and they became family in that moment.15:16And since then we do these group are day trips. So there's a15:20couple of us who are Aquarians. So we'll do like a February15:23birthday celebration. So this past year, we went to Wahaca,15:26Mexico, so shout out to Cheyenne, she's my Aquarian15:29sister, and whoever's birthday it is chooses where they want to15:32go. So she wanted to do a haka. And, you know, experience like15:36the vibe and show us and share up and share with us that15:39experience of being on the beach and being tranquil. And then we15:43went to like a semi nude beach. Well, it was like a semi nude15:46and nude beach. And so we're like, out in the waves topless.15:50And just like, Yeah, girl, so tell me about last year really?15:52Okay, dope, the waters hitting us away. It's a hit. We're like,15:55Yeah, really cool. It was vibe. And then after that, we go back15:59to the house, we have this amazing experience, where my16:03friend Sean created this dope experience. And essentially, it16:07was The Five Love Languages, if you were to turn that into a16:11physical experience. So each of the rooms in the house are16:16transformed into a different love language. So prior to this,16:20my friend Tara created these archetypes in our friend group.16:23And so she's like, I think what we share in common is a fashion16:27fascination with identity. So she was thinking deeply about16:30identity and archetypes, and she gave each of us a different16:32identity. And so one of our friends is the Oracle shadow,16:36it's a Taria. And so when target sees you, she sees you and she16:39sees all of you. And when you give her the invitation and say,16:42can you tell me what you see, she will tell you what she sees.16:46So she is the Oracle in the group. And so her room was the16:49words of affirmation room. So during the party, and it's like,16:53you know, dim the lights were all like in our Disco outfits,16:56because that was the theme we had just wrapped an amazing16:59dinner. And you can choose what room you want to start with. And17:02I started with the words of affirmation room. That's one of17:04my top love languages. And I go in because I really pride myself17:08on seeing myself and hopefully being able to see others. So I17:11go into this room, it's you know, dim, there's a table and17:15there's two chairs, and she's sitting on one side of the17:17table, she invites you to take a seat and I sit across from her.17:21And she says, Do you want me to tell you what I see? Or do you17:25have a question for me? And I'm like, tell me what you see. And17:29she proceeds to tell me what she sees. And she tells me who she17:34sees in me. And this is right on time in my discovery of who am17:38I? Like who am I like who tell me who you see, because this is17:43gonna help round out and expand who I see myself as. And so she17:48proceeds to tell me, that's the words of affirmation room with17:51the Oracle Taria. And then I transition into the quality time17:55room. So quality time is my number one love language. And so17:59I go into that room that's Tara's room. And tears are18:01koala. She's also the authenticator. She begging you18:05to really tell her real and she could tell when you when you18:07tell him the real, and she has a tech background. So I was like18:10the authenticator like the Google Authenticator app, it18:12tells you if you're able to actually log in like if your18:15password is actually correct. So are you actually telling the app18:20the truth? Are you giving it the right code to access all the18:23knowledge? So she's the authenticator and she's able to18:27tell Are you really giving me the acts? Are you really giving18:30me the right code? The right words to truly access all the18:33knowledge? Are you bullshitting me? So she's the authenticator18:36in the group. So we go into the quality time room, and she's18:38there, she's under the blanket, and she's got candles, and she18:42welcomes me into this space. And she's got conversation starter18:45cards, which are my my love light. My unofficial love18:48language is conversation starter cards. And so she picks a card18:51and asks a question, and you answer the question. And then18:55she asks follow up questions, because she's the authenticator18:58to get to the truth to the real truth. And so that's the quality19:01time room. And then the next room is the physical touch room.19:04And that's my third biggest love language. And Shawn is in that19:08room. And so you're able to go in, and you lay down, and he19:13asks you, what version of you do you want to visit in the session19:17today to have a conversation with whether you want to just19:20reconnect with a version of you, you want to heal something with19:24a version of you, or you want to keep key with the version of19:26you. And so you tell him I want to go back to sixth grade Danny,19:31and I want to have a conversation with her and tell19:33her girl, you don't have to carry the weight of the world on19:37your shoulders. You good like, trust me, like you good. So as19:42you're talking to your sixth grade, Danny, your sixth grade19:45self or your four year old self, you're healing, you're having a19:48conversation. He's just putting pressure on different parts of19:51your body. And he's just reassuring you with that touch.19:55And then we go out into the backyard in the backyard is19:58where you have the access service. Station. And that's20:01where you can have a nice cocktail made. And it's whatever20:04cocktail you desire, and you let him know, this is what I'm20:07feeling right now. And he can Cox a cocktail for you. And20:10that's the access service table. And then there's gifts table.20:13And that's where we have some psychedelics. So we have some20:15gifts, whatever gift you wanted, and you pick that gift. And so20:19that rounded out our you know, love language celebration that20:23Shawn created. And he brought in Taria, and Tara to help him20:28deliver this amazing experience for us on our birthday. And this20:31was our well Hakan February, Aquarian birthday celebration.20:36So that's just one of many of our amazing birthday20:39celebrations. One of many examples have been in the20:42pleasure pursuit, how I have turned friends into family. And20:47I've really been able to access what I call the portal to the20:50present. Because I always prided myself on living in the future,20:55right? I'm like, oh, yeah, I know what's coming. I'm a20:57visionary, I can see it, I'm living there. And what I missed21:01was what's here. And it's the portal to the present.21:06Like right now is actually the eternal, like, it's infinite,21:10the present is infinite if we allow it to be. And my year of21:14answering that question, my year of pursuing my pleasure, turned21:18into a celebration of myself, of all of myself, the ups and the21:22downs and the this, and then in between a celebration of those21:26around me, getting a deeper knowing of myself and getting to21:30remembering who I am. And in that remembering, celebrating21:34every part of me appreciating every part of me paying homage21:38to those who came before me, and knowing that they are fueling21:42and propelling my calling and where I'm going, and it was that21:46year that has helped me arise, larger, more expanded, not just21:50able to live in the future and access the future, but to also21:54access this presents this portal to the present to access the21:58people around me and go deeper than I ever had before. So what22:02I hope for you is that you're able to have that same inquiry.22:06If you find yourself being disconnected to body to feeling22:09to spirit, it may be that it's your season to also remember, if22:14you feel like you've been in a mode of discovery, discovery,22:17create, create, grind, grind, when you haven't felt that22:21connection, that flow that ease. Maybe it's your season for22:25remembering who you are. Maybe it's your season for asking the22:29question, Who am I? It's really my dream and my mission, I22:33think, you know, when I cross fingers, pray to God universe,22:37that I have my own kids, one day very soon, that I'm able to22:41teach them the power of answering that question, but not22:44answering but being in the inquiry of creating different22:48responses to that question, because we truly, you know,22:51remember who we are from moment to moment and can express who22:55you are from moment to moment. And that can look completely22:59different from five minutes ago to now and I would love to gift23:03future generations, my kids, anyone I touch through my23:07programs, my courses, my coaching my friendships,23:10romantic relationships, anything, I hope that we can all23:14be in that inquiry of, you know, who am I? And what does my23:18pursuit of pleasure look like? Listen, sometimes life be life23:21in and we do not know what's coming down that road next.23:25Well, that's what happened to me in 2016, when I was unexpectedly23:29laid off from my job. And I was six figures in student loan23:33debt, I had no savings, and I didn't know what was going to23:37happen next. Now, luckily, I had this little voice inside of me23:41at that time, that I couldn't ignore, and it was telling me to23:45take the leap. It was saying, use this as your opportunity to23:49build your business. Use this as your opportunity to create your23:53dream life. And so I believe that life happens for us, not to23:57us, and that nudge in my spirit, I should listen to it. Luckily,24:01I did. Fast forward to today, I have a business that's made over24:06$20 million. And I've helped over 10,000 people create their24:09online businesses and their dream lives. So do you want to24:13learn how to turn your story into an online product and24:17launch in 30 days, head on over to24:19coursefromscratch.com/since3000. I want you to join us on this24:23journey so you can listen to that little voice inside of you24:27too. So go now Do yourself a favor coursefromscratch.com/since3000.EnglishAllFrom Danielle LeslieConversationRelatedListenableLiveRecently uploadedWatched
Getting into the mind of Danielle Leslie and other visionaries in her world is nothing short of amazing! I love hearing her journey to becoming her most fully expressed self and how understanding how to decipher your unique voice in a noisy environment is key to making the impact you were meant to make. This podcast is so inspiring and definitely a must-listen!
I’ve followed Danielle’s career since the very beginning and this program seems to catapult her in to the next echelon of leadership and entrepreneurship education. I am particularly interested in the new definition of Success and the way it supports transition from the Newtonian age thinking to Quantum age thinking. I’m buckled up!
Thank you for reminding us what we already know deep within. We a creators! Looking forward to more. Peace
Powerful message for understanding the wisdom of the collective experience we’ve had. From identity to strategic forecasting - Danielle rocks this show! Tune IN! 🔥🔥
Make an impact with your voice and message by applying to become an EPYC Creator to start and launch your podcast with our team.
Launch a podcast