The Morning Light Show with Adair Cates

Because BUSY is a drug many of us are unconsciously addicted to, we choose to act on things that may or may not make a meaningful impact. We spend our time instead of investing it. During this season of going back to school and juggling a million and one things in the middle of a pandemic, it's too easy to get sucked into the swirl of it all and burn completely out. Today's episode invites you to pause, reflect and consider "is what I'm choosing to do right now an action or an impact?" Being deliberate with how we invest our time, energy and attention IS our competitive edge. 

Last week someone gave me a beautiful compliment that brought tears to my eyes and resonated deep in my soul, all while reminding me of my Nanny and inspiring me to BE grace and grit for my daughters. Today's episode is about moving through life with grace and grit - through the joys, tears, triumphs and trials - finding our way to be both simple elegance and rugged determinism in pursuit of what our heart calls us towards. This is not an easy journey but it sure is a worthwhile one. This episode is dedicated to my grandmother Nanny who was the total embodiment of grace and grit and to my daughters Joy and Coral who I hope will choose grace and grit as they journey through life.

On today's episode, we have Dr. Benjamin Hardy who is an organizational psychologist and bestselling author of Willpower Doesn’t Work and Personality Isn't Permanent.

His blogs have been read by over 100 million people and are featured on Forbes, Fortune, CNBC, Cheddar, Big Think, and many others. He is a regular contributor to Inc. and Psychology Today and from 2015-2018, he was the #1 writer in the world on Medium.com.

He and his wife Lauren adopted three children through the foster system in February 2018 and, one month later, Lauren became pregnant with twins, who were born in December of 2018. They live in Orlando.

Step into your life with an EYES WIDE OPEN approach 👀. Yes, there will be things that you're not excited to see (extra rolls on your belly, too many digits on your debt, toxicity or codependence in a relationship etc). But there will be many good things to celebrate too🎉. If you remind yourself that everything in your life today is a result of your past thoughts and actions, you can move forward powerfully and CHOOSE new ways of SEEING 👓 , BELIEVING 🔮 and ACTING 👟into your desired future NOW. You are POWER-FULL. You are CREATIVE. Your future can look absolutely nothing like your present or past. Today's episode is an invitation to see your current reality with total awareness (and no judgement) and to open up to the divine wisdom and miracles that manifest when we immerse ourselves with eyes wide open in the present moment.

On the road to becoming who we choose to be, we often focus on what we have to start or do to get there, and rarely, if ever, consider what we have to give up along the way. Quitting things is absolutely part of winning at our futures. On today's episode, learn the four things to give up or change in order to create your desired future, and hear how I gave up my most treasured morning ritual to support the energy of becoming my future self. 

Cold symptoms 10 days after a hospital visit with my daughter + a low grade fever had me get tested for COVID-19 early this week. The onset of the symptoms, and where my mind went after that was NOT a place I want to spend a lot of time (way worse than a dark alley in the middle of the night!). I was in and out of full-fledged fear over the course of the next 12-18 hours. BUT because I take excellent care of myself, my heart and my mind, I was able to bounce back (aka be psychologically flexible) and use my tools to be OK and find joy, laughter and peace in the now, even while being physically isolated from my daughters (& the rest of the world). On today's episode, I share ways to stay sane amidst the chaos and uncertainty (that doesn't feel like it's going away anytime soon), and make an excited announcement about the future of the podcast.

Without fail, when we stretch ourselves into new territory with a goal that's outside of our 'norm,' something will come along to try and stop you. Because we memorize ways of being and states of reality in every cell of our bodies through our actions and habits, when our chemistry gets 'off' as we push through new limits, our body says 'hold up, this ain't right.' And then as crazy as it sounds, something will happen to try and pull you back to the old, memorized way of being. This is called upper-limiting, and it's the brain's way of keeping you safe. 

Last week, my daughter fell and got a concussion (which required an ER visit and overnight stay) the same week I was doing big work to promote my Freedom & FUNds group. Instead of letting it throw me completely off and going into 'damsel in distress' mode, I practiced self-care and compassion, clearing, inquiry and reflected on what I was learning from all of it. On today's episode, learn practices to keep on keeping on when it feels like you've been thrown off track. 

How good are you at talking about the hard things? How comfortable are you with the discomfort of facing your pain and using it as your greatest teacher? With 12 years of expertise in psychology, Cherry Rose has guided thousands through the trenches of mental health. A fifth-generation entrepreneur, her superpower is helping leaders talk about the really hard things, so they can lead powerfully at home and at work. A mentor for the Inc. Founders Project, she coaches CEOs on emotional resilience and psychological safety.

As the CEO of #realtalk, the mental health movement for the tech industry, she is shedding a light on tech’s darkest secrets. With 70+ champions across North America, tech CEOs share their mental health stories on her Top 14 Business podcast on iTunes. A mental health authority, she has been featured in Forbes, Inc., and more. She teaches at the Schulich School of Business. 

Today's guest Cherry Rose Tan is more than willing to work through pain to find the lessons that lead her to be the greatest version of herself. You will be inspired by her story, blown away by her insights and have a new relationship with your pain as your greatest source of healing after you listen to today's episode.

Have you ever taken one of those personality assessments? 📝 Perhaps the Myers-Briggs (ENFP baby!), Enneagram (I'm a 7) or Hogan (my personal go-to).

Have you heard the quote "The greatest predictor of the future is the past?"

🗣️  It doesn't have to be that way!

While they're helpful in telling us who we've been and who we are now, they're not supportive of us BECOMING who we choose to BE in the future (unless you use them as a springboard of awareness and have a willingness to CHANGE how you see yourself and get massively uncomfortable).

On today's episode, I share thoughts and insights from Benjamin Hardy's new book Personality Isn't Permanent and some tools and practices I've been using to create more from my future than the past.

If you're ready for sustained changed AND willing to get uncomfortable to create the life you desire, this episode will support your journey.

If you've been grappling with how to show up for yourself and others in recent weeks amongst the racial unrest in our country, this episode will bring you resources to lead well from within. On today's episode, Dr. Danny Friedland, a renowned doctor in the Evidence-Based Medicine movement, massive contributor to the Conscious Capitalism movement and fellow XCHANGE guide and dear friend, you'll learn how to mindfully manage the oscillations you're experiencing between reactivity and creativity, separate content and context to engage with awareness and the most profound question you can ask yourself to see if you're truly showing up to create sustained change.

You can find Dr. Danny Friedland at www.supersmarthealth.com

Now more than ever, it's critical for each of us to show up powerfully and take FULL responsibility for our energy because our frequency directly impacts how we give, love and serve in the world. On today's episode, musical sensation Jeremy Reisig (aka Brotha James) shares through our buoyant yet deep conversation and abundantly joyful music how to take charge of our energy, connect to our higher wisdom and inquire within to live in our highest vibration. 

I experienced a bug invasion in my studio that rocked my world this week. After denying it, resisting it, fighting it, getting pissed off at it, blaming my landlord about it, I came to a place of peace. Once I had let go of that lower energy to embrace a higher vibration, I found what I had been seeking - the SOURCE, the cause, the origin of the invasion - was easily found and eliminated.

On today's episode, I explore some questions:  how might we fiercely find and re-connect to the SOURCE of all change to change it FOR GOOD? How might we quickly find the origin of the problem to delete it, destroy it and uncreate it so we can start fresh? 

These are questions I've been asking myself on a micro and macro level to open to the infinite possibilities of healing available when we shine a light on what's not working patiently and compassionately and allow ourselves to be transformed to a more evolved self and world.

One day we will look back at this very moment in history and think to ourselves, "Wow! That was really hard."   It's not easy to face the things that are not working as individuals or the collective. Over the last ten days, I've been getting very real with myself around my finances. At the same time the national racism protests flared up following the murder of George Floyd and brought to the light the truth about racism in our country - it is still alive.   Oddly, I have noticed a striking similarity between these inner and outer world experiences. When I go into shame and blame around what I've done 'wrong' in my financial life, I contract and feel heavy and want to continue avoiding. The same thing happens with racism - if I choose to feel shame about my role in racism instead of shining the light to say, "yes, I see you and I'm willing to work with you" I stay in denial or guilt.  If I choose to ask  "What will it take to change this?" and then clear any blocks in the way (old stories, beliefs, thoughts), I have a renewed sense of energy, power and courage to face whatever is no longer working.   On today's episode, learn the techniques I've been using to shine a light and release old stories that don't serve me, and perhaps find some release from the helplessness you've been feeling about the state of our country or any area of your life that's in shambles.

The Quarantine was a time to be with ourselves (and our loved ones) in a way like never before. <> Words that recently jumped off of the pages of articles and books that rang true for me, and a conversation this week about being alone with my family led me to realize that I'm in the midst of recovering from a lifetime of 'good enough.' On today's episode, I offer you WTF to do when you realize you're a deprivation addict stuck in between the not-true-enough life you're living now and the one that rings true in your imagination. 

Before I knew the world would be put on a mandatory "time out," I chose to put myself on one to rest, heal and see what would emerge. Now I'm realizing that my inertia has gotten the best of me and it's time to record this show again, show up for people and share my own struggles and vulnerabilities as a reassurance that you're not in this alone, we all FEEL the plethora FEELS and we always have the choice to BE right here, right now, in this moment the FULLNESS that we already are. No need for outside validation. No need for compliments. No need for anything except your own beating heart and life-giving breath. On today's episode, I invite you into inquiry around your own inertia and the totality of possibility that can emerge when you get out of your own way.

Think of a time when you manifested something that you got really excited. Maybe it was meeting an idol, landing your dream job or encountering your soulmate. What can you notice or appreciate about how it happened? Who were you being in the process? How did you feel when it happened? 

As I reflect on my own magical manifestations, I'm clearer about my own secret sauce for manifesting. On today's episodes, I share with you two successes and one failure in manifesting to teach you three future hacking practices to amp up your manifestation abilities.

Changing your viewpoint to see things in a more positive manner seems like such a productive, uplifting way to live. And it is in so many ways. It makes you more vibrant, pleasant to be around and resilient. But it also shortchanges your chance to just FEEL what you FEEL with no judgement, label or need to be different. As Kristin Neff says, PAIN + RESISTANCE = SUFFERING. If you take away resistance to unpleasant feelings, you drastically reduce suffering. On today's episode, learn how reframing can actually be harmful and hear how sitting in the fire of our dissatisfaction can lead to our greatest transformation. 

Instead of reflecting on your year, celebrating your wins and thinking about what you need to let go of as you move into a new year, you've likely rushed into thinking about what you want to create in 2020. On today's show, I encourage you to slow down and reflect to close out your year (in 60 minutes or less) and how to speak your 2020 dreams into existence with one simple word.

In Episode 249, you learned how the amygdala processes the familiar / unfamiliar, the 'why' behind the internal and external factors of creating sustained change and exactly how to drastically change your personal reality through the power of up-leveling your baseline. On today's episode, dig more into the how behind this scientific process, get clear on your Top 10 goals and be prepared for a BONUS guided meditation to put the vibrational upleveling into practice.

Review your top 10 goals, put on your headphones and unplug to this relaxing meditation that invites you to co-create your future with the Divine.

Do you feel like you're settling for something less than you desire or deserve in one or more areas of your life? Is there's something that you've always really, really wanted, but didn't know how to create it? On today's episode, learn how the amygdala works (it's not the fear-based, fight or flight enemy you think), the internal and external factors of creating sustained change and exactly how to drastically change your personal reality through the power of up-leveling your baseline.

'Tis the season of giving, so much so that we forget there's a receiving element to the equation that's a necessary part of the flow. My kids have no problem with this. They gladly receive (barely saying thank you) and certainly don't offer any apologetic justifications for their receptivity. On today's episode, learn how to receive anything from a compliment to unexpected money more fluidly and practice the magic of being grateful AHEAD of your dreams coming true.

Clear Intentions + Elevated Energy = The Future Your Desire

Being super aware of your personal vibration as I spoke about in the last episode is the first step in creating the future you desire. You can measure your personal vibration with a HRV (heart rate variability) monitor to get a clear picture of how you're doing, but if that's not available, you can breath deeply in and out of your heart space and feel the calmness come over you as you get into coherence. Another option, is to deliberately practice gratitude because when we appreciate, we feel whole and when we feel whole we want for nothing, and as ironic as it sounds, when we want for nothing, we have everything available to us. From this elevated energy, when you send out the signal of a clear intention, the Universe can deliver is the quickest and most unexpected way possible. 

Most people think that trainings and conferences have to be serious, jam-packed and buttoned up for there to be learning; however, the XChange training I attended last week and the facilitation methodology I use totally debunk that myth. On today's episode, learn how to incorporate play into your work and life to feel more fully alive and to learn in the most engaging and impactful way.

This week, I'm attending another round of XChange training in Cleveland learning, teaching and enjoying my high vibe tribe. On today's episode, learn the last 2 steps of the XChange cycle that I use to facilitate retreats, masterminds and large corporate summits that can be applied to you as an individual or with your team to create sustained change.

As humans, we all have an ego. Wayne Dyer said the E.G.O. stood for Edging God Out. Matt Kahn says the ego is the result of an overstimulated nervous system. Whatever you believe it to be, it is not who you are at your core. It shows up fiercely to falsely inflate your sense of worth, and just as quickly to squash you into a small victim mindset. How confusing is that? On today's episode, we unpack the ego and talk about how to soothe it when it gets the best of you.