172: “Space for Magic” with Patty Lennon

Addressing the Manifestation Myth

“The desires in your heart are usually beyond what that work can create.” – Patty Lennon

Patty worked hard to find success in the corporate banking world — trying to fit the traditional mold when her intuitive gifts were often seen as “other.”

Now, she relies on her intuition and finally understands its power in the real world.

Through her journey with us at Authors Who Lead, Patty realized she could live intuitively, open herself to her gifts and find success — all the while writing a book. On this week’s podcast episode, I talk with her all about it, and how the art of making space for magic in your life might be the secret to abundance and prosperity.

Defining Magic and Manifestation

Most of us grow up learning that if we want to accomplish a goal, we need to hustle and to make it happen. Hard work is not necessarily bad, Patty explained, and most people like to work and create. But so many of our desires lie beyond what work alone can create — but magic can, she said.

“Magic is any current occurrence in your life where something happens that is beyond what your human effort or energy could create,” she said.

It’s the kind of magic that can change your life, the energy that “fills the gap between what you can physically do without exhausting yourself and then bringing your biggest desires to life,” she explained.

Similarly, so many people try manifestation, the law of attraction and visioning boards, but not everyone’s brains can accept it. They have a resistance to it, and must figure out this resistance in order to be in that space for magic.

“Not every brain works where it can believe that something that isn’t true, yet is true,” she explained.

Most points of resistance are rooted in fear, Patty said. Our brains want us to stay safe, fit in and be part of the tribe — and in order to do so, it’s ingrained in us that we need to work hard. This fear makes it hard for us to believe that good things could just happen to us. Even if we’ve had some success in the past, the fear and discomfort make us back off from moving into the space where magic happens.

How Does the Manifestation Shift Show Up?

During our interview, Patty shared several examples of how people saw abundance start to manifest in their lives, particularly in money and love — two of the most common human desires.

Once you’ve given our all to manifest more of these in your life, and not find success, you might feel like you’re lazy or haven’t done the right things. This is the point where you need to trust that the universe will fill the gap between the edge of what you’ve done and where the magic will take over, Patty said.

As I was reading Patty’s book, it struck me that as we go through life, we are the givers and caretakers. So when it comes to us, we basically tell the universe to not take care of us. Instead, Patty encourages people to ask for signs along the way — allowing the guides to help you feel safe in your trust, that they’re serious about manifesting magic for you.

How Did Writing Your Book Transform Your Life and Business?

I always say that, sometimes, words get in the way of really good books. We are what’s most important in our books, so we should first be transformed.

For Patty, her book was supposed to be a memoir. But the events of the past year changed her path, unable to share that story with such a broken world. As she moved through the Authors Who Lead program, the universe tested and challenged her words. By the end, she felt a crisis as she searched for edits, and found none

This would normally be a really good thing, but to Patty, it made her question why it was so easy. The universe had to remind her that the very magic she preached had now reached her.

In her book, she is speaking to middle-aged women like her: capable, successful, but as they moved into midlife, they forgot what made them happy. Women get caught up in raising children, taking care of family members, and efforting more and more, only to find themselves tired and searching for what they’ve lost.

“So the person that I wrote it to, it was me,” she said, “just me at a different point.”

After this nudge from the universe, Patty paid more attention to her spirit guides regarding her business. Even as she was gearing up to launch a mastermind, she was getting hints that she should launch something totally different. Three days until launch day, she decided to trust them. With just one promotional push, she instructed her spirit guides to do the heavy lifting from there — which, of course, they did.

Sixty people signed up and her receiving school was born. She then let her private clients go and concentrated on teaching people how to let the magic into their lives.

Advice for First-Time Authors

A lot of people say they want to write a book, so I asked Patty what advice she would have for those who are serious about it. She first advised not to do it alone. The old energy model that supported writers doesn’t exist anymore, so finding mentors, a book coach, or a writing group is important, she said.

Second, Patty recommends working with our Authors Who Lead program, as she benefited from the different approach that we take with our authors. And lastly, she wants authors to remember that your book has its own identity — and it needs you to allow it to become what it will. There’s a lot of thought around outlining books and using systems to write them. But what your book needs is you, the space for magic to allow it to transform you and inspire you to write.

How is This Book Different Than the Others?

When I asked Patty to compare how writing this book was different than the ones she’s written in the past, she talked about one of my favorite authors, Gay Hendricks, and his idea around the four different zones of genius we work in: incompetence, competence, excellence and genius.

Patty admits that her first books were not written in her zone of genius. She was able to get books done in her zone of competence, but this newest book spent intuitively in her zone of genius has joy, life and love in it.

The secret of manifesting success and happiness in our lives seems to be in the art of finding space for magic. Like Patty teaches, we are built to receive these gifts, but sometimes, we shut off that valve that allows us to receive them. If you would like more success in any area of your life, remember these greatest takeaways from my conversation with Patty:

Learning to receive is a vital part of prosperity and abundance. If you aren’t able to receive small gifts, there’s no way to receive big ones.
Efforting might be the thing that’s keeping magic from you. We are trained to work hard on the path to success. But it’s not the hard work we need — it’s the ability to let others bring you the blessings you deserve.
Recognizing the small shift from trying to attain to understanding your ability to receive will allow the abundance to flow into your life.

What was your biggest takeaway from this episode? Have you been trying to manifest more success in your life, but aren’t finding it? Are you writing a book and want to find that space for magic? Share in the comments below!

That’s all for this week. Let the process guide you toward the book you are meant to write!