David Brower: Thanks, Mike. This is David Brower with Your 20 Minute Podcast. And our guest today is Diane Forster of the San Diego area. Hey, Diane. How are you?
Diane Forster: I’m great, David. How are you?
David Brower: Fabulous. Thank you so much for asking. So you are an intentional, among other things, an intentional living expert. So I didn’t even know that existed. I don’t even know what that means. So help me out.
Diane Forster: My area of expertise has been focused on really helping people live intentionally in the moment in all areas of their life and I really help them define what their passion is, what their purpose is, how to have healthy relationships in their romantic lives, with their families, with their children … feel joy, happiness, fulfillment in their career.
So it’s really, I help them in personal, professional lives and the niche came to be based on my own journey and my own path and some of the things that I experienced in my own live. … mostly personally but professionally as well.
And it just sort evolved into this area where I was developing processes and systems that were very effective, creating lasting permanent change and really living my life very intentionally. And part of that is, I’ll give you a little bit of a history when we get into it, but part of that is the art of manifestation and using the law of attraction. It’s around us all the time. But how do you create awareness of that and use that to serve your life in a much greater way?
David Brower: And there’s so many stereotypes out there, misunderstandings of terminology, because all of this is so new.
When someone talks about manifestations, or somebody talks about laws of attraction, unless they really get with somebody like you who’s been there done that, they don’t really don’t know what they don’t know about those things, right?
Diane Forster: Exactly, exactly. I deal with a lot of different clients, for lack of better term, a “101” sort of mentality, to people who really are advance, and really get it. So the way I work, I work on the mindset, emotions, language, and I do it in a very simplistic way. Because the truth of the matter is, David, it really is easy. We make it so much harder than it has to be.
But when someone comes to me and they are struggling in an area of their life, or certain areas of their life, they just can’t see. You know? They mired down in the muck of it, and they can’t see it clearly. I also use my … I’m highly intuitive. I’m an empath, and I use those skills to help them as well with that.
They just need, sometimes just the most subtle, little shift to create an enlightened awareness in an area, and all of a sudden, their eyes are wide open. They’re experiencing their life in a very, very different way. So it’s really, really powerful.
David Brower: So tell me, what’s an empath? I don’t know what that is.
Diane Forster: I’m very energy sensitive. I can really pick up people’s energies. And sometimes it’s hard for me to be in a very large, crowded space with a lot of people who are very energetic. If the emotions are strong, or they’re negative, I have to work really hard to protect myself because I absorb it. I take it in. It’s depleting for me.
So sometimes I’ll go to … I’m sort of an extroverted introvert. I’ll go to events, or conferences, or meetings, or places where there’s a lot of people. And where I’m “on”, for lack of a better term, and then I’ll come back and I’ll be completely exhausted. Just literally pulls all the energy out of me.
David Brower: So have you always had that?
Diane Forster: You know, I have always had it. It hasn’t been defined until probably the last decade. I really figured that out, that I was. So it’s definitely the more and more I tune in to all of that, and really I practice my craft. I’m a student of life, and I’m really working to hone in on all those skills, and the more and more I do that, the more awareness I have of it.
But for myself? I’ve developed to really protect myself from it and really keep it at bay so that [crosstalk 00:05:01]
David Brower: What a gift and a challenge, right?
Diane Forster: Yeah, you know what? It’s really a gift. I don’t even look as a challenge. Now that I’m aware of it. It’s such a powerful tool.
David Brower: You always hear about tons of people who are unhappy. People are suffering from depression. I battled depression for a long time. People are suicidal.
Diane Forster: Yes.
David Brower: All kinds of those things, and wow, it’s just mind boggling sometimes. So how do you reach to those people? How do they find you? How do you tap into them to put a smile on their face?
Diane Forster: Well a couple of ways. My background, the personal journey that I went through was … I’ll just give you a quick recap of it.
I was living in Chicago. I was in a marriage for 20 years. I was very unhappy and unhealthy. I kept up the exterior … to the outside world it looked like everything was great, but inside, I was literally falling apart. My soul and spirit were chipping away, year after year. Because it was very unloving, and un-nurturing relationship.
But I forged through it, kept up the front, and didn’t want it to end. There were children involved. There was a lot of things going on, but the truth is you can’t live like that, neglecting your happiness, your spirit, your soul, and your passion.
So, I had never thought about it before, but one night I attempted suicide. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I had a moment, locked in the bathroom. I had two bottles of pills in my hand, and I was ready to end it. The pills were knocked out of my hands, and I heard the voice. The voice said, “You are not ending this way. You have got to get help because you need to tell your story and help others.”
That was a direct order from the guy upstairs. So, I threw up my hands and said, “Well, you have to show me the way.” And that set me down a path of changing my life. I got with a therapist right away, and it took about six months for the marriage to end. There were a lot of other things that happened there.
David Brower: Sure.
Diane Forster: But truly after the end of it, I went into a deep dive into myself, and owning my part of it. Looking at myself, and asking the questions, “Why? Why would I stay in a relationship like this? Why don’t I love myself more? Why can’t I forgive myself more and nurture myself more?”
It really set me down this path of self-discovery, self-development. So I developed a process by utilizing the books I read, the seminars I went to, the podcasts I listened to. Really took in all of those teachings, from all these amazing thought leaders, spiritual leaders, and people in personal development and business development. The whole gamut.
So I wrote a book; that’s one way that people get to me. I have an online coaching program, and I’ve got a website. I’m lucky enough to be on podcasts like this with you. I’m developing a lot of opportunities. I’m all over social media. I really reach out to as many people as I can to let them know that there’s a resource there for them that’s a little different from something that you’ve ever seen before.
I’m really focused on the intentional part … going in right away and creating lasting permanent results through subtle changes for them. That’s how I’m doing it, and I’ve got big vision for it … ways that I’m going to be able to reach … My goal is to reach the masses because that’s how you really create impact and change. That’s how I’m doing it right now.
David Brower: It was interesting when you were telling me your story. I’m going, “Yeah, I did that. Yeah, I did that. Yeah, I did that.”
Same deal. I’m a very strong man of faith, and I attempted suicide in November of 2014. Fortunately, the gun was unloaded. I had the same … push if you will. So I got counseling, got through medications, whatever. I’m like blessed on steroids because I understand a lot more about that than I ever did before.
It’s nice to share stories like that, like you do every day of your life with people. Because somewhere along the way, your intuitiveness, your energy, all that stuff … I’m just amazed by how you do what you do. I’m really impressed.
Diane Forster: Well, thank you. And thank you for sharing that. See how we got connected? See the link there? So it’s being able to be vulnerable enough to share your story and your tragedies, not just your triumphs. Because that’s what really connects people, and people are suffering. They’re suffering alone, and they feel like they don’t have support. They need the outstretched hand. They need to know that they’re not alone, and they need resources to help them.
I just offer another way because we’re so powerful. People have no idea how powerful they are, how much strength and skills they have within themselves. It’s in the mind. We all live in this great, big world, but we all live in our own little world. It’s the world that we live in, in our minds, that creates our reality.
When you realize, there’s a better way. That you have the choice, the decision making skills, to shift things in your life. That you don’t have to be a victim of your circumstances. You don’t have to be a victim of your past. You can’t change the events of your life, but you can change the association to the events, and the emotional attachments to the events.
Really … my company’s name is I Have Today. It’s all about living in the present moment. That our lives are literally right now. You know? You and me, right here and now. This is life right now. So how to stay present in that? Living that each, single moment of your life, and squeezing the juice out of it every single day.
David Brower: And if you’re like me, and I know a lot of people are. If you look up overthinking in the dictionary, there’s my picture. You know?
So to be able to share with someone like you, to be able to have you figure out a way obviously of, “Hey David, you don’t have to overthink this thing. Here’s some simple strategies. Here are some simple steps. Trust me to help you through this.” Right?
Diane Forster: Exactly. I believe we have three minds. We have our head, our heart, and our gut. We feel things first before we actually think things. You need to trust where ever that lives in your body. If something feels good, you feel it in your body.
Like for me, if it feels good, I feel it in my heart. If it feels bad, I feel it in my gut. I learned to trust that. Then when I overthink, that’s when I get in the mind, and that always gets me in trouble.
David Brower: Right?
Diane Forster: Follow that instinct because it’s correct.
David Brower: Absolutely right. Could not agree more. And it’s interesting because, you can go back and I’m speaking of you and me and whoever is listening to this. You could have your best day ever. I mean, best day ever. You can still go back and go, “Wow. How was I in that place? How did that happen?” And be so grateful and so full of grace to be able to enjoy the moment where you are right now.
Diane Forster: Oh yeah and I believe that every single moment, including my lowest point there, that night in June 2011, was a gift. Yeah, what a gift, because man, did I wake up! In a really powerful way.
And my life is so completely different than it was, and I don’t regret that. I needed … that was my path. That was my journey. The way it opened up, the trajectory of it now, it’s just more than I could have ever imagined. There’s so much greatness in that.
That’s what I encourage my audience and my clients to see. You have no idea how rich, and wonderful, and extraordinary your life can be. You just have to be open to it.
David Brower: Let’s talk about your book, “I Have Today: Find Your Passion, Purpose, and Smile.” Love that. “…Finally!”
You’re the founder of I Have Today. That’s the name of your company, and helping people get empowered. Let’s talk about your book. I think you mentioned earlier … that kind of came out of your story, right?
Diane Forster: Yes it did. I really wanted to be open and vulnerable with it, and share some of the techniques and the tools that I created along my journey and my path back to me. That served me really well.
I’m a believer in three-step processes. The whole concept of it is: love it, thank it, bring it. That is the cornerstone of the way I live my life every day, Loving everything that’s ever shown up in my life, showing gratitude for it, and then taking everything that’s happened and then bringing it. How do I move forward with my life knowing those things? And experiencing those things? Loving it, appreciating it, and then moving it forward.
How you show up in your life in a really big way, and so I developed other three-step processes in the book. How to deal with fear, anxiety, worry. How to set intentions.
I’m a huge believer in meditation. I meditate every day and believe that that was the thing that really turned the corner for me. Really heightening up, and firing up my intuition and my channeling skills, and all of that.
Following my instincts, my gut on things. I am a big believer in that. I’ve created my own meditation practice because I know really hard for people to meditate. They think “I shut off my mind. I don’t have the time.” I’ve developed the processes to help people in that
The book is filled with … And David it’s really quick stuff, I’m a believer in … We see books today. People are reading less and less and less. The most popular category of books now is the books that are 80 pages or less, because were in such a fast-moving time.
So what I do is I go in and I take over 40 topics. I address the situation, I cite an example, and I give a solution. So it’s a great reference.
You can pick it up at any time, when you’re laying in bed at night, and you got an issue with, you’re communicating with someone, your child or your parents or something. Pick up and open … Read the part on communicating without emotion. The feedback has been great. People are really using it. They tell me that it’s change their life which moves me like you can’t believe. They’re getting a lot of value with it.
Next with that is I have an online coaching program that’s downloadable. It’s you know a one-time thing. You pay for online. It’s digitally downloaded to you, and then you have it. It’s filled with over 40 modules that again, they’re quick but they complement the book and so that you have that forever.
So when you need the reference point, and it’s me sitting, talking to you. It’s like we’re sitting across from each other having a cup of coffee. I just really candidly share how to do some of these processes.
David Brower: Outstanding, outstanding! We’re about out of time. I want to make sure that we let everybody know the different ways to reach out to you. Of course, the book “I Have Today: Find Your Passion, Purpose, and Smile… Finally!”
I assume available on Amazon and maybe Barnes & Noble. Where can people find that?
Diane Forster: You can find it on Amazon. I encourage you to go to my website at IHaveToday.com. Right on the homepage, I have an opt-in for my Free 30-Day Challenge On How To Have A Better Today. It’s a great way to just in 30 days change your life, create more awareness, inspire you. The book’s on there. The program’s on there.
I also encourage you: contact me. There’s a contact section. I answer every email, every correspondence because I really want to know you so please do that. Let me help you, and support you, and provide you with other products and services that you need.
David Brower: Fantastic. I know I picked up on this, and I’m sure other people out there have picked on this.
A couple things that really come through with you. One is your authenticity, your presentation with your voice, is so calming and rich and effective when it needs to be. You’re a brilliant communicator, and I’m looking forward to reading your book.
I thank you for your time today. It’s really been cool. I only had goosebumps three times. So not bad.
Diane Forster: Oh my gosh. Thank you, David! I’m honored, and thank you for the opportunity.
David Brower: You’ve been listening to Your 20 Minute Podcast With David Brower, and our special guest Diana Forster. Again it’s IHaveToday.com. You’ll find everything there including her 30-day challenge. Be sure to follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Your20MinutePodcast.