OFF STAGE with Lisa O'Neill

When life throws rocks in your path, you can't always move them - but you can be the water that flows around them. This week Lisa shares the visualisation keeping her grounded through a genuinely ridiculous week, plus discovery calls, a seafood boil, and why you should watch the Jacinda documentary even if you hate politics.

This week's Energy Wisdom lesson is about asking for help. We're shit at it because we're really capable. When you ask for help, you're giving people an opportunity to be generous, so do it as a game. Be specific, and don't feel guilty. The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

Elizabeth Lisa wrote the most stunning book called Broken Open and there's a quote that says, "the difficult times we fear might ruin us can break us open and help us blossom." My cup has overflowed with hard stuff but it's making me better not bitter. Hard is good because it stretches us. I'm in that stretchy bit where you can feel your muscles tweaking.

The Marianne Williamson quote in my planner says "everyone is on a spiritual path, most people just don't know it." What does your soul need? Not just courage, but permission or a shove to be braver. Our triggers are our teachers, crisis is a curriculum, the cave you fear holds the treasure you seek, and when was the last time you had your head held?

I'm recording this from Shanghai and I am absolutely living my best life. Eight incredible women, markets where the answer is always yes, and a city that runs entirely on possibility and contrast. This week I'm staying in the moment, because that's where the magic is.

This week's Energy Wisdom lesson is all about spiritual energy and beliefs. Some people were told what to believe, but I was raised by an atheist father and Presbyterian mother, so I got stuck in the middle and got to choose, which is actually a gift.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

Iris Apfel says, "You don't find out who you are unless you work at it." The greatest project we ever work on is ourselves, and you're not a $5 note so don't find yourself. Try different things and reinvent yourself every two years instead of becoming forgetfully the same.

This week's Energy Wisdom lesson is all about mental energy, the stuff that either makes you mental or stops you from being mental and how much clarity you have when your brain feels fuzzy, scattered, muddy, or crunchy.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

I get concerned about all the energy going into people being stressed and hating. Here's the recipe for an amazing life: stay present to where your feet are and find ways to enjoy every moment, hour by hour infusing your world with fun because it's hard out there.

nspiration is energy and if you feel uninspired, it's because you've abandoned yourself doing boring shit instead of living. Make a list of what inspires you. Movies, recipes, podcasts, sunsets, everyday people doing good human shit and go find some wow this week.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

We are awake for 100 hours a week: 30 hours to be human, 40 hours of work, leaving 30 hours, but where does it actually go? Keep a tally this week because the Buddha says "the trouble is you think you have time" and maybe you haven't.

Today's question is: how youare you? Are you at the epicentre of you or miles away from it? Look at what you're wearing. Is it the you or just the cleanest shirt? You're an unrepeatable person, so how can you be 100% you today?

I just found the most gorgeous poem, Dear Body, written by Jan Brierton. It really aligns with my view on our bodies and how we need to look after them and love them and make friends with them.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

I don't know who said it, but someone famous said that we die twice. We die the first time when our heart stops beating and the second time we die is when people no longer mention our name, when they stop talking about us.

People don't really know what makes them happy and people don't know how to get happy. And I've spent a lot of time thinking about this, and I reckon there's ten steps that we have to go through to get happy.

In the Energy Book, I wrote about the five major contaminators that we can come across. The Drama Queen, the Human Dumpster, the Control Freak, the Virtuous Victim, and the Mighty Narcissist. In this episode, I'm sharing with you how to handle each and what they're teaching you. You've always got power: journal, practice "fuck off" in the car, and remember it's not your job to fix them.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

This week, the quote on my planner is a Brené Brown one of choosing courage over comfort. Outside of the comfort zone is the stretch zone. Courage means to be scared and do it anyway. and that's where you have to step into courage.

Today's quote is Emily Dickinson's "I dwell in possibility" and I love that hope is the thing with feathers that perches in your soul.

Taking responsibility for your body means investigating what's wrong, asking why it's happening, making informed decisions, being proactive with tests, and not just outsourcing everything to doctors without understanding what's going on.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

If you're a high capacity human, you will often attract low capacity people. You give other people permission to be an underdoer and you over function.

My greatest piece of advice this week is organise, don't agonise by Nancy Pelosi. Whatever you're stressed about, organise it.

Re-mattering and re-membering are about rejoining yourself (reconnecting with your soul's desires) and reclaiming your importance (teaching yourself and others that you matter again).The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

Maya Angelou wrote that we need to treat life as art because the routines we follow, we often forget that life is an ongoing adventure. The sooner we realize that, the quicker we'll be able to treat life as art, to bring all of our energies to each encounter, to remain flexible enough to notice and admit when what we expected to happen did not happen. We need to remember that we are created, creative.

Marty Supreme got me thinking about Rabbi Simcha's teaching: carry two pieces of paper saying "I'm everything" and "I'm dust." This year, I'm committed to being intentional, asking "what is my intention?" in every moment, knowing what deserves my all-in commitment and what deserves letting go.

Energy isn't something that happens to you. It's the result of conscious (or unconscious) decisions you make every single day about what you eat, wear, surround yourself with, and do.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

I'm taking my five words (authentic, creative, responsible, thoughtful, kind) and applying them to what they look like to myself, to my people and in my business. Five words, three categories. That's a little matrix that I'm playing with.

I'm filming a brand new podcast with my friend Peter Cook. It is a podcast to support business owners because it's hard out there being one. We want to add some inspiration and a few ideas out there into the world of business.

I've always been very keen on people having power. I have five different ways for reclaiming personal power: saying no, creating a daily spiritual practice, auditing relationships, receiving help, and caring for your physical body. Go get your power back.

A really freeing way to look at your energy is just to play a game of could. There's so many possibilities. Think about what you could change and see how that makes you feel.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

Happy first week back for me and maybe for you. What's happening in your week? What are you doing? What is your focus? Go out there and have an amazing day.

Pottering and pondering is what I've been doing. I think that is the greatest thing you can do right now, to start pondering what's possible. Start pottering, get a journal, start pondering what you want and what is your year going to look like.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

I've learnt over the years that when you're in the hectic times, you've just got to slow all the way down.  This is the time of year we're going to need a lot of kindness.

"If you're exhausted about your heart's obsession with the fixed past and your mind's focus on an uncertain future, your lungs are the perfect place for you." I love this line from John Roedel's poem, My Brain and Heart Divorced. It's just divine.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

There's always a bit of organisation in my world, but I think this is the week. It's the week to get things done. 

For today's Standing Observation, we're revisiting an old episode about the stories we all got, shit that happened to us and people did to us. These stories are like boxes. We need to process our stories and move forward without carrying these boxes.

I reckon we're disconnected from ourselves. I think we've just lost who we are because we're so busy. I think being connected to yourself comes from space. I love just sitting down and thinking about what's going on, what my focuses are, what I need to do, what I have to do and what I want to do.

Transforming yourself is a lovely opportunity and you might need a tablespoon of courage or bravery. This is the year of transformation. Have a think about what you'd like to transform. How could you be braver? 

How much of a luxury is it to have the first week of December, just to think about what you want to create, be, do and have in 2026? That's what I'll be doing. I'm literally off the grid and just 100% focused on repotted. We plant dreams, we pull out weeds, and we grow the next stage of our lives.

So I've decided this summer as the summer of my body. It's the summer of just leaning into looking after my body. What it means is being really gentle with her and exercising her in a in a loving and gentle way.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

I'm going to give myself a slow Monday because I don't normally have a slow Monday. I just needed to have some space. Go through your calendar today, find some little gaps. Find some space where there's nothing and just block it out and pretend you've got something on.

I like the idea of a MeToo movement for everything. It's lovely when you've got someone that understands you. Go and find someone you've got something in common with.

I really like Karla Sorensen's quote that says worrying is like trying to win a race while you're sitting on a rocking horse. Worrying is worshipping a problem. I've been talking to lots of people recently about worrying and worrying an advance, like just getting so ahead in, so worried about shit that may or may not happen.

A lot of people hate the idea of networking but if you put a bit of effort in, you might just meet the coolest person, someone super interesting, some new friends and a new space. It might change your life.

How often have you felt like wanting to run away from life? Sick of everybody leaning on you and feeling like you're gonna fall over? And then you can't fall over because everyone's living on it? Are you just pegging around on your raft of responsibility, being responsible for everyone?The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

The Purpose Planner 2026 is arriving today and we're going to get them all sent out this week. If you've already ordered your purpose planner, we've snuck in some stickers (fun, space, planning, and movement) that will help you plan your weeks and months. 

If you've got money sitting around doing nothing, give it away because money's energy. When you're giving out energy to the world, I reckon you'll get it back.

This is a really good time to think about the energy that you want at Christmas. I think we don't put enough thought into how we want Christmas to look and feel and be and what the energy we want out of it.The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz

Rumi's quote says, live life as if everything is rigged in your favor. The reason we don't is because we're all so full of doubt. What are you doubting at the moment?

I think we all deserve an award. If you had to give yourself a certificate today, what would you give yourself a certificate in?

Robert Holden talks about having a DSP, a daily spiritual practice and I love that. It can be like meditation or it could be just sitting staring at a candle. It could be listening to a chant. What is your daily spiritual practice? Do you have one?The Energy Club is for anyone who wants to take responsibility for their energy. People who want support, accountability and inspiration. Sign up now at lisaoneill.co.nz