The Law of Attraction Working For You in Your Life with Kristin Sparks
Do you ever wonder how some people radiate joy and attract success effortlessly? You can unlock those same secrets and transform your life into a journey overflowing with joy, grace, and purpose. Learn how to break free from the chains of blame, shame, or guilt and embrace your most authentic, empowered self. Discover the path to a life you’ve always dreamed of.
“Hot messes are my thing, but so are infinite possibilities.” – Kristin Sparks (1:02)
In this episode, we bring the inspiring story of Kristin Sparks, author, retreat leader, and motivator known for her infectious sense of humor and unwavering resilience. After overcoming profound personal challenges—including a severe injury and battling cancer—Kristin discovered the transformative power of her joy, gratitude, and inner strength. She shares her insights on how you get to live a life filled with infinite possibilities despite facing adversity and explains how to embrace the law of attraction, laughter, and mindfulness and find your true purpose.
The hardest challenge I've ever had was releasing my own shame and guilt over not being able to be the mom that I wanted to be. It really was a process of forgiveness.” -Kristin (21:14)
Are you ready to uncover life's infinite possibilities and live in joy, grace, and empowerment? Learn how to transform obstacles into opportunities and cultivate a life full of laughter and joy.
"Facing death with cancer was so much more personal. I had a choice: go through with the treatments or choose to die. That really isn't going to work for me after having done everything I did to get my body back."– Kristin (05:07)
Feeling lost or unsure about your life's purpose? Kristin offers a step-by-step guide to finding your "why," the core of what drives you. You can build a foundation to discover your true calling by identifying two words that embody who you are.
“You can choose to have a negative response to anything you want to, you know, again, just like it's a choice to be happy or joyous, you can choose to not be. You can choose to be negative.” -Kristin (16:20)
“Your response determines your outcome. Choose joy.” – Kristin, (15:17).
Learn how Kristin taps into her inner guidance through daily meditation. Whether you’re a seasoned meditator or a beginner, her practical tips for creating a mindful and intentional practice will help you connect with your inner self and find peace amidst the chaos of daily life.
Kristin’s mentorship and community support advice will empower you to take that leap of faith. Hear about her own journey through mentorship and how it led her to launch the Sister Weird Foundation, which supports women in finding their true selves.
“Find the light in every situation and let it guide you.” – Kristin, (24:06).
“No matter what the quagmire is, no matter where you are in that sinking sand feeling, there's a hand, and that hand is mine. I am here to support you, inspire you, and guide you through it.”- Kristin(23:50)
Join us as Kristin reveals her journey of self-discovery, her approach to finding joy in everyday moments, and her tips for unleashing your best self.
In this episode:
(01:02) Kristin’s affinity for hot messes
(01:50) Facing death and finding joy
(06:52) Finding your “Why”
(10:43) Mentorship and reinvention
(11:20) The Sister Wyrd Foundation
(12:43) Infinite Possibilities and Canfield Methodology
(16:54) Tapping into inner guidance
(19:34) The journey to finding God
(21:09) The hardest challenge
(21:13) Overcoming guilt and forgiveness
(22:34) Perseverance and self-doubt
(22:50) Taking the leap
(23:22) Being the hero
(23:50) Kristin’s message of hope
Resources and Links
Weeks of Hope
If you want to start your Podcast
Podify - Website
About Kristin Sparks
Kristin Sparks is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, and transformational retreat facilitator. As the CEO of WRAR, Inc. and Executive Director of The Sister Wyrd Foundation, she empowers individuals through innovative self-discovery experiences. A podcast host and Canfield Methodology trainer, Kristin inspires with her personal story of resilience and her dedication to helping others find their true selves.
Kristin Sparks on Social Media
Lauren and Kristin will help you discover:
The secrets behind the Law of Attraction and how it works.
How to create a list of 100 things that make you smile and elevate your daily happiness.
Insightful advice on meditation and its role in inner peace and guidance.
Strategies to overcome fear and take the leap into your true calling.
The importance of mentorship and how to find the right mentors for your journey
Whether you're facing personal challenges or simply looking for inspiration and motivation, this episode is for you!
Key Takeaways
"Fear is just excitement. It's just excitement in a different package."-Kristin (09:14).
"If you're taking just a little bit more responsibility for yourself than you were yesterday, you're doing a huge step in the right direction."- Kristin (15:02)
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Lauren [00:00:00] Welcome to 52 Weeks of Hope. This is where you get to hear how you're happy, balanced and worthwhile. How to make that lonely ache vanish and feel empowered, confident and secure. I'm Lauren Abrams and I get to help you feel the magic again. Since going through my own dark night of the soul by chatting with incredible leaders, healers, and change agents who give us their messages of hope after overcoming challenges of their own. And today we're talking to author, retreat leader and motivator Kristin Sparks. Are you ready to discover life's infinite possibilities? To live in joy, grace and leave blame, shame, and guilt behind? That's Kristin's signature tour.She's here today empowering you to be your best self. Answering your questions has taken some of life's hits so you don't have to, and wants to give you the lessons and help you live your best, most aligned life right now. She also understands body language, which I love because it ties right into confidence in owning who you are. Author of part of the Book on Joy. Welcome to 52 weeks of Hope, Kristin Sparks.
Kristin Sparks [00:00:57] Thank you. That's an amazing introduction.
Lauren [00:01:02] Thanks. I have fun writing them. Okay, so you have hot messes on your website along with the infinite possibilities. Or they just seem kind of incongruent. I'm sure there's somebody who elevates others. So I wanted you to explain kind of like the hot messes, right? Like, you know, I was like, wait, what? How is that your thing?
Kristin Sparks [00:01:22] Well, I'll tell you, I am always a hot mess. It doesn't matter what I'm there on. I'm always a hot mess. Going to a photo shoot this morning. And so the jacket that I'm wearing is this, like, frilly thing. You know, it's just a cape like I get a cot in the drawer and get grease on it. Oh, yeah, that's what I mean.
Lauren [00:01:43] In other words. Okay. So in other words, you always have a sense of humor about life.
Kristin Sparks [00:01:48] I do.
Lauren [00:01:49] You got it.
Kristin Sparks [00:01:50] Yeah. If I am not laughing, I would be in tears constantly. Yeah, I say that I am now a pole dancer. I had a fall in 2013 that took out my pelvis. And the biggest thing that I missed out of all of it was the ability to dance. And so I finally got myself to a point right in 2020 that I was able to walk and move through yoga and using my pool and got my body back strength, and was on a walker. And I got cancer. You know, it's like really the universe just has a sense of humor. And so I just take it in stride and I call it joy in the quagmire, because there is always going to be that muck that we have to get through those challenges that we have to get through, no matter what they are, they're big, they're small. We know that there is somewhere inside of us the strength and the ability to get through that with a smile on our face.
Lauren [00:02:52] Yeah, well, out of everybody I've interviewed, one thing I've learned, there's certain lessons I've definitely I talk about, and I actually compiled all of them into, I call it the Meaning of life in an episode. And one of them is we are definitely resilient, that's for sure. And David from Norway, he talks about he interviewed all these elders and centenarians and the ones that really have the best Azure and everything. It's the sense of humor that goes along with the resilience.
Kristin Sparks [00:03:19] You know, I've been married for 20 years, and I never thought I would get married again after the first one. And that is the one thing that has really brought us through everything is that laughter. And we do a lot of it, you know, even if it's just over the smallest little things, we find joy and what we do in the day. You know, I sat down about a week ago with a group of friends of mine, and we did a hundred things that made us smile. Oh, I was that. Yeah, right. It was just as amazing. Like, oh, yeah. Right. I've forgotten about that. I'd forgotten about listening to this song happily. I forgot about kissing. I had forgotten about, you know, and it's not that we don't know it or we don't think, but it's that everyday thing that we kind of forget. And to sit down and just say, okay, what are 100 things that make me smile, that make me happy? And just the little things were the best, the best things to remember.
Lauren [00:04:16] I like that that's different then, because I do grudges list every day, but I don't ever. I'll do long ones, but the things that make me happy are doing it with a bunch of friends. That's really what I love. That's amazing. So I know that cancer really changed you, right? You talk about how it really just changed you completely, even more so than the boom of the 20s.
Kristin Sparks [00:04:36] You know, it brought me so close to death again. And I've got an allergy to opioids. And I've died four times because I went into anaphylactic shock. Everything closes up, my heart stops. But I'd never really had an experience out of body or anything like that. But really when I faced death with cancer, it was so much more personal. If that makes sense.
Lauren [00:05:02] Yeah. To be able to explain it a little bit like.
Kristin Sparks [00:05:06] Well, I call it being, you know, facing death and leaving them wanting. I'm not ready. I know there's so much more that I have to do. And it was just like, okay, I have a choice. I can either go through with the treatments that are not going to be easy. The whole however long it's going to take the surgery is not going to be easy because I can't do pain meds and this is some major surgery or I can choose to die. Those are my choices and I would be dead in six weeks. Okay. That really isn't going to work for me after having done everything I did to get my body back. You know, I'm like, yeah, no. So it was just personal. It was a personal assault that said, you're not doing something that we need you to do. And I really felt like spirit was leaving me to use my voice that I had never used before, that I had never sat up and said, hey, I am Kristin Sparks, and here's what I stand for, and this is what I've been through, and this is who I am. Authentic, real. Just me. And I went, oh wow, really? Really. You want me to do that? Okay. Deep breath. And here I am.
Lauren [00:06:19] So instead you always listen. But now it's time to talk every month. This is so much I think a lot of people right now are noticing, oh my gosh, I've been called on this earth, on this planet at this time to do something. And I'm not doing what I've been called here to do. But they're scared. They're scared to take that leap. And we don't want them to have cancer, too, in order to make them take that leap. What would you tell them? And some of them don't even know what it is. And that's my question. I ask a lot of people on 52 Weeks of Hope, what would you tell them if they're scared to take the leap or if they're unsure?
Kristin Sparks [00:06:52] Well, you do have to find your why. You really do have to find your why and you've got to dig in to find it. I just did a whole mastermind on finding joy and masterminding joy and finding your why. And it's a kind of a step by step process of finding that. So you start with two things. Two words that you feel embody who you are. For me, it's support and inspire. Those are my words. And from there I built out my why. And my why is really to change this conversation from, you know, blame, shame and guilt to love, joy and grace. Now, how do I get support and inspiration for that? So there's this step by step process that you take to find your why, so that you can then see what it is you're called to do. So if you know why, you know what your purpose is. You know what you're called to do. The fear dissipates. It just goes away. Because now you know knowledge is power. That is very true in this situation.
Lauren [00:08:03] How does somebody find what their words are with their inner calling?
Kristin Sparks [00:08:09] You know, I can just journal through that. Yeah I mean, you can journal. Definitely a journal.
Lauren [00:08:14] I was told this was an interesting thing here at an event. And there's all these different tables and every table has one has inspiration, one has motivation, one has support. Everyone has a different sign.
Kristin Sparks [00:08:27] Yeah.
Lauren [00:08:27] Which one are you going to go to?
Kristin Sparks [00:08:30] For me I'm going to go to transformation.
Lauren [00:08:32] That's how you pick your why.
Kristin Sparks [00:08:35] That's a good way to do it. That's an easy way to do it.
Lauren [00:08:39] And so different labels on each of the tables. And which one are you going to pick, which is your table. So that's one way. And you know what you could actually Google. There's so many people doing this.
Kristin Sparks [00:08:48] Like oh.
Lauren [00:08:49] Yeah I know.
Kristin Sparks [00:08:50] Mean if you go on the website in the next couple of days, the mastermind will be up and you're welcome to go through and all.
Lauren [00:08:56] All Kristin's links and everything are going to be with the show notes. So okay. But how about the people that want to start coaching? They want to start a podcast. Those are two things I am just right. But they want to just start working for themselves in whatever capacity. But they're scared. What would you tell that person?
Kristin Sparks [00:09:13] Well, you know, fear is just excitement. It's just excitement and a different package. And for me, I had to take a really deep breath from the bottom of my toes and go, okay, I am going to step forward and I'm going to step into this. And if you're looking to be a coach or you're looking to be a podcaster, there are a multitude of mentors out there. And for me, that's exactly what I did. I started with, okay, I think I want to be a coach. And I started with this amazing woman, Megan Joe Wilson. She's still a mentor of mine. She is a coach's coach. Incredible woman. But I found out I really did not want to be a coach. So that was great. But at least I knew what. They didn't want to do right. And then podcasting came around and it just fit so well because I do love to talk. .And So what better place to do it in the podcast. And I love, love, love, love having conversations with people that just kind of go and evolve the way that they're supposed to. And so again, podcasting really fits. And I was able to find an incredible set of mentors through the Podcast Accelerator. And they're an incredible set of women. Just really helped me to form what it was I wanted to do and how I wanted to do it, and I had to reinvent myself again. Even this year, because I started off with a partner and we decided that we needed to go our separate ways. And so I reinvented myself to WRAR with Sparks. But having mentors, having people that you can rely on to help you through those transitions, I think, is probably one of the most important lessons that I had to learn through everything that I've learned since 2013, in the Fall, asking for help is the biggest first step. If you're afraid, ask for help. There's mentors out there. There's wonderful mentors out there. Yeah, if you're having problems finding those mentors, I also have a foundation. And that's what we do is we help you find mentors.
Lauren [00:11:19] So what's your foundation?
Kristin Sparks [00:11:20] It's called The Sister Wyrd Foundation. And Wryd is spelled w.y.r.d and Wryd spelled that way is the fabric of life. It's fate and destiny and the fabric of life. And so we really celebrate our differences. We celebrate the women and their journey and finding their true self.
Lauren [00:11:38] Okay, so how old is your foundation?
Kristin Sparks [00:11:40] It's about a year and a half old, and the foundation came together from my first mentorship and 2020, right after the pandemic started. We met on Zoom. The women that have started with me, and they're both from Maine. One is a doctor, one is a PhD health coach, and just absolutely incredible women. You know, we hadn't met when we first started the foundation. We had seen each other on zoom for almost two years. And finally Lisa came down and we were able to meet and Lisa know each other really well and have known each other for a while, so that was great. But Kim and I have yet to meet in person. You know, we're still meeting on Zoom a couple of times a week. That's just great. That's an incredible foundation. It really is. We're so excited about what we're doing and where we're going with it.
Lauren [00:12:32] That's fabulous. Yeah, nobody has to invent the wheel. So he and it before and yeah, no matter what it is. So where do infinite possibilities come from? And can you explain that?
Kristin Sparks [00:12:43] Yes, absolutely infinite possibilities. As Mike Dooley, he wrote the book called The Infinite Possibilities, and I am a trainer within that. I'm also a Canfield methodology trainer, and I am working on Barrett's value. Yeah, but Infinite Possibilities is all about how the universe works and the fact that, you know, I'm sure you've heard of the Law of Attraction and how that works. And if you want something, then you think about it, then you're going to attract it. And I can attest to that. Absolutely, 100% works. And so infinite possibilities came into my life, and it opened up this whole new kind of realm in which to play. And it's all about the fact that we are here in this journey of awakening and this journey of adventure. And we really honestly, I mean, I used to tell my kids this when they were little that life, it's a game and it's all about how you play it. And they would get mad at me because that was not the way their dad told him. Like, you know, life is serious. And I'm like, no, life is fun. Life is supposed to be fun. And that's what Infinite Possibilities really emphasizes is the fun in life. And that you can have absolutely anything you want. You just have to know you want it.
Lauren [00:14:04] Yeah, definitely. And then the Jack Canfield portion talks.
Kristin Sparks [00:14:07] About Canfield obsessed principles and the success principles. Number one is 100% responsibility. So you have to take 100% responsibility for yourself. And that is where removing blame. Absolutely removing blame. You cannot say, well, you know, if the computer hadn't gone out we would have been on at 4:00. But you know what? If I paid attention when it said this little thing or you need to fix sparks, I would have gone, oh, I need to actually reset my internet. So it's just it's taking out anything that you are giving someone else responsibility. Because by doing that, you are literally giving your power to someone else. You're saying, I have no power over my own life. You're saying that I am completely dependent upon another thing, person, place, doing something so that I can live the way that I want to. And honestly, if you're taking just a little bit more responsibility for yourself than you were yesterday, you're taking a huge step in the right direction. The other thing that he talks about within the success principles, and there are 67 of them. So yeah, we're not going to go through there. There's a formula that you can use. It's called e plus r equals L. And I don't know if you've heard of that but it is event plus response equals outcome. And if you want a certain outcome the only control that you have is your response. You can't change the event. The events happen. Things happen all the time. But we can choose the response. And that's where joy comes from. It's the choice. It's the choice of not wanting the outcome to be negative. I want the outcome to be something that is going to push my life forward, that's going to push my spirit forward, that's going to push the family forward, that's going to push the world forward. And so my choice is my response to be joyous.
Lauren [00:16:02] I enjoy that process. That's really a beautiful process. Now anything I want to be, how do we help people that have that kind of negative mindset as opposed to, yes, you can be anything you want to be.
Kristin Sparks [00:16:15] Yeah, we'll help you out there. It is literally a walk in the park. You can choose to have a negative response to anything you want to, you know, again, just like it's a choice to be happy or joyous, you can choose to not be. You can choose to be negative. I express that you are invited to change that response. You are invited to know that the world is your oyster. You can make a pearl or you can just have sand between your toes.
Lauren [00:16:45] What would you rather have?
Kristin Sparks [00:16:47] Yeah,.
Kristin Sparks [00:16:47] So I like pearls myself.
Lauren [00:16:49] Yeah, I'll go with those. Now, how do you tap into your inner guidance?
Kristin Sparks [00:16:54] Well, I meditate every day, every single day. And whether it's five minutes or it's 2.5 hours, which is the most I've ever meditated. And I don't do that every day, but I do meditate every single day. It's usually the first thing I do in the morning before I even have coffee. I used to get up and have coffee and then meditate, and then I kind of vibrate out of it that, you know, maybe I'm having coffee after I meditate. It's a good idea, but I do. I mean, the first thing I do when I wake up is I thank the universe that I'm awake, that I'm alive, and that I get to put my feet on the floor. And then I go sit in my space. I put on my noise canceling earphones. I put a cover over my eyes and I put weight in my lap. And I use a yoga pillow that's weighted and I don't know what it is, but it just kind of grounds me. And then I am just in silence. I'm in darkness and I'm in silence. And it's usually at 5:00 in the morning because I like to get up early, so it's dark anyway. But I like just that, you know, it's like releasing any kind of body sight in any type of hearing. It's almost going into a deprivation type of situation. If you ever done one of those tanks where you get in yeah, those are awesome. They're really amazing.
Lauren [00:18:16] I have a friend that's on a few of those different types of things. She says the same thing she said, it's amazing.
Lauren [00:18:21] Yeah, if I could have one in my house, I would.
Kristin Sparks [00:18:24] I don't have the room for one. They're pretty big. Yeah. But yeah. So I do that for about an hour. And sometimes I use music, you know, just kind of depends on where my mood is. But having that opportunity to just go inside mindfully, intentionally knowing that I am going to spend whatever, five, 20 minutes, an hour of time just listening to my heartbeat, to my breath and finding that knowing I can't explain it beyond that. It's that place inside that you gravitate to, even when you're busy. I mean, think about sometimes when you're doing nothing and the repetition you're cooking, you're chopping up onions, you're doing something like that where you're really not thinking about it. That's the same space you get to in meditation. You really get there with an intention versus just kind of a doing. Life is about being not doing. And that's where the meditation gets you to is the being.
Lauren [00:19:28] Yeah. Now I also saw, I don't know if it's a new book that's coming out. Holy shit, I think I found God.
Kristin Sparks [00:19:33] I think I Found God Holy Shit. It's in process right now. It's in editing, so hopefully it'll be out this year. I'm not sure if it's going to be done or not. It keeps, you know, every time I think I'm done something else.
Lauren [00:19:45] Yeah, I know that one.
Kristin Sparks [00:19:46] It's all about my transformation and my feelings about spirit and the word God. I have had a heck of a relationship with the word GOD to the point where it used to make me absolutely sick to my stomach to even say it, though. It's been a journey and it's an amazing transformation.
Lauren [00:20:11] I love that. What's the most common question to ask when you tell people what you do?
Kristin Sparks [00:20:15] Oh gosh. The most common question that I get when I tell people what I do. So you do retreats, It usually the most corresponds. So you do retreats, I think the most common question that I get, though, is why? You know, people really want to have this conversation about why and when I answer, it really has to do more with what? Then? Why? You know, we find our why, and then we find our purpose, and then we find our mission. And that's what. You know, my what is what makes it so incredibly personable to me. You know, I am here because I am an authentic, honest, inspirational, supportive guide in finding who you are versus me finding who I am.
Lauren [00:21:09] Yeah, that makes sense to me. Now, what's the hardest challenge you've overcome?
Kristin Sparks [00:21:13] I tell you the hardest challenge and I've had some hard ones, but the hardest one was releasing my own shame and guilt over not being able to be the mom that I wanted to be. That's the hardest challenge I've ever had.
Lauren [00:21:26] Were you able to do it?
Kristin Sparks [00:21:27] Really by forgiving myself? You know, it really was a forgiveness. And it was a process of forgiveness. And we started with forgiving the fact that I was imperfect. And then from there, forgiving the fact that, you know, it's 100% my responsibility. And I think that, you know, I knew that long before I knew of Jack Canfield. And so I think that's probably why he resonated so much with me. But it was, you know, just saying, okay, it doesn't matter what else was happening around me. It doesn't matter who else was living within this realm of you not getting to be the mom that you wanted to be. So you have to say, I did this. This was my choice and I'm okay with that. It's not perfect. Not in. Everybody's not going to agree with it. Not everybody's going to like it. Not everybody's going to understand it. But you're okay with the choice that you made because you made it with the 100% understanding of what was happening at the time that it was happening.
Lauren [00:22:27] And do you have times where you feel like you just want to give up? I mean, now I'm not like it. And if so, what do you do and what gets you through?
Kristin Sparks [00:22:34] Well, I have not had I want to give up for a long, long, long time. Do I question myself sometimes? Do I absolutely get scared? Absolutely. I mean, I sometimes go, what have I gotten myself into?
Lauren [00:22:50] I think that's a human experience. You haven't taken that leap. When you take that. Leave it. It doesn't matter how far it's going to go.
Kristin Sparks [00:22:57] It does. I mean, you know, doubt comes in. These retreats that I have in the fall are all about I doubt me and that's called I do me. And so it's removing the doubt. And that doubt comes in that little voice that goes, you're crazy. Who is going to listen to you? Why would you have anything to say and why is it important? If you're anything that you have to say, you know, those things come in and then you go because, I mean, because people need to know the story. Because I'm not the victim. I am the hero. And people need to remember that they are the hero. Two people need to know that even when it seems like everything is going wrong and you're living in that mess every day, there is hope.
Lauren [00:23:43] That's a great Segway because the next question I want to ask is, do you have a message of hope you want to give?
Kristin Sparks [00:23:49] Yes, absolutely. No matter what the quagmire is, no matter where you are in that sinking sand, the feeling there's a hand and that hand is mine. And I am here to support you and inspire you and guide you through it.
Lauren [00:24:06] I think that's great. And like I said earlier, all of your contact and information and everything will be on the website, of course. So thank you so much for being our guest today on 52 Weeks of Hope.
Kristin Sparks [00:24:18] Thank you for having me, Lauren. It's been a pleasure.
Lauren [00:24:21] It's great. I hope you enjoyed this week's episode and take with you Kristin's messages of a sense of humor, gratitude, and happiness. List of what makes you happy, what brings you joy and lights you up that she did with her friends. I thought that was so great. It's such great messages to take to your week ahead, and if you enjoyed this episode, you'd love Ashley Gardner's episode, episode 82. If you haven't already heard it, feel the magic and be confident in yourself. You learn how to follow your intuition. It's a super feel good episode. It was really good. Tips on it. I just like this one. Be sure to tune in next week for another empowering episode all about overcoming challenges, confidence, and how to take that next step. Staying aligned with your true self. Next week is going to be a great episode. So tune in then and we have a quiz now on the website. When do you self-sabotage? It's really fun and it's enlightening. So that's at 52 weeks I hope. Dot com a quiz. When do you self-sabotage? Just go to the website to take that. And if you're not already in the Facebook group, it's a safe space and really good community. And if you weren't there for any of the live streams, those are all in there. There's different healing modalities like breathwork and EFT tapping, as well as other tips and tricks to help you feel better right now. So that's all in the Facebook group if you're not already a member of the community, and if you're not on the email list, there's been some really good strategies in the emails. So you get to stay in the know. But everything is on the website. You can always just go to the website at 52 weeks. I hope.com everything is on there. If you're enjoying the podcast, share the love and tell two of your friends I'm Lauren Abrams. Thanks for listening.