During the Hay House I Can Do It Ignite NYC conference in mid-February, the company introduced a number of new and upcoming authors who each took the stage for 20 minutes to share their unique stories and expertise.
One of these was The Daily Love founder Mastin Kipp. He sprung onto the stage full of energy, very much like his mentor Tony Robbins, and immediately shifted the energy in the room. At age 21, Kipp thought he had it all – the girlfriend, the career and the BMW, but this lifestyle led him to drugs and alcohol.
One day while getting high on cocaine, he felt a presence around him that told him he was “more than this,” and he decided to get sober. “I stopped cocaine, but didn’t start listening,” he told the audience. “I was still striving for a sense of significance outside of myself.”
He was in the music business, but his career wasn’t going where he wanted it to, and one day a girl gave him Caroline Myss’ “Energy Anatomy” CD. He connected to what he heard, and eventually started a company called “Love Yourself.” He even got some celebrities to wear the clothing he was selling. But then everything suddenly fell apart.
“Within one week, my girlfriend broke up with me, my investors pulled out, my back went out, I got gout and my roommate moved out,” said Kipp. “I had been doing an abundance mediation from Kundalini yoga, but everything left.”
He had nowhere to go, so his ex-girlfriend’s family allowed him to move into their small guest house, which was essentially an 8-foot by 8-foot room. One day he was meditating and said to God, “I’m in this 8 by 8 room, but I hear you are abundant.” He couldn’t understand why all of the things had occurred in his life. Then he heard an answer: “You are in this room because this is the size of your faith.”
“I stopped looking outside of myself. I thought, ‘what if when all of the crap hits the fan, it’s actually a divine storm? What if everything is going wrong so it could go right?” said Kipp. “Divine storms often occur right before our surrender point.”
At the time, all he had left of the business was a Twitter account called The Daily Love, and he started tweeting positive messages about love. Then one day, reality star Kim Kardashian retweeted one of his quotes, and his Twitter account went from 1,000 to 10,000.
“That is what happens when you surrender. God’s Rolodex is deeper than anyone you know and God’s bank account is deeper than the U.S. treasury,” said Kipp.
He explained to the audience that fear holds us back, and that if we truly want to grow, we have to step into uncertainty – and that means we are going to feel afraid.
“Be willing to be terrified, and still do it,” he said. “Be willing to surrender and keep going. It took me five years. Let God surprise you. No matter how big you think, God is infinite.”
Father & Son Journey
In eighth grade, Michael Eisen’s friends abandoned him. He was bullied and picked on, and his only real friend was a toy poodle named Brandy, he told the NYC audience when he took the stage on Sunday afternoon of the weekend conference. He was angry and he would cry to Brandy because not matter what Brandy loved him unconditionally.
“That dog saved my life,” said Eisen, who said by grade 12 he finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel. He knew if he got good grades, he would get into a good college, get a good job, have money, find a partner, have kids, retire and be happy. So he worked himself to the point of sickness.
“I felt like a victim to society, my town, my parents, and I wanted to get out of there,” he explained. “I was so stressed and anxious from what I was putting myself through, I wound up with a bunch of stomach issues.”
He finally made it to a university, and realized people liked him there. He was funny and had a great time socializing, but he forgot to study. He soon realized he needed to go back to his beliefs about working hard and getting good grades so he could lead the life he thought would make him happy, and even felt guilty for having too much fun.
“I tried to study and the stomach issues came back. I didn’t get good grades, and by the time I was 19, I had a complete breakdown,” he said.
In the meantime, his father, Jeffrey, who had achieved everything he set out to in his own life, including becoming the CEO of a multi-million dollar steel-distribution and fabrication business, realized he wasn’t happy. He hired a life coach, began to read a lot of self-help books, and he “completely transformed his life in one year,” said Eisen. “I showed up for the holidays and my dad was a different person.”
Eisen decided if his dad could do it at age 50, he could do it at 19, and he became his father’s first student. “He taught me awareness creates choice, and choice creates change. Life is about learning, not about the results. We are here to learn and grow. Everything else stems from that,” he told the crowd.
Within six months, Eisen’s depression lifted and his stomach issues were gone. Eight years later, not only are he and his father good friends, they are also co-authors of a new book, “Empowered YOUth: A Father and Son’s Journey to Conscious Living
His father Jeffrey is a skilled life coach, spiritual guide and speaker, and Michael is the founder of the Youth Wellness Network (YWN), an organization dedicated to inspiring and empowering youth across the globe to live happier and more positive lives.
Did you miss Part 1 of our 2013 Hay House I Can Do It NYC Coverage? Read it now!