Jennifer Coolidge gave the ​2024 WashU commencement address​ sharing her journey of becoming an award-winning actress.

She shared about how her rejection from her life-long dream of being on SNL became a redirection for her life’s work, ultimately leading to winning awards and her own radical self-acceptance.

Before she congratulated the Class of 2024, she shared, “I stand before you, a weird person.”

“Respect the need to be something very odd, not what is expected. Get to know yourself. Accept who you are, and love that person because this is the moment. You already are everything you need to be.”

After watching the video with me, Dan shared Steve Jobs’ ​2005 Stanford commencement speech​.

I’d heard bits and pieces of that speech, but never the whole thing.

Steve shared his reflections on “connecting the dots” and how everything that happened in his life led him to where he was.

Even the worst moments.

“I didn’t see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.”

Throughout our lifetimes, we can look back and see how everything connects. We can see the tough spots, the wonderful moments, and the randomness for what it really is, yet while we’re in the moment it can be terribly uncomfortable.

Some of us are following a little voice in our head, others say they follow their gut, still others follow how they feel.

Each of us has our own way of making decisions, but where does it come from?

Steve Jobs called it Curiosity and Intuition. Jennifer Coolidge called it Radical Acceptance.

I like to think of it as Being Guided.

I’ve been reading books by ​Sonia Choquette​ lately. Sonia is a spiritual guide and intuitive healer. Her book, Ask Your Guides, dives into connecting with our angels, guides, and fairies.

Trust Your Vibes, one of her recently updated books, dives into connecting with your higher self, spirit, or intuition. Whether you believe in a higher power, a specific religious doctrine, or purely yourself, most of us can see that we’re being guided in some way.

Regardless of how we’re being guided, the one thing we can all agree on is that the only way to receive guidance is to be open to it. And the best way I’ve found (and researched) is to be connected, first and foremost, to ourselves.

The more in touch we are with our bodies, our minds, and our spirits, the more we can access the divine in ourselves and the world around us.

The more often we ask ourselves what we want to eat, how we’re feeling, what we’re desiring, how we can move, and even how we can find pleasure, the more we’re able to access a higher power of decision making.

This means being aware of our words, our feelings, our impact on the world around us, and our healing.

This means being aware of how every decision we make can creating a lasting ripple effect on ourselves and others.

This means seeing ourselves in every person we interact with.

This also means being willing to see the truth, even if it’s not pretty.

The reason I shared these two commencement addresses is because of the commonality between them. Two award-winning, famous, recognizable humans hit major setbacks. Major rejections from the lives and work they wanted most.

Yet, as they looked back, they saw how much better their lives were because of these setbacks. They saw how it gave them exactly what they needed, even if it felt awful at the time.

Each of these humans knew they were being guided, whether by their own intuition, the Universe, or their own spirit guides. They could see the path forward, even if it didn’t look like what they originally planned. They could feel the guidance and know that, no matter what, they were going to do great work.

When we are aware of ourselves and our guidance, we can see rejection, setbacks, and hardship for what it is.

We’re able to move forward in a way that develops an even greater sense of purpose.

We can allow others to see us more clearly. We can speak our truth more openly.

Whether you’re sitting in the middle of a shitstorm or you’re riding the highest heights, know that everything is working out exactly as it needs to. Especially if it doesn’t feel like it.

It’s your decision to take the rejection as redirection or to decide that everything has gone wrong. As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

Ask your guides, your intuition, or your God/Universe/Source/Spirit/Divine for support today in whatever decision you are making or situation you find yourself. Begin to notice that you are supported and you’ll begin to feel that support.

Walking alongside you. xoxo