I was first acquainted with Kate Northrup two years ago when I saw her speak on a panel. The discussion had turned to spirituality and I remember her confessing that she had decided that checking her email every morning immediately upon waking is a spiritual practice. I chuckled to myself because I, too, fight the urge every morning to go straight for my email. Sometimes the iPhone wins. In that moment, I appreciated Kate’s honesty. Because, let’s be real: there are some days when brushing my teeth is as spiritual as I get.
You may know Kate from her Freedom Tour, a 2011 road trip to inspire spiritual, financial and emotional freedom, or as the daughter of Dr. Christiane Northrup, a leading expert on women’s health and wellness. You’ll soon know her as genuine, enthusiastic and inspiring. By the time you finish reading her interview, you may even feel like you’ve known her for years just as I did that day she spoke on the panel.
Q1. What is the #1 wellness practice you live by? That thing that you do every day without fail because it revs you up from the inside out.
A. I take my vitamins and I laugh! My motto is “happy, healthy cells!” Taking life lightly in combination with a really high-quality, pharmaceutical grade multi-vitamin is my elixir of life!
Q2. The premise of the blog is that wherever you are in life, is exactly where you need to be. How did you get to where you are today?
A. I recently wrote a post entitled “It’s not going to turn out the way you thought”, which got more traffic and comments than anything else I’ve written. (It was re-posted on CrazySexyLife.com and got the most Facebook “Likes” they’ve ever had on a post!) My point is that I think we can all agree that we start out on the road to a destination we have in mind and without fail we end up somewhere entirely different (or we at least end up getting there a totally different way than we had planned.) I love the fundamental truth of this online space that we are exactly where we need to be in our lives, and I would add to that, “even if it’s not where we thought we’d be.”
A year ago I got an itch for change and adventure and I scratched it. I made preparations to sell my apartment in New York City, get rid of most of my stuff, and move my life into a white Toyota Prius affectionately known as Zoe. I birthed The Freedom Tour through trusting my gut and keeping myself on my toes. I needed a change so I came up with the wacky idea to go on an indefinite road trip teaching, exploring, and learning how to be truly free (especially financially.) If you had told me a few years ago that by February 2, 2011 I would have given away three quarters of my wardrobe, that I wouldn’t own any furniture, and that I would be homeless, I would have told you that you were nuts. And yet here I am and this is my reality. And I’m loving every sacred, wacky, freaky, hilarious, and delicious moment of it.
So how did I get where I am today? By living my aliveness. By following my intuition. By changing things often enough in my life to keep myself entertained. By getting way uncomfortable. By letting go and having fun. And that’s how I plan to get to the next place too.
Q3. What was your biggest transformation along the way?
A. Well I’m only 28 so I’m sure I’ve got a few more major transformations ahead, but I would say my biggest one to date would be realizing and owning that I’m enough. This has manifested in the following practical ways: becoming financially independent and eventually, financially free; letting go of two business partnerships that I was in to some degree because I thought I wasn’t enough on my own; and beginning to take myself seriously a truly valuable, powerful writer, speaker, and business woman (which is still in process.)
Q4. If you could only own five items, what would they be?
A. I love this question because it’s nearer to the reality of my life today than it ever has been before. Though I own way more than five items, consciously living with less stuff in order to see if it helps me feel more free (so far, it does) has given me a heck of a lot of clarity on what I truly value. So, my five items would be:
1. My MacBook
2. My Prius
3. My woobie (It’s my favorite scarf that I never leave home without. It’s like an adult baby blanket.)
4. Ear plugs (I’m an incredibly light sleeper and can’t sleep without ‘em.)
5. My grandmother’s engagement ring diamond that she made into a necklace for me. It represents her 31 years of marriage to my Grand Dad, which created 6 children, 8 grandchildren, and an incredible legacy I’m proud to be a part of and humbled by, simultaneously.
Q5. What is the theme song for your life right now and why?
Passenger Seat by SheDaisy for two reasons: 1. Quite practically and literally, The Freedom Tour has surprisingly been largely about being driven around the country by my amazing guy while I sit in the passenger seat, and 2. Because allowing him to be in the driver’s seat sometimes (actually, a lot of the time) has required a great deal of surrender on my part. I’ve been a driver/control-freak my whole life, always thinking that not only did I have to do everything myself, but that no one else could possibly be capable of doing it as well as I could. So, allowing him (and others) to support me in literal ways, such as driving, and more energetic ways, has been a REALLY BIG DEAL for me. I’m far more open to receiving, to getting help, and to being in partnership as a result. And I’ve learned to love not being in charge all the time. It turns out it’s quite relaxing in the passenger seat.
About Kate Northrup
Kate Northrup a multi- passionate entrepreneur, yogini, dancer, artist, researcher on what it takes to be free, and seeker. In February 2011 Kate embarked on an indefinite road trip called “The Freedom Tour” to teach and inspire people to create financial, emotional, and spiritual freedom. After 30,000 miles by car, and thousands more by plane, The Freedom Tour has found a home on the East End of Long Island. Kate is also the Co-Creator of Team Northrup, a league of wellness entrepreneurs 800 strong and growing who are aligned with the work of her mother, Dr. Christiane Northrup. Using personal growth as a business building strategy the group creates residual income and optimal health with product partner, USANA Health Sciences.
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