Jenny Block
In Her No-Nonsense Guide, Badass Manifesting, Houston Area Resident Jenny Block Redefines Manifesting For Those Ready To Claim More Than Just A Vision Board
What if the secret to creating the life you crave wasn’t buried in a vision board or locked inside a meditation app, but right there, waiting for you to claim it? That’s the radical, refreshing promise of Jenny Block’s new book, Badass Manifesting. With her trademark wit, fearless candor, and no-nonsense approach to personal power, Block, who resides in the Houston area, invites readers to toss out the tired clichés of self-help and step into something bigger, bolder, and infinitely more authentic. In the following excerpt, she reveals how manifesting isn’t about waiting for the universe to deliver; it’s about becoming unapologetically magnetic to the life you deserve. Here, in an exclusive, is the first of two excerpts of the soon-to-be bestseller.
You Know Your Badass Self and You Have No Reason to Hide It
If You Know Who You Are, No One Can Take That Away from You
You know. You know who you are and what you really want. Sometimes you might feel far away from both of those things; but deep down, you know. And no matter what other people say or do, no matter where life does—or does not—take you, you are still that person and you still have those dreams. You deserve to live in that truth. You deserve to be your whole, authentic self and to live a full authentic life. Trust that. Trust yourself. And trust this process.
I am a badass.
I know myself.
What makes me feel badass today?
I am a badass.
I know myself.
What fear will I face today?
I am a badass.
I know myself.
What can I do today to make me feel even more badass?
I am a badass.
I know myself.
What fellow badass can I connect with today?
I am a badass.
I know myself.
Why is being a badass important to me?
I am a badass.
I know myself.
You know who you are. You may question it at times, but you know. And who you are is not defined by something external. You are not your job, your house, your belongings, your family, or your friends. You are who you are, independent of all of that.
Being a badass is who I am, not what I do. Being a badass is not dependent on anything. No matter what happens, no one can take your badassery away from you.
The problem with letting external things define you and your badassery is that they can always disappear or be taken away.
You can’t always control whether or not you’re working and what you’re doing for or at work. I have had so many jobs. Some have been much more badass than others, at least on paper. But I am still a badass despite slinging buckets of beer or changing diapers. In fact, I think being able to stay secure in your badass identity despite your work makes you even more of a badass—not less of one. Being a badass movie star is easy compared to being a badass hotel maid. The latter is tougher but is far from impossible.
It’s not the work you do that makes you a badass. It’s how you do that work—whatever it is—and how you regroup when the situation demands it.
When COVID came along, a lot of my writing work dried up. There were no shows or concerts to review; no celebrities to interview about events or performances people should go see; no restaurants to try out and write about their food. There were no places to travel to, so there was nowhere to write about. And I felt guilty about being upset that my work was drying up when people all over the world were sick and dying.
My fourth book was released right as the world was shutting down, and so my book tour—and consequently sales—were shut down too. And again, I felt guilty being mad about my book not getting its grand entrance into the world when we were all facing a pandemic with no end in sight. I wanted to curl into a ball and just call it a day. And I did, for a minute.
Then I started looking outside the frame. It’s like looking at a photo or a painting, and instead of focusing on the image in front of you, you imagine what’s going on just outside the edges of that frame. As I started to look around, I saw that the earth was still turning; for example, people were still getting married.
I saw one couple talking on Facebook about getting married at a drive-in movie theater, and I thought, “That’s an interesting and uplifting story!” So, with the help of an online writer’s group, I got the email address of an editor at the New York Times, and within three days, I had my very first assignment. That was in April of 2020.
I have been writing for them ever since. And it is a dream. I get to dwell on love stories and share them with the world. I manifested the perfect gig for myself.
Here’s the thing, I may have to remind myself of it sometimes, but I am a girl who gets things done. That’s a complete sentence. The how or when or even why is not really important. It’s about getting the damn thing done. And that’s what I do.
I do my best to remember that, and I hope you will too. Because as soon as the next thing comes up, it can be easy to forget how you did all of those other things. But don’t forget: Your past is your badass superpower. Because despite it all, you make things happen.
Sometimes you might not get all of the things done, or maybe you do, but it’s not even the stuff you had on your list for that day. The key is giving yourself credit for what you did get done and not kicking yourself for what you didn’t. You made the bed? Badass. You didn’t fold the laundry. Equally badass. Because I know you. You used your badass time and your badass self to do other badass shit that you decided to do.
And a badass gets things done in her own time. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. You are amazing, and you are someone who makes things happen. And that is all you really need to know.
Even the things that others may see as weaknesses make up who we are, and owning them is powerful, more powerful than whatever hold—or perceived hold—those weaknesses have on us. For example, I am known to procrastinate. But the fact that I know that to be true and am successful despite it is part of what makes me a badass.
Sure, there are deadlines, appointments, and hard and fast time constraints, and you have to work within such limits. But outside of that, I get to get my work done how and when it works for me, and you should do the same. Give yourself credit and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. If the deadline is Monday at 9:00 and you hit send at 8:59, you met the deadline—period, with no explanations or excuses necessary.
You know yourself. You know your strengths and your weaknesses, and you have the right and the responsibility to honor them—the hard edges, the soft spots, and everything in between. They are all what make you you, and staying true to that is what gives you your power.
Taylor Swift once said in an interview, “I don’t think you should ever have to apologize for your excitement just because it’s like, I don’t know. Just because something’s cliche doesn’t mean that it’s not something that’s awesome. The worst kind of person is someone who makes someone [else] feel bad, dumb, or stupid for being excited about something.”
I’m with Taylor.
It can be easy to let other people’s judgments or rejection make you feel like less of a badass. It can be easy to let insecurity about work make you feel like less of a badass. That’s certainly understandable, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you are confronted by those feelings, follow my dad’s advice—thank your brain for the awareness and let it go. Those feelings don’t serve you, so there’s no need to hang onto them.
You are not a badass in spite of who you are. You are a badass because of who you are. You are a badass because you know who you are. And if that feels like something you’re not 100 percent sure of right this moment, then let’s use this very time and space to take stock. Here’s a little quiz that can help guide your inquiry.
Where do you feel most yourself?
With whom do you feel most yourself?
When do you feel most yourself?
In what attire do you feel most yourself?
What do you feel most yourself eating?
What do you feel most yourself doing: Listening to music or a podcast? Watching TV or a movie?
What kind of work makes you feel most yourself?
What kind of hobbies or activities make you feel most yourself?
Think of the times that you felt—
the most whole
the happiest
the most relaxed
the most relieved
the most proud
the most accomplished
the most successful
the kindest
the funniest
Using your answers as a guide, take stock of where your true center lies. Knowing that can really help you to manifest your badass self and your badass life. Think of this book as your toolbox, one that you can return to again and again. If you are ever feeling less than centered, come back and quiz yourself again. There’s nothing wrong with recalibrating. Medical equipment, appliances—all kinds of things have to be recalibrated. Nothing wrong with doing that for ourselves.
Finding out who we are is a lifelong journey. At our core, we know. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep searching and exploring. Fifteen years ago, I really believed I was the girl who sat on the bench and held the coats while everyone else went on the roller coaster, hiked the trail, biked the mountain, or rode the horses. I was scared of everything, so I defined myself as the one who watched, or kept score, or protected the belongings.
But I had an aha moment on one trip to Disney World. I was about to leave the line for the Splash Mountain ride (which is no more) at the “point of no return,” having waited in line with my daughter and my girlfriend at the time for as long as was allowed for non-riders.
They begged me to come on the ride with them, and as I was protesting, I saw the dreaded “mom” bench out of the corner of my eye. It was filled with exhausted moms covered in spilled drinks, discarded snacks, and weepy children. I looked back at all of the people in line so excited to ride, and I thought, “This is your life, Jenny Block. Where do you want to live? On the rides or the benches?”
So, I went on that ride. I didn’t love it or hate it. But I did love that I overcame a lifelong fear and learned a truth about myself: I am someone who can do anything despite being scared. The world has opened up in the most dramatic way since then. Saying yes to Splash Mountain led to the Year of Yes, and after that, the Life of Yes. If an opportunity presents itself, I don’t let my fear or how I’ve defined myself in the past stop me.
You know who you are.
You are not your job.
You are not your partner.
You are not your family.
You are not your failures.
You are not your yeses or your noes.
You are you.
You are a badass.
You know yourself.
Loud and proud—
I am a badass.
I know myself.
Yes! You do!
Manifesting Moments
“I didn’t believe that manifesting was a real thing until I read a book about twenty years ago, I don’t quite recall the title. The author talked about how she manifested a cubic yard of rich compost. As in, she literally manifested it out of thin air. She was surprised and amazed.
I’ve never manifested something as definite and physical as that, but I’ve played around with trying out specific small things. Like during the summer I had breast cancer and subsequently had several lymph nodes removed from my right armpit, and then learned about lymphedema; I was concerned about getting mosquito bites on my right arm, which could trigger lymphedema swelling.
I spent time sitting in my ‘Back Forty,’ and I ‘spoke’ to the mosquitoes there. I told them that I understood that they needed blood, so they had my permission to bite my left arm or either leg, but not my right arm. I did not get any mosquito bites on my right arm that entire summer. The mosquitoes seemed to comply with my request, even when I was away from my property.
I also participate in an annual New Year’s tradition of setting intentions for the year, which I do with a little online group. This year I wanted “more time”—more time to read, relax, and be creative. I laughed out loud when I looked at my vision board a few months later and realized that having extended time off for my foot surgery had certainly given me more time. And now I’ll be having surgery again in early December. The universe is reminding me to be careful what I wish for!”
—Kaye H., Fern Festie
“For me, manifesting means thinking or envisioning change; setting goals and then achieving those goals. I can’t say for certain whether it was manifestation or just good old hardheadedness that propelled me to completely change the course of my life two different times, and who knows what could happen next? (Just kidding!) I manifested a new life when I divorced my husband, with three kids and no full-time job. I knew I could have a better life and be happy, and I did it! Completely walked away from the life we had to start a new one. I believe we have the power to manifest both good and bad in our lives. If a person thinks negatively, life will be negative and vice versa.”
—Deb Denny, financial advisor
“I believe your thoughts can manifest what happens in your life. People will themselves to be sick or to be well. You can manifest a successful life with your thinking; I also think that people can manifest a negative life.”
—Shell Kennedy, Kennedy A Plus Builders
“Manifesting to me is a knowing that what is supposed to happen for me will happen for me as long as I put in the work. By putting in the work, I mean personally, professionally, and spiritually—as a wife, mother, and friend, and in all the other aspects of my life. I have always believed that the worst answer anyone could ever tell me would be ‘no.’ But even if someone did tell me ‘no,’ I would still be standing in exactly the same place as I was before I asked the question. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
—Emily Kaufman, “Travel Mom” and TV personality
When You Lift Others Up, You Lift Yourself Up Too
If You Can Support Someone Else in Their Journey, You Will Find Yourself Supported as Well
It’s an amazing thing. When you help someone else, you begin to create a web of support; first one person, then another, then another. And each person you help then becomes a part of a group ready to help you. You lift them up, and they in turn lift you up. And it’s not a quid pro quo, it’s not something you should expect. Not everyone understands this, but your herd will know, and that’s how you will know they are your herd. Lift yourself up by lifting up others. There’s no prize for being an island!
I am a badass.
I lift up other badasses.
What makes me feel badass today?
I am a badass.
I lift up other badasses.
What fear will I face today?
I am a badass.
I lift up other badasses.
What can I do today to make me feel even more badass?
I am a badass.
I lift up other badasses.
What fellow badass can I connect with today?
I am a badass.
I lift up other badasses.
Why is being a badass important to me?
I am a badass.
I lift up other badasses.
Badasses always support other badasses. Supporting other badasses does not take away from my badassery. It took me longer than it should have to fully embrace that sentiment and let it permeate through all I am and do. I’m there now, 97 percent anyway, but for a long time, there was one person in particular with whom I just could not seem to get there.
This is one of those sad stories that luckily has a very happy ending. I lived in Dallas, Texas, for a very long time. I was doing lots of food and entertainment writing when I lived there, and I was going to lots of events like restaurant openings, press dinners, shows, and concerts.
Before long, you begin to recognize a regular cast of characters at these events for media and VIPs. As with anything in life, there are people you’re excited to see, people who you wish you didn’t have to see, and people you don’t know and then, for me, there was Rachel.
She seemed to know everyone and everyone seemed to know her. She was pretty and smart and nice and funny—very funny. I wanted to be her. Whew. It feels good admitting that in writing even though those feelings were from so long ago. (A badass admits her feelings even when they aren’t her favorite kind. Why? Because you can’t manifest the things you want until you make room for them by putting down regrets you’ve been carrying.)
Wasting energy on envy and hate and self-pity kills good manifesting energy.
Which brings me back to Rachel, who seemed to have manifested it all. And by all, I mean all of things I wanted to be. Pretty, smart, funny, adored, and, most of all, successful and recognized in this highly competitive world of writing. So I did what any girl does when filled with envy: I smiled and waved and stayed ten feet away.
She never approached me. I never approached her. We kept our distance, and I convinced myself that she was way too good for the likes of me with her zillions of followers and invitations and adoring fans. And then one day, years later, fate brought us together, right next to one another, actually.
I was in Portland, Oregon, to cover my favorite annual food festival, Feast Portland. It became a pilgrimage of sorts for me; I would go every year and see the same chefs and colleagues and guests, and meet lots of new folks.
I would be gone for a week, traveling in the area to learn more about the Oregon food scene, and then back in Portland for the dinners and tastings and parties. One year, I got in line to enter the main festival and before I knew it, there she was standing right in front of me. People were already gathering behind me. There was nowhere to go, not gracefully anyway.
I saw her. She saw me. She saw me see her. I saw her see me. You get the idea. “Hey, how are you?” I said. “Good. How are you?” she replied. “I don’t know if we’ve ever met formally. I’m Jenny Block.” She laughed. “I know who you are. I’m Rachel…” “I know who you are,” I interrupted.
She asked if I had ever been to Feast before and I told her I had, every year other than the first. “How about you?” I asked. She told me this was her first. “It the best food festival in the country. Hands down,” I told her. “Okay!” she said.
Well, it went something like that. What I remember viscerally though is the feeling of being around her. I got it. She was warm and inviting and familiar honestly. I soon found out that she too is Jewish. Both married. Both moms. Both writers. Both living in the same city. And—best of all—both have the same sense of humor. We were inseparable for the rest of the festival.
“How have we never…” I asked her the next day. “I didn’t think you…” she interrupted me. “Well, I didn’t think you…” I in turn broke in.
We both had the same fears about one another, that the other was too “fancy” for the likes of us. And, if I’m being really honest, I felt like I needed to dislike her or at least steer clear of her because there wasn’t room in this town for the both of us. I couldn’t have been any more wrong on any more levels.
That weekend we had so much fun together, and, more importantly, we have been best friends ever since. I moved away from Dallas not long after that, which was incredibly sad. I only live three hours away. But still, we wasted more than fifteen years of potential friendship avoiding each other. I try not to waste too much time mourning the loss and instead use it as a lesson that has served me well on my manifesting journey.
I am better when she is better. I am uplifted when she is uplifting. Supporting her doesn’t take away from me. Sure, there are only so many writing gigs and opportunities, but even if she gets something that maybe I could have, it wasn’t meant for me. She is manifesting her own badass life. And her success is in no way a roadblock to me. It makes me so happy when she has a success that it fills me in some ways that even my own success cannot.
That’s my girl! I think. Look at her go!
We have traveled all over together. Eaten a million things together. Met the most interesting people together. She has edited stories and books, including this one, for me and a book for my dad too. She is always there when I need to be reminded that I am The Little Engine That Could, even when I feel like anything but.
So, now, when I walk in somewhere and there’s someone who seems too “fancy” for me, I make a beeline for them. I introduce myself, and—nine times out of ten—I end up connecting with them. And when we make that connection, I feel propelled by their success, joy, and magnetism.
It’s tricky, I get it. The world can be a competitive place. But here’s the thing: if you are manifesting a badass life for your badass self, you need to be surrounded by badass energy, not wasting your time and power pushing it away. Badass energy begets badass energy. It may not be a law in physics, but it is definitely a law of badassery.
Ok, okay. I hear you. I hear that inner critic making you think, “It’s too scary.” “What if they reject me?” “Who am I to be bothering them?” “I don’t need anyone else.” “I am having enough trouble being supportive to myself, let alone anyone else.”
Well, most things worth doing are scary at first. Who cares? You’re a badass. No one is an island. You get what you give.
Sure, it might be a little bit scary, but it’s not a pit of snakes, it’s a “hello” and a handshake. Even if you hate it, you can do it. It’s a split second that holds a world of possibilities.
And so what if they reject you? I mean, the worst that could happen is that they say “hello” back and then turn away. Fine. On to the next. Truth be told, they may be either rude, unkind, preoccupied, or scared of you. Regardless of which it is, you don’t need any of that, so it’s no big loss—no loss at all, really.
You are you, and you are amazing. You can keep reading that as many times as you need to. You are a badass, and that’s enough. You are worthy, certainly worthy of introducing yourself to anyone you like.
You do need other people—you do. Very few things by very few people are done totally alone. And there’s no need to go it alone. Part of being a badass is manifesting the people you want and need around you. So, for goodness’ sake, say “hello!”
Allow me to let you in on a little secret: supporting other people is a means of supporting yourself. Go ahead, read that again if you like; it only gets more true. When you support others, you prove to yourself that you are capable of doing that. And if you can do it for someone else, you can do it for yourself, too.
The world can be a tough place. It can be fast, competitive, and even mean. But your little corner of it doesn’t have to be. You get to manifest that circle of support around you. That means you get to create it.
Here are some real world steps to making this happen:
- Put yourself in the places where the people are. Like the Little Mermaid, you might need to acquire the thing that gives you entrée to those places and groups and events. Hopefully you won’t have to sell your soul to a sea witch or anything. But you may need to take up that activity you’ve been thinking about doing. Want to hang out with people who knit? Grab some needles. People who skateboard? Get thee to the skate shop. People who love movies? Set up some films and get watching.
- Get in the mix. You can perhaps lurk at the start, be it online or in real life. But, at some point, you have to jump in. Come with a question. Answer a question that’s been posed. Join a conversation. Let people know you want to join in. All too often, we discover too late that people were respecting our privacy, not ignoring us. So preempt the problem and step in. Step into your badass life.
- Keep going. Maybe you don’t find your herd the first time out of the gate. Maybe it was the wrong gate. Are you being honest with yourself about who you want to surround yourself with? Don’t think, “Who should I want to be around?” Think, “Who do I want to be around?” In other words, maybe you want to be an influencer. Do you have to hang out with other influencers? Not if the desire to support them doesn’t well up in you when you meet them, and not if they don’t seem to offer the kind of support you need. Hang out with the people connected to the areas of life for which you want to be an influencer. Take a cooking class. Join the roller derby team. Go thrifting. Renovate a brownstone. Take up foraging. You get the idea!
I know you know what I’m saying here, but I’m going to say it one more time: Supporting others supports you. It’s as simple as that. So don’t be afraid to meet the people you admire, the people already doing it, the people you want to be. Walk into those circles, and walk into your power and your manifesting. Your badass life awaits.
Remember, most regret ends up being about the things we didn’t do, not the things we did.
You are a badass.
You lift up other badasses.
Your turn—
I am a badass.
I lift up other badasses.
You sure do! Every day!
Manifesting Moments
“ ‘To manifest’ can imply creating something out of nothing, which can sound really magical or ethereal, and that’s great! But I’m a pragmatist in life, so I don’t believe in leaving everything to chance.
To me, ‘manifesting’ something—whether it’s a relationship, success in a business venture, a level of financial comfort, or a life experience from your list of ‘Things to See Before I Die’—is putting a situation in motion that wasn’t just going to happen on its own. I believe the act of creation involves first speaking the idea into existence, the mere speaking of which may bring something seemingly impossible into the realm of the attainable.
Take your pick of any of these things that did not exist, but were spoken into reality:
‘We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard,’ declared John F. Kennedy in 1962, speaking of a goal which became a reality in 1969.
Martin Luther King Jr. affirmed in 1963 when he said he had a dream that one day this nation would rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.’
Doctors speak of ‘manifesting a cure.’ The cures to diseases were not going to happen by themselves until someone spoke that cure into existence. Smallpox was eradicated and there are still teams of researchers working on other conditions including HIV/AIDS, cancer, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and diabetes.
I could say ‘I’m going to be in a successful relationship’ by a certain date or ‘I’m going to be debt-free.’
Then, the pragmatist in me makes lists: What steps need to happen between now and the situation I’m manifesting to bring it into reality? I make a list, breaking it down into manageable milestones with measurable results. After following those steps, that which was previously thought to be unlikely or even impossible may be my new reality. Was it mystical and ethereal or a combination of an intention, an utterance, and action? Take your pick. Anything is possible!”
—Eric Ross Allen, Eric Allen Productions
Note: The information provided in this story is for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be considered as advice. Readers should consult with a professional advisor before making any decisions. All opinions expressed in this blog post are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of any affiliated organizations. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and due diligence.
