Interview with Lee Travathan

Lee Travathan: Coach, Author and Artist

Lee’s goal has always been to live a service based life. In her professional career as a counselor in the field of psychology for 40 years, she has also worked with children at risk by getting kids out of gangs and on to more positive lives. She taught them a life transforming method she developed called the Tender Art of Extraordinary Thinking (TM). This was in addition to her regular practice and mentorship of creative individuals within the entertainment industry. She now coaches people from all walks of life. Her goal for you is to help you live the life you dream about. 

During her years in practice she also worked in radio and television as a producer and host of popular radio shows and podcasts and has been a guest on hundreds of radio shows speaking on creating a more positive life. She has also been known as The Millionaire Mindset Coach  because She has helped people to reach million dollar, and more, goals by using the power of the subconscious mind.  She writes books and has published over 800 successful blogs and articles on personal improvement, the power of the subconscious mind, Extraordinary Thinking, and philosophy. She has facilitated retreats and workshops on Extraordinary Thinking and has been a popular public speaker since the early 80s. 

One of the things she loves about helping young upcycle designers is this: Always, in the background, she has been an artist, designer, and lover of fibers of all kinds. She used to sit at the base of her grandmother’s old Singer treadle sewing machine while her grandmother sewed dresses for her sister and herself out of old flour sacks. She loved the whole process. In high school she learned to design and make my clothes. As a young mother, she expanded into even more creative avenues of fiber arts and has continued that quest still today as a hobby. What has changed is that she now makes it a goal to use as many reclaimed and recycled fibers as possible. She teaches creative upcycle business owners to do the same as a part of her expanded coaching business. 

Her work today in coaching creative people worldwide is perhaps the most rewarding work she has ever done. (Courtesy of Lee Travathan’s website ) You can find out more about Lee and her work at her website – https://leetravathan.com

TSM: Thanks so much for taking time out of your schedule to do an interview for TSM. It’s so wonderful to have you in the magazine.

LT: My pleasure.

TSM: What inspired you to get into coaching, and is it something you always wanted to do?

LT: Coaching was a natural process for me, even as a kid. I was the one the other kids came to when they had issues to work out. I love helping people and seeing them grow and expand. After school, I started working in medicine, but this was not making me feel happy, as it was so limited. It did not really address the root of the problems, so shifted course and went into the field of psychology as a therapist and mentor. I did that for a very long time and loved it, but when I retired I was not done. Coaching was the way to go. 

TSM: Tell us a bit about your process in coaching creative people.

LT: I teach people how to make proper use of their subconscious mind, while teaching the twenty basic psychological distortions in thinking habits. This creates balance for my clients. Most people who come to me have a particular goal in mind, but have not been able to achieve that goal. They tend to think that this means something is wrong with them, but it usually means that they just never had the correct tools to get to the end result. That is what I offer… a way to achieve any goal one may have. Most very creative people question life more than others tend to do… and they are more sensitive and tend to personalize more than others, as well. When I started my work, I knew I’d need to address my clients from a whole and rounded perspective that met their needs. 

TSM: Can you elaborate more on the life transforming method you developed called Tender Art of Extraordinary Thinking (TM)?

LT: I’d love to. I have been teaching this method for over forty years and still love it today. Ordinary thinking is the common thinking of our day, and it does not work well. It never has. It is based in ego, fear, and judgment and it is filled with dysfunctional ideas and cognitive distortions. It is typically at the heart of all upsets. But it is what we have all been programmed to do since we were kids. Extraordinary Thinking is what most self-actualized people use to process thought, but it is rarely called that and it is not typically available to the masses. 

My goal was to make it accessible to anyone who is serious about changing their lives in a big way to finally break the cycle of dysfunction. Almost always, Extraordinary Thinking will be the complete opposite of ordinary thinking. For instance, ordinary thinkers will most likely have strong beliefs in lack, as in “there is not enough,” so they struggle and can often feel like they are victims. In Extraordinary Thinking, there is a strong belief in abundance and a knowing that your subconscious mind will create what you tell it to, giving you the power to have what you want or need without the struggle. They know that they are volunteers and never have to be victims.  

TSM: Your newest book is Loved Beyond Compare. What is the significance of the title, and the inspiration behind writing the book?

LT: I was working with the Proctor Gallagher Institute as a coach for their Thinking Into Results program, and I enjoyed it… but found that I was talking to people who just wanted to make a lot of money. That is okay and I have helped many do that, which gave me the title of “The Million Dollar Mindset Coach” during my days working in the Hollywood film industry. But what I noticed most was that the people who came to me over the last few years seemed to have no understanding at all of how deeply and truly loved they are by that which created them. And I really felt a calling to address this matter, hence the book. I wanted people to understand that there is no greater love than the love that creation has for them. Nothing compares to it.  And I wanted them to see their lives in a new and more powerful way. I wanted them to truly understand the significance of who and what they are at the very core of their being.  

TSM: What do you hope readers take away from your book?

LT: I hope that they realize how seriously powerful they are. I list ten birthrights that we all have, yet few know about or honor. It is my hope that they honor those birthrights and realize how precious this life really is. 

TSM: I know that you are a lover of fiber arts. What is it that you love most about fiber art? And can you tell us about some of the fiber art you’ve created?

LT: Yes, I have had a love affair with fiber arts since I was a little girl. My dad was a country circuit rider preacher in MO and I was often left with the “church ladies” while he did his radio shows, worked on his sermons, or went to see someone in the hospital. The ladies sat around a large quilt frame and quilted for hours at the church. They would give these quilts away. I was fascinated by all the colors and textures and options this old wonderful art offered. 

The ladies would often give me big bags of scraps and I’d make projects from them. It brought me great joy and confidence. As I got a little older I started making art quilts, before there was such a thing… so not everyone understood what I was doing. Now, it is common art practice and highly celebrated. From there I went into designing and making my own clothes. By the time I was ten, I was an accomplished sewer and could make just about anything I saw in magazines. By the time I was in high school, I made most of my own clothes. I still make Boho clothing items, art quilts, and boho purses today just for fun and relaxation. I have an art studio in my home that is quite large and it allows me space to work with fiber arts, including spinning and weaving, all forms of fiber art, painting and jewelry making.  

TSM: Who or what are your main influences and inspirations?

LT: Very early on, I was very influenced by Einstein and his idea of energy. That is where I first learned that if we match the energy of what we want, we will have it. It was also my first exposure to the idea of vibration… what is now called the law of vibration. Studying his work sent me into studying quantum physics in college and beyond. That brought me to Joe Dispenza’s work. Which I still study today. As a kid, I loved to read Plato and find that it still is a part of my world today. Later on in my twenties, I was inspired by Bob Proctor, as it seemed that we were talking the same language. I just needed to take it a little further with Extraordinary Thinking

Where art is concerned, I have been inspired and empowered by so many people that I lose count. My big inspiration today is Louise Fletcher, an English abstract landscape artist. I learn so much from so many and love the process of believing in the outcome before I see it. I also love so many wonderful fiber artists who have graced my life with enthusiasm and confidence. 

TSM: What advice would you give those currently 10 years younger than you about how to make best use of the next decade?

LT: This is not a practice life… and all that you do and don’t do matters. Every thought you have is like dropping a pebble in a pool. Those ripples go out through creation and bring you back, like a boomerang, exactly what you think about all day long. So, choose wisely. What you choose to think about most will be your dinner guest, your bed partner, and your manifestation. And if something or someone is getting you down… rise above it. Don’t waste time trying to deal with people that are almost impossible to deal with. Move on down life’s amazing and beautiful road and create a life that is what you really want with all your heart. Don’t settle for less. 

TSM: If you had the power to do something in the world today, what would it be and why?

LT: I would make sure that kids were taught Extraordinary Thinking from an early age to save them from living a life filled with limits and dysfunction. I would make sure each child understood how to use their mind properly and feed their souls abundantly. 

TSM: What is one of your favorite quotes (or lines) that inspires you?

LT: “Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you received them and they shall be granted you”. Mark 11:24 – speaks to how loved we are. And, of course, “Everything is energy. Your thoughts, beliefs, and emotions create your vibration. When you change your vibration, everything changes. Firstly, it’s essential that you understand that everything in the physical world is nothing more than energy.” This is what Einstein proved to us with his infamous formula, E = mc 2 .

TSM: Anything else you’d like to share? And where can our readers find out more about you and your work?

LT: I’d just like to say that we are all creators… and we can’t change that. We can ignore it, deplore it, or negate it, but we can’t change it. We are so loved in a way most have never understood… and I do hope that my book will help them understand that. My book and audiobook, as well as companion books can be found at Amazon. Lots of videos can also be found at YouTube for inspiration, motivation, and education on Extraordinary Thinking.  

TSM: Thanks so much again for doing an interview for TSM and wish you all the best in all you do in the future.

LT: Thank you! 

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