From Wishes to Manifestation: What My Lenny Kravitz Concert Taught Me About Speaking Up

Oh, Lenny!

In my latest newsletter I shared my excitement about seeing Lenny Kravitz at Ravinia as part of celebrating turning 60 in May. It's no secret that when I found out he was coming, I started telling everyone I wanted front-row seats. That was my wish for my birthday — and I also set the intention to manifest great seats.

There’s an important difference here: manifesting is not the same as wishing. Manifesting is a co-creation. We have skin in the game, unlike making a wish. By definition, manifesting is “an active process of aligning your beliefs, thoughts, and actions to bring your desires into reality,” while wishing is a passive hope for something to happen without taking responsibility or steps toward it. Manifestation involves belief in your power to create, focused intention, and taking “inspired action,” whereas a wish is a longing for luck or favor from an external force without direct personal involvement.

So, yes — my wish was for front row seats to fall into my lap. But while I waited, I got to work. Through a combination of tenacity, right timing, and what some would call chutzpah (otherwise known as normal behavior to me), everything worked out better than expected.

Tenacity: Staying in the Game

The morning Ravinia tickets went on sale, it was clear the early-access donors had snatched up the front rows. I waited on the phone queue while getting dressed and driving to teach a yoga class, but had to abandon it as class began. Annoyed but not defeated, I got back in line with my eldest daughter after class as we were on our way meeting her realtor to see a house for her. And as we pulled up, needing to keep our appointment, she managed to snag seats — Row KK in the back of the center section. Not front row, but rain or shine, we were going to see Lenny!

Right Timing & Chutzpah: Asking Out Loud

For weeks I kept publicly sharing my wish — in class, on social media, with friends. My students know me well by now, and they either tolerate or share my musical obsessions to the point that any one of them could win money on a game show if asked to name the three artists their yoga instructor likes best. Without blinking, they would answer: Dan Fogelberg, Stevie Nicks, and Lenny Kravitz.

Days before the show, I subbed a sculpt class and repeated my Lenny spiel. One new student spoke up: she has friends with front row seats who often let their friends sit with them during shows. We traded numbers, and I left thinking, Wow, that was so kind. This woman only just met me but offered to help.

When she texted me at Ravinia to have my phone at the ready, an old program bubbled up inside me: mistrust, doubt, preparing for letdown. Childhood experiences taught me that not everyone follows through. But boy was I wrong — she came through way better than I expected. I was hoping to sit in the first row for a song or two, but soon after the show started, she texted me with tickets for Row J. And more importantly, she taught me that when I hold the intention to manifest people who match my vibe and energy, I receive. She also showed me where my own pessimism still lives — and how ready I am to release it.

The Mirror of Motive: Authenticity vs. Hollow Gestures

Half of you may think that woman was full of it; half may call her an angel. Your reaction depends on your own backstory. In the work I’ve done on myself and with others, I’ve noticed that people who offer help they don’t intend to fulfill often act from imbalance. It feels good to rescue — but if the motive is validation or accolades, the gesture isn’t about the other person; it’s about filling holes within oneself.

Hollow offers make you look unreliable and inauthentic. No one wants to deal with gestures born of low self-esteem, especially when they’re in crisis or merely asking for a small favor. I’d rather have silence or a solid no than a “let me check and get back to you” that vanishes and creates a mental file labeled: don’t ask her — she’s full of it.

Chance (and a Little Help from My Kid)

The other serendipity? Parking. One of my other daughters was willing to reach out to her former employer for me and ask if there was a spot left on the small parking lot. Some of you may applaud my resourcefulness, and others may judge my request as overstepping. Here’s the thing: your reaction says more about you than about me.

If you're judging me for overstepping, let me assure you, I know my kids. I'm comfortable asking them for whatever, knowing they don't feel obligated to say yes, or feel guilty for saying no. But more than that, if your inner dialogue says, "I would never ask my kid to call an old boss for a favor," let's dig more deeply into that reaction.

Why wouldn't you? Do you generally shy away from calling in favors, or only with certain people? Do you often feel burdened or annoyed when someone asks you for help or favors? Do you always do everything for everyone so no one has a chance to help you out? To be clear, I knew I could ask my child because she'd told me her boss had instructed her to contact him to inquire about parking anytime. And we don't take advantage of that offer, either. So she was happy to help, happy to try, knowing the answer could have gone either way.

Perhaps you're more triggered, fearing or wondering if your kids have been able to develop a respectful relationship with a former employer, coach, or teacher. Encouraging your child to cultivate adult advisory relationships or rapport with those in positions of power is essential. They may cultivate a mentor, earn a reference, and, yes, be able to ask for favors down the line. Those references needed for college applications and resumes don’t just appear; you can’t wish them into existence. They’re co-created — just like those concert seats.

What to Stop — and What to Teach Instead

You don’t need to go to extremes to hurt your child’s future resilience. Small, well-intentioned intrusions add up: doing their applications for them, calling a teacher to argue a grade, networking on their behalf so they never learn to make the ask, or smoothing every social bump so they don’t learn to navigate hard conversations. All of that signals to your child you don't trust in their ability to advocate for themselves and that others will solve their problems — and when the world doesn’t, they’re unprepared.

If you want your kids to be resilient, competent, and resourceful, start by changing these impulses in yourself. Stop trying to fix what they can fix themselves. Stop calling every contact in your phone to get them special treatment, and stop solving social or workplace discomfort for them. Those instincts come from love, yes, but they also short-circuit the very learning you want them to have.

Most of all, the biggest lessons we teach our children are the ones we teach ourselves. Model asking for what you want in your own life — your kids will notice how you use your voice and learn that it’s okay to use theirs, too.

Also note: When a favor does arrive, pay attention to how it lands inside you. Do you feel an immediate obligation to reciprocate? Do you accept it with gratitude and ease, or do you wonder what strings are attached? Those reactions are data. Notice them, name them, and use them to rewrite the instructions by which you’ve been operating, so your asking, receiving, and teaching come from a healthier place.

And finally, when you catch yourself in any sort of limiting pattern you may or may not recognize, and have learned to figure out how to adjust your patterns, let your kids know. Especially if you notice those same patterns appearing in their behaviors. If our goal is to raise good humans, we need to let them see us as humans, too. Perfectly imperfect, coachable, flexible, and teachable, and willing to talk about what we've learned along the way.

What I Want You to Know

I was raised to think asking for help meant weakness. It took me years to untangle that belief — to trust my voice and my right to ask for what I want. I had to learn to detach from the outcome: a “no” didn’t mean I was unworthy, and a “yes” didn’t mean I owed someone my soul.

You want your children to be able to speak up, advocate for themselves, and ask for what they want in life. You also want them to be prepared to receive either a yes or a no and maintain their sense of self-worth and self-confidence, don't you? I'm sure you do.

If you don’t feel comfortable asking for what you want, or feel you don’t deserve to, or judge those who do, or believe your wishes are silly, not only do you have energetic blockages to address, but your kids may also exhibit some of your same issues and patterns.

So yes — my WISH was front row seats falling into my lap. While I waited, I did the work to bring my desire to reality. It took tenacity, chutzpah, luck, and faith in those who offered to assist me.

An my wish now? To help you with your own "Lenny" story. One of the main reasons I do what I do with energetic wellness is to help women, especially moms and working women, find their voice. Learn to use it, learn to trust in it, and also believe, without a doubt: #youmatter

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