Money Date With Tina Turner: Creating Your Nirvana
/Every Friday I recommend having a money date…with a mimosa. Hence the name of my blog, Money & Mimosas.
Your money date is a sacred ritual to review your finances, celebrate your wins, and reflect on how you used your money to make a difference. Feel free to do it alone or with your money buddy. If you’d like a step-by-step guide for your money date, click here to download your free checklist.
In these money date articles, I feature a celebrity and the lessons we can learn from her approach to business. This week’s money date features Tina Turner and the profound lessons we can learn from her Next Chapter interview with Oprah.
Tina Turner is an icon. Her legendary career as a performer and trailblazer is an inspiration to many, including Oprah.
In 2013, Oprah sat down with Tina Turner to interview her for one of Oprah’s Next Chapter segments. Tina Turner had recently married her long time beau of 30+ years and the interview took place in their gorgeous home in Switzerland. I highly encourage you to watch the entire interview on YouTube. For the sake of this article, I am focusing on Tina Turner’s profound statements during this two-minute clip.
Just before the clip, Tina and Oprah reflected on a previous interview where Tina Turner shared that she welcomes aging with open arms. She is able to welcome it because she is healthy, both physically and mentally, and chooses to see the world from a “better” place.
Cutting forward to this Next Chapter interview, Oprah recalls a statement from Tina that struck her. The statement was:
“Oprah, I have found happiness for myself. And I think it’s because I desire nothing.” - Tina Turner
What is nirvana?
The literal definition of nirvana is to “blow out” as in an oil lamp, or “quenching”. It is commonly associated with Buddhism, but also known in Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, as the ultimate state of salvation. Depending upon the tradition, this salvation could be the liberation from rebirth, the liberation from suffering in the human form, the liberation from karmic bondage, or other interpretations. Ultimately, it is often seen as a state of pure bliss, peace, joy, and happiness. A sense of contentment with what is, without any internal angst to change it. This feeling of contentment empties the mind and allows the true timeless self to come forward.
The Buddha is believed in the Buddhist scholastic tradition to have realized two types of nirvana, one at enlightenment, and another at his death. Nirvana is part of the Third Truth on "cessation of dukkha" in the Four Noble Truths doctrine of Buddhism.
These four noble truths are traditionally known as the first teachings of Buddha. The cessation of dukkha, which includes nirvana, is the renouncement or letting go of desires. This comes after the second truth which is the arising of desires, known as taṇhā. It is believed that to hold on to desires is a form of suffering because it creates an endless quest for externalities. The release of these desires creates space for contentment, rather than things, to fill the void.
Tina Turner and Nirvana
In the interview, Oprah and Tina proclaim that what Tina has found is nirvana. Tina Turner has everything that she could ever need, want, or desire. She has beautiful homes, an adoring husband, her health, wealth, friends, and so much more. Now, she says, she desires nothing and is truly happy.
Tina Turner goes on to share that a big component of her arriving at the place of nirvana, is the journey that she took to get there coupled with how she managed the journey. All along her journey, she envisioned how she wished to feel when she arrived at this state of happiness. Although she could not fully imagine this form of happiness, a part of her knew what was possible. Tina Turner knew she wanted to arrive in a healthy state of mind and in a healthy physique. She committed to this vision and remained faithful to her course even when times were bumpy.
What can we learn from Tina Turner?
Tina Turner’s description of nirvana is what I envision for what it means to be a Rich Woman. Yes, we want to be surrounded by luxuries, romantic love, and all the aspects that come with a fairytale. However, we know this does not equate to feeling fulfilled. Material possessions and external relationships will not fill an empty soul. We must tend to our soul as much as we tend to our bank accounts if we truly wish to embody the life of a Rich Woman. In a short two minutes, Tina Turner left us all with profound gems of wisdom to apply to our own lives.
Lesson Number One: Envision how you wish to feel when you “arrive”. We all know that life is an ongoing journey, so technically there isn’t an arrival point. However, when you reach a point in life when you have accomplished all that you set out to do, how do you wish to feel? I am taking a page out of Ms. Turner’s book and declaring that I wish to feel strong and healthy in my mind, body, and spirit. Every year, I envision my best self and pen out the type of woman I wish to grow into over the coming year in a journaling activity I call, Elevated Identity. In the Money Makers group, I encourage all members to complete the Elevated Identity training which is a step by step guide to envisioning the best version of yourself.
Lesson Number Two: Stay on course. Everyone has a different path, and we each know when we are veering off course. For me, I feel tension in my body when I choose to not listen to my inner guidance system. Your inner GPS, intuition, or whichever name you wish to put to it, has your best interest at heart. Pay attention to its wisdom to live out your destiny and soul’s purpose.
Lesson Number Three: Have fun along the way. Tina Turner's beautiful homes and fabulous love life showed me that the journey is meant to include luxuries, wealth, and joy. It is ok to dream big and desire a bold, grand life for yourself. In fact, the path to nirvana includes awakening your desires and seeing them through to fruition.
