Slay The Gatekeeper: Q&A – Debt, Dreams, and What’s Really Blocking Your Wealth

Host: Courtney Johnson
Episode Date: September 23, 2025

Episode Overview

In this “spicy” Q&A episode, host Courtney Johnson tackles listener-submitted questions about money, mindset, abundance, self-sabotage, risk, and personal dreams. She delivers candid advice with her signature blend of tough love, humor, and spiritual insight, aiming to "un-gatekeep the gatekept." Listeners are guided through deep self-inquiry about their relationship with money, the roots of inherited beliefs, balancing manifestation with practical action, and how to navigate self-imposed obstacles to success.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Worthiness and Receiving Money

• [02:04] The episode opens with Courtney challenging the idea that worthiness and readiness for money are separate. She insists they're intertwined:

  “If you cannot accept a compliment, you will not have an easy time accepting money…some people get really addicted to the thrill of not knowing where their money…is going to come from.” — Courtney ([01:41])

• Exercise for Abundance:

  • Identify what you like about being broke (e.g., less responsibility, feeling cared for).
  • Identify what you don’t want about having money (e.g., managing taxes, added responsibility).
  • Bringing these subconscious beliefs to awareness is the first step to abundance.

2. The Biggest Energetic Block: The Hustle Trap

• [05:45] Courtney debunks the myth that “hustling hard” is required for wealth:

  “You don’t have to burn yourself out or hurt yourself in order to have money…even the top, top people hustle in a way of delegating and showing up every day. It’s the get fit versus athlete conversation.” — Courtney ([07:11])

3. Is Abundance Earned?

• [09:04] She claims abundance isn’t earned but is an inherent birthright:

  “You already have everything you need. The goal here is just to take your foot slowly off the brake so you can accelerate.” — Courtney ([09:55])

4. Intuition vs. Fear in Money Decisions

• [12:00] Courtney differentiates:

  • Intuition: Calm, centered, grounded, sometimes uncomfortable but peaceful.
  • Fear: Panicked, heightened, emotionally charged.

  “Go where you feel peace, not comfort.” — Courtney ([12:45])

5. Being vs. Doing in Manifestation

• [14:00] Manifestation requires both aligned action (“doing”) and energetics (“being”):

  “You can’t just manifest your way into a winning lottery ticket… There’s a combination of both.” — Courtney ([14:45])

• Practical Tip: Schedule “money dates” to consciously manage finances and show commitment to abundance.

6. Relationship with Risk and Trust

• [16:20]

  • Growth is impossible without risk; mistakes are part of expansion.
  • The key is learning from “money mistakes,” not avoiding them.

  “In order to call in big money…you get to make big money mistakes.” — Courtney ([17:25])

7. Chasing vs. Attracting Success

• [19:00]

  • Chasing = coming from lack and desperation
  • Attracting = magnetizing through self-worth and trust

  “Chasing success comes from a victim mentality…attracting comes from a magnetizing energy.” — Courtney ([19:17])

8. Inherited Money Beliefs

• [21:09] Most money beliefs are inherited from parents/culture and are changeable through awareness and tools like hypnosis.

  “90% of your beliefs are inherited until you decide to change them.” — Courtney ([22:05])

9. Debt: Villain or Tool?

• [24:25]

  • Debt is not inherently bad; it can be empowering and necessary, especially for self-investment.
  • The feeling around debt depends on self-trust and belief in payoff.

  “Debt is demonized in a way that I don’t think it should be… Rich people use debt all the time.” — Courtney ([26:18])

10. Abundance and Self-Sabotage

• [28:18]

  • Self-sabotage and abundance can (and do) coexist.
  • Growth is an “infinite onion”—new levels always bring up new limiting beliefs.

  “There’s never a time when you’re done self-sabotaging… There’s always more.” — Courtney ([29:16])

11. Dreams, Timelines, and Divine Timing

• [31:03] Infinite versions of your dream life exist; the challenge is to close the gap between the current self and that vision.

  “Your dreams are fucking important, okay? It’s fucking important… What’s in the gap is your work.” — Courtney ([33:50])

12. Desires as Destiny

• [36:01]

  • Dreams aren’t random; they are a calling.
  • Choosing to pursue your dreams is what makes them destiny.

  “Your dreams are your dharma. Your dreams are your destiny—if you choose it.” — Courtney ([37:55])

13. Attachment to the Vision Board

• [39:11] Being too narrowly attached to specifics can block manifestations. Focus on the energy of the desire, not just the exact form.

  “If you’re too attached to the outcome, you actually miss that the thing is happening to you right now.” — Courtney ([41:45])

14. Letting Go to Grow

• [47:05] Courtney shares personally about identities she’s had to “let die” to allow growth—wanting to be right, special, or (falsely) humble.

  “I had to let my victim mentality go… Every single thing in the universe is happening for me.” — Courtney ([48:10])

15. Purpose: Chosen or Revealed?

• [52:14] Everyone secretly knows their purpose; the challenge is facing it without fear.

  “You know your purpose. You’re just ignoring it. You’re ignoring it because you’re scared.” — Courtney ([52:22])

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Why Money Eludes Us:

  “If your unconscious is telling you that it’s not safe to have money, or you’re more familiar with scarcity...until that shifts, it’s really, really hard to call in money.” ([02:41])

• On Making Mistakes:

  “The mistakes and the risk is a part of the journey. Why? Because…you get luckier risk on the next time because you’ve analyzed your risk and you know what went right and what went wrong.” ([18:31])

• On Self-Sabotage:

  “New level, new devil, new level…an infinite onion…never fully healed, never fully fixed until you realize you’re exactly perfectly where you’re supposed to be right now.” ([29:23])

• On Being “Batshit” Enough to Live Your Dream:

  “The person that accomplishes their dream is the person that gets so delusional that they believe they can do it. That’s all.” ([38:29])

• On Vision Boards:

  “Our intuition and subconscious think in words and symbols…the mouth sound that might come out to match the desire you have might be ‘book’…but what is the energy you’re actually desiring?” ([40:10])

Key Timestamps

| Segment | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------------------|------------| | The worthiness/money receiving link | 01:41 | | Hustling and the “fit vs. athlete” metaphor | 07:11 | | Abundance as birthright, not a reward | 09:55 | | Distinguishing intuition from fear in money moves | 12:45 | | Balancing “being” and “doing” (money dates) | 14:45 | | Risk, trust, and learning from money mistakes | 17:25 | | Attracting vs. chasing success | 19:17 | | Inherited beliefs and hypnosis | 22:05 | | Debt as a tool, not a villain | 26:18 | | Abundance & self-sabotage coexistence | 29:16 | | The “dream life already exists” theory | 33:50 | | Dreams as destiny if chosen | 37:55 | | Attachment to outcomes blocks blessings | 41:45 | | Letting go of “being right,” “special,” “humble” | 48:10 | | Everyone knows their purpose deep down | 52:22 |

Episode Highlights

• Practical self-inquiry and exercises for uncovering money blocks.
• Permission to take risks and make “money mistakes”—they are part of leveling up.
• Liberating takes on debt, self-sabotage, and dreaming boldly.
• Tactile analogies: Physical fitness vs. business hustle, vision boards as energetic cues not absolutes.
• Raw vulnerability: Courtney shares her personal struggles with ego, humility, and “specialness.”

Final Thoughts

Courtney Johnson delivers an honest, motivating, and energetic episode filled with practical exercises, spiritual insights, and empowering reminders that abundance requires both self-awareness and action. Rather than offering quick fixes, she encourages listeners to get uncomfortable, deconstruct inherited beliefs, take strategic risks, and step bravely toward their wildest dreams—all while remembering: “You know your purpose. You’re just ignoring it because you’re scared” ([52:22]).

For more exclusive content and support, she invites listeners to join her Patreon.