End of the Year Motivation … Hello 2014.

"Why 30 is not the new 20" PART I

A friend suggested this video to me about a month or two ago. I have watched it at least five times since. Meg Jay, a psychologist who is popular for her experience with “20-somethings”, breaks down why she believes the 20s are not a “throwaway decade” but really a time to make critical decisions about who we want to be.

Watch the video, leave some thoughts below. I’ll give you my take on it in tomorrow’s post!

Measured successfully.

When I graduated from college on May 8, 2010, I had three goals for myself:

1. Get a Pilates certification, and become a Pilates instructor,

2. Dance in a professional dance company, and

3. Be a dance educator in an academic setting.

By March 2012, less than two years after walking across the stage at Loyola Marymount University, I had accomplished all of those goals.

SUCCESS!! Or so I thought …

Starting off as a Pilates instructor I was not making very much money. So it seemed as though maybe this wasn’t the right route for me. I began to question if there was truly a way for me to be successful. But the unique thing about this profession is that no one tells you, it’s an entrepreneurial endeavor. I am responsible for building my own business, retaining clientele, and filling up my classes. In one short year of being certified to teach, I have almost tripled my income from simply growing as an instructor and honing my teaching skills. I am continuously learning new things everyday, watching those around me who are successful, doing what they do and finding things about my own teaching that make me unique. This keeps people coming back for more which in turn makes me invest in myself more. A cycle is created – my class attendance grows because of my growth and I desire to grow more because I want my class to grow.

Recently, I have been talking to people that are at different stages in their lives. It’s interesting to me that everyone’s measure of success is different. In these conversations, I have realized that it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for me to acknowledge that I am very successful at my young age. Often times I feel as though I still haven’t done “enough”. I have been thinking … “Now that I’m here and I’ve done those things I set out to do, what is the next step?” “Go back to school?” “Open my own business?” “Move to New York City?” What is it?

It feels that way at the beginning. It feels like what you're doing not good enough, like you won’t be successful because you’re still broke … Although you’ve done all this work to reach this goal. Keep going friends, I have good news! The journey isn’t over yet, it is just beginning. They don’t tell you that when you start.

The truth is although I have REACHED each goal, I have not yet had a full experience in any of those areas of my life. Although I am a Pilates instructor, I do not work full time in that area. I have been teaching less than two years, in one single environment. There are a ZILLION different things I can do with a Pilates certification, and I have had just one experience.

As a professional dancer I have been a member of several dance companies, each with a different movement style, genre and focus. I have danced on stages across the nation and across the world, I have worked in film, done music videos, and even corporate work. Yet, the experiences that I have had represent a fraction of the experiences I anticipate to come.

The newest endeavor as a dance educator was simply dropped in my lap. It is a truly unique experience, one I had never imagined would come my way. It is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, yet it has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever experienced. It is such a blessing to see a child’s life affected by simply sharing the art form that is so deeply a part of my identity. I am 100% certain I have not yet seen everything this opportunity has to offer and I know I am on the cusp of something great.

Reaching those three goals seemed like the finish line, but they were really the starting point. Now I want to learn all I can in those experiences, soak up all of the information I can get from my mentors and those who are in authority positions in the places I am now immersed in. I want to max out my potential in the stage that I’m in right now, and not be in such a hurry to find something else because I have not given my current CAREERS enough time to expand and grow.

What I have decided is that rather than be in such a hurry to get to the NEXT STEP, I am going to fully invest in the current step. This means being content with where I am, and knowing that I am where I am for a reason. Using someone else’s definition of success to measure my own lead to nothing but feelings of failure. Creating my own definition of success has given me the freedom to pursue my true desires AND recognize/acknowledge my true success.

So I leave you with this:

Stop putting so much pressure on yourself to be someone else’s idea of successful. Create your definition of success, and be that.

XOXOX

Felicia

Be free.

Anyone ... including YOURSELF. We hold ourselves captive with our poisonous mindsets, all we have to do is turn away from those LIES & embrace who we truly are. BE FREE to be who YOU WERE CREATED TO BE. You don't have to change anything about yourself in order for God to embrace you. He loves ALL. & HE set you free from bondage ... but this says TAKE YOUR STAND. Stand up for your freedom, it's not going to be experienced by you just sitting down & letting life happen to you. GET UP! GET MOVING! Christ freed you from bondage on the cross, yet we keep placing these yokes on our necks. BE FREE! LIBERATE YOURSELF! Freedom IS Christ.

Happy Sunday,
Felicia

Live with art ...

When funding gets CUT, the first thing to go is the one entity that allows people to express themselves in a tangible medium which could potentially establish one as an individual. How dare one use artistic expression to set themselves apart from the mediocrity of uniformity?! But that's what our culture is about, right? We're all herded down a singular path not wide enough to allow our uniqueness to flourish, and once we reach the end we're handed the exact same measuring stick with which to compare our accomplishments. Creativity has been undervalued for way too long ... but it seems as though it's making a comeback. But what about artists? So many artists are forced to get "day jobs" because they can't make sustainable wages as a creative being. Lots of people expect us to be creative for free.

The process of the creation & manifestation of ART is taken for granted. It is seen as mindless activity performed by those incapable of becoming rocket scientists. ART is a crown for those who think outside of the box. If there was less time spent on creating a robotic society we'd have more problem solvers in the world. People solve problems by thinking out of the box ... not by regurgitating an answer that's already there. The development of creative thinking & artistry as a child is often stunted by the emphasis that our educational system has placed on finding the right answer; rather than being encouraged for finding a unique solution, our kids are taught that they are WRONG. This leads to the devaluation of creative thinking, the adherence to the stifling boundaries of "right vs. wrong" and a new generation that grows up to be art-hating adults who eventually become politicians that cut arts programs out of schools.

I could right 250 pages on this. Moral of the story: Live with art, it's good for you.

BACK AGAIN!

After yet ANOTHER unintentional hiatus ... be on the lookout for some awesome stuff coming AT LEAST once a week, I promise!

Anyhow .. I've been doing some contributing over at Good. Strong. Beautiful. It's an AMAZING blog for young women - very empowering and there is something for absolutely EVERYONE! Check it out.