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

i am who i be, and i will be what i say.

I along with a group of my buddies are doing an experiment. We wrote down brief statements of who we want to be and what we want to accomplish ... but in PRESENT tense, not future tense. Instead of saying, "I will own a home," we say "I am a homeowner. Stating "I am debt-free", rather than "I am going to be debt-free", gives it a certain power & responsibility. It becomes something you believe about yourself in the present, meaning you will begin acting as such NOW.

We decided that we would speak the statements aloud every day for 30 days, and at the end of the month come back together and see how each of us has benefitted.

I personally decided to title mine "Daily Affirmations"...
So it's been about 7 days and already two of these statements have positively affected my behavior and attitude. So I guess that's what I'll be blogging about for the next few entries ... stay tuned!