Last week I went to All Star Dance Camp. Prior to camp, my teacher Andrew Davis and I prepared a Waltz routine. We practiced and received coaching on the routine which we performed for everyone at camp. I’ve been dancing a little more than nine years and my performance at camp was the best I have ever danced.
Dancing was always something I wanted to do, even though I felt sure that I was unlikely to be good at it. When I started, I was older than 40, overweight and not athletic at all. If I had listened to all the reasons that I couldn’t dance, I would not have been able to perform as I did last week.
One of my clients talks about borrowing courage when she talks about starting her business. I borrowed courage to go to the dance studio the first time, borrowed courage from multiple teachers as I’ve struggled with stage fright and especially borrowed courage from the owner of the studio when she insisted that I attend my first coaching session – which changed my life and my aspirations around dance.
After my performance, I celebrated. I basked in the joy of doing something very well. Then two days later, I reviewed the video with my teacher and my coach. We discussed the improvements I can make so it even better the next time I perform in September. You see, as far as I’ve come, I’m prepared to continue to work hard to improve even more. Far from beating myself up over the places where I didn’t execute perfectly, I’m excited about the work ahead as I go back into lessons and practice. This attitude shift is not just about my dancing; it is improvement in the way I view my “errors.” Rather than being upset with myself for not executing perfectly, I’m celebrating my accomplishment while looking forward to future improvement.
There are many people who will tell you all the reasons that you can’t do the things you want to do. These people will suggest that investment in time, energy, effort and money will be wasted. They throw around words like impossible that, if you believe them, will keep you from achieving the things that you want.
If you need to borrow courage, take a look at my YouTube channel. You’ll see my first performance in 2013 and my most recent one last week. If I can become a dancer, you can achieve whatever you’ve dreamed of doing.
Reaching your dreams doesn’t have to be a solitary journey. In fact, my success is achieved easier and more completely with a teacher, several coaches and a team of people who encourage and support me. If your dreams are business in nature, I’d be pleased to conduct a strategy session with you, absolutely free, so you can see if you’d like to have me on your team, helping you reach your goals.
