Whether you’re looking to stick to a budget, avoid consumer culture, or just simply reignite your creative spark this holiday season, I hope these ideas will inspire your process.
Read morethis one’s for you if you facilitate groups or want to (it’s time sensitive! open up)
Every so often I like to share with you resources and tools from other experts that have transformed my creativity and business on such a deep level that I’m compelled to spread the love. Today is one of those days. I want to share with you a training that I know you would love so much and receive so much from. Especially since I know many of you are teaching, coaching, or facilitating groups - or want to move more in that direction ...
Read moreif you’re anxious or stuck on a decision, remember this…
“When you first told me that we were going to improvise, I got nervous and stuck in my head trying to figure out what kind of dance moves I would do…” [said a new student in my dance class] “...but then once I was in it and dancing, my body knew exactly what to do next. Like, if I was in this position [gesturing both arms out] I had specific choices of how I could move from there, and then from the next place, and the next place, ...
Read moreyou don’t have to have all the answers in order to take the first step.
In the last 5 years of doing creativity coaching as a profession, I’ve talked to MANY people about what blocks them from creating.
The most common response often sounds something like this:
“The real project I want to make (or the dream role as an artist I want to have) is going to take a lot of resources/courage/time/money and it seems way bigger than what I can handle, so I stop myself from doing anything.”
Not feeling far enough along.
Comparing yourself to what other artists are doing (better, with more reach, and earlier than you, most likely).
Not knowing where to start.
The best news ever is that none of that matters.
If there is something you want to create, you only have to worry about taking the first step.
One step at a friggin time.
Sure, planning and launching a Kickstarter and hiring a team and setting up a goals spreadsheet can all happen at some point, but all that’s a distraction unless you’re actually taking creative steps.
There is no substitute for doing the actual work.
You want to write a book?
Jot down the first chapter during your morning train commute.
You want to leave your job and do something more creative?
Make more time to create small projects NOW.
Does that scare you and do you have a million excuses as to why you can’t?
I’m sure you do. Because the real thing holding you back is mostly likely the fear of just doing it and sharing something you create with the world.
That’s the scary stuff. Because when you do it, you’re actually putting a real, vulnerable part of you out into the world.
I want to invite you to do it anyway.
The sense of fulfillment and what it will open up for you is well worth the uncomfortable feeling of getting started.
It’s like that analogy of driving through fog -
You sometimes can only see a few feet in front of you, but that’s really all you need to get where you’re meant to go.
If that’s enough to motivate you, then go ahead and stop reading this blog post and create something.
(and please share it with me after, because I’d love to see!)
If you feel like you need a boost or a bit of guidance, you’re in luck.
On December 20th, I’m hosting a live and interactive online group guidance session, called Dance Into Your Answers.
While these specialized group coaching calls are reserved only for active coaching clients, I’m making this one open to the public for the first time ever, for a minimal fee of $20.
During the session you’ll receive:
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Movement exercises and tools for dancing through the holidays and into the new year in a healthy and aligned way
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Seasonal guidance for working WITH your body and natural cycles, rather than against them, so that you can move forward into 2017 in a creative and productive way
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Connection, community and love
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Time for Q&A and personal coaching directly from me and the group
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Deep personal takeaways that will light you up on the darkest night of the year
You can choose to be live on video with us to see and be seen, or to call in and just listen if you prefer a more private experience.
[button link="https://decemberguidancesesh.splashthat.com/" size="large" color="aqua" window="yes"]Sign up here.[/button]
It would be an honor to take this blog conversation into something live and interactive! Yea!!
dancing into the answers with you,
Jess
p.s. I recently was interviewed about my “dance into your answers” concept, something that is very in line with the topic for today’s post.
Check it out if you want to hear a bit more about this philosophy and how my personal creative practice of making little dance videos has expanded into a new career and focus for my life.
I think you’ll LOVE Michael Ian Cedar and The Legacy of You, as well as the fun conversation and dance break we shared! It’s bound to inspire something in you.
the times we remember most are these...
Let's face it. We don't REALLY want to go see the dance shows, music shows, and plays that our friends are doing. Sure, the good intention is there and we theoretically want to see them. But. We are tired after work. There are other obligations to attend to. In NYC especially, life is busy and we need to hustle. It's so tempting to skip plans and indulge in a night home alone.
Art can take the back seat.
We click "interested" on the facebook event but don't follow through with the ticket purchase.
We do the hustle - or the crash - instead.
I'll admit I've done this many times.
And I've also shown up many times.
Those are the times I remember most. The feeling of unity with the audience members around you. The gift of seeing someone shine in their authentic expression on stage. The inspiration that comes through for my own artistic process, just by witnessing others in theirs.
It's magical. And memorable. And something I strive to do way more of.
So this Friday is just a simple reminder to go out and see art in any capacity. Risk the slight inconvenience of less sleep or missing an episode of New Girl and expose yourself to something outside your normal routine.
You’re not only “supporting” artists, but you’re supporting yourself and your own artistic process.
(How can we expect to produce and put things out into the world if we are not taking things in for inspiration?)
If you happen to be in the NYC area today, come out to our dance show tonight and make some new artistic memories with me.
If you didn’t already hear, I'm hosting and performing in a dance show tonight with some of my favorite people on the planet: the women of my You Can Dance Again program and performing company and my dance partner Ben Weston.
After what's been a long and tough year for many of us, this show is a celebration of life, of art, of self-expression, of the fact that we CAN dance again - no matter what crap life throws at us.
Some of the women who are getting on that stage are doing so for the first time in YEARS and they been preparing dances that express their transformation and true dance voices in their journey back to themselves. It's going to be exhilarating and inspiring, to say the least.
Come share it with us. I guarantee you will leave feeling a lot lighter, more inspired, and more connected to your true self than you have in awhile.
to the art in you,
Jess
enough of the mopey energy. we need your creative power.
You can wait for the stars to alignYou can wait for the right kind of sign You can hope and pray for an answer You can tiptoe around like a dancer
But no matter the season or time No matter if you don’t have a dime If there’s something you want to do The power of creation is in YOU.
Because the stars reflect your light The signs show up with your might The answer was in you all along The dancer can choose her song.
- Jess Grippo
.....................
Enough is enough, *|FNAME|*.
It's time to take your power back.
We can't sit around and wait for the answers to appear, for some made-up hero to save us, or for justice to happen by chance.
We need to live by our values.
We need to dance powerfully into our answers.
We need to be clear on who we are and what we desire so that we can start magnetizing dream opportunities, instead of being a victim to things not working out.
Mopey energy attracts mopey things.
You are not the 8th dwarf named Mopey. There are only 7, and they can play happily or grumpily or dope-ily with Snow White in their own fairy tale.
This is your world.
You write the script.
You are a powerful, creative force and we need you to step up your game do what you came here to do.
Create. Dance. Share your gifts. Connect with humanity. Be the change you wish to see in the world. (to quote Ghandi)
If life throws you a crappy situation, or if someone or something doesn't quite work out the way you expected, be angry or upset or whatever you need to be, and then follow it up with gratitude for that lesson. It's there to help you let go of what's not working so that you can hone in on what will work better than you could have ever imagined.
What do you want right now? What do you wish was happening in your life? What's the dream that seems out in the distance?
And the most important question - Who would you need to BE in order to receive all of that?
Be that person now.
..........
If you're ready to reclaim your creative power more fully than ever before and let go of what's been holding you back from your greatness, join me in NYC on July 29th and 30th.
I've created a 2-day experience designed to:
- strengthen your confidence & self-expression
- discover the truth & creative solutions inside of you
- create spontaneous art in community
- be stretched, challenged, & supported as you move physically, emotionally, & spiritually into higher vibrations and power
Get the details and register here.
with a fire in my belly and a torch in my hand, Jess
p.s. Ever get stuck in wishy-washy energy? Here's a 2-word mantra to help you get your creative power back:
