“Spell your name in a dance, across the floor.”

They gave us this prompt at the audition for Oakland Ballet and I nearly froze in fear.

Improvise?! Perform something random that I create, that is not following exact choreography?! Nooooooo!!

That was 19-year-old me, and oh man was I stuck in the technical pursuit of perfection, without any sense of creative expression or me and my own voice.

my hamstrings hurt. too stretched out.

Ya know what that means? Too many downward dogs. Troppo yoga. (That means “too much yoga” in Italian.)

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against yoga. I love many forms of it. Years ago it was the physical practice that kept me connected with my body after I quit ballet. Lots of gratitude for it and for those who are called to practice and teach it.

I just have one issue. In general, there’s troppo yoga and poco danza. (That means “too much yoga and too little dance” in Italian.)

ever had these thoughts go through your head? --> 

“I don’t feel qualified to lead dance classes.”

🤐

“Will anyone show up?”

🤔

“How will I afford a space?”

😯

“Do I need to create a name and logo?”

🤔

How many times have you thought about that thing you really would love to create, but then let these kinda thoughts hold you back? This is what I call “overcomplicanning” - the combo of overcomplicating and overplanning. It can easily snowball into a giant mental block that stops you from taking physical action on an inspired idea….

7 years ago today, I held my first creativity workshop, which essentially was the start of my business.

Back then, I’d started out as a women’s holistic health coach (shout out to my first mentor Alisa and floliving.com), and while I loved the work, I was also recognizing how something else in me was ready to be born.

Although I was terrified, I put a note out to all my contacts, letting them know that I was experimenting with something new…

a parable on the evolution of a creative idea:

The idea strikes. Gold! You’re inspired, excited, all feels possible.

Maybe you even tell a friend about it or announce it on Instagram.
And then you begin. You start creating.

You feel great for a bit, but then you hit a wall. It gets hard…

“This was a dumb idea. What was I thinking?”