So....there’s a reason why professors take a sabbatical. Typically a professor teaches for 6 years and then takes an entire year off from teaching to explore, travel, get creative – it all goes into the mix of making a professor more well-rounded, fulfilled and full with their own cup so that they can then pour into others....
About 5 years ago I started to get the inkling that I needed to take a sabbatical. For me, I had been teaching 18 years straight when the pandemic hit, and though I’m not a professor teaching at a university I am a teacher nonetheless pouring into other people, and as I shared with you in a previous video, when Covid hit I quickly learned that I was overdue for a break. So as much as I wanted to pour my energy back into teaching at the top of 2021, life continued to unfold in such a way as to show me that it was not time yet. And I have learned the importance of "listening".
There was a fascinating TED talk that was given back in 2009 by Stefan Stagmeister, a very successful graphic designer based in New York. In it, he shares that every 7 years he shuts his entire business down completely, and takes a creative sabbatical. He says that doing so is the key to his success, that without it it’s easy for the creative juices to get bored, stagnant, and continue to produce the same exact kind of results. Taking a sabbatical forces the system to unlock and unleash new ideas and new creativity because you’ve gotten out of your comfort zone. So, I decided to get uncomfortable in 2021 by embracing what the pandemic brought to my business and turning it into an intentional, creative sabbatical in order to pour back into my cup so that I could then pour out of my cup so much more powerfully and more creatively, and take innovations with my business to the next level.
"Growth does not occur in the land of comfort" - Christinna Chauncey (yep, I just quoted myself).
The word “No” is a very powerful word. In fact, if you do an internet search on the phrase “The Power of No” you’re going to see about 5.5 billion results. If you do an internet search on the phrase “The Power of Yes” you’re going to see about half the results. I think that’s fascinating, because in life we often glamorize the word “Yes.” In fact there was a movie that was made a few years ago starring Jim Carrey called “Yes Man” where his character had taken this self-empowerment seminar which taught that in order to have what you want in life you have to say yes to everything, and then of course hilarity and chaos ensues.
There is power in the word “No.” Now, I’m not talking about “No” as a negative connotation. I’m actually talking about using the word “No” as a facilitator of the “Yes’s” that you actually want to have in your life. “No” can be a frightening word, especially for artists & actors. Let’s just be honest...often the auditions can be few and far between. So it’s easy to feel the pressure to always say “Yes,” right? But there’s power in the word “No”...knowing your boundaries, knowing what you will and will not do and not being afraid to exercise that.
You do not have to be a celebrity in order to say “No.” Every actor at every level can utilize that word and embrace its power. Now, you don’t want to overuse and/or abuse the word “No” because that’ll drive your agents crazy. But...just listen to what Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us much too soon, had to say on this very topic…
“I had agents that would give me things that were more stereotypical, you know, roles that I should take…and they would tell me you have to go in for this because it’s this director or this actor…and I was like, 'I want to work with that actor but I don’t want to play that role. I want to meet him when I’m doing something better than that’. Because I said no at certain times, it made me available for the things that have gotten me to where I am. So for me, it’s always been, like, first who are you? Who am I first? I have to know who I am first in order to navigate this thing, because if I’m navigating this thing and I become someone I’m not supposed to become, then I’m in the wrong place, whether I’ve made it in other people’s eyes or not.” - Chadwick Boseman
Great advice. Listen, the entire point I’m trying to make in this video is that whether you’re like me and you need to take an intentional time off, a season away from that which is comfortable in order to embrace that which is not comfortable in order to expand, in order to grow – or – whether you just need to say “No” to a particular audition – sometimes the best thing that we can do in order to get to the next necessary stage either in your career or in your life, is to do what is uncomfortable.
I’m a teacher. I’m an encourager. It is in my bones and in my blood to do the very best that I can to inspire, guide and help other people. But for a season, I have needed to set aside teaching classes – and that’s ok! The time passes very quickly, and if there’s anything that we’ve learned over the last year and a half in dealing with this pandemic, is that we do not know what tomorrow may bring. So, as we get ready to turn the page on yet another year, I want to offer up this challenge to you for 2022: Is there something either in your life or in your career that you are willing to say "No" to? Are you willing to get uncomfortable and say "No" to this in order to open up the door of "Yes" to that?
It’s completely up to you, my friend! And on that note, I want to wish you and yours a most joyous and safe happy new year celebration – and I will see you in 2022!
There was a fascinating TED talk that was given back in 2009 by Stefan Stagmeister, a very successful graphic designer based in New York. In it, he shares that every 7 years he shuts his entire business down completely, and takes a creative sabbatical. He says that doing so is the key to his success, that without it it’s easy for the creative juices to get bored, stagnant, and continue to produce the same exact kind of results. Taking a sabbatical forces the system to unlock and unleash new ideas and new creativity because you’ve gotten out of your comfort zone. So, I decided to get uncomfortable in 2021 by embracing what the pandemic brought to my business and turning it into an intentional, creative sabbatical in order to pour back into my cup so that I could then pour out of my cup so much more powerfully and more creatively, and take innovations with my business to the next level.
"Growth does not occur in the land of comfort" - Christinna Chauncey (yep, I just quoted myself).
The word “No” is a very powerful word. In fact, if you do an internet search on the phrase “The Power of No” you’re going to see about 5.5 billion results. If you do an internet search on the phrase “The Power of Yes” you’re going to see about half the results. I think that’s fascinating, because in life we often glamorize the word “Yes.” In fact there was a movie that was made a few years ago starring Jim Carrey called “Yes Man” where his character had taken this self-empowerment seminar which taught that in order to have what you want in life you have to say yes to everything, and then of course hilarity and chaos ensues.
There is power in the word “No.” Now, I’m not talking about “No” as a negative connotation. I’m actually talking about using the word “No” as a facilitator of the “Yes’s” that you actually want to have in your life. “No” can be a frightening word, especially for artists & actors. Let’s just be honest...often the auditions can be few and far between. So it’s easy to feel the pressure to always say “Yes,” right? But there’s power in the word “No”...knowing your boundaries, knowing what you will and will not do and not being afraid to exercise that.
You do not have to be a celebrity in order to say “No.” Every actor at every level can utilize that word and embrace its power. Now, you don’t want to overuse and/or abuse the word “No” because that’ll drive your agents crazy. But...just listen to what Chadwick Boseman, who was taken from us much too soon, had to say on this very topic…
“I had agents that would give me things that were more stereotypical, you know, roles that I should take…and they would tell me you have to go in for this because it’s this director or this actor…and I was like, 'I want to work with that actor but I don’t want to play that role. I want to meet him when I’m doing something better than that’. Because I said no at certain times, it made me available for the things that have gotten me to where I am. So for me, it’s always been, like, first who are you? Who am I first? I have to know who I am first in order to navigate this thing, because if I’m navigating this thing and I become someone I’m not supposed to become, then I’m in the wrong place, whether I’ve made it in other people’s eyes or not.” - Chadwick Boseman
Great advice. Listen, the entire point I’m trying to make in this video is that whether you’re like me and you need to take an intentional time off, a season away from that which is comfortable in order to embrace that which is not comfortable in order to expand, in order to grow – or – whether you just need to say “No” to a particular audition – sometimes the best thing that we can do in order to get to the next necessary stage either in your career or in your life, is to do what is uncomfortable.
I’m a teacher. I’m an encourager. It is in my bones and in my blood to do the very best that I can to inspire, guide and help other people. But for a season, I have needed to set aside teaching classes – and that’s ok! The time passes very quickly, and if there’s anything that we’ve learned over the last year and a half in dealing with this pandemic, is that we do not know what tomorrow may bring. So, as we get ready to turn the page on yet another year, I want to offer up this challenge to you for 2022: Is there something either in your life or in your career that you are willing to say "No" to? Are you willing to get uncomfortable and say "No" to this in order to open up the door of "Yes" to that?
It’s completely up to you, my friend! And on that note, I want to wish you and yours a most joyous and safe happy new year celebration – and I will see you in 2022!