LaurieTALKS: Recent Episodes
LaurieTALKS
Achieving greatness requires planting seeds of greatness in your mind. Evolving from ordinary to extraordinary, broke to baller, or ho-hum and mediocre to successful high-performer necessitates practicing a basic and fundamental life principle that says, ”success starts in the mind.” If regardless of current circumstance, you believe your talents, skills, and creativity support your vision to make your dream a reality, then the LaurieTALKS podcast is for you.
It's true that sometimes changing direction and trying something different can be helpful in life. Seeking new opportunities and experiences can lead to personal growth and a wider range of skills and knowledge.
Stay open-minded. Take intelligent and calculated risks. Go for great.
Take care of your money. And, eventually, your money will take care of you.
As artists and entrepreneurs, we don’t always have the luxury of consistent income - especially at the beginning of our careers.
Show business is, by its nature, episodic. Opportunities available today may not be available tomorrow.
Seasonal or inconsistent work makes financial management a necessity.
Effectively budgeting, tracking, investing, and saving are essential skills for an artist.
Finance yourself and take a disciplined approach to money management.
Musical Artist Yaktownboi Tmoney (Trey)
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000764201777&mibextid=ZbWKwL
Audio: @k.sounds.audio
When life has you feeling stuck and off your game, remember we all experience mistakes or missteps.
Stuff happens, and it’s unrealistic to expect success at every juncture.
Inactivity during any days, weeks, or years needn’t justify the same behavior moving forward.
Forgive yourself for the half-completed projects and the ventures you quit after a few attempts. A lack of motivation in one area doesn’t tell your whole story.
The feeling of stuck feelings pass.
You progress after an occasional fall or stall by planting again.
Plant more seeds in advance of the harvest you expect tomorrow.
Musical Artist @daliumano
Audio @k.sounds.audio
Episode 61 of LaurieTALKS, is all about the importance of valuing and taking care of your body as a dancer.
Let's begin with simple stuff like using the handrail when descending stairs, and not dancing on cement.
In this episode, I share two stories:
- Falling down the stairs
- Using a wooden door as a solution to dancing on a cement floor during an in-studio workshop.
Achieve longevity. Perform stronger. Dance longer.
Musical Artist @moehayslett
Audio @k.sounds.audio
Standing up for yourself and being assertive is not about being rude, pushy, mean, or aggressive.
It’s about finding a way for you to be comfortable when asking for what you want in a way that respects others and that others respect.
If you don’t feel good about yourself, you lose power because you think you don’t have any. Consider your power. It’s there.
If you find yourself unhappy with how you’re being treated . . . If you have difficulty communicating what is or is not acceptable to you, if you feel that you’re always being taken for granted or used by some of the people in your life, then do a self-check, look for patterns, and find ways to set boundaries.
We teach people what we will and will not tolerate from them. Treating yourself well is what sets the standard for others to follow.
Thank you for listening. Grateful.
Musical Artist, Dasan @blakchoji
Audio, John Johnson @k.sounds.audio
A cynical mindset obliterates hope and is a massive barrier to anything good.
No one gets through life untested.
Thanks to new tools and advances in consumer technologies, now anyone with passion and a smartphone can release authentic and engaging content to large audiences.
An ever-growing number of empowered individuals are using social media platforms as a marketplace for leveraging their skills and finding new ways to make a living.
The reduced costs of producing, distributing, and promoting content without the support of traditional institutions and/or backing have resulted in more songs, books, TV shows, and movies being generated than ever before.
Lowered entry barriers result in more power going to individuals to monetize their handiworks, build a following, and earn a living selling directly to consumers . . . in other words, to create autonomy.
My friend, you stand at the threshold of a new age.
Keep listening to your inner voice.
It knows the way of the dream tucked away in your imagination.
If you’re picking up on what the TALK is about, I’m grateful.
Thank you. Thanks also for the support. Please continue to like, subscribe, rate, review, and/or share.
@k.sounds.audio
www.laurietalks.com/
@LaurieTALKS
"You can start with nothing. And out of nothing, and out of no way, a way will be made." This Michael Beckwith quote gives me life.
Big dreamer, please direct no energy toward doubtful thoughts.
Make yourself available to your possibilities because your possibilities are your fuel. Stand up and cheer yourself on.
Whether it’s searching for your dance shoes, mobile device, keys, or a digital document, time spent looking for (misplaced) items signals disorganization. And if you’re in a state of disorganization, how will you manage?
Getting organized is about creating efficiencies to improve the overall quality of your life. Let's go.
Thanks for listening. I appreciate you. Please subscribe, rate, review, enjoy, and/or share.
Connect!
- Website: https://laurietalks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurietalks_/
. . . because not everyone can be right all the time.
Thanks for listening. I appreciate you.
Please subscribe, rate, and review the show.
How to connect:
Website: https://laurietalks.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/laurietalks_
- Thinking creates ideas.
- Ideas lead to actions.
- Actions produce habits.
- And habits play a major part in how you build your life.
My friend, here are 16 ways to build your day.
- Appreciate life’s little treasures
- Declutter your physical environment
- Risk assess to minimize regret
- Create quiet time
- Tend to your body
- Practice optimism
- Ignore outside influences that dictate what you should say, be or do
- Consider the collective well-being: what you want for yourself and others
- Consider forgiveness
- Connect with nature to improve your mental health
- Spend less than you earn
- Develop your character instead of your personality
- Proactively direct social media
- Limit your interaction with toxic people
- Develop basic coping skills
- Practice gratitude
Thanks for listening and please subscribe, rate, review, like, and/or share. I appreciate you.
Website:[https://laurietalks.com/]
Instagram:[ https://www.instagram.com/laurietalks_/)
I travel with Tremaine Dance Conventions. And, believe, me, I’ve boarded my fair share of flights.
Occasionally I’ll observe a passenger who, while walking through the first-class cabin on their way to the coach section of the aircraft, says something like, “Wow! First-class! Must be nice!”
Is the coach passenger announcing they don’t believe they have what it takes to create what they want for themselves?
Navigating away from limiting, low-vibrational thoughts is how you travel first-class while sitting in coach.
Thoughts hold energy and the first step to first-class starts with the mind.
Listen now.
@k.sounds.audio
@daliumano - Musical Guest
@LaurieTALKS
An interesting aspect of building a career around your passion (especially in the entertainment and performing arts) is that no two-industry professionals journey the exact same course.
Dance, like life, has no road map or manual.
We each self-direct and chart our own career paths.
The TALK for this episode is about deliberately building a career around your passion. Why? Because there’s a unique contribution to the world that only you can make.
Also, as an artist, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed.
Doubt and apprehension are the reason you have the gift of talking yourself back into believing.
Do what you love - while at the same time earning a living. Let’s go.
Choose your adventure. Chart your course.
If you’re picking up on what the TALK is about, thank you.
Please follow, rate, review, like, and share.
Please Connect! @LaurieTALKS
- Website: https://laurietalks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurietalks_/
@k.sounds.audio
The TALK for this episode is about the advantages of traveling to new places and meeting new faces. Changing environments and then meeting new people in the new environment presents an exciting occasion.
Why? Because from the moment you meet a person for the first time, what they will come to know about you is only what you want them to know—that is, what you decide to share with them.
Meeting people who know nothing about you is an opportunity to plant fresh seeds.
Let’s say there’s something you don’t like hearing about yourself but that many people tell you is true.
When you intentionally introduce yourself as the person you want to be, you have a chance to establish the narrative.
You can explore untested approaches with each new encounter and respond to situations differently.
Any opportunity to reshape, refresh, redefine, or refine your manner and present yourself in previously unexplored ways is an exciting occasion.
If you’re picking up on what the TALK is about, I’m grateful.
Thank you. Thanks also for the like and the subscribe, rate, review, and/or share.
@k.sounds.audio
www.laurietalks.com/
@LaurieTALKS
What do you do post-relationship breakup? Do you take a minute to conduct some sort of self-assessment, or do you just jump right back in the saddle?
For a long time, I was in the second group. Then somehow, somewhere, I decided that creating a new relationship without resolving old issues was a missed opportunity.
I stopped jumping directly back into the saddle. And that gave me time to look myself in the eye of the looking glass and ask some tough questions.
In this episode, the TALK is about facing yourself—while dealing with disappointment—by looking in the mirror and providing honest answers to some possible uncomfortable questions.
Here are some of the self-exploratory questions.
When you’ve come to the end of a relationship, ask yourself a few, many, or all of them.
The Past: Did you see the red flags? When did you see the red flags? Why did you ignore them instead of following your gut (the first time)? Did you get what you were looking for in the relationship? Do you know what you were looking for? Were you disrespected or taken for granted? Were you able to effectively set boundaries in a way that worked for you?
The Future: Are you able to speak up for yourself? What do you need to do so that, moving forward, if faced with a similar situation, you can make different choices? What can you do? Can you talk about this relationship and begin every sentence with the word I — instead of he, she, they, and them? What did you learn from all this?
Enjoy the TALK with me, your host, LaurieTALKS.
Thanks for listening.
Please Follow, Subscribe, Rate, Review, Like, and Share! Any one of these will do.
I appreciate you.
- Website:https://laurietalks.com/
- Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/laurietalks_/
@k.sounds.audio - engineering
@daliumano - musical guest
What do you do if you think you’ve got the wrong job, or the wrong relationship, and the wrong life, in the wrong city?
When life feels wrong—like you’re going from one bad situation to another—consider activating your creative thinking skills.
Optimists are creative thinkers.
Optimistic, creative thinkers hold a perspective that sees the silver lining in challenging circumstances. And this happens even when they’re surrounded by others who are overly affected by doubt or fear.
As a creative thinker, when you’re feeling stuck in a rut, you can channel energy into directing your thoughts toward the positive aspects of a moment or situation.
Listen now.
@k.sounds.audio
@moehayslett
I discovered the difference between solitude and loneliness while healing from a relationship breakup.
In this episode, I TALK about how intentionally investing time in yourself can reinvigorate your mind and help you tap into your strengths.
Sending you love.
Thanks for listening.
It’s easy to stall on tasks we find challenging, intimidating, or overwhelming.
Yet stalling creates stress. And soon enough you’re in a horrible cycle of spending time and energy feeling horrible about avoiding whatever you’re avoiding.
Listen now to find out how positive pressure worked to stop my procrastination and get me on track, in gear and obligated to write a book.
What do you want to achieve? Can you name it? Will you claim it?
Nothing’s more shattering to a dancer than an afflicted body. Fortunately, your body is smart, and it knows how to communicate with you.
Just as you truly appreciate love after experiencing heartache, you truly appreciate dance after sitting on the sidelines due to an injury.
In this episode I present:
If Your Injured Body Could Write You a Letter . . .
Living the life you want isn’t the cause of happiness. It’s the result of it. While at a Toastmasters International meeting, I came right out and said it: “There’s no such thing as happiness.” I complained and griped about how even the sound of the word made my skin crawl and how mad I got when anyone used it.
I concluded my talk by announcing to my audience—people I hadn’t met until that evening—that standing before them and having to use the word had just about ruined my day and my mood. I was seriously cynical. While watching two of Oprah’s shows, on both occasions, I was struck by a guest spending her entire time discussing how happy she was in her life. I assumed that both Tina Turner and Barbra Streisand were lying.
Around the same time, one of my older sisters admonished me for my all-day, everyday sarcastic and pessimistic view of everything.
At first, I couldn’t see it. But, over time, I began to pay attention to what my mind was doing, and finally, I realized that my sister was right. I didn’t have one good thought on any subject.
I use my life as a test to see if Tina and Barbra were telling the truth. My motivation, including my decision to leave my desk job and tap dance for a living, became the search for happiness.
Here’s what I came up with: Happiness, contentment, and fulfillment are yours. You don’t need to wait for something outside of yourself, nor do you need a particular condition or circumstance to create it, even when you’re surrounded by those who think otherwise.
The search so many pursue outside themselves is actually a search we must pursue within ourselves.
Your qualities aren’t static.
You can discover simple ways to make moments and days special and foster positive vibes in a negative situation.
You can, at will, change your thoughts to call upon your version of calm, cool and composed.
Yes. This stuff takes practice, which if you’re a dancer, you know very well how to do.
With practice, deliberate and conscious shifts in perception will happen, offering a peace that passes human understanding.
Cherish your faith in miracles. You’re the miracle. Stop looking.
Audio: @k.sounds.audio Musical guest: @soultheharvest
Branding relates to who you are, what you do, and why you do what you do.
Whether you call yourself a personal brand is not as relevant as the fact that - in a way, your brand is like your reputation . . . it’s something you develop with or without your approval or permission.
It’s what people think about you when they hear your name or what they say about you when you’re not within earshot.
Thanks for listening.
@LaurieTALKS
In this episode, I share a story about a time in my life when I:
- Wallowed in an endless cycle of mental anguish, despair, and misery.
- Ruined my credit and was in credit card debt
- Struggled simply to survive and yet - was barely doing so
- Experienced sleepless nights, an ulcer, bald spots on my head, tearful journal entries, a sad heart, high anxiety, and a depleted and torn down soul
- Was doubtful, hopeless, fearful, and sleepwalking through life
My friend, where are you now is not as important as where you want to go.
Listen now and allow your mindset to serve you for your highest good.
You may be temporarily broken, but that doesn’t mean you’re poor.
Thanks for reading and/or listening. I appreciate you. LaurieTALKS
I begin this episode by reading to you from my blog. It’s a story about how we sometimes use our perceived limitations as an excuse to continue to fail.
Listen for my mom’s use of the word opportunity.
I’m sharing this story to remind you that opportunity is everywhere and to always be on the lookout for it.
I’ve included the text of the story for your convenience.
When I was growing up, nobody in my family talked about any of us kids going to college. The only expectation was that we would all graduate from high school. This was considered the BIG accomplishment.
I graduated and settled into a regular, boring, hourly job and lifestyle, working at a department store. I was on the path to becoming quite happy with my “eight-to-five” way of life.
I felt like a real adult. I was making enough money to survive. This was all I needed and wanted.
I could buy my own clothes, keep my car on the road, and maintain an exciting social life.
Back then, this seemed to be enough. Yippie! No more school!
Or so I thought.
A year after my high school graduation, my mother suggested that I do something more constructive with my life.
For the very first time she told me, “GO TO COLLEGE!”
I’d graduated with poor grades, and I had absolutely no intention of going to college.
In fact, it had never occurred to me that I could go, given my academic performance.
I have eight sisters and brothers. I’m number six.
Up to that point in my life, of all my relatives—parents, grandparents, first cousins, and everybody else—only my older brother Kevin had gone to college.
To this day, I’m not really sure how I got accepted at a university. My mother, however, was instrumental in me being given this opportunity.
And even though I don’t know how I got in, I’ll never forget how I arrived on campus.
When it was time for me to leave home, my mother and I drove from Hempstead, Long Island, to upstate New York.
Seven hours into our drive, we ran over a rock large enough to puncture a hole in the gas tank. Since I hadn’t wanted to leave home, I perceived this as good news. I was actually relieved.
My mother, on the other hand, had a different idea.
We took public transportation back home, borrowed a car, and began our trip again. I complained the entire way.
Hours later, she deposited me at the campus then started to drive away.
I took off running after the car.
My mother pulled over and stopped long enough for me to repeat what I’d been more or less saying the entire trip: “Please don’t leave me here! I don’t want to go to this school or any other school!”
Her reply that day was one of the pivotal moments of my life.
She said, “Look. All I ask is that you stay one week. After that, you decide. But stay this week and feel the experience for and within yourself. If it’s not for you, then you can leave.
“At least you won’t go through life saying you didn’t have the opportunity to go to college.”
College was my wake-up call in two serious ways. One, it made me quickly comprehend why family members and teachers had referred to me for years as a first-class, cloud-niner, out-to-lunch daydreamer. Two, it exposed me to just how unexposed I was.
I spent an insane amount of time in a state of shock as to how academically and socially deficient I was.
I wanted to run away from the challenges I knew college would present.
Yet an education helped me see the world through fresh eyes, in a way that a nonacademic setting would never have revealed to me.
Thank goodness my mother stopped the car that day . . . otherwise, I might still be running.
“Running is the answer if you’re on the track team—not so much in life.” ~ LaurieTALKS
Thanks for reading and/or listening. I appreciate you. LaurieTALKS
Dear Big Dreamer,
Here are alternative titles I considered for this episode.
- It’s Not Your Circumstances, It’s Your State of Mind
- Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life
- Live for Today, Choose for Tomorrow
- Replace Poor Habits with Rich Choices
- Replace Poor Choices with Rich Thoughts
- Changing Yourself from the Inside Out
- Break a Habit So it Doesn’t Break You
- When Do We Change? When We’ve Had Enough
- Yes, We Are Self-Made
- Can You Really Teach Yourself What You Most Need to Learn?
- You Are Your Own Best Teacher
Stay awesome.
TALK soon,
LaurieTALKS
@k.sounds.audio
@moehayslett
Argue with no one and everyone wins, right?
In this episode, I share techniques on how to direct more of your mental energy toward creating what you want for your life.
Arguing about inconsequential nonsense wastes valuable time.
An ideal strategy for finding and maintaining your peace of mind is simply to end some discussions and move on.
There are more important aspects to life than winning an argument.
Silence can speak volumes. By not engaging you’re not giving up your power. You’re saving your precious mental bandwidth and directing your focus toward building your big dream.
Argue with no one and everyone wins.
Easier said than done. I know.
Thank you.
@k.sounds.audio
@LaurieTALKS
TAP IN to Your Full Potential.
I know I waste time. I waste my time. How? Pondering stupid stuff that doesn’t matter and certainly won’t matter years down the road or even tomorrow.
Listen now as I share 10 ways to avoid mental distractions that take you away from your big dream.
Thank you.
@k.sounds.audio
@LaurieTALKS
TAP IN to Your Full Potential.
In this episode, I TALK about why one of my mom’s lectures, when I was just eight, has stuck with me all these years, and how it contributed toward me getting my job with Tremaine Dance Conventions.
Mother’s main points:
- Resist counting yourself out by announcing what you can’t do
- Remain willing to say “yes” to yourself
- Always be willing to seize opportunities and to try something new
Today, I get it. But when I was a kid, all this went over my head.
@k.sounds.audio
@LaurieTALKS
TAP IN to Your Full Potential
You probably have a few people in your life who are terrible at really listening to you. Terrible at considering anyone’s feelings but their own.
Terrible at accepting they were wrong or at fault—about anything. At the same time, these people are very good at telling lies—big or little.
Good at crossing boundaries you’ve set. Good at manipulating everyone’s attention so that it’s always on them.
They’re toxic people, right? They’d never tell you things like “If you were a stock in the stock market, I’d certainly buy you.” Instead, you’re likely to hear “Why are you so stupid? You never do anything right. You ain’t sh*t.”
Navigating around toxic people used to be a big challenge for me. But after years of practice, I’ve finally mastered managing them.
That practice began after a therapist offered me great advice about the “three kinds of people,” then gave me a solution for navigating around the toxic kind.
In this episode I share tips on how to:
- Limit your interaction with toxic people . . . even in those difficult cases when they happen to be family members
- Share pleasantries and ten seconds of small talk to diffuse tensions, then bid the Toxic One adieu
- Create that powerful feeling of walking away from the Toxic One, knowing that you ran the show
- Avoid directing your energy toward pettiness
- Choose kindness over other options, and not worry if someone thinks you’re a wimp for doing so
- Find constructive substitutes for the truths you really want to speak
Listen now.
@LaurieTALKS
@k.sounds.audio
Teaching others how to treat you is serious business.
Standing up for yourself and being assertive is not about being rude, pushy, mean, or aggressive.
It’s about finding a way for you to be comfortable when asking for what you want in a way that respects others and that others respect.
Thanks for listening. I appreciate you.
LaurieTALKS
@k.sounds.audio
@LaurieTALKS
What’s good, my friend? In this episode the TALK is:
- Eleventh hour, checkmate level, family drama
- Tremaine Orlando and the value of dress rehearsal
- Physical care of your body
- My story of self-discipline
- Little wins make the big victory
- Empowered teens hold the vision for all that is good
Thanks for listening. I appreciate you.
LaurieTALKS
@k.sounds.audio
@LaurieTALKS
Tremaine Dance Conventions winter tour, 2021-22 has officially commenced.
We completed 2 cities weeks and I am noticing a new, heightened level of confidence (self-love) in teens.
More and more teens are sustaining hope in a creator economy and many are using dance as a medium to self-express to feed their lives.
They’re good enough for themselves. They know this truth . . . on and off the dance floor.
Before closing this episode with a review of the benefits of remaining hopeful, I digress about people who over apologize. Sorry.
John Johnson @k.sound.audio created this episode's beautiful outro.
Thanks for listening.
I appreciate you. Now - especially as it relates to you and your ability to create autonomy, freedom, and abundance.
https://www.instagram.com/k.sounds.audio/
@tremainedance
@LaurieTALKS
During the last few months, I’ve TALKed to several people who have expressed a similar concern: Maybe it’s too late for me to pursue my field of interest.
These creatives were counting themselves out because, in their minds, too many others were already doing what they wanted to do. Before giving themselves a fair chance, they had started making statements like these:
- It’s too late for me to get in.
- I can’t catch up.
- Too much time has passed for me to start from scratch now.
- I’ve waited too long.
- The market is already saturated.
The democratization of creativity.
Creatorship is on the rise. An ever-growing number of empowered individuals are using social media platforms as a marketplace for leveraging their skills and finding new ways to make a living.
Thanks to new tools and advances in consumer technologies, now anyone with passion and a smartphone can release authentic and engaging content to large audiences.
The reduced costs of producing, distributing, and promoting content without the support of traditional institutions and/or backing have resulted in more songs, books, TV shows, and movies being generated than ever before.
Agency and autonomy.
Lowered entry barriers result in more power going to individuals to monetize their handiworks, build a following, and earn a living selling directly to consumers . . . in other words, to create autonomy.
Sustain hopefulness.
There’s no rulebook that states you can’t evolve or grow past a certain point. Nor is there an expiration date on your brand of fabulousness.
Hope acts as a source of strength—because when you’re hopeful you:
- Look for new opportunities, approaches, strategies, and solutions
- Believe that, despite whatever disagreeable or unpleasant experiences, may currently exist in your life, you’ll eventually overcome them
- Are more likely to persevere and less likely to give up since you’re not thinking about defeat
- Can do almost anything because you believe your efforts will eventually pay off
It’s not too late.
You stand at the threshold of a new age—one in which there’s an increasing number of people designing jewelry, selling tee-shirts, creating courses, writing books, singing songs, and dancing their dance.
Keep listening to your inner voice. It knows the way of the dream tucked away in your imagination. Remain hopeful.
Life is filled with uncertainty. Sustain hope.
Thanks for listening.
@k.sounds.audio
@LaurieTALKS
TAP IN to Your Full Potential.
I created a super simple technique for keeping myself in check. Whenever I’m wondering “Why is my life not like I want it?” or “Why am I in the situation(s) I’m in?” – I go to my go-to practice:
I face myself in the mirror and ask, “What’s my motive?”
Asking this question presents me with the opportunity to rethink, reevaluate, and review my words and/or deeds.
Looking in the mirror to help you define your truth is a practice. Fortunately, it’s one that gets easier the more you do it. And with time, the need to carry out this practice noticeably decreases.
Looking in the mirror with the intention of honest self-assessment is a great step toward accountability, which is an important part of defining your truth. That’s because it helps you to:
· take stock of where you are and reflect on your strengths and weaknesses
· identify areas where you need to develop an adjustment plan for how to respond if you’re presented with a similar situation moving forward
· acknowledge when you’re acting from personal biases or out of revenge, anger, spitefulness, entitlement, selfishness, insecurity, pettiness, envy, or jealousy - Feel free to add to this list.
· limit prolonged periods of denial . . . you know, those times when your head is buried in the sand
· enhance your self-trust, which results from asking yourself tough questions. (Asking the question suggests that you can handle your truth.)
Get to the point where “checking your motives” (whether you’re actually standing in front of a mirror or not) becomes second nature …. and you’ll soon discover that living your truth is a positive consequence of having defined it.
Thank you for listening. I appreciate you.
www.LaurieTALKS.com
Audio Engineer: @k.sounds.audio
@LaurieTALKS
TAP IN to Your Full Potential
A few days ago I was on the phone with one of my nieces. Somehow, somewhere in our long conversation, she suggested that I, LaurieTALKS, have little to show for all the years of effort I’ve dedicated to my career.
My reaction to this bomb my niece dropped on me? To spontaneously record this episode.
My dear Big Dreamer, one day you may encounter someone who doesn’t know what you know. Or see what you see. Or both.
When that someone proceeds to share their opinion of you, remember this: You know what’s possible for your life — because you hold the vision for transforming your dream into a reality.
Here are a few more takeaways.
- Your voyage is personal. Another person’s point of view, their thoughts and opinions, have little to do with you — especially if these leave you feeling low. Or depleted. Or broken.
- When a person gives you feedback, if your response is to constructively self-explore, that’s one thing. If you respond by doubting yourself, that’s entirely different.
- Even when the person’s intentions are noble, if their feedback leaves you disbelieving your own everything, you absolutely must drawback from a potential cramp in your roll.
- Exploring and sharing your creative voice requires patience . . . patience with the aspects of the world around you that you can’t control.
- If you occasionally ask yourself, “How am I going to make it?” or “Can I really build a life and a living around my artistry?” — you’re not alone. These are questions many artists have had at one time or another.
- And finally, remaining brave is part of the process. It’s through trying, testing, and experimenting that we sometimes learn what we don’t want in life.
Regarding that phone call and my niece’s comment about what I have and haven’t accomplished to date . . . it was perfect.
Because it brought me right here to this moment. Right here and now — with you.
Thank you for listening. Please consider leaving a comment on Apple Podcast. I appreciate reading your impressions.
Content guide for this show/episode:
- LaurieTALKS talks for the first seven minutes.
- Musical guest* @officialvitalmentality plays for five minutes.
- No ads or sponsorships in this episode.
@k.sounds.audio . . . Mr. John Johnson, y'all.
@sam_navarro
*If you have audio you’d like to submit for play at the end of a LaurieTALKS, please submit it to music@LaurieTALKS.com. Thank you.
The other day, my niece, Elle Brown, and I was chatting by phone. At one point, Elle conducted a quick interview, asking me questions like . . .
- What’s the one thing nobody knows about you?
- What is it that makes you so motivated to live your best life?
- Where do you pull from for your strength?
In this episode, you’ll find out . . .
- How the Covid-19, stay-at-home period led Brie (my wife) to notice that I’m the same person I’ve always been
- Why creating a job instead of having a job is something you might want to consider
- How remaining silent in the face of drama can help you stay focused on your dream and goals
- What the sit-in movement was as part of the larger civil rights movement in the U.S.
- How misery can serve as a motivation to move your life forward
- Why bringing your best self forward is so important – especially when you’re looking in the mirror
- Why did I delete a podcast episode a year after posting it
- Why did it take me so long to start a podcast
- How to accept honest feedback about the content you create
- Why on Thanksgiving Day my brother said to me, “Remind me never to invite you to go out with me, especially to my friends’ homes, ever again.”
- What’s the latest scoop on my explorations for dance in Virtual Reality
Thank you for listening, my friend. I appreciate you.
TAP IN to Your Full Potential
www.LaurieTALKS.com
@k.sounds.audio @LaurieTALKS
This is my second recording of Episode 28. I posted the first version and realized 24 hours later that I’d forgotten to make my point.
During the first recording, I was so committed to sharing the details of my favorite organizational program, called Trello, that I failed to explain why it’s important to give some attention to how we organize our lives.
Access to additional and diverse resources have made creative entertainment industries like fashion, modeling, and the performing arts more democratized. There are new opportunities to chart new courses. As a result, the individual is more empowered than ever before. Creatives of all ages and backgrounds have greater options for forging the life of their dreams.
Yet the democratizing of creative industries … the new opportunities and greater options … have brought about massive changes in the work-life model. And for people encountering these changes, now’s a good time to ramp up their life management organization.
Test new organizational programs that will help you accomplish this. I do love Trello. My Trello boards were primarily all I TALKed about on the first posted version of this podcast episode.
Organization (on any level and in any area) boosts productivity, reduces stress, provides clarity of thought, and increases your peace of mind. Even when just a small part of your life is organized, you get all the benefits.
With the way the world is operating now – nonstop distraction – it’s critical that we use our mental bandwidth intentionally.
Remain deliberate. Direct your life where you want it to go.
TAP IN to Your Full Potential
Thanks for listening.
@k.sounds.audio @anindo13 @adaawemusic @LaurieTALKS
Sarah Anindo Marshall say that “Art is medicine” because it pulls from real-life experiences. Whether you write, sing, paint, act, dance, or play an instrument, the arts help you tell your story.
For Sarah, the idea of art being medicine became a kind of seed. And that seed became a dream … a dream to help children in her hometown of Luanda, Kenya, get an education in the arts and sciences. Now she’s tending—or caring for—her dream, just as a gardener tends a garden: Sarah is building that school in Luanda.
Your “seed” may simply be an idea you wrote years ago on the back of a napkin. But that’s something. Make that seed become a dream. Then keep that dream alive by nurturing and loving it as if it were a garden.
@anindo13
https://www.marshalldancecompany.org – Please consider becoming a villager for ABUKUTSA ARTS ACADEMY.
Adaawemusic.com
@KatherineDunham
@officialdadance
gloriakaufmanschoolofdance https://kaufman.usc.edu
Andrea Liebross is consistent, focused, and disciplined in her own life and I asked her how she does it. Her reply? Time management begins with mind management. How you manage your time is a direct reflection of how you manage your mind.
Listen in as Andrea provides useful mind management tips to help you figure out what to do with the 60 to 70 thousand thoughts you have on average every day.
Andrea Liebross is your accomplishment coach, trusted partner, and strategic ally. She provides clients with sustainability tools to define and achieve success.
I've worked with a few coaches. I'm a fan.
https://andrealiebross.com
https://activateherawesome.com – Krista Smith - offering website design and brand strategy.
Artistry is on the upswing. As you continue to define success for yourself, I'm sharing 6 ideas relating to the importance of:
- Pushing past yourself
- Coping as a way of life
- Selecting either a creator or consumer mindset while scanning social media
- Not believing your own hype
- Not fretting the details ... and
- Making room in your everyday life for your dream
Let's go. Listen now and carry on in excellence.
Whatever you're seeking is seeking you, right? That's especially on Clubhouse. I'm approaching my 2-month anniversary using this iPhone party line app - no photos or videos. There are voices from around the globe.
Some people blush their first time on stage. As an audience member, you may blush from feeling like you're listening in on someone else's phone conversation, except - legally.
My New and Exciting Clubhouse Connects:
- Paul Porter
- Cheryl Sutherland
- Destruckshawn
- Malik Deshawn
There’s a great joy in being a present day artist. There’s fire behind you and safety ahead. Dream beyond your previous dreams because there’s no limit to what you can put into play.
Expand your creativity while maintaining your sanity:
- There’s no rush on your life. Life takes time.
- That gut feeling you’re destined for something great? It's real. Hold that thought.
- Personal growth and development require deliberate and intentional effort.
- Moving as a person of right action is awesome. Doing good is its own reward.
- Routines may help manage stress during this “safer at home” time zone.
Message to my beautiful big dreamer:
Remain an active participant in your personal revolution.Seek high ground for your mental atmosphere. See it. Name it. Claim it. Create it.
I built a webpage for mother at: www.laurietalks.com/adelejohnson
My mother recently passed away from natural causes. She was surrounded by her children. My mom was dedicated to the performing arts, to fitness, holding down life like a boss, stretching dollars…all while being a single mom. She also owned a dance studio.
Gratitude works. Resting in gratitude is what has kept me going through life’s tough times, times like this. Let us be grateful for the “small” obvious things like our breathe, our ability to move our bodies, and knowing where your next meal is coming from.
Gratitude keeps you in the present and helps you get through tough times. Believing in a better future helps create it. Dreams come true.
I'm grateful to you. Talk soon. Love, LaurieTalks
Mother's page: www.laurietalks.com/adelejohnson
SELF-LOVE IS AN ONGOING PRACTICE
This has been a tough season for a lot of people, including me. There's Covid-19, racial tensions, and I’ve got family tensions I’m dealing with too. What you’ll hear is a bit of a self-pep talk. I reminisce about other tough times I’ve been through and how I got myself through to the other side by practicing self-love. Key word? Practice.
Like many aspects of life, self-love requires practice, which if you’re a dancer, is something you know how to do extremely well. Improving in dance and in real life share some parallels.
Have you ever had someone speak hard words of truth to you? Once upon a time, I received a tongue lashing from my mother after telling her the truth. Why? Because the truth was an ugly truth. I was settling for less than what she and I knew I was capable of. That tongue lashing sent me into some deep soul-searching. It was painful at the time, but not as painful as continuing on the path I was on.
Where are you headed? Are you on the path to your dream? Life is topsy-turvy right now, but you don’t have to settle for something less than that. I say reevaluate priorities and then find your balance based on those new priorities. You have a dream for a reason, and that dream needs you just as much as you need it.
In today’s episode, we touch on topics of time management, keeping in mind that what “worked” in the past likely won’t work in this different world. But let's not waste time fretting. Why? Because time is an asset that cannot be replaced. There are no do-overs.
What you’ll learn:
- How finding balance is similar and how it’s different from finding your balance in dance.
- Why now is the time to become disciplined with your time?
- The story of the time when Laurie’s mom gave her a tongue lashing that sent her into some deep soul-searching.
- Laurie’s idea on how dance instructors can be a support in the agent-dancer relationship.
- Laurie’s brainstorming ideas for dance instructors and studio owners.
Kim has toured with Beyoncé and was taught by black dance instructors. What’s beautiful, though, is that she wants to do something more to help end racism. She’s been speaking out on social media, reminding us all what matters most.
Kim and I agree that there’s a lot to be optimistic about. People are taking a stand, and those that don’t know how to stand are asking, “What can I do?” The youth of today are tuned in, and they place a higher value on equality than we’ve seen in generations past. So, take heart! Weeping lasts for a season but joy will follow. And in the end, Love will win out. Love, Laurie
I was feeling numb. I headed to my desk to record a podcast. My sister called. During this 20-min conversation, she continued to chop ingredients for her salad. We TALK:
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Protesting
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Tap dance shoes
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Money destroying passion
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Cursing on a podcast
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The benefits of using a wooden cutting board while recording a podcast, and
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The devil in print: the officer with his knee on the neck of George Floyd
Adele - mother
Kevin - brother
Lousie – sister
Rege’ – LaurieTalks
Jeff believes that everyone has a dream and that each of us has a responsibility to protect and nurture that dream. His it’s-up-to-you attitude is raw and empowering. His message is one of discipline, hard work, creating your own luck, and bringing positive energy to all that you do. Even if it’s only cleaning the toilet.
How has quarantine life been treating Delaney Glazer? She’s spending a lot of time by herself. While some may see that as a downer, she’s quick to point out that personal growth happens mostly in solitude.
Girl’s got a healthy perspective there.
You’ve been hearing about virtual dance classes, right? Have you wondered what they’re like, if they’re any good, if you can actually learn to dance virtually? Kinley, age 9, shares what she loves about virtual learning and what she's misses about the studio.
After recovering from a bad bout with COVID-19, Katy woke up to a brand new world. Gone is the world of dance classes, conventions, competitions, and live onstage performance. Now what? Hope for the best? Go with the flow? Perhaps look for opportunities?
Inquiring minds want to know...
- Did you move?
- Are you renting or did you buy?
- How is your life now that you’re not traveling?
- Is Brie working?
- How did that custody case turn out?
- How’s your podcast recording going?
In today’s episode, you’ll hear the answers to these questions and a few others.
My Big Dreamer, I got you.
John's first encounter with a sound engineer left him, let’s just say, unimpressed with the level of professionalism he saw. “I could do just as well and do it with class.” And that he does.
Do you make beats or compose tunes? If John likes them, he’ll showcase them on this show. Listen in to hear how to have your music showcased on the LaurieTalks podcast.
I’ve judged enough competitions to know when it's real. I know when a dancer is lost in their performance - even though I've never experienced that myself. I'm talking about blissing out and performing onstage in "the zone." Julie shares tips on how to get there.
Today’s show is commentary from me regarding solitude and introspection. Heavy? It's about life – your life.
Introspection is looking at your own personality, your actions, and your motivations. Some of this work can be a downright scary, ugly business. “The longest journey is the journey within.” And there are no shortcuts. But you and your dream are worth it. You know it. I know it. So let's go.
Following a back injury, Austin went from professional dancer to professional digital marketer, from dancing in Chicago to helping studios keep their classrooms full. An event, a conflict, an injury isn’t a green light to throw in the towel. It’s a reminder to broaden your vision.
Listen in on my chat with the man himself, Joe Tremaine. We cover what's going on with Tremaine Dance in the midst of this virus outbreak. Note that no one wrings their hands or has a melt down. We're going to stay strong through this.
"I have more time to dance. That's why I'm homeschooled." Looks like it’s paying off, as Chloe @cmariedance won first place in showmanship and is on her way to Nationals in July! She both danced and choreographed her number. She recalls what it’s like to be in the zone when she’s performing. It’s what she calls her happy space.
A Tremaine alumnus and I discuss how the world is changing -- not just because of the pandemic but because of technology as well. We conclude that mindset and preparedness can keep you healthy, happy, and sane both today and when you’re old and in the rocking chair.
I met Teresa Muhlenkort years ago. She found my name and contact info in a resource guide for -- wait for it -- acting. In case you don’t know, I don’t act. I tap dance. Was our meeting a mistake or an opportunity in disguise? It was an opportunity - as might be this time of coronavirus lockdown.
A-Team in Transformation
I don’t know about you, but when I’ve got a “situation,” I want a solution. Coach E'dali Pollard takes us back to the basics, to when we learned, as little tykes, about the colors of a traffic light. She argues that if we’ll take more time to pause we’ll have better outcomes than if we just barrel ahead pell-mell and leave the rest to chance.
Hear from a dance instructor who overcame self-doubt to develop the confidence to speak her mind when judging dance competitions. In this episode, you’ll learn about her goals and ambitions within the world of dance, what makes a good dance teacher, how to take care of yourself, that you don’t have to meditate every day to benefit from it, why rethink choreographing facial expressions, and about cryotherapy.
Welcome to the inaugural episode of all that is my blunt honesty.
In this episode, you’ll learn a bit about me, what to expect from future episodes, and why my sister, Louise, my only dance teacher declares, "Dancers are special."
You'll also hear my sister tell a rather dramatic story of an emotional airport encounter that speaks to the power of human kindness.