Concentrating My Fire – November and Beyond

For a while I’ve wanted to “concentrate” my content, brand, and personal attention into “one thing.” It was obvious that West Coast Swing is that thing for a while. But I didn’t commit to it entirely (even when I made it my intent in February).

After my experience in Swing City Chicago and Indy Dance X this year, the desire and intention was still there, but amplified. Most big/exciting/novel experiences do that for me. And if I don’t choose to do something with it now (whether I have that “uplifted” feeling or not), then it becomes increasingly likely that I won’t do ANYTHING.

So I have to act now, as close to the “while the iron is hot” moment as I can.

My goal, post-SCC is to commit to be “all in” with West Coast Swing. Learning, studying, and practicing WCS on a daily or regular basis. Striving to be a better dancer, teacher, community leader, and community member. Living a full life and living a story worth telling.

And documenting my process, experiences, lessons, and knowledge with those that will benefit.

I’ll still use my online platforms to talk about all things life – but now the default and majority of my content will be centered around WCS, development as a dancer, self-optimization, and building a swing club.

What I share here is ultimately going to be about my experiences, what has worked for me, what I need to work on — in the hopes that it will ALSO benefit you. But most of my advice and pointers here is best viewed “as if I was teaching my younger self.” If you happen to benefit too, great!

So what do I plan on sharing? Via this blog, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, face-to-face:

My day to day, week to week process of becoming a better dancer. A day in the life, a glimpse into the behind the scenes of what I’m doing (and how much I am honestly putting in) to become a better dancer and master West Coast Swing and other social couples dances.

At the end of the day it comes down to sharing my experiences, process, and lessons around (a) dance & community development + (b) “living fully” & “living a story worth telling.”

I don’t think that my blog will necessarily get a lot of traffic or attention – and that’s okay. Everything I do here is largely for myself, but also in the off chance that some of the content can help you, or will help to connect me to people that resonate with what I have to give.

At the beginning and end of the day, it’s for me and my growth. I believe that I grow as a result of sharing my experiences (and sitting my ass down to write, build discipline/habits, etc), and simultaneously have the opportunity to connect with other like-minded individuals (dancers and/or people looking to get more out of life).

I genuinely believe that I can achieve more in one month with intentional action than I have in the entire previous year combined. I also believe that I’ll learn more and find better clarity and confidence in where I’m going, what I can do, etc., by spending just a few days being “all in” and giving my all to learning, creating, practicing, connecting (etc.,) than trying to map everything out weeks, months, or years in advance.

SO.

Direction and intention of the website and my core content:

Life as a dancer aspiring to master West Coast Swing, do great things, and be an asset to the world. To document the process of going from weakness to strength, fearful to courageous, and waiting-to-be-picked to choosing-myself. Showcasing one dancer’s journey to “live a story worth telling”, to collaborate with other ambitious souls, and to inspire others to pursue their ambitions.

What’s your story? Will you play a role in mine? How can I join yours?

Bold claim? Maybe.

Insecure about it? Yep.

Going to do it anyway? Hell yeah.

However … nothing I said matters AT ALL if I don’t actually take the next step and DO what I said I’m going to do.

Here we go.

Up next:

• Swing City Chicago 2018 – Top Takeaways
• Indy Dance X 2018: a New Approach

// Photo by Will Suddreth on Unsplash