Live Your Dance Podcast

Are you ready to embark on an inspiring journey toward living a life true to your passions and dreams? If so, you won't want to miss the latest episode of our podcast, where we dive deep into the world of tiny houses, creativity, and personal freedom with a remarkable guest who is redefining what it means to live authentically.

In this episode, we sit down with an incredibly dynamic individual whose journey through the tiny house movement and creative entrepreneurship is nothing short of fascinating. Our guest has transformed their passion for tiny homes and minimalistic living into a thriving platform that not only inspires but also helps others navigate their own paths to fulfillment. Here’s a sneak peek into what we discuss:

• The art of Tinyhome Living

• Turning passion into profit by following your natural interests

• Building a supportive community, while also being a full time student

• Balancing ambition and well-being
  
  

I hope you find our conversation insightful, with a few takeaways to integrate into your day. And now on to the episode! 

IG @tiny_house_ideas

Podcast intro music by: http://www.purple-planet.com

If the above link doesn't work, you can also listen here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk

I’m so excited to share this episode with Jim Harris with you. After this episode, I’ll be taking a break from recording and publishing new episodes in order to get my second book, entitled “Live Your Dance,” out to you by early 2019! There’s lots of work to be done, but thankfully, as I edited this episode last week and listened to Jim’s story again, it made me realize how worthwhile stories like his are. 

Jim and I met last year, and found that we could easily talk for over 8 hours in one sitting—shout out to the cafe employees who saw that we’d been there a while and gave us free ice cream! After that, though, I knew he’d be a great addition to the podcast—he’s thoughtful, humble, and always willing to learn more. 

In 2014, after making the leap from ski bum to adventure photographer. And while in Chile on an expedition with a travel partner, he broke his back while snow kiting and was soon paralyzed from the sternum down. Life as a photographer and athlete, as he knew it, was about to be drastically changed.

He’ll tell you more about it in the episode, but Jim’s had an amazing recovery over the last few years, and it’s ongoing. To that end, he’s been able to return to skiing and biking recently, and his recovery has garnered the attention of many. And earlier this year, he signed an athlete contract with Adidas Terrex. 

In this episode, I ask Jim more about his “mental” journey during the physical seeming-set backs. How has he reconciled planning with going with the flow? Why do goals even matter? How can we redefine success in a more healthy way? How can we navigate the aftermath of unexpected life-altering events? How can we avoid getting “stuck” when we have big goals (like learning to walk again, or writing a book)?

I hope you find our conversation insightful, with a few takeaways to integrate into your day. And now on to the episode! 

• How Jim went from ski bum, to adventure photographer, to paralyzed 

• His unlikely recovery from bed rest to walking

• How his lifestyle, income, circle of friends, and identity had to shift, post-accident

• How he’s started paving his own path, against the standard of what “normal” culture dictates (6:40)

• How his college choice was unknowingly the beginning of “going against the grain” 

• Boredom as a luxury

• How Jim balances intentional life-planning and “going with the flow”

• Jim’s key to success

• The difference between “effort-ing”  vs. “letting” 

• The role our “training” plays in allowing us to take advantage of opportunities that come our way

• How to cultivate a healthy “detachment” to our work, our craft, or competition

• How to use each challenge as “training” for the next event

• Will we ever “arrive”?

• How to cope with disappointments along the path

• The deal with “delayed happiness”

• Why do we even aim to reach goals?

• How to reframe success so we can experience it more often

• How to transform the mundane into something playful

• The choices we can have when facing relationship struggles

• The question we should all be asking ourselves when it comes to relationships

• The better metric to use to measure happiness

• Faulty expectations in our relationships (and in life), and how to counteract those

• How to navigate the aftermath of unexpected life-altering events

• How to avoid getting “stuck” with huge overwhelming goals

• The importance of finding where we’re in “flow”

• Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

• Craig Hospital

• High Five Foundation

PerpetualWeekend.com
IG @perpetualweekend

Podcast intro music by: http://www.purple-planet.com

If the above link doesn't work, you can also listen here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk

"It’s really about how to keep falling in love with this dance over and over again,
on our terms."
- Jordan Frisbee

It’s been a whirlwind week as I prep to head overseas for a few weeks. But this episode is finally ready to see the light of day! Thank you so much for joining me on episode number 20 with the world-renowned west coast swing champions, Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollmann!

Jordan and Tatiana have been partners since 2000, and are 11-Time US Open Classic Division Champions. And they both hold 20 US Open titles each. They also are multiple Grand National, NASDE and Classic Division Champions. Their TV and movie appearances include "30 Seconds to Fame", "Star Search", "Good Morning America", "The Polar Express", and "Love Ní Dancing". They have earned a great reputation teaching all over the world as Certified Teachers for the Golden State Dance Teachers Association.

What I love about this episode is that both Jordan and Tatiana shed light on some of the lesser talked about aspects of the dance and their careers. For example: how does one take a hobby they love and turn it into a career without burning out? As Jordan said, “It’s really about how to keep falling in love with this dance over and over again, on our terms.” Jordan and Tatiana are true pioneers and innovators and have carved a legacy all their own due to their bold choices along the way. 

And one quick note, the wifi signal wasn’t ideal, so you’ll periodically hear some spotty audio. We did the best we could to smooth it out, but thank you for your patience with anything that we were unable to remove. 

And now to the episode: I hope you get as much out of this episode with Jordan and Tatiana as I continue to. 

• The role patience has played in J&T’s journey to success (3:30)

• How J&T built their successes on several “failures” (5:00)

• J&T tell about their transition from hobby dancers to professional dancers (6:50)

• How J&T pioneered a new way to be a “dance professional” within their dance community and with the help of the YouTube generation (8:40)

• What are the beliefs that J&T hold that help them keep their work fresh? (11:00)

• How they planned to prevent burn out (12:20)

• How J&T pioneered their own version of being a “Professional,” and how they’re currently pioneering their own version of being “retired professionals” (13:20)

• The difference between being a competitor and being an artist (13:50)

• J&T’s biggest pet peeve within the dance, and how they turned it into their greatest source of freedom now (15:48)

• How Jordan and Tatiana have both dealt with their biggest challenges along the way (17:00)

• Where J&T each go for inspiration - hint: it’s not within the West Coast Swing world (22:35)

• Jordan and Tat’s top tips for gathering inspiration on the go (24:00)

• Jordan and Tatiana’s #1 rule for creativity (25:00)

• How Jordan and Tatiana have found a loophole to clone themselves (27:40)

• The role that dance has played in both Tatiana and Jordan’s lives (32:40)

• Jordan’s big secret ;) (33:45)

• Tatiana’s career revelation (35:20)

The War of Art by Steven Pressfield 

JTSwing.com
 

If the above link doesn't work, you can also listen here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk

Is it possible to love the life you have — acknowledging and accepting the conditions of your life exactly as they are — and drop the struggle to make you and your life different? 

Today’s guest—Roger Housden— sent me a sneak preview of his book, Dropping the Struggle: Seven Ways to Love the Life You Have, which actually came out the day we recorded this! I was so touched by  his work; and it resonated with me on many different levels and in various areas of my life—that I thought it’d be an honor to have him come on the show and talk more about it. 

Roger Housden (whose-den), is the author of Dropping the Struggle and numerous other books, including the best-selling Ten Poems series, which began in 2001 with Ten Poems to Change Your Life and ended with Ten Poems to Say Goodbye in 2012. He offers writing workshops, both live and online, with an emphasis on self-discovery and exploration.

Roger wrote Dropping the Struggle from first hand experience as someone who, up until just a few years ago, spent much of his time in a covert struggle with life. Despite his success as the bestselling author of the Ten Poems to Change Your Life series, he often felt that something, which he couldn’t quite put his finger on, was missing. Like many of us, he struggled with the past, the future, relationships, his desire to improve himself, and his own mortality. His inner struggle continued until he got to know himself at a level deep enough that he was able to see how he was making his life needlessly difficult and make a conscious choice to let go. 

What I love is that he shares lessons from his own experience as he offers readers seven ways to love the life they have by dropping the struggle to be special, dropping the struggle for a perfect life, dropping the struggle for meaning, dropping the struggle for love, dropping the struggle with time, dropping the struggle with change, and dropping the struggle to know. 

And in our interview here together, Roger talks about the difference between “effort” and “struggle,” how it is that our struggles all tie back to our sense of identity, and how we can use that intel to shape our life choices—including careers, relationships, etc. And he even recounts how he was captured and interrogated for two days in Tehran, and how that experience had a MAJOR impact on him and his view of life. Roger brings so much clear wisdom to the show, and I’m so honored to dive into his story together. Let’s listen in… 

Listen in for more of his story here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk

• Roger explains his book title, “Dropping the Struggle”

• Why we NEED struggles

• How Roger defines “struggle” and why it’s different from “effort” (6:15)

• Why it is that our “struggles” all relate to our identify

• Unlearning to learn (15:40)

• **What happens when life turns us upside down (16:30)

• What it was like to be interrogated for two days in Tehran (19:30)

  • Why it became a turning point for him

• How to tap into our natural instincts to help us identify our path(s) in life

• How to use Roger’s philosophy to help navigate the job market and our purpose, career-wise

• Why Roger thinks we live in a world of savage beauty (28:38)

• Where our real identity comes from

• Roger’s Obituary, written by him (36:19) (pg. 52 from Roger’s book, Dropping the Struggle)

• Why maintaining friendships matter so much (40:00)

• Where Roger’s book ideas come from (45:00)

• The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to the Mental Side of Peak Performance
  by W. Timothy Gallwey

• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahnemann

• Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

RogerHousden.com
Dropping the Struggle: Seven Ways to Love the Life You Have by Roger Housden
 (available at Amazon + at other bookstores as well)

Ever since a young age, Tashina made certain to design her life in a way that would ensure she could "live her dance" every day of her life. She knew from a young age she wanted to dance professionally, and now, she and her professional teaching partner travel domestically and internationally teaching, competing and performing a style of dance called West Coast Swing.  Through this journey she has had the honor of working with many people from many walks of life, all the while learning much about herself, and what it means to continue to "live your dance", for herself and for others.  For Tashina, how she "lives her dance" is starting to transform and bloom from dancing full time to assisting others change "self-limiting" beliefs.  

Listen in for more of her story here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk
 

• How to make a long-distance dance partnership work

• How West Coast Swing works as a social dance

• Dance as improvisation in a moment

• What is Psych-K? And how can we change limiting beliefs that hold us back?

• How to use dance as a vehicle to breakthrough other weak areas in our lives

• Is it true that the way we do one thing is the way we do everything?

• How we’ve become “conditioned” to believe limiting labels about ourselves

• How our parents’ attitudes can affect us in utero, and how to reprogram ourselves for success

• How to replace limiting beliefs with self-enhancing beliefs

• The gift of being able to “update your software”

• Tashina’s background in dance, volunteering, and traveling the world since she was young

• How Tashina struggled with and ultimately overcame the biggest limiting belief of her life (17:20 + 30:00)

• How Tashina found her mission while volunteering in a prison (21:00)

• How Tashina’s intuition has guided her from one chapter to the next in life

• There was no “Option B” for Tashina, and where she adopted that belief (24:00)

• How to believe in yourself + how to know that you deserve greatness

• Why Vision + Belief combine to create what we manifest on a daily basis

• How to get paid for doing what you love, and not feel bad about it (32:00)

• What to do when you feel the need to switch careers (33:00)

• Tashina’s best advice for those who want to be doing meaningful work (38:30)

• How our views about work are shaped by our parents (for good or bad)

• The importance of making and keeping boundaries when it comes to work (43:00)

• Tashina’s rule for sustainable work practices (46:00)

• The step by step process that Tashina uses to change limiting beliefs (50:00)

• How the act of raising your standards for yourself actually helps raise others as well (57:00)

• iPhone hacks for more conscious living (59:40)

• The Young Americans

• Psych-K Website

• Boundaries: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life

• The Honeymoon Effect by Dr. Bruce Lipton

• The Psychology of Belief by Dr. Bruce Lipton

• The Conscious Parent by Dr. Shefali Tsabary

Instagram + Facebook @Empowered2Greatness
www.Empowered2Greatness.com
www.pjtashina.com

I had the distinct pleasure of getting to spend some time with the founder of the highly acclaimed “The Day Designer” on this episode of Live Your Dance. What I love about this episode is that not only does Whitney share some very useful tips for many stages of business, but she also shares with us some counter-intuitive advice (i.e. don’t follow your passion, follow your strengths). She’s a quality thinker, and an ever-active doer. And I found out the impetus for all of her success: starting each endeavor with gratitude. We dove deep into to the subject, and she got real and raw with me as we learned more about her story and some of her challenges along the way. This episode is for anyone on the cusp of starting a business, or anyone looking to improve your “business,” whatever that may be. 

Listen in for more of her story here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk

• How Whitney’s high school job planted seeds for her current companies

• How 9-11 changed the trajectory of her life and career

• How her biggest failures actually helped set her up for even greater success, later on

• What aspects of her childhood contributed to her interest in design and reading/writing

• How this mantra “Maintenance is one of the responsibilities of stewardship” shaped Whitney’s view on work (and our bodies, our families, etc.) (8:30)

• Whitney’s top advice—albeit counterintuitive—for anyone starting their own business (10:00)

• What challenges she’s faced, and how she worked through them

• Helpful tips for any stage of business from someone who’s been there before

• How to focus your business when there are so many ideas to go after at one time

• The difference that having intention makes in our daily lives (24:00)

• Whitney’s view on social media and how she uses and balances it with everyday life

• How a 100-day commitment can change your life and your productivity

• Whether or not she’s a journaler (32:00)

• What factors contributed to her making the Day Designer

• What driving value has directed her career, her family, and her principles

• How she uses gratitude to turn shortcomings into gifts

• How to shift our paradigm into an empowering state of mind, rather than a disempowering one

• The power of gratitude in many areas of life (43:00)

• Love as an action (vs. just a feeling) and what it can create in our lives when we let Love guide our actions

• How Whitney handled a prickly situation with grace and humility to transform an accusation (46:00)

• The Garment Collective: Ethically-sourced clothing

• Love Does by Bob Gott

• Don’t Settle: Start Living a Life You Love by Molly King

• Daring Greatly by Brené Brown

• Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

• Rising Strong by Brené Brown

• A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller

• Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

• The Slight Edge by Jeff Olsen

Instagram + Twitter @whitneyenglish
Instagram @theDayDesigner
WhitneyEnglish.com
TheDayDesigner.com

 Episode 16: How to Beat All the Odds and Keep Dancing, with Marisa Hamamoto

After being rejected as a ballerina, becoming paralyzed in the middle of a contemporary dance class, and now being back on her feet dancing professionally as a ballroom dancer, Marisa Hamamoto has seen a lot in her lifetime. She’s now dedicated to giving back, and has founded America’s first professional wheelchair ballroom dance company, Infinite Flow, for that specific purpose. In our episode together, we dive into the struggles she faced along her path to becoming a professional dancer, and what it took from her to maintain a positive outlook, even when she was paralyzed from the neck down and told she may never walk again. And while it still took her 3-4 years to recover psychologically, spiritually, and socially from the trauma and paralysis (PTSD), she was victorious and is using her experience to help others today. 

Listen in for more of her story here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk

In this episode we get to dive into… 

• How she faced set back after set back on her path to becoming a professional dancer

• How she dealt with becoming paralyzed from the neck down in the middle of a contemporary dance class, and being told that she may never walk again

• How she climbed out of her depression while still in the hospital at the beginning of her diagnosis

• How she regained mobility after two months of being completely paraylzed

• How she faced the fear that at any time, this paralysis may return again

• How she overcame her fear of dancing itself after regaining her mobility again

• Why it took her so long to “be ok with actually being ok” after her incident

• How she started “Infinite Flow,” America’s first wheelchair professional ballroom dance company

• How she’s changed her story to create an empowering meaning, versus one that maintains fear and limitation

• How she used her basic daily functions as a measure for improvement and hope during recovery (16:50)

• How her mindset was KEY to her recovery

• How she figured out how to make her rehab fit her personal style, and really enjoy it from that point forward

• How her paralysis transformed the rest of her life, and her attitude towards life and dance (26:00)

• The big wake up call that Marisa got while in the hospital (28:00)

• What it was exactly that attracted Marisa to Salsa and Ballroom

• What were the top lessons she learned from going through her paralysis

• How afraid she used to be to tell her story, and how she grew to learn about the power of sharing her experience with others

• How dance can help break down age/race/ability barriers

• From dystonia to dance (video): After medicine failed him, one man found hope for his condition through movement and dance.

• Pierre Dulaine: Dancing Classrooms

MarisaHamamoto.com
InfiniteFlowDance.org
Donate to Infinite Flow Here

In this episode of Live Your Dance, Lindsay Garrison gives me a backstage pass into her life as a Professional Pianist (+ violinist + singer). Between all the traveling, performing, and competing that she does, she’s able to keep progressing as an artist, as well as stay sane with such a crazy schedule. We dive into what makes her tick, what she loves about music, and how it is that she got on this path in particular. Lindsay is incredibly down-to-earth as well as being extremely wise about the realities of what it takes to be at her level. She dishes on what it takes to be successful, and surprisingly—it’s not as complicated as one might think!

• Started playing at age 3, competing at age 7

• Concerts, performing, traveling in a nutshell

• How she views such extensive travel for her profession

• How she maintains a social life with such a mobile lifestyle

• The point when Lindsay really chose music for herself (9:10)

• What it is exactly that keeps Lindsay loving her music, even after studying it for over 25 years

• What does someone who “can play just about anything” find a sense of challenge or continued depth in her music and performances

• How Lindsay handles doubts, insecurities and disappointments along the road

• How performing keeps Lindsay on her mental game, and what about performing keeps her coming back for more (18:00)

• How Lindsay gets her mental game ready before big performances

• The struggle between getting “self” out of the way, and believing in ourselves, and what Lindsay has to say on the subject

• What Lindsay says when I ask her if she’s ever played a perfect performance

• How Lindsay handles life on the road (24:45)

• How music has positively affected Lindsay’s personal life

• Lindsay reveals one of her biggest social struggles with being shy, and how she’s dealt with it in such an extroverted profession

• Lindsay’s advice to any young or early artists at the beginning of their journey, and her 2 secrets for success (31:10)

• Lindsay’s top priorities for a professional in any industry

• The story of how Lindsay handled a somewhat unethical situation and what she learned from it

• We dive into where Lindsay’s values were shaped and how that’s had an enormous impact on her life (and professional life) path

• The importance of community support

• Where Lindsay goes for inspiration when she needs a little extra something in the day

• Who inspires Lindsay the most
  

• Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

• Night by Elie Wiesel

• The Century Trilogy by Ken Follet

• The Life of Elizabeth I by Alison Weir

• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

• The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

LindsayGarritson.com
Lindsay’s Facebook Page

Between our many tangents, the diving in deep and solving all the world’s problems, and a cameo from Indonesian Katie—this is one power-packed episode! The first half was recorded back in October 2015, and we have a bonus check in with Katie in January 2016, where we get to hear all about how drastically her life has changed. But one thing has not changed, and that is that she is consistently living her dance in all that she does. Tune in for a very special episode with my good friend (and model, actress, coach and humanitarian), Katie Walter. 

In this episode we get to dive into… 
    •  Katie’s new perspective after doing international humanitarian work
    •  What it’s like to be a multi-passionate entrepreneur, and how Katie balances it all
    •  How Katie chose to transition away from her acting career (11:30)
    •  What “Leaving no stones left unturned” means for Katie in her life
    •  The power of believing that “Life is happening for us, not to us” (15:00)
    •  The power of our physical reflection on our identities, and what it was like to let that go, even for a week (20:00)
    •  Katie’s “not-proud-of-myself-moment” (21:30)
    •  Molly’s “sad-aha-moment” (25:00)
    •  Imagine the work we could be doing if we thought about ourselves less
    •  The power of seeing community as “common unity” (27:00)
    •  The incredible value of traveling to third world countries and learning from other cultures
    •  How much of our lives and our identities have become all about “stuff” and extrinsic value, rather than defining it from within
    •  Katie’s philosophy on work, and how it boils down to our attitude rather than the paycheck
    •  What we focus on is what we feel, and thus becomes our experience
    •  The power of Gratitude (38:45)
    •   The affect of our “emotional home” on our experience
    •  What is our “work,” really? (42:10) 
    •  When in doubt, focus out…whatever you want to receive, give it away
    •  The importance of maintaining our childlikeness (not to be confused with childishness) (49:00)
    •  One Risk overview (50:00)
    •  How to practice perceived risk, in order to break through any challenge in our lives
    •  Part 2 - Recorded with Katie in Indonesia!! How Katie has been living her dance since we first recorded this, and is now exploring SE Asia

Referred to in the ‘cast…
  •  Build On
  •  One Risk Live Event in LA, Jan. 30th, 2016: Special discount of 50% off only until Jan. 20th at midnight! 
 •  The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Episode 13: How to Transform our Biggest Upset into our Greatest Blessing with Pinna Gallant

Pinna Gallant has traveled from software development to yoga studio owner in the last few years. She brings her insight, wisdom, and humility to the Live Your Dance podcast today as we dive into her story of how she turned her biggest upset into her greatest blessing, and has built a new business from scratch in the process. 

• How Pinna transitioned from a 20-year career in software development into owning a yoga studio in the Colorado mountains

• What captured Pinna’s interest with yoga

• How yoga has transformed Pinna’s view of self and body image

• Her down-to-earth approach to yoga and what it can do for each of us

• How a broken leg helped Pinna find her path

• The realities of what life is like after being in corporate America

• What metric is most helpful in measuring our lives

• How our jobs are like relationships, and how to have healthy relations

• The importance of support, and the role it can play along our path

• The importance of being in service and how we show up differently when we’re in service to others

• The benefits of being in the corporate side of life vs. being a small business owner

• The biggest challenge of jumping into a new chapter and how Pinna got through it

• Pinna’s mantra when she doesn’t have the right answer (32:19)

• How to make collaboration less threatening to our egos (33:11)

• The difference when we commit more to our vision than to our egos

• How to beat our own Ego

• How to use yoga to practice getting used to the “uncomfortable”

• How to transform nervousness into “feeling alive”

• The importance of opening ourselves up to possibility (40:00)

• Pinna’s simple philosophy on “work” (41:25)

• How “being present” has completely changed how Pinna works more but feel less burdened

• How to tell if your work fuels you or drains you

• Game-changing sales tactics for any business

• The most important key for any business

• How to create an empowering atmosphere for your employees

Shadika: Investing in girls for India’s future
Pinna’s studio is at PeakYogaStudio.com in Summit County in Colorado