New Year's Resolutions

I'm not the kind of person that gets obsessed with New Year's Eve. Of course, I love a chance to put on my heels and party with my -- wait -- no, actually, I just want to sit on my couch and eat chips in my Batman footie pajamas. The one thing that I really like about New Year's is that it's a time when we, as a society, are encouraged to think about how we can improve ourselves or our lives in some way, and that we make plans to take active steps to achieve the goals we set. I'm all about that!

Whether you decide to go after your goals/resolutions on January 1st or August 14th, it doesn't matter. I'm a firm believer that every minute of every day can be your chance to start becoming the person you want to be. I recently looked back at all the new skills I have acquired over the last year, and I was floored by how much knowledge I've gained and how much I've grown! I've been training in stage combat, worked to correct a speech impediment, taught myself several computer software programs, and kept up with this blog - along with dozens of other accomplishments I'm crazy proud of. When I succeed at a goal, it makes me want to push myself even harder to learn and grow and do whatever I set my mind to!

I want to make 2016 my best year yet, so I've made some BIG goals for myself, along with a plan for how I'm going to achieve them. The most important thing for me is that I TELL SOMEONE what I want to accomplish: once I've said the words out loud, it's as if I've breathed life into my dream and it magically transforms into a goal. Then it's real, and there's someone who's waiting to see whether or not I follow through and do it, which makes accomplishing the task more possible.

There was a moment a few months ago when I was talking to a friend of a friend at a party, and I was introduced as "the Shakespeare coach". The lady I had just met said, "Wow. Shakespeare's so hard. I could never do that." I said, "Why not? It's a learnable skill." And that's true about so many things. Yo-Yo Ma didn't wake up one day knowing how to play the cello, and Misty Copeland wasn't born wearing pointe shoes! If you want to learn a new skill, make 2016 your year - especially if you're a performer! Turn your dream into a goal by making a plan for how to accomplish it within a reasonable time frame, then tell a friend (or an enemy, or everyone on Twitter) and put in the work. When your hard work pays off, you'll truly have a Happy New Year!

Wanna step up your Shakespeare game in 2016?

Email shakespearecoach@gmail.com to schedule your first session!

Audition season starts next week, so #getyourSHAKEStogether now!
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