A theme I hear repeatedly from clients is the fear of being not qualified or advanced enough to do the work they really want to do.

 

i.e.

How can I teach dance if I haven’t been trained formally?

Who am I to share my paintings on Facebook if I’m not a “real” artist?

Why would anyone listen to my songs?

 

Did you ever NOT do something because you didn’t feel qualified or advanced enough?

 

If so, your challenge this week is to not only do it, but to start teaching it to someone.

 

The truth is, you can learn so much more through teaching and sharing what you do know - even if it only seems like a little bit.

 

You’ll never truly feel “ready” - you just have throw yourself into the field and play, and trust that the right people will show up to match what you’re offering.

 

Here’s an example -

 

In 2008 I was living in Manhattan in my mid-20s. I had the experience of feeling isolated in such a big, tough city, and craved more community with other women. So I started a Meetup.com group and called it the NYC Goddesses.

 

1 person showed up to the first meeting. At the second meeting 3 people came.

 

Then I got contacted by a bookshop who wanted to host my meeting monthly at their cafe, and all of a sudden I had a dozen people or more every time. The bookstore was a New Age kind of place and interpreted my Goddess title as being focused around Goddess spiritual practices, which I was interested in, too, but didn’t know much about.

 

So I learned as I taught. I brought a new Goddess story each week and generated discussion around it. I learned so much from the women who came. I was opened up to a whole new world that influenced the way I approached my life, my coaching work, and my creative practices.

To this day, although I no longer run the meetup group, I’ve cultivated a sisterhood of supportive friendships in my life, and I practice ritual, follow the moon cycles, and feel that Goddess spiritual connection. If I hadn’t led that group and learned as I went, I might not have all this as part of my life today. And that would be sad.

 

There are actually endless examples. This blog is one. I didn’t start it because I was an expert on creativity, I started it because my soul was craving growth in that area and I knew I couldn’t do it in isolation. The same goes for my dance videos and teaching.

 

No matter what level you’re at, there is someone a few steps behind you that can learn so much from what you teach and share.

 

If you think you suck, you’ll never get better by not practicing and sharing.

If you think you’re good, it doesn’t mean anything unless you’re actually doing it.

 

Let your ego step aside, and just follow through with adding your splash of teaching and learning into the mix.

 

Someday you’ll look back and say, “Remember when I was too scared to do that thing? Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha!”

 

If you need a boost, here are 2 ways to get things moving with me:

 

If you’re in NYC, I encourage you to come to my Move Through It workshop on Monday.

If you’re not, I encourage you to join me on Instagram since today is the first day of “Dance A Day, in the month of May.”

 

Let’s do stuff. It’s too boring not to.

 

teaching and learning with you,

Jess

p.s. Did you ever teach something before you felt ready? What did the experience teach you? Tell us in the comment box below. I'd love to hear, and I'm sure someone else would, too

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