Live Your Dance Podcast Molly King

In 2014, after making the leap from ski bum to adventure photographer, and while in Chile on an expedition with a travel partner, Jim Harris 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.

As champion west coast swing dancers, and beloved around the world, Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollman took some time out of their crazy travel schedule to share some thoughts on their career path.

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.

In this episode we get to dive into…
• 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)

s 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…

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 In this episode we get to dive into… • 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)

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 deeper 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. Tune in, subscribe, leave a review and tell your friends and their friends!

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 for several months, with no hope of recovery. Tune in to hear more of her incredible story and how she’s using her experience to help others today.