“I am the greatest; I said that before I knew I was.” - Muhammad Ali
If you want to achieve something great, you have to believe that YOU are great first. Whether it is for an upcoming audition, applying for college/grad school, presenting to a large group, losing weight, starting a new business venture, or working toward a short-term goal, the first step toward getting there is believing in yourself.
A few years back, I had a dance student that I taught for many years. He was one of the two boys in the classes I was teaching at the time. His parents were big into music and musical theater, so they enrolled him in dance at a young age. He was a well-rounded kid; smart, played an instrument, and polite to everyone. However, he was very shy and lacked stage presence. Dance seemed to bring him out of his shell a bit and he enjoyed it, especially tap. He was always a hard-worker in class, he asked questions, stayed after to practice, and worked on his technique at home (as a teacher, I could tell, because he would always come back to class having improved). His first year of high school, he wanted to audition for a play production. He was nervous to try-out and said he wasn't as popular as the other boys auditioning. During the auditions, he came to class early to show me the choreography. He even asked if he could perform it in front of his class, since he was comfortable performing in front of them. We would work on his stage presentation, and he would say “I just know I can do this!”. He put his heart into it, auditioned, and made the cut as a lead for that play! The judges saw that he had the positive attitude and potential. Fast-forward a few years now, and he’s currently performing his rookie season with a professional theater company in DC, while he attends college. He hopes to continue with his musical theater career in NYC after finishing school. All it took was an “I can” for him to reach for his goals.
Here are some steps I follow whenever I want to achieve a goal (small or big). I hope this helps you take your next step:
Believing in yourself is the first step. ;)
Step 2: Track your progress! You have to put in the work to succeed. Set small, measurable goals from the beginning that will get you closer to your big goals. It also makes it more of a reality if you write down your measurables or milestones toward the goal in a spreadsheet or calendar. That way, you can see the progress you are making from day 1 to get to where you want to be. It will motivate you to continue and will be rewarding for you to see what you have accomplished thus far.
Step 3: Be a student! If you want to ace a test, you have to study. If you want to be the best at something, you have to be a student first. Learn all you can about it. Find someone who is doing or has done what you want to do and learn from them. They may have the best advice since they lived it, and they can act as a mentor for you. Do your research! Read, watch videos, take classes, and learn so you can make the right steps toward success.
Step 4: Let someone hold you accountable! Find an accountability partner, friend, or teacher that will help you along the way. This person can help you stay motivated and give you honest advice on your progress. They can also hold your feet to the fire if you are ever thinking of giving up.
Step 5: Make it yours and own it! Find what works best for you. If you’re not a morning person, then don’t force yourself to be in the gym at 5:00am. Maybe you will have more energy and be more productive at a different time. Whatever it is, you have to find your personal routine and stick with it. Think of it as forming a new habit. Practice it enough and it will become second nature to you. You will become confident in what you do, and your confidence will be noticeable. Being a dance competition judge and audition judge in the past, I've seen girls completely fluff the choreography, improv an entire section, and still score high on the board. Confidence can be everything! Own it, embrace that you are great (even if you mess up), and you will stand out!
Special shout-out to my students who are auditioning this summer and anyone who is making that first step to achieving a new goal!
Now go crush it! ;) -Lee-Ann