MAKING PROGRESS

I have had the opportunity work on multiple projects with individuals who "say" that they want to be successful.  Being the person that I am I go all in and do my best to support their goals by pouring my education and experience into their life and new explored passion.

There is always a point where I find myself working harder for their dream and they have checked out.  Does this mean that they do not want their goal anymore?  Not sure, but what I do know for sure is ... this is the exact reason and point of time when people start teetering between being successful and stuck in the rut that they face year after year that pushed them to "get this money" in the first place.

JUST KEEP MOVING

As soon as people get overwhelmed or side tracked... they stop moving! Sometimes even literally.  Act in spite of any doubt and just keep moving.  There is always an action that you can take and if you are not sure what they should be then follow these two steps:

1. Write a list of things that you do not want to do / or cannot do because of money, time, waiting for "x" to happen etc.
2. Start with the first item you put on the list from action step #1 and start working on this item, immediately.  If you an issue with money, time, or any other circumstance... then start with the first action step that works in the direction of removing that barrier. 

Why do this?  We always know exactly what we do not want to do but the things we don't want to do usually have the highest return and the biggest impact on us reaching a goal.

PRIORITIZE THE PROBLEMS

There is a category of problems that I would consider "good" to have.  Maybe having two job offers at the same time and trying to decide which job to take can definitely feel like a problem.  The question is "how big is that "problem" in comparison to the other "problems" or barriers on your plate?"

Prioritizing your problems allow you to choose which problems you are going to let sway your state of emotions or drive.  If you are the type of person that problems get to fast... Find ways to change your state of emotions quickly (ex: favorite song, walk in the park, funny movies, etc.).  By changing your state of emotions, you are able to then able to focus and go back to what you were doing... but further than that, you took control of the problem and not let it control your stick-to-it-ness.

KNOW YOUR WORK ETHIC

What kind of worker are you? How many hours can you work straight? What is your favorite environment to work in? Do you need music? Do you need food, snacks, and / or drinks?

Figure out how, when and why you work best and then capitalize on that. If you are aware then it will prevent you from burning out and over doing it.

Pursuing a goal can be a long-term process and without any action there, WILL NOT be progress!

Today I Am... Making progress!

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SAYING "GOODNIGHT" WITH MORE UMPH!

Living alone comes with some great perks! You don't have to compromise on what to watch on TV and you don't have to wait around, doing a pee pee dance, while your housemate is in the shower.  Though these aspects are great there is something about living and interacting with others that make you more aware of "who you are".

Tonight, taking my trash downstairs, like every Sunday evening, I ran into my neighbor.  He helped me take the trash outside while I tended to my doggy, Brooklyn, and then as I walked back in the apartment building and started up the stairwell I said, "Goodnight, Jose!"  

The words rolled out of my mouth naturally but yet sounded very unfamiliar.  For over 6 months, I haven't told anyone goodnight, with the exception of a few text messages.  I didn't realize how much of a personal and individualized experience, "wishing someone a good night" could be.

As I walked up to my third floor apartment I couldn't get over how this common phase, suddenly had new meaning.

As you go through your day...think about all the things you say just out of habit and rethink them.  How can you make them special or more individualized?  and how can you be more present when the person responds?Take all opportunities to show the people around you that you care about who they are!

Today I Am... saying "Thank YOU for reading this blogpost and I hope that YOU have a fabtabulous and restful night!"

Always!

Aleesha

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30 DAY FULL VOICE CHALLENGE - Day 20

The 30-Day Full Voice Challenge continues and today I was able to get in 30 minutes of vocalizing.  Last night during my regular vocal performance class, we watched a video from our live performance last week.  Watching yourself is ALWAYS hard and my lack of committing to my 25 healthy meals... definitely came to mind as I was watching my arms move with the reverb on the microphone.  :) 


Take aways from the live performance: 

1. One my song "Don't Make Me Over" I need to pronounce the ending consonants 
2. Cut back on vibrato on my song "Loverman, Oh Where Can You Be?" 
3. Connect with the audience by looking into their eyes and talking directly to them through song

Overall, I am VERY proud of the performance. I juuuuuuuust might upload a video clip... maybe! LOL



Today I Am... happy with progress!  

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LOVING iCARLY

When I turn on my TV it is not surprising to find it tuned into Nickelodeon since I am THE biggest SpongeBob Squarepants fan, and today was no different.  I turned on the TV to hear that iCarly, a show about a high school aged girl named Carly and her online variety show, was coming on.  Today as the theme song played I stopped to listen and really love the message they are sharing through song and now I am sharing with you.  Enjoy.

iCarly Theme Song ~ Lyrics

I know, you see
Somehow the world will change for me
And be so wonderful

Live life, breathe air
I know somehow we're gonna get there
And feel so wonderful
And it's all for real

I'm telling you just how I feel
So wake up the members of my nation
It's your time to be 
There's no chance unless you take one
And it's time to see 
The brighter side of every situation
Somethings are meant to be
So give your best and leave the rest to me
Leave it all to me
Leave it all to me
Just leave it all to me

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USING MY TIME WISELY

One of the most challenging things about pursuing my “musical” goals is finding the time outside of my work responsibilities to fully focus on personal tasks. With the recent 30-Day Full Voice Challenge finding “time” has been especially difficult.

It is easy to say that there are not enough hours in the day, however, that is not entirely true. My problem is there are not enough hours in my day where I am functioning 100%. A part of managing time well is to identify which hours of the day you are at your best. My best hours are somewhere between 1AM and 5AM when I have to make myself go to bed in order to function at my 9-5.

So how do we make this work????

Most of the time I am squeezing vocal exercises in to my evenings however today I discovered that using my lunch hour proved to be a perfect time to get an hour of vocalizing in and even run through the lyrics of a new song. So if you are having trouble finding the time because you have to go to a full-time job then try using your breaks and lunches as ways to get a personal task done… you can eat at your desk or take bites between notes (like I did to my yummy egg sandwich).

Happy Singing!

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Catching up on blogging about the 30-Day Full Voice Challenge

With the closing of April I started off May with lots of energy and the hopes of being a heavy contender in the 30-Day Full Voice Challenge hosted by the Broadway Dance Center.  I started a blog that was only about the challenge... however I decided to move it to my personal blog.  The challenge requires that you...

1. Vocalize everyday for 30 minutes to an hour
2. 4 private voice lessons
3. 2 coaching sessions
4. 1 live vocal performance
5. 1 live performance 
6. 1 NY Industry Audition
7. 1 new demo performance
8. 25 health conscience meals 
9. 20 healthy body conditioning or dance classes 
10. 5 charitable events 

Out of the ten areas I have been vocalizing everyday and have actually found a new way that is lots of fun.  I warm up using a CD given to me by my previous vocal coach and then I turn on my favorite Broadway CD and then grab my mic and amplifier and sing along as if I am on stage.  

As for the other areas I have completed my 2 coaching sessions, as well as my live performance which took place on May 12th at IDO Sushi at 29 7th Avenue with pianist Tommy Mandel who was WONDERFUL! and made me sound wonderful. Before I left my day job one of my co-workers (who I recently discovered had a career on Broadway) gave me a great prep talk and told me "Sing for yourself" and that is just what I did!

The next day, May 13th, I completed my inspirational live vocal performance / concert by seeing Wycliffe Gordan's Jazz A La Carte at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY.  I did not go to this performance thinking I would walk out feeling inspired vocally by this event... however I was pleasantly surprised.  17-year-old Nikki Yanofsky graced the stage and sang one of my favorite songs, "Someone to Watch Over Me" and she did an AMAZING job of making the song her own.  I was inspired not only by the purity in her voice but how much the music was in her body and movements.  She is inspirational and I am honored to have seen her perform live.

This week I am hoping to knock out the 1 NY Industry Audition, get some of the conditioning classes under my belt and find some charitable events to attend... So we will see what happens! 

Today I Am... ignoring the overwhelmed feeling! :-)

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30 DAY FULL VOICE CHALLENGE HEALTHY MEAL ~ Turkey Chili

One element of the 30-Day Full Voice Challenge is to eat 25 healthy meals.  As soon as I am told that I need to eat something healthy what do I do... run and buy a donut! SMH


On this day for lunch I enjoyed a cup of yummy Turkey Chili from one of my favorite delis! Now... to get the remaining quota in!


Today I practiced for 45 minutes working on Diana Ross' version of "Them There Eyes"


Tomorrow... LIVE PERFORMANCE! :)


Happy Singing! 

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