Don't Fake It Till You Make It
Don’t FAKE IT till you MAKE IT. MAKE IT till you BECOME IT.
I’ve heard many variations of the phrase above, but this version is what I know to be true.
- I wasn’t a French speaker until I started speaking in French. It doesn’t matter that my skills were very halting and my vocabulary was limited at first. The more I spoke the language, the easier it flowed.
- I wasn’t a jazz musician until I started playing jazz and learning from other musicians. I didn’t know how to play many chords to begin with or the lingo of the genre, but bit by bit my musical vocabulary and musicianship grew.
- Even creativity and spontaneity are things that are best practiced and cultivated regularly. Spontaneous moments often are born out of the ability to know and do your craft so well that you have the freedom to let go when you want to. I got to witness this recently during an epic jazz set at Snug Harbor in New Orleans. Guess what it took for those musicians to play with such energy and seemingly effortless connection? A lot of consistent practice.
We tell ourselves stories every day of the reasons why we can’t achieve what we really want in life.
What if we instead focused our energy on possibility—on who we would need to BE consistently to make what we want a reality and then show up every day as THAT version of ourselves?
It’s so simple yet not always easy.
Let's make it till we become it.
Ashley
When you're ready, here is a powerful way you can stop living into the stories that hold you back and start discovering powerful possibilities in your own life:
- June/July 2022 - 6-week Mental Fitness Program (virtual meetings 1x/week) - I'm excited be hosting a special 6-week intensive Mental Fitness group coaching program this summer. This program teaches you how to handle life's challenges and problems with a positive mindset and less stress. My first small group for June is full, so I am opening a second group beginning Tuesday, June 14. This program investment is $275 per person (usually $1000, so don't pass up this special rate!). Email me for more information or to register today!
(For upcoming music performance dates, scroll to the bottom of this email!) Sometimes when we're struggling to get to a new level of our talent, career, mindset, etc., it's easy to forget just how far we've already come. I recently digitized some old cassette tapes from my childhood and found this gem of a clip. It's my shy, quiet, pre-teen self trying VERY HARD to sing my favorite Christmas song, "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Click the picture of the cassette player below to hear the...
(For upcoming music performance dates, scroll to the bottom of this email!) Last weekend I visited the Knock Knock Children’s Museum in Baton Rouge with friends who have young kids, and I enjoyed seeing life through a child’s eyes for an afternoon. Take the joy of painting, for example. When kids see an easel and some paints, they often run up to it and start trying it out. They’re curious about it—maybe they’ve tried it before, maybe not, but they approach it without judgement or worry. They...
(For upcoming music performance dates, scroll to the bottom of this email!) As a kid I used to love watching the movie "Mary Poppins." The title character's beautiful voice, elegant mannerisms and calm confidence made me feel like everything would be OK in her presence. As a result, she gave off oodles of charisma. One of my favorite things about Mary Poppins was also her magic purse that seemed to hold absolutely everything she could possibly need (even floor lamps and carpets), yet it...