Simply Authentic...Your Soul Voice is Calling. Stay in the Thriving Zone

Stay in the Thriving Zone This concept – which I mentioned briefly in my interview with Barry Dennis 1/5/15 – is so important to reaching our authentic potential, I’m devoting an entire post to it. The three zones are: Atrophy (think sitting on the couch with the remote control in one hand and a Coors Light in the other), Thriving (where you want to be, stretching and growing) and Breaking (pushing so hard you might injure yourself or become sick or exhausted – possibly like some professional athletes taking steroids, who are being watched on TV by those in Atrophy!) I’ve been regularly in the thriving zone since I quit my job, often to hone skills I need to move forward. I used to speak publicly frequently, but it’s been a while and I’m rusty. So I joined Toastmasters, and have prepared a four to six minute Ice Breaker speech (which I will have given by the time you read this) called “A Farm, a Few Cats, a Bunch of Classes and a Cookbook.” I took another Professional Actor’s Class at Lakewood Theatre and worked on two different scenes with two highly skilled partners. Perhaps most challenging has been learning to use video development software! I wanted to create a series of free Authentic Expression video tips – and 1) I don’t want to have to contact a professional film producer every time I want to create a one to two minute video clip, 2) I don’t have a video creation budget of thousands at present. Here’s the first one; enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahtTQLgY4OY&feature=youtu.be Technology is not my forte – never has been. When I first got a laptop, my tech savvy mechanical engineer brother must have wanted to (metaphorically) slit his throat a few times as my pre-school level questions kept coming in. And I don’t enjoy playing around learning new software – I’d rather just do the writing, rehearsing, get in front of the camera and talk, and let someone else handle the rest. Or have an expert come in and show me exactly how to create what I want as quickly as possible. Fortunately, my fiancé is turning out to be great behind the camera and in the editing software. (George, Baby, I love you!) Even though the process has tried my patience to the “I have one nerve left and this is getting on it” point…it’s keeping me in the thriving zone, as is being on camera and starting to understand lighting, pacing, timing, etc. And help has come from the most unexpected of places…a film production major with years of experience offered to give me a free mentoring session. Someone else offered to record and create my first video class super reasonably because he wanted more familiarity with longer videos and the experience. This is what happens when you’re on your authentic path. Where is the thriving zone for you in the endless array of possibilities? One of my financial mentors, Barbara Stanny (www.barbarastanny.com) recommends always doing something that scares and stretches you. She’s referring to the thriving zone. When I was an apprentice teacher with the Transformational Voice Institute, the youngest in our class was a 21 year old speech pathology major with significant singing experience. The eldest was an 83 year old teacher/counselor with a Master’s Degree in Integral Counseling, years of life experience and wisdom, yet no concert performance background. There she was, after over eight decades of life, singing Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’ in her first concert at Rose Schnitzer Manor. What a way to stay in the thriving zone! Few people inspire me like Diamond does. Wherever your thriving zone is, you can find something to help take and keep you there on-line. Want new sheet music so you can learn a new song? There it is on-line, along with how to build a trellis, which plants require trellises, and what causes warts. I just Googled, “What is the main ingredient in Spam?” It’s pork shoulder meat. Since I love to eat good food and cook, I hereby deem learning a new recipe in the thriving zone. I know where my next one is coming from. The Pollan Family Table: The Best Recipes and Kitchen Wisdom for Delicious, Healthy Family Meals. I can find any recipe I want on-line, of course, but I’m glad I ordered this gorgeous hard cover book for the images alone - I read it like some people read novels. The only one I’ve tried so far is the Terrific Teriyaki Glaze (terrific!) and the next may be Patricia’s “Marry Me” Roast Beef Tenderloin. Here’s the super great news…if we consistently stay in the thriving zone, what used to be breaking becomes thriving and the thriving zone expands. If you have an idea where you’d like to head next in your thriving zone, I’d love to hear from you and support you! I can also help you decide what that next step might be. If it might be releasing your inner actor, visit my products and services page to sign up for Authentic Performance: Fundamentals of Acting 1 beginning June 6 in Lake Oswego, Oregon! Life begets life. Energy creates energy. It is by spending oneself that we become rich. –Sarah Bernhardt The real point of being alive is to evolve into the whole person you were intended to be. –Oprah Winfrey Authentically Yours, Laura