Preparing For the Storm

This is my final posting for March and the close of this year’s first quarter. For the three readers that have been with me since January, you remember that I set out to accomplish “one thing each month.” We’re three months in, one quarter in, and I’m gonna take a second to recap my year thus far…

JANUARY
STEPPING ON A FEW TOES successfully completed another run by participating in Whitefire Theatre’s Solofest 2012.

FEBRUARY
I participated in another installment of URBAN LEGENDS, a poetry showcase held several times a year in Hollywood, CA.

I co-directed the short play THE BLACK HISTORY OF POLITICS written by Justin Key.

MARCH
I was a featured guest on the Rare Woman show, and the interview can be heard here: http://gvbradio.com/archives/rarewoman-031612.mp3

With one quarter down and three to go, the year is officially underway. We are IN folks! I’m both excited and nervous as I know there is something different about 2012. There is something fundamentally different about this year. I can’t put my finger on it, and I can’t put it into words. I just know that there are some major forces at work: good and bad, and to make any substantial headway I’m gonna have to keep my battle suit on at all times. I feel like this will be my toughest year yet, and possibly my most rewarding at the same time. I just pray I have the courage to keep going when all hell breaks lose, ‘cause it’s gonna happen. So I ask: will you stand with me? Will you commit to facing fear head on and continuing when the windstorms of life knock you down? Ugh…windstorms…they can be tricky and mighty powerful. Let’s prepare and brace ourselves now. You with me?

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

The Missing Ingredient

What keeps a person’s head on straight when they experience set-backs? Repeated kicks in the face? What makes that person continue? The cleaning solution Formula 409 is called 409 because it took the inventors four hundred and nine tries to get the formula right. Four hundred and eight failed attempts. Four HUNDRED and eight. Talk about belief! Those brothers had it by the truckloads! Good grief! I’ve heard, “If at first you don’t succeed; try, try again,” but who tries four hundred and eight times? I mean, seriously? Who does that? Not many, but they did. They tried, they tried, and then they tried some more because they truly believed they were on to something. Today “409” is a household name because a group of brothers refused to give up. I don’t know about four hundred and eight failed attempts, but I do know that it’s tough to get up and clean yourself off once you’ve been drug through the mud. It’s even tougher to get back on course to the finish line. I don’t believe there’s anyone that would argue that point. The question I’m asking is, “What is that ‘thing’ that an individual needs to not only get up, but to also get back on course?” What’s it take? Clearly not everyone has it or at least not everyone is willing to exercise it. What is it and why isn’t it sold in stores? I think if it were in pill form it’d sell off the shelves in the blink of an eye. Everyone wants it. Everyone wants to be like the 409 brothers, like Colonel Sanders, like Tyler Perry. Everyone wants to have a story to tell. Everyone would love to tell their kids and grandkids about how they fought their way to the top. But most never will. Most will never tell such tales to their loved ones because most will run and hide when they get their first slap in the face. Why are they running? Why are they hiding? What are they missing? What don’t they have that the select few seem to have too much of? What is the missing ingredient? If I knew that my four hundred and ninth attempt would be the winner, I would do everything in my power to get through the four hundred and eight failures – wouldn’t you? You already know that once you hit 4-0-9 you’ve hit gold, so just get through the rubbish as fast as you can! But don’t you see? The brothers had no idea how many failed formulas it would take. Colonel Sanders had no idea how many doors he’d have to knock on before someone was willing to buy his secret recipe. And Tyler Perry certainly didn’t know he’d have to be homeless before he was able to own a mansion. They had no idea. WE have no idea. None of us know how far away the finish line is or what set-backs we’ll have to go through before getting there. But the one thing they all had that most lack is faith. Believing without seeing. That’s the key. That’s the missing ingredient. If there is anything you want to accomplish, any goal you’re trying to reach, I’m gonna tell you right now, it won’t get done without faith. You can mark my word on that one.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

Photos from Rare Woman Radio Interview

I Need You

I’m gonna detour briefly from STEPPING ON A FEW TOES and talk about relationships today. Ok, so I’m not completely driving off-road, but you get my drift. Over the past few weeks I’ve met with different friends for one reason or another, and have, in most cases, shared with them the inner turmoil I’ve been experiencing. And in each case that I shared, each friend had some words of wisdom for me – and they weren’t the same words. Each of them had something special, something worthwhile, or some meaningful tidbit to encourage me. It kind of left me scratching my head wondering why the heck I hadn’t called them sooner!

Then one of them talked to me about the importance of maintaining meaningful relationships. If there is someone in our lives that is important to us we HAVE to make the necessary effort to maintain that relationship. We have to. And it’s almost for our own good – not theirs. Not to say they won’t benefit from the camaraderie, but we, ourselves, need people. My strength and independence can be my greatest qualities and my biggest hindrances at the same time, and I’m finally seeing that. Being strong and independent isn’t nearly as attractive as I believed it was. I’ve always thought that “weak, needy, and helpless” were not only synonyms, but also attributes of a lesser being. Definitely not words that I’d ever want to be associated with me – God no. But I’m learning. It is a process, but I am, indeed, learning.

So to the people that I hold near and dear to my heart, you will begin to hear from me a bit more frequently. I owe it to you to let you know how much you mean to me, and I owe it to myself because I need you, and I’m finally at a place where I’m comfortable saying that.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

So for those that missed it, my radio interview is now available for your listening pleasure via the link below:

CLICK HERE: http://gvbradio.com/archives/rarewoman-031612.mp3

There’s no video footage so this is one that you can let play while you prepare dinner or do the dishes. Consider it background noise that sounds like me yammering on for a bit. Once you’ve had a chance to listen, please – oh please, be a dear and leave a comment on my Facebook on here on the blog. That would be super awesome.

That’s all for today. I’d rather you spend your time listening as opposed to reading my random thoughts today. So there you have it! […there it is…there you go]

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

Replacing Ryan Seacrest

You know what?? Before I get started with anything I’m going to take three seconds to remind my one or two faithful readers that tomorrow is my birthday. For fear of beating a dead horse, I’ll leave it at that.

So! Well you can’t see me grinning over here, but the interview was a success! I really can’t imagine a way that it could have gone any better. Thank you to all of the supporters of the Rare Woman show and thank you to any of my supporters that were able to catch the live broadcast. Your support meant the world. As I mentioned, I’d never done a radio interview before, and it’s very easy to get the feeling that you’re speaking to thin air. It’s not like live theatre where you can see, feel, taste and smell your audience. It’s radio. Maybe they’re tuned in and maybe they’re not. Who knows… So the best feeling in the world was sixty seconds after the show was over, my phone rang and it was my dear friend Vince, and I immediately knew that he’d been listening to the live broadcast. Yes! I wasn’t talking to thin air. Then after I hung up with Vince, one of the hosts shared with me a couple of texts that had come in from listeners commenting on something that I’d said. What!?!? People were actually listening! Now ya’ll are just gonna have to give me a second. My name isn’t Ryan Seacrest, and I’m not a radio personality. I’m not accustomed to speaking into the mic on the daily. That’s not my deal – so you’ll forgive me for being overly thrilled to learn that listeners actually listened! Yeah, I’m kind of amazed. (Shut up – I know it doesn’t take much.)

I’m not gonna spend a lot of time here going into the details of the interview itself. It will soon be available to share with you, so I’ll wait until then so that you’re able to draw your own conclusions (should you choose to listen). Just know that it was a great experience. Very fulfilling, very encouraging, and very uplifting – for me! It was great! And I have to say thank you to the Rare Woman platform for allowing me to share my story with their listeners. They are an amazing bunch of women, and I’m grateful to know each of them.

So, yes…you can add it to my resume. I do radio now and I’m gunning for Ryan’s job.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

Live On the Air

For all those that are able to listen live, I will be interviewed on the Rare Woman radio show today (Fri, Mar 16^th) at 4pm pst. You can listen online by going to www.gvbradio.com and listening on CHANNEL 2. If you are unable to catch the live broadcast, not to worry it will be available for download thereafter. Thank you to all those that have sent well wishes as this will be my first radio interview. #veryexcited

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

Becoming an Alchemist

So I finished the book (finally). Yes! The Alchemist is done! Whew! So I guess this is the part where I share my learnings with you? Ok… First and foremost, whether you know it or not, each of us has a purpose. Each of us at some point in life have seen a glimpse of our purpose…or main goal…our reason for being. Some people know theirs right away as a child, and others may not discover theirs until late in adulthood. Then there are some that will die believing that no such purpose was ever revealed to them. The Alchemist says that’s an untruth. The book straight up says that’s not possible. The book says that there are some that will discover their purpose and will move quickly to do what needs to be done to achieve it. Others will get a taste of their purpose and because of fear they will never take the first step toward accomplishing it. The book says there is no worse way to die than the death of one that knew his/her purpose but never lifted a hand to work toward it, so the universe does what it can to give that person some semblance of a happy existence. Over time thoughts of other things will crowd the vision of this person’s purpose so much so that they forget their purpose altogether. The universe has done this so that this person doesn’t have to live with the torment of failure and unaccomplishment. So, yes, they may actually begin to believe that their purpose was never revealed to them – it’s a complete lie, but this lie is actually a gift from the universe so that this person can exist without hating themselves.

For the others – the ones that go for it? For those of us that make the deliberate choice to achieve our purpose we need to be ready and prepared to go to hell and back. The victory will be sweet, but it won’t come without its fair share of tests, battles, and seemingly impossible obstacles to overcome. The book states: “…before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which most people give up.”

Jonathan was right. This was just what the doctor ordered. Just the reminder that I needed. Definitely a perfect dose of clarity. So I don’t know about you, but I’m about to be an alchemist.

The book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

Microphone Check

A couple things are going on this week. (1) I will appear as a guest on a radio show this Friday, March 16^th and (2) Saturday, March 17^th is my birthday – most will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, but I will be celebrating the day my mom pushed me from her loins. TMI? Sorry…

So this radio show gig… Well the organization is called RARE WOMAN and here is a little about them: Two outspoken, career women host Rare Woman. They share the same parents and are two sides of the same coin. A forum for conversation both dipped in worldly ideas and thoughts and draped in Godly faith and understanding. Whatever the topic La Roya and Vivienne each bring their own Rare Woman point of view. Their most passionate topics include women, couples (married or single), teens, children and relative topics of the day. They invite callers to speak openly about their experiences, thoughts or feelings from today’s (perhaps unknowing- yet) rare women!

I will be on the show discussing STEPPING ON A FEW TOES and my journey through abuse to healing. It is an opportunity for me to share my story on a global platform and that excites me.

If you’re interested and are able, you can listen live (4pm pst) this Friday via this link: www.gvbradio.com , Channel 2

This will be my first radio interview and I’m thrilled to be losing my virginity to RARE WOMAN. I think they are a wonderful organization doing worthwhile work, and I just hope to inspire at least one individual with my story. I’m definitely looking forward to it!

And my birthday…well, duh?? Who’s not excited about their birthday?? I’m looking forward to receiving lots of love, lots of gifts, and lots of hugs. But I’m mostly excited about the gifts. Actually I’m mostly excited about the money. Yeah, if you were going to get me an iPad or some such – just give me the money instead. If you were gonna get me a new pair of heels…just give me the money instead. If you were gonna get me – well…you see my point.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

You Gotta Start Somewhere

I’ll begin with this: I haven’t finished the book yet. Yes I feel like a loser, and no I don’t need to hear it from you too. Thanks.

Moving right along… The name of the game this month (in addition to finishing this leaflet that I can’t seem to manage) is: (1) research how to produce an off-Broadway show (2) find some preliminary budget guidelines for such a production (3) draft a short list of people/organizations I think would be interested in sponsoring and or donating to the show (4) seek opportunities to be a guest contributor on blogs that speak on relevant subject matter (5) reach out to Sarah Jones (6) put me first and get back in the gym at least five days a week.

That’s where I am right now; ready to dig my heels in and get something done. That’s really about the long and short of it. The year is young (as I’ve mentioned), but I’ve got my work cut out for me. I HAVE to finish this first quarter on a solid note, no question about it. So just to fill you in…the finish line for STEPPING ON A FEW TOES is Broadway, and off-Broadway is my stepping stone. I’m about to zero in on the target and only come up for air when visible accomplishment can be noted. OK – here were go…deep breathe --==(…….)==-- I’ll see you on the other side.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

About to Get My Cheer On

I should be reporting back to you about the book I read, but life and scheduling hasn’t allowed me to finish it yet. Not to worry, ‘twill be done by Friday.

Over the past few days I came to the realization that sometimes you have to make lists, sometimes you have to talk out loud, and sometimes you have to encourage yourself. During this spell of motivational lack that I’ve been living in, I’d lost all faith and confidence in myself. I was beginning to think that I was a worthless being lacking all focus and hope for accomplishment. Then I made a list of all the irons I have in the fire and even though it wasn’t too shabby I still found a way to talk myself out of the good I have coming on the horizon.

I saw a friend last evening that I haven’t seen in a month so we had some catching up to do. I began to fill him in (talking out loud, of course) on my current goings ons, and his response was, “Wow, Jaz. You are really doing things…you’re doing good things. You are RIGHT where you need to be. That’s awesome.” And interestingly enough, as I spoke to him about these goings ons, *I* got excited! To hear all this stuff out loud was actually kind of impressive. Wait a minute -- *I* impressed myself!! OK…cue the smile on my face. I was instantly reminded of the list I’d made just not that long ago, and I thought to myself, “I’m not that far off base. I just lost some belief somewhere along the way, and I desperately need her back.”

Which brings me to encouraging yourself. I listened to the lyrics of a song that said, “Sometimes you gotta’ look in the mirror and tell yourself, ‘I can make it!’” I don’t play a professional sport, or even semi-pro for that matter, so I don’t have the luxury of a cheerleading squad pumping me up when I’m down in the bottom of the ninth. There are no rah-rahs and shaking pom-poms greeting me at the end of a rough day. There is no team. No one is inserting my name into some clever little cheer to give me a boost of confidence. I’ve got none of that. All I have is me. So I have learned that *I* have to be my own cheerleader. *I* have to encourage myself – even in the face of darkness, and even in the middle of the storm – I have to open my mouth and talk some sense into me. Remind myself of who I am…wave a finger at me in the mirror and emphatically say, “Girl, you got this.”

So that’s all you’re getting from me today. I’m on my way to take post in front of the mirror right now so that the cheering can begin. HINT: You should totally try it.

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.

Preparing to Knock My Socks Off

Ask and you shall receive!! Oh my goodness! I come to you today filled with all kinds of excitement, drive, determination, and my motivation has been restored. Today is, indeed, a good day.

So let me come clean with you for a minute… I’ve been wandering in a daze for the past several weeks. Not knowing head from tail, and I haven’t been able to put one foot in front of the other for even the simplest of tasks. I regularly eat motivation for breakfast, but it seemed as if my cupboards were bare all of a sudden. Every ounce of discipline and drive I’m accustomed to having had suddenly disappeared just to be replaced with worry and fear. And for anyone that knows me (even a little) you know that worry and fear are not me. Not at all. I spit in the face of Worry and Fear. I’ve never invited them to dinner, as they are not welcome at my table. But somehow, some way they inched their way in…through some small crack in my foundation…they seeped through, turning me into a shadow of my former self. Robbing me of all my greatness and stealing the very essence of my soul. And as of last night I’d had enough. Here I am moving into the final quarter of 2012, and I’m barely moving at all. This was unacceptable, and something had to be done, but I felt like I’d exhausted every single avenue of hope. So, while on my way to a meeting last evening, I prayed. I asked God for clarity in all the areas that I’d been struggling, and I asked Him to restore my motivation. I reached my destination, and as I waited for the meeting to begin I shared my puzzle with my dear friend, Jonathan Castile (who is currently appearing in a national JC Penny commercial – congrats, JC [and this JC stands for Jonathan Castile]). And let me tell you how God works: JC had just finished reading a book that day that held the key to my troubles. And in just a few minutes of conversation it was all very clear – crystal. Clearer than any spring-day sky you’ve ever seen. But do you understand that had I called him a week ago seeking advice he wouldn’t have had it to give – at least not in the ‘nail-on-head’ way that he was able to post reading this book. I mean, he recharged my battery and set me straight. My homework assignment? To get my own copy of this book and read it before I meet with JC next week. The book? The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This is the second time that I’ve been told that a book will “change my life.” The first time was regarding The War of Art by Steven Pressfield, and that friend was right. I read it December 2009 and it changed my outlook on planning and goal-setting and paved the way for an amazing 2010. I have no idea what The Alchemist has in store, but just going off that bit of conversation I had with Jonathan; I have a feeling I’m about to have my socks knocked off. And believe me; I could use a little shaking up right now, so I am thoroughly excited. His recommendation couldn’t have come at a better time. Thank you, JC!! You are, indeed, my brother! And I won’t even tell Alicia that you’ve said I was your favorite sister – that’s our secret.

So the race is off! I’m ready to get my socks knocked off, and I’m ready to witness miracles in the month of March. This is gonna be good, people. Oh! Last night’s meeting! I went to RUNES to get their help with the Rihanna pitch video. They are not only good friends, but they do awesome work. See for yourself: http://youtu.be/Ki9xwuCFoKc. Thank you, RUNES. Thank you, Jonathan. Thank you, God. March…I hope you’re ready for me, ‘cause I’m about to be blowing seven different kinds of smoke. (You only get that if you’ve seen You, Me and Dupree. Thank you, Owen Wilson.)

My name is Jasmynne Shaye, and this is me STEPPING ON A FEW TOES.