How to Set Yourself Apart & Own Your Art
JUST OWN IT
Welcome back to #MondayMood: the reset, check-in, and reminder that you gotta take a step back sometimes and frame your week so that you can manifest the h*ll out of your universe.
Every Monday’s got a theme; every post’s got a takeaway.
Today’s theme is: OWNING YOUR ART.
Artwork by The Appreciative Minimalist.
Last fall in Madrid, I went to a flamenco show at Cafe de Chinitas. There were maybe 10 of us in the crowd, so this wasn’t some packed show, and I was seated front row, right next to the stage. It was lit though, crowd or not, because the performers onstage were clearly ARTISTS in their ELEMENT and they danced like this was a packed theatre! As each one took the stage, they had their own flamenco style, which they were ad-libbing on the spot. Every dance they did was unique and in the moment. They were feeling the crowd; they were feeling themselves. And it showed! Every performer was incredible- you could clearly see by their facial expressions how much they loved their art. But about halfway through the show, the mood changed when the man with the blue shoes took the stage.
Flamenco shoes, typically, are hard and black. They’ve got a buckle. Trust me when I say they’re not cute? But these blue shoes… they were different. They were suede; no buckle. They matched the dancer’s blue pants, his blue jacket and shirt; they hit that floor with a tap of EXTRA. They STOOD OUT. And so did this performer: he was the absolute best of the evening. His energy was fire, he smiled with a passion that was palpable as he danced, he let his soul SHINE. It was beautiful.
I left that place on vibbbbbes with a piece of his smile running through my veins like a gift. He was so inspiring- and so good- that there was no way he could have been ignored. He set himself apart and he OWNED his art.
So today’s takeaway? Own your art and set yourself apart however that might look like for you. You don’t have to get on a stage. You don’t even have to be a traditional “creative.” Maybe your art- the thing that you love to do- looks so different from everyone else… but that’s the point! Whatever it is, don’t just get up there and dance bb. Be the one in the blue shoes. You feel me? ;)
PS: Watch the Cafe de Chinitas performers for yourself on my ‘gram (I think his name is Cristian Perez) + more inspo on my BIZZZ board if you’re into that #MondayMood kind of feeling.