The Dare Dreamer Movement by Julene Fleurmond

I have to admit, I’m inspired by Justin Bieber’s story, especially after I saw Never Say Never, and his music grew on me, (but I admit the chorus of a certain one of his songs got annoyingly stuck in my head with all the repetition – baby, baby, baby oh!;).

It’s so nice though to see singers take a song, change it up and make it their own, as Drew Ryniewicz did as she sang Justin Bieber’s song “Baby” on The X Factor USA, the song seems to take on a new meaning and evoke a new feeling the way she sings it:

Wow, I’ll never look at Jelly Beans the same way. Watch this music video from Kina Grannis, filmed in stop motion, using 288,000 Jelly Bellies for the creative scenery. The team behind the project took so much time to make something unique, and really inspiring and their creativity paid off:

The Making Of “In Your Arms”

Photo Source: kathryn-mccormick.com

Dance is one of those art forms I’m always in awe of, how the body is the instrument/voice/canvas that can express so much passion and tell stories where words aren’t necessarily needed. Kathryn McCormick is one such passionate dancer you may recognize from Season 6 of “So You Think You Can Dance.”

I got to see her in action last year at the Revolve Tour in Texas (it is an amazing conference for teen girls that I was able to volunteer at), and was inspired by both her moving performances and the story she shared about her journey of trying out for the show. I was also inspired enough to take ballet classes this Fall, and believe me when I say it was fun but wasn’t easy; I admire Kathryn’s elegance and natural grace in dance.

Kathryn on Facing the Seemingly Impossible

“How different would our lives be if we erased the word impossible? In fact, impossible is more than just a word, it’s a mindset. How many times a day do we doubt our potential? If we took a second to let go and allow ourselves to face the uncertainty of “impossible” events we may surprise ourselves. Uncertainty WELCOMES opportunity.” – Kathryn McCormick

Here is Kathryn McCormick at the 2011 Revolve Tour dancing to the song “Set the World on Fire” while Britt Nicole sings:

Kathryn also danced to the song “Who You Are” by Jessi J at Revolve. Here’s an in-studio clip that gives a closer look at her intensity and emotion:

More About Kathryn McCormick

Dedicated wholly to her craft, Kathryn McCormick is a dancer who passionately seeks and desires to perform with purpose and meaning. She throws herself into choreography with reckless abandonment, becoming humbly submitted as a vessel for artistic expression, so that each performance may allow every movement to offer significance and translate emotion. Aside from dance, Kathryn invests herself into others lives, building relationships with anyone who may cross her path. She also has a compassionate heart that seeks to use her own blessings to provide for the less fortunate…

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As you follow your dreams keep in mind that the journey, though often dark and hard, has just as much worth as the success story…

Remember for every success story, there’s more back-story & behind-the-scenes (which are often not as exciting and enjoyable) than what we see on stage…

– Julene, Dreamfleur.com

“If you don’t bring your dream to life, your dream dies with you.”
– Josh Shipp

Josh Shipp is an entrepreneur I’m constantly inspired by; he’s an author, youth expert and speaker who is genuinely passionate about seeing teens succeed (I recently invested in his Rock the Stage motivational speaker resource to help to gain insight for my youth speaking career).

Josh is also an INC Magazine 30 under 30 honoree and host of the show Jump Shipp which premieres October 21 on Halogen (find it on your TV or watch online at halogentv.com/shows/jumpshipp). On every episode of Jump Shipp Josh helps a young adult leave their dead-end job to follow the career path of their dreams; you can watch the promo for the show above to get a look at Josh’s real and relatable way of motivating people into action.

Jump Shipp is also having a giveaway for an Apple iPad and a $100 Visa Card, you can go here to enter: http://wfi.re/cr4vn

To kick off the show, Josh Shipp had a live online Dream Job Town Hall (click here to hear the call playback) where he gave a valuable talk about how to make the leap form your dead-end job to your dream job. Here are some of my notes below, I hope they inspire you as they did me to make a leap of your own into your dreams (P.S. there’s a lot more detail and depth to the actual call, click here to take a listen):

Josh Shipp – 7 Strategic Steps To Getting Your Dream Job

1. Define Your Dream Job

• Don’t be vague – the more specific you can be, the better – the more likely it is to come true
• If your bank account was full of money would you still go to work?
• What kind of work would you do if you weren’t doing it for the money
• What do you like? What are you good at? – Ask others who are close to you

2. Dream Job Reality Check – Do a gut check

• The motto “Dream it, do it” is impractical – misses so many steps in between
• Ask yourself the hard questions
• Do it now before you invest time, money, energy
• What is your dream job REALLY like?
• What will it cost you?
• Try to talk yourself out of it, is there any reason why this would be a bad idea?

3. Test Drive Your Dream Job – Do a hands-on gut check

• Commit to 15 hours on the Dream Job Experience – You need to try it out first
• Meet with three professionals who have your dream job – mentors are a must
• Send them a piece of snail mail – cuts through the clutter of email
• Introduce yourself, ask for an informal ten minute chat
• They might say no but you have to get used to potential rejection
• Study the origin of their success story not just the success
• What advice would they give to themselves just starting out?
• Ask if you can do some dream job experience with them, to study them, help them, learn from them

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