Summer reflection: how I got to do the best job in the world!
These days, I’m allowed to work globally as a trainer, improviser, university teacher, leadership coach, and keynote speaker - and I’m SO grateful of that.
This summer holiday, taking rest and having meaningful conversations with friends and family helped me to reflect on it. And, how I got there.
Here’s the spoiler: take a leap! Just start doing with what you love to do.
Sometimes, and more than you might think, the best move is to leap. Show up. Try. Make your mistakes and be ok with that.
To us improvisers, that’s second nature. When you start a scene, you have no idea where it's going. You just add your bit and respond to what comes. Your partner does the same. A continuous exchange of appreciation and response.
Simple and powerful. It leads to connection, shared ownership, positivity, spontaneity, fun, and inclusion—things we all need, perhaps now more than ever. (!)
So how did this improvisational mindset help me?
Years ago, the first time I walked into a classroom or a corporate office, I certainly didn’t feel like I belonged. But I did it, took a leap, paid attention, contributed. And eventually I found joy in the process. “Yes, and” in action.
When I started my working holiday in Australia back in the '90s, I struggled to find a job. But by the end, I had learned that if I walked into a restaurant, sat down at the piano, and started playing, 50% of the time they’d offer me a job. The other 50% they threw me out. 😉
If I wanted a bartending job, I knew the first 10 pub owners would say no. But I needed only one to say yes.
So I kept showing up. Allowed myself to make mistakes. I treated it like play. And I never stopped after that.
Today, I teach that mindset through the PLAY! model—a framework we use in our trainings and which is now taught at 14 universities worldwide (proud of!).
It helps our course participants (leaders, managers, coaches, facilitators) bring more improvisational skill and spirit into their work and lives. And to their teams. And friends. And to their kids.
I’m deeply grateful for the awesome people who are walking alongside me on this journey, like Ted DesMaisons, Stanford teacher and co-host of our trainings, Paul Z Jackson, founder of the Applied Improvisation Network (AIN), Roberto Hirche, who brought the PLAY! model into major corporations and co-leads our Spanish retreat, Patricia Ryan Madson, who pioneered improvisation at Stanford. And so many others I've met through AIN and as participants in our sessions!
So, what’s next? Next month, we’ll host the Advanced Applied Improvisation Retreat on the Costa Brava. We’ll help participants become stronger, more confident leaders, facilitators, managers, and coaches. And having an amazing time while doing it.
Want to leap with us? Join the retreat next month! On request of the AIN board, we agreed to offer a one-time US$300 discount on the course tuition.
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