Poi Fire Dancing Spinning Performance & Twirling (Hoop Staff Fans Also)

Here’s a mini interview I recently did and I thought some of the things I wrote might be inspiring to people starting their own business, wanting to live their dreams, or perhaps simply interested in learning from my experience. Hope you enjoy.

Q: What does entrepreneurship mean to you? Why is it important?

Entrepreneurship is creativity, possibility and the reality of people living their lives on their own terms. It allows individuals to dream and from those dreams, build realities that are thriving and sustainable which is important not only as inspiration for others, but as a way of satisfying our selves as individuals on a spiritual level.

Q: When did you know the startup route was for you? Was it a lifelong dream? Was there one life-changing event? Was it something that developed over time?

From 21-26 I did independent consulting but the idea of actually starting my own company did not happen until I got fired from my corporate job in my early 30’s. Unsatisfied emotionally and spiritually by the repressed environment and constraints my job put on me, I decided to try my hand as an artist. A year later, I started the first poi fire dancing school in the world and what has unfolded in the last 7.5 years is beyond what I had even imagined in many ways, even though it is not yet as big as I know (and imagine) it will be.

Q: How did you evaluate joining or starting a startup vs taking a corporate job? What were the specific metrics you used or events that made the decision clear for you?

For me it was all about wanting to express myself more. A few weeks before I got fired I was told, literally, “You’ll never get ahead in this company if you continue to wear glitter to work.” I decided that wearing glitter was more important to me than making a 6 figure income. It wasn’t so much about the glitter as it was about being able to express myself as an individual. So for me it was about my personal joy and self expression, which made the choice easy. And, I told myself, I can always go back — I’ll always be qualified to step into their world — but will I regret it if I don’t try making it on my own?

Q: How did you approach starting your business? Did you have a longstanding idea that you transformed into a business or did you start out with no idea at all?

I actually used this career facilitation process I now use with others where I gathered information about my skills (trained abilities), talents (innate abilities), ideologies (what meme’s I wanted to support), path (my purpose on planet earth in this life time) and boundaries (what I must have/what I won’t accept) and after making lists and cross referencing things, I came into this experience. I was operating from a space of tabula rasa which really helped. If you told me 10 years ago I’d be doing what I do now, I would have laughed in your face at the absurdity of it.

Q: What have you learned about yourself through all of this?

I’ve learned more than I could possibly articulate. That said, here’s a few key lessons:

• I’ve learned I can endure
• I’ve learned I can create a vision and manifest it in the world
• I’ve learned that as a trail blazer, if people aren’t biting at your heals, you’re not successful
• I’ve learned that holding space for a vision you are inspired by, while difficult, is perhaps the most rewarding day to day activity you can do
• I’ve learned that faith is more powerful than money
• I’ve learned that being true to myself leads to more overall health than thinking I need a good income to ensure I can pay for health insurance
• I’ve learned that I am now and always will be someone who changes the world around me and to deny it by suppressing the parts of myself that other’s don’t agree with is both a spiritual crime and an impossible task
• I’ve learned that who we are in this world is not the accomplishments we have under our belt
• I’ve learned that living on the edge is more rewarding than living in cubicle city
• I’ve learned that we all have so much more within us than we ever express
• I’ve learned that conscious capitalism is a lifestyle choice we sorely need in this world
• I’ve learned that I can redefine myself again and again and again and again . . .