Jim Harris: Training for Life

In 2014, after making the leap from ski bum to adventure photographer, and while in Chile on an expedition with a travel partner, Jim Harris broke his back while snow kiting and was soon paralyzed from the sternum down. Life as a photographer and athlete, as he knew it, was about to be drastically changed.

He’ll tell you more about it in the episode, but Jim’s had an amazing recovery over the last few years, and it’s ongoing. To that end, he’s been able to return to skiing and biking recently, and his recovery has garnered the attention of many. And earlier this year, he signed an athlete contract with Adidas Terrex.

In this episode, I ask Jim more about his “mental” journey during the physical seeming-set backs. How has he reconciled planning with going with the flow? Why do goals even matter? How can we redefine success in a more healthy way? How can we navigate the aftermath of unexpected life-altering events? How can we avoid getting “stuck” when we have big goals (like learning to walk again, or writing a book)?

I hope you find our conversation insightful, with a few takeaways to integrate into your day.

PodcastMolly KingOctober 8, 2018Comment

Jordan Frisbee + Tatiana Mollmann: No Guts, No Story

As champion west coast swing dancers, and beloved around the world, Jordan Frisbee and Tatiana Mollman took some time out of their crazy travel schedule to share some thoughts on their career path.

What I love about this episode is that both Jordan and Tatiana shed light on some of the lesser talked about aspects of the dance and their careers. For example: how does one take a hobby they love and turn it into a career without burning out? As Jordan said, “It’s really about how to keep falling in love with this dance over and over again, on our terms.” Jordan and Tatiana are true pioneers and innovators and have carved a legacy all their own due to their bold choices along the way.

PodcastMolly KingApril 10, 2018Comment

Roger Housden: How to Drop the Struggle and Love the Life you Have

Roger Housden: How to Drop the Struggle and Love the Life you Have

Is it possible to love the life you have — acknowledging and accepting the conditions of your life exactly as they are — and drop the struggle to make you and your life different?

Today’s guest—Roger Housden— sent me a sneak preview of his book, Dropping the Struggle: Seven Ways to Love the Life You Have, which actually came out the day we recorded this! I was so touched by his work; and it resonated with me on many different levels and in various areas of my life—that I thought it’d be an honor to have him come on the show and talk more about it.

Roger Housden (whose-den), is the author of Dropping the Struggle and numerous other books, including the best-selling Ten Poems series, which began in 2001 with Ten Poems to Change Your Life and ended with Ten Poems to Say Goodbye in 2012. He offers writing workshops, both live and online, with an emphasis on self-discovery and exploration.

Roger wrote Dropping the Struggle from first hand experience as someone who, up until just a few years ago, spent much of his time in a covert struggle with life. Despite his success as the bestselling author of the Ten Poems to Change Your Life series, he often felt that something, which he couldn’t quite put his finger on, was missing. Like many of us, he struggled with the past, the future, relationships, his desire to improve himself, and his own mortality. His inner struggle continued until he got to know himself at a level deep enough that he was able to see how he was making his life needlessly difficult and make a conscious choice to let go.

What I love is that he shares lessons from his own experience as he offers readers seven ways to love the life they have by dropping the struggle to be special, dropping the struggle for a perfect life, dropping the struggle for meaning, dropping the struggle for love, dropping the struggle with time, dropping the struggle with change, and dropping the struggle to know.

And in our interview here together, Roger talks about the difference between “effort” and “struggle,” how it is that our struggles all tie back to our sense of identity, and how we can use that intel to shape our life choices—including careers, relationships, etc. And he even recounts how he was captured and interrogated for two days in Tehran, and how that experience had a MAJOR impact on him and his view of life. Roger brings so much clear wisdom to the show, and I’m so honored to dive into his story together.

Listen in for more of his story here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk

PodcastMolly KingMarch 4, 2018Comment

Pro Dancer Tashina Beckmann: How To Break Through Limiting Beliefs

How To Breakthrough Limiting Beliefs with Tashina Beckmann

Ever since a young age, Tashina made certain to design her life in a way that would ensure she could "live her dance" every day of her life. She knew from a young age she wanted to dance professionally, and now, she and her professional teaching partner travel domestically and internationally teaching, competing and performing a style of dance called West Coast Swing. Through this journey she has had the honor of working with many people from many walks of life, all the while learning much about herself, and what it means to continue to "live your dance", for herself and for others. For Tashina, how she "lives her dance" is starting to transform and bloom from dancing full time to assisting others change "self-limiting" beliefs. Even though the tool she uses might be changing, its at Tashina's deepest core to honor and live her internal dance, and to help others do the same through her belief-changing work both in dance and in coaching.

Listen in for more of her story here: bit.ly/LiveYourDance-mk

Molly KingMarch 22, 2016Comment

Whitney English: [Founder of the Day Designer] The Power of Gratitude in Business (+ Life)

Molly King traded in the corporate 9 to 5 life, in order to become an author, dancer, and coach. The Live Your Dance podcast celebrates those individuals who have found their metaphorical “dance,” and endeavors to draw out the insights and lessons from their journey, in order to inspire you to find and live YOUR dance.

Molly KingFebruary 22, 2016Comment

Marisa Hamamoto: From Paralyzed to Dancing, How to Beat All the Odds

Episode 16: How to Beat All the Odds and Keep Dancing, with Marisa Hamamoto

After being rejected as a ballerina, becoming paralyzed in the middle of a contemporary dance class, and now being back on her feet dancing professionally as a ballroom dancer, Marisa Hamamoto has seen a lot in her lifetime. She’s now dedicated to giving back, and has founded America’s first professional wheelchair ballroom dance company, Infinite Flow, for that specific purpose. In our episode together, we dive into the struggles she faced along her path to becoming a professional dancer, and what it took from her to maintain a positive outlook, even when she was paralyzed from the neck down for several months, with no hope of recovery. Tune in to hear more of her incredible story and how she’s using her experience to help others today.

Molly KingFebruary 6, 2016Comment

Lindsay Garrison: Behind the Scenes of a Professional Pianist

Episode 15: Behind the Scenes of a Professional Pianist with Lindsay Garritson

In this episode of Live Your Dance, Lindsay Garrison gives me a backstage pass into her life as a Professional Pianist (+ violinist + singer). Between all the traveling, performing, and competing that she does, she’s able to keep progressing as an artist, as well as stay sane with such a crazy schedule. We dive into what makes her tick, what she loves about music, and how it is that she got on this path in particular. Lindsay is incredibly down-to-earth as well as being extremely wise about the realities of what it takes to be at her level. She dishes on what it takes to be successful, and surprisingly—it’s not as complicated as one might think!

Molly KingJanuary 23, 2016Comment

Katie Walter: “Our Work is Our Gift to the World”

Between our many tangents, the diving in deep and solving all the world’s problems, and a cameo from Indonesian Katie—this is one power-packed episode! The first half was recorded back in October 2015, and we have a bonus check in with Katie in January 2016, where we get to hear all about how drastically her life has changed. But one thing has not changed, and that is that she is consistently living her dance in all that she does. Tune in for a very special episode with my good friend (and model, actress, coach and humanitarian), Katie Walter.

Molly KingJanuary 18, 2016Comment

Pinna Gallant: How to Transform Your Biggest Upset into Your Greatest Blessing

Pinna Gallant has traveled from software development to yoga studio owner in the last few years. She brings her insight, wisdom, and humility to the Live Your Dance podcast today as we dive into her story of how she turned her biggest upset into her greatest blessing, and has built a new business from scratch in the process.

In this episode we get to dive into…

How Pinna transitioned from a 20-year career in software development into owning a yoga studio in the Colorado mountains
What captured Pinna’s interest with yoga
How yoga has transformed Pinna’s view of self and body image
Her down-to-earth approach to yoga and what it can do for each of us
How a broken leg helped Pinna find her path
The realities of what life is like after being in corporate America
What metric is most helpful in measuring our lives
How our jobs are like relationships, and how to have healthy relations
The importance of support, and the role it can play along our path
The importance of being in service and how we show up differently when we’re in service to others
The benefits of being in the corporate side of life vs. being a small business owner
The biggest challenge of jumping into a new chapter and how Pinna got through it
Pinna’s mantra when she doesn’t have the right answer (32:19)
How to make collaboration less threatening to our egos (33:11)
The difference when we commit more to our vision than to our egos
How to beat our own Ego
How to use yoga to practice getting used to the “uncomfortable”
How to transform nervousness into “feeling alive”
The importance of opening ourselves up to possibility (40:00)
Pinna’s simple philosophy on “work” (41:25)
How “being present” has completely changed how Pinna works more but feel less burdened
How to tell if your work fuels you or drains you
Game-changing sales tactics for any business
The most important key for any business
How to create an empowering atmosphere for your employees

Molly KingJanuary 5, 2016Comment

Your Host, Molly King: The Common Denominator of Success + Goal Setting

Molly King traded in the corporate 9 to 5 life, in order to become an author, dancer, and coach. The Live Your Dance podcast celebrates those individuals who have found their metaphorical “dance,” and endeavors to draw out the insights and lessons from their journey, in order to inspire you to find and live YOUR dance.

Molly KingJuly 14, 2015Comment