In Her Artist Shoes: Entertainer, Cindy Ashton on Learning To Triumph Against All Odds

Cindy Ashton is a modern day renaissance womyn - as a singer/entertainer, author and speaker coach, she pretty much does it all! Born with only a 20% chance of living, Cindy knows the idea of exceeding other people's expectations of you. She proves that you can make your dreams happen when you fight for it! Very happy to have Cindy as a panelist at The Millionaire Artist workshop this Saturday, as I know she will have a lot of wisdom to share. (Reserve your spot here: Eventbrite)

The life changing experience that convinced her to go for her dreams
I always knew I was meant to perform since I was a fetus swimming in my mom's belly. I was born with a 20% chance of living, underwent 3 heart surgeries by age 14 and was told I would never be able to be healthy enough to dance or sing (I had a damaged lung). At age 13, I shared a hospital room with a girl named Stephanie. Like me she went through several heart surgeries and didn't know if she was going to live beyond her teens or not. We made a pact that we would both survive and I would become a world class performer and she would become the world's greatest heart surgeon. I was released from the hospital for a few months. When I got re-admitted at 14 years old, I kept asking the nurses where Stephanie was and they kept avoiding my questions. Eventually a nurse pulled me aside and told me that Stephanie died. Part of me felt guilty and unworthy to live but the other part of me KNEW I had to live and make my dreams happen for both of us. Watch the video on: http://speakerstardom.com/bookinginfo/ = it has the story.

Who she looks up to in the industry
Madonna - since she appeared on the scene when I was 7. She is always willing to push boundaries & get people questioning society norms; she is a fantastic performer (in terms of the energy & creativity she gives, not the actual singing voice); a brilliant business woman and has a real pulse on trends and creating trends.

Best piece of advice given
Just be yourself... that is enough.


If you haven't done so already, register here. Only a FEW spaces left! Guarantee yourself a seat to this inspiring workshop and make the step to finally start pursuing your artistic dreams more seriously.

Check out what an attendee had to say about my last workshop below: an eye-opening & life changing experience!

MONDAY MOTIVATION: Jada Pinkett's Message to the Dream Stealers

 

One of the most important aspects of being in a relationship is having someone who supports not only  the person that you are within the relationship, but also the person you are becoming or have always dreamed of being. If you have a dream of being an actress, a writer, singer, CEO of a Fortune 500 company, whatever the dream is that you hold in your heart, your significant other should not only support that but be actively engaged in your passion. If you are a writer, at the very minimum, your partner should read a few of your pieces. I received an amazing email from a man a month ago who wanted to inquire about my coaching packages and upcoming Millionaire Artist workshop for his girlfriend. In the email, he spoke about his belief in his girlfriend's talent as a designer despite her own doubt and that he wants to help her take the steps towards pursuing her vision. I loved this because this is what a partner should be!

Another issue that many people relate to is the feeling that one has to give up on their dreams once they settle down and have a family. While taking care of a family and pursuing a dream that may not initially offer stability can be overwhelming and scary, it is possible. Jada Pinkett Smith, a womyn who has successfully juggled a career and family, had a few things to say about this problem:

Dream stealers…
I think one of the worst atrocities we can commit on people we say we love is to steal their dreams through our overbearing expectations. Whether we steal dreams consciously or unconsciously, it renders the same effect…RESENTMENT.

Someone we say we love should NEVER be forced to choose having your love and support over having their dreams. There is a way to have BOTH.

The scary part is that most of the time we may be infringing on the dreams of others in order to fulfill a dream of our own. Partnership, parenting, marriage should reflect the desire to help each other build fulfilling lives for all parties involved. You’ve got ONE life ( that we know of ). LIVE IT…to the FULLEST!
BUILD on your dreams and on the dreams of those you love…TODAY!

Surround yourself with people that believe in and support your dreams and stay focused on the vision that you have for yourself. If not, you will find yourself living a life filled with doubt, regret and resentment. Think about what an awesome example that will be for your children as they will look up to "mommy / daddy" who made their dreams happen despite having to put food on the table and provide for X amount of kids. If you believe that it is possible, then your children will believe this as well for their future dreams.

I will be sharing a few stories of my own at The Millionaire Artist workshop this Saturday February 2nd. Secure your seat and register here: Millionaire Artist Eventbrite. Only a few spots left!

Do at least 1 thing today that focuses on and invests in your dreams. I dare you!

Happy Monday!

Ownership vs. Owned: Tyler Perry Drops Knowledge on the Cover of Men's Health Magazine

I was at a store a couple of days ago, passed the magazine stand and I literally did a double take at this month's Men's Health Magazine when I saw Tyler Perry on the cover. What caught my attention is that I would have never expected to see Tyler grinning from ear to ear on the cover of this type of magazine. Tyler has faced plenty of criticism in the past and present about the image that he represents as the infamous character 'Madea' in his series of movies and plays. He recently seems to be making moves towards expanding his brand outside of the franchise that has made him famous by branching outside of his comfort zone. He currently stars in the recently released action film, Alex Cross, as well as his soon to be developed partnership with Oprah's OWN network.

Along with his expansion into new territories, in the magazine he talks about continually sticking to his basic principles of investing in himself and into his craft. A lesson I think we should all take note of. In the magazine he says:

On owning his own things and investing in his career.
The thing about using other people’s money is they’re going to set the rules. So at the beginning I used my money, kept reinvesting in myself. Now I own all my content, as opposed to having someone else own it and me being ‘work for hire.’ That’s the difference between doing well and having generations of wealth to pass on to your children.” [source: NecoleBitchie.com]

This couldn't be more timely of a topic as I will be sharing tips and stories with attendees at The Artist Millionaire workshop this Saturday about building financial success from your passion. I have also worked hard to live by this philosophy in my own career as I think that it is important to keep funding your craft so that you not only improve and reach new levels but also so that you can ultimately have complete ownership of your work. A difficult thing for artists is often seeing your dreams and work pulled apart and altered by someone else's vision because they are funding it so they have the final say.

It's my own Artist Millionaire dream to produce more work, fund my own content and open up a theatre in Toronto to provide opportunities to emerging talents.

The lesson in all of this comes down to one simple word: ownership. Treat yourself and your craft as a business in which you need to constantly invest in, in order to build your brand and propel to the next level. It's easy to value the instant gratification of buying material possessions once some money starts rolling in from your work, but it is truly valuable to put money back into where it counts - you.

If you haven't done so already, please check this link to register for the workshop. Take this as an opportunity to begin investing in yourself and your craft! Space is almost full, take the step now!

Pursue Your Passion

I saw this poem on YouTube and I just want to encourage you to pursue your passions!  I think it's important that don't take our talents to the grave!  We only have one life and in most cases, one chance to get it right. But you will live a happier more fulfilled life if you pursue your passions.  It's not always the easiest road, there will be rejection at times - in fact this video gives countless examples of some of the most successful people in the world who simply pursued their passions and never gave up!


Today what do you chose?  To live your passion? or your excuse?