Harlem Shake Original

Why I Love The Harlem Shake

March 11, 2013Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

 “Dance as though no one is watching you. Love as though you have never been hurt before. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth.”

Souza

 Harlem Shake Original

Here is the audio version of this post if you just want to listen. You’re welcome.

Why I Love The Harlem Shake

Dance Like Nobody Is Watching
I love the Harlem Shake. I just cannot get enough. All of them, the good, bad and the ugly. Why? Because it speaks to something that I believe is so important in today’s world; people dancing like nobody is watching.

There is so much we can learn from this latest YouTube craze. That people love watching others live with abandon. How much we all crave fun, play and creativity. How its many times the simplest of things that can have the most impact and resonate with a global audience on the web.

As I watch many people begin to bash this craze, I have thought a lot about why that would be? What could possibly be wrong with people having fun and sharing it with the world? Aren’t we supposed to live out loud. Share our art. Dance like nobody is watching?

Here is one of my fave salon versions from a good friend, amazing hairdresser and industry leader Fernando Romero.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz69k6UL09M

What We Can Learn
When I see high school students get suspended from school for creating their own version of the Harlem Shake, it takes me back to my school days. And they were not pretty. I struggled with topics such as math, history, English, well OK, all of them. I was bored out of my mind, and it reflected in my grades. I was suspended myself two times before I reached the 7th grade.

What I saw in those suspended high school students was future artists, producers, directors, choreographers, and clothing stylists. I saw future leaders, managers, entrepreneurs. I saw a bunch of fearless young people having fun, and learning about themselves in the process. What could possibly be wrong with that?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Please share them in the comments or with me, I’m listening.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

Make Good Art

October 17, 2012Nina KovnerGROW

“Now go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes, break rules, leave the world more interesting for you being here, make good art.“

Neil Gaiman


Neil Gaiman Addresses the University of the Arts Class of 2012 from The University of the Arts (Phl) on Vimeo.

If you are an artist, pursuing a creative life, an entrepreneur, a hairdresser just starting out or are unsure of what’s next in your pursuit of making good art, you MUST take 19 minutes and 55 seconds to watch this video.  It may be one of the best investments you make in yourself & your career.

Neil Gaiman’s inspirational and heart-warming message to the 2012 graduating class at the University of the Arts tells a story of what it means to live a creative life and the importance of staying committed to making good art.

In the new world of the social + digital web, making and sharing your art is more possible than ever before.  YouTube, Blogs, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook and the other social platforms we play on allow you and your art to become more discoverable than ever before.

So what are you waiting for? Today is the day to embark on your journey to make good art and share it with the world. Awesome.

If you are serious about learning how to share your art on social + digital platforms, we offer one-on-one coaching and mentoring to help you become more discoverable on the web.  Click here to learn more about our program.  We look forward to helping you live your dream.

(shared with LOVE from your passionistas Nina + Gordon)

PS: We discovered this awesome video on a super cool blog called The Story of Telling, thank you to them for sharing this incredible piece of inspiration.