It may sound cliche but this trip was life changing and it was time.
When I mentioned to my family that I wanted to go to New York to attend Selena Soo’s event “Get Known, Get Clients” I felt some heavy guilt.
“You’re a mum that needs to look after the family”
I always dread telling my parents my plans even though I’m a grown woman. Sometimes I start feeling like that 8 year old child, being put in her place.
I often get the response of “Bahala na”, a Filipino term translated to English as
“Do what ever you want”,
“What ever”
or “Let’s see what happens.”
I hear this sentence a lot.
I heard it when I started to make singing my full time gig, I heard this when I held my One Voice concert at the Sydney Opera House, I heard this when I wanted to meet Oprah during the VIP event in Sydney.
My husband uses that term to make fun but there is a little truth to it…he always finishes up saying “Tina does what ever she wants anyway”…
He knows me too well …so do my parents… I love them for this unconditional support and love.
Luckily my son is at the age where he can look after himself and is very independent, plus he was looking forward to spending time with my parents because he gets to eat Lola’s home made Chicken nuggets and chips.
There were so many reasons why I wanted to take this trip and I knew that it was the right choice.
I felt it in my heart.
It was a choice not only for my soul and to level up my game, but also to teach and show Christian that it’s important to create opportunities for himself and not wait for people to hand it to him.
So here are the top 6 things I learnt from my New York Trip!
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People come into our lives for a reason
I’m so glad to have made connection with thought leaders, game changers and people working everyday to make this world a better place.
Everyone has a story and I gravitated to so many inspiring minds. It was wonderful to connect with them as we spent 6 months together (online, working on the program) to bring our businesses to a whole new level. I enjoyed getting to see their growth.
Take Tay and Val, film-makers and TED speakers, who travelled the world to collect people’s dreams. They were kind enough to share their story on my podcast. They now hold workshops to help people find their dreams and follow their souls calling.
Caitlin Padgett is a coach who helps successful woman change their relationship with Alcohol. She too was kind enough to share her story on the podcast and in turn giving game-changing tips to eliminate or cut down alcohol all together. As we speak she is on USA morning TV making a difference and helping people who are not on the spectrum of being alcoholic but feel sometimes alcohol can lead them to make the wrong moves. I asked her to be on the podcast to help musicians who may have some of these issues with Alcohol.
And how could I not forget my Aussie buddies!
Jaime Lee Fraser is a financial advisor, with kids under the age of 3 and building a 6-figure business, she is such and inspiration to me. So down to earth, driven and giving. Jaime Lee dived into this business of finance because as a young child, Jamie’s father passed away leaving the family in debt. She was able to get her family out of debt as a young woman.
Fiorella Kis Major has just come back from Bali where she held a mindfulness retreat. She is an incredible guide when it comes to meditation.
I was able to meet some friends from the School of Greatness community which was created by Lewis Howes. Danceprenuer Emeroy, Elaine from Neon Owl, Sarah (inventor of the set ready garment bags) and Gina who was kind enough to treat me to Shake Shack. It was incredible to meet them in person.
2. Stars do align
The day I booked my flight to New York a student came into her lesson wearing an “I love New York” Jumper. I saw the signs everywhere…that same night my husband was dreaming of me singing “New York, New York” on stage. First thing I asked him was how were you feeling in the dream. He said he was happy to see me.
I see these as good signs…
After dropping me off at the airport , Rob had sent me this message.
What are the changes of Christian flicking through the radio channels and stumbling across my original song about him called “Tomorrow, it’ll be a better day” … What makes it funny is that they were under the tunnel when it happened (which gets bad reception the best of time)…what are the chances.
Empty seats was an added bonus – every flight I took, had an empty seat next to me, on the way home I had all three seats to myself.
I know someone up there was looking after me for sure.
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Build genuine relationships
One of Selena Soos teachings is to build relationships. She is so adamant that we put our best foot forward, make the honest and genuine connections and don’t expect things in return. Most of all be thankful with kind gestures and gifts when someone goes out of their way to help you.
Selena is an incredible teacher, connecting people is her super power.
I would have to say that her course has been one of my favourite online course to date. She takes the time to look after each student and is very consistent and the modules are second to none. Plus she attracts the incredible experts and business owners.
What stood out to me was how people in New York are so happy to give you their connections. Something that we don’t often see here in Sydney, I’m not sure if it’s because the music industry is so small here.
Networking and making friends came naturally to my friend Veronica Alonzo, who was there for a 6 month Broadway dance course. She was also on my podcast. She mentioned that she always carried her CV in her bag just incase she would bump into someone who could help her get into a Broadway show. So after all her hard work and hustle, she now has landed a US agent and auditioned for Hamlet. Guess who is now signing a Broadway show contract! So proud!
Veronica, Jamie and I ate at my dream Filipino restaurant, Jeepney. There we met my Filipino Entrepreneur crush Nicole Ponseca! At 38, she has 2 Filipino restaurants where she mentioned the Broadway Barkadas (Filipino street slang meaning a group of friends or a gang of youths) hang out after their Broadway shows. I discovered Jeepney and her work via instagram. Meeting her has always been on my bucket list as I admire her dedication to bring the Filipino cuisine and culture into the mainstream.
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Notice the Full circle moments
There were a few full circle moments – one that stood out was meeting West End star (Miss Saigon) and singer, Roanne Monte. Roannes’ mother is very active in the Filipino community and she has helped many young Filipino singers get a start in the industry. Roanne now has a thriving business in New York and only sings for special events.
What struck me was that we only met that day and what was supposed to be a quick meet up and lunch lead into the night. We talked about her experience as a child performer and being successful on Star Search (a reality TV talent show in the 90s). The blessings and hardships of being in the modelling and music industry at a young age. A fellow introvert, she had some wonderful stories to tell and I respect her so much after getting to know her and the reasons she decided in the direction she has. She was so humble and down to earth and I absolutely love her beautiful soul.
Over the next few days I had some more God sent connections.
On the day I visited the 9/11 memorial I received a surprise message from my first cousin letting me know that he was there for work.It was great to see him; Manong Yen has always been a support since day 1. Encouraging me to not dampen my light.
That same day, I was able to meet another incredible mentor Rachel Hanfling who is an Emmy award nominated producer and worked for the Oprah Winfrey show. I absolutely cherish the time she took the time to get to know my story, follow-up with me and see how things are going with my students and also my Oprah experience.
That night I was able to watch my dear friend Pam Picart’s cousin at Birdland. Sean Maclaughlin was incredible where he brought the audience to tears as he sung a few songs from Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens: A Benefit Concert with Bill Russell & Friends.
A few days later, I caught “Beautiful” a musical about Carole King…I cried during the standing ovation because I just couldn’t believe how special it was to be there. The cast was stunning and of course it came full circle because one of my go to songs during my start in talent quests, was her hit song “I feel the earth move”.
And boy did I feel the wonders of the universe.
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Wrong direction? Pivot
I did catch a few wrong trains and got off the wrong stops. Just like in life and business don’t be afraid to ask for help or direction.
If you know you are on the wrong train and have a strong gut feeling, listen and hop off that train and find the right one to take you to the right destination.
It’s ok if we don’t know everything. It’s ok to surround yourself with people who know more than you. In fact hang around people who are successful. Feed off that drive. Surrounding yourself with people who bring you down to earth yet lift you when you need it.
Don’t compare yourself with others, as this is where you need to be at in the present time.
Trust and go with the flow.
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Be grateful
This photo says it all; my photographer friend Tina Doshi captured it. Tina also kindly sponsored my New York special podcast. Tina is incredibly giving and talented. I’m grateful she captured the moment I looked up and breathed in the possibilities.
I am so grateful for the experiences, friendships, and connections.
I can’t thank Selena enough for creating this event.
Without this event I would have not made these connections and flourished within my being.
If you are a coach, consultant or expert who wants to Get known and get clients (not only in your community but on the world scale) then I encourage you to check out this course.
Selena has the cart open for GKGC but it closes this weekend.
If you want to learn more about it follow this link. Give her an email if you would like to connect with her and ask her questions! hello [at] s2-groupe [dot] com
Watch the Trailer here
This is a life-changing course.
Tell me what is your soul calling you to do? If this speaks to you please tell me your thoughts in the comments below. I would love for you to like and share this post with someone who need to hear this.
Musically yours Tina
