Share What You Love
Happy summer solstice, Friends! Fine, we’re a few days late, but we hope everyone is enjoying the longer, warmer nights as we gear up for July 4. We spent the weekend celebrating Jen’s birthday with a dance class and Cold Stone ice cream cake with family.
Food for Thought
A few weeks ago, Jen set up her first fundraiser: teaching a virtual dance class for family and friends to support underserved women and girls in San Francisco. On the donation site, she articulated a vision to build a multi-generational community of women helping girls achieve their potentials, using dance to develop faith, and pathways to economic opportunity. Combining faith, dance, and economics sounds perplexing at best and crazy (read: improbable) at worst, and for years in the business world, this dream made Jen feel like a square peg in a round hole. Despite her self-consciousness, she published her story, seizing the opportunity and risk to share more of her identity, in higher fidelity.
On Friday, Jen was overwhelmed by the number of people who showed up to dance class and contributed to the fundraiser. Friends from every life stage came together for planks and two-steps, pushing Jen’s vision farther than imagined. A little vulnerability led to a little experiment that created bigger outcomes.
It’s easy to feel alone when we’re striving for our dreams: no individual is the same, but there are more like-minded people than we might think. Sharing what you love can draw supporters who matter and advance your dreams in unexpected, remarkable ways. What’s your “crazy” idea, and how might you share it with others to get it going?
Shoutouts
HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who tuned into Jen’s dance class and contributed to her fundraiser! You raised more than $1700 and exceeded the target by over 70%— we’re grateful for your generosity, and we’re excited to see it create a positive impact!
Congratulations to Jen’s newlywed cousin, Katrina! She and her husband, Stephen, tied the knot yesterday, and we are thrilled for them to start their lives together!
We also wanted to shout out recurring newsletter guest star Joey, who recently shared what he loves (music) and kicked off a podcast called The Record Refresh. It explores albums he and his friend Chris think are worth listening to over and over again. Make sure to check it out—one of their recent episodes explores the Beatles’ classic album Abbey Road.
If you too are interested in sharing more of what you love publicly, we’d highly recommend reading Austin Kleon’s Show Your Work! It’s a practical guide to putting yourself and your ideas out there.
Better Together
If it’s been a hard week (or last couple of weeks for you), please feel encouraged to fill out our weekly connection card (anonymously, if you prefer) so we can keep you and your loved ones in our thoughts and prayers. We read every submission, and reach out to connect when it’s appropriate. Either way, you’ll be in our hearts.
Soundtrack
This feel-good tune is a toast to our newlyweds, Katrina and Stephen! Also, John Legend is a boss for being an ex-Boston Consulting Group consultant who quit his job to pursue his passion in music. #lifegoals
“Together Again” by Janet Jackson
This throwback says everything about our hopes for this COVID season. For those of you who tuned into Jen’s dance class, there’s no excuse not to keep practicing the combo! 😝 (Also, Jay hasn’t had a haircut in almost four months so his hair is starting to look like Janet’s in this video…)
For the full list of songs included in our newsletters, click here.
As always, please keep in touch! We’re so lucky to have seen so many of you in the months since we’ve returned, and we hope to keep seeing even more of you with each passing week. If you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area and are open to a socially distant hangout, just holler! And, don’t hesitate to shoot us emails, texts, chats, or video invitations—you’re all the best part of our days!
Love,
Jen & Jay