Yesterday afternoon I went to see a live round table discussion with the comedic writers of The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Give them a round of applause! From their creative minds, they have brought you Kimmy, Titus, Lillian and the ever incomparable Jacqueline.

Kimmy: “You look like a million bucks!”
Jacqueline “I know you didn’t mean that to be hurtful…”

As I listened to the writers talk about their process, their drive to create, the hours they work, and how they generate ideas, I felt my vibration and energy rising.

During the discussion, I was particularly impressed by Tina Fey’s confidence, but also down to earthness (that’s a word, I checked). Her years of hard work and dedication have given her this ability to crack the best one liners I have ever heard, but also talk about the serious side of business, dedication, and the life of an ambitious creative.

Some Key Reminders of What Tina Fey has taught Us ALL about Being BADASS

1. Say YES, AND….. Is it weird that I feel like navigating your own business is pretty much the same as being in a really intense Improv Troupe? That’s my take anyway, we are always dealing with new situations, new territory, and new clients who yell out ideas for a sketch that they want. The best way for us to juggle the jungle of running our own business is to say YES, AND….For example, when I booked my first big destination wedding in London, I did not just stop there.

I said, YES, AND….in that trip I networked and built relationships and did styled shoots that got my name on the map. I made lunch appointments and dinner appointments and coffee appointments and did them all at the sites I wanted to see anyway. Wedding in London? Yes, and coffee date in Oxford. Yes, and networking in Dublin. Yes, and styled shoot with Pearl & Godiva in Cashel. Yes, and taking video footage in Paris. Yes, and…..you get the point. There is always a way to take an opportunity that has come your way and make it even greater than it is! You are the biggest factor in your business succeeding or failing. What you decide to contribute is key to these successes!

2. “When faced with sexism or ageism or lookism or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question: ‘Is this person in between me and what I want to do?’ If the answer is no, ignore it and move on. Your energy is better used doing your work and outpacing people that way. Then, when you’re in charge, don’t hire the people who were jerky to you.”

This quote is a wonderful reminder to not let yourself get distracted. Do not get distracted by things that you have no control over. If you think that a competitor is constantly undercutting you–claim responsibility over that thought. That thought is not helpful and that thought puts the blame and responsibility of a situation outside of your control factor. A better thought is, “I did not book that wedding because there is either something better coming to me, or I am not in alignment with my own worth at this point.” From there, you do the work to get into alignment and you start expecting better things to come to you on that date.

3. “Whatever the problem, be part of the solution. Don’t just sit around raising questions and pointing out obstacles.” I believe the easiest thing in the world is to sit around and complain. I do not know why it is so easy, just that it seems to be, generation after generation. What is harder, is taking positive action to be part of the solution. Your business is not bringing in revenue, how will you solve this? It does you no good to talk about this problem again and again–the greatest thing you can do is think of solutions every single day. And when you have run out of them on your own, you invest in the knowledge and wisdom of those who have done it before you and have them teach you. Learning, growth, and action are the keys of success.

The last little bit that I loved was when an audience member said, “Why are all the characters on the show just so darn weird?” To which she responded, “Because all people are weird.” So, from one weirdo to another, here is to a successful week of improv!