Today in my FB group, “30 Days to Lovin’ the Skin You’re In” I was having a conversation with several women on the board asking them where they find inspiration when they’re feeling down. Shirley likes to watch videos that remind her of her faith. I shared that I also watch inspirational videos, and Jewel is an artist who throws herself into her art and enjoys listening to music. That got me thinking about how powerful music can be to inspire us to change. Here’s my story of a very special song entitled, “What Would I Do Today If I Were Brave?” Thanks to Jana Stanfield and her beautiful brave song, it changed my life.
Jana Stanfield: “Andrea, You Are A Powerful Speaker”
Back in 2004 I first met Jana. Jana Stanfield is a famous motivational speaker and singer. She does keynote concerts sharing her story through her music. You may have seen or heard her sing on Oprah, Entertainment Tonight, 20/20, or any other big news show. She’s the perfect mix of humor, passion and sincerity. I met Jana at Jack Canfield’s Living Your Highest Vision Self-Esteem seminar in Las Vegas. I fell in love with Jana’s music from the first moment I heard it. It was so inspiring and moving. Jana wove her music throughout the 8 day seminar and it made a major positive impact on me. I ‘d like to tell you a story.
On the last day of the seminar, we all broke up into groups and presented our stories to each other. Jana and I were in the same group. After all the presentations were finished, Jana came up to me with tears in her eyes, took me by the hands and told me, “You are a powerful speaker.” Nana would be so proud of you and you are the perfect person to create The Nana Cares Non Profit. and help so many abused women and kids. Her words left a powerful impact on me. In NLP, that is called an auditory anchor.
“What Would I Do Today… If I Were Brave?”
During that whole week of the program activities, Jana had inspired the group with her story and her music. She is a powerful motivational speaker who shares her message through her music. It’s incredibly inspiring and will reach down to your core. I loved all of her songs but there was one particular song that deeply moved me. The song is called, “What Would I Do Today If I Were Brave.” Since I was so inspired by that song, I decided to purchase her package of CD’s so that I could enjoy them at home and the next day while on vacation.
On the day following the seminar, I was in California with the family. Eager to enjoy a morning jog, I put Jana’s Brave Faith CD into my walkman. As I began to warm up, I strolled leisurely down the street, listening to the music, just feeling very relaxed and ready to enjoy this time to myself. As the music played, I began to experience different physical sensations, like feeling warm and tingly all over. Strong feelings began to churn inside of me. as my mind flashed on images of people I met at the seminar. As I listened to the song, “What Would I Do Today If I Were Brave” I visualized seeing myself at the seminar, smiling, dancing, singing with the group. Suddenly my brain flashed on an image of Jana at the end of the presentation. I saw a replay of when she came up to me and talked to me. I could see her clear blue eyes, just like my Nana’s, I remember being mesmerized by her eyes. They were so much like my precious Nana’s, filled with passion, sincerity and love. I remember feeling so safe in her presence, just like when I was with Nana.
In my head, “I could actually feel her picking up my hands and cradling them in hers. I felt warm, safe. I heard the music pour from my headphones as I remembered the look in Jana’s eyes as she spoke to me after my presentation. I started to hum quietly to the music.
Then I heard her speak in my head. I kept hearing her words, Andrea,”You are a Powerful speaker.” As I listened to the words of the song, I walked past orange blossom trees that lined the streets, smelling them, filled with images of the memories flooding my brain and the passion in my heart felt during my presentation, I began to sing the words to the song softly.
Brave Steps To A Primal Opening
The question flooded my brain. What would I do today… if I were brave? I became a little more brave and sang a little bit louder. I picked up the pace of my walking as I got more excited, I sang even louder and with more intention. People were starting to notice. I was feeling more and more passionate, my brain flooded with images of me speaking to audiences of hundreds of women from above a stage platform. Something primal opened up in me. Within moments, I realized that I was walking down the street, singing at the top of my lungs, smiling and connecting with people, looking directly into their eyes, reaching their souls. The connection that I felt was incredible. There was a love and passion that I felt that was indescribable. It was at that moment that I knew that I had to pursue this dream, this vision. I had a message for the women of the world and a duty to share that message.
With tears of joy running down my cheeks, continuing to sing, I had a plan. As I raced back to the hotel, I knew that I had to contact Jana and ask her to mentor me. I wanted to be a motivational speaker and share my story with women, teaching them the things that helped me to change my life. It was time for me to step up and be the voice.
Over the course of the next year being mentored by Jana and having her music to cut a brave path for my coaching, I made amazing changes by using Jana’s song to boost my confidence. Many people don’t know this about me, but I used to be a very shy, introverted person before I met Jana and heard “Brave.” After listening to the song, I realized that I could use the song to push me a little more each day to become the person and coach I wanted to become. I would use her song every day to push me to take action on big and little things that stretched the limits of my beliefs.
On a personal note, it gave me the confidence to step into my power in some very big ways. After years of being underpaid and overworked running the family business, I used Brave to give me the courage to demand the respect and money I deserved.
As a speaker, I listen to Brave before giving presentations to boost my confidence and put me in the zone, passionate and ready to speak. When I notice that I’m procrastinating on a task or avoiding making phone calls for fear of rejection, I listen to Brave and by the time the song is over, I’m dialing the phone. From having tough conversations with difficult people to writing and finishing my book, Jana’s song, “What Would I Do Today If I Were Brave” has changed and continues to transform my life. My heartfelt gratitude and love goes to Jana for her precious gift of this beautiful song.
It was actually Jana’s song, “Brave” that inspired the original name for my company, “Brave People International. Then later when I decided to coach women I changed the name to The Juicy Woman to give women a vision of how they could feel.
So ask yourself, “What Would You Do Today If You Were Brave?”
Click below to listen to Jana doing a TEDx talk at NASA performing her song,
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Andrea Amador, Jana Stanfield, brave, What would I do today if I were brave, music, inspirational music, song, motivation, concerts, keynote concerts, janastanfield.com,
Jana Stanfield is a famous motivational speaker and singer. She does keynote concerts sharing her story through her music. You may have seen or heard her sing on Oprah, Entertainment Tonight, 20/20, or any other big news show. She’s the perfect mix of humor, passion and sincerity. I met Jana at Jack Canfield’s Living Your Highest Vision Self-Esteem seminar in Las Vegas. I fell in love with Jana’s music from the first moment I heard it. It was so inspiring and moving. Her beautiful brave song changed my life.