Combine your passions

This past week was chock full of things to talk about. Seriously, I’m exhausted. But not too exhausted to tell you all about it.

My brother was in town in order to squeeze in as many shows as humanly possible before the Tony Awards—which took place at the Beacon Theater last night. He managed to pack in four shows in three days, compared to my four shows in five. Foiled again! I met a ton of Broadway celebs back stage, at stage doors, and (of course) by hitting the sidewalk lottery jackpot when I ran into Neil Patrick Harris after Evita. (To answer your question, yes there is a photo. To answer your next question, yes it is a cute one.)

Aside from my bondage to Broadway, the week was eventful. Thursday, I snagged a spot at the Meredith table at the June luncheon for Advertising Women of New York (AWNY). AWNY is a networking organization focused on women in the fields of media and communications—not just advertising. Mary Beth West, Executive Vice President and Chief Category and Marketing Office of Kraft Foods Inc., delivered the address. She is the head honcho when it comes to brands like Oreo, Trident, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Wheat Thins, all those foods you’ve never heard of. A gifted speaker, Mary Beth discussed Kraft’s success (re-launching multiple brands and celebrating new ad campaigns) by comparing her business to music.

Naturally, I was smitten with her in a matter of seconds. Mary Beth went on to eloquently describe how her musical education playing classical violin and jazz saxophone helped her lead Kraft to become a trailblazing company. As in music, she believes it is important to mix a classical foundation with elements of jazz. Fusing these philosophies, she urged the forum of business folk in the room to let go and be spontaneous. The fusion of her passions for music and business served up a powerful message.

This got me thinking. The combination of passions created a meaningful message that spoke to a ballroom full of people on multiple levels. Perhaps a key to success in career and happiness in life is to mix passions on a consistent basis.

Another AWNY speaker, Wendy Clark of The Coca-Cola Company, begged her audience to “find what you love.” Perhaps merging multiple things you love will lead you to the thing you love most.

When I was in undergrad at Barnard, there was a void in my life because I had not been cast in any campus musical theater productions. Life without theater was just not the same. (In fact, if you ask NPH life should be more like theater.) My dad suggested that I go write for the Columbia Daily Spectator’s theater section so that at least I’d be able to see theater and maybe score a few free tickets. As many of you know, this foray into arts journalism changed my life. I discovered my passion for writing, but fell in love with it because I married it with my theater obsession.

This concept extends from finding the right career to discovering the right community.

Friday night, after Shabbat dinner, I headed to The Triad to perform as part of the Bikram Yoga NYC Cabaret. I was so excited to sing and this time around I felt like I truly picked a song that fit both my voice and the event. I sang “Somewhere That’s Green” from Little Shop of Horrors.

For those of you who don’t know the show, the character Audrey lives on Skid Row and works in the flower shop that houses the Man-Eating Plant that lends the horror to Little Shop of Horrors. She dates a sadistic dentist who beats her, and so she dreams of a place where life is pretty and simple. The grass is greener on the other side. (A bit morbid, but follow me.) I altered the lyrics a bit to tailor to the Bikram Yoga crowd by playing Audrey as if she fantasized about one day being united with Bikram Choudhury, even though he’s a bit of a yoga dictator.

The crowd really loved the humor in the start of the number and followed me as I turned a bit more heartfelt in this song about the girl who just dreams of a simple life. I felt amazing afterwards. Not only did the combination of humor and emotion totally work, but I love performing in these cabarets. I feel like a part of an incredibly unique community of yogi artists.

We’re all so used to seeing each other basically naked and dripping sweat in a yoga room, killing ourselves to do better and be better. Yet once a month, we get dolled up, throw back some drinks, and show off our hidden talents as hosted by our favorite drag queen Miss Chelsea Piers. (Amazing drag name, right?) I feel so at home in this group of people cheering me on. We’re all bonded because of our commitment to our yoga practice, but also because we enjoy spending a night cozied-up to the performing arts.

 Now, I’m working again to merge two things I love in the categories defined as “Social” and “Career.” In case it is not obvious, I love to write. I am also part of a fabulous organization known as the Urban Girl Squad, which functions as an event-based social networking organization for young professional women in NYC. I absolutely love the event offerings at UGS and I’ve come to meet intelligent and interesting women to connect with and broaden my network of New York friends. Well, UGS was looking for a writer to blog for them. That’s right, folks. I am taking the Internet by storm, one blog at a time, on route to finding what I love to do one combination of passions at a time.

In the meantime, I will continue to enjoy days in which my passions coincidentally collide, as it was yesterday with the French Open tennis Men’s Singles Championship by morning and the 66^th Annual Tony Awards by night. A national holiday in The Book of Ruthie.

Whether it's a coincidental discovery or an active search, I hope you find a way to integrate those multiple disciplines which ignite your passions to live a fulfilling life and land a prosperous career.