A lesson I wasn’t expecting to learn

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been talking a lot about AI.

And for good reason.

I genuinely believe it’s one of the biggest shifts happening in business today, and if you haven’t already signed up for AI Shift Live on August 14th, I really hope you’ll consider joining us.

But…

For today’s email, I wanted to talk about something completely different.

As you may know, I recently spent five days in New York attending a Broadway BootCamp. I originally signed up because I love musical theatre, but I came home with so much more than better singing or acting techniques.

As I reflected on the experience, I realized there were some surprisingly powerful life lessons tucked away in that week.

So over the next few weeks, I thought I’d share a few of them with you.

Some made me laugh.

Some challenged me.

And a couple genuinely changed the way I think.

So let’s start with the first one…

The things I’ve never done before.

One of the biggest surprises of the week wasn’t learning choreography or singing with a live pianist.

It was realizing there was something I’d never actually done before.

Now, this might surprise you.

I’ve spoken on stages in front of thousands of people.

I’ve taught workshops.

I’ve emceed events.

I’ve sung in choirs.

But until that week…

I’d never sung a solo in front of a room full of strangers.

The moment I realized that, everything suddenly made sense.

That’s why I was nervous.

One of the instructors said something on the very first day that completely changed how I approached the rest of the week.

They said, “The stakes are incredibly low.”

Nobody was auditioning.

Nobody was trying to earn a role on Broadway.

Nobody was there to prove they belonged.

We were all there for exactly the same reason—to learn, to grow, and to have some fun.

That one thought completely changed my mindset.

Instead of worrying about whether I’d be good enough, I decided I was simply going to experience everything.

If there was an opportunity to volunteer…

I’d raise my hand.

If there was something that made me uncomfortable…

I’d do it anyway.

Not because I knew I’d be good at it.

But because I’d never done it before.

Looking back, I think that’s where so much growth actually happens.

Not when we’re doing the things we’ve already mastered…

But when we’re willing to become beginners again.

So let me leave you with the same question I’ve been asking myself ever since I got home:

What haven’t you done simply because you’ve never given yourself permission to try?

Sometimes the only thing standing between who we are today and who we could become… is one thing we’ve never done before.

Next week, I’ll share a moment from Broadway that completely caught me off guard—and why receiving one simple compliment turned out to be much harder than I expected.

Until then,

Proactive, Productive, and Profitable,
Dino