In improv, we practice saying, “yes” – a lot. As humans we are conditioned to find all the reasons why something won’t work. We look for excuses to shut down, to predict failure, to use “no” as a protective shield. In improv, the “yes” moves things forward on stage. Yes can also be used to move things forwared on life’s stage. Imagine if this were the norm. What might we create as a society?
Those three letters have transformational powers — and I’m not the only one who has been impacted by the power of “yes!”…
“Saying ‘yes’ allowed me to challenge myself in my career and succeed at things that I never thought I was capable of handling.”
~ Claudine, Malvern, PA
*****
“I said ‘yes’ to improv classes, not to get on stage, but because I like the philosophy behind it. I like being placed in uncomfortable situations—it has helped me get a deeper understanding of who I am.”
~ Alexandra, San Juan, PR
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“Saying ‘yes’ has helped me to be more open to possibilities. Where I sometimes feel the urge to say no, I’ll stop in my head and say, ‘what happens if I say yes?’ At the end of the day, I’m not dead, so it couldn’t have been that awful. It also means people aren’t apprehensive about asking me things because I’m not always saying ‘no.’”
~ Sean, San Bruno, CA
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“I almost quit improv during my first class about seven or eight years ago when my boyfriend at the time and I broke up, but when I was asked if I was going to take the next semester, I said ‘yes,’ and my whole life has changed for the very best!”
~ Michelle, Royal Oak, MI
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“‘Yes’ has given me the opportunity to see the world, follow my heart, have a career that I love and support my children in their own dreams.”
– Mary, Philadelphia, PA
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“Saying ‘yes’ liberated me from corporate America so I could coach and facilitate full time. Even on hard days, I say ‘yes’ to my mission to help others and to the entrepreneurial life I’m living now.”
– Jenny, Winsted, CT
Even celebrities cite “yes” as a life changing word:
“‘Say yes, and you’ll figure it out afterward’ has helped me to be more adventurous. It has definitely helped me be less afraid.”
~ Tina Fey
*****
“Find a way to say ‘yes’ to things. Say ‘yes’ to invitations to a new country, say ‘yes’ to meet new friends, say ‘yes’ to learn something new. Yes is how you get your first job, and your next job, and your spouse, and even your kids. Even if it’s a bit edgy, a bit out of your comfort zone, saying yes means that you will do something new, meet someone new, and make a difference. Yes lets you stand out in a crowd, be the optimist, see the glass full, be the one everyone comes to. Yes is what keeps us all young.”
~ Eric Schmidt
*****
“Life is a helluva lot more fun if you say ‘yes’ rather than no.”
~ Richard Branson
So go ahead and add a little “yes” to your own life — you never know what one small “yes” might lead to.
-Amy Angelilli, Owner + Ringleader, Third Space Improv
