Cyndi Lauper, platform shoes, and what REALLY makes you powerful
Remember that Cher song - Do you bah-lieve in life after love?!?
I LOVED that song. And a whole bunch of other Cher songs, too (I mean, who hasn't belted out If I Could Turn Back Time while driving in their car?!?).
My college roommate also loved Cher, so we bought tickets to see her at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin in 1999. We walked into the stadium for the concert with every age possible, from the little girls that only knew Do You Believe to the 70-year-old Sonny and Cher fans.
Cher KILLED IT. She had a different costume for practically every song. Circus performers danced on stage. Trapeze artists flew across the ceiling. Lights blazed from every direction.
But Cher isn't what I remember most about the show.
That memory belongs to Cyndi Lauper, prancing around the stage in glittery platform shoes and purple hair singing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.
There were no trapeze artists. No fancy lighting. Just Cyndi, dancing and singing and completely, totally, 100% in her joy.
She OWNED that stage. Lightness and charisma emanated off of her. She was totally in her body, enjoying every single moment.
She simultaneously performed and didn't seem to care at all what the audience thought. She was just IN IT.
She was POWERFUL.
So powerful that I still remember the moment, over 20 years later.
Why am I telling you all of this?
Because Cyndi Lauper embodied a totally different kind of power than what we would traditionally define as powerful.
She was powerful in her joy. In her light. In her FREEDOM.
She was powerful because she was totally comfortable on that stage, reveling in her body and the strength of her voice.
She created a moment for all of us because SHE was so in the moment.
We so often believe the only way to make a difference is to put our heads down and work all the time.
There's no permission to be anything but "productive" 24/7. Everything has to be constructive.
But that's just a lie you've been told.
You are most powerful when you are in the moment. When you are fully in your body. When you are FREE and ALIVE.
When you've let go of perfect and are living YOUR TRUTH, right here, right now.
Do you want to dive in further on this? There's two things you can do:
Read my book, An Overachiever's Guide To Breaking The Rules: How To Let Go Of Perfect and Live Your Truth
Reconnect to yourself with these ten free journaling prompts
For now, give yourself permission to let loose a little (or a lot!). Follow your freedom. Follow your joy. Follow what makes you alive.
THIS is what makes you powerful.