An Interview With Sara Connell
I love expressing gratitude! It’s such a simple, easy thing to do — say “thank you” in person or via a note — but it makes a world of difference in the way people feel appreciated and valued. I once had a boss who thanked me every single day at work, and that has stuck with me about the way I want others to feel around me, too.
Beginnings are a Genesis. That means that not only are they a start, but they are also the origin of all that follows. This means that the way we start something, the way we start our day, for example, creates a trajectory for all that follows. How do highly successful leaders start their day in a way that creates a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day? How do you create habits that make these routines permanent? How do you get inspired to develop the discipline necessary for such a lifestyle? In this new series, called Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People, we are talking to successful leaders who can share the morning routines and habits that have helped them to achieve success.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Lindsey Dinneen.
Lindsey is an entrepreneur, creator, learner, and dancer. She founded and is the Artistic Director of the professional dance company, VidaDance, is a Sales & Marketing Specialist for a contract medical device manufacturer, she creates online dance and wellness courses for Life, But Better, and she founded and owned VidaDance Studio for six years. She is passionate about helping women and men live their most healthy, successful, empowered, and inspired lives.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
As a middle child, I was used to not being in the spotlight and was quite shy growing up. It took a long time to come out of my shell and embrace who I was and realize who I could be. I didn’t consider myself to be particularly smart, but I knew I had a good work ethic and could accomplish anything I set my mind to if I worked hard enough. I was the kid who played “office” in my free time. One Christmas, my family bought me a bunch of office supplies, and I was in heaven. I’ve been “managing a business” for as long as I can remember. When I was a little older, I started playing “dance studio owner,” creating registration forms, planning class schedules, and teaching my dolls how to dance. It would come as no surprise to anyone who knew me back then that I would one day own my own dance studio and professional dance company, and combine my love of business and dance.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
My mom went to see “The Nutcracker Ballet” while pregnant with me, and I credit that early introduction to the career I would eventually lead. When I was four, Mom showed me a video of “The Nutcracker,” and I fell in love with ballet — for the pretty costumes, of course! I took my first ballet course shortly after, and I’ve been hooked ever since. In high school, when deciding what to study in college, I came to the realization that dance would always need to be a part of my life. My interest in sales and marketing ties into my interest in business, which I’d also pursued in college and after through continuing education courses, and in addition to my own professional dance journey, I’ve simultaneously held positions in sales and marketing throughout my career.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Was there a particular person who you feel gave you the most help or encouragement to be who you are today? Can you share a story about that?
Ever since I met him, my now-husband, Kevin, has been my biggest supporter. He’s always been there to cheer me on, to push me to do and be more than I believed I could do or be, and I wouldn’t be where I am in my career without his support. When I was considering opening the dance studio, I told Kevin that me becoming an entrepreneur would involve him too out of necessity and teasingly promised him “terrible pay and horrible hours,” something that definitely happened. Still, he was the one who researched how to build a sprung dance floor for the studio, and we built it together. He’s the one who filled in for a piece last-minute when a dancer dropped out in my very first professional dance company production. He’s the one who ran lights and sound for studio recitals. He’s the absolute best and I’m so thankful for him!
Can you share the funniest or most interesting mistake that occurred to you in the course of your career? What lesson or take away did you learn from that?
After spending several weeks building the sprung dance floor, we were ready to host our Grand Opening open house event. We had invited hundreds of people to attend, prepared lots of food, and ensured the studio was looking its shiniest. The morning of the event, I arrived a few minutes before Kevin did, since he was picking up bags of ice. The studio flooring (made from a laminate material) which had been perfectly laid the night before had somehow developed large bubbles. I stood there in disbelief, staring at the ruined floor. When Kevin came in, he quickly assessed the situation and placed the bags of ice on the bubbles, discovering that the heat from the morning sunlight had overheated the flooring, causing the bubbles. With that unexpected disaster behind us, we finished setting up the goodies and were ready for a successful grand opening. We waited all day — and only one family friend stopped by to say hello. It was the most Un-Grand Grand Opening imaginable. We learned two important things that day. One, make sure to test your handiwork way before it needs to be used. Two, it’s a myth that “if you build it, they will come.” More marketing and outreach would have been needed to make that event a success. Even though that one event was a failure, we still chuckle about that day years later.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Respect. I’ve lived by the Golden Rule of treating others the way you wish to be treated. I highly value the people I lead, and ensure that everyone is treated respectfully by me as well as by their peers. Treating people fairly and kindly, while helping them see and support their own potential to grow and elevate, is key in my interpersonal and professional relationships.
- Gratitude. I love expressing gratitude! It’s such a simple, easy thing to do — say “thank you” in person or via a note — but it makes a world of difference in the way people feel appreciated and valued. I once had a boss who thanked me every single day at work, and that has stuck with me about the way I want others to feel around me, too.
- Efficient. This is a big one to me — it is incredibly important to lead efficiently. Efficiency with people, time, and space allows for greater productivity, satisfaction, and results. I grew up with a mom who taught me there is always something that can be accomplished in the five minutes of waiting in between activities, and with a dad who never failed to find the best deals and tools to improve processes. Those lessons allowed me to hone my skills to be an effective, efficient leader.
I’m an author and I believe that books have the power to change lives. Do you have a book in your life that impacted you and inspired you to be an effective leader? Can you share a story?
There are so many great books out there on leadership and it’s hard to pick a favorite! One that I recently read that was very inspiring was “On Purpose Leadership: Master the Art of Leading Yourself to Inspire & Impact Others” by Dominick Quartuccio. I’ve read a lot of books on leadership and was not convinced I’d learn anything new from this one, but I was wrong! Dominick addresses leadership from a very different approach of learning to lead yourself first, and how that impacts every other area of your life and then how you lead others. I’d highly recommend the book!
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I’m in an interesting stage of my career, where I’m currently working full-time for a company while also continuing to develop dance and wellness courses on the side. I’ve created ten courses so far, and have plans to continue developing more content to help people feel healthy, inspired, and confident while learning new skills in dance, mindset, and fitness.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview. This will be intuitive to you but it will be helpful to spell this out directly. Can you help explain to our readers why it is important to have a consistent morning routine?
Having a consistent morning routine is a surefire way to set your day up for success. By developing a routine that works for you, you’ll start your days feeling accomplished, energized, and positive. It’s easy to wake up to an alarm, hit snooze, and then reach for your phone first when you finally do get up. That can quickly set the stage for feelings of negativity if the news is bothersome or you receive an unexpected message. By starting your morning with intentionality, you’re able to mold your day in a way that sets the stage for being highly productive and having a better attitude along the way.
Can you please share your optimal morning routine that can create a positive trajectory for a successful, effective, productive, and efficient day. If you can, please share some stories or examples.
First, I don’t believe that there is one optimal morning routine that works for everyone. Some people love exercising first thing, while others prefer a mid-day or evening workout. Some people feel inspired by reading a book to start the day, while others would find it difficult to stay awake and focus on the pages. Here’s what’s worked well for me. I like to do things that engage my mind, body, and soul to start my day. When I first wake up, I saw daily affirmations to myself with my eyes closed and my body still at rest, followed by a quick prayer of gratitude. I then like to play a daily brain challenge game, such as Wordle. Solving a puzzle first thing always gives me a sense of accomplishment, plus it’s fun and puts me in a good mood. I then spend 15–20 minutes on Duolingo learning Spanish. After that, I get out of bed, drink some lemon water, make black tea, and take a shower. While getting ready, I listen to an audiobook. I like to go on walks earlier in the day, or if the weather isn’t good, I watch a free YouTube video and follow along to a workout. I don’t have hard and fast rules for myself. I like to incorporate everything I’ve mentioned, but some days that just isn’t realistic, so I give myself grace to do as much of that routine as possible every day.
Speaking in general, what is the best way to develop good habits? Conversely, how can one stop bad habits?
Developing good habits takes time and intentionality, as does breaking bad habits. Giving yourself grace in the process is absolutely key. When wanting to set good habits, start small. If you want to drink more water, start by adding one additional glass of water each day. Once that feels normal, up the amount. Conversely, if you’re trying to lessen your consumption of alcoholic beverages, start by decreasing by one drink per day (or taking one day off altogether per week). When you slip up, extend yourself grace to start again the next day. If it’s helpful, use a journal or calendar to track when you’ve successfully completed the good habit (or did not do the bad habit) as a visual representation of your progress.
Doing something consistently “day in and day out” can be hard. Where did you get your motivation from? What do you use to motivate you now?
I agree, daily habits can be really hard to develop and maintain! That’s why I believe it’s imperative to find what works for you. A lot of gurus will tell you that you must do very specific things every day in order to develop the “right” morning routine. But what matters is that you find things that engage your mind, body, and soul in ways that feel right to you. My motivation comes from the way I know I’ll feel when I’ve completed my morning routine — accomplished, at peace, and in a good mood.
What other resources would you suggest to our readers?
For great advice on morning routines, I recommend “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod. For developing good habits while quitting bad habits, I recommend “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. If you’re looking for a unique wellness and mindset morning routine to follow, please feel free to check out my course, “21-Day Mindset Detox Challenge,” incorporating stretching, mindfulness, and inspiration to start your day.
Ok, we are nearly done. You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good for the greatest number of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
After watching several documentaries and reading books on the massive positive health and environmental impacts of adopting a plant-based diet, I became convinced that this kind of eating is right for me so that I can achieve my goals of being both healthy and environmentally conscious. I would love to see a movement towards people learning about the benefits of plant-based diets for themselves and for the world, and just giving it a try to see how it affects their mood, energy, and well-being — let alone what it does to help save the planet!
We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them 🙂
I would love to meet Jessica Alba of The Honest Company because I love the company she’s developed to provide transparent, organic, quality wellness products for everyone. I’d also love to meet Howard Schultz of Starbucks because I’m so inspired by his story and business success (and I love Starbucks)!
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can follow my work at www.lifebutbetter.org, where you’ll find my blog, recipes, links to my online dance and wellness courses, and pictures of some of the whimsical artwork I’ve created. You’re also always welcome to email me at lindseydinneenofficial@gmail.com.
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success.
Lindsey Dinneen Of Life, But Better On The Morning Routines and Habits Of Highly Successful People was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.