As a teacher I have a lot of students that look up to me. I once held a birthday party for a boy turning 6 at the BeatHunter HQ and when it came time to open gifts he turns to me, hands me a present, and says "Here! I want you to open this one!" Too shocked to think, I accepted the gift and started unwrapping it. "What is going on?..." I thought to myself.

As the family was getting ready to leave, I high-fived the birthday boy and said, "See ya! It was an honor to open up your gift, man!" Being a recent 6-year-old, he turned to me and unabashedly replied, "Yeah, you were honored!" With that, his embarrassed parents grabbed him by the hand and scurried out the door.

My first instinct was to think, "Wow kid. You're bold." Then it struck me: why shouldn't he be bold??? It was HIS birthday! He had all the right to open his own gifts for himself and not let anyone touch them. To give me a gift and allow me to open one WAS an honor!

If we catch a glimpse of where we actually stand in relation to others, we would not falsify our humility for the sake of social norms.

Try this at your next audition, performance, or social gathering: If someone says thank you for coming or compliments you in anyway, turn to them with big genuine smile and say, "You're welcome!" and nothing more. If you feel the need to qualify your reply, it might be because you don't really know your worth.

Practice at home and remind yourself that you deserve to say you're welcome.

It is an honor to know you.

Live In Motion,

-Joél Casanova