We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jocelyn Mackenzie. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jocelyn below.
Hi Jocelyn, we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
At 41, I am still developing my confidence and self-esteem. But over the years my experience has shown me that confidence IS self-esteem. I feel the most self-esteem when I am taking esteemable actions, such as engaging in my creativity, tending to my home, being a good friend, taking care of others. Doing these things makes me feel good about myself, which results in a feeling of confidence that my actions are aligned with my values. Then, with that feeling, I can walk into my creative career world assured that I’m already in the right place. Confidence isn’t about “fake it til you make it” or pretending that other people’s opinions don’t affect me, but a deep alignment I feel when my behavior reflects my values.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I am a Brooklyn-based musician, maker, and medium. A hyper-creative, multi-passionate artist, I am a singer, songwriter, songwriting coach, theater maker, fiber artist, art director, makeup artist, stylist, music video producer, intuitive, and psychic medium. Having so many creative outlets and passions has allowed me to live a really rich, abundant, exciting, interesting life, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world.
The most sacred thing to me about all of my work is the way each of my passions interacts with and informs one another. There are no two things on that list that don’t impact the others in some way. All of my creative processes are integrated into the core of my being, and I look forward to adding to that list as I get older and continue my career.
Currently, I am offering psychic mediumship readings online, one on one and for groups, which can be booked through my website. I am also in the process of writing several musicals, and working on releasing a new live album on Righteous Babe Records this summer.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1. Be awesome to work with. They say that people don’t remember what you say or what you do, but they do remember how you made them feel. No matter what, I strive to be a supportive, fun, and eager collaborator, whether I’m working one on one with someone during mediumship session or writing a song for a client. At the end of the day, people want to work with their friends and people who make them feel good, so it’s rewarding for everyone to be a generous collaborator.
2. Be irreplaceable. Only you can do what you do. Utilize your many passions to support each other. This isn’t about confidence, it’s just the truth that your skills are valuable. So let’s say, if you want to make music but need a money job to keep your bills paid (which I currently have and there is no shame in!), be so good at your day job that they’ll be happy to send you off when you finally do go on tour, and will be eagerly awaiting you when you get back. Integrating and utilizing your other passions can help support you in the one you wish to focus on. Anyone can work at Starbucks to pay the bills, but at Starbucks, you’re replaceable – there’s no job for you there when you get back from tour. Early in my touring music career, I monetized my passion for knitting by becoming a sample knitter for a yarn company. It was a job I could do in the tour van to earn money on the road, and the hours were flexible. Turns out there aren’t a lot of sample knitters out there, and I was good at it, and so I became an irreplaceable asset to the company to the point that they became very supportive of my music career. You don’t have to choose one passion over the other, just give them each their turn to support you so that you don’t have to settle for an income stream that can replace you in a heartbeat.
3. Don’t stop. If you feel like quitting, you probably just need a break. “Don’t stop” doesn’t mean grinding relentlessly to no end, it just means that we usually have to pace ourselves when it comes to reaching our goals and remind ourselves of the big picture so that we can realign ourselves with our purpose. If you have a dream, it’s because that dream wants and needs you to bring it to life as much as you need it to inspire you. So when you feel like stopping, take a break. I have a weekly ritual of zooming out, looking at all of my projects, asking myself why I want to do them, and taking anything off the list that is not aligned with my bandwidth or my values. Sometimes things need to come off the list because my values or my bandwidth has changed, but I can put them back on the list once I’ve gotten back into alignment. Don’t stop means don’t settle for telling yourself “it wasn’t meant to be” just because it isn’t happening now. It’s the tortoise and the hare. Let your dream exist in the long game and let the tortoise surprise you.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
I get “whelmed” easily, let alone overwhelmed, but daily, flexible routines help me stay grounded. The key with these routines is making sure they stay flexible, because if I am rigid about whether or not I’ve done them, it just adds to the overwhelm! For me, starting my morning slow with journaling, meditation, and some form of creativity really sets the tone from the day. I also have a “Serenity Alarm” on my phone I’ve been using for about ten years – in the middle of the day, I have an alarm set to remind me to pause, assess my surroundings, and take a break. I use H.A.L.T. to check in with myself – I ask myself if I am Hungry, Angry, Lonely, or Tired, and address those needs if I have them. This tool has saved me from countless meltdowns – 9/10 if I am about to have a meltdown, turns out all I needed was a sandwich. These tools help me with overwhelm in the day to day, but when it comes to larger, career-related overwhelm, I try to zoom out as often as possible and reframe whose rules I’m following. If I’m feeling untethered, it’s usually not because I’m doing anything “wrong” or “not doing enough,” but because I’m tethered to the wrong standards. There are infinite ways to live. If I’m overwhelmed, I’m usually just judging myself by impossible standards. Instead of being hard on myself, I try to reframe the expectations I’ve set for myself and allow them all to become a little softer.
Contact Info:
- Website: jocelynmackenzie.com
- Instagram:@jocelynmcknz
- Facebook: @jocelynmcknz
- Youtube: @jocelynmcknz
- SoundCloud: @jocelynmcknz
Image Credits
All photos by Ester Segretto
