Reflections on Intentional Play Time In Your Week

Last Saturday, I hosted a Pasta 101 class for my birthday. Sixteen members of my women's leadership platform and spouses tumbled into the Institute of Culinary Education in Brookfield Place for the afternoon. Under the watchful eye of Chef Jason Hawk, we learned to hand roll dough. Spit out noodles that were fettuccine-sized. Orecchiette-shaped. While the dough was sitting, we made three sauces. Puttanesca for the carnivores. Almond sauce for the vegans.

In the three month lead up to the class, it's never easy. I went 15 rounds of finding a date with the school to do a full buyout of a class. On a Saturday. In December. Filled the 16 spots. Collected all the money. Paid the deposit. Recorded all the individual vaccination statuses. Date of first shot. Date of second shot. Put all the preferences (allergies, vegan, vegetarian, eggless, anchovies) on an excel document. Found a photographer. Replaced a couple who dropped out because their son was exposed to COVID at school.

I twitch. I angst. I plot. I plan. Then there comes that moment. At the event.

All the introductions have been made. The action is underway. Folks tilt their heads back, laughing out loud. They talk animatedly to each other. Even the hardest to engage person has put down their phone and is IN the activity. I even see a smile. And I get to stand back, cross my arms, and say to myself "My work here is done."

It's my biggest moment of satisfaction and why I love hosting events more than anything else in the world. My friends used to kid, "I don't know about all this tv stuff Joya, but you should do events for a living."

And now I do. But here is my understanding of what intentional playtime does for your week:

???? It helps you realize your superpowers. I may not have published a books like Tony Robbins. I may not own a ranch like Rachel Rodgers. I may not have a list serv of 36,000 emails. But I know my superpowers. I have two.

1. Creating over the top, unique experiences.
2. Bringing people together. Curating a room.

By design, my business is a blend of both.

????It creates an outlet. Know what their weaknesses are. Some folks in the room have very left-brained jobs. A cooking class provided a much-needed creative outlet for them. Some are very right-brained and a cooking class is exactly down their alley. Some, like my boyfriend, say 'no' to everything. But I saw a smile on his face that day. Because he loves to cook.

Play to people's strengths for overall success.

???? It's deceptively productive. Look, I had hard driving Asian parents. I learned that accomplishment is in the 'doing.' But, when our brains are engaged otherwise, the unconscious brain is working. It's processing learning from other times in the week. How can you inject more playtime into your life. Some of the best ideas come from doing things completely outside of your normal day.

___________________________

My name is Joya Dass. For 20 years, I was a television news anchor for major news outlets such as Bloomberg, CNN, ABC. Business news was my beat. But, as an Indian woman, growing up in America, getting married wasn't the holy grail. I had wanted to be a news anchor since I was four. So I set about doing that. But I also had to build a network to get to New York City. Today I have created the Women's Leadership Academy to teach best practices around networking. I am also a huge advocate for best practices around leadership. More importantly, self leadership. www.joyadass.com

Next year, I'm advancing my membership with a high level mastermind. If you would like to apply, information and the application is here. A short video here

This Mastermind isn't for everyone. It's a time commitment. It's a financial commitment

I also host events. Here is the upcoming roster for January.

• JAN 12th 12pm EST VIRTUAL
• 7 POINTS TO BUILDING A GREAT BRAND WITH BRUCE TURKEL
• Fri, Jan 21, 2022 6:00 PM NEW YORK
• JOYA DASS EVENING RETREAT | SET GOALS FOR 2022
• Sat Jan 29th 12pm PARIS
• STORY OF BERTHE MORISOT AND HIGH TEA AT THE PARIS RITZ