Ep 46: You Ain't Shirt with Jasmine Mason
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You Ain’t Shirt
Episode 46: Show Notes.
Some of you might be wondering why this podcast is called At the End of the Tunnel. Well, it’s because all of Light’s guests have had to go through some period of uncertainty or darkness or had to take a huge leap of faith in order to find their inner light, which ends up leading them to their path and purpose. In today’s episode, you’ll hear from Jasmine Mason, a Los Angeles-based contemporary dancer turned author. She has been dancing since she was three-years-old but, in the last few years, she became inspired to take a big leap of faith in the direction of self-publishing a book about breakups.
One day, while doing laundry in between shows, Jasmine realized that she had acquired a collection of oversized t-shirts from some of the people she had dated. Wondering how many other women were keeping an ex-boyfriend’s shirt after the breakup, she had the idea to publish You Ain’t Shirt, an inspiring and uplifting coffee table book about the breakups, healings, and lessons of 65 women that held onto an ex’s t-shirt. Of course, there is no way Jasmine could have known that her initial curiosity around a shirt from an ex-boyfriend could have led to the production of a stunning coffee table book that helps people move through breakups, but that is the beauty of following your inspiration; you never know where it might lead you!
In this interview, Jasmine shares the backstory of how she grew up, how that influenced her ideas around relationships, why she had that curiosity, and all of the steps that led to the conception and the execution of You Ain’t Shirt, as well as how she knew that she had to take action on the idea, even though it could potentially be a money pit. Make sure to tune in today!
Key Points From This Episode:
Back to the beginning: Jasmine shares a bit about her childhood and family life.
Why she says she was born to dance and the impact that having an ‘alter ego’ had on her.
Jasmine reflects on what it takes to become a world-class performer: her love for dance.
Find out how she viewed success early on and why she never had a plan B to dance.
How her parent’s divorce and her mother’s pain informed Jasmine’s view of relationships.
The career decisions she made once she graduated and how she learned to deal with rejection without taking it personally.
Hear about her formative dating experiences and what they taught Jasmine about herself.
Some traits of an impactful relationship, including the importance of healthy communication.
Even though her mom didn’t provide the best examples of healthy relationships, Jasmine says she gave great breakup advice.
The origins of You Ain’t Shirt: how realizing she wasn’t creating for herself anymore sparked the idea to create a book.
The t-shirt that inspired the book and Jasmine’s personal experiences with breakups.
What drove her to keep moving forward with the book and devote her love and energy to it.
How Jasmine knew that the project was worth every penny she spent on it; it’s expensive to make a coffee table book!
Jasmine speaks candidly about overcoming the voice in her head that said she couldn’t do it
Find out what Jasmine learned in the process of creating You Ain’t Shirt, including that it’s okay to lean on others.
Some of the surprising and very similar stories that emerged from the submissions.
Finding a space of gratitude after a breakup rather than blaming and feeling like a victim.
Learn about the genesis of the title and the idea to break the book up into three chapters.
The timeline and costs of the book and how they aligned with Jasmine’s expectations.
Hear Jasmine’s current definition of success, which involves helping others.
Her words of wisdom for someone who wants to produce a coffee table book: it’s possible.
Tweetables:
“I had a checklist [or a bucket list] of the things that I wanted to achieve in my dance career. Fame was never a thing for me. Relationships, I didn't want to think about them.” — Jasmine Mason [0:20:07]
“This career is really hard, because it's full of rejection. You get a lot of no’s. It's such a good test of staying true to who I am and not letting it affect me so t’s not always so personal. You just show up, do the best that you can, and if it works, it works. There's room for everybody.” — Jasmine Mason [0:24:20]
“[You Ain’t Shirt] started out as something humorous. It was supposed to be a funny idea. I didn't know and we all didn't know that it was going to be a healing thing for all of us.” — Jasmine Mason [0:38:02]
“If we're not taking the time to reflect on our relationships and try to see the positive in them and feel grateful for whatever we gained, then how many other people are doing that? That's when I decided, ‘Maybe I want to sell this book. I want to put a lot of love and a lot of energy into this book because, if it's so healing for us, who else could it impact?’” — Jasmine Mason [0:44:10]
“We don't have to go through it alone. It's okay to lean on other people. That's what I wanted the book to be about. Super empowering and uplifting, no matter what you've gone through. You're going to open up the book and see someone that you resonate with, or a story, or a lesson, or a healing.” — Jasmine Mason [0:53:43]
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode: