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I remember being nervous and terrified and stricken and energized, and it was the first time I realized that, okay, I had to find a way to take this adrenaline and this fear and these butterflies and turn them into a performance. It was a feeling that stuck with me for life, because if I don’t have some of those feelings before a show, the juice is not flowing.
- Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

Whether it’s hosting a party, presenting at a meeting, or speaking to thousands, anxiety may be par for the course. Embrace the jitters. Butterflies are a sign that you’re alive and expanding. If you’re not feeling the flutters it’s just not that important to you.

Every time you feel the adrenaline whirl, imagine that you have wings and breathe that rush into your spreading wingspan. Think of it this way: your nerves are reminding you that you have what it takes.

Carrie’s pre-gig ritual: I always go for a run (moving my body stills my mind). Whether it’s a race, a talk, or a difficult conversation that I have to ready myself for, I meditate and visualize the experience I want to have in my mind. I randomly choose a page to read from any Eckhart Tolle book. Shower. Shave legs. Do whatever it takes to look great.

Danielle’s pre-gig ritual: 63 sit ups (3 rounds of 21, for no particular reason; I just like the number 21), some good ol’ fire breathing and kundalini yoga (“A flexible spine is a flexible mind!”) The Kundalini Yoga with Gurmukh DVD is a jewel. Really hot bath with lavender oil. A spray of Rescue Remedy. Don’t leave the house without a great bra and a bit of bronzer.

Before every single stage talk, interview, or fancy meeting, we say a prayer together. We’ve prayed in taxi cabs and ladies rooms—we never miss the chance to anchor in and give thanks. And it usually goes something like this… Dear God, Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity to do what we love. Help us shine so that we will inspire others to shine in their own lives. Thank you, thank you. May we rock.

Every butterfly wants to be important.