#67 curiosity as personal agency!

In this episode, I connected with Minna Taylor, author of The Confident Body and a performance coach who blends philosophy, voice work and embodied practice to help people get out of their own way.

Minna grew up on a farm in southwest Virginia, an identical twin in a small visible world shaped by religion, order and expectation. From there she moved straight to New York City and into conservatory training at NYU Tisch, where anonymity, play and radical expression cracked something open. 

What followed was not rebellion for the sake of rebellion, but a long disciplined return to presence. Her journey moves from overcorrection and effort toward surrender, embodiment and agency rooted in awareness. 

Deep dive talking points:

👉🏾 identical twin identity: extracting individuality from being known as “the twins” and finding a personal voice; 

👉🏾 farm to New York: from constant visibility to anonymity and the freedom of experimentation;

👉🏾 authority and expression: early tension between curiosity and imposed structure;

👉🏾 confidence as behavior: moving from trying to appear confident to embodying body breath and voice;

👉🏾 YES and as life practice: acknowledging elevating and advancing instead of reacting or defending!

Nuggets of empowerment:

🙌🏾 when you make it about you, tension rises. when you make it about we, space opens;

🙌🏾 confidence is not an archetype. it is a body free of unnecessary tension.

🙌🏾 curiosity is not a trait. it is a disciplined practice of noticing how you are being while you are doing;

Minna’s empowering quote:

🙌🏾 “No one gives a s***. Get over yourself.” 

Books mentioned:

📚 Drive: autonomy mastery and purpose as a lens on intrinsic motivation

How about you?

....where in your life are you holding tension because you think it matters more than it does? and what might shift if you allowed your voice to be as easy as your breath?

Connect with Minna:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/minnafoundereyv/ 

Company: https://www.minnataylor.com  

Learn more about our sponsor:

https://reinforcer.ai helps leaders turn everyday feedback into measurable behavior change, right where work actually happens