If You Keep Doing What You’re Doing… Where Will You Be 100 Days From Now?

Closer or further from your dreams?

If you keep doing what you did today, and yesterday, and the month before that… where will you be 100 days from now? Closer to the life you want? Or further away?

I read this question somewhere and it was an absolute gut-punch. And the answer I had to give myself? I didn’t like it. AT ALL.

I had to face the truth: I had spent years waiting. Waiting for the world to become fair. Waiting for all that hard work I’d been told would “pay off” to come to fruition. Waiting on my time, a time, the right time, a time that worked for.. you and.. you and…. EVERYONE.

The real truth? I had ALLOWED myself to become victim to all the bullshit noise clearly designed to keep you stuck, depressed, isolated, doubting yourself, and so damn exhausted with, well—EVERYTHING—who can even think of creating anything?!

So many years wasted. Waiting for the greenlight to—make my art, have a space, a piece of the pie, create what I knew I could—LIVE.

I had to do something—so I greenlit myself. And I want you to do the same.

Here is what I did—

First, and most important—I HAD TO make a deal with myself. Like really—make a deal with yourself. To face the you that hides in your excuses and bad habits. Yes, it sucks, but you cannot adjust what you refuse to see.

Second—

Every single day, on my journey in this process, I promised myself I’d get up and do one thing—just one—that got me closer to whatever it was I was trying to create. In my case, it was my film, FRESH KILLS. But this strategy can be used on anything—writing a book, changing a relationship, moving, leaving and beginning—AGAIN! I didn’t care what it looked like. But every day? Something was going to be done to move forward.

Third? Every day I was going to get the hell out of my head—where creativity does NOT live. The brain is where you get stuck. The brain is where all the doubt lives and where fear spins its stories. The brain is where the fear, wrapped in excuses and sidelined by anxiety, disguises itself. So I made sure to drop into my body. Where truth exists. Your body does NOT lie and absolutely holds the score. I know this from way too many lessons in my life.

For me, that looked like this: I’d throw on headphones, go outside, and move. Not dance. Not choreographed. JUST MOVE. Let the music actually move me. And I mean fully. Not to stay on beat. Not to look good. But to move past the numbness we don’t even realize we are walking around with most of the time. After you do break through that haze, you’ll be shocked at what starts to come out. I tapped into emotions that felt stuck for thousands of years. I moved through rage, grief, hope, determination, pain—all of it.

And then I WROTE THROUGH IT! I WROTE FULLY! I wrote from the raw emotion that had been unburdened by my brain. The brain that’s been conditioned to “obey.” I wrote from a place that knew nothing of obedience, just of truth, expression, and a deep passion to connect.

Some days I’m sure I looked like an absolute lunatic—dancing, crying, yelling, laughing—I didn’t care. Those days broke me open. And that’s how Fresh Kills was written.

That’s also how A Rebel Collective, my school, was born.

That’s how this method came to life, and that is now the very foundation of every class I teach. Whether that’s acting, writing, or self-reflection classes. Creating from the inside out. No formula. No performative anything. Just raw, honest human-ness in all its grit and glory.

I’ve come to realize how much I not only LOVE working this way but just how necessary it is for me to work this way. It’s truly the only thing I’m interested in and I have always been this way. Yet I was swimming in too shallow a pond to understand that when I was “obeying” the rules. The surface stuff—doesn’t wake me from the slumber of life (that’s the plan though, right?) It’s become a mission of mine to guide others, push them even - out of their comfort zones and dive deeper into their work.

The surface level content we’ve been bombarded with doesn’t move the needle- it keeps us stuck. It’s not what I want to create, teach, watch, or read. What I want to witness is the stuff you’re afraid to say. The stuff that wakes you up in the middle of the night. The stuff that brings you to your knees and makes you weep with ecstasy. That’s life. That’s this thing called being human.

That’s where you need to create from. That’s the art that hits. That grabs you by the throat and forces you to think.

This is the work.
This is the rebellion I speak of.

This is what changes a hurting world.

IT’S TIME. GREENLIGHT YOURSELF!!!!

For your inspiration! If I could get here- so can you.

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Below is a sample of an upcoming class. It’s for previous students at the moment. However, I’ll be sharing prompts and some other items from the class for paid subscribers in the notes. You can also follow here for when the next round opens up. I hope to inspire you to move forward on your work, your art- your LIFE.

Hope to see you!

xx

Jen

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WRITING THE THING ALREADY- FROM THE GUT!
Private session and group mentored 5 week deep dive zoom class

I had a student in a previous class say after a free-write session that she didn’t want to go into the pain. She didn’t like it there. None of us like it there, I understand. I asked her to name one great artist or piece of art that did NOT come from that space of fear, trauma, pain, examination of the world and this thing called being human. She didn’t have an answer. I’ll tell you the answer - there are none. The deep desire for an artist is to express what cannot be swallowed. Whether that be the world around you or your own existence. Turning that into creativity and creativity into an art form is the true definition of an artist.

So many of my previous students have spoken about that story they MUST tell. As well as so many of you asking for me to read your work. I want to get to all of you, truly! I just simply cannot as this community is 100 deep at this point. So this FIRST group mentoring sessions are created for YOU! To finally share that story with guidance from someone who has been there. I NEEDED to write my book, Jennifer's Way, which became a NY Times bestseller. Just like I needed to make FRESH KILLS. It’s what NEEDS to be told that connects to others. That’s what we will do in these sessions- get you working on what you NEED to express through the story.

And, It’s time!!!!!!!!!!!

Maybe you’ve started it by now. Maybe you haven’t. Maybe it’s been sitting in the back of your throat, making it hard to breathe. If it’s a book, or a short film, a feature idea that won’t go away no matter how many times you push it down, it’s time to stop running from it. And I’m offering this space to do just that. I’m launching my private mentoring session soon but wanted to give my previous students the first priority for this group mentoring class.

Writing From the Gut won’t be about structure or outlines or making it all look pretty. This is about truth. The kind that lives in your body, the kind you feel before you even understand what it is you’re trying to say. This course is about going in—not out. It’s about writing the thing you’ve been holding back, the thing you’re scared might be too much, too messy, too personal. The thing that, if you let it out, might just set you free.

You’ll begin this six-week journey with a PRIVATE 30-minute Zoom session WITH ME, one-on-one to tell me your idea/story. You’ll choose one story, one idea, one theme to work with throughout. It can be something you’ve already started or something you’re ready to explore for the first time. No distractions. Just the story you're dying to tell. We’ll dig deep. It’ll be honest. And we will set a plan to move forward.

Over five weeks, we’ll meet as a small group. I’ll guide you through a mix of writing and deep creative excavation—ways to quiet the noise and finally hear what you have to say. I’ll give you a weekly prompt personalized for your work and one piece of inspiration.

Each week afterward, we’ll meet live as a group and you will share your work and get notes/feedback from a supportive group.

This course will help you understand what you're actually trying to say in your piece and a plan to do so.

Here’s what you’ll get in this 5-week mentored journey:

Weekly live group mentorship sessions with me.
One personal 30-minute Zoom to talk through your story.
One weekly writing prompt to go deep, not surface.
One piece of weekly inspiration—film, prose, or screenplay—to use for fuel.
A guided body-based practice each week to get you out of your head and into your gut.
A chance to focus on one story, one theme, or one idea and bring it to life.
Real-time support, honest feedback, and a space where your truth is welcome.

This is for those of you who are done holding back. Who are ready to dig dip. The ones who feel like there’s something inside that has to come out, even if it terrifies you. ESPECIALLY if it terrifies you. THAT’S what creates the best art.

Let’s write from the gut, stop performing and start telling the truth.

It’s needed now more than ever.