What do circus performance and education have in common? More than you might think. Dr. Jen Mott, known as The Entertaining Educator, has built a career that uniquely fuses the art of entertainment with the science of teaching. By day, she’s an educator; by weekend and special event, she’s a circus performer—juggling, storytelling with balloons, and captivating audiences with her energy. Since her first juggling-and-speaking presentation in 2018, Dr. Jen has grown this blend of performance and teaching into a platform that delivers both joy and practical insight. Along the way, she’s earned her doctorate focusing on teacher perseverance, bringing academic credibility to her vibrant, engaging style.
With nearly half the U.S. population—about 47% in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau)—now age 45 and older, it’s more important than ever not to discount the value of past experience. Expanding and combining interests can create meaningful impact, allowing us to shape the next chapter of life around work we love. This is possible with a mindset of lifelong learning, and often by developing multiple career paths. By affirming and maximizing both professional experience and personal interests, we strengthen not only our present work but also future opportunities.
One: Don't Discount Past Experience
It’s easy, especially in fast-changing industries or in the era of AI and tech-driven solutions, to believe our past experiences are outdated. Yet the truth is, they’re often our strongest assets. In Jen’s world, her teaching experience directly informs her circus performances, and vice versa. The communication skills, audience awareness, and adaptability honed in the classroom make her a more engaging performer. Meanwhile, the creativity and energy from performing keep her teaching fresh and dynamic.
Whether you’ve been in corporate leadership, small business, creative work, or education, your years have yielded tools, techniques, and instincts that still have high value. The key is reframing them for today’s opportunities.
Application Takeaway:
Make a list of three major experiences from your past career or life that shape how you problem-solve or lead today. Next to each one, write down how that same skill could be applied in a new role, business, or community project. Keep in mind the growing importance of soft skills with the expansion of AI.
Two: Combining Interests to Create Unique Impact
For many professionals, there’s a temptation to compartmentalize—keeping hobbies and passions separate from “serious” work. However, our most authentic and impactful work often comes when we blend our unique interests. I once hesitated to incorporate too much music into the expansion of my speaking and writing career, but over time I’ve grown more confident in not only using music, but also drawing on my experiences in production and product launches. The principles I’ve learned through those processes apply broadly and effectively across many areas.
Dr. Jen uses her experience in much the same way. Her life is proof that juggling isn’t just a circus act—it’s a metaphor for balancing priorities, handling challenges, and managing change. Balloon storytelling isn’t just for kids—it’s a way to engage imaginations and communicate complex ideas more memorably.
When we combine skills and visuals in any field of training and education, we create learning experiences that stick. It’s easy to hide or downplay abilities in the name of professionalism but using those skills enhances our ability to be effective and impactful.
Application Takeaway:
Ask yourself, “What skill or passion do I keep separate from my professional life?” Consider how bringing it into your work could make you stand out or connect more deeply with your audience.
Three: Authentic Living--The Joy Factor
“Double dipping” has become second nature for me—whether I’m on Zoom calls or sitting through sessions. It takes me back to middle school when I spent months sketching a giant smiling mouth with the word SMILE written inside. That drawing became a reminder of how I’ve tried to live my life. Too often we hide our authentic selves behind a polished professional image, but the truth is the world needs laughter, honesty, and a little fun to balance out the constant seriousness of everyday issues. Work and life should carry a “fun factor.” I talk about this more in my book Stuck is Not a Four Letter Word.
Following our interests makes life—and teaching—more interesting especially when we are able to add what we really love. When you allow your full self to show up, people feel it. They see the joy and energy that comes from doing what is fun and that you love, and that energy is contagious. Wouldn’t it be fun to have an instructor who broke up a serious lecture with a 10 -20 second juggling demonstration? I guarantee, the lessons shared in some of my classes would have become much more interesting and memorable! Authenticity doesn’t mean ignoring professional boundaries; it means embracing what makes you unique and allowing it to inform your approach.
Application Takeaway:
Identify one way you can bring more of “you” into your work this week. It might be a story from your life, a creative approach to a task, or a lighthearted element that shows your personality.
Four: Professional Growth--Repetition, Practice and Lifelong Learning
Repetition and practice are disciplines every entertainer must embrace. True expertise goes far beyond the well-known 10,000-hour rule—it’s not just about time spent, but the quality of that practice. Perfect, intentional practice is what allows a skill to be used seamlessly and integrated into other areas with confidence and precision.
To hone a craft means saying “yes” to opportunities that stretch us. This can include presenting at conferences and different events to performing in unfamiliar venues and stages. It’s also means investing in our own learning with a lifelong learning mindset. This doesn’t just include academic degrees, but the expansion of technical skills and performance skills.
In a world that often chases novelty, there’s wisdom in committing to the long game. The skills that make you exceptional aren’t learned in a weekend—they’re built over years of deliberate effort. And it takes consistent work to keep those skills fresh.
Application Takeaway:
Choose one skill you want to improve in the next three months. Commit to practicing it regularly, whether it’s speaking, writing, technical ability, or a creative pursuit. Track your progress and celebrate small milestones along the way.
Five: Creating Multiple Career Paths
Creating more than one career path can be liberating and many times will provide additional opportunities. Many of us spend years with the career focused on climbing a single ladder. However, today, more than any other time in history, it’s possible—and often desirable—to weave multiple paths together with the skills developed that cross over to multiple fields.
Work as an educator and entertainer doesn’t just run in parallel; each informs and strengthens the other. The result is a career that’s both sustainable and personally fulfilling. It also provides flexibility—when one arena changes (as education did during the pandemic), another can offer stability or opportunity.
This mindset is especially relevant for those at mid-career or “halftime” in life, who may be thinking about what’s next. Instead of a hard pivot, consider how to layer your skills into a portfolio career that allows you to adapt, grow, and thrive in multiple arenas.
Why This Matters for Your Next Chapter
The parallels between circus performance and education may not seem obvious at first—but they’re hard to miss when applied. Both require engaging your audience, adapting on the fly, managing multiple elements at once, and bringing energy and presence to every moment.
More importantly, the application illustrates universal principles for building a purposeful next chapter:
Honor your experience instead of discounting it.
Blend your interests for greater impact.
Live authentically to bring joy to your work.
Commit to lifelong learning to stay sharp and relevant.
Design a career that’s flexible enough to evolve with you.
Whether you’re an educator, an entrepreneur, a creative, or someone considering a new direction, these principles can help you use what you’ve already built to create something even more meaningful.
Final Thought:
Over the years, you’ve gained more than a job title or paycheck—you’ve built a library of skills, resources, and experiences that can become the raw material for your next, and possibly most purposeful, chapter. The challenge isn’t just recognizing those assets—it’s using them with intention, creativity, and joy. And the outcome can be as entertaining as it is transformative.
Additional Resources
Dr. Jen Mott information: https://drjenmott.com/ Jen’s Books
Deborah’s Books on Amazon: Deborah’s Books
Power of After: What’s Next Can Be Your Most Purposeful Chapter by Deborah Johnson
Deborah’s Music: https://djworksmusic.com/event-entertainment/
- about dr. jen mott
Dr. Jen Mott has spent years blending her weekend life as a circus performer with her daily work as an educator—finding remarkable parallels between the two. From her first juggling-and-speaking presentation in 2018 to earning her doctorate on teacher perseverance, Dr. Jen has built a unique platform that merges entertainment with meaningful, actionable insights.
By affirming and maximizing both professional experience and personal interests, we strengthen not only our present work but also future opportunities.
deborah johnson
Thought Leader, Keynote Speaker, Author
If you are interested in growing and learning, check out our online courses here: Online Learning
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