Today is about INTENTION, when everyone is doing something different, the hardest thing is to stay on your own path. Nike ended – we did not agree with their latest ideas, Athletes in Action ended – we had outgrown it really and Freestyle was ending – so what next? I always wanted my own clothing brand but now was not the time, AIA developed into the best friendship I have ever had and Freestyle? Although it was over, I was not ready to lay it to rest just yet!
My intention was to stay on track. I could not imagine letting ANYONE create my class content for me, I did not want to pay monthly fees for something I loved doing myself. My class creations defined me (they still do). So I laid down my intentions for Group X Training, providing ideas and programmes for instructors to teach and profit from without providing their content and without charging monthly fees. So lets talk about money – so many people come to me and say “if you do this, you could make…”, this must be how Faustus felt when faced with Mephistopheles. Here is the first truth – if you pay ATTENTION and stick to your INTENTION, see it through to MANIFESTATION, then profit will come. Profit does not always come in the form of pounds and pence. I learned that everyday must feed my soul and make me happy, allow me to do the things I love to do and bring me satisfaction.
When 1 person gets me, hears me, writes to me and says thank you I am happy, I have profited. I am a business woman, I know how to make money, I learned from great teachers but money is nothing without knowing yourself and following your head and your heart.
I am sure that many of you cannot imagine an industry where there was no third party programmes and no internet to find ideas. Don’t get me wrong they are all great BUT they are the very distractions that stop you from seeing what is right in front of you. They keep you out of your own head, they distract you and more often than not when looking for inspiration and guidance you end up confused and demotivated. Learn to walk and then learn to run – it’s simple.
I bet your head is spinning with great INTENTIONS. Now you need toMANIFEST them.
So over the next 11 days we demystify and gain clarity. I am going to let you into the very things that have shaped me and GXT over the past 26 years.
Attention or focus are the key ingredients to meditation and mindfulness, 2 aspects of yoga that people find hard to “own” and yet they are also the very things that keep us on our path and bring us the most satisfaction.
This is what shapes your vision or your intention. When I started teaching classes and personal training there were no real leaders or influencers to follow. We gained the qualification and went out to find our way. At the risk of making myself appear very old (which I do not feel), there were no pre choreographed programs, no internet to find ideas, no one offering mentoring or telling us how it should be done. We had a monthly magazine, 2 or 3 conventions a year, our peers and a pretty much open book to do whatever we wanted to do. This is the reason that today I can walk into any situation and create a class or programme for the person or people in front of me with absolute ease. I can do this because I had to and luckily it is the very thing I love to do.
When Les Mills entered our world ( I have written about this many times), it knocked me sideways, it knocked me off my pedestal definitely and it knocked my vision of how the industry would progress. My allies became my enemies in a way. Loyalties changed, intentions changed my attention was all over the place and I had to re gain focus.
This is where I learned that if a juggernaut is rushing towards you, you have 3 choices, you can get run down, get on board or run in a different direction.
This was a time when I could have gone under. I was a Nike Fitness Athlete, in business with Rachel Holmes as Athletes In Action, our sole purpose was touring and providing class content for instructors. Les Mills had the potential to change all of this!
Of course this is where that chapter rather abruptly ended. It is amazing how we build our lives like a house of cards. When one thing wobbles it affects the foundations and the entire tensegrity begins to change.
This was a time where I really needed to FOCUS. In such times you hurt, you break and you have to sit back for a while, not long – but a while. This is ATTENTION
I saw this yesterday, I am not sure what I think of Jay Shetty, but this resonates.
Tomorrow I will share how I created my INTENTION, in order to stay in the business, build a bigger business but more importantly stay true to myself.