A couple of weeks ago, I taught a class at the Athleta store
at the Mall of America and it was an awesome experience! I had 7 students for the class and at one
point, one of them said “this workout is better than coffee.” Teaching in this kind of setting was a
totally new experience. Up to this
point, I’ve been teaching through community ed programs as an employee so
getting this gig was new territory for me.
I didn’t get paid for it, these are sample classes so it’s more about
exposure for my business but I sought out the opportunity, followed through and
I’ve been asked back to teach again in June.
What I’ve learned from this is that I should be open to
checking out new opportunities, even if they are scary for me. I’ve learned that fear should not be a good
enough reason to not take chances.
Filling out applications for community ed programs and sending them in
is easy. Communicating the awesomeness of
Cardio Kung Fu in writing isn’t scary to me.
Picking up the phone or walking into a new place to communicate that
awesomeness person to person is amazingly scary to me. I don’t know way. It’s not the actual communicating part,
once I get going on CKF, I can’t stop, I love the program I’m creating and I
believe in it. I’m learning new things
each day and each evolution of the workout makes it better. It’s exciting me. It’s my passion. But if I have a call to make, I will do every
other thing on my to-do list and then find any excuse to put it off when I’m
done with the list. “Hmmm, it’s almost
lunch time, really 9:45 AM is close to lunch, I’ll make the call after
lunch. Yes, I’ll watch Star Trek the
Next Generation on BBC America and do a little research on business accounting
until after lunch and then I’ll make the call.”
This is an unfortunately familiar scenario. And this was the scenario the day I actually
ran out of tasks on my to-do list, lunch was over, the cable went out, and the
house was completely clean. Left with no
other alternative (I couldn’t even walk the dog, it was raining and when she
goes out in the rain she continually ducks her head like she’s being pelted
with BBs so she mostly refuses to set paw outside) I picked up the phone and
called Athleta. I didn’t actually speak
to the right person that day but I did get the right person’s email address and
ultimately made the connection I needed to make to get the class. If I hadn’t picked up the phone that day, I
wouldn’t be teaching another class in June, where I’ll get to introduce new
folks to the CKF workout.
I think part of the reason this is difficult for me is the
very real possibility of rejection. The
last two and half years have been the toughest of my life. I lost the job I thought I’d retire from and
even though I have a Master’s degree, I haven’t been able to find a full-time
job. I’m not supporting myself with my
income right now and that is both scary and self-confidence decimating. With
each rejection on my job search I lose a little more confidence in myself. I’m not sure how much rejection and
disappointment one person can take but most days I’m pretty sure I’m coming
dangerously close to that line and I’m not sure what’s on the other side. Most days I want to give up but what’s on the
other side of giving up? If I don’t pick
up the phone when I’m working on my business, I won’t be rejected. So there’s
that, but I also know if I don’t pick up the phone, if I don’t take that risk,
success will be limited. If I hadn’t
picked up the phone that day, I’d still be walking by Athleta on my way to my
part-time job, wishing I could be on their board of upcoming classes and day
dreaming about how cool that would be. I’m
also hoping that the more I pick up the phone, or walk into a new place, the
more comfortable it will become.
No comments:
Post a Comment