October 6th, 2013
Published by: SandyLeveque
No More ALARM CLOCK!!! Ending the Weekly Grind This eBook was created using the Zinepal Online eBook Creator. Use Zinepal to create your own eBooks in PDF, ePub and Kindle/Mobipocket formats.
Mueve Mueve!!
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No More ALARM CLOCK!!! Ending the Weekly Grind I decided ‘No More Alarm Clock!’ today. This is why! If I’d met you a year ago and you’d asked me what job I do I would have told you ‘Zumba instructor’. You’d probably have replied ‘oh that’s cool, where do you do it?’ And I’d have rattled off the names of my classes.
But what I wouldn’t have told you is that inside I was quietly battling with burn-out and frustration. I ‘m pretty sure I’m not the only one. Yet there are fewer people my age who’ve faced a life threatening disease in their own body – cancer – and witnessed their body going into ‘breakdown’. At 27 I found myself living with unbearable weekly migraines, crazy nose-bleeds and the beginnings of a cancer I couldn’t understand. It forced me to re-evaluate my entire life and lifestyle – and to look at the fact that I spent most of my waking hours feel sad and angry That realisation led me towards teaching Zumba® – what seemed to be the very opposite of this. Try being sad and angry in a Zumba class!
I moved to France and put 15 years of dance training to good use. I created a Zumba business, trained in fitness teaching and began having more fun every week than I could even have imagined That was nearly four years ago. And as time slipped by, I noticed something. Even though I LOVED the satisfaction of a Zumba class – which is hard to put in words ! I think you have to go and do it to get it – I found myself boxed in by the rigidity of a weekly timetable. I’ve never been a 9-5 person and in my previous line of work – a political lobbyist and activist – managed my own time. But here I was trapped in a 5-9 routine! As I left the house I hit all the traffic jams of tired, frustrated people leaving work. I was in the same place, every week, for weeks on end and my whole year would mapped out in front of me, just like at school. My alarm clock would wake me every morning, and I don’t know if you can relate but deep down, I’m just not a ‘routine’ type person!
I love variety, experiencing new things and for each day to be different. As time went my life seemed to be the exact opposite of this. Yes I could vary the songs I taught, vary the routines and style of class – but I still had a weekly structure to follow every week. Now don’t get me wrong here. I’m not saying that’s a BAD thing. This is not Zumba’s fault. Created using Zinepal. Go online to create your own eBooks in PDF, ePub, Kindle and Mobipocket formats.
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October 6th, 2013
Published by: SandyLeveque
I’m just saying that the model of working each week to a weekly timetable suits some people more than others. I have friends who are at their happiest in a secure setting where they know what the score is and they can flourish because of that.
New Awarenesses
And others …who aren’t. I fall into that category. It made me sad because I did love the buzz of Zumba. I tried all kinds of things to stay inspired – using tips from other instructors, learning new types of dance, creating more new choreographies and mixing up my routines. But I stilll had that knot of dread in my stomach on Monday mornings when I woke up because I knew I’d be teaching that evening. – even if my body didn’t feel like it It turned Zumba from something I ‘loved’ into something I was starting to resent.
And that’s stepped in.
when
the
Universe
Just as I was realising that the internet could help me escape the time = money set up, I stumbled on a webinar about blogging, mainly because two of my friends were running it so I wanted to see what they were up to!
I felt like Alice tumbling down the rabbit hole as I expanded my awareness of the ‘online’ Universe, with people creating all kinds of magical things that allowed them to help people – at ANY TIME OF DAY.
And what I heard on that webinar got me so excited about the personal transformation that’s possible with daily videos and blogs (one of those friends was Avram Gonzales, of InspirACTION challenge), that I joined their ‘system’ (the link takes you to it) there and then, and made my first blog.
I also realised that the internet would satisfy something I’d missed ever since leaving politics – the feeling that I was expressing my voice in the world.
I didn’t quite understand at the time that the blogging platform was also a network marketing company that marketed courses teaching online marketing. And that I could become an affiliate of the company and make sales from anyone who clicked on banners next to my content. I didn’t open any of the company emails about this for nearly 3 weeks. But one day I asked myself…why am I just ignoring those emails ? What unconscious pattern is showing itself here? And I began reading them. And reading them, And reading them!
When you blog you step out into the world more and more with each blog – and share what drives and inspires you with whoever is interested.
And trust me – whoever you are – there ARE people who are interested. Especially if you know how to get your blogs in front of many eyeballs. Before I long I decided to commit to learning this skillset and within 6 months I’d gone from being an internet newbie to winning internet contests! (read about that here). I became so proficient at marketing (the affiliate marketing is for courses that teach you how to market on the internet) that my Zumba business began bringing in too many people – just as I was winding it down!
No More Grind! So two months ago I finally quit my weekly grind, and decided to stop scheduling classes. I found replacements, informed my students and began sorting through all the stuff I’d accumulated during my 4 years of a more ‘routine’ lifestyle. And two months ago I packed up my belongings, my dog, my laptop and my Zumba wear and began the journey I’m on now. Of traveling and working as I write. And I decided to change my phone number!
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October 6th, 2013
Published by: SandyLeveque
It’s an INCREDIBLE experience to wake up when I want to wake up and to know that I can create each day on my terms – according to whatever is going on around me and whatever I feel like doing. It means I can go visit a castle on a Monday morning Or work from a hammock by the pool on a Saturday afternoon (see the video!) I haven’t experienced this level of freedom in a LONG time.
And I thought it was impossible to create this kind of lifestyle unless you are a mega-millionaire. But one day I realised that I was just ‘waiting’ for it to happen. Instead of going out and actually creating it.
So I’m very happy not to own an alarm clock anymore! As you may have guessed Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this read: Heart-Shaped Clouds and a Quiet Celebration And click on the photo below to watch a video that explains what the blogging platform does.
Created using Zinepal. Go online to create your own eBooks in PDF, ePub, Kindle and Mobipocket formats.
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