When I graduated from college on May 8, 2010, I had three
goals for myself:
1. Get a Pilates certification, and become a Pilates
instructor,
2. Dance in a professional dance company, and
3. Be a dance educator in an academic setting.
By March 2012, less than two years after walking across the
stage at Loyola Marymount University, I had accomplished all of those goals.
SUCCESS!! Or so I thought …
Starting off as a Pilates instructor I was not making very
much money. So it seemed as though maybe this wasn’t the right route for me.
I began to question if there was truly a way for me to be successful. But the unique thing about this
profession is that no one tells you, it’s an entrepreneurial endeavor. I am
responsible for building my own business, retaining clientele, and filling up
my classes. In one short year of being certified to teach, I have almost tripled my
income from simply growing as an instructor and honing my teaching skills. I am
continuously learning new things everyday, watching those around me who are
successful, doing what they do and finding things about my own teaching that
make me unique. This keeps people coming back for more which in turn makes me
invest in myself more. A cycle is created – my class attendance grows because
of my growth and I desire to grow more because I want my class to grow.
Recently, I have been talking to people that are at different
stages in their lives. It’s interesting to me that everyone’s measure of
success is different. In these conversations, I have realized that it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for me to
acknowledge that I am very successful at my young age. Often times I feel as
though I still haven’t done “enough”. I have been thinking … “Now that I’m here
and I’ve done those things I set out to do, what is the next step?” “Go back to
school?” “Open my own business?” “Move to New York City?” What is it?
It feels that way at the beginning. It feels like what you're doing not
good enough, like you won’t be successful because you’re still broke … Although
you’ve done all this work to reach this goal. Keep going friends, I have good news! The journey isn’t over yet, it is
just beginning. They don’t tell you that when you start.
The truth is although I have REACHED each goal, I have not yet
had a full experience in any of those areas of my life. Although I am a Pilates
instructor, I do not work full time in that area. I have been teaching less
than two years, in one single environment. There are a ZILLION different things
I can do with a Pilates certification, and I have had just one experience.
As a professional dancer I have been a member of several dance
companies, each with a different movement style, genre and focus. I have danced
on stages across the nation and across the world, I have worked in film, done
music videos, and even corporate work. Yet, the experiences that I have had
represent a fraction of the experiences I anticipate to come.
The newest endeavor as a dance educator was simply dropped in
my lap. It is a truly unique experience, one I had never imagined would come my
way. It is one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life, yet it has
been one of the most rewarding things I have ever experienced. It is such a
blessing to see a child’s life affected by simply sharing the art form that is
so deeply a part of my identity. I am 100% certain I have not yet seen
everything this opportunity has to offer and I know I am on the cusp of
something great.
Reaching those three goals seemed like the finish line, but
they were really the starting point. Now I want to learn all I can in those
experiences, soak up all of the information I can get from my mentors and those
who are in authority positions in the places I am now immersed in. I want to
max out my potential in the stage that I’m in right now, and not be in such a
hurry to find something else because I have not given my current CAREERS enough
time to expand and grow.
What I have decided is that rather than be in such a hurry to
get to the NEXT STEP, I am going to fully invest in the current step. This
means being content with where I am, and knowing that I am where I am for a
reason. Using someone else’s definition of success to measure my own lead to
nothing but feelings of failure. Creating my own definition of success has
given me the freedom to pursue my true desires AND recognize/acknowledge my true
success.
So I leave you with this:
Stop putting so much pressure on yourself to be someone else’s
idea of successful. Create your definition of success, and be that.
XOXOX
Felicia
