Start....

If you want to get something done, then start it. That may sound obvious, yet all too often it is that first step that keeps getting put off for way too long.
If you can't decide on where to start, just start somewhere, with the first thing that comes to mind. You'll be much better able to come up with an effective plan once you get going and get a feel for what you're doing.
Yes, you'll probably make some mistakes and yes, there will certainly be challenges. So get moving and get busy dealing with them right away.
Once you start, the momentum begins to build. Once you start, you'll find a workable way to finish.
Take the first step on a journey, and the next step comes a little more smoothly. As each step prepares the way for the next, your momentum begins to carry much of the load.
The way to get where you want to be is to start from where you are. Now is when you can surely begin to make your best possibilities come to life.
R. Marston

Quarterly Club Launch

Yeste4rday we had our quarterly club launch. Theme was: "Touch of Silver". At the club we have 5 LM programs. RPM, BP, BC, BA and BB. Jan 07 we will also start with BJ. For now it was just 5 x 30mins launch. We had great fun, dressing ourselves with a touch of silver. Members also showed up with a toch of silver, so it all looked very nice. I didn't do the RPM, but at 19.30 we started with BC. We did the launch with the 3 of us. Aubrey, Eline and me, all three dressed in black and silver, we showed them some combat girl power. We had a number of new faces, all doing great. It was also good to see some familiar faces back in Combat. After BC it was time for BP. I explained about the new focus and also about the wide rows in the backtrack. After PB: ATTACK time. I can't say anything else but Be There next time if you weren't there yesterday. BA54 again an awesome release. Also presenting with 3 it's a lot of fun. We could see people getting tired, put we pulled them thru! They made it to the end. After BA , it was BB time. We had a couple of people doing the whole evening. Good job you guys!! Hope to see you in class next time as well.

Work out

This morning a went to workout in Leusden. A club over there organized a workout and all funds were going to the Cancer Foundation. Since I like to work out and I also think the Cancer Foundation is a good thing to raise money for, I decided to hop into my car and drive overthree to do the workout. The presenters were our own LM national trainers, so it kind a felt like a quarterly. Unfortunately it wasn't as busy as that club had expected it to be, but I had a good time anyways and it doubles the good feeling that they were raising the money for a good cause.
I only did BP and BA, as I had to work this afternoon, but I was exhausted anyways, so doing a BP or any class wouldn't have been very efficient. I'm glad I'm healthy and able to participate in sports a lot, so if this could help other people to cure from this awfull disease, and be able to participate in life and play just any sport again, I'd be happy!

At our club we have the quarterly launch thursday, 28 September.

19.00 RPM
19.30 BODYCOMBAT
20.00 BODYPUMP
20.30 BODYATTACK
21.00 BODYBALANCE

For all programs we teach 4 or 5 tracks. The theme this time is: 'a Touch of Silver'. Hope to see ya there ...... all dressed in silver !!!

Yesterday

Yesterday evening I had a good talk with someone. At the moment I'm practising really hard to improve myself as an instructor, and I'm not easily satified with what I do when I watch the video's. Some people around me just say, why are you not satisfied, you've got pretty full classes, we get positive feedback from customers, but I still got this feeling I can do better. I know there is more in me and I want to get it out. Sometimes it's frustrating and it can make me real insecure as well. I have been through this earlier, but sometimes when you're so passionate about something and you've got something on your mind, it's so easy to fall back to previous mistakes. Haven't I learned from the past? Oh yes I have, because now I'm noticing it and before I didn't. Yesterday we talked for almost 2 hours about is. Not a lot of people are as passionate as we both are, but it's good to have someone who know's what you'd like to achieve tell you to ease down on yourself. It really helped me. This morning I was watching yesterday's class taping and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Ofcourse still things to improve, but yesterday's talk helped me to watch the tape through different eyes. There are also things I do well I found out. Thanks for letting me know R.

I found this text this morning:

• Focus on something that you do well and find a way to do it even better. The substance of value that you create is never wasted.
• Choose something that you do well and find a way to make the fruits of your efforts available to those around you. By providing real value to others, you expand the treasures in your own life.
• Take something you do well and find a way to make it enjoyable. The more you enjoy what you're doing, the more effective you'll be.
• Find something you do well and teach it to others. The more you can duplicate your efforts, the more value there is for everyone.
  Look at something you do well and consider the real, lasting sense of fulfillment it can bring. Remember that life is about making a difference.
• The things you do well provide you with the opportunity to give of yourself in real and meaningful ways. That's an opportunity you don't want to miss.

And here another one:

For the best
Something did not turn out the way you wanted. And maybe, it was for the best.
Disappointments and setbacks can have a way of becoming positive turning points. When something does not work out, it makes room for other possibilities. Be careful not to attach your sense of fulfillment too tightly to specific outcomes and circumstances. For there are far more possibilities than you have yet imagined. Sometimes you aim too high and sometimes you aim too low. When you do, the resulting disappointments can help guide you toward where you truly want to be. Whether the last few days have seen you move forward or fall back, new doors have most certainly been opened by whatever has happened. Choose now to focus on the most promising of your current options. Go with the assumption that whatever happens is for the best. And you'll find a way to make it so. Marston, R.

A day at the airport

Working at the airport is different every day. With 100.000 sometimes 150.000 travellers a day, it's quite natural you'll see and meet all sorts of people. This is the thing a love most about working at Schiphol Airport. There are people who are nice, angry, crazy, funny, smart, frightened, ugly, pretty, fat, skinny, normal, black, white, dumb, blond, old, young, colourful dressed, business men/women, people who are in a hurry, impatient. You name it and they walk around at the airport. All those people make my workdays different every time. Sometimes you already know what will come up at a certain time of the day. Usually on friday afternoons, lots of Frenchmen come up to desk trying to get on a earlier flight. Most of them have the same kind of tickets and then we are able to change their tickets. On sunday mornings it's usually the englishmen coming in. You can already smell the alcohol from the evening before. Most of the time they missed their flight and the have non changeable, non refundable tickets, which leaves them with nothing but a new ticket they have to buy. Right now we have lots of students collecting their tickets before their flights to Aruba or Netherlands Antilles, where they will be working as a part of their studies. Sometimes delays happen and then we have people stranding in Amsterdam. Most of the time we are able to help out people pretty good, but sometimes there are problems as a lot of people need a visa to enter the Netherlands or other Schengen countries and if they do not have a visa, they sometimes have to stay at the airport for 2 days and wait for the next flight. Sometimes people miss their flight because of their own mistake, then it's even a bigger problem for them as we have to stick to their ticketrules. It's also funny to see that people always tell us: "I don't have money, I am not able to pay a change fee." When we tell them no money no flight.... within an hour, they are back ... with money. I always wonder were they find it..... maybe I can go there as well :-)
Somehow people always blame us for the fact they missed their flight, or the wrong date in the ticket they booked via their travel agent. We also cause traffic jams, train delays....pretty good hey. But ofcourse there are also lots af nice people walking around, even though they might have had some pretty bad experiences. Today I had a couple at my desk and they had quite a big problem, caused in Londen yesterday. I wasn't able to turn things around for them, but tried to help them as good as possible. Later the man came back to me a thanked me for everything I had done. That makes you feel good when someone takes the time and comes back. Then you forget other less pleasant things that happen. Well this is just a part of my 'other life'. I have an early shift tomorrow, so I'm going to bed early, at least I'm going to try to go to bed early :-)

Ps. Put a smile on your face and find out how many people will smile back at you.

AIM - Advanced Intructor Module

Last weekend I went to the Les Mills AIM training in Roosendaal. It was the first AIM training here in de the Netherlands I was glad I was able to go. It's a great training for Silver certified LM instructors. It was quite intensive, because a lot of information is given. Mostly theory and a lot of talking on the first day. Lots of thinking about yourself and how you do things. We also had a few games in between to point out several things. Funny stuff that makes you think again. Second day we also worked out and had to present tracks. AIM actually is a bunch of questions which will be discussed during the training, and these questions will challenge you as an instructor in your way of teaching. Always be there for 110%, be prepared to learn and analize yourself. Focus, dedication and practise. It was great. We had a good team of trainers, which I also think is in important. They really took time to help us with all our questions and they were passionate about the training as well. Good job Else & Remi.

Yesterday evening I have been teaching BA and BP. I was exhausted. I taped my BA class and watched it yesterday evening. Really good to watch yourself and then try to improve yourself for the next time. Last thursday I taped my BP class. Next thursday, or maybe tomorrow as well I will tape BP class again, to see if I was able to fix the things I noticed on my tape. Today I did not have any classes to teach, so after work I went to gym and had my own training. I first did BC for 45 minutes as I have to teach BC again tomorrow and after that I decided to do BA. I had the video with me and taped it again. Just to watch my technique, power and energy. Even though I was tired, I could push myself to go deeper, higher and be stronger. Next time I have to do that in class. I feels good to be working out this way again. Just like the old days with swimming. Practise, watch, improve and keep on doing that. There are always small things you can improve.