GRATITUDE + CONSCIOUS LIVING Page 22 of 26

Today’s shared stories come from Danielle Diamond and Beth Cougler Blom.

Danielle Diamond

I strive to inspire people to live healthier lives both physically and mentally through Yoga, meditation, and a healthy diet,  because I have experienced firsthand the profound positive change it can bring to not only your body, but the amount of happiness you feel on a daily basis- and isn’t that what we all ultimately want- to be happy?

For me, doing what you love can be broken down to the simple act of waking up everyday and feeling inspired by the work that you do.  To be excited about the opportunities in front of you; to enjoy the company of the people you engage with throughout the day, and to picture yourself in some way continuing this work for many years to come and still smiling; that’s what doing what you love means to me.

I realized that I needed to change my career when I stopping skipping to work everyday while at MTV. All I ever wanted since the first time I watched them play “Video Killed A Radiostar,” was to work there- but after many years of producing concert shows that I loved, I was being asked to produce reality TV. I felt really crappy about creating this genre of television as well as watching it, and I didn’t want to be a part of the machine that was churning it out. I had begun a love affair with yoga, so I decided I would again turn to something I loved; something that could add to people’s lives in a positive way, instead of making them feel good because of other people’s misfortunes.

I happened to leave MTV when I was 8 months pregnant with my first son, but I continued taking weekly yoga classes at a studio I found nearby. By the time my second son was 9 months old, the studio I frequented was beginning a 9-month training program. The teacher I studied under recommended I look into the program, so I decided to sign up. I wound up not only deepening my practice, but my also my relationships with my family, my friends, and ultimately myself.  As soon as I graduated I was offered teaching positions at two local studios; then after teaching for 8 years I developed my new Xen Strength Yoga program, which combines a challenging vinyasa flow sequence with weights.

I am extremely grateful that I’ve been lucky so far in building my yoga career. I am fortunate to work at a few great studios, with owners who really care about teaching students how to take their yoga off the mat as well as just a great way to stretch.  I think the real work is just beginning as I try to build my brand and reach a broader audience. However, I can already see that ramping up my work schedule has made me prioritize the importance of spending quality time with my children – I never want to let that be sacrificed for my career.

I really try to look forward and not dwell on what I could have done better in the past, because I could make a mile-long list. However, I do wish I had known about web marketing and blogging eight years ago when I started teaching and people were just beginning to blog. Now the marketplace is flooded, but I really hope to create a niche with my Xen Strength brand. I also wish I knew the importance of learning how to run the “business” side of a business instead of just being concerned with the creative and “fun” aspects of it. I could have saved myself a ton of time and money- but I have learned from my mistakes and hope to make fewer of them in the future.

My dream now is to turn Xen Strength into the next big fitness brand, similar to Zumba. Not only do I have my yoga with weights program and DVD, but I am also creating a teacher training program and writing a book with Dr. Barry Sears of The Zone Diet fame. I would also love to speak about my wellness journey to young women who may be going down the same dark road I once was on, and prepare them with tools on how to navigate self-doubt and body image issues, and increase their self-confidence.

[All images courtesy of Danielle Diamond, creator of Xen Strength Yoga.]   

To find out more about Danielle visit her website.

Beth Cougler Blom

I know I’m doing what I love when I really enjoy going to work and the hours fly by when I’m there. It’s always been very important to me to do work that aligns with my values and I believe wholeheartedly in what I do. It’s probably why I ended up working at a volunteer centre here in Victoria, BC, Canada – it’s very easy for me to go around the community and speak about how important it is to volunteer. I’m still passionate about it after being there for five years – a record for me in terms of job longevity!

People always tell me that they can tell I’m passionate about what I do just by the look on my face when I talk about it. That is the greatest compliment to me, and a sure sign that I am on the right track with my career.

I never want to have the kind of job again that I dread going to every Sunday night, thinking about the next morning. I really think we all deserve a lot more than that.

I don’t know if there will ever be “one thing” that I want to do, as I have many things that I love doing. And I need a lot of variety in what I do or I get bored. Right now I love organizing events, connecting with people, developing and facilitating workshops, speaking in the community, and promoting issues and causes that I believe in. I feel pretty lucky to be doing all this, yet I know my future probably holds other types of work in it as well. I just don’t know what they all will be yet!

For me, though, teaching/training has always been an interest and then a love. I wanted to be a high school teacher like my parents when I started university but eventually I found my way to adult education instead. I think the principles of adult education actually fit better with how I think education should be “done”, that is, recognizing that everyone in the classroom has some knowledge to contribute, not just the teacher. I find that concept very freeing as a facilitator: that I don’t have to have all the answers. In fact, it’s more interesting and rich when I don’t because it allows others in the room to share their experience. I always learn something myself when I facilitate workshops – I love that!

Last year I did a self-imposed retreat and I read back years’ worth of journals. I discovered that I had written – eight years before – 23 points of what I needed in my future work. I was incredibly surprised to realize that I had 22 of them in my current job! That really struck me about the power of positive intention … I put it out there to the universe what I wanted, and eventually I got it.

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit and so in the past few months I’ve started a business on the side of my day job. It is doing workshop facilitation and motivational speaking around the themes of “do what you love”, “love where you work” and “work effectively.” I have a number of passion areas of that I am exploring and facilitating workshops around underneath those themes. It’s exciting to put myself out there under my own name, yet also a bit scary. I guess my big dream is that I become fabulously successful and people will pay big bucks to contract me as a facilitator! And of course, that I am in heaven doing it. I’d love someone to call and say, “I was wondering if we could fly you to facilitate a workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico…” I’d be there in a second!

If I could ask one thing of the universe I would ask for it to always give me the confidence and courage I need to keep putting myself out there and taking risks to do what I love. It takes a lot of guts to follow your dreams, and I find that a lot of fears bubble to the surface that I have to keep setting aside. I am very lucky to receive support from my friends and family to follow my dreams, but it wouldn’t hurt to have a little cosmic assistance as well!

I think I spent a lot of my twenties thinking that I had to be older than I was to do what I really wanted to do. I didn’t think people would take me seriously as a facilitator or trainer because I wasn’t old enough. Silly me…what a waste of time! In my mid-30s I had a baby and I think I gained more confidence at the same time. I finally woke up and realized that I wasn’t the youngest one in the office anymore, that I am really good at what I do, and that I can do so much more! I could spend time now getting after myself for taking so long to gain the confidence I needed to grow in new directions, but I am instead spending more time reveling in being the age I am now. And like the butterfly in the photo here, drinking life’s nectar and enjoying spreading my wings.

[Images courtesy of Beth Cougler Blom.]

Find out more about Beth on her blog or connect on Twitter (@BethCouglerBlom) or Facebook.