dance, sing, floss and travel

It only takes one person to change your life – you.
- Ruth Casey

So remember that busy schedule I always talk about? Well, it looks like I've managed to add yet another task to the very long list...and I couldn't be happier =)

I am now a part-time educator at lululemon athletica, at it's brand spankin' new store in Roosevelt Field, Garden City, NY. We open Friday, June 27.

Lululemon is a luxury fitness apparel company that makes truly functional, performance-ready clothing for yoga, running, cycling, dancing, triathlons, gym training, and every other sport that makes you sweat.

It's purpose is simple - to create components for people to live longer, healthier, more fun lives. And it does so by making awesome clothing. I was skeptical at first, that their clothes could be so much better than anything else I've tried, but they are indeed. The clothes are intuitive and stylish, with more wicking potential, ventilating mesh, secret pockets for keys, money, iPods, etc., and choices than I've ever seen.

The reason the clothes are so custom-designed to fit every athlete's needs? Because they're designed by people who are athletes. In fact, everyone who works for lululemon are athletes in one way or another. And so we come to the "educator" part.

Everyone who works on the floor of lululemon's stores are also athletes who are passionate about staying fit and healthy and passing on their knowledge to others. Right now, I am working alongside personal trainers, nutritionists, yoga instructors, writers, therapists, to name just a few of the many occupations and talents involved. In fact, lululemon embraces the fact that its educators are all experts and movers and shakers in their own fields, and its that kind of knowledge that the company needs to grow even more. Not only do we have to know everything about the clothes on the floor - what they're made for, what features they have, what sports they're best for - but we're also expected to impart our personal experience with the clothes from being out on the track, in the studio, on the court, in the mountains, or wherever in them.

So yeah, you could say I'm just a little excited to be working for the company =P

They also have the coolest manifesto I've ever read. See below (click to enlarge). And they're very big on goal setting, too, and seeing their educators set goals within and beyond the company, which has always been a big deal for me, but I've never seen it so widely and positively practiced on a corporate level. The overall philosophy is quite brilliant, and the fact that their sales continue to skyrocket is only a testament to that fact. What's that? You've never seen any advertisements for lululemon? Yeah, well, that's the other thing. They don't advertise the traditional way. For the most part it's a completely organic, grassroots process that happens through word of mouth via educators and people who wear the clothes to fellow athletes and friends.

Quite a novel idea that's really taken off...good stuff to learn from for an aspiring entrepreneur.

tell me a story

A writer is a person for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.

- Thomas Mann

A blank page – hell.

Depression, torture, unhappy thoughts – future income.

Uneventful, relatively happy days - stagnation.

Sitting alone for hours on end – contentment.

Getting rejected every day – a day at work.

Steady work for little pay – a career.

Your name in print – relief.

. . . .

A blank page – hell.

Writing is a funny thing. Telling people you’re a writer is even funnier. It’s almost like telling people you’re an actor, except they’re much more skeptical. You could tell someone you’re a financial accountant, and they’ll believe you, even if you spend your days twiddling your thumbs and checking your MySpace account, they’ll seldom ask to see what work you’ve done. If you say you’re a teacher, well, then you must really be because every day you have dozens of other people to vouch that you were standing there, talking, and ultimately teaching. But who vouches for you when you write? Who knows all the hours you spend in front of a blank screen? The chaotic, mad thoughts that went through your head? Every ounce of blood that fell from your fingers?*

Ultimately, the only person is you. And for that reason, whenever you tell people you’re a writer, they’ll half-smile, cock their head, and say, “Really?” That’s when you turn and throw your book at them . . . no, I suppose not really, especially if you don’t have a book of your own to throw, the point would be lost.

Successful writers are those who can produce work after work after work, with the knowledge that only a fraction of that will ever meet the public. The drive must be constant, the will must be strong, and the result must be exceptionally successful.

Perfectionists, depressives, obsessive compulsives, dreamers, and failures you’d think need not apply – but they are, in fact, the writers in the end we most remember.

The act of writing, of course, is only half the battle. The other exhausting half is getting someone to believe you’re worth what you’re writing, and that’s the half where most people come to a full-speed stop. Rejection. Fear. Hopelessness. Wasted time. Misplaced effort. What kind of task asks such emotion of you and expects you to do it again, fully knowing it might happen again?

Tell me a story. Make me believe it. And then you’ll be a writer.

* The phrase is both figurative and literal. If you don’t bite your fingers out of anxiety or lack of words, it’s best not to start. We’ll leave it at that.