Rock Star!

    When I was younger. I'm not saying young, just younger. I was determined to be a rock star. I think a lot of people get that idea while they're teenagers. So, in that regard, I was not unique. It’s not even original! Huh, rock star! How pedestrian!

       Anyway, considering my limited talent - I along with many good friends managed to make the most of our youthful angst and ambition. We played, we recorded, we practiced and toured. We worked hard! I mean really dedicated people working very hard for something with very little, if any, return. I failed in becoming a rock star, but not because of a lack of effort.

Maybe its all the signals in society, but most of us rage against the ordinary life. Car companies sell minivans to suburban families by convincing them that they are still hip, cool, or beautiful. Even as we get married, have babies and go to parent-teacher conferences, we still hold that desire deep inside to do something extraordinary, something special. At least I do. That's not an insult to dads and moms who dedicate themselves to providing a stable, comfortable and secure home for their children. That, in itself is an extraordinary endeavor. But often, we focus so intently on our kids, that we lose sight of ourselves.

I gave up my rock star dream. For more than a decade, I convinced myself that I had my chance. I sat on the couch. I let life happen to me. I sat on the couch. I got divorced. I felt sorry for myself for a while.

But now, at an age when I society says I should be sitting on my ass, I am living more boldly than ever.

No, I'm not likely to sell millions of albums and play to huge arenas. But I am finally finding that I am capable of something extraordinary. Not just once in a while - every day!

Today, I wrote an email to my mother to tell her about the weekend I spent training to be an instructor in another group fitness program, BodyPump.

For the last two years, I've been instructing another program, called RPM - an indoor, group cycling class, kind of like "spinning." If you know me, you already know this. I told my mom all about the company that produces the programs, Les Mills. I could repeat the same praise here. But really, Les Mills is just a company, more like a global corporation that produces a really good product. And they invest a lot of time in training and preparing people like me to sell that product.

In their advertisements, car companies may try to convince you that you are rugged, outdoorsy, sophisticated or sexy just by driving a car.

I and many of the instructors I know make you believe you that you are strong, beautiful, and fit because you are strong beautiful and fit. Often people do not realize what they are capable of, until someone believes in them and pushes them to go where they did not believe they could. I am proud to be one of those people. I am proud to help people surprise themselves, and to transform them selves. Not by spending a wad of money on a car, but by working hard and having fun.

This is me saying, “I will not sit on the couch” - literally and figuratively. I will not sit and watch my 44th year pass into my 45th. I will not sit and watch a summer come and go, a Christmas, or an election cycle. I’m going to get up and live. Not only am I going live, I’m going to help other people live.

Who knew? Maybe I am a rock star!