What I am Grateful For

There are so many things I am grateful for in my life, and one of them is YOU, not only the members of ICA but for everyone who reads what I write and follows what I’ve been doing. YOU make everything worthwhile! Wayne Dyer said, “Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life!” and I assure you, it is so very true! I love educating and inspiring instructors and in doing so, I can say I have an abundant life. Thank you! There are so many things I am grateful for in my life, and one of the most important ones is YOU, not only the members of ICA but for everyone who reads what I write or who follows what I’ve been doing. YOU make everything I do worthwhile!

I try to express my gratitude daily and weekly, but it is definitely a focus during this weekend of Thanksgiving. I believe that utilizing the Power of Gratitude can change everything, and is an extremely important aspect of attracting abundance and happiness that you desire and deserve in your life.

Wayne Dyer said, “Doing what you love is the cornerstone of having abundance in your life!” and I assure you, it is so very true.

Albert Schweizer said, “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”

I love educating and inspiring instructors and in doing so, I can say I have an abundant and successful life. Thank you, all of you! If it weren’t for you I wouldn’t be able to do what I love.

Here are a few more things for which I am grateful

• Always at the top of my gratitude list every year: I am grateful for Johnny G for creating this activity called Spinning® and indoor cycling. It has filled my soul, it has given me direction, it has provided me with incredible fitness, and it has created a wonderful career for me and has allowed me to find my passion and true direction.
• For bicycling and being able to ride my bike up long, hard mountains, the true “zen” of cycling. The beauty of being at the mountaintop, the ability to overcome the difficulty of the climb, the ability to focus and increase my mental fortitude is always enhanced every time I accomplish a hard climb. I only wish everyone can experience that same feeling at some point in their lives.
• For the amazing people I’ve met on my journey as a Master Instructor, both with the Spinning® program for 12 years, and the past 2-1/2 years on top of that. Wow, I am so fortunate to know you all.
• For the ability to travel and share my passion for what I do.
• For my role as an instructor, because nothing makes me happier than helping my students meet their goals.
• For the fact that I have found a way to make fitness my career.
• For my husband Jeff, for understanding my quirks and stubbornness, and being so supportive of me when I am building a new business and sometimes at my computer for 12 hours straight. And for his amazing creative talent in building houses (including the beautiful one he built for us). I’m also grateful that he came to my class 10 years ago (yes, that’s how we met, in my Spinning® class!)
• For living in the mountains, and being surrounded by such beauty. I love our rural community, and love that it’s close enough to everything we need.
• For four seasons. I may gripe about the cold sometimes….but man is it beautiful when there is snow everywhere.
• I am even grateful for the challenges I’ve encountered this year; yes, even the dark days of February and March when I lost my previous business. But in every case, things always turn out for the best. Look what it’s led me to: creating my own online educational resource, the Indoor Cycling Association, so I can continue my passion of educating and inspiring indoor cycling instructors. I’m telling you, if you find yourself amidst challenges in which you can’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, just hold on, it will appear!
• For my amazing team at ICA: Brian for his website and comptuer genius and soft-spoken gentleness; Matt, my new assitant for his creativity and eagerness; Jorg and Kala for their musical minds and unique musical suggestions; Bryon, the newest music contributor who has such a way with words and describing how music makes you feel; Jennifer Klau for her brilliance and humor; Tom Scotto for wanting to spend more time with me over here at ICA; Gene Nacey for the same reason, as well as for having the passion to create Cycling Fusion; Janet Toussaint for her coaching skills, and everyone else who has contributed anything to ICA.
• For my bicycle tour company, Viva Travels, because it not only allows me to share my love of cycling in Europe with others (and make some money in the process) but look where I get to ride my bike occasionally! It allows me to live vicariously through my self-guided clients as they pedal through olive groves and vineyards, or maybe even the high peaks of the French Alpes. I’m grateful that next summer I’ll finally be able to go back to the Tour de France.
• For my friends and family, especially when they realize that I still love them even when I’m too busy to call. XO
• For music and the way it makes me feel, and the fact that I get to use it to inspire my students in classes.
• For the ability to create a thriving busines(es) and work from home – all because of the advances in computers, software, and the growth of online businesses. Phew…
• For my kitties Izzy and Gibby who bring me such joy and love on a daily basis. There is not a day that goes by that they don’t make me laugh.
• For my good health – something I’ll never take for granted.
• For gourmet food and wine. Yes, I even love the emergence of a new word in the past few years: “Foodie”, which explains everything! Sometimes I think I exercise in order to eat. nom nom!

I wish you all an amazing Thanksgiving with family and friends, and I hope you are able to get a great, hard ride in this week as well to burn off all those calories. And if you are not in the US celebrating this holiday, I wish the same for you, because what the heck, you might as well have fun, be with family, eat a great meal, work out hard and be grateful too! 🙂