Revisited: Victoria Stanham in Uruguay, South America

Victoria is one of the teachers who submitted their 12 Point Plan for scrutiny on my first three month course between January and March, 2013. (You can read it all on the blog starting here.) Victoria's case history can be read Part One here and Part Two here and Victoria's reply here. Today she talks about what has been happening to her thinking as she moves along her journay as a teacher of Alexander's Discoveries… *** When you first said you'd be offering the in-depth course on the 12 points, I knew I'd be a die-hard follower. I wish I could be part of the Pro members, but since I cannot commit financially to the fee after the 3 freebie months, I opted to wait out on that option. I know that soon enough I'll be needing more personal mentoring and coaching on how to get my little business off the ground (or underground rather). But for now, I'm content with following the blog and playing around with the ideas offered in it. Purpose, Vision and Goals The 12 steps and the whole "Alexander is a business" concept has revolutionized my way of seeing and thinking about the work we do... and it has brought me face to face with all the habits I didn't know I had in relation to my conceptions of what this work is and is not. It has also opened my mind and softened my judgments of other similar disciplines that really apply the marketing and business model, like Pilates and Yoga. I read a few books in the success literature area, and have started comprehending the importance of purpose, vision, goals and action plans. I've been especially interested in the whole area of goal setting and why and how it works. It is all very Alexandrian really; especially since it addresses our self-definitions and self-imposed limitations. It helped me demystify the whole "money" issue. So thank you Jeremy for that! On My Niches Niche is (as always) a work in progress. I'm focusing on the Pilates community; currently training to become a Pilates instructor (having practiced Pilates for some years already). Lots of other potential niches pop up in my mind, but I gathered I would start with Pilates and see where that takes me. One thing I've learned for sure is the importance of knowing EXACTLY who you are talking to and what you have to offer that particular group. I learned that (as tends to happen) by making a huge mistake when trying to tap into the POSTURE niche. Posture is just too wide a subject, and people are interested in it for very different reasons... so trying to talk to everyone interested in posture ended up meaning I was not satisfying anyone's expectations (least of all my own). So now I'm working on narrowing down my niche focus. That is complicated in Uruguay. The population here is tiny, so no specific niche is big enough to afford anyone a living. I'm realising that real money will come from a more international career... so I'll have to figure that one out. On Being Practical Another thing I've learned about myself is I'm just too darned abstract and symbolic in my thinking... so I find it pretty hard to boil down my insights and experiences into "doable" and "shareable" experiences for others (that don't require me putting my hands on them). That is why I always ask for concrete examples from you Jeremy, like the co-ordination plan and the activity-plan thing. I can understand abstract concepts quite easily, I can intuit them and sort of absorb them, I can also "see" movement and organization pretty easily, but I have a hell of a time putting it down into concrete experiences for others if I'm not allowed to put my hands on them. This makes thinking of workshops and group classes as quite a daunting thing. I need to see how these things are done in other disciplines (once again Pilates and Yoga might give me some clues). About Blogging Blogging is the other area I'm working on. I started in February and don't mean to stop anytime soon. I honestly recommend it to everyone!!! At least to me it has afforded clarity, perspective, discipline, a connection with the wider international AT community and (surprisingly) a moderate following. However, once again here, niche is a key. Right now I'm NOT being too consciously specific about my target audience, so habit has lead me down the contemplative road (abstract once again). I realise that the people who like my blog are not those who will come to lessons with me (or at least not for now). I have therefore started playing with the idea of starting a second blog that will be niche specific and downright practical and concrete. It should be quite an exercise for me in self-discipline and working against habits! I'll keep the other blog going for my own pleasure, delight and indulgence :) This is all for now. Thank you Jeremy for your daily inspiration. Victoria http://vstanhamtecnicaalexander.blogspot.com/