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And hey, now that i’ve been publicly called out, i guess i’ll get

on my soap box for a second because really, i’m so sick of people

judging me for being a capitalist.

you know what is great about capitalism? Opportunity.

Capitalism is based on value for value exchange. That is, i sell

what i have to sell, and if you think there is value, you buy it.

If you don’t think there is value, well then, you simply don’t buy

it, do you?

what that also means is i wouldn’t be successfully in business for

6.5 years if i had such a money grubbing product that wasn’t of

value to offer, would I? People wouldn’t come back and pay more,

would they? it wouldn’t be the case that more than 60% of my

clients are repeat clients, would it?

what capitalism makes possible in the world is a place where

everyone can offer whatever it is they have to offer — which

means anyone can find a way to make a living as long as they can

fill a demand in the market place and are willing to do the work

necessary to make it happen.

there is a high demand for quality education out there — someone

who can give you the distictions of, say, how to perform a weave

behind the back and teach you the correct sequence of movements

necessary to create that pattern. whatever word you use to

describe that (art, instruction, hobby, performance, guidance,

coaching, somantic movement therapy, etc.), it is still a service

that is quite useful to people who want that level of

distinction.

You may not be someone interested in that. That does not make me

wrong for offering that service. Nor does it make the 1150+

(mostly repeat) clients i’ve had wrong for using such a service.

For anyone to sit around and publicly criticize me as a money

grubbing <you fill in the blank> for literally changing the lives

of hundreds of people for the better is really fascinating. Who

exactly do you think you are to be judging ANYONE else? Wow… I’m

blown away.

Peggy and anyone else sitting there thinking Peggy is "right": I

invite you to examine your judgments and open your heart. You may

not LIKE what i’m doing — and i have no issue with that — but I

have a right to do it and people have a right to pay for it. Your

judgment does NOTHING to support anyone and simply propagates

negative judgmental energy into the world. Is that who you want to

show up as, really?

And just because i want to be clear about what i mean by changing

client’s lives, here’s some testimonials from people, starting

with one from a member of _THIS_ community:

"When I was a kid, I wish P.E. had been taught like the classes

here at the Temple of Poi. I grew up thinking I was relatively

uncoordinated. But I’ve learned here that it doesn’t matter how

coordinated I am compared to anyone else; I can do things I never

imagined that I could, with whatever coordination I have."

~D. Van Olst; August, 2005

–

"I am so blessed to have found an amazing teacher to help me grow

and develop as a poi dancer and performer. Before taking poi

classes with Isa, I would have never performed in public and now

I’ve performed twice in Union Square and once at Burning Man. I’m

ready for my next challenge and performance. Poi is changing the

world, one spinner at a time. If you want to bring poi into your

life, Isa is one of the best teachers around. Thanks for

everything Isa, I love you! "

~ M. Weinberg; December 2007

–

"Every night after I leave your class I feel more empowered."

~ A.Shuttleworth; November, 2004

–

"Poi is definitely difficult to teach, it demands patience, grace,

assertiveness, and constructive honesty every second of the class,

which is no small feat. Isa Isaacs is the Jedi Knight of Poi

teachers. A Poi Master and a true Grand Teacher in the arcane

samurai sense. Some teachers learn how to teach while

teaching—but Isa has taught over a 1000 students at her school,

Temple of Poi, and she takes the art of teaching seriously… Isa

teaches by demonstrating the poi move, and then breaks it down

into steps, the most difficult thing to do in Poi, knowing EXACTLY

what … you are doing, and being able to explain it. Even cooler,

she hands out these cute little black books, so that you can write

down the moves in her mathematical Poi shorthand."

~T. Harrison; May, 2007

–

"I can’t speak highly enough about the classes I took over the

past few weeks. The breadth and depth of my moves, flow, and

dance capabilities have totally improved, and I’m having more fun

than ever spinning! Many thanks for running a top notch learning

environment."

~ S. Familian; November, 2007

–

"You are a beautiful example of how helping each other enables us

to be lifted to higher places in such a short period of time."

~K. Werner; August, 2005

–

"…thank you for introducing me to the world of fire dancing. I

had my first experience with fire last Wednesday night in Sparky’s

class and it was just magic! The first spin you do with lit poi…

hearing that giant "Woosh!" as they go by… words are

insufficient to describe the emotions I experienced at that

moment. For once, everything else going on in the world melted

away and the only thing left was an intense awareness of myself

and the fire. At that moment, all seemed right in the world, like

it was meant to be. As I sit here and fumble for words to express

my gratitude and excitement and torrent of emotions, I feel rather

helpless. I know you understand what I mean. Thank you for sharing

this wonderful gift"

~A. Corley; March, 2006

–

"Thanks for setting a standard and for being a teacher who teaches

about the learning process; that’s worth more than the 5 beat

weave. I’m looking forward to the next class."

~K. Moore; July, 2005

–

"You know I am very very impressed with the empire you have built.

Very fun and professional, good method, good attitude, good

people. Good prices."

~E. David; November, 2005

–

change is useful.

isa "glittergirl" isaacs

founder, temple of poi

415.543.4911

On Sun Sep 14 12:57:50 CDT 2008, Peggy Weitzman

<fannygirl@…>
wrote:

>

>

>

>

> I choose to believe that this offer is a joke.

>

> " I’m writing to let you know about a program to help you turn

> your

> Spinning

>> hobby into a money making adventure "

>

> I do have hobbies such as skiing, reading, and stone sculpting.

> My ART

> is the creation of fans and flags and dancing with them.

>

> "> – a comprehensive breakdown of your roles as a business owner

> and

> operator

>> (as well as instructor), including sales, marketing, finance

>

> So after reading the entire offer several times, I am choosing to

> believe that this is just a bad attempt at humor and that Isa

> (aka

> Glitter Girl) is really not an opportunistic, money grubbing

> __________

> you fill the blank.

>

>

>

> — In SpinTribe@yahoogroups.com,
GlitterGirl <glitter@…> wrote:

>>

>> Whoops. I had meant to mention that members of this community

>> (mention

> you

>> found out about the training on the spin tribe list) qualify for

>> a

> discount

>> for the certification program course — please contact me

>> directly for

>> details.

>>

>> —

>> Greeting community!

>>

>> I’m writing to let you know about a program to help you turn your

> Spinning

>> hobby into a money making adventure — If you are an

>> intermediate or

> beyond

>> spinning artist and you:

>>

>> – want to give back to the community

>> – want to improve the quality of flow arts education

>> – are interested in understanding how to manage the business and

> client

>> relationship aspects of teaching flow arts

>> – want to teach using a proven method that gets unprecedented

>> results

>>

>> Then join us for the Temple of Poi Instructor Certification

>> Training

> being

>> offered October 24-26, 2008 in San Francisco, California.

>>

>> Temple of Poi is pleased to announce the first Instructor

> Certification

>> Training Program for poi (the same techniques work for flagging

>> — ask

> Dan

>> V!) instructors, offering:

>>

>> – a comprehensive breakdown of your roles as a business owner and

> operator

>> (as well as instructor), including sales, marketing, finance and

> client

>> relationship management skills

>> – exercises specifically designed to assist you in clarifying

>> your

> mission

>> and vision

>> – in depth analysis of the structure of the course curriculum

>> discussion and development of techniques appropriate to various

> learning

>> styles

>> – analysis, coaching and technique improvement sessions over the

> course of

>> the training

>> – sales and marketing training

>> – a private coaching session with GlitterGirl (founder of Temple

>> of

> Poi,

>> operating since 2002) to provide specific coaching just for you

>>

>> And much more!

>>

>> Details and registration are available on the Temple of Poi Web

>> site!

>>

>> –

>>

>> Isa "GlitterGirl" Isaacs

>> Founder, Temple of Poi

>> 415.424.8581 (voice mail)

>>

>

>

>

Hello to all!

To answer a few question….

To gain stage and dressing room access your "pass" will be your

fans/flags. There is no written list this year. You will NOT be allowed

entrance to either area without your "pass".

As always, there is no charge for using the dressing rooms other than

your cooperation and help in policing the space.

We are a responsible group of adults. The only way to continue to have

this privilege is to behave well.

I have arranged to have SAL security at the top of the dressing room

stairs all night, however I have promised that we will take care of

ourselves downstairs. Party hearty, but remember that the dressing

rooms are our home for the night.

Thanking you in advance for your help as I will be asking for it!!!

If you need me, please use the following e-dress…

bpfanners2007@yahoo.com

Peggy

ps – please pass this on to your mailing lists!