You may remember Jazzercise from the height of its popularity in the ‘80s, when leotards and legwarmers were all the rage. Today, the leading dance fitness brand features HIIT, dance and kickboxing classes set to Top 40 music. Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and topping $2 billion in gross cumulative sales, the global fitness empire continues to reinvent itself with founder and CEO Judi Sheppard Missett at the helm.
Others may attempt to copy, imitate, or mock you. See it as the compliment it is, but don’t look over your shoulder or hold on too tightly to where you’ve been. Instead, keep your focus forward. It’s okay to have fun. Adopt a sense of possibility, the attitude of “Let’s try it and see how it works.” At age 25, Missett began teaching a jazz dance class, but students complained that it was too hard and not fun enough. At that moment, she redefined what she was doing and why, shifting the focus away from herself as a performer and onto her students. This is when she found her life’s purpose—to help others discover and use dance as a vehicle for self-expression, good health, and fitness. She designed a new, easier, more fun class that combined the art of dance with the science of exercise.