Fear of Public Speaking Conquered via Seminar!

I took a few of Arnold Sanow's classes on public speaking. He is the best! Before taking his classes, even the thought of giving a presentation or speech made me ill. Picturing everyone in the audience with their "underwear" on never worked for me. I was already outgoing, but something about getting in front of a big audience scared me!! His classes changed all of that. Last summer, I was invited to give a presentation to a national association at their annual conference. Since that time, I have given about six other presentations and always received feedback stating "exceeded expectations."

Just recently, I have really been able to put my skills to work! I am very excited to share that I just launched a new business. White Brights Teeth Whitening Boutiques! We offer teeth whitening at salons, spas, gyms, national trade shows, conferences and home parties. Results are immediate and only one treatment is necessary. Our customers have been thrilled!

Arnold Sanow's classes helped me feel comfortable presenting all of this information to groups, investors and the general public. I even spark up conversations in the grocery line. Before, I would have felt stupid or uncomfortable. I have always been very impressed and "wowed" by First Class. I love to get the catalog and go through and select classes. I feel very fortunate to have such an awesome variety on such cool topics.

Sincerely,
W. Mason Preddy
CEO/Founder
White Brights Teeth Whitening Boutiques

A Tour Guiding Success Story! $39 grew to $100,000!

A note from Lynn O'Connell:

Lynn just recalled how much she had earned from taking her first class entitled "Wanted: D.C. Tour Guides" over 20 years ago!

My cost: $39. My profits: $100,000+ over the past two decades – in my “spare” time. When I first moved to DC, I signed up for a two-hour class on Becoming a Tour Guide, thinking it would be a good way to explore the city. I went on to get my D.C. license and have led local tours for many years. I now lead tours internationally to places like Kenya, Belize, and France. Yes, I have a Master’s that helps me succeed in my day job. But, that $39 class has certainly brought me a return on investment! -Lynn

Multiple Revenue Stream Seminar Reaps Rewards!

A message from Larry Ray!

I wanted to become self-employed. My first step: take classes at First Class Inc.. I took two classes: "How to Be a $1000/Day Consultant" and "Making a Living without a Job." I took away two important themes--create multiple revenue streams and consult in areas in which you already have expertise. For the past 12 years, following those themes, I have been a successfully employed Attorney, Mediator, Arbitrator, and Executive Coach.

Sincerely,

Larry Ray

Tarot Class Leads to Profound Change

A message from Paul Weiss:

Back in the winter of 2002, I enrolled in "Tarot Messages" taught by Geraldine Amaral. This class that is held at First Class Inc. changed my life. Over the past six years, I've taken other classes through First Class to imprve the quality of my life and to start a business. From the very first class, "Tarot Messages," I became a certified professional tarot reader. I do highly endorse this center because it will have a profound impact on your life for the better. First Class rocks!

Export Import Class Spurs Student to Launch Website

Fresh out of college, I took the “Break into the Import/Export Business” class offered by First Class Inc. to give me more insight on how I could get started in the import industry. Two years later, I now run a successful website full-time RoundBrushHair which provides products from the Dominican Republic to men and women in the United States and eight countries in Europe.

Jennifer
Founder, RoundBrushHair.com

The Dilemma: How to Handle a Difficult Adult Learner

When it is no longer an option to send a student out of a class, how does a seminar leader handle a student whose behavior can impact on a seminar in a negative way? In the past few weeks, I've watched two different instructors handle challenging students. In the first instance, a female student (who will remain anonymous) kept interrupting the teacher with unrelated and somewhat racist comments. The teacher handled it like a pro...found something in her statement to comment on (since it was a communication class) and then forged ahead with the material. Luckily, the other students in attendance realized that the student was troubled. Because everyone behaved like mature adults, the seminar was not seriously impacted. I was very close to asking the student to leave, but I did not want to undermine the teacher's authority.

In the second instance, we had a gentleman who wanted to make sure that everyone in the class knew that he was also an authority on the topic. He would raise his hand to comment on something the teacher had said, but when the teacher began talking again...he was still talking. I have to admit--this was a first! And, very annoying to both the teacher and the other students. Again, everyone in class behaved admirably. In this instance, it might have helped if one of the other students gently mentioned that his behavior was bothersome. That would have lifted the onus off the instructor so that he/she did not have to be the "bouncer."

Hopefully, this is just a fluke. But, I always try to use these situations as learning experiences and judge how to best handle them in the future.

A "5 Year Vision" Success Story!

One year ago, I took a First Class Inc. course called “Your 5-Year Vision, how you see yourself five years from now, and how to get there,” by professional coach Margarita Rozenfeld. I was really lost in what I wanted to do with my professional career, and had only a few vague ideas. This course was the first important step towards building a concrete, step-by-step plan to achieve my professional goals. Now, I’m doing exactly what I have always dreamed of.”

Barbara Jauregui

It really is a time of change! New Career; New Attitude

Recently, I've noticed a new attitude in the career seminars that we've been holding at First Class Inc. in the past few weeks. Normally, there is an air of frustration and discontent around being laid off and/or downsized...but this time, students seem to be viewing the circumstances more as an "opportunity" and less as a calamity. Even with the realization that they will be living on less, living one's dream seems to have taken on a new importance. It's a subtle change; but an exciting one. But, as I saw in "The Passion Test" seminar..trying to figure out just what your "passion" is..is not an easy task. I'm a firm believer in creating a vision board or treasure map..and as I just learned from Evelin Saxinger, you can create a vision board online and use it as your screensaver!

A "Publishing Your Book" Success Story!

On June 13, 2006, I signed up with First Class for "Publishing Your Book" and "How to Write Your First Book," presented by publishing expert Dan Poynter.

What I learned from that class led to my writing Spontaneous Tourism: The Busy Person's Guide to Travel (available in bookstores and online; Spontaneous Tourism), which enjoyed a 10,000-copy print run and got me bookings on radio shows across the country.

Without First Class and Dan Poynter, none of that would have happened.

Regards,
Jamie

--
James C. Samans,
Author of Spontaneous Tourism: The Busy Person's Guide to Travel