Miss-Delectable
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Ode Magazine : Readers Blog : Skyway Adventures: Leaving from Amsterdam
So here I am, waiting at the Amsterdam Airport. I am about to fly to Miami harbor to meet the members of my team, including an Aroma Jockey, an Experience Jockey from Miami, 3 deaf dancers, 3 sign dancers from Canada, 2 instructors, 1 producer, and 2 assistants. Tomorrow we will board on one of the biggest cruise ships in the world. For 3 days we will entertain 4,000 deaf visitors on this cruise, the biggest event ever in deaf history.
How did I ever get here!?!
If you would have told me 6 years ago this would happen, first of all I would not have understood it, then I would not have believed it. Aroma Jockeys nor Experience Jockeys did not exist back then. I didn't think deaf people could dance. In addtion, why would you organize a trip for 4,000 hearing impaired people? But most of all, I would have never guessed that I would be leader of this group.
Six years ago, everything in my life was about being cool, or being the coolest guy in the world. I had a cool job as a marketer at a popular music venue in the Netherlands, I had cool friends, a cool car and even a cool dog. Everything was cool in my life. So cool, that my sister said to me, "Ronald, to you your life may look cool, but to me, it looks pretty cold, or maybe even cold as ice!"
She offered to take me to a three and a half day Landmark Education course where you get to see how you can get more out of your life. In this Landmark Forum, they triggered me by saying, if you take a stand for something, you can realize anything you want for yourself or your life. And it also gives a tremendous kick if you achieve something that seemed to be impossible. In three days I got rid of my barriers that were stopping me, and I thought, okay, so then a music event for deaf people should be possible as well!
I started to gather a group of hearing impaired people and connected them with professionals from the event industry and one year later we had something amazing going on! This had not been done before, so deaf and hearing people came from all over Europe. Within three weeks the party was sold out, there was lots of press coverage and everybody was overwhelmed by the vibe of enthusiasm that was present during the event. We had a vibrating dance floor, visual images, light effects, expressive dancers, sign interpreters, taste sensations, massages and aromas. With all these sense stimulating tools, we translated the emotions behind the music so that everybody could get them as well.
The preparation had taken a lot of energy so after the event, I thought it was time to pick up my cool life again. However, the production crew did not accept that, they were asking for more! More events, bigger events, more deaf empowerment, more innovation. In our approach something else was new: for the first time deaf and hearing collaborated to achieve something. Hearing people got a new understanding of the possibilities of the deaf culture, we had a new message to bring!
Because of this I found that there was no way back. Did I really wanted that way back? No way! I got that kick they were sharing about in that Landmark Forum. I knew from then on that this is what I wanted my life to be about: showing and inspiring other people that if you really go for it, everything is possible.
Ready to board on the plane!
I will keep you updated during our trip!
So here I am, waiting at the Amsterdam Airport. I am about to fly to Miami harbor to meet the members of my team, including an Aroma Jockey, an Experience Jockey from Miami, 3 deaf dancers, 3 sign dancers from Canada, 2 instructors, 1 producer, and 2 assistants. Tomorrow we will board on one of the biggest cruise ships in the world. For 3 days we will entertain 4,000 deaf visitors on this cruise, the biggest event ever in deaf history.
How did I ever get here!?!
If you would have told me 6 years ago this would happen, first of all I would not have understood it, then I would not have believed it. Aroma Jockeys nor Experience Jockeys did not exist back then. I didn't think deaf people could dance. In addtion, why would you organize a trip for 4,000 hearing impaired people? But most of all, I would have never guessed that I would be leader of this group.
Six years ago, everything in my life was about being cool, or being the coolest guy in the world. I had a cool job as a marketer at a popular music venue in the Netherlands, I had cool friends, a cool car and even a cool dog. Everything was cool in my life. So cool, that my sister said to me, "Ronald, to you your life may look cool, but to me, it looks pretty cold, or maybe even cold as ice!"
She offered to take me to a three and a half day Landmark Education course where you get to see how you can get more out of your life. In this Landmark Forum, they triggered me by saying, if you take a stand for something, you can realize anything you want for yourself or your life. And it also gives a tremendous kick if you achieve something that seemed to be impossible. In three days I got rid of my barriers that were stopping me, and I thought, okay, so then a music event for deaf people should be possible as well!
I started to gather a group of hearing impaired people and connected them with professionals from the event industry and one year later we had something amazing going on! This had not been done before, so deaf and hearing people came from all over Europe. Within three weeks the party was sold out, there was lots of press coverage and everybody was overwhelmed by the vibe of enthusiasm that was present during the event. We had a vibrating dance floor, visual images, light effects, expressive dancers, sign interpreters, taste sensations, massages and aromas. With all these sense stimulating tools, we translated the emotions behind the music so that everybody could get them as well.
The preparation had taken a lot of energy so after the event, I thought it was time to pick up my cool life again. However, the production crew did not accept that, they were asking for more! More events, bigger events, more deaf empowerment, more innovation. In our approach something else was new: for the first time deaf and hearing collaborated to achieve something. Hearing people got a new understanding of the possibilities of the deaf culture, we had a new message to bring!
Because of this I found that there was no way back. Did I really wanted that way back? No way! I got that kick they were sharing about in that Landmark Forum. I knew from then on that this is what I wanted my life to be about: showing and inspiring other people that if you really go for it, everything is possible.
Ready to board on the plane!
I will keep you updated during our trip!