Meet Risa Sheppard

 

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Risa Sheppard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Risa, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I’ve heard it said that the most successful people are not necessarily the smartest, richest or most talented. The most successful people are the ones with the most “grit” .

Grit, or resilience, is what has driven me for almost 50 years. I often say that I built my business on anxiety and prayer. I probably should have put the prayer before the anxiety and it would have saved me lots of grief!

Thinking back, I would say that I got most, if not all, or my resilience from my mother.

Born at the start of the depression in 1930, she was the 7th of 8 children. She grew up in the midwest to an alcoholic father and a mother who loved her, but had to deal with financial issues, raising 8 children, and an absent husband. In 1939 my grandmother became pregnant with her 9th child. Facing financial and personal ruin, my maternal grandfather came home one day with a concoction that would “naturally” abort the fetus. That so-called concoction proved to be fatal and she succumbed to a miscarriage at the age of 39. My mother was left virtually an orphan at the age of 9. Her older siblings, not knowing what to do with my mother and her younger brother Dennis, put them in a Catholic orphanage.
But my mother was not happy, and a year later she ran away from the orphanage and went to live with her older sister Virginia.
At the age of 18 she left her sister’s and came to Los Angeles, where one of her other siblings lived. It was there she met my father and they decided to get married.

I’m telling that story to say I believe it was from my mother that I “inherited” her grit and resilience . Although I hardly compare my challenges to hers, I do believe my fortitude and perseverance in pursuing my Pilates career all these years had the “inspiration’ from my Mother. We are not women who give up easily.

I am a second generation teacher. I studied with Ron Fletcher back in 1975. In those days no-one had heard of Pilates. Ron’s studio was called The Ron Fletcher School of Body Contrology” in the same vein that Joe Pilates titled his method.

I worked for him for 5 years. When he semi-retired in 1980, I went out on my own and taught in private homes.
I taught the mat work as no one had a reformer in their home back then. I was totally dependent on the few clients I had.
My insecurities and fears became astute whenever someone even canceled. If they quit for any reason, I was sure I would
“be on the streets” with no income. I hadn’t come to the knowledge that when one door closes, another opens.
I lived in fear of loss. All the while I had great relationships with all my clients. I loved them and they loved me back.
It was not until several years later, when I opened my own studio and started to see more clients , hired teachers to take the overflow did I realize that one client leaving just made way for another.

I’ve overcome a lot of my fears through the practice of Positive Thinking, I’ve experienced betrayal from coworkers, and family. I’ve experienced the trials and tribulations of owning one’s own business with no financial help of any sort.
Somehow, through the grace of God, I’ve made it through. I’ve bought a condo and then a house. I’ve written a couple of books, been on numerous television shows. and now enjoy having a team of teachers that support my growth. I feel very blessed.

It has not come easily, but the rewards have lasted and lasted.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I was born and raised in Los Angeles in the fifties. A time when kids could play outdoors without fear of strangers, talk to each other vs. texting and life seemed simple. As a young girl I had my mother take me to see Disney’s Sleeping Beauty 16 times. That was true love!!!! It was at this time I decided I wanted to become an actress (doesn’t everyone in L.A aspire to be a star?)
Mother took me for acting lessons. While I attended Hollywood High, I did a lot of theatre. I then went on and attended UCLA with a major in Theatre Arts. It was at this time I was hired by the UCLA psychiatric department to teach autistic children movement. I loved working with young people who got such pleasure from simply moving their bodies. Upon graduation I was introduced to the Ron Fletcher School of Body Contrology. Ron had studied with Joseph Pilates in New York. Soon after Joseph Pilates passed, Ron decided to bring his method out West. I instantly took to the work like a duck to water. I felt like I was a dancer without being a dancer! I was soon asked to teach. I discovered my true calling. I loved helping people and seeing their improvements. It was rewarding and I learned “I love to teach!”
50 years later I am still teaching. I own The Sheppard Method Pilates Studio in West Los Angeles. I teach classical Pilates the way Ron taught me. I strive to continue to be of service to the many people who find Pilates as fun and inspiring as I did all those years ago.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Resilience, grit, and loving and caring for others. Making each person feel special as they continue to improve and feel better about themselves.
The advice I would give to others is to take time to hone their craft, whatever it is, and be kind and respectful to others.

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?

First I would have to put Ron Fletcher top of the list. He definably
helped me with the knowledge and quality I would need to be successful.
Along with Ron, I would have to include my mother. Her name was Wanda. She was always helping me to overcome challenges with understanding, love and inspiration to be and do all I aspire to.

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Image Credits

Jesse DeYoung

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