EN ROUTE TO BEACHBODY’S COACH SUMMIT 2015 IN NASHVILLE

Wow. Is this real life? Am I actually sitting in the airport in Philadelphia, waiting to connect to my next flight to Nashville – to the biggest Beachbody event of the year? For the longest time I didn’t think this would actually happen. I mean I knew I would get here eventually, but to actually be experiencing this is amazing.

I have watched the live streaming of Summit for the past two years and each time it moves me a little more – hearing the success stories of coaches, how Beachbody has transformed their lives financially, and how using the programs have completely changed their health. Seeing the passion in the CEO’s speeches, his desire to help all of the coaches have successful businesses, and his desire to end the the trend of obesity is contagious! Last year I was sitting on my bed watching the event, promising myself that I would do anything I could to get myself here… and now here I am!

Being a coach isn’t always easy. As with anything, I have my own doubts and fears. There have been hard days – days when I thought I couldn’t do this, days where I thought about giving up, days when I would lay awake in bed at night and wonder if I am doing the right thing, days when I doubted my own weight loss success and wondered “why would anyone want me as their coach when I’m not even at my goal weight?”

There have been days when my challengers message me saying they feel so much better now that they are exercising and eating well, days when my challengers post their non-scale victories (NSV), like picking a healthier option, taking the stairs rather than the elevator, completing their workout without having to do the modifier, or telling me that real food tastes so much better than processed junk. There are days when I hear from one of my clients that she needs to get new clothes because everything she owns is now too big, days when I get a message saying a client lost 12 pounds in 21 days, and days when one of my challengers messages me asking how they too can be a coach! When I doubt myself I remember these moments and they keep me going.

As I sit here in the airport restaurant sipping my coffee, surrounded by people travelling to different locations, surrounded by people travelling to different locations, I have tears in my eyes because of how fortunate I am. In just a few hours I will be meeting some incredible people in person whom, for years, I’ve only known online! Tomorrow I get to workout with Shaun T. and on Friday I will get to workout with Chalene Johnson! On Saturday all the coaches are closing down a street in Nashville so we can all do a workout together – 20,000+ people who all share the common interest of helping people in any way that we can.

I have some major goals with my business and I know this trip is going to motivate the shit out of me to get it done!

They say I'm a dreamer but I'm not the only one…..

For my whole life I have always felt that I was destined for great things. I have had this feeling in my heart and soul for as long as I can remember that my purpose in life is to help others.

In school I did my best to be kind to the kids who were being picked on. I always smiled at them, said hi, even when I was getting teased.  I found myself daydreaming a lot about life and how things would be when I got older.  I volunteered at seniors homes, with under privileged kids coaching basketball.  All throughout my career I have made a point to smile to people in the hallways, be kind, treat others like I would want to be treated and do my best at my job.

But during this time I wasn't a big fan of working for someone else. Yes I got a pay cheque and benefits but having to ask someone if I could take time off to go to a doctor's appointment or watch my son's class Christmas concert just irked me!  This is my time, my life, I should be able to do what I want, when I want!  The ridiculous stress that people get from not getting a document done on time or fixing a small software system glitch made me annoyed!  Come on people, we are not curing cancer here, we are working on a computer system.

Life is here to be lived.  Yes we need money for bills, clothes, food, our kids but shouldn't we do something we love? Something that makes your heart beat a little faster? Something that brings a huge smile to your face. Something that makes a difference in this world?  Something that helps others?

I'm an entrepreneur at heart. I love working for myself. I love making my own hours. I love working when I want to work. I love hard work. I love challenges. I love doing what makes me happy. I love learning, growing and helping others achieve their dreams.

My perfect life would be to drive my babies to school every day.  Volunteer in their classrooms a couple times a week. Work on my business while they are at school. Do my workouts, take a yoga class, have conference calls with my team to plan our next few months.  Try a new recipe a few times a week, do a load of laundry every day, have quality time with my kids and husband in the evenings. Travel to team conferences a few times a year. Take a winter vacation (or two) with my family.  Wear yoga pants and long sweaters all winter long and get rid of the dress pants!

This type of life just doesn’t happen.  I can dream all I want but unless I make sacrifices now for the life I want, nothing will happen. I will continue to work for someone else, make them money and not have the work life balance that I deserve. So in the next 3 months I will be working my butt off to make my dreams into goals and my goals into a reality for me. The possibilities are endless on what I can do with my business! I will help at least 100 people between now and December 31, 2014 start their health and fitness journey. I will help 5 of my coaches make their dreams into a reality.

This is my purpose.  After years of soul searching, daydreaming, wishing, thinking I now know what I have to do to make my dreams my life. It's time to stop dreaming and to start doing.

I will plan those vacations, buy some new yoga pants and sweaters and do that laundry like no one's business! ;)