Random Thoughts ~ once again

So, this picture is NOT the way I feel or look… anymore.  But I thought it was appropriate for some random thoughts on this Sunday afternoon.

  Lets start with energy and fitness, I went out with some friends and watched the Apple Cup last night,  University of Washington and Washington State University and their annual rivalry game was great, great, great.  UW beat WSU and will advance to a bowl game for the first time since 2002. Long time, many long Saturday afternoons have been spent the last 8 years watching the Huskies take the gas pipe.  What a fun, rewarding rebuilding process it’s been.  I really enjoy seeing broken things fixed.  I don’t care if it’s people, old cars, teams,  programs,  clubs… it doesn’t matter. One of my favorite hobbies is taking something that needs help and turning it around.  Then turn it over to someone else once it’s repaired…. Good stuff.  And this morning, I woke up with a slight football win hangover…. And did NOT want to exercise…. but I pushed play, and I did my 60 minutes, and sweated out all that was ailing me.

What else… Yea, my new job, I just spent my first week in my new territory working for Living Social and outside of the frustration of learning everything brand new at my age, it went well.  I really love the energy of being with such a company that is just tearing it up in every way. There is much competion however our niche and the quality of our process and training has all of us in the field postured just right.  The merchants are lining up to be featured and I really enjoy this so far.  It’s very positive, hard rewarding work.  And after owning my own company for 25 years, it’s kind of nice to be in a large company that is taken it to the streets like we are. This weeks big news was that a small company in Seattle had just bought a “minority” stake in Living Social for 183 Million dollars. How cool it’s going to be moving forward knowing that Amazon, the world’s number one  on-line shopping site and Living Social one of the countries fastest growing Social Media and Networking companies are working together to give the US and the rest of the world great deals on the coolest stuff to do and see in their communities.  I feel like the whole career change for me was just meant to be, from the interview process, to the hiring, training, and my new-found energy and passion in my life.  Thank you  P9oX, TurboFire, and Beachbody getting my body and mind strong again so I can take on the challenges of my new career.  I’m very grateful for the help in re-inventing myself.

Speaking of challenges, for most of 2010, I’ve been working at building up my Beachbody Coaching business, following their game plan for success and doing my best to make their success club each month.  I have missed it only a few times all year and I’m proud of that accomplishment.  In fact, I was invited to a Luncheon with CEO of Beachbody, Carl Daikeler, and Tony Horton this last weekend in Portland, but I could not attend.  How cool though, to be invited as one of the top producers in the Northwest.  Another reason to be proud for sure.   I worked hard to recieve my Diamond Coaching status, and will continue helping others get fit and healthy and maintain that status to best of my ability.

Although I cannot spend as much time on my Beachbody business now that I’m working for Living Social, they do go hand in hand, I must maintain my commitment to working out 6 days a week, so I’m prepared both mentally and physically to handle the demands of my new position.  I’m committed to both, and must stay frosty on that.  My workouts, my quality of work to my new position are both NON-Negotiable.  I’ll maintain high standards with both, and take pride knowing that I’m doing my absolute best I can.

Consistancy and the art of Motivation

Before I start this rant, I’d like to reprint a post from a guy who flat out motivates me.
The Change ~ Tony Horton
It’s befuddling – the fine line between super easy and hard as hell when it comes to understanding what it takes to improve your life. Here’s my shot at it. I’m learning that when you decide to eat right and exercise regularly the person you become has it pretty easy and life no longer seems hard as hell. It’s been the strangest phenomenon in my personal life. I used to have so many problems and issues. Everything seemed difficult and daunting. There was so much drama and conflict. I was lazy, tired and overwhelmed. Life was a struggle. Not in a million years would I have equated a poor diet and erratic physical activity as the bane of my existence.

In my late 20s and early 30s I began to eat better and workout more regularly – oddly enough new opportunities came my way, my confidence improved and the drama began to fade away. At that time I still wouldn’t have thought life outside of my workouts was getting better because of my workouts and healthier food. I never put 2 and 2 together. I chalked it up to luck, nothing more. There were times in those days when I’d get lazy, eat garbage food and blow off workouts and what do you know, life got hard again. I still didn’t think the two opposing situations/events had anything to do with each other.

By the time I met BeachBody CEO Carl Daikeler 13 years ago my fitness and food balance was close to great. Not perfect but pretty good. Those early days creating routines for Great Body Guaranteed and Power90 were fun and exciting. I was in the right place at the right time with the right experience to be able to help Carl and Jon create something different and better when it came to in-home workouts. We were striking Gold were it had never been seen before. You’d think by then I’d have a clear understanding that my regular exercise and healthy eating had something to do with my early triumphs, but the answer was still no. More great luck right?

Turns out that the more consistent I was with my workouts and the better I ate, the more opportunities came my way. As a teenager and young adult when I had a horrible diet and very little exercise, my life was a wreck because I didn’t have the feel good brain chemistry of a person who was firing on all cylinders from making better choices. When I was in my sometimes-on-sometimes-off phase I was suffering from what I call “Fitness Bi-polar Disorder” because I wasn’t consistent enough to reap the life altering benefits of a true health and wellness lifestyle. In only the last 2 or 3 years have I understood how 6 to 7 days a week of exercise and eating whole foods can provide the energy and enthusiasm to take life on. John Ratey’s Book “Spark” and Chris Crowley’s & Henry Lodge’s book “Younger Next Year” were also the catalyst for my present thinking.

I’m writing this because I want you to realize that life can be incredible – not through luck or upbringing or even education. I know plenty of people with a great education and money and they’re a mess. Joy, happiness, opportunities, success and the life you want comes from making The Change to a lifestyle that involves regular exercise and whole foods. What seems hard as hell at first will turn your life into a carefree world of endless experiences, plenty of opportunities and the energy and enthusiasm to enjoy life for the rest of your life. The issues and drama of the past will fade way because you had the courage to make consistent fitness and healthy food a priority.
Posted by Tony Horton at 11:24 AM

Ya see why THIS guy motivates ME? He’s right you know, you might say… ” Yea, yea… I know, and someday I’ll get around to it.” Well for a lot, someday never comes. It’s about doing it…. doing it now, before there are no more tomorrow’s to worry about.
What is the key to motivation? I believe it’s different things for different people. Beachbody’s big buzzword is “WHY” find YOUR Why… which means, find out why YOU want to be healthy. Is it for your children? Your wife? Is it for YOU? Find that why and you’ll be on the road to Motivation.
My why was I had just been through an awful year in 2009, business downturn, my only brother died of Chrones disease, I watched him die a horrible death in the hospital and I vowed right then and there, that I was going to do EVERYTHING in MY power to stay healthy, strong and to make good decisions in regards to my lifestyle and health. That drive is very strong in me right now. But it won’t mean a damn thing unless I can STAY THE COURSE. I believe I will, as it’s been a year now of constant exercise for me, and it’s now a lifestyle. I get up 6 days a week, follow the program I’m on, push play and follow along. If I get tired and can’t keep up, I push pause, catch my breath, and continue. I’m proud each and every morning.
consistency IS the art of Motivation and is the KEY to a healthier, happier, easier life.
My Coaching is Free, I’m here to help anyone get started on the right track, I’ve been taught what to do, and I’ve followed those teachings. Let me know how I can help you get started.
I’ve posted this before, but the toughest thing for me to get into was the YOGA, until I saw this and then I mastered it both mentally and physically, heres Tony discussing the benefits of Yoga:

Decide….. Commit….. Succeed……

Yesterday, I was just hungry.  I took Maia ( my dog ) on our every Sunday morning, 3.5 mile jaunt through the woods around our house.  I then worked in the yard most of the day.  And the yard work, really plays hell on my hamstrings.  So, around 3:00 pm, I’d had enough.  And I was damn hungry, really craving some carbs.  It was easy to tell myself that it was OK, and I sat down outside in the sun, with my book, a Vodka and some Tortilla chips.  Well, one Vodka turned into 3 and the Chips, just made me crave more carbs.  It’s really weird that once you’ve started down a path of healthy eating, you really pay when you slip.  I made a very healthy salad for dinner, but the chips had taken their toll, and I felt like crap most of the night.  I woke up this morning feeling like I’d been hit by a bus.  Knees sore, back sore, everything sore.  It could have been the booze, or the chips…. probably both…  What a schmuck..

So, I drink a huge glass of water first thing.  Then get my coffee, and I then log onto Teambeachbody.com and go to my calendar to start my workout.   I’m really determined to NOT miss a day off of my workout plan, even if I do feel like crap.  I vow to punish myself for the booze and chips and proceed to kick my own ass with, Total Body Plus, and Abs/Core Plus.   P90X Plus program is a great next step for those who have completed one or two 90 day rounds of the P90X program.  It’s new moves, combined with some of the old P90X programs.  Absolutely Fantastic!!  Yes, it’s a bitch, yes it’s hard, and this morning especially hard cause I was an idiot yesterday on what I put into my body.

But, let me tell ya.  After the 73 minutes was over, I was once again on top of the world!! Once again, I’d climbed the mountain, once again I made the right call!!   Once again, I did MY part for Health Care reform.

Beachbody… or Team Beachbody  has changed my life,  I’ve said it B4,and I’ll say it again, IT’S SAVED MY LIFE.

When I decided to become a Beachbody coach and take my commitment to health and fitness to a new level, I was transforming myself.  This is one of the few, relationship marketing companies that’s product and support have the potential to change the world.  One out of shape person at a time.  This momentum is growing.

The CEO, Carl Daikeler, was in Washington DC last week. Listening to our governments plans on how their going to mandate health care reform.  He was introducing them to the Beachbody grassroots movement.  A movement of teaching the world how to treat their bodies.   How to take control of ourselves.  How to lead the way.  How to eat right, how to move our bodies daily to prevent these runaway escalating Doctor bills, how to be completely, utterly,  proud of ourselves once again.  How to teach our Children the same.  How to lead by example.  How to not be afraid of action and leadership. 

 HEALTH CARE REFORM… starts with each individual person.  It’s not the government’s job to pay for your healthcare, if you’ve let yourself get into horrible condition.  By eating crap, by not exercising, by smoking, over drinking, et all… I don’t need to list all of the ways to kill yourself here, you are costing yourselves and your heirs tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars of your earned wealth.  Why?  When you CAN prevent it all.

The good news??  It’s NEVER too late!  You can reclaim passion in your life, you can TODAY take action, You can TODAY, claim the new you. Do your part for Health Care reform.

You can claim this, you can choose it.  Choose it every day by claiming it Today.

If you just don’t know what to do, contact me, I’ll help you put a plan together that works for you.

Such positive change happening

The more I see of Beachbody, the more I like it.  This is a company dedicated to changing the way this country attacks the healthcare crisis.  Every Monday morning we have a national coaches call, and as an Independent Beachbody Coach, I of course call in to hear the latest greatest info on how I can help others get fit and improve their lives.

I’ve been around this world for 53 years, and it’s a bitch getting up each and every day with purpose and passion.  Since I’ve been on this mission, It’s been MUCH easier for me.  I get up each and every day with a purpose and a passion I thought was lost.  And I’m going to thank Beachbody products and training for this passion. 

Here’s a little bit of that passion I was reffering to.  This is the guts of a talk the CEO of Beachbody gave on one of our Monday’s calls:  I retyped it all from notes and sent it to the people I Coach.

You don’t HAVE to

As most of you receiving this know, I’ve taken the steps to improve my health and quality of life.  I’m also committed to share my journey with those who have the same desires for a better, healthier life.  With that in mind, I want to share a message that was given to all Beachbody coaches in a phone call the morning of March 29, 2010 by its founder, Carl Daikeler.        ~  Tim Shaw

You don’t have to work out.

You don’t have to eat right.

You don’t have to drink Shakeology.

You don’t have to do any of this stuff.

You don’t have to succeed.

You don’t have to have energy.

You don’t have to be the best that you can be.

You don’t have to have financial freedom.

You don’t have to be in control of your income by your own efforts.

You don’t have to show your family by example that hard work equals success.

You don’t even have to be happy.

It’s all a choice.

Free will is all about creating a life that you love to live.

Free will is why some people turn things around and some don’t.

Free will is why some people quit and some people persevere, even though it’s hard or inconvenient, or it costs money to invest in yourself.

You can be happy, you can succeed, and you can be in the best shape of your life.

You can be lean; you can recruit others to join you in this journey.

You can have an income selling products that HELP people.

You can introduce this opportunity to others.

You can get others excited about this concept.

But all of this requires YOU to take action.

Nobody’s going to make you be successful, just like nobody else can make you lose weight.

Free will baby….. Are you going to be a doer, or, are you going to be a doubter.

Are you going to re-ignite yourself? Overcome obstacles?

OR are you going to let your past limit your present?

When Beachbody crossed over $50 million in sales, Carl Daikeler, the founder, didn’t have to keep pushing to reach $100 million.  When the company crossed over to $250 million, he didn’t have to keep working to build it into a 400 million-dollar business.

When P90X, currently the world’s #1 selling home-based workout program, FAILED at first to find a market, he didn’t have to test over 10 more versions of it to find one that would ultimately work. 

He chose to do it over, and over, and over again. Day after day.

We all choose to create our lives the way we want them to be.

We choose to define who we want to be.

So here we are….right now….as you’re reading this.  This moment in time.

You don’t have to go for it.

I didn’t have to take the time to share this with all of you; I chose to do it.

I hope we all get everything we want from our lives. 

But….You don’t have to.

Do you want to claim it?

Do you want to choose it?

Choose it each and every day, by choosing it TODAY.

Let’s get people pumped up to get this country healthy.

We sure as hell don’t have to do this; we should choose to do it.

Let’s see if we have what it takes to achieve our dreams.

I love this crap……..