"Find Your Spirit" Keli Roberts

1. Is there something in your life that you are passionate about, a place where all feels well and good with the world? Keli talks about her passion and how cycling felt good for her soul.  If you have a passion project can you carve out more time to make sure it is always a part of your week? If you are not currently doing something that you feel passionate about, take the time to try new things, keep going until you hit that sweet spot between being challenged and being engaged. Passion is fuel for our spirit.
2. What keeps you being OK with yourself?  For Keli it is meditation, for me, it is treating myself with compassion. Do you need to add more compassion and empathy into your own life? Can you be your own best friend? How are you talking to yourself? How are you treating yourself?
3. What tiny habits can you create? Keli reminded us about the power of tiny habits and that tiny habits over time will create a snowball effect. These healthy actions and behaviors as they become stronger will support your life and your dreams. What tiny habit can you begin today that will start the ripple effect? What can you start to do that will move into a powerful life where you live up to your potential?
4. What gives you purpose? Keli talked about the sense of purpose she feels when she trains people to become healthier and stronger so they can be in a body that is agile, fit and strong. A body that can carry them into a life of adventure and purpose. Enthusiasm for life can only be equal to the energy we carry in our body.  What gives you purpose? Why do your get up every morning? What do you get excited about? THIS is your way of life and your why to life. One of the most important questions you will ever ask yourself is, "What is my Why?"
5. What can you do this week to bring more mindfulness to your day? There is not a person I have spoken to recently that doesn’t talk about the power of meditation. Keli does a simple short meditation each morning. I practice doing a morning ritual mindfully, from brushing my teeth to making my bed. In a world where technology is pulling us in a million directions and is moving faster and faster, becoming still and being ok in the stillness is something we all need to work on.

“Do What Speaks To Your Soul” Keli Roberts

In this deeply authentic interview, we begin by how Keli Roberts got her start in fitness and how her career blew up overnight when she became the fitness expert in the Cher VHS fitness workout:

We go back into the memory books talking about the era of Voight Fitness, and Keli’s mentors Candice Copeland (Brooks) Lexie Williams and Marcus Irwin to mention a few fitness greats.

As we discuss Keli’s memories of her time starring alongside Cher, she is very transparent about her initial fears and uncertainty of being in front of the camera. As Keli had never done production before she was learning on the job. I had a very similar experience with Reebok, and we both share our memories of filming back in those days when the budget for one workout was around half a million dollars !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keli shares how overnight, she became a celebrity and the pros and cons that came along with that part of her journey. She also discusses the loneliness that comes with being a celebrity trainer and how it was while she was training Cher and spending hours on her own and away from her support system, that her downward spiral into depression began. Keli reveals her struggles with depression, Anorexia and Bulimia and how it was when she went on the road that she fell back into her struggles as she was away from her support. Keli openly shares her long road back to health and happiness, and I am so grateful for her transparency with the truth of her journey.

It was being diagnosed with a Bipolar disorder that saved Keli’s life as she had been misdiagnosed in the past. With finally being on the right medication, along with the sport of cycling which spoke to her soul, her road to recovery began.

We talk about meditation and how her first five minutes in the morning center her for her day and we discuss the power of the present, and it is when we can show up every day with the intention of helping others, the goodness seeps in.

Keli shares that she has no regrets with the struggles she has had with her past and that it is her mission to help others feel less alone.We talk about the road to finding peace and that the one guarantee in life is that there is no guarantee.

"How We Do One Thing, Is How We Do Everything" Suzie Carpenter

It was such a treat to sit down this week and talk with Suzie Carpenter – I felt as though we had double the wisdom this week – one part Suzie, and one part her daughter Kelly. Here are my five favorite takeaways from this week's conversation with the author of On The Bright Side A Mother’s Story of Love and Healing Through Her Daughter’s Autism Suzie Carpenter

1. Is there something you could do to help love your body more through your nutrition? Suzie talks about the power of nutrition and loving yourself through food.  Is there one choice that you could make that would help you eat to fuel your life and dreams?
2. When do you feel in flow? at your most powerful? I loved it when Suzie invited us to work with our tendencies. Working with our own tendencies will help us soar, savor and thrive versus always pushing against our innate nature.  Is there a way for you to more deeply honor your own rhythm versus trying to fit into someone else’s design? What would your day feel like if you created a protocol that works with, and for, your own life
3. Do you know your power zone? We talked a lot about Suzie’s daughter Kelly and the gifts that she brings to the world, by just being herself. One of the gifts she has is the ability to be completely in the present moment. I call the present moment our power zone. Can you set aside a few minutes each morning, to tap into your power zone and do one mindful act to start your day? Maybe it is making your coffee, maybe it is making the bed, or perhaps brushing your teeth. Begin your day by stepping into your power zone and fuel up your dreams
4. Can you seek the beauty? Suzie shared how her daughter sees people for who they are versus what they do or look like. We tend to judge people without even realizing we are doing it. This weekend let’s see the world through Kelly’s eyes. Let's look at those around us through the eyes of compassion. Let's notice how we are all more alike than different. This is how we shine the light. Let's be the change we wish to see in the world.
5. How is your social media habit? Suzie shared how her daughter uses social media to share the positive and connect with others versus comparing and contrasting. Check in with how you use social media. Do you find it a source of inspiration and connection? Or do you find yourself feeling a little depressed as you compare your life to everyone else’s at the end of a good scrolling? Take a moment to reflect and make sure that you are managing your social and it is not managing you.

"Live Life Fully Awake" Suzie Carpenter

What a treat to sit down with Mother of two and eternal seeker of sunshine, Suzie Carpenter. In this episode, we talk about Autism, nutrition that feeds our soul and fuels our life, and how to learn from the challenging times without becoming a victim.

Suzie recently wrote the book On The Bright Side, a Mother's Story to love and healing through her Daughter's Autism.  A memoir detailing her story and struggles around helping her incredible daughter who was diagnosed with Autism at the age of four. As Suzie helped Kelly become the healthiest that she could be, she also began her own journey to healing. Suzie shares that it was her daughter who became her biggest teacher and with the love and support of her family, chose to seek alternative treatments to the traditional therapies originally offered.

We can all learn so much from the wisdom of "Kelly". The way she sees everyone as equal and through the lens of their energy versus their education. Her ability to live and flourish in the present moment is a skillset we could all use to nurture and grow.

Whether you have a child with special needs or not, you will be sure to gain many nuggets of wisdom that Suzie Carpenter shares in this episode.

More About Suzie

Suzie Carpenter’s mission is to love the world back to health. She is a pioneer in the clean eating movement and focuses her work on how to help people harm themselves less with food. Suzie's workshops are sought after by companies who want to inspire and motivate employees to embrace a healthier lifestyle. She also teaches cooking classes, runs detoxes, and offers health coaching to individuals and families. In December of 2016, Suzie published her first book, On The Bright Side: A Mother’s Story of Love and Healing Through Her Daughter’s Autism, which quickly became an Amazon Best Seller.

"Be Relentlessly Open To The Curveballs Of Life" Sarah Robb O'Hagan

1. What drives you to be your best self? Sarah talks about drive and tenacity. She believes that drive can be cultivated and developed. I also believe that if you are inspired by something that your drive will amp up. I also believe that we can’t wait for drive to always appear before we get started. It’s almost the opposite – ready, start, go = drive. Who can you surround yourself with to amp up your drive meter?

2. Is your morning set up for success? Sarah talked about her daily rituals that set her up for success. She shared how she sets her day up the night before, and she recommends no electronics before going to bed. I know for me if I get my body moving in the morning my brain is more creative and focused. A habit that is working for me is to get an hour of writing in before I check my e-mails in the morning. Is there one small adjustment that you could make to your morning ritual that would allow for more focus and productivity?

3. What can you do to elevate your luck meter? I loved it when Sarah talked about creating the circumstances for luck to come your way. I have also heard it said that luck is preparation meeting opportunity and I do know that people with a positive outlook on life seem to have more luck that those who only see the negative. What can you adjust within your set of circumstances to be ready and get ready for that opportunity that is just around the corner?

4. Where do you look for inspiration and with a healthy curiosity, versus competition? Sarah talks about friendly motivation versus competition. She talks about how greatness happens can be when we stop focusing on others and play our own game. Sarah finds inspiration, not by looking at her direct competitors but by looking at adjacent companies for motivation and for sparks of creativity to be ignited. We can do the same in our own life by looking at others people’s stories for inspiration and then filtering them for our own growth.

5. Can you view asking for help through the lens of curiosity versus seeing it as a weakness? Sarah and I talked about The Imposter Syndrome and how we can all feel like frauds some of the time. Sarah shared that the freedom and our power comes from being able to say, “I don’t know" and asking for help. Magic appears the moment you say you need help – it empowers you and kills off the imposter, plus the other person is going to be more open to you when they see you as human.

"The Struggle Is A Part Of Happiness" Sarah Robb O'Hagan

Sarah Robb O’Hagan is a leader's leader. Everyone I know who has worked with Sarah talks about what a phenomenal role model she is. In this episode, Sarah talks about how she was motivated to write her new book Extreme YOU because she was tired of everyone only sharing their success and wanted the chance to share the truth behind success.

Sarah talks about how we learn about ourselves by getting into the action, and how many of us never start because we are so afraid of not finishing perfectly. We both discuss “The Tall Poppy Syndrome” that comes with growing up in New Zealand and England, where big things were never expected. In America, the opposite it true, and we talk about how to dream big, manage our expectations and risk failure in the opportunity to grow.

Sarah believes that struggle is an important part of happiness, and she talks about her ups, downs, and epic fails during her career. We chat about whether having a plan B is a good thing or if it is best to just jump in and go for it. We discuss the importance of keeping a mindset of appreciation while still striving for greatness and how appreciation can help keep us focused and grateful in a technology-charged world.

In this episode we talk about drive, what it is, whether it can be cultivated and how to keep it when times get tough and Sarah shares her thoughts on how to ask for help by viewing it through the lens of curiosity versus seeing it as a weakness.

We close the show talking about balance and how it is all about prioritizing what really matters to you. It is the importance of managing your own personal joy and the willingness to say “no” is one of the key lessons.

Sarah encourages us to live the most fulfilled life that we can and make the most of our unique talents and interests. This is an Extreme life.