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If You Don't Have a Plan, It Doesn't Get Done"

We begin with Emma sharing her journey of how she got into fitness. Her original dream was to be New Zealand’s leading defense Lawyer, but she couldn't sit exams very well so she fell into physical education.

Her first job was with Les Mills and she ended up staying with them for 25 years, and a few years into that journey she realized the importance of seeking business opportunities as well as physical ones.

Emma began her career doing group fitness classes but moved into management early on. For Emma, this was a way to stay in the industry and take on a real job that didn’t involve being physical and trading her time in an hour to hour situation.

Emma talks about the skills she could bring into fitness from her career in law: One was curiosity and the other was the ability to see both sides of a viewpoint and utilize critical thinking. Emma’s whole life has been working inside and outside of fitness, looking for the next thing and then trying to take something and make it better.

Emma believes that everything's becoming blended right now and so she spends a lot of her time outside the industry. She focuses on human needs and how we can articulate a way to meet those needs more efficiently. “We know that we've got whatever we're feeling on the inside, we know that we've got these tangible ways of meeting those needs, but I think it needs to be looked at as a whole ecosystem.”

Emma challenges us not to follow but to lead and asks us to consider the question, "when was the last time you had an original thought, or you actually made a choice for yourself that wasn't delivered up in your Instagram feed, told to you by your parents?" An interesting question for sure. She invites us to look at how we do things and where we could create a more wow experience, in the day to day life of others, whether it's inside or outside fitness.

Emma pushes us to ACT. Stop thinking and start doing. If you have an idea, do something with that idea, don't leave it behind you, because if you do, there's a couple of things that'll happen. You'll either regret it, or someone else will come along, do something similar and they will be the next big thing.

Emma talks about the importance of knowing and working within our strengths and then working with others to help bring energy to whatever it is you are working on. Do one tiny step each day and if you don't have the energy, find someone who does. Make the call to that one person who
might have an answer to the pieces that you haven't quite worked out yet.

Emma loves to mix things up and instead of just hearing about things she loves to get in the room with brilliance. She works closely with influencers to notice and spot the trends before they become the trends that we know. Emma also talks about the importance of having our own IP. The importance of creating our own assets that we can then use to expand our reach. She gives some examples such as writing white papers, writing a book or an E-book or creating a course. What is something that you build into a methodology, workshop or course and then sell?

Emma sees a big opportunity with the baby boomers, as over half our working environment by 2020 will be this generation. These are the people who are underserved and she reminds us that you do not need a large following to be successful. Find the gap in the industry and then be the solution.

She invites us all to stay in for the long game as she sees a lot of people who are 20 or 30 years into an industry, then they want to jump ship which is not always the greatest idea. To stay in the game it sometimes may come down to taking what you've always been good at but approach it from a different angle.

Emma believes we should be living at least 80 percent in our strengths, then the other 20 percent doing the stuff that we don't like. But the majority of your life should be standing in the stuff you love. Emma talks further about how to tap into our strengths and one way is to just ask your friends. Ask four or five of them “What am I really good at?” and then also go out and ask “What am I not good at?”

She also reminds us that we can transfer our skills that come with being an instructor. “If you think about it, we have the ability to make people feel a certain way and I think that is in the end, that is gold. We can lead them off the ledge or we can excite them, we can turn their negative mood around, we can give them another perspective.”

We talk about the importance of creating space for learning and sometimes we need to say no, but Emma also thinks there's a period where you do need to say yes, especially in the beginning. Then once you get busy you can pull back and make more room for your evolution.

Emma talks her ruthless rituals, which for her is up at 4:45 am – allowing her two hours in the morning for learning, not sitting on social media, not running around after the family, but actually sitting down and learning for herself. She also reminds us to listen to our bodies. There's a time to train our body. There's a time of clear thinking. There's a time for meetings and calls, there's a time to do the bills and all the other stuff. But stay on your plan, otherwise, you just end up doing everyone else's agenda. Everyone else gets ahead and you don't.

We close up the show by Emma, once again reminding us of the importance of knowing your strengths and your values. Also, look at what's on your calendar and what's on your credit card? What do you value? These two items will tell you so much about yourself. Keep what you like and change the rest.

Direct download: Episode_84_ThePerfectionDetox_EmmaBarry.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

“We Have the Opportunity to Change Lives”

how Notes

Alberto begins by sharing the long road to Zumba’s “overnight” success. It began in the ’80s in Cali Columbia, where a young dance teacher forgot his music and all he had on him at that moment was a cassette tape of music that he had recorded from the radio.

That same day Beto, as he is now known, instead of sharing his mistake, told his class, "today we're going to do something different." He improvised, the people loved it and that was the starting line, yet it was going to be a long time before Beto and Alberto Perlman crossed paths and the Zumba that we know today was born.

Beto worked hard and became one of the most popular instructors in Cali, Colombia. After conquering Cali the next path was to go and create his success in Bogota. After he proved himself in the big city, Beto decided to come to the US as he felt there would be more opportunity for him and he was determined to spread the joy of movement.

Beto sold everything and made the move to the United States, but he couldn't find a way to get started teaching. It took four times of flying back and forth between Columbia and Florida before he finally got an audition at a local gym in Miami.

This audition is now legendary, as 15 minutes turned into an hour, and his 15 minutes audition became a class, packed with members of the gym where he was auditioning. At the end of his time, not surprisingly, the manager said, “you're hired.”

Before meeting Beto, Alberto was doing internet startups and then came the dot com bust. Without work, and over dinner at the house of his parents he heard about this new fitness instructor. His uncle, his aunt and everybody at the table were talking about Beto’s class. His mom had the idea that Alberto should meet Beto to see if they could start a gym together. While Alberto certainly wasn’t thinking about starting a fitness based company, he was also at a low point and willing to explore all possibilities.

And so the next day he arranged to meet Beto at a local Starbucks. Over coffee, Beto shared his life story. Alberto saw that Beto had so much depth to his story that believed that he must also teach an incredible fitness class. So he went to see him teach.

While Alberto didn't know anything about fitness, he knew that when you're doing fitness, you usually don't smile. But every single person in that room was smiling and drenched in sweat at the same time and Alberto knew this was a magical moment. After the class, he told Beto that he thought he should make some VHS workout tapes. And so with no money, a dream and a handshake a partnership began.

Alberto was fascinated by the success of Tae-Bo as the founder Billy Blanks had no connections at the time, but he created some tapes, launched an infomercial and sold directly to the consumers with great success. He saw that it wasn't about who you know, it was about creating a great product, creating a great TV commercial, and then letting the work speak for itself.

They started raising money in May of 2001, and by September of 2001 they had commitments to fund the infomercial, but then September 11 happened and everybody pulled out.

In November of that year, through connections, they were able to land a meeting with the company Fitness Quest in Ohio and a deal was made. Alberto gave the rights to DVD's and VHS tapes, but not to any live products, which looking back was a very good move.

Alberto shares that through challenging times,  the thing that kept them going where the stories. People would come to him and tell him that their Zumba class changed their life or that someone was able to deal an illness because their Zumba class was their mental break, or that someone was able to have the courage to get a divorce from an abusive relationship because of motivation and friends that came from the Zumba experience. He saw that the magic came in letting yourself go, enjoying your life for one hour, and then by not thinking about anything else, it gave them the strength to do other things in their life.

Alberto realized there was a responsibility that the company needed to keep, and that was trying to get as many people to experience Zumba as they possibly could as he realized the workout was really going to help people both inside a class and out in their day to day life. At the beginning, they were just trying to pay the mortgage, but down the line, he saw that there was something much bigger developing. That they had a chance to change people's lives, and he knew that not a lot of people get a chance to do that.

Alberto shares how they expanded from just being an infomercial product to then offering live classes in gyms everywhere. It began when people started calling the infomercial call center asking where they could take a local class? So many people began asking for the live experience that they decided to create an instructor certification. They sat in their garage (office)  and with outside expertise created a methodology that could be replicated.

In March of 2003, they had their first training. While they expected 20 people, 150 people flew in from all over the country and that was the beginning. Alberto shares some of the challenges that come with such rapid growth, including quality control and the question of when somebody gets trained in Zumba, will it be a certification (pass/fail) or will they let people train and let the market decide? They went with the latter.

Getting Zumba into the clubs was not easy.  While the smaller clubs jumped on Zumba, it would be a couple of years before the big box clubs got on board. But eventually they did and now Zumba has an amazing relationship with every major gym chain in the world.  To this day Zumba is one of the top three classes in every major fitness chain.

I then ask Alberto about Zumba Gold, as my mentor Joy Prouty along with Josie Garner where the brains behind this arm of the Zumba brand.  Alberto was at a trade show when Joy Prouty approached him and shared how she loved Zumba, but that when she taught classes to the older crowd some of the moves were hard for them. She asked if he would mind if she and Josie created an adaptation for the senior population and Zumba Gold – again over a handshake, was born. Alberto shares how it's been amazing to watch the growth with success stories such as one of their students being 104 years young.

Beto always said music was 70% of the class and so over the years Zumba has expanded into a lifestyle brand. Around 2008 they met Pit Bull at the Grammy’s. He realized that a Zumba class was just like a radio station and a phenomenal way for him to get his music heard. That was the beginning of Zumba creating a really good win, win relationship with artists and expanding into an entertainment brand.

We wrap up the conversation by Alberto sharing a life lesson that he gained from the fitness industry. He explained that in the fitness industry you get instant feedback. When you're standing in front of a crowd, you have to pay really close attention to the reactions of that crowd. It was this realization that has helped Alberto develop group empathy. Now, whenever he is looking out as he is speaking to a group of people, having meetings or holding conference calls,  he tries to understand what the other people are feeling so that he can iterate and improve their experience of that exchange of energy and information.

Group empathy – what a perfect place to end the conversation.

Direct download: Episode83_ThePerfectionDetox_AlbertoPerlman_Final.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

“Believe in Your Unique Genius”

About Todays Guest

Sadie Lincoln is the co-founder and CEO of barre3, a fitness company focused on teaching people to be balanced in body and empowered from within. Starting in 2008 with the flagship studio in Portland, Oregon, barre3 has grown to include more than 140 franchise studios powered by female entrepreneurs, plus an online-workout streaming-subscriber base in 98+ countries. What started as a workout has blossomed into a full-blown movement made up of millions of people focused on body positivity, being empowered, and redefining what success in fitness means.

Sadie is on Inc.'s Female Founders 100 list, has been featured on NPR's How I Built This, and speaks regularly on the topics of mindful leadership, the power of body wisdom, and the movement to redefine what success in fitness means. Beyond running her company and being a global spokesperson, Sadie still enjoys teaching barre3 classes to many of her founding clients in her hometown of Portland, Oregon.

Stay in Touch with Sadie

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Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Show Notes

Sadie’s first memory of been introduced to fitness was with Jane Fonda, in her living room with her mom. She fell in deeply in love with fitness when it began to serve her life in the most important of ways, which for Sadie was finding a community and connection.

Sadie went to City College and then transferred to UCLA where she discovered the recreation center and felt an instant sense of belonging.  She started participating in the group exercise classes and by falling in love with the energy created within those four walls she decided she wanted to teach and her career in fitness began.

In addition to teaching students, Sadie also enjoyed leading other instructors. Sadie shares that to this day that's what she loves most about teaching. She has been teaching for close to 30 years and every time she teaches she believes she still grows as a person with each class.

One of Sadie’s superhero powers is seeing talent in other people and helping them discover their unique genius. She believes that every single instructor is so unique and so beautiful and has their own strengths, they just need to recognize them.

One of the reasons she branched out on her own to develop barre3, was that she saw some things in the industry that she felt were broken. She shares that it wasn't the industry's fault, but rather how we were approaching fitness and the formulas created within the industry.

These formulas and ideas were often attached to a person -  a kind of a guru, a super athlete or someone who's super aspirational. Oftentimes was models, athletes and people at the top of their game. And that fails most of us because none of us can be someone else. Then when we become attached to working out to become an ideal it often leads to dissatisfaction, depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, low body image, and most importantly a poor connection with fitness and moving. But Sadie believes that when we move to honor our own truth and to be our own best teacher, that is when we develop a healthy relationship with exercise.

Sadie has a unique view of our obligation when showing up in any class setting. That is, it is our job to take our own shape, stand in our own body and make decisions that are right for us versus copying the instructors. She believes copying skips understanding and the reason that we should do fitness is to move and to grow and to understand ourselves better. And when we look at fitness that way, instead of striving for a hard body we can leave with a wise body.

Sadie’s upbringing was unconventional. In the early '60s, Sadie's mom became really good friends with four other women. They all dropped out of the traditional lifestyle, became a part of the counterculture, and began experimenting with new ways of living.

They lived in nature and studied psychology together. They ended up all being single moms and decided to raise their children together and collaborate. Some of what they followed involved dreamwork and so as a child Sadie experienced sitting in a circle, sharing her dreams and at an early age was offered the opportunity to look inside and understand herself in a meaningful and authentic way. She learned amazing tools that helped her to look inside for answers.

Sadie shares the part of her background that helped her learn the business of fitness. She worked directly for the founder and CEO of 24 Hour Fitness, who became her mentor. He recognized her strengths and allowed her to flourish and thrive. Sadie got to travel the world, which offered her a global snapshot of fitness, and in turn, allowed her to investigate and learn about trends. Sadie shares that her favorite part about working at 24 Hour fitness was getting to sit in a room, with really bright people who would dig into the data

It was during this time that Sadie saw over and over again, that the industry did a really good job selling fitness, selling the before and the after. But she also realized that more people were leaving then we're coming in. Her big question became, “why are so many people leaving?”

Sadie saw that when you pulled back the camera, and you really looked at everything, just as fitness was rising and becoming increasingly popular, our national health was on the decline, obesity was on the rise along with body image and eating disorders.

We fast forward and Sadie shares her journey to opening her first studio in Portland. All based on wanting to create a new way to share the joy of movement - she wanted to do it differently. They moved from Oakland and Portland where there wasn't a lot of competition, put away all the business books and got to work. Instead of looking outside for the answers Sadie went within, asking, What do I need? What would I want in this product?

She wanted light and so she had big windows everywhere. She wanted to make sure that the lobby was just as important as the exercise room, so Sadie made sure that everybody that works in the front lobby is equally trained as her instructors and that there was no hierarchy.

On August 12th at 5:45 PM, the same day that she received her certificate of occupancy, Sadie taught her first barre3 class, and the rest was history. Many years later Sadie is still constantly changing and evolving in the class. One thing that never changes at Barre 3 is that things are always changing because the team is always listening and figuring things out in the moment. Based on science, physical therapists and most importantly their clients, Sadie is constantly evolving and mixing things up.

Currently, there are 140 Franchises of barre3, with Sadie and her husband owning six of the studios. The company is still privately owned and funded. Sadie offers full support to her franchisees and has over 50 full-time employees. Her investors are women and Sadie is committed to empowering the owners with all the tools and strategies needed to create a thriving business.

Sadie shares that with the business comes rollercoaster ride, one that she has learned to relax into. She constantly is asking herself, "What's best for Barre 3? What's healthiest for all these owners?" and that leads to growing as an individual. Her clients are growing, her owners are growing, her team is growing. Everyone rises together while growing in different ways.

When we can look within, that is how we continue to create change that is in service of others.

Direct download: Episode82_ThePerfectionDetox_SadieLincoln.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

“Speak to One Person, and Everyone Else will Eavesdrop”

Dubbed by Commonwealth Bank as Australia’s Leading Females Sales Trainer, Annette Lackovic’s grassroots started back in the fitness industry as a group fitness instructor at the young age of 15.

By the age 21, Annette had transformed a struggling health club into a multi-million dollar money pit within a short period of 6mths, quickly making her realize she had a knack for sales and business.

For the next 10 years, Annette trained thousands of business owners and gym staff, consulted to hundreds of health clubs and personal training studios with a big focus on ‘how to sell without being salesy’.

A 13-year FILEX Conference speaking veteran, Annette is a thought leader from not just sales but her deeper passion, the link between positive psychology and human performance.

Fast forward, today Annette keeps her finger on the pulse in the fitness industry by creating the very first online Sale Training University for health clubs (called S-Uni) allowing clubs to have their team trained up in sales and reduce the expenses of continual sales training.

Annette continues to be on the speaker circuit across the nation speaking on sales, wellness, and unstoppable personal performance.

Stay in Touch with Annette

Website

Podcast

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

LinkedIn

Mentioned in the Show

Sales University

Upwork

Fiverr

Thanks to: This Episode is brought to you by the help of Yes Fitness Music. To try their no-credit card needed, 14-day free trial click here:

 

Annette and I met at an amazing event in 2018. It was called Iconic 2.0 with Ali Brown and took place in Phoenix, last November. We connected immediately, although at the time, I had no idea that Annette also had a long history in the fitness world.

Annette’s fitness journey started when she was 12. Her sister used to teach aerobics in a local community hall and Annette would turn up and do the class with her. By the age of 15, she knew this was going to be a part of her future.

At 17, Annette took her fitness certification and, like many others, it was when an instructor didn’t show up that her career began. At this time Annette lived in a little country town called Springwood, which is in the Blue Mountains, about an hour and a half out of Sydney.

Annette was taught by her mom that she could do anything, and with that came a lot of power. Annette shares the importance of having someone that believes in you at an early age, and how it can make such a difference as we get older.

As well as teaching fitness, Annette was a master at selling club memberships. She shares that she fell into sales and believes she was good at it because she loved people. It was her drive to help people get healthier, and show them how happy they could be through exercise, that ramped up her success in sales.Through another no-show, Annette moved into management even though she had no management experience, but through the mentorship of another salesperson, she fast-tracked her success.

Through her mentor, she learned the psychology on why people buy and this helped her systemize communications, that in turn helped other people follow a process to successful selling. By putting a framework around a method on how to lead people through their goals, and to show them how fitness is the solution to whatever problem they've got, returned rewarding results and great success.

Annette believes that a lot of personal trainers go into a sale without any structure. They hope that they're going to talk about the person's goals and the person's going to convert. But if we can come from a place that is really all about the customer, not about us, and not about getting the money, the transformation will be huge both for the customer and for us.

Annette shares that she was an intuitive salesperson, so while she didn't know what she was doing she was still successful. But it is when there's a process in place and you can bring in the Law of Connectivity that you will see improving results.

Annette explains that the Law of Connectivity means when that we shape an area of someone's life, such as weight loss or their health, it has a ripple effect into other areas of their life such as relationships, business, and work. Annette suggests when it comes to sales we do a consultative approach, which means we asked the small questions first that open the door to letting the customer tell us what they need, not what we think they want.

A consultative approach also means you need to have a stack of questions ready so that you can find your ideal customer and help them to find their number one priority.  What are the areas in their life that can be helped by fitness that on first glance may not seem connected?

Annette shares that many times we start sales and relationships by diving into the solution too soon.  What the customer needs, especially early on, is to have a spotlight placed on their lives that lets them review where they are right now. Annette reminds us of the saying, “The customer does not care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Annette walks us through a scenario of her sales process and some questions she might ask such as:

How long has that (way of being) been going on for?

Do you mind if I ask if, if things weren't to change, let's just say for some reason you walk out today and you continue to keep in the lifestyle that you're actually living right now:

What's the ripple effect of that?

How, how would that continue to make you feel?

And at the same time, if you come from a place of service and you're really sitting there looking at that other human being saying, I'm truly here to help you train for the good of you, they will feel the difference and be motivated to buy.

Annette tells us how to test the buying temperature. She likes to call them tick questions. These are the little questions that you can ask, which allow the customer to see themselves inside the vision of the future. These small tick questions help the customer make little decisions before the big decision.

When it comes to any type of selling Annette shares that we have to get out of our head and more into the connection. She goes on to explain that structured questions give the customer freedom, and at the same time helps us decide if the person in front of us, is the right fit for us.

Just like anything, these questions and a strong sales process takes practice. Annette says you need to practice your questions in front of the mirror, in the shower, in the car. This way, you have them so dialed in, that when you are in front of your customer they're in your subconscious brain allowing you to be totally present as you listen to their answers.

We move into talking about ways to scale our business, in particular, the online model. Annette believes that if you are wanting to expand your business, that you will need to learn how to do online marketing or outsource it so someone can help you. The links to some of the resources we talked about can be found at the top of these show notes.

Annette also reminds us to feel our own compass and find quiet time. Because we are often so caught up in our day to day, we can't feel the magnetic pull to where we need to be. Getting still will allow you to ask and feel where the next step is. Tap into where your next move will need to happen and ask yourself, “ What am I actually feeling?” When we don't have that quiet time, we can't actually hear and feel where we are and where we should be going.

Find out where that true north is. Normally it's some big bombastic goal that scares the heck out of you, but that is what you're born to do. And then it's learning what are the steps that you need to do to get there.

We close the show with Annette giving advice on how to find clarity. She invites us all to go and take a moment to reflect on your perfect work day and then write it down in detail. Write down how your perfect work day would run from the moment you wake up to the moment your head hits the pillow.

We finish by Annette encouraging us to get out of our head and into the world and reminds us to always come from a place of gratitude. To continually just focus at the end of every day on the things you are grateful for and then take five minutes before you go to bed to journal on how are you feeling and what your goals are.

These two things will help keep you moving forward and in alignment with your true north.

Direct download: Episode_81_ThePerfectionDetox_AnnetteLackovic.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

“Be a Sherpa and Guide Those Behind You”

About Todays Guest

New York Times Best Selling Author of Push, Chalene Johnson is a lifestyle and business expert, motivational speaker, and podcast host. She and Bret, her husband of over twenty years, are the founders of the SmartLife movement. Today, with her husband, Chalene runs a fun loving, collaborative team focused on helping others live a healthier, more simplified life through their online academies, membership sites, and live, sold-out seminars.

Chalene, with the help of top dietitians, doctors, researchers, and experts, she founded the 131 Method - a nutritional coaching program that’s turning the diet industry upside down. She hosts two top-ranked podcasts, The Chalene Show and Build Your Tribe, Huffington Post recognized Chalene as one of the “Top 50 Female Entrepreneurs to Watch.”

Stay in Touch with Chalene:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Mentioned in the Show

1-3-1 Method by Chalene Johnson

Build Your Tribe Podcast

The Chalene Show Podcast

Will It Fly? by Pat Flynn

Show Notes

So I want to give you a little backstory about today's guest. I had scheduled all the incredible thought leaders and change agents, but I wanted to include one more person who had truly made the leap out of fitness and into the world of entrepreneurship. Someone who had pivoted 180 degrees to include non-fitness related programming within their brand.

I had just finished listening to one of Chalene's podcasts and thought to myself, wow, she would be the perfect fit, but with two podcasts of her own, a live event coming up and the launch of her new book, I thought to myself, there is no way she would have the time, but I reached out anyway and within five minutes I heard back from her and she said, "of course, I would love to be a part of your show." I felt it important for you to know how generous Chalene is off stage and outside of social media.

Chalene’s mom was a Jazzercise instructor. Both sides of her family struggled with their weight and dieting, and so at an early age through both a positive and negative influence, she was introduced to the world of fitness.

At the age of seventeen, after watching her mom instruct for many years Chalene began teaching at women's facility. Fast forward a few years and Chalene moved to Southern California. Moving from a small town to a big city was a bit of a culture shock and there were many rejections and a lot of practice before Chalene was hired.  But eventually, she found a position teaching at a high profile club and began her 10,000 hours toward building her phenomenal success in the world of fitness.

In our conversation, Chalene talks about the importance of constructive feedback. She learned that it's a gift and so decided to embrace it and utilize the feedback. By using feedback to empower her, it allows her to make work and voice even more impactful. Chalene shares, that her company wouldn't be where it is today if she didn't listen to her customers and their feedback. All of which she views as a gift, and believes these are the little whispers in her ear to help her be better.

Chalene shares that the biggest mistake she made was when she tried to create something almost privately in a test tube. When she tried to guess what problem it was that people wanted to be solved and also guessed how they would want to receive the information. This mindset did not lead to a successful program but once again she learned the lessons that she needed to take into iteration 2.0. Chalene believes that “success leaves clues” and so she tries to do a really good job of inventorying. This is where she looks at what she is doing right, what she is doing wrong, and then uses all of the information to move forward and improve.

We fast track forward and talk about the process that happened before Chalene had her first fitness program purchased by Beachbody. It began long before her television success and once again it was hard work, feedback, and iteration after iteration, that took her to her first infomercial.

Chalene had been teaching a unique workout that combined kickboxing, hit intervals and hip hop, but the secret sauce was the music.  Chalene created soundtracks that matched the routines in intensity and added also sound effects into the music that enhanced the customer's experience. This was when no-one was matching music to the moves, outside of the cheerleading industry.

There was such a demand for this workout that she created a specialty certification which then allowed her customized program to spread to hundreds and hundreds of gyms in over 60 different countries. During this time participants would send her success stories and she was so inspired by them that she saved them, printed them out, and them into a folder.

A few years later, the combination of these stories along with Chalene’s personality, talents and programming had several infomercial companies fighting for her attention. After a lot of discussions, and the fact that the company she eventually partnered with did not want to change her concept, she signed on with Beachbody.

Even though fitness was a big part of Chalene’s success she believes fitness is just a gateway drug to personal development. In her programs, in addition to the usual cues about movement and alignment, she talks about life, priorities, goal setting, along with the need to believe in yourself. She believed if she could teach people that if they had enough love for themselves to change their physique, they could change every single part of their life.

During our interview, we also talk about one of her biggest failures in the industry and how it almost took her and her family into bankruptcy. It was another program, that while solid in the structure was not appealing to her audience. For nine months Chalene had put everything into building this new format and there had been a lot of money, people and energy being directed into this one project. When it flopped, Beachbody had to let a lot of people go and Chalene shares that she had an unbelievable amount of guilt and shame about this, and began questioning her self-worth. At the same time, she and her husband were trying to repair things in their marriage and while this was a moment that she would not want to repeat, she also looks back with gratitude for the lessons learned during that time. Eventually, with the help of a therapist, her faith and with a commitment to each other, she and her husband got to the other side. Today, both their relationship and businesses are thriving.

We talk about the different ways to inspire people and Chalene wisely reminds us that not everyone is cut out for an entrepreneurial style business or even cut out for leadership. But if you are driven to go out and create your own path, she suggests that you need to become comfortable experimenting - throw some things against the wall and see what sticks. She encourages us to continue our own personal development journey, while at the same time teaching what we’ve just mastered and learned to others.

Chalene says, “Look back like a Sherpa and guide the people who are on the journey just behind you, not like 20 steps behind you, but turn over your shoulder and help the people right behind you, reach out and extend a hand and show the safest path to the people who are on the journey with you”

When it comes to next steps Chalene encourages us to put pen to paper. Give yourself about an hour with no distractions, no phone, no music, no people and no TV in the background. Just take a pen and a piece of paper and write down absolutely everything that pops into your head, big or small, regardless of the order, regardless of the likelihood or the possibility of this happening, but just absolutely anything that comes in your mind that feels like it could or should be the next right step.

She then encourages us to look at that page and identify what's the smallest thing you need to do next?

When you're just inching your feet forward, that's movement and you're not going to worry about making a mistake if you're just inching forward versus sprinting.

In building confidence Chalene invites us to take continual inventory of our successes, even if they're really, really small. She invites us to keep an evidence folder. Then with those positive experiences, we build.

Lastly, Chalene believes it's really important to learn the science around building positive habits, as it is when we master our habits we can put our attention, time and energy to creating and making a positive impact in the world.

 

Direct download: Episode80_ThePerfectionDetox_ChaleneJohnson.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 4:00am EDT

“Find the Gold Within Each Lesson”

 

Lashaun loves all movement, but to her yoga is the space where she becomes a vessel for life and learning. When she gets get on that mat, and especially when teaching, movement becomes a spiritual practice, a place where she feels like she can work out anything.

Lashaun started in the industry when she was 12 years old. She had three jobs as a teenager and one of them was working at the front desk of a small studio called The Unique Physique.
Lashaun learned fitness from like the world of bodybuilding, which allowed her to understand anatomy at a young age. While it was bodybuilding that caught her attention, it was group fitness that captured her heart. She began taking classes and eventually worked her way up into the front row. and like many others in our industry, one day, the teacher did not show up and Lashaun's teaching career began.

Years later after she graduated Lashaun did an internship in the state government where she began teaching the early morning classes. The early classes were a perfect fit and so she did the same thing when she moved to Boston to go to University and it was in Boston where Lashaun met Sherry Catlin, a legand in the world of fitness, who became her mentor for the next two decades.

Lashaun was in school studying philosophy and international relations and had every intention to move into politics and be a diplomat. She loved international relations and was paying for school by teaching fitness and only ever intended for it to be part-time. However, through a series of divine interventions, Lashaun slowly became more entrenched in the fitness community.

Still not in the business full-time, Lashaun moved to NYC and enrolled into a Master’s program at Columbia University and at the same time began teaching at the high profile club Equinox. One morning as Lashaun was going to teach her class, she realized that that was the only hour of her day where she was truly happy and that's when she decided to make fitness her full-time business.

Lashaun reminds us to make sure that if we are chasing a dream, it's our dream. Often, it's a dream that we think we're supposed to follow. Perhaps it's our parents' dream, a dream that we outgrew or perhaps it might be that you don't think your dream is good enough, or that you're good enough for the dream.

Lashaun talks about the importance of doing the inner work. The importance of getting support from teachers, mentors, spiritual coaches, and therapists or whatever it is that helps you along the way. Have a toolbox that lets you take whatever you experience, then pull out the gold.
She believes we need a mindset practice, a physical practice, and a career practice. Then all of those things work together to give you the tools, to be able to make use of every experience that comes your way.

We talk about ambition and the challenges that can come from that word. Lashaun believes there are so many reasons why people are not willing to go for it, but it really comes down to the particular shape of your wound around pursuing your dream? What is that voice that's holding you back or making you think that you can't have it all?

Lashaun is highly intuitive and talks about the importance of clarifying your signal to the Universe and aligning your vibration with your values and purpose. It is when we are sort of dabbling and we have one foot in, just playing and creating but we're not really committed, that the Universe and the people around us, don't really know how to help us. We need to get clear.

When we get super crystal clear then it's super easy for others to step in and say, "How can I help?"  So the clearer you get, the more action you will be able to take. Lashaun shares that it is the Yoga Mat that allows her to get clear about what she needs to do that day, what magic she needs to create, or what energy she needs to put out into the world.

She believes that when you ask for help, you will get an answer. However, if you expect a certain answer then you're going to get the answer that you expect. She reminds us to go back to the inner work and look at our expectations. "There's going to be something that is presented before you and you define what that is and your expectations around it. Do I expect that it’s going to fail? Do I expect that this is going to work out? Do I expect that I have what it takes to be there?"
And she encourages us to be aware, simply be aware, of our expectations.

Lashaun goes on to say you will be presented with a response and an opportunity, possibly a new path, a new person, a new idea. But then it's on you again. It’s up to you to take it to the next step, you've got to keep that iteration moving forward and engage. It's really a conversation with your dreams, with your soul, and with what you came here to do

We move into a meditation that Lashaun is exploring and one that can help us all.
A meditation that allows us to see the realization of all of our potential and goodness - and then before you open a door to any situation or room, bring all of you through that door.
Then when you step into that room, whatever that room is, and when you are aligned with the truth of you, you get to realize that you are personally here to do what you are destined to do. Then you must ask how you can serve as you step into the room. And on bringing your full self and being of service, you will glow, and the people you are meant to serve will be drawn to you.

Lashaun invites you to find a practice that lets you be you. Create a space that helps you be ready for whatever's to come. Think of you becoming you as your work. It is your work to be more of who you are, instead of focusing on what it is that you do. Then, when we come together with other people who are in that same alignment, we get to create magic in the world.

Lashaun invites to everyone in this industry to be the change makers. She believes we are the solution for the dissonance in the world and we have the greatest opportunity to help move the world forward into harmony. She invites us to think about how many other industries or careers have the ability to gather hundreds of people one to three times a week, put them in a positive mindset where they can actually think and be open to change, and then move things forward?

Lashaun goes on to say “I think that we are a gift to the people we serve. We're a gift to this country, we are a gift to the world and we should consider that precious. Every time we step into a room to teach, every time we touch a client, every time we write a workout program, consider it as a vessel for transformation for ourselves, for those we serve, and for the world that we live in.”

What a magnificent way to open the new series. Be the change you wish to see in the world.

 

Direct download: Episode_79_ThePerfectionDetox_LashaunDale.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 3:30am EDT

“If you knew how remarkable you are you would amaze yourself"

Whether you are in fitness full time, some of the time or none of the time, the wisdom, inspiration, and encouragement you will find from my guests, along with the tips, strategies, and ideas they will share on how you can elevate and expand your reach, will have you feeling empowered and energized.

Before becoming a speaker, author and podcaster I spend thirty plus years in the wonderful industry called fitness – and because for many of us, our passion is tied so tightly to our paycheck we sometimes can lose sight of the bigger picture.

Whatever type of creative you are and whether you work for yourself, for a company, or are still figuring out what you want to do when you grow up, I hope that you will find nuggets of gold within these conversations. Strategies that will help you continue to move forward into your greatness and goodness.

We have 24 guests that are about to share their wisdom and knowledge. Nothing is held back, and their sole goal is to help you rise. Not only are these experts in their field and change makers in their industry - they are compassionate, generous and amazing human beings, who are just as kind and generous when no-one is looking.

I will be releasing these next 24 shows Netflix style. Along with this episode, you will see conversations with:

Lashaun Dale

Chalene Johnson

Annette Lackovic

Sadie Lincoln

Alberto Perlman

Emma Barry

Once I hear from enough of you that you are ready for the next episodes, I will release the next six conversations, and so on, until all 24 are out into the world. Then it will be time for Season Three: The Business of Entrepreneurship.

At the end of these 24 shows, I will also be doing one extra show. This episode is for you, about you and with you. After listening to the shows, please leave me a voicemail through Facebook Messaging or send me an email to petra@petrakolber.com

Let me know your questions, feel free to share a short message on how a particular nugget or guest inspired you, or let me know what skills you use, to impact, influence, and inspire those around you.

When leaving your message or email be sure to let me know if I can use your voicemail and name on the show as I would love to share your voice with the Perfection Detox podcast community.

Welcome to Season Two: The Business Of Fitness

 

Direct download: Episode78_PerfectionDetox_PetraKolber.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 3:00am EDT

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