Your Yes Life Now

Categories

Health
Self Improvement

Archives

2020
July
May
April
March
February
January

2019
October
September
August
July
June
May
March

2018
June
May
April
March
February
January

2017
December
November
October
September
June
May
April
March
February
January

2016
December

April 2024
S M T W T F S
     
  1 2 3 4 5 6
7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27
28 29 30

Syndication

"Everyday Is a New Day to Be a Better Version of Yourself"

 
About Today's Guest
Myrna Brady has more than 27 years of combined Education, Fitness, Music, and  Business experience. She has a very eclectic and diversified background and has worked in management and or executive positions in each of the following areas, Sales, Marketing, Human Resources Management and Retail Marketing. Myrna has worked for fortune 500 companies like Nabisco & Nike as well as start up internet ventures.
 
She is national fitness presenter, certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor/coach and motivational speaker and she has been educated by some of the most recognized fitness certification bodies in the world: ACE, NASM, Spinning®, PHI Pilates, ECITS and the YMCA to name a few.
 
Prior to her career in fitness, she was a Humane Resources Executive and Professional Opera Singer.
 
Myrna has been a licensed school teacher for the East Coast Instructor Training School, an Instructor Trainer for ACE’s CPR, First Aid, AED program and Corporate Regional Faculty Instructor for TSI/NYSC. She has also been a fitness presenter for ECA, DCAC, TSI, LIFNG conventions and worked in a management capacity for many of the top tiered health clubs in the industry.
 
She has taught fitness, health and mindfulness workshops in several Westchester, New York City School Districts and at the Boys & Girls Club in Mount Vernon.
Myrna prides herself one offering value added & results driven solutions to her clients. Her solutions helps her clients  meet their personal goals and or enhance their bottom line. Myrna currently offers Virtual Fitness Classes and Professional Development Talks and Workshops.
 
Stay In Touch With Myrna
 
Mentioned In This Episode
 
Direct download: Episode_110_MyrnaBrady.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Believe The Dream"

About Today's Guest

John Jantsch is a marketing consultant, speaker, and author of Duct Tape Marketing, The Referral Engine, Duct Tape Selling, The Commitment Engine, and SEO for Growth.

His newest work, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur: 366 Daily Meditations to Feed Your Soul and Grow Your Business taps into the wisdom of 19th-century transcendentalist literature and the author’s own 30-year entrepreneurial journey to challenge today’s entrepreneur to remain fiercely self-reliant while chasing their own version of success.

Stay In Touch With John

The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur Book

Website

Facebook

LinkedIn

The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur is a collection of 366 meditations designed to both inspire and challenge the reader through a practice of daily soulful reflection. The book is anchored with readings and quotes from some of the original and most impactful entrepreneurial writing ever created. Authors and essayists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, and Walt Whitman encouraged individuals to trust and develop the gifts that only they could bring to the world.

Best-selling author of Duct Tape Marketing, John Jantsch curated this rich vein of literature and used his thirty-year entrepreneurial journey to create a work that is inspirational, timely, and relevant for today’s entrepreneur or anyone who seeks to live a more fulfilling and joyful life.

The book challenges you to think deeply about why you are doing the work you are doing and living the life you are living.

Direct download: Episode109_JohnJantsch.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

"What Is The Whisper That Will Not Leave You Alone?"

Today's episode is a solo show for this moment in time. While the word is still on a global pause, I invite you today to start moving ahead as you plant the seeds for tomorrow.

There are many moments when we look back and see how our seemingly small choices move us either closer to a life we love to life or shift us away from what we hoped - we and our life - would be.

Here is the reflection sheet for today's episode. ReflectionSheet_108

To sign up for The Confidence Catalyst Course and a Year of Group coaching click here.

Join before May 1st and receive a $100 thank you on both the full and three month payment.

Full payment: HOPE2020

Three month payment: HOPE3

 

Direct download: Episode108_Crossroads_Between_Must_Should_and_Want_Final.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 2:20pm EDT

Success Is Generous

Today’s Guest

Susie Moore is a former Silicon Valley Sales Director turned Life Coach and Advice Columnist.

Her work has been featured on the Today show, Oprah, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Time Inc, Marie Claire and she’s the resident Life Coach Columnist for Greatist. Susie’s work and insights have been shared by celebrities and thought leaders including Arianna Huffington, Paulo Coelho, Kris Jenner, and Sara Blakely.

Her first book What If It Does Work Out? was named by Entrepreneur as one of the 8 Business Books Entrepreneurs Must Read to Dominate Their Industry.

Susie lives in Miami with her husband Heath and Yorkshire

To Stay In Touch With Susie

Book 

Website

Instagram

Facebook

 Let's Connect

Community Calls: Tuesday and Thursday 10 am EST

Book Club

The Confidence Catalyst Course and Community

 As a thank you for being a podcast listener and purchase before May 1st enter these codes to receive a $100 gift for your course:

One Payment: Hope2020

Payment plan: Hope3

 

 

 

Direct download: Episode107__Susie_Moore_HowToStopCheckingYourLikes.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Staying Centered, Creating Community and Moving Forward

So the show notes today are the resources that are helping me get through these unprecedented and challenging times and I hope they help you too.

How To Stay Updated Without The Overwhelm

The New York Times is offering free updates on the virus and you can find them here:

Books on Creating More Revenue Streams and How To Make A Change

Entrepreneurial You by Dorie Clark

Pivot by Jenny Blake

Free books by Matt Church 

Meditation

Insight Timer 

Petra’s Favorite TV Show

Schitt’s Creek

Petra’s Positivity Playlist

Get Up And Dance

Community Building

Jon Giswold 

Trina Gray 

Finding People To Help You With Your Business

Fiverr 

Upwork

Jenny Blake and Podcasting

10 Lessons In Three Years of Podcasting – The Pivot Podcast Episode 100 

Connect with my awesome podcast editor: James Ede of Be Heard Now who offers a free trial episode for new clients.

 Previous Podcast Episodes That May Be Helpful

 Chantal Broderick 

Shannon Fable

Fantastic Podcast by Chalene Johnson on Creating Revenue Today

Be well, be safe and I will be here as long as need be to share strategies and ideas to help you not only recover but come out on the other side stronger than before. 

 

Direct download: Episode105_StayingCentered_Creating_CommunityMovingForward.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

A short meditation to help you find the calm in the chaos.

Direct download: Episode106_MeditationtofindCalmintheChaos.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

“Stop the Swirl, Access the Quiet, Tap into the Whispers, Share with the World”

Show Notes

This week’s show is inspired by my recent experience at the Oprah Winfrey 2020 Vision Tour. Below are a few questions and insights from the day. I encourage you to print out these questions and take some time after this episode to get quiet, turn inward and listen to the whispers.

  1. What do you have to do to get closer to a place to doing what you want to do?
  2. What is it you really want to do with the rest of your life?
  3. What allows you to expand versus fit in?
  4. What is it that you can do to live out the truest, highest, expression of you?
  5. What is it you are afraid of?
  6. What is the thought under your fear?
  7. What do you want more of in this life?
  8. What do you want less of in this life?
  9. Where do you let yourself down?
  10. What lights you up?
  11. What would your life look like if you removed the word “When” from your life?
  12. What thought is standing between you and your dreams?
  13. What thoughts empower you to live into your best life?
  14. How would your life change if I looked at my life through the lens of intention?

Download your FREE Confidence Catalyst Reflection Book Here

Direct download: Episode104_Petra_WhatIlearnedfromOprah.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Confidence is Trusting That You Will Show Up for Yourself

Show Notes

In this solo episode I walk you through a few of the steps that I take my clients through when working with them around the feelings of confidence. A few of the highlight takeaways are:

  1. Know your strengths and write them down on a post it note or index card. Place the cards and notes where you can see them throughout the day. These reminders will help you remember all the gifts that you already have inside of you
  2. Stop looking outside of yourself for answers
  3. When talking to yourself always treat yourself as you would treat those you love
  4. Begin your day with anticipation and end the day with gratitude

The challenging thing is that we have to act confidently before we feel and believe in our own confidence. And to act more confidently we need to focus on our strengths versus our gaps.

The Five Reasons That People Often Lack Confidence Are:

  1. Setting expectations too high
  2. Self judgement
  3. The Fear of failure
  4. Lack of experience
  5. Lack of a skill

The Circle of Confidence happens when:

  1. We assess the areas we need to strengthen
  2. We do the work and begin to practice
  3. We stop after a few days or week to assess
  4. We modify our actions – keeping what is working and tweaking what could be done differently to get us closer to our goals
  5. We repeat

The difference between those that so and those that don’t has very little to do with talent and a lot to do with the belief that we will show up for ourselves, without judging ourselves and simply doing the best we can each and everyday.

Mentioned in This Show

TED Talk Embrace The Remix

Character Strength Survey 

Downloadable Handout on Confidence 

 

 

Direct download: Episode103_YourYesLifeNow_confidence.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 1:53pm EDT

Movement Can Be a Life Preserver

About Today’s Guest

Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist and lecturer at Stanford University who specializes in understanding the mind-body connection. As a pioneer in the field of "science-help," her mission is to translate insights from psychology and neuroscience into practical strategies that support personal well-being and strengthen communities.

She is the best-selling author of The Willpower Instinct and The Upside of Stress.

Through the Stanford Center for Compassion and Altruism, she helped create Stanford Compassion Cultivation Training, a program now taught around the world that helps individuals strengthen their empathy, compassion, and self-compassion.

You might know her from her TED talk, "How to Make Stress Your Friend," which is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time, with over 20 million views.

Her new book, The Joy of Movement, explores why physical exercise is a powerful antidote to the modern epidemics of depression, anxiety, and loneliness.


Stay In Touch With Kelly

The Joy of Movement

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

TED Talk

Show Notes

Kelly McGonigal is the author of a game-changing book called The Joy of Movement and if you are in the fitness industry this is a must-read. We dive in by talking how movement has helped both and Kelly and myself with anxiety, and the importance of embracing movement as a gift that can help us in so many ways, including depression, anxiety, loneliness and finding community.

Kelly discovered very early on that exercise made her feel good but it wasn't until she was in college and graduate school that she really understood how important movement would be to her life. It was moving her body that gave her an embodied sense of hope and courage and it was movement that allowed her to start a workout feeling anxious, stressed out, and judging herself and by the end of the workout, she would feel as though she could take on the world.

In this episode, we discuss how exercise can help us deal with feelings such as anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief. We also look at the research that is showing how exercise goes much deeper than just the endorphin rush that we get when we're working out. Kelly also shares how exercise changes our brain in ways that make us more resilient to stress which in turn makes us braver.

I ask Kelly what her dreams are for this book and she hopes that this book will change the conversation around movement, to move it away from the myopic conversations around calories and tracking steps. She is hoping that we all get to understand that our bodies are our best vehicles for experiencing so many human joys and it is the vessel that will take us forward into our dream life.

We move on to talk about music. Kelly shares that music is a universal human joy. We are reminded how people love listening to music, love making music and how people love moving to music. The research also reveals that when people move together, they form friendships and it strengthens relationships. She goes on to reveal that research is demonstrating that music has a much more powerful effect on mood and on strengthening social relationships when we move our body to the music rather than when we just listen to it.

Kelly and I talk about the panic attacks I used to have and how exercise helps us create a new relationship with the physical symptoms of stress or anxiety. When we exercise, our heart rate increases, we breathe faster, we sweat and we blush, which feels a lot like a panic attack. The research shows that one of the reasons that exercise helps with panic attacks is that it starts to color the meaning of those symptoms differently. This is a great piece of information for anyone out there struggling with anxiety and panic.

Kelly’s book is full of heartwarming stories about people whose lives have been changed by movement. No matter whether she was talking to rowers or runners, dancers or weightlifters or Cross Fitters or Gardeners, the common them that came through was the feeling of interdependence and how much we rely on one another to survive. This is important for fitness professionals who need to know their value in the world, along with the opportunities that they are creating for people to experience themselves and create communities in new ways.

Kelly hopes that the heartwarming stories found within her book will help people see the possibilities that are present in movement. It's not about finding a workout that you like enough that you can stand it so that you will lose weight. This is a completely different thing. This is about embracing our full potential as human beings and enjoying life and participating in life as we also find community.

Kelly shares that any form of movement tends to make people feel better. It's called the feel-better effect. One of the things that exercise seems to produce what is called an achievement sensation. This is a physical sensation of having done something good or worthwhile or meaningful or difficult that then transcends into whatever you face next. So as in your workouts, you feel as though you have achieved something challenging it has a ripple effect into your life.

I share my journey to healing a broken heart of five years ago and how it was being on a yoga mat, and taking walks in Central Park that allowed me to slowly and steadily heal from grief. The stories in Kelly’s book reminds us that no matter what your age or what you are dealing with, movement can be a life raft.

Kelly and I share our own workout stories and the importance of instructors and coaches making us feel seen. One of the side effects of movement is we become socially vulnerable because we enter that physiological and neurochemical state of being open to connection. So if you are an instructor or a coach it is important to remember that you to have an extremely powerful impact on the people in front of you for good or for bad, hopefully for good.

Kelly goes on to share that writing this book has given her the complete freedom to share that this is the most important thing in her life. She believes, as do I that movement has the power to change lives and build communities. I hope you get to experience this too.

Direct download: Episode102_KellyMcGonigal_Your_YesLifeNow.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Let It Be Easy, Let It Be Fun"

About Today's Guest

Jenny Blake is the founder of Pivot Method, a growth strategy company that helps forward-thinking individuals and organizations map what’s next.

She is an international keynote speaker, and the author of Pivot: The Only Move That Matters is Your Next One, which won the Axiom Best Business Books Award in the careers category. Jenny also hosts the popular Pivot Podcast, which CNBC listed among 6 podcasts to make you smarter about your career, and Entrepreneur selected as one of the top 20 female-hosted business podcasts.

After two years at a technology start-up in Silicon Valley, followed by five years at Google in Training and Career Development, Jenny moved to New York City in 2011 where she has been running her own consulting business in the years since, helping innovative organizations like Google, Microsoft, and CHANEL incorporate the Pivot Method into their global career development and manager training programs.

Her motto: if change is the only constant, let's get better at it. Today you can find Jenny at PivotMethod.com and on her Pivot Podcast.

Stay In Touch With Jenny

Website

Jenny’s Podcast

FREE Founder Time Course by Jenny 

LinkedIn

Twitter

Instagram

Facebook

Show Notes

For my first interview on Your Yes Life Now Podcast, I had to invite my dear friend Jenny Blake back onto the show. As the author of Pivot, she was the perfect guest for this episode.

We begin the conversation with the question “what are we saying yes to?” Jenny shares that saying yes for her is also saying I she is her first priority and that means that her health, her wellness, her rest, her space, her sanity is her first priority – a lesson we can all learn to be better at. The yes for Jenny and her yes life is about honoring who she is and giving herself permission to say no so that she’s really clear and joyful when she does say yes.

We talk about burnout and how quickly it can loom upon us if we are not careful. Jenny shares that having awareness of our own tendencies is so crucial. And then what she offers for us when we do find ourselves in a state of burnout, is to flood ourselves with self-compassion. So instead of the self-talk that burnout is a problem, flip the conversation to be able to say to yourself -  I can see that you've been working so hard and I see how much you've done. She goes on to share that If she is worried about someone else's wellness more than her own and she hasn't yet done her basics of movement, hydration, eating well, sleep, then she reminds herself to rewind so that she can stay full to help and love those around her.

Jenny’s life mantra is “Let it be easy, let it be fun.” And for her, this is a lens she uses when making decisions about her life and work.

As this show was recorded at the end of 2019 we talk about our words for the upcoming year. Mine is Financial Freedom, which moved us into a conversation about money, worth and income. We speak about money being energy and that if we allow ourselves to take the restrictions and the fears and the worries away and we allow full abundance to flow through us, we can serve others, we can serve the world, we can create more, we can reach more, we can donate to charities and we can earn more and share more.

We move onto the topic of time and Jenny invites us to question what we have been told about traditional working hours and what it takes to be successful. Jenny wants 2020 to be a year where she can simplify. She shares that she has just blocked off her calendar in 2020. She has blocked out the fourth week of every month along with I blocking off Mondays and Fridays. She is going to experiment with compressing her time and elevating her focus with an estimated total of 1000 working hours in 2020.

Jenny’s word is luxurious and we both share that our words for 2020 feel a little uncomfortable and we invite you to pick a word for 2020 that is a stretch word – one that makes you feel a little pushed and challenged.

Jenny is both spontaneous and also a genius as systems. She also has a mantra that comes from the agile development word and that is - each time you repeat a task, take one step toward automating it. What that means is saving yourself the time. Being kind to your future self. If you find yourself writing an email, giving directions to your home, or any task that you can anticipate you're going to do move it into a system that can be replicated.

Jenny and I both believe that you can be successful on your own terms and that it takes courage and perseverance to figure out what works for you and your life and on your terms. With that as we move into 2020, both Jenny and I wish you a journey that is easy and fun -and has systems in place to help you out along the way.

Mentioned In This Show

The Seat of The Soul by Gary Zukav

It’s Not Your Money by Tosha Silver

Creating Money by Sanaya Roman

 

Direct download: Episode101_JennyBlake.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Your Dreams Were Given To You"

So here we are, a new year, a new decade, the 100th episode and a new podcast name “Your Yes Life Now!” So I thought if there was anything I could share with you, that I have experienced recently about what it takes to live your yes life now, your best life now, not your perfect life now – it would be my DJ Journey.

The journey began on August 18th, 2018, the day of my book launch for The Perfection Detox in NYC. During the event, I had a Q and A, and was asked, “What’s next?” My answer was that I would love to explore DJ’ing, and right then and there, three people came up to me with the sole goal to help me make that dream become a reality.

The journey was long, humbling, frustrating and exhilarating. It is one of the most challenging adventures I've undertaken and during the year where I was practicing and mentoring under the eyes and ears of Mike Babbitt, from Yes Fitness Music, I had many ah-ha! Moments and many more moments when I wanted to quit.

In this episode, I share some of the lessons I learned that can be applied to both work and life and what it took for me to keep going when all I wanted to do was give up.

Life Lessons From The DJ Booth:

  1. Bad habits set in early. So review often and fine-tune and Up-level as needed.
  2. Number two, liking music and knowing your music are two very different animals.
  3. Three to pursue a big audacious goal, you need two things outside of you:
    • A mentor, time-trusted and someone who believes in you.
    • An advocate who sees your vision and opens a door to an opportunity that holds you accountable.
  4. The time you are most likely to give up is right before you have earned the wisdom to know that with effort you are capable of doing the work and making your dream a reality.
  5. Music in your headphones sounds very different on a big speaker, because sometimes the headphones just lie.
  6. Dreams, curiosity, and learning keep you young.
  7. Technology is your gateway drug to creativity if you use it correctly.

Then a week before I was about to DJ the V.I.P party in Toronto for over 500 people, my second and greatest lesson appeared. I'd gone down to Washington for a tune-up mentorship session. For the past six or so months, I'd been practicing for hundreds of hours, but now looking back – I hadn't been practicing, I had been perfecting a set. Note for note, transition to transition, but that wasn't DJ’ing, that was curating a playlist.

During my session, I realized I was no longer spontaneous. I had lost all my curiosity and I had lost all my intuitive skills for trying to be perfect. I had forgotten that nothing worth doing is easy and that perfection will kill your creativity. Life just as a DJ set is best lived and created when being in the moment, and reacting to what is versus what do you have planned for.

It was a disaster and I only had 5 days before the big event. I have never been so scared, and have never wanted to quit more – ever. And so what I spent the rest of that week doing, in the five days left before the event, was being in the moment, mixing songs in different ways, trying different intros, outros, fades, beat matching, not beat matching, fading out, fading in, echoes, reverbs. Not being perfect but working with the music in the moment.

And then the evening arrived, and it was magical. It was messy and spontaneous and the dance floor guided me the entire evening. It was a conversation,  and a relationship between me, the music and the dancefloor.

The dance floor was packed until midnight, and what it taught me is that it's about being in the moment, not being in your head. Leadership, your voice, your course, your new podcast, your new keynote, your new class, your new romance, it doesn't happen in your head, it happens in your heart. It happens through curiosity, it through connection. It happens through doing the work. It happens from your failures. It happens from feeling that fear and recognizing that this is a sign that you need to lean in, not back away.

And that's why I have changed the name of this podcast from The Perfection Detox to Your Yes Life Now! Not your perfect life now, not your flawless life – your YES life. I’m excited to hear what you will say “YES!” to this year.

 

 

Direct download: Episode100_PetraKolber.mp3
Category:Self Improvement -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Always Begin With The Customer In Mind"

About Today's Guest

Brynn Putnam is the founder and CEO of ​MIRROR​, a fitness technology company poised to revolutionize the way people work out by bringing the boutique studio experience in-home. For more than a decade, Brynn has been well-regarded as a pioneer of the fitness industry. She started her career as a professional ballet dancer for the New York City Ballet, spending years training to peak performance while also working in some of New York City's top gyms and boutique fitness studios. In 2010, Brynn took her learnings from elite trainers and physiologists across the nation and founded Refine Method, the acclaimed fitness studio dubbed “Best New Workout” by ​New York​ magazine. Now, Brynn is applying her deep expertise in fitness, both as an entrepreneur with a proven track record and an accomplished athlete, to transform the fitness industry again. Brynn graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Russian Literature and Culture and is based in New York City.

Stay In Touch With Brynn

Refine Website

Mirror Website

Instagram

Facebook

To Receive a FREE Downloadable Confidence Reflection Book click here:

To Stay in Touch with me 

Facebook

Instagram

 

Show Notes

Click here

Thank you so much for listening today, we are taking a brief hiatus to rebrand the show but subscribe below so you will receive notice when we come back on air shortly:

iTunes

Spotify

 

 

Direct download: Episode_99_BrynnPutnam_ThePerfectionDetox.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Fitness is Too Important To Be Boring"

About Today's Guest

Michael Piercy is the owner-founder of The LAB, a member of the Under Armour training team and a TRX Master Course Instructor and Global Presenter. Mike is the recipient of two of the most prestigious awards in the fitness industry the 2017 IDEA Personal Trainer of The Year Award as well as 2013 TRX Overall Instructor of the Year award given by his peers and colleagues for a great attitude, community spirit, and inspirational teaching.

Michael came into the fitness industry full time following a career in professional baseball in which he played for Major league organizations consisting of (Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Montreal Expos. Mike has had the pleasure of working with and creating programs for many athletes from a vast array of major sports including competing athletes in the NFL, MLB, and NBA.

Stay In Touch With Michael

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Show Notes

Michael got into fitness to stay off the streets. At the age of 15, his mum signed him up to help out at a local health club to help him stay out of trouble. Michael also became fascinated with his elder brother's weight set and to help him not use it all the time, his mum purchased a Hulk Hogan Kit for him to use. Jump rope, a cassette tape, and some instructions later – Michael began to deepen his commitment to the world of fitness.

He got his start in a large gym chain which enabled him to experience the many different aspects of a health club. Michael encourages new trainers to also try this entry point when starting out. You will learn a lot about what to do and then also a lot about what not to do. You can gain a tremendous amount of experience in a shorter period of time when you have so many different elements of fitness in one location.

Michael moved into the world of baseball when he was drafted by the pirates. He spent 99.9% of his time in the minor league which taught him many valuable lessons. In the minors, you have to do everything yourself for the most part. You're your own strength coach, you travel a lot, you learn to eat a little bit better and in turn, become your own advocate for a healthier lifestyle.

When talking about what Michael learned from his time in baseball that he carried with him into the world of fitness he replied with, “It would be split-second adjustment.” The ability to be able to adjust to certain things when things sometimes go your way and when things sometimes don’t. During his time traveling in baseball he also learned of the importance of being able to get on with many different personalities, cultures, and people from around the globe, this too has also served him well inside of the fitness world.

Michael shares how his world expanded when he attended his first fitness conference. He was captivated by the energy and the other attendees and saw there was an entire fitness world outside of New Jersey that was waiting for him to step into. After working hard and applying several times, he became a brand ambassador for TRX and his career was put on a jumpstart.

Michael shares the importance of asking the right questions when it comes to building your future and to also set meaningful and inspiring goals. He invites us to do goal setting every year. Write down your goals, write down what you want your life to be like, write down how you want your business to be. Write it down in as much detail and breakdown into as many micro-steps as possible. Just like a fitness program, this is a life program.

Another lesson that Michael learned from baseball was that “you have to stay on an even line across.” This meant you can't ever really get caught up in the hype, and can't ever get lost in the doubt. To always believe that you're better than your bad days and to never believe the hype that you're so good on your good days. Remain consistent and keep a consistent work ethic, because the game will humble you. In baseball, the guys in the hall of fame, are only good 30% of the time.

Michael talks about the importance of looking at your processes that you create and the people you surround yourself with. The importance of creating a tribe of people who you trust and who you can grow with. He struggles, just like most of us to delegate, but Michael also believes in the delegate or die principle too.
Michael encourages us to find our lane, to really discover where and with whom you do your best work. Take the time to figure out where you want to be. And in times of doubt ask yourself these three questions:

1. What are you worried about?
2. What are you protecting?
3. What are you waiting for?

Direct download: Episode98_MichaelPiercy_Perfectiondetox.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:30am EDT

"When It's Not Working Hit Delete and Move On"

About Today's Guest

Sara, CEO of SCW Fitness Education and WATERinMOTION®, is a visionary leader that has transformed the fitness education community. A successful business owner and advisor, she is a keynote speaker, published author, podcast presenter and sought-after industry leader. Sara has launched nine successful MANIA® fitness-professional conventions and over 35 live and online certifications. Her company has touched more than 100,000 Fitness Professionals face-to-face and engaged another 300,000+ in virtual connections. Having produced over 600 Fitness Instructor Training videos, written several books and been published repeatedly in magazines and newspapers, Sara is well-known for her creativity and impact on the health and wellness industry. She has a unique ability to share her passion and devotion towards fitness education through her humor, enthusiasm and her effervescent no-nonsense personality.

Sara is committed to sharing her knowledge and expertise as a fitness industry leader for the past 3 decades through speaking engagements across the world. She is a favorite presenter for the Athletic Business Show, Medical Fitness Association, International Council on Active Aging, JCC, Club Industry, YMCA, Illinois Park & Recreation Association, AYP, CanFitPro, IDEA, FitPro, Filex, IHRSA, Marriott Vacation Club, Gold’s Gym, WIFA, Nevada Recreation & Park Association as well as over a dozen international events throughout the world. Sara is also the former Owner and CEO of Les Mills Midwest, which she successfully led for over 10 years.

Sara is an attorney who graduated from Washington University School of Law and completed undergraduate work from Cambridge University in England. Sara was selected as a Gold Medal winner distinguishing her as a business leader who has contributed to the economic health of her community. She also is the proud recipient of the Illinois State Business Woman of the Year and AEA’s Global Award for Contribution to the Aquatic Industry.

Having been a former adjunct faculty member for the Kenneth Cooper Institute, ACSM, NASM, ACE and AFAA, Sara serves on the Gold’s Gym Think Tank, is on the Women In Fitness Association (WIFA) Board of Directors, and is a proud inductee into the National Fitness Hall of Fame. Sara has left an indelible mark on the fitness industry as she continues to make her impact on fitness professionals worldwide.

Stay In Touch With Sara

SCW Website

Sara's Website

SCW Facebook

Sara's Facebook Page

SCW Instagram

Show Notes

We begin the show by reflecting back on how I remember first meeting Sara. Her event was the first fitness convention that ever I presented. I still remember the nerves that I felt, as I took to the stage for the first time.

Sara’s memories go back a little further to the time when I was introduced to the Reebok Faculty as the new “face of Reebok.” Well, maybe you can imagine how that went down. Just like anything I needed to earn the trust (and respect) of the team and that was going to take a few years.

Sara shares that inside her business she is always looking to hire people with stronger and different talents to her own. She believes that working this way elevates both her business and also her own path to success.

Sara talks about how her father encouraged her from an early age to share her voice and have it heard by others and she goes on to talk about the importance of surrounding yourself with good people. People who will lift you up and see the best in you. She shares that while you can’t choose your family, you can choose your extended family and the people who will be there for you when things are going great and also there for you when you are in the struggles of life. During the more challenging times, if things are not going as planned Sara shares how her husband invited her to simply, “hit delete and move on.” Not always easy, but always worth it.

Sara currently runs nine very successful conventions but we go back to a time where she had to cancel her first event due to a lack of attendance. She shares how she managed to get to the others side through the kindness of some vendors and presenters, and even in her darkest times, her husband would remind her of all that was still so good and positive in her life.

We go back in time to the time when Sara first moved into the world of fitness. It began through the world of dance and she shares that it was only when she was dancing that she felt beautiful. She was also a runner at school and it was the combination of athletics and dance that brought the world of aerobics into her world.

During her start as a fitness instructor, Sara attended the IDEA convention, which was and still is one of the most recognized fitness conventions in the United States. She loved every moment but realized that the cost was going to be prohibitive to attend every year. It was this thought that propelled her to create and develop her own fitness events. She began by renting space in a hotel, asking friends for help and Sara City Workouts was born.

Sara shares her thought that not everyone needs to do fitness full time, and that teaching fitness part-time is a fantastic way to contribute to the industry. She then shares if you do want to try to move into fitness full time, to try different things and see which types of projects and people resonate with you and where you do your best work.

Sara encourages us to take risks and to learn from our mistakes and the “seeming” failures that happen as we go for our dreams. She reminds us that what social media shows is only half of the story and for any success to happen we will have to have setbacks along the way.

Sara believes the future of the wellness industry will be both in bricks and clicks, meaning both the online portals along with face to face connection.
Sara believes that one of the best ways to get where you want to go is to simply show up, work hard and persevere. She invites us to choose carefully the people we choose to listen to and to schedule and plan our time carefully so that we can create our best future.

Direct download: Episode97_SaraKooperman_perfectiondetox.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Imagine, Get Clear, Create

I loved this conversation with Mark and we begin by him sharing that the reason he got into the fitness industry was because he was not very excited with his body when he was in middle school. Wanting to be an actor he knew he would need to take some to feel confident in his body, but unlike many in the wellness industry, he did not enjoy his first experiences with exercise.

However the period of many years, he slowly fell in love with fitness. He became fascinated by the experience of seeing the body change in response to different inputs and metrics.

Mark moved to New York in his twenties, in addition to acting some of the time he needed to make money doing other things and essentially developed a clientele among fellow performers, actors, Broadway performers, teaching them about fitness. Fast forward to the summer of 2010 when a number of serendipitous things happen, not the least among them it was the summer he adopted a practice of reading two to sometimes three books per week and became very serious about visioning and goal setting exercises. Within a 12 month period of making the decision to focus a little bit more on his training business, he started Mark Fisher Fitness.

Mark talks about the importance of goal setting in all areas of our life. He believes there needs to be a balance of having the ability to see a clear vision of the future, something that's compelling, something that's inspiring, a future version of yourself you want to live into AND also the importance of developing the executive functions that allow you to do the day to day things that will move your vision into goals and then turn those goals into smaller goals and then turning those into habits and skills.

Mark shares, “I'm fond of saying, having a clear vision of where you want your life to go will not guarantee that it's going to happen. However, to not have any vision for where you want your life to go will make it very unlikely that you will accidentally create the life that you truly want to be living.”

A large part of what Mark does is time management and speaks to the idea of a planning fallacy, meaning as humans we are not great at understanding how long things actually take to complete and this includes our fitness goals. He also encourages us to look at money and compensation for our time as an energy exchange. That when we can take in information, consolidate it and then transfer it onto others to help them live better lives, is all worth being compensated for – and well.

Mark gives us some great questions to consider when starting or continuing an entrepreneurial venture:

  1. Is what I am creating going to help the people I want to serve?
  2. Is this something I am excited about and prepared to do the hard work for?
  3. Is this something that will make sense financially?

We talk about authenticity and how important it is to be yourself when doing your work. Mark shares his journey on how we flipped fitness on its head especially when it came to traditional marketing by using the power of magic and unicorns to stand out from the crowd. The one element that was consistent throughout this part of his business growth was keeping his (target) audience in mind and creating offerings that would resonate with their dreams and desires.

Mark also encourages us to have the courage to have the confidence to narrow down our market so that in fact we may not attract and appeal to everybody. Know who you want to serve, know who it is you want to help and then write them a love letter with your work.

Stay In Touch With Mark

Mark Fisher Website

Business for Unicorns Website

Instagram

Facebook

Books Mentioned In This Episode

This is Marketing by Seth Godin
To Sell is Human by Daniel Pink

Blog Post mentioned In The Show

The Quick and Dirty System for Goal Setting

 

Direct download: Episode_96_PerfectionDetox_MarkFisher.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 10:17am EDT

"Keep Moving Forward and Look For The Gaps"

About Today's Guest

Colin Milner is the CEO of the International Council on Active Aging and founder of the active-aging industry in North America. Milner is also a leading authority on the health and well-being of the older adult and has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as one of "the most innovative and influential minds" in the world on aging-related topics.

An award-winning writer, Milner has authored more than 300 articles. He has been published in such journals as Global Policy, and the Annual Review of Gerontology and Geriatrics. He also contributed a chapter to the World Economic Forum book Global Population Ageing: Peril or Promise?

Milner's speeches have stimulated thousands of business and government leaders, industry professionals & older adults worldwide.

Whether Fortune 100 companies or governmental organizations, Milner's efforts have inspired a broad spectrum of groups to seek his counsel.

In addition, Milner received the CanFitPro "Lifetime Achievement Award" for his contributions to the Canadian fitness industry, and had been recognized as one Canada's Top 100 Health Influencers by Optimize Magazine and as one of the "Who's Who" in the Fitness Industry, by Club Industry Magazine. Milner's tireless efforts have leading-edge publications, television networks and radio stations seeking his insights. Among these outlets are: CNN, US News and World Report, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Dow Jones Market Watch, Money Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine, WebMD, The National Post, Globe and Mail, Parade Magazine, and Fox Business Radio.

 

Show Notes

As always, we begin the show by finding out how the guest got into fitness. For Colin, it was wanting to become a professional soccer player. After traveling and putting on some weight he decided to become (what was called then) a weight training instructor for the club where he was working out.

Colin was pegged later in his career as someone who could also be successful at sales, although he had little interest at the time. He accepted the position of Assistant Manager and realized that during the selling process he could also create meaningful relationships with the potential clients. He realized that he was able to help people reach their goals by getting them involved in the process.

One of his mentors told Colin that “nothing will happen until somebody makes that commitment ” and that his job of representing the club was to help them make that life-changing decision. Colin realized that he could help others live a better life through fitness and all of that started with them making the decision, to begin the journey to a healthier lifestyle.

Colin was one of the first to really embrace the active aging market. He saw that the fitness industry kept going after the same market, and believes that as much as we have all this creativity, we also have a lack of vision. When it comes to the demographic of the boomer market he believes that what we sometimes fail to remember is that more people have gone into the 50 plus segment than ever before. And that segment has grown in wealth. Their disposable income has also grown from 50% to 70% which is a huge leap. He invites us to decide if you want a piece of that action or not? Or do you still all want to scrape over the 20%, who we are already working with.


Colin believes we haven’t done a great job of using our creativity with this generation. He goes onto say, “If you don't explore this market, you have nobody else to blame but yourself for being ineffective with it. If you put in a poor effort to serve this segment of the population, by thinking that you can just do the same thing and you don't get the results and then you turn around and say, oh, but they don't come to my facilities, all you have to do is look in the mirror because you haven't made the commitment. You have to explore, make the commitment and then sustain that commitment.”

Colin reminds us that the older generation can sniff out BS, but that is what also makes it really exciting. The active aging market is diverse because as you get older, you become more yourself. We have more, life experience. We have more disparities in income, in functional levels and so on. This is not a one size fits all approach that you can just use. Colin says that the first thing to do is to make a commitment to yourself that you will actually understand who you are serving before you serve them.

This incredible generation wants to reignite their lives and they want to discover delayed dreams.
Colin gives us a great reminder that the only people who think health isn't worth it are healthy people. Once you start becoming unhealthy, whether it is through a health condition or whatever, a lot of times you'll pay you whatever you have to - to regain that health.

Colin reminds us that there is also the importance of building social connections. So much so in the UK right now they offer social prescriptions for patients to go and connect with people. He also shares that the new definition of healthy aging according to the World Health Organization is now the ability to keep your functional abilities at a high level. It is no longer about the absence of disease.

We touch on a few of the failures along Colin’s journey and how they shaped him for the better. At 29 he needed to declare bankruptcy and it was his sports background that helped him survive this turbulent time. The discipline of showing up even when things were tough.

Colin shares that what he is really excited about for the future is that wellness encompasses virtually everything. This means you can get into it in a multitude of different ways. You don't have to be a fitness trainer. You can be someone who is a spiritual leader and then blend into all the other dimensions. You can be someone who is there to help people emotionally. He also reminds us of the startling fact that by the year 2020, the second leading cause of premature death and disability is expected to be depression.

He encourages us to think of ourselves as agents of change as each and every one of us will experience an awful lot of changes. He sees one huge opportunity that has been untapped is what he calls change management. Whether you lose a boyfriend, whether you lose a husband, whether you lose a house, money, whatever it is, we all go through change and to help someone navigate that change, is a terrific opportunity, especially as they get older.

As we begin to close our conversation Colin reminds us that even in times of challenging change that tomorrow will come and the sun will rise and so will we.

Stay In Touch With Colin

ICAA Website

Active Aging Week Website

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin

Direct download: Episode95_ColinMilner_PerfectionDetox.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"We All Lift Each Other Up"

About Today's Guest

Pete McCall is a strength coach, personal trainer, author of Smarter Workouts: The Science of Exercise Made Simple, education consultant, public speaker and host of the All About Fitness podcast. As a consultant, Pete has experience delivering education and content solutions for a variety of health and fitness organizations including the American Council on Exercise (ACE), the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM), Reebok, 24-Hour Fitness, Core Health & Fitness, ActivMotion Bar, Hyperwear and Terra Core Fitness. Frequently quoted as a fitness expert in publications such as The New York Times, Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, SELF, Glamour, and Shape Magazine and featured as a fitness expert for TV news outlets including WRC-NBC (DC), Fox News, Fox 5 San Diego, and NBC7 San Diego, Pete is a sought-after media resource for accurate, in-depth insights on how to get results from exercise.

Stay In Touch With Pete

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Podcast

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:

Show Notes

We begin the show by Pete reminding me that we had met in the early nineties when he was an assistant, checking presenters in at the ECA conference in NYC. This leads to us talking about the importance of creating our own opportunities, including volunteering at local conferences.

Pete shares that his fitness journey began when he was working on Capitol Hill. He grew up in the DC area and after college returned to Washington, and it was while he was working on Capitol Hill that he began working at the front desk at a local gym.

After he earned a certification from the American Council on Exercise, he eventually went on to work for ACE directly in 2008. Along the way, he got his master's degree but the one thing that he took from politics was the power of networking and getting to know people.

Pete talks about the benefits that can come from working within a gym chain. It is here where you can get a lot of reps, teaching, and training. Pete suggests that one way to have a solid career is to work within an organization, do the most you can, work 25 to 30 hours a week and make a very good living. Then to expand your career ask your company for ways that you can expand your services, and help them by offering workshops, etc. for both trainers and customers.

We talk about the hustle and grind that has to happen behind any successful career or venture. We both discuss how it can look easy to be at the top, especially with social media but we all have to remember that there was a climb to get there.

Pete shares his thoughts on the importance of learning both within and outside the industry that you are in. He talks about the need to develop skillsets in leadership, marketing, sales, and social media. Staying on the topic of social media we talk about how to be resilient and move forward when there is so much opportunity for people to share their opinions of us on the internet.

We talk about whether to niche down in one area of expertise or to cast a wider net. Pete shares something a friend told with him many years ago when he said, “you want to be an inch wide and a mile deep.” However, at the end of the day, we both believe the most important thing is to do something and get started.

Pete talks about the importance of doing your best- daily. On bringing your best effort forward to every day, regardless of whether it's a good day or bad one. It is when we do our best and create a positive environment for others, everything will fall into place.

We close out the conversation with Pete sharing a daily practice that we can all use to stay on track and moving toward our goals, called S.W.OT.Strengths - look at your strengths. What are you doing well?
Weaknesses – what are your weaknesses and can you turn them into an opportunity?
Opportunities – where are they and where can you create more?
Threats – where do you feel challenged? Which elements are in your control and which are outside of your control?

So this week I encourage you to remember your strengths, look at areas where you could improve as opportunities to grow instead of signs of weakness. Explore new opportunities and follow through on existing gateways to greatness and view your threats as motivation to rise.

 

Direct download: Episode94_PeteMcCall_PerfectionDetox.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"What is Fear Trying to Reveal to Me?" 

About Today's Guest

Todd Durkin, MA, is a world-renown trainer, coach, author and motivational speaker who trains dozens of elite, high-profile NFL, MLB, and MMA athletes, including two Super Bowl MVPs (Drew Brees& Aaron Rodgers), Olympic gold medalists, Heisman Trophy winners, and MMA champions. Todd is a 2-Time Trainer of the Year, the 2017 Jack LaLanne Award recipient, a member of the Under Armour Training Team, and a Top-100 Most Influential People in Health & Fitness. He was a featured trainer on the popular TV show, NBC STRONG, which is now airing on Netflix. His gym, Fitness Quest 10 in San Diego, CA, is a Top-10 Gym in America. His two books, The IMPACT Body Plan and The WOW BOOK, have changed thousands of lives world-wide.

Todd is also the President/CEO of Todd Durkin Enterprises where he conducts motivational keynotes/presentations, educational & leadership workshops to high-performers in all sectors of business & life. If you need a dynamic, motivational speaker for your business, club, team, or organization in 2019, now is a great time to book Todd.

As a 20+ year veteran in the fitness and coaching industry, Todd leads the "best-in-class" Todd Durkin Mastermind Coaching program that is designed to help fitness pros in business, leadership, marketing, training, and personal development. He takes great pride in his coaching program and has devoted 10+ years of his career in helping others achieve massive success, significance and IMPACT as well. Whether one is a green-trainer looking to ascend up the success-ladder or someone is a 20+ year veteran looking for new motivation, tactics, and techniques, the TD Mastermind is an incredible family of devoted "fire-breathing" dragons committed to becoming BETTER!

Show Notes

Todd Durkin is as kind and energetic behind the scenes as he is on stage. This week’s conversation is filled with useable tips and strategies, in addition, Todd will refill your inspiration tank so you have the energy to go out and execute on your dreams.

We begin our conversation by Todd reminding us that we are not in the sports, exercise or wellness business but we are in the people business. We move on to talk about how Todd became the person he is today, and like many people of impact, his journey was one of trials and challenges. As an athlete at the peak of his career, he was injured and with three herniated discs, spinal stenosis and degenerative back disease he had to give up on his dream and stop playing professional football in Europe.

Todd’s journey back to wellness was not just the physical aspect of rehabbing from the serious injury, it also included going through a lot of meditation, Yoga and was the introduction of Todd getting in touch with the gentler side of recovery, including Zen body therapy and Feldenkrais movement therapy. This took Todd to another side of fitness which he had not been accustomed to as an athlete. He realized that there was another side to performance especially at a high, high level that was different to just doing power cleans, and bench presses - the things that were often equated to high performance as an athlete. It was at this moment Todd realized that if he really wanted to tip the iceberg and get the top, that he was going to have to marry the modalities of traditional strength and conditioning with the inner wisdom of the body.

We talk a lot about Todd’s faith and how has always been determined to be his true self and he has always understood that it is okay to be different. He encourages us all to not be like everybody else. Todd believes that each of us has different gifts that we've been blessed with and that it's our opportunity and responsibility to make sure that we share that in the most, most authentic way.

We move the conversation to the challenge of facing our fear and Todd suggests we simply “get over it.” With a smile, he reminds us that he too has fear all the time and but it is also a sign. To Todd, fear is an opportunity and the day he doesn't have fear or feel a bit of anxiety is the day he will step out of the industry.

Todd believes that what is important is the quiet time as it is here where you can discover what you are BIW in? What are you best in the world at? What are you great at? And when you really honor and stay true to that - it allows you to be the best at your unique gift. It is here where you are going to attract who you're supposed to attract and do your best work. When asked about how to move forward Todd replies, "by getting more time away from what you are trying to move forward to." He goes on to say that when we step away from the minutia of all that we are working on - we get a lot of big ideas – which is called vision. Todd believes that if we're always in the weeds doing the work that we love to do, we often forget about the vision. The harder you work the harder your recovery needs to be.

Todd talks about the importance of planning and also having systems in place that can support that plan. He encourages us to constantly be writing down and planning our goals. Todd has a specific system that's called an annual roadmap along with an ongoing strategic plan, and he encourages us all to get really clear on our long and short term goals. He brings up a great point and that is that most of us have two to three hours a day, that he calls swing hours. Those swing hours could go to either watching Netflix or TV or doing something important.
He encourages us to design our ideal week, to know when our peak productivity cycles are in any given day and then create blocks of time around our peak productivity cycles where we get to do our best work.

We move on to talk about Todd’s recent knee surgery and he believes that this was one of the greatest blessings as it forced him to get still and get clear. It also made him realize that it was time for some changes in his business so that he could reach more people without burning out. By stepping back and slowing down, he realized he needed to build a schedule that would allow him to be in a creative mode more often.

I ask Todd about his thoughts on why we often have a difficult time charging our worth and I loved his answer. Todd views money as energy. “It comes in and goes like energy. You have to attract energy. You have to attract money. When you attract money and if you attract it and hold on to it, you block energy and that blocks it. If you keep it circulatory and keep it moving and investing in good things and giving back, it's going to come back to you 10 fold. But the minute you hold on you will have energy blocks. So when you asked me about my energy, even with money, it's changed a lot and I'm always affirming myself. I am deserving of attracting it, manifesting it, giving it back to new great things and to other people. And that's how I've shifted. And I know there's a lot of people that may be listening in today, money is just a form of energy and that you are deserving.”

We close the conversation by touching on Todd’s morning ritual. For him, it's imperative to get his mind right and to get his mind ticking and operating at the highest level. Todd typically spends about an hour each morning to prepare, this consists of quiet time, some reading and a workout.

Todd also reminds us to listen to the whispers and so as you come to the end of the show, be sure to take the quiet time and listen to your whispers. Then write down your dream goals and create a strategic plan which will set you up to take action and for success.

Direct download: Episode93_PerfectionDetox_Todd_Durkin.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Be Amazing, Wherever You Are Planted" 

About Today's Guest

Trina Gray is the 2018 IDEA Fitness Leader of the Year. She is an internationally recognized fitness entrepreneur who owns two health clubs in rural Michigan, where she has lead a crusade against obesity and sedentary living. Her clubs, Bay Athletic Club and Bay Urban Fitness, transform lives and celebrate people. She created the Corporate Fit Challenge workplace wellness program and is sold worldwide. She founded an online coaching team for women in fitness through Beachbody, called Team Rockstar Fit, and is one of the top coaches in the country. She is a mom of two amazing teenagers and teaches others to live their life with purpose and freedom.

Stay In Touch With Trina

Website

Team Rockstar Fit Website

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Mentioned In The Show

The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy

How successful people think by John C. Maxwell

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

The Mastery Sessions Podcast by Robin Sharma

The Life Coach School Podcast by Brooke Castillo

Show Notes

We begin the conversation as I normally do, by going back in time to how I first my guest. I really only met Trina quite recently, when we were both speaking at a Women’s Leadership Event at World IDEA and I was immediately a fan.
Trina shares that she originally went to school for journalism, envisioning herself on 60 minutes as a famous broadcaster and journalist, traveling the world. She was on that path in college writing for her local school newspaper and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, but along that journey she realized had lost sight of her own personal self-care habits, not eating well, not exercising and not sleeping enough.


Deciding she needed to get herself in shape she went to the University of Wisconsin Recreation Center for Students but her first experience was one of not fitting in, feeling out of place and so she turned around and left. This first impression memory would serve her well down the road, as she built her own career in fitness many years later.


It took a personal invitation from her mother to a family-owned community health club that began her exploration into the world of fitness. With her mom beside her, Trina went to a high-low class at Prairie Athletic Club in 1997. While she went to the back of the room she felt as though she fit in and became a regular. Through another invitation, this time by an instructor she eventually moved from taking the class to teaching the class.


Trina eventually moved from her home town to a rural town in Michigan and I found herself as a young married woman, now unemployed in a community where she knew no one and no one knew her. So she did the only thing she did know how to do and that was to teach group fitness classes.


She built incredible relationships through her classes and fast forward several years she expanded her career to span across the United States as Master Trainer for Turbo Kick, whose creator we had on the show recently – Chalene Johnson.


By traveling across the USA and seeing many other clubs, a seed was planted that maybe one day Trina would own a club. A few years later, through relationship building, a ton of heart and hustle Trina opened the doors to a large medical-based health club. In the preparation phase, Trina understood that she had no experience in running a club and so she reached out across the country to the people she had met on her travels and asked them two questions:


If you could do it all over, what would you do differently?

What are the biggest complaints you get from your members?


Throughout our conversation, Trina talks about how to move through the negatives and the disappointments. She reminds us to keep asking the important questions:

Why am I doing this?
Who am I doing this for?
Where am I going?

She also encourages us to remember the importance of creating more than one revenue of income. She shares that it was never her vision to live paycheck to paycheck and do fitness just because she loved it. She believes (as do I) that wellness should pay well. Wellness is as important as acute care that and that if you're going to be in the fitness industry, don't be in the fitness industry to be broke.


Trina is also a Beachbody Coach and she leveraged her coaching by teaching what worked for her in business to other women in the industry. Through her experience and skill set, she shows others how to make an impact and an income, without always have to show up physically in person.

She shares a fantastic exercise for the times when you are searching for more clarity:
Pull out a blank piece of paper and write down:

What would your ideal day look like and be something that you can get behind right now? What time would you get up? When would you do your own workout? Who would you work with? Where would you be working? What would your schedule look and feel like? When would you have time off? What kind of time would you spend with your family?

This is a terrific way to get super clear on your personal values and vision for the future.


Trina ends our conversation with a fantastic reminder that “you have to find discipline over motivation.” So perhaps take some time to do the self-reflection exercise above and use that as your discipline driver for your future.

Direct download: Episode_92_PerfectionDetox_TrinaGray.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 4:30am EDT

"Your Questions are My Feedback, Ask Questions, Ask Questions, Ask Questions"

About Today's Guest

Shannon Fable, Executive Vice President of Learning & Product Development for the FIT4MOM® Franchise, is an experienced business and program developer in the health and wellness space. With over 20 years in the industry, Shannon has presented and educated in six continents on group fitness, personal training, management, business development, and time management. With a proven track record for assessing needs and developing programs, systems, and structure for a wide variety of businesses in the fitness industry, she has helped impressive brands such as Anytime Fitness, Schwinn®, Silver Sneakers, Power Systems, ACE and BOSU®.
Shannon, honored as the 2013 IDEA and 2006 ACE Instructor of the Year, is a certified Book Yourself Solid® Business Coach interested in helping fitness professionals navigate the industry and make more money. She is the owner of Sunshine Fitness Resources, sits on the Advisory Board for the Association of Fitness Studios and serves as Chair of the American Council on Exercise’s Board of Directors.
Shannon has presented at a number of industry shows such as ECA, IDEA World, IDEA PTI, Asia Fitness Conference, SCW, DCAC, IHRSA, Club Industry, Canfitpro, and AFPA. She is a frequent contributor to industry publications such as the IDEA Fitness Journal, Club Solutions Magazine, IHRSA, the Anytime Fitness Blog and more.
Most notably, along with her developer husband, she co-created and founded GroupEx Pro®, a revolutionary software designed to streamline and operationalize the management and marketing of group fitness programs for health clubs, which they recently sold to Daxko.
Shannon holds ACE Personal Training, Group Fitness, and Health Coach certifications, as well as AFAA National Certification.

Stay In Touch With Shannon

Shannon's Website

Fit4Mom Website

Facebook

ACE Fitness Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Mentioned In The Show

No Sweat by Michelle Segar, PH.D.

Show Notes

As always, I begin the show by asking my guest how they got into the industry of fitness. Shannon shares that “I traded an eating disorder for an exercise disorder and the rest is history.”


Shannon’s expertise of her past was as a former dancer and cheerleader, and as she liked the music and the movement found in the world of group glasses, that is where she put her focus at first. After joining a mentoring program, and after not much time in the program, Shannon was soon teaching on a regular basis.
She was part of the first group of fitness instructors to teach Body Pump in the United States and it was that experience that began her fast track forward within the industry.


We talk about what it takes to gain the courage to move forward and up and Shannon shares that at first, it was the fact that she was naïve and didn’t realize how hard it would be. Then she believes it is about asking yourself what is the worst that could happen, and then doing your best to swim to success. Shannon also shares an important point, that when people see something in us and give us an opportunity – believe them. They would not put you in a position to soar if they didn’t believe you would be able to meet the challenge ahead.

We talk about what it takes to become as fully prepared as possible and Shannon invites us to ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. Shannon reminds us that we do not need to know everything about everything. Find your love, find what you are passionate about and then do a deep dive into that area and then get help and reach out to others for their expertise when you need it. She encourages us to experiment, experience and explore all the various options within the industry. Also, understand how what you do also fits into the bigger picture of the industry in general.

We both discuss how we have been sidelined by an illness or unexpected life event and the importance of cultivating a way to still keep income coming in, even in the event that you cannot show up physically. We share our thoughts on the gig economy and trading time for dollars, where many of us ask for more money and do more things, but haven’t fully thought out how do we make money without showing up? It is a discussion about not putting all of our eggs into one basket, and if we are putting all our stock into our body then what happens if that body crashes?

We both agree on the importance of setting aside dedicated time, proactive time to look outside of our industry and learn about business in general. Shannon shares that her morning reading includes: Books on Productivity, Leadership and Sales & Marketing.

Shannon encourages to look at what other people have done, look at their map, study their map, be inspired by their map, And also trust that yours might be on a parallel track, but it's going to diverge at some point if you're going to make it and sustain it. Use others for motivation and inspiration but at the end of the day, you will need your own GPS to create your unique path to success.

Shannon invites us to reconsider our ideas about what fitness means. To drop our thoughts about what we think it has to be and embrace what people want to do and then help that plan work for them. She believes that it has got to become more individualized, more holistic, more about moving and being, versus exercise and doing. That fitness is truly a mosaic and that we have to embrace how a person weaves it together so it can fit into their life, and then create that experience for them.

We wrap up the show by revisiting the idea of experiencing and experimenting. Learn by reading, learn by watching others, learn by getting out into the world and doing many things. This will help you find your own GPS and navigate your road to success.

Direct download: Episode91_PerfectionDetox_ShannonFable.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 8:38am EDT

It Is Important to Honor People's Time

About Today's Guest

Keith Irace is the Vice President of Group Fitness at Equinox Fitness Clubs, where he has been a member of the team for nearly 16 years. An industry veteran who has held leadership positions and taught classes for over 25 years, he has been part of vibrant fitness communities in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

While a graduate student in his home town of Chicago, a part-time front desk job at a fitness club sparked a passion for the industry. After earning his BS in Communications from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and an MS from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, Keith immediately became a full-time fitness professional.

A move to Los Angeles led to a 7-year stint as a writer/producer/performer/group fitness instructor (everyone in LA is a multi-hyphenate) after which he returned to a full-time career in fitness with Equinox in 2003. Keith has been certified by ACE and AFAA along with specialty equipment training for ViPR, TRX, Kettlebells, CrossCore 180 and indoor cycling certifications from Schwinn, Stages, Spinning, and Reebok. He has completed the Equinox Pilates Mat certification and completed countless hours of continuing education at conferences and seminars.

Keith currently resides in New York, where he is enjoying living in a high rise building, walking places and re-acquainting himself with the weather.

Show Notes

We begin by sharing how we both met many years ago when I took Keith’s cycle class in Los Angeles. Over two decades later I am still a regular in his class, although now it is in NYC.

It was when Keith was in graduate school in Chicago, getting his masters in journalism that he got a part-time job at a fitness club in Chicago working behind the front desk. He would stand behind the front desk and watch the instructors and classes and that became his catalyst to move into the industry.

As with many other guests we talk about the importance of finding a mentor and the fact that wherever you are in the industry, there's always someone ahead of you and always someone behind you. That knowledge cannot be owned and when we can ask for help and then later offer help, it becomes a circle of mentorship.

We talk about Keith’s career and how over the course of sixteen years he moved from being an instructor, to Group Fitness Manager, Regional Manager and now as VP of Group Fitness. Keith shares that even as VP, he still teaches as it feeds his soul while also giving him time with members.

Keith talks about the importance of listening, being present and at the same time honoring other people’s time. He goes on to talk about curating an experience from start to finish, versus simply teaching or coaching a class and the importance of being really thoughtful with everything that you do. Starting with something as simple as just being in the studio early and then anything that you can add that feels like it is a nice customer service touch that you can make as a curated experience of your own. He reminds us that we can learn something from everybody and there's always room for us as we grow and learn from those around us.

We move on to talk about the importance of using social media to connect with your clients and students and the importance of being as authentic in your social media profile as you would be in your real life teaching.

Keith shares his thoughts on how to succeed, especially when first starting out. He encourages us to find the best team and get on it, because you're going to accelerate your career by being around all the rest of the best people. People become successful together as groups and as teams. If you're not ready to do all of your own program design, find somebody who will give you a leaping off point so that you're doing something that's smart and real and authentic. He also reminds us to get feedback from as many people as we can.

Further along in our career, Keith suggests we find a lane and go all in to that area. It may be content creation, it may be management or maybe you create a lane of your own. Keith suggests that we get incredibly good at one thing that will give you a stand out profile. Own your expertise and be an expert at that thing you want to be known for. This will always be a really powerful indicator of your success.

Keith also reminds us about the importance of - right time, right place, right brand, right moments. Meaning that just because you may hear a “no” it may only be that the timing was not right. Do not let a short term “no” derail your long term “yes.”

Keith shares the importance of self-examination and trusting your gut. To take the time and ask yourself, “what do I need? What do I want?” Along with that, as you move ahead, Keith talks about the importance of constant learning. When we are constantly a student it allows us to keep feeling fresh and full of ideas, inspired to wake up every day and just devote yourself to what you do.

We close the conversation with Keith talking about the importance of managing time – your own and everyone else’s. To really manage your day with the discipline of saying, I am going to be on schedule and prepared. As a practice, honor your time, honor your schedule. Honor other people's schedules and it allows you to just be prepared for whatever may come your way.

Right time, right place, right moment.

Direct download: Episode_90_ThePerfectionDetox_KeithIrace.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

When You Are Authentic, Your People Will Find You

About Today's Guests

Jill Miller is the co-founder of Tune Up Fitness Worldwide and creator of the self-care fitness formats Yoga Tune Up® and The Roll Model® Method. With more than thirty years of study in anatomy and movement, she is a pioneer in forging relevant links between the worlds of fitness, yoga, massage, athletics, and pain management.

She is known as the Teacher’s Teacher and has trained thousands of movement educators, clinicians, and manual therapists to incorporate her paradigm-shifting self-care fitness programming into athletic and medical facility programs internationally. She has crafted original programs for 24 Hour Fitness, Equinox, YogaWorks, and numerous professional sports teams.

She is the creator of dozens of DVDs and online video programs, including Treat While You Train with Kelly Starrett, DPT, and is the author of the internationally bestselling book The Roll Model: A Step by Step Guide to Erase Pain, Improve Mobility and Live Better in your Body.

Based in Los Angeles, she is a wife and mother of two small children and is currently writing her second book.

Robert Faust is an entrepreneur with a focus on identifying and capitalizing on undeveloped niche market opportunities. Currently, Faust is president and CEO of Tune Up Fitness Worldwide, Inc., a wellness company with a mission of bringing simple self-care healthcare practices into daily living. Through a catalog of professional education programs based on two proprietary fitness formats and a line of self-care fitness products, Tune Up’s breath, movement and mindset pillars empower people to live better in their body. Faust and his wife, Jill Miller, co-founded Tune Up Fitness in 2009.

Stay In Touch With Jill and Robert

Episode 58 with Jill Miller

Book

Website

Facebook

Instagram

YouTube

Show Notes

We change this up a bit this week and begin by talking about how Jill Miller met her husband, Robert Faust. Prior to fitness, Robert’s background was in the entertainment and marketing industry, and so his expertise combined with Jill's creativity made for the perfect partnership, both in life and business.

We begin by talking about the importance of our intellectual property (IP) and how we can often feel pressured to give our content away for free in exchange for the “opportunity” and “exposure.”Robert reminds us of the importance of remembering the hard work and hours of research and practice that you put into your programs and products, and that it is always good to get advice when these types of opportunities come your way. Intellectual Property can be broken apart, and so Robert also invites us to look at all aspects of the content we own, to future proof our work and our future career, that we all have worked so hard to create. It is always good to have everything written down, so there is nothing left to chance.

We talk about how we can expand our reach and do great things in the world, doing something for the greater good but not the expense of our own health and happiness. We explore the poverty mindset that often comes with being a creative and the importance of facing our money stories and beliefs around finances and success. We go into how our self-worth will contribute to how we view our worth in the world, and that this is work we all need to do to be able to find the balance between giving to others and taking care of ourselves.

We move to talk about the "free" culture, and how it is essential to look at how you can inspire others and grow your profile without giving "everything" away. I talk about why I do the podcast and how we can all create content that ties back to you, your purpose, and how you want to impact the world for good.

We discuss how Robert and Jill try and balance, work, family, children, and life. I love the honesty of this part of our conversation and how it can be challenging to balance passion, purpose, and self-care. Jill talks about the balance between creativity and productivity and how it can sometimes be hard to find, especially when it comes to motherhood.

Robert reminds us of the importance of planning. He believes that a lot of people fail to plan out their vision and understand the steps and milestones that it takes to accomplish their goals. He invites us to also look at what it takes to work backward and come up with just a few first steps that will get you closer to that next milestone. When we plan it helps us build both the confidence and competence to reach our dream goals. Jill reminds us that in addition to being strategic and doing the marketing, we also need to have people around us, who believe in us, and who will give us a chance to put our work out in the world. Our creativity and ideas cannot only happen in our heads, but the place where they will grow into their potential is out in the world as we beta test our materials.

We wrap up the show talking about the importance of being authentic, as this way when you share your unique voice, the right people will find you. Robert also reminds us to credit the people who we have learned from. Once again, it is the ripple effect and allows us all to remember that the world is big enough for us all to succeed.

Direct download: Episode_89_JillMiller_RobertFaust.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 1:58pm EDT

"Let Movement be Mandatory but Exercise be Optional"

About Today’s Guest

Lawrence Biscontini, MA, has made fitness history as a Mindful Movement Specialist winning the highest number of awards from ACE, IDEA & Inner IDEA, Can Fit Pro, and ECA since 2002.

Lawrence travels the world offering world-class secrets in mentoring, fitness and spa consulting, and presenting for professional conferences, and working also on the Advisory Board for the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA), Senior VIP Consultant for Power Music®, and reporter-in-the-field for the International Spa Association’s #ispaDoyou campaign creating #ispaInterviews worldwide.

He has programmed for Equinox, 24 Hour Fitness, Gold’s Gym International, Bally, and more, and his creations received the Conde Nast Traveler Awards‘ Top Ten Awards placement for innovative spa programming worldwide.

Lawrence as a Mindful Movement Specialist enjoys celebrity clients like cast members of ABC TV’s soap opera “General Hospital,” and appears on news (CNN Headline News) and television (“LIVE! With Regis and Kelly”).

He is a Registered Yoga Alliance Teacher (E-RYT 500), an AFAA Certification Specialist and Contributing Author and Content Specialist for industry publications like SCW Fitness Education Certifications and AFAA’s American Fitness, IDEA’s Fitness Journal, and the Spa Industry’s Pulse Magazine. His books include the most recent fiction Stories of Color and nonfiction Active Aging SCW Certification Manual: The Life in Our Years specializing in active aging research and practical approaches to movement for people over 50. He has also authored for charity a cookbook, Meals & Musings, a fitness textbook used at universities worldwide, Cream Rises: Excellence in Private & Group Education, and one of the only customer service books written for the spa and fitness world, “Running the Show.”

Lawrence created Fitness Group 2000 (FG2000) at the turn of the century whose profits benefit several charitable endeavors, including the outreach work of the Sisters of Saint Joseph, Save the Children, and the Biscontini Scholarships he has created for most major international conventions. Over 80% of all revenue from sales generated at www.findlawrence.com support these programs.

Show Notes

Lawrence and I begin the show reminiscing about chocolates, or rather how I first remember meeting Lawrence after he took my step class at the Reebok Sports Club, as it was known at the time. After class he gave me the most delicious chocolate truffles, and so of course from the very beginning he held a special place in my heart.

Lawrence shares how he got into fitness out of necessity because he was the fat kid from Philly. His Father died when he was 18 and when the doctor said "you're next," Lawrence decided to make some changes, including beginning to workout, which led him into his career of fitness and wellness.

Lawrence obtained his ACE Gold certification and started teaching in college while he was also working on his masters in communication. After college and while teaching part-time, Lawrence worked for American Airlines teaching their emergency procedures, which was amazingly and coincidentally related to fitness and health and the beginning of diversifying his career, which is a running theme throughout our conversation.

We talk further about the importance of having diversity within what we offer, regardless of our career, and also the importance of seeing yourself as a business, even if you love what you are doing. Passion is wonderful, but passion alone does not pay the bills.

Lawrence gives us a fantastic exercise to do so that we can look at where we spend our time and how that input of time is related to our output of income.

Take out a pen and paper.

Put all that you do in terms of where you place your focus in a row at the top of the page.

Underneath each row put all the tasks that are associated with that item.

List how much time is spent in each column.

At the bottom of each row write down how much that particular project adds income to your bank account.

Notice if where you spend most of your time also brings in most of your revenue, or is at least moving you closer to building a profitable business. Depending on the results it may be time to reevaluate how and where you place your focus and spend your time.

Lawrence talks about the importance of having great mentors. He also goes a step further and believes we all need two mentors, one who is in the industry that you are working in, and one outside of the industry. One leads the way on “what to do” and the other leads the way on “how to be.” He also talks about how to reframe failures and rejection, and that when we hear the word, “no” that the reframe of the meaning is, “not yet.”

Lawrence invites us to look at movement being mandatory and exercise as being optional. It is this reframe that will help the fitness industry reach the people, who in the past, may have felt as though they “failed at exercise.” This way we can help open their ears by using the word movement over exercise, and also open their hearts to happiness. He believes that we also need to create compelling experiences instead of simply teaching classes and executing exercise.

Lawrence goes onto say that it should be our goal to make everyone feel successful. That the “s of experiences” is not only to build a community, transcend exercise and make everyone feel challenged but most of all help them to feel successful. It is then people will return, tell their friends, and then we have built a community, or a tribe a tri-mmunity, a combination of tribe and community.

Towards the end of our conversation, Lawrence shares that he has three philosophies that he has honed from working in fitness.

1. Never burn your bridges.

2. Love is always the answer. Never Jealousy. Never greed. Never backstabbing. Never unfriendly competition. Love is always going to be the answer.

3. Stay true to who you are inside and never sell out. Stay true to yourself and listen to your inner voice.

Wise words for sure.

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

"Nothing Replaces a Face to Face Conversation"

About Today's Guest

Chantal Brodrick worked for 15 years  in senior sales and marketing roles in the media industry before transitioning careers.  In 2008 she became a qualified Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor.  Soon after she combined her corporate background with her love of fitness and became a Fitness Business Coach.  In 2015 Chantal became the host of The Fitness Business Podcast.  Now with over 217 shows and 350,000 downloads, it is the world's leading podcast for fitness business owners and managers.

Chantal has interviewed over 250 fitness industry leaders, coaches, consultants and authors including Jim Worthington, Rick Caro, Bill McBride, Brent Darden, Derek Gallup, Alison Flatley, Mo Hagan, Carrie Kepple, Emma Barry, Ryan Holiday, Jeb Blount, Michelle Segar and hundreds more.

In 2019 Chantal was recognized as 1 of 20 'Women Who Inspire' by IHRSA's Club Business International Magazine and this year she is a featured speaker and MC at industry events across the world including, IHRSA, FILEX, IDEA, Athletic Business Show and FITEX.

 

Show Notes

We begin the show by talking about how Chantal’s first job began with a 15-year career in media and marketing roles. Fitness was her second career and even though she got a relatively late start in the industry, her marketing background made up for any time lost.

After three years of juggling her media and fitness careers, she took the leap to move into fitness fulltime. Chantal shares that the first three years were a struggle, as despite having a business background she was finding herself piecing things together and was becoming too spread out over too many areas to make an impact and almost gave up. However, once she decided to tap into her past and utilize her media background in her present career she soared and she became determined to use her skills to help others in the industry who were also struggling and teach them the business skills necessary to turn their passion into a sustainable business.

Chantal encourages everyone to really think strategically about any move that you want to make and invites you to keep your eye on the long game. She believes the strategy piece behind everything that she does is the key to her success. Chantal asks us to think not just about just selling our services, but focus on the overall blueprint of our business. In addition to providing a service, she invites us to think about the following when visioning your best future career:

1. Who is your target market?

2. What do they want?

3. What sort of products and services do you need to deliver to them?

4. What does your business look like - not only right now in this present moment, but what will it look like in six months, in 12 months and in three years?

5. What are the financial goals that you are setting for your business?

6. What's the vision that you have?

7. What's the mission that you are trying to achieve?

We move to talk about the struggles that can arise when trying to balance our passion with the idea of making a profit from our passion. Chantal believes there are key areas that she feels are essential to turning passion into a profitable career.

1. Identify your passion and ask yourself is it a sustainable interest?

2. Can you stay in it for the long game?

3. Are you confident that there is enough content, products or services that you can provide to this market to make it sustainable?

4. Is this market big enough to make it sustainable?

5. Is it something that you can build a business around?

Chantal reminds us that doing research around the needs of our target market is absolutely key. That will mean going out and talking to your customers, talking to the people who you feel are your target market. And in addition to researching your target market – research your competition.

After looking at your competitors (for inspiration) find your unique point of difference or your unique selling point - what can you offer that nobody else can offer? Chantal also encourages to take the time to check back in every so often with the people we want to serve to make sure we stay on top of the changing needs of our customers.

Chantal wants us all to remember that while it is important to collect that data, and stay on top of the research - that nothing will beat sitting down for face to face conversations with the people you want to help. Even if your business in online use the amazing technology like Skype and Zoom to look people in the eye as you connect and collaborate with your audience.
“People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Additional Takeaways:

1. Always be a student and always be learning, both inside and outside of your industry
2. Ask for help and find a mentor
3. If you go to conferences and events be sure to step outside of your circle and take the time to meet and connect with people you don’t know
4. Get your backend systems in place so you can run a great business on the front end/
5. Make your business as efficient as possible
6. At first, try all things and then narrow down your market as you learn where you do your best work and who you enjoy working with the most
7. Put your learning time into the areas where you feel the least confident

 

Direct download: Episode87_PerfectionDetox_Chantal_Brodrick.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Be a Student Always, Be a Teacher Sometimes"

About Todays Guest

Sue Hitzmann, MS, CST, NMT, is the creator of the MELT Method®, a simple self-treatment technique that helps people get out and stay out of chronic pain. A nationally recognized educator, manual therapist, exercise physiologist, and founding member of the Fascial Research Society, Sue is the author of the New York Times bestselling book The MELT Method®: A Breakthrough Self-Treatment System to Eliminate Chronic Pain, Erase the Signs of Aging, and Feel Fantastic in Just 10 Minutes a Day!, which has helped over 200,000 people lead a healthy, pain-free life.
Sue’s journey to help others began in the world of fitness. In 1999, she starred in the Crunch video Boot Camp Training, which has sold more than half a million copies.
Sue's interest in manual therapy began with her quest to find answers to her own debilitating pain. After receiving her Masters in Exercise Science from New York University, Sue went on to attain certifications in manual therapies.
In 2001, Sue was inspired to create "homework" for her manual therapy clients, which led to the development of the MELT Method – the first-ever form of Hands-off BodyworkTM. Now with the bestselling book The MELT Method and the products, Sue personally designed – including the MELT Soft Body Roller and MELT Hand & Foot Treatment kit – anyone, anywhere, can take steps to restore whole-body efficiency and lead a healthier, more active life. Sue has personally trained more than 1,300 professionals worldwide and is a leading presenter for national organizations such as IDEA, ECA, and PMA, and a CEU provider for ACE, AFAA, NASM, PMA, and NCBTMB.
Sue has appeared on The Dr. Oz Show, Nightline, Good Morning America, The Rachael Ray Show, and Live! with Regis and Kelly, and the internationally translated MELT Method book has been featured in magazines such as SELF, More, and Prevention.

Show Notes

Sue was recording from her New York office and so please enjoy the city sounds at no extra cost.

We begin talking about how Sue made her "fitness pivot" in her late nineties, due to an injury. On doing her research she found was there was a dirty little secret of fitness, and that was that almost everybody in the fitness industry was injured and Sue decided she wanted to "fix" that in addition to healing herself.

As Sue began her new fitness journey to figuring out what her own pain was and how to heal it, she found the emerging field of facial research. This discovery changed her perspective and passion within the fitness industry and eventually her entire career.

We talk about the idea, that if you have a passion, a purpose, a belief and you really have persistence, you can achieve anything that you want. And with her newfound purpose and own persistence, Sue created a new health and business model. In 2004 she coined the term MELT, began teaching her philosophy, beta testing her format, creating her methodology, and developing her Intellectual Property that is now taught worldwide.

Sue believes that education is one of the most empowering tools that we have and encourages us all to be a teacher sometimes, but a student always. She invites us all, to never stop learning, keep asking questions, and look to those people that you admire and ask them for help.

"Walk the walk, talk the talk and be the best possible self that you can be so that every day you can live your best life." 

Direct download: Episode_86_SueHitzman.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Let The Passion Lead, While You Are Learning"

About Today's Guest

Maureen Hagan is a global Health & Wellness Expert and has been recognized for her work that spans over three decades. Mo, as she is known in the fitness industry, is an international Award-winning fitness industry leader, program director, and group fitness instructor, and a No. 1 Best-selling author and popular health and fitness columnist.

In 2016 Mo was named as one of Canada’s 20 Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity. Also in 2016, she received the International Fitness Industry’s Woman of the Year award. In both 2017 & 2018, she was recognized as one of the Top 100 Health Influencers in Canada. Most recently Mo received the Canadian Fitness Industry Leadership award and was the first solo woman in history to do so.

She is the Vice President of Program Innovation at GoodLife Fitness and Canfitpro. She is the creator of Women Who Influence, a founding member of the Women In Fitness Association Board of Directors, and a Board of Directors’ member for Prescription to Get Active Canada. Mo is living her dream that she envisioned as an influencer of change, dedicated to inspire new levels of awareness for fitness, health, and wellbeing worldwide.

It is Mo’s belief that behind all great instructors, coaches and leaders is the desire to succeed and help others do the same and this is why she is here—to move people and businesses forward in the direction of their true purpose.

 

Stay In Touch With Maureen

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Mentioned In The Show

Women Who Influence

WIFA

Can Fit Pro Convention

Thanks to: This episode is bought to you with the help of Yes Fitness Music To learn more and gain access to a free, no credit card needed, two-week trial subscription click on the link above:

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

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

Website

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

"It Takes Time To Plough Your Own Path" David Weck

  1. Is there something you have been thinking about doing? About creating? About sharing? David talked about his road to success and how he “ready – aimed – fired.” He knew he had something that the world needed the moment he thought about creating the BOSU – the half dome where you had both a stable and unstable surface. What have you been holding off creating - waiting for the perfect moment to fire? What is one step you can take this weekend to test out your idea? Take it for a trial run with your trusted friends and move it closer to the green light of go.
  2. David talked about placing his product with influencers – way before the word influencer was a buzzword, David knew the importance of getting the buy-in of those he both respected and trusted. Is there someone you know, or even don’t know – whose "YES" to your idea or dream would give you the fuel needed to keep pushing ahead – even in times of uncertainty? Can you reach out to one influencer this weekend and put your idea, dream or thought plan in front of them to get feedback and or even a buy-in? Never forget ideas die in isolation and thrive in collaboration.
  3. David and I talk about our different struggles with who people thought we were to the story that was going on in the inside. If you are someone who struggles with anxiety or feelings of self-worth and doubt – can you reach out to someone and ask for help? There is nothing to be ashamed of and some of the most creative people I know have had internal struggles throughout parts of their life and career. This weekend I invite you – no scratch that – I need you to ask someone to listen, to help and make an appointment with someone who can help you walk through your doubt and fears. And as Pema Chodron wisely said, "fear is a natural reaction that you are moving closer to your truth."
  4. Continuing our thoughts around doubts and FEAR I want you to consider and reframe your idea of what a successful person looks like. Success does not arm you against the trials and tribulations of real life. If anything, many successful people have risen from the ashes to get to where they are today. What is it that you are afraid of? What is hiding underneath your fear? So many of us are afraid to fail – but as you have heard me say before F.A.I.L – First Attempts In Learning. What would you attempt to do if you knew that failure was only a sign that you are stretching yourself, your edges and getting ready to take flight?
  5. David talked about us being more forgiving both of ourselves and then of others. Forgiveness does not mean letting people off the hook for doing unforgivable things in the past, but it does mean unhooking yourself from the negatives that lie in the past so that they do not affect your positive future. Who is that one person who you need to forgive to be able to move forward and create your positive future?

 

Direct download: Episode_77_FridayFiveDavidWeck.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 11:15am EDT

"Let's be More Forgiving To Ourselves and Therefore to Others" David Weck

This conversation with my dear friend, fitness creator and entrepreneur could not be more timely. Yes, we talk about fitness, health and our experience within that amazing industry, but perhaps, more importantly, we talk about health - the health of our mind and how sometimes it can seem to become a foe versus a friend.

David talks about his struggles with mental health and I talk about my struggle with anxiety and panic attacks. As David says so well, "It's time to stop pretending." 

We begin on a light note reminiscing about how we first met and David' start as a New York actor, who found his way into fitness and eventually became a pioneer with his invention of the BOSU. As David rollerbladed everywhere in NYC, his feet became extremely weak from always being in roller blades and that led to a back problem.  So that led to David training with a stability ball, then standing on the stability ball and by constantly falling off the stability ball he asked himself "what if I cut it in half?"  And then the Bosu ball was born.

David shares what it took to get his product out into the world. He believes that three trains have to leave the station for an inventor, entrepreneur and especially one that's on a budget to have a chance of succeeding. The first one is your intellectual property, the second is the manufacturing, and the third is the marketing.

David discusses the fact that not only is there a physical benefit that comes when we work on our balance but there is also a psychological benefit.  The more physiologically confident we are at the fundamental level, the better you able better able we are to stand up, express our ideas, opinions, and share our knowledge with other people without the impediment of feeling off balance.

At 34:50  We move into talking about the importance of finding balance and sustainable balance within our own health and especially the relationship we have with our mind. We discuss the idea of the conventional churn and burn of the grind of true life, the life that everybody portrays, and then the shiny cover of the book that we all tend to want to project. David shares his struggles with anxiety and how it led to him self-medicating from an early age with alcohol. We travel through his journey of finding a way to being able to operate in the world and the extreme measures it took for him to rebalance his mental state to one that could function well on a daily basis.

We both discuss our own struggles and how it took medical intervention along with the assistance of seasoned professionals for us both to find peace with ourselves and the lives we live today.

Connect With David Online and Social Media

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

More About David

David's long-term mission is to fundamentally enhance physical education in an effort to stem impending societal issues for a better tomorrow. He believes health care should begin with movement education.
David is grateful to all the talented and dedicated fitness professionals who use his products and programming to help others achieve better balance, performance, and health. He currently conducts private training for serious fitness enthusiasts and athletes and offers consultations for aspiring inventors and entrepreneurs.

What is BOSU®?
What began as the launch of one of the most innovative products the fitness industry has ever seen turned out to be just the start of a journey that continues to expand, shape and define functional training.
Invented by David Weck, the BOSU® Balance Trainer debuted in 2000 and quickly became one of the most successful fitness training products in the world. Originally the name “BOSU” was an acronym for “Both Sides Up.” It meant that the BOSU® Balance Trainer could be used on either side, the dome or the platform.
Today, the term “BOSU” has evolved beyond the product to now mean “Both Sides Utilized,” a mindful approach to exercise that is a step beyond traditional training. This clarity of who we are and what we want to offer inspired the development of additional BOSU® products and programming, all of which are grounded in exercise science and proven in real-life application.
BOSU® Training is about expanding movement capabilities, reshaping bodies and strengthening minds. It’s about inserting thought into movement. It’s about asking our clients, fitness students and athletes to be physically involved, but to also be present and fully engaged in the training process.
It doesn’t matter if you’re facing the toughest competition of your athletic career, looking to return to a fitter you, or just starting out. BOSU® Training can see you through it all with new challenges and exercise progressions always just around the corner.

 

Direct download: Episode76_DavidWeck.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Starve Your Fear By Feeding Your Faith" Heather Thomson

1. Heather mentioned that she “starves her fears by feeding her faith” and it is not that we will never feel fear, but what does it take so that we can do “it” afraid. I often reflect on what it takes to FEARFace Everything And Rise instead of FEARForget Everything And Run. Is there something you have been putting off for the fear that is will not go as planned, go perfectly or perhaps even go better than you could imagine? – as that brings up a whole other level of fear. Think about one step you could take to help move you closer to being able to feel your fear and do it anyway.

2. Heather shared her thoughts on the adversity advantage and I do believe that it is not what happened to us that is the story – but how we react to what happens to us that will enable us to soar and shine. We all have things in our life that we wish had gone differently. Take a moment to reflect back lightly on a challenging time. Did it make you better or bitter? Do you view yourself as a victim or victorious? It is not always easy to see the good, and there is nothing wrong in taking the time to grieve and heal – and then it is important to release the negatives of your past so that you can cement and build your positive future.

3. A Masters In Heart & Hustle. Heather shared her unconventional backstory to success. Her Masters came from working in the fashion world instead of being in school. She talked about getting a foot in the door and the importance of constantly being open to learning. I often talk with people who feel that they don’t have “enough” credentials behind them to go for their dreams, and this is something I struggled with for many years. If you knew that you only needed to know a little more information than the people you want to inspire and motivate – would you already be out in the world sharing your message?

4. Heather is a big advocate of mentorship and talked about the importance of helping others rise as we travel our own path to success. Is there someone that you could reach out to mentor under? Someone who is already doing what it is you are wanting to do? Can you trade your time their information? Now look back and is there someone you could mentor? Someone who could help you with their time in trade for you sharing your tips and strategies for success?

5. Heather talked about the importance of knowing our light and being able to shine brightly and also how it sometimes will serve the work we are doing to allow those around you to take center stage. Technology is reducing our ability to being able to read a room and recognize what it needs. Emotional Intelligence is defined as the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one's emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. – EQ or emotional intelligence is just like a muscle, you have to use it or you lose it. Unfortunately, as we are all behind our screens so much it is something we can all use to cultivate and strengthen. Notice the next time you walk into a meeting, a party or just meet someone for the first time. Can you listen more than you talk and can you bring into the room what it is that people are hoping to find?

 

Direct download: Episode75-FridayFiveWithHeatherThomson.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 11:50am EDT

“Think About What You Love And Move Towards That” Heather Thompson

In this conversation, Heather shares both her highlight reel and more interestingly her backstory about the hard work and hustle that it took as she climbed the mountain of success. Not content to sit on her celebrity status that she found through her time on the hit reality show, The Real Housewives Of New York, Heather recently took her success all the way to the top of the mountains of Nepal, to help raise money and awareness for the underserved in that community.

We begin the show by talking about how Heather engineered her own, “school of design” through mentorship, hard work and her ability to turn every opportunity into street credibility within the fashion industry. Raised by a mother who encouraged her to follow her passion, Heather climbed her way up the ladder through hard work and creativity, to eventually become the founder of her own, very successful line of fashion wear.

Heather shares what it took to enable her to do it “afraid.” She talks about the fact that she never sought overnight success, but rather a foot in the door that would allow her, along with patience and persistence to succeed and soar.

Heather shares that her drive and ambition are also balanced by her desire to help those around her also succeed. We talk about the importance of recognizing our light and unique talents that we bring to the table, along with the power of collaboration and especially the importance of mentorship.

We talk about the fear of failure and it was refreshing to hear Heathers perspective on this topic. While we all have fears, Heather shares that she "starves her fears by feeding her faith." She goes on to say that her failures do not define her but rather they mold her into the strong dynamic person that she is meant to be. She talks about the importance of creating a resilient mindset that will allow you to embrace the good the bad and the in between.

We talk about Heather being an “everybody-ist” and she believes that to be able to create change in this world, it is important to create a diverse and dynamic table where many different people and personalities are invited.  She talks about the importance of learning the skill of reading a room to be able to get an emotional pulse at every meeting. This is the way you are to able to create a team where everyone can shine and succeed.

Heather talks about ‘the adversity advantage” and how often our worst times can be the catalyst moments for the greatness to appear. She also talks about the importance of recognizing the times when we may also need to sit in the dark times for a while and allow ourselves to dig deep to see what is really under the fear or negative emotions.

Shifting gears we touch on her time in the world of reality TV when she was a fan favorite on The Real Housewives Of NYC. She shares her most unexpected lessons from her time in front of the camera and how she has leveraged her “fame” to raise awareness for her charities.

Just last week Heather completed her climb to Mera Peak in Nepal. This 21,246 feet climb is one that would challenge any of us, but in true Heather fashion, she completed the challenge with heart.

Back down off the mountain, Heather continues to raise awareness for the many who are underserved. To find out where you can support Heather and find out more about the orphanage in Nepal click here:

 

Connect With Heather Online and Social Media 

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

No Barriers USA

More About Heather

Heather Thomson envisions the goals that she wants to achieve and then does whatever it takes to make them happen. Instead of focusing on critics or naysayers, she focuses on believing in herself and using her immense work-ethic, strong self-discipline and determination. Heather says, “When you go through hardships and decide not to give up, that is strength”. It is from this experience that Thomson has garnered 25+ years of fashion experience under her belt, including serving as Design Director for the Sean “Diddy” Combs line, Sean John, and Co-Creative Director alongside Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Lopez to launch and develop their respective labels. In 2008, Heather founded her innovative and fashion-forward collection, Yummie by Heather Thomson which changed the shapewear and lifestyle game for women.

To many, Heather is an adored reality star that got her claim to fame from her 3 years on the hit Bravo reality series, The Real Housewives of New York City, showcasing her life as a married fashion executive, international business professional, and mother of two.

 

Direct download: Episode_74_HeatherThomson.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 9:58am EDT

"Bring Value And Interest To All Your Relationships"

David Burkus

  1. David talked about the importance of bringing value to our relationships, and I know for me, especially when it comes to meeting new people and expanding my existing network, I can often feel intimidated. If you feel the same way, I can guarantee you that you have so much to offer in terms of your strengths and skillsets. However often times we are only good at noticing our weaknesses. If you are stumped as to what you bring to the table I encourage you to go over to viacharacter.org and do their quick strength assessment. VIA stands for virtues in action, and this quick 20-minute session will reveal to you all the amazing things that you bring to the world.
  2. David invites us to reframe the idea that a network is not something we build but rather something we exist within - take a moment and think about your circle of friends and circle of influence. How strong is your inner network? Do you contribute to its vitality and growth? Is there something that you could do to deepen your level of contribution?
  3. David talked about the importance of coming into each conversation with interest and I also think curiosity. The next time that you feel nervous about meeting someone, can you reframe your nerves into excitement? See the meeting or dinner as an opportunity to bring something new to the table, and to walk away having learned something new?
  4. David talks about Social Capital and the value that comes from being in a community that has a strong level of trust – he also talks about the social capital that comes from us accumulating capital by being surrounded by a strong network. He encourages us to become the gardener and to tend to our network and this, in turn, allows us to bring great value into our network. What is one thing you can do this weekend to tend to your community? By being the connector, the gardener, and the nurturer, you will help both yourself and your connections flourish and thrive.
  5. We talk about the challenge that we all have in the cocktail party situation and David gave us his example of how he opens up the conversation with an open-ended question – one that cannot be answered with a yes or a no. Can you come up with two or three new questions that you can ask when you feel as though the energy is low and that you can use when you have to do the awkward thing of introducing yourself? A question that shines your light on the person you are talking to and creates a pathway and opportunity to learn, to engage and to meet someone new while also having fun?

 

Direct download: Episode73_FridayFiveWithDavidBurkus.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Bring Value And Tend To Your Community" David Burkus

Today David Burkus releases his new book Friend Of A Friend, Understanding The Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life And Career. In this conversation, we talk about the word networking: the good, the bad and the in between. David shares his thoughts on how to bring value to your community and how to be the person who is the gardener that tends to your relationships (network) with interest and enthusiasm. I talk about the idea that often people believe they don’t have enough to offer to be worthy of showing up and deserving a seat at the table – and in turn being a part of the network - David shares his thoughts on how we all have so much to offer and that it is a subtle shift in our thinking that can help us overcome this internal barrier. David shares his unique perspective that we exist within a network versus it being something we own.

We wrap up the conversation talking about the dread of networking at social events and how we can make it more enjoyable for ourselves when we create conversations that are meaningful. It is when we bring a sense of curiosity and interest to all of our interactions that the magic can appear.

Connect With David Online And Social Media

Website

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Podcast

More About David

David Burkus is a best-selling author, a sought after speaker, and business school professor. In 2017, he was named as one of the world’s top business thought leaders by Thinkers50

His forthcoming book, Friend of a Friend, offers readers a new perspective on how to grow their networks and build key connections—one based on the science of human behavior, not rote networking advice. He is also the author of Under New Management and The Myths of Creativity. David is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and his work has been featured in Fast Company, the Financial Times, Inc magazine, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and CBS This Morning.

David’s innovative views on leadership have earned him invitations to speak to leaders from a variety of organizations. He’s delivered keynote speeches and workshops for Fortune 500 companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Stryker and governmental and military leaders at the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval Postgraduate School. His TED talk has been viewed over 1.8 million times.

When he’s not speaking or writing, David is in the classroom. He is associate professor of leadership and innovation at Oral Roberts University where he was recently named one of the nation’s “Top 40 Under 40 Professors Who Inspire.”

Direct download: Episode72_DavidBurkus_FriendOfAFriend.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"The Greatest Coaching Tool You Can Use is To Upgrade Your Self-Talk" Alisa Cohn

  1. Alisa talked a lot about the tenacity, perseverance and stick to it attitude that it took to got her through her tougher times as a coach when she was starting out over 16 years ago. She believes that when we can remember our purpose (and this can be with a little p) and when we stay in alignment and make choices that move us closer to our purpose, that we will be able to stay buoyant during the challenging times. This weekend reflect on your values, your purpose and what brings meaning to your life. Then gently reflect on your work life, your family life and your life out in the world. Are they in alignment? Do they fuel one another? Do you feel as though the choices you make are moving you closer to what matters?
  2. Alisa talked about the importance of gratitude. She reminded us to “Always and forever focus on what you do have” I mentioned that my mentor Tal Ben Shahar often said appreciate the good and the good, will appreciate. Take a moment to reflect back on this past week. With a light touch notice, if you noticed more of what was going well or more of what was going wrong. Remember our negativity bias will pull us to the dark if we are not mindful. This weekend spend the morning thinking about two things you are looking forward to that day. Spend mid-morning bringing to mind two people that make your life sweeter, and in the evening reflect back on your day and think of two things that you are grateful for.
  3. “Upgrade your self-talk” This was Alicia’s top coaching tool, one that she recommends we all nurture and strengthen. The conversations we have internally when no one is looking will either beat us up or lift us up. This weekend become more aware of the silent conversations that go on behind the scenes – with curiosity and once again a light touch, simply notice how many times you catch yourself in a self-talk that is negative in nature. Find a mini mantra that you can use to stop the old tapes. Perhaps it is "I am enough" or my favorite, "Be Here Now"  As when we are in the present moment the worries and doubts of the past or future drift away.
  4. Alisa talks about the importance of self-care and how to manage our time well. Tactically she reflected on the importance of sleep, nutrition, and exercise. Alisa also talked about emotional self-care and the importance of having people in your life that you can be yourself with. She also reminded us of the importance of carving out time to do what nourishes your inner world. Some examples are reading, gardening, sports or family time. This weekend pick one of these areas and make one small choice that will nourish your life. Each day, try and take one more action step that will move you closer to being your best self. Small habits each day will create massive positive change over time.
  5. Alisa talks about motivation and how to find it on the days we feel empty. She reminded us of the power that comes with asking open-ended questions – ones that cannot be answered with a simple yes or not – to help us mine the data that can fuel our dreams. This weekend reflect on a few open-ended questions: What fires up your joy? What do you love to do? How do you want to be remembered? What have you not done that you said you would do? And then ask the powerful question of – if not now – when? If not you – who?

 

Direct download: Episode71_Friday5WithAlisaCohn.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Surround Yourself With People Who Remind You Of Your Greatness" Alisa Cohn

Alisa Cohn is an Executive Coach who helps executives, entrepreneurs, and leaders. In this show, she answers questions from our audience on leadership, motivation and how to bring out the best in yourself and others.

Alisa talks about what it takes to grow a business and move it from two people into a company of two hundred. Her expertise comes in helping others cultivate resiliency and create strategies that will help them discover and move through the pain points without the emotions getting in the way. She talks about the mounting pressure that comes when everyone’s eyes are on you and gives tips on how to how to manage the stress and strain that come with any form of growth.

Resiliency is crucial to any success and Alisa shares her strategy on how purpose will keep us going when times are tough. "Use your purpose as your beacon to guide you." Knowing that you are going to do something significant in the world is where the juice lies.

We go back in time to when Alisa first began coaching over sixteen years ago. She shares her struggles and that it was her tenacity, persistence, and drive that kept her going. Alisa shares ways that we can cultivate these traits.

We talk about when to hold on and when to let go, especially when our emotions are so interwoven into our work. More than often successful companies have pulled out more than one miracle to keep going. We all need to surround ourselves with a tribe of people who will remind us of our greatness and yet tell us when it is time to let go.

Alisa talks about the power of asking open-ended questions, and when we bring a sense of lightness and curiosity to each moment, we can help find the miracles. She also reveals the greatest question of all. (Tune in to hear what it is).

We wrap up the questions from the audience by discussing the importance of self-care and how to make sure we take the time to nourish our mind, body, and spirit.

Connect With Alisa Online and Social Media

Website

Twitter

LinkedIn

Facebook

More About Alisa

Alisa is an executive coach who works with senior executives and high potential leaders to help them create positive permanent shifts in their leadership impact and the results they achieve. She works one-on-one with CEOs and executives and with senior teams to help them work together better and create much impact as a team. She works with Fortune 500 companies as well as start-ups. She was recently named one of the Top 100 leadership speakers by Inc. Magazine.

She also works with executive teams to help them be stronger as a team, have the right conversations and take the right actions to move forward faster.

Alisa provides practical tools and serves as a thought partner to support the challenging process of change. Leaders get the chance to practice their new behaviors and troubleshoot before doing them live.

Prior to becoming a coach, Alisa, a CPA, was the CFO of Clairvergent Technology Group, a Vice President at two high-tech start-ups. She was a manager and consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers and The Monitor Group. Alisa holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BS from Boston University. She is a guest lecturer at Harvard and Cornell Universities and the Naval War College. She is a coach for the prestigious Linkage Global Institute for Leadership Development and for the Center for Inclusive Security, Harvard University.

Alisa is the executive coach for Runway - the incubator at Cornell NYC Tech that helps post-docs commercialize their technology and build companies. She serves on the Entrepreneurship at Cornell Advisory Committee and the President’s Council of Cornell Women.

She was selected as one of the Top 10 Coaches by Women’s Business, which called her “absolutely brilliant, laugh-out-loud hilarious and a superhero.” A dynamic speaker and skilled facilitator, she is known for her humor, energy, results-orientation and motivational style, along with a propensity to burst into song without warning.

Direct download: Episode_70_Alisa_Cohn-OnBeingTheCEOOfYour_Life.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 12:41pm EDT

"Your Ideas Are Unique, Go Explore Them And Take Them Out Into The World"

Patricia Moreno

  1. Patricia believes that a strong body is a requirement for a great life. When we move we create more energy, have increased vitality and a strong body will be the vehicle that will carry us into our dreams. Are you working so hard, or working out so hard, that the joy and enthusiasm have been stripped away? Patricia reminded us that it is our joy and our gratitude that will bring out the beauty in our life. Notice the next time you go to the gym or exercise – how are you feeling – before – during and after? Do you feel energized or depleted after the workout and before you start do you feel excited or already exhausted? Check in to make sure that your workout is a sense of motivation instead of deprivation.
  2. How do you measure your self-worth? Patricia talked about how that in the past she measured her worth by her weight and I know many women who struggle with the same metrics. Notice this week how many times you look in the mirror, get on the scale or are constantly thinking about how you look. With brave and bold kindness and on the times you hear your inner bully getting a little too loud, simply say to yourself " I am enough and I refuse to beat myself up any longer."
  3. Where is your focus? Patricia talked about the strength of our thoughts, and as science is showing us – our thoughts will drive our focus and where our focus goes our life will flow. We are constantly having an internal dialog with ourselves and it often becomes such a part of our day that we do not even realize it is going on until it is too late. On the days or moments when all of a sudden you begin to feel a little down or out of sorts – when you are aware and alert you can interrupt the chatter and rewrite the script of your life to stay on course and moving toward the positive.
  4. Are you hammering the physical and neglecting the emotional and spiritual parts of your life? This was a question Patricia asked us to consider and perhaps over the next few days you can take time to sit and reflect to see if there is an area of your wellness wheel that could use some nurturing and TLC - to live a big, bold and beautiful life we need to take the time to make sure that we strengthen not only our bodies but our hearts and minds.
  5. Moving Mountains through Action: Both Patricia and I see so many people asking the question – “who am I to be sharing my ideas with the world” and Patricia reminds us that there is nothing like action to shift out self-doubt. As she quoted in our conversation "Self-doubt creates mountains but action moves mountains" What is one action step you can start today to begin to get your momentum moving? Remember perfection is a lie and your struggles are your goldmine.

 

-

 

Direct download: Episode_69-_Friday_Five_With_Patricia_Moreno.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Bring Real, Brave, Honest Kindness Into Your Life"

Patricia Moreno

I begin this episode by reflecting on how I first remember seeing Patricia. It was after a long bus ride to a mall in New Jersey to watch her compete in an aerobics competition. Fast forward to sitting across from my dear friend over two decades later for a heart opening conversation about, life, love and kindness.

We talk about Patricia's highlight reel and her backstory. It was when Patricia was at her highest moment in her career that everything fell apart behind the scenes. A year into a national television show that she was hosting, Patricia was called in to a meeting with the management team and was confronted about her increasing weight that was magnified by being on camera. This low moment became a pivotal moment, and was the catalyst for her current work.

“Thin at any cost” was Patricia’s mantra for many years and she was determined to move out of that mindset, and help thousands of women do the same. We talk about Patricia’s investigation into her own life and how she was determined to create a methodology that would allow us to create sustainable change in a healthy and productive way.

We both talk about our struggles with trying to show up as our best self. Patricia shares her journey of how she kept moving forward determined to share her work while allowing her fear to sit in the backseat. It was in her vulnerability that she found her power.

We talk about the long road to her "overnight" success of Intensati and Patricia reveals the struggles, failures and the many iterations that were needed for her to build her brand and move from having a career to her calling.

Patricia is willing to talk about the hard stuff - the truth that fitness and health is not easy. She believes that much of the frustration and failure comes with the notion that the road to heath should be easy.

“If you keep doing things that are easy – it will make you weak.”

One of Patricia's core beliefs is that a strong body is a requirement for a great life – for our energy – our vitality and our dreams. It is your joy and your gratitude that will bring out the beauty in you and your life.

To download Patricia's Free workbook click here:

Connect With Patricia Online and Social Media

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

More About Patricia

Patricia Moreno is the founder of spiritual fitness and with over 20 years of teaching and public speaking experience, she has been a trailblazer in the wellness world for many years. Creating integrative practices, innovative workouts and empowering leader trainings, Patricia has changed the lives of tens of thousands of people worldwide.

Patricia is committed to being a powerful force for positive change in the world, and continues to find revolutionary ways to uplift and motivate others to practice self-love, positivity and gratitude.

In an effort to end her own struggle with her weight, eating disorders and body image issues, she created her signature workout, the intenSati Method: a revolutionary concept that combines the power of positivity, high-energy cardio, mindfulness and meditation to help people unleash their inner warrior and become greater than they ever thought possible.

Her latest offering is the culmination of her years of work, study and practice; Sati365 synthesizes Patricia's personal coaching program in the form of a self-study and practice program, centered around a daily morning practice including success principles such as meditation, visualization, goal setting, affirmations and movement to make every day the best day.

Patricia is an international speaker, inspiring worldwide at Google, Equinox, Nike, Reebok, and The Limited among other notable organizations. She has been featured in publications such as Oprah Magazine, Vogue, Shape, Glamour, Well + Good, and on the Today Show, Ask Dr. Nandi, Good Morning America and Dr Oz.

Direct download: Episode_68_PatriciaMoreno.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 12:34pm EDT

"You've Been Invited To The Table For A Reason - Trust That" Tricia Brouk

  1. Can you feel the fear and do it anyway? Tricia mentioned that she does not allow fear to get in the way of her going for her dreams. What is it that is standing between you and the life you want to create? I often use the acronym FEAR Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise. Pema Chodron reminds us that fear is a natural reaction that we are getting closer to our truth. Can you do one action this weekend to move yourself one step further away from the fear and one step closer to being able to live your truth?
  2. Tricia talked about the need to feel safe, both in our environment and with the people we are surrounding ourselves with. She believes it is important to surround yourself with people who will lift you up, support you and allow you to feel heard. Often times we spent a lot of time pruning and cultivating our social media following, yet it may have been many years since we have really pruned and cultivated the relationships that we spend the most time with. Take a moment and reflect on the five people who are closest to you. Do they always support you? Do they always have your best interest at heart? Do they lift you up? Do you feel energized when you are around them? What is one thing you could do this weekend to make sure the relationships of the people who are closest to you nurture you, empower you, and allow you to grow into the person you are meant to be. And a deeper reflection are you allowing those closest to you to do the same?
  3. Don't Take Anything Personally. Trisha talked about her ability not to take things personally. In one of my favorite books The Four Agreements one of the agreements is just that - to not to take anything personally. When we are in the present moment we are better able to catch ourselves when we personalize the experience. When we are worrying about the past or feeling anxious about the future it is difficult to separate our perception of the experience from the reality of the situation. This weekend if you find yourself taking things personally can you pause, breathe, and check in to see if you’re in the present moment. Ask yourself what do I know for sure? Then with just the facts you can move forward without dragging the anxiety and worries that appear when we personalize the experience.
  4. Tricia shared her tips and strategies to allow us to create the most impact. Her three mega traits that she feels are important are as follows: Observation – observing our surroundings, observing the people in front of us, observing our reactions, I’m observing how we can elevate the situation that we are in.    Presence -the gift of our presence, being fully present, as the power of the moment can only happen when we are in the present moment. Honesty-there is a lot of talk these days about being authentic and honest. Yet this can be really challenging especially when the stakes are high. But it is when we are open and honest we will actually draw to us the people that will allow us to be our best selves and do our best work.
  5. You have been invited to the party for a reason - trust that. We talk about how challenging it can be when meeting new people. There’re very few people that I know that enjoy having to make small talk, especially when it comes to networking or relationship building. Trisha gives us a few tips that’ll help us be able to bring our best self to every situation, and quite possibly even enjoy it. Know who you are: introvert / extrovert - ambivert. Know where you feel the most comfortable and prepare if you know the situation is one that may create a little anxiety for you. Practice what you are going to say – well at least the opening few lines. While I hate to think of an elevator pitch as being something we bring to a meeting, it can help us prepare as we get settled into the new situation.
Direct download: Episode_67_FridayFive_TriciaBrouk.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Stop Selling and Start Inspiring" Tricia Brouk

Disclaimer: At 53:50 we have the first F Bomb ever on the show and it is perfect :)

I have known Tricia for many years and first remember seeing Tricia when she was dancing in the Ben Munisteri Dance company. In this interview we talk about how Tricia transitioned from the world of dance into helping others craft their talks and presentations.

I ask Tricia what it is that keeps her so motivated and driven in her life. It was refreshing to hear her say that she is willing to ask for help and does not let fear get in her way on the journey into her best work. We talk about perfection and how even during her career as a dancer she was able to separate the expectations that came with the dance world and the essence of who she is. Tricia talks about how the constant rejections that she heard as dancer helped her build her resilience and drive. These were two of her greatest traits that enabled her to move into the world of being an entrepreneur and now co-creator of TEDx Lincoln Square, NYC.

Tricia talks about the importance of believing in ourselves even when things fall through and that when we allow ourself to mourn the "what we had hoped for" we can move forward and recreate our magnificent future.

We talk about Tricias methodology of how she helps people share their ideas with the world. We also discuss the common fear around the idea of "do I have anything worth saying and sharing?" and how to move through these doubts and forge ahead.

We cover social media, the impact it has on our life, the importance of cultivating and crafting our online presence  and most importantly, how not to take things personally. She encourages us to “Surround yourself with people who hear you, support you and will only lift you up” and this is both in real life and online.

Tricia talks about the magic that happens when we bring our most authentic self to the room. She also believes that some of the magic happens when we stop speaking and begin listening. We discuss the importance of empathetic listening and the value of then reflecting back what we just heard as this allows us to make sure that the person in front of use feels noticed, heard, and valued.

Tricia shares her tips and strategies to having our voices heard so we can share our ideas and values with those we love and in the areas we want to make an impact. Her top three super traits are:

1. Observation

2. Presence

3. Honesty

Tricia talks about how to work with our nerves and our responses – it is when we stop taking everything personally that we can separate our self from the situation. When we get curious in our emotions it allows us to stay present and recognize what it is we are actually experiencing. She also encourages us to think about what we need to do to be able to bring our most fearless self to the table (even if we do feel anxiety)

1. Know who you are: introvert / extrovert

2. Know where you feel the most comfortable

3. Practice what you are going to say - What is your opening line?

We wrap up the show with Tricia sharing her biggest disappointment in her career and that in fact this was also her greatest opportunity. I also believe that much of this magic happens when we are just able to sit in the not knowing.

Connect With Tricia Online

Website

Podcast

Facebook

Twitter

TEDx Lincoln Square

 

More About Tricia

Tricia Brouk is a writer, director and choreographer. She is director and executive producer of the new series Sublets which won the best comedy at the Vancouver Web-Fest, 2017.  She is currently producing and directing a new short documentary about the Chaplin on Riker's Island, who's Buddhist.  She choreographed, Black Box for ABC, choreographed and appeared in The Affair for Showtime, Rescue Me on Fox, and Lasse Hallstrom’s The Hoax. She also choreographed John Turturro’s feature film Romance and Cigarettes, where she received a Golden Thumb award from Roger Ebert. Tricia has also contributed a chapter to the new book called A Life In Dance and has been featured in Inc, Harvard Business Review and The Huffington Post. Her podcast The Big Talk  is about the art of speaking where she talks to people who talk for a living.

Be sure to subscribe to the Perfection Detox Podcast on iTunes so that you never miss a show. I would be so appreciative if you can also take the time to leave an honest review.

Direct download: Episode66_TriciBrouk_TheBigTalk.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Stop, Listen, Feel Your Life" Joy Prouty

  1. Joy talked about the importance of always learning. She believes it keeps us young, it keeps as curious, and keeps us engaged in life. As you know recently I have begun to study how to be a DJ. As frustrating as it sometimes can be, it keeps me in the moment, in flow and my brain engaged. Are you involved in learning something new that allows you to stretch your comfort zone? Is there is something you have been wanting to try but have not gotten around to it because of either a lack of time or because you are afraid of not being able to do it perfectly? Can you take one step this weekend that will move you back into the learners seat? Maybe it’s going online and seeing what resources are available to you. Perhaps it’s asking a friend if they be interested in joining you. Or maybe it’s going to the library and doing some research to see what it would take to pursue your new passion. This weekend I invite you to take one step that could reignite your curiosity.
  2. Joy talked about keeping good community around us at all times. I’ve also witnessed the power of strong friendships. Reflect upon the people closest to you. Are they all they all the same age? Do they have varied interests? Do they live close to you, or do most of them live far away? This is a good time to check in with your heart and the strength of your social relationships. More importantly the relationships that happen face-to-face and heart to heart. Many times we can feel connected online but in reality we actually have very little day to day physical interaction, this can leave us feeling both alone and lonely. What is one thing you could do expand and strengthen your relationships, both old and new?
  3. Joy and I both talked about never being too old to start something new. Yet sometimes it can feel as though it is too late to try something that we have never done before. Is there a dream or a goal you have been putting off because you feel it is too late or that you are too old? What if your goals were really your dreams but with a timeline attached. Imagine what you would do if you knew you would not fail. Remember FAIL – stands for first attempts in learning. You cannot learn if you do not try.
  4. Joy talked a lot about luck. Oprah said that luck is preparation meeting opportunity. In my opinion Joy has created a lot of her own luck both in her life and in her career. Joy mentioned flying herself down to meet Gin Miller before she knew that was a real opportunity, and I have be known to fly myself to meetings just to get face time with the person I am hoping to work with. Is there something you could do to create more of your own luck? Is there someone you could reach out to? Is there someone you could mentor with? or is there someone you could ask to help you? We can never fulfill our dreams without asking for help. And when you ask for help you may get some no’s, but who knows when the next person will say yes. Today I invite you to put on your cape of courage, and make that call, send that email, take that trip to get that face-to-face time, and move one step closer to creating more luck in your life.
  5. Joy talked about the importance of knowing who you are and to not with those around you. I often talk about the importance of knowing our strengths, and when we work from our strengths while still knowing the areas we still can improve upon – we will do our best work. When we look to others for inspiration and motivation, but the only comparison we make, is comparing our yesterday to our today, we can collaborate expand and grow.

 

Direct download: Episode65_FridayFive_JoyProuty.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"It Was Love At First Step" Joy Prouty

We recorded this on Valentine's Day at the Zumba headquarters in Florida. Please enjoy the background atmosphere at no extra charge:)

What a privilege to grab an hour with my mentor and fitness icon Joy Prouty. In this episode Joy gives me a history lesson in fitness. I begin the conversation reflecting on when I first met Joy, it was before I was even teaching fitness. A few years later it was Joy who certified me in the Reebok programs.

We go back to when Step Reebok first began and how Joy was working with Reebok before the first fitness sneaker was even created. She shares her memories of being a part of the fitness revolution before Step Reebok was developed, and how she flew herself to meet Gin Miller in Atlanta to secure a position as part of the first Step Reebok Team.

Joy shares how she began her dancing career as a back up dancer in Pittsburg and how she quickly soared to stardom as a Rockette at The Radio City Music Hall in New York City. After two years in the city she knew her first love was teaching versus performing. She transitioned to teaching fitness based movement classes which included running ran a super successful program at Elizabeth Arden. Shortly after, Joy took the leap and opened her own studio in West Palm Beach.

Fast forward a few years and Joy became a part of the Reebok family. Alongside the likes of Gin Miller, Tamilee Webb, Ken Alan, Linda Shelton and Josie Gardner she helped create fitness history. We move into how Joy began working with Zumba and that often times she would take the leap and then figure things out. In 2006 Joy and Josie met the owners of Zumba and shared the importance of creating a program for seniors and over a handshake deal - Zumba Gold was born.

Joy is almost 77 and is as vital as most 30 year olds. She shares how everyday she feels grateful for the day ahead of her and she believes in the importance of strengthening and training our happiness. Joy shares her morning ritual which includes meditation and movement. She believes in always staying the student and being a forever learner.

We talk about there being a time for everything and that we are responsible for creating our powerful future. Knowing when it is time to step away from the past, let go and move joyfully into the future. We talk about how to age well in an industry that favors the young. Joy talks about the importance of celebrating the people around you, without trying to compete with them. The joy and freedom comes with celebrating who we are today, not who we were a decade ago goes a long way in helping us stay young.

We talk about the importance of being true to who we are and Joy encourages us all to stay young at heart, stay curious and to find community that will help you flourish and thrive.

Connect With Joy Online

Zumba

More About Joy

Joy Prouty is the Director of Education – Programming and Training for Zumba Fitness LLC. She is also the Co-Developer of the Zumba Gold Program, and was featured in the Zumba Gold Live It Up Consumer DVDs. Joy is a former Radio City Music Hall Rockette. She is an internationally renowned fitness instructor, trainer and educator and has been known for her innovative teaching style and program development for over 40 years. She served on the American College of Sports Medicine’s Summit Committee for 13 years, and was a member of ACSM’s Certification Committee for 7 years. She was also a member of the Reebok University Development Team for 8 years focusing on Program development and International instructor training. She and Josie Gardiner have co-authored several books, and 4 Harvard Medical School Special Health Reports, as well as choreographed and starred in over 25 video/DVDs. Joy also co authored the Breast Cancer Survivor’s Fitness Plan and a 12 week Getting Started Program for Breast Cancer Survivors and used by the YMCA Pink Program. Prouty is certified by ACSM as a Health Fitness Director and Health Fitness Instructor, by ACE, AFAA, AEA , and Welcoaches.

Be sure to subscribe to the Perfection Detox Podcast on iTunes so that you never miss a show. I would be so appreciative if you can also take the time to leave an honest review.

Direct download: Episode64_JoyProuty_DancingThroughLife.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Aging Well is about Enjoying What Is, Instead of Focusing on What Was" Dr. Kerry Burnight

  1. It’s time to diversify your social portfolio: I loved this idea of not only diversifying our finances, as we get older but also our friendships. Dr. Burnight encourages us to make sure we have a circle of friends that include people who are younger than us, older than us, live close to us and also live far away. How strong and diverse is your social network? Can you reach out to someone younger than you and perhaps someone older? How are your relationships with friends who may no longer be living in the same town as you? Maybe this is the time, to spend time, nurturing and strengthening your circle of love, joy and friendship.
  2. How do you envision your older self? Dr. Burnight encourages us to really think about, reflect upon and plan for our future self. Not our younger self – but how we would envision living in our 60’s and beyond. If your partner is older than you, how would your life look without them? If you no longer were working would you have enough in your retirement to allow yourself to enjoy your golden years? Do you see yourself working into your seventies? Do you want to travel the world or start a new career when the one you are in right now comes to an end? Imagine yourself in your later years and then ask yourself: Who do I want to be with? What do I want to be doing? Where do I want to be living? And how do I want to feel?
  3. How do you want to be remembered? I love the saying by Mahatma Gandhi, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow, Learn as if you were to live forever” What do you want your legacy to be? How can you leave the world a little better than when you found it. We often think we can wait till next week, or next month to start living to our fullest, but time does not wait for anyone. Perhaps think of one thing you can begin today that will make the world a little better tomorrow.
  4. Beauty comes from enjoying what is instead of wishing for what was. Dr. Burnight shared that her most joyous elders are the ones who are at peace with their age, and are living their today as if it is their best day. I know as I move into my fifties and on the days when I have aches and pains I can sometimes feel wishful for my younger self, but this only wastes precious time. I invite you to notice over the next few days if you find yourself wishing for things of the past, simply notice and then gently and kindly bring your presence and attention back to the present moment.
  5. Do you have a lot Of POOF’s in your life? Dr. Burnight spoke about the importance of removing as many poofs as possible P.O.FPoints Of Frustration. I know there have been times in my life when something has really bothered me but I have neglected to do anything about it. Is there something in your life, something that you do have some control over that you find frustrating? What is one thing you could do tomorrow to shift either your perspective on the situation, or take an action step that could change the situation for the better? We often make the excuse of not having enough time, but the time we spend to make a situation less frustrating will be time very well spent.
Direct download: Episode_63_Friday5_Dr.KerryBurnight.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"To Age Brilliantly Diversify Your Social Portfolio"

Dr. Kerry Burnight

This interview is one that we all need to listen to. Whether you are in the early stages of contemplating how you want to live your life as you move into your second stage, or whether you have a parents who are now in their later years, Dr. Kerry Burnight discusses many of the important topics that often go unaddressed due to our faulty relationship with aging.

A big ah ha moment for Dr. Burnight was when she asked a group of fourth graders "what happens to us when we get older?" and the response was "you get ugly." Recognizing that there was much work to do, Dr. Burnight has made it her mission to redefine what aging looks and feels like.

Dr. Kerry likes the term pro-aging, as anti-aging sets the tone for us holding onto the past. She encourages us to age brilliantly, beautifully and on our own terms. It is when we can accept and be thankful for what is versus what was, that the beauty opens up. Aging well is about being the best you that you can be, where you are and at the age you are today.

We talk about some of the "false truths" that come with getting older and it is only when we talk about dying that we can live our life to the fullest. Dr. Kerry talks about first imagining yourself as an older version of yourself. Who would you be with? Who do you want to be? What type of life do you want to live? She encourages us to think about someone we know, who is older and who we respect. What are they doing well that we can replicate? Dr. Kerry also talks about the importance of diversifying our social portfolio, so that we have people in our inner circle who are both younger and older and live both near and far away.

Dr Burnight talks about how we can use technology to help us stay connected, especially as we get older. She also shares the importance of how we have to make sure that the technology of today can be used easily and without frustration with our aging population. She is part of the team who has created the wonderful systems behind The grandPad, which is specifically designed for people who who want to age brilliantly. You can find more information about The grandPad here:

Dr. Kerry shares the importance of removing as many poofs as possible. POF - Points Of Frustration. and as our loved ones age and as we get older, how can we design our life to keep our enjoyment while limiting our frustrations as time passes.

In this interview we talk about the challenges that can come when dealing with loved ones. Dr. Kerry encourages us all to be mindful of how we speak to our elders. Just like us, they are looking for autonomy, dignity and respect. She gives many simple tips that we can use immediately - one being to speak in lower tones as the first thing to go with our hearing is the higher pitch tones. She invites us to consider that perhaps our loved ones do not have hearing problems, but rather we have speaking problems. She also gives us tips and strategies to make sure our elders are protected whenever they are online or on the phone. A wonderful conversation to help us all age brilliantly.

Connect With Dr. Burnight Online and Social Media

grandPad

grandPad on Twitter

Dr, Kerry on LinkedIn

More About Dr. Kerry Burnight

Dr. Burnight served as a Professor of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology at the University of California, Irvine for 17 years. She is also the Co-Founder and Director of the nation’s first Elder Abuse Forensic Center, where she wrestles with the county's most difficult cases of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Her mission is to tackle Senior loneliness and how we have to honor and pay attention to our seniors because feeling disconnected and lonely is actually a health risk and taking lives. As a top expert in the nation on aging, she has shared her work at the White House, Money Matters, the Doctors, CBS news, and the Dr. Phil Show. Passionate about improving the lives of millions of seniors, Dr. Burnight joined Silicon Valley engineers to create a cutting edge solution to the toughest problems we face as we age. She serves full time as Chief Gerontologist at grandPad.

 

 

Direct download: Episode62_DR.KerryBurnight.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"When You Know Your Why, The How Is Easier To Implement" Mindy and Bruce Mylrea

  1. Fill the cracks and the gaps. Mindy saw a need in fitness and then created a methodology to fill the need. There is a huge leap of faith that is taken when a person steps into the white powder, the snow or the path that has yet to be traveled. Is there a place where you see a need? Something yet to be created that could make the world a better place, help someone in need or fast track a persons way to success or potential? What would happen if you took your idea out into the world? If not now when? If not you – who?
  2. Making your mark and then make your money. Now I know it is not always possible to give up the income to pursue our passion. There are bills to be paid and this thing called life can be expensive – but if there is a passion burning inside of you, something that, while you may not make a living at it, you could make your mark? It is so important for us to be able to leave an impact, and if you are really lucky, maybe that also happens to be in the form of your job. Is there one thing you could do this weekend to leave a mark for good? A random act of kindness, paying your gratitude forward? Following through on volunteering – helping a neighbor in need? All of these leave an impression both in the world and in the hearts of those around you.
  3. Can you find the everyday magic? Bruce talked about his cancer diagnosis and how he went from living in a box of I am going to live forever and over into a box of I could die tomorrow. I often talk about the idea of the extra-ordinary in the ordinary, and how many times it can take a life-changing event to wake us up. A powerful tool that we can use to help assess if we are thriving or simply surviving is to ask ourself these questions, If this was my last year on earth a. who would I be with b.what would I be doing c. how would I want to feel? We can then look at that reflection and see how closely it matches up to our daily life. Perhaps this weekend you can make one small shift to move you closer to the life you “want” to be living.
  4. What is your why? Bruce and Mindy talk about goal setting and how it is important to know our why behind our goals. They encourage us to target our goals from every angle. Why are your goals important to you? How would your life change once you reach these goals ? And maybe the question, Why are you resistant to these goals? Mindy believes that when it comes to nutrition, which can be very hard to change, that it is important that we not only know our personal why, but also the scientific why? Is there one small nutritional change that you have been wanting to make? How would this change impact your energy? Your mood? Your creativity? What does the science say to support this action? Mindy reminds us that we like good news about our unhealthy habits – what does the news say that will support your decision to give up one small unhealthy habit and replace it with one small positive action step instead?
  5. How is your stress level? Bruce and Mindy remind us how important it is to manage our stress. Stress comes from all around us, our family, our job, the news and the social media scrolling. How is your stress level? Are you doing anything to manage and deal with your stress? How well do you feel during the day? How well do you sleep at night? Our breath is a wonderful anchor to check in with how well we are dealing with our stress. Begin by simply by placing one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly. Notice which hand is moving more. Can you deepen your breath to allow the air to float more deeply into your belly. Breathe so that your top hand and becomes still and your lower hand begins to move more. One breath at a time, one moment at a time we can help downgrade our anxiety and our stress and upgrade how we show up in our day: present, alert and ready to deal with what is in front of us.
Direct download: Episode61_FridayFive_BruceandMindy.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

" Don't Wait, Do It Now! None Of Us Know What Tomorrow Holds" Mindy and Bruce Mylrea

To say this couple is an inspiration is an understatement. Today I talk with Mindy and Bruce Mylrea about what it takes to be a couple who are living everything they are teaching. There are few I know, who walk their talk as do Mindy and Bruce and this weeks conversation will give you a sneak peak behind the scenes of a day in the life of the Mylrea's.

Amongst many other topics we discuss the day that Bruce decided to quit his high paying day job and join Mindy on the road. We talk about the courage it took to make that move, and Bruce shares that is was the combination of wanting to find more meaning in his life and to be surrounded by a more upbeat and positive focused community, that helped him make the leap.

Mindy and Bruce go back 35 years and share their story of how they first met. It was not fitness but rather  a bar that was a catalyst for the perfect start to their fitness love story.

I ask Mindy about her early beginnings into the world of fitness. While she spent a few months as a singing, chocolate chip cookie to support her acting desires, it was fitness that enabled her to pursue her passion of acting, paying the bills as she paved her way. Eventually Mindy realized that fitness was to be her calling and jumped in full time.

As one does, back in the eighties, Mindy began by teaching 4 classes a day at a whopping $5 a class. Her first big break was when she presented a "sport rope" class at World IDEA. When they asked her what else could she teach, Mindy's reply was "What do you need?"

Mindy has always been a trend setter and we talk about what it takes to be a leader versus a follower and what it takes to move into the space of the unknown. Many years later and now with Bruce by her side, this dynamic couple are expanding their reach and taking their mission to make wellness available to everyone, on the road.

While always passionate about movement, their exploration around nutrition and wellness began in 2010 as Bruce moved to a plant based diet to lower his cholesterol levels. A year later in 2011, Bruce was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In the beginning he was broken open and broke down, yet this crisis became his calling. While still living with cancer Bruce is determined to wake up the world. “We have more scientific evidence now, showing us the relationship between cancer and nutrition than we did with cancer and smoking”

This year Mindy and Bruce are renting out their house, and getting into an 32 foot RV and taking their One Day To Wellness on the road. You can find where they will be here:

Mindy and Bruce invite us all to be present and to stop waiting to do what you want to do. "Do it now – and drink good wine."

 

More About Mindy And Bruce

Bruce Mylrea has a BA in Economics, is ECornell certified in Plant Based Nutrition, and an AFPA certified Holistic Nutritional Councilor. He spends hours each day reviewing the latest in unbiased nutritional research. Bruce is focused and passionate in educating others on the life enhancing and life extending benefits of whole food plant based nutrition. Bruce is the SCW male presenter of the year for 2017 and also the 2017 LifeTime Achievement Award for CanFitPro
Mindy Mylrea is also the 2017 LifeTime achievement Award Winner for CanFitPro, 2016 Empower Instructor of the Year, 2015 PFP Trainer of the Year, 2015 International Presenter of the Year, 2013 CanFitPro Specialty Presenter of the Year, 2008 ECA OBOW Fitness Presenter of the Year, the 2004 Can Fit Pro International Presenter of the Year, the 1999 International IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year, a National and World Aerobic Champion, a 361 sponsored athlete, and a five star presenter for IDEA.  

Mindy is an advisory board member for Oxygen Magazine, an international presenter, author, motivational speaker, video personality, and CEC provider for both ACE and AFAA. She is the creator and lead talent behind Gliding, the Gliding discs exercise program. She is a master trainer and on the pro development team for Schwinn Cycling, Body Bar, and Bosu. She is the creator of Tabata Bootcamp that earned Most Impactful Program of 2013, and owner of FitFlix Productions DVD production services. She has authored numerous articles and stars in over 400 instructional videos. 

Bruce and Mindy have worked together for 15 years in the fitness and wellness industry and present both fitness programming and nutritional education together. They are the proud parents of three boys and have been married for 35 years. When not in the RV they live in Santa Cruz, California.  

 

Direct download: Episode60_MindyandBruceMylrea.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"I Am More Than My Hip" Jill Miller

  1. Can you stop being at battle with your body? Both Jill and I have struggled with body dysmorphia, and the idea that a good or bad day was defined by what we ate or how much we worked out. With the holidays already here and New Year just around the corner, we can all feel at war with our body. Can you take the time over the holiday season to make sure you are not at battle with yourself? Enjoy the festivities without the guilt and without the silent promises of eating perfectly come January 1st. Simply be in your body, be in the moment, and be in love with the body that you are in right now.
  2. Jill encourages us all to listen and honor our bodies, to get quiet and really hear what our body is yearning for. How is your physical moment, your exercise, your wellness routine? Are your workouts something that you look forward to, that your body feels good doing, and where you feel great afterwards. Take the weekend and the holidays to move, breathe and gift your body with exercises and fitness plans, that nurture both your body and your spirit.
  3. Overuse, Underuse, Misuse or Confuse. Jill talks about her methodology, which is a process based movement format that can work with any type of body. She shares the blind spots that we often have in our own body: Overuse, Underuse, Misuse or Confuse. Are you overusing parts of your body? Do you have certain areas that have become underused due to sitting too much? Perhaps you have a chronic annoyance, a tweak or a pain that keeps coming and going. Maybe this is the time to really work with your body and not try to bypass any injuries. The next time you are exercising, investigate if your body feels balanced and aligned both during and after your workout.
  4. Who are your cheerleaders? Jill talked about the support she received form her students and also the Fitness Managers at Equinox who believed so deeply in her work. She shared the importance of having cheerleaders in our corner who will help us keep going when things get tough and who will believe in us even when we doubt ourselves. Take a moment to think who your cheerleaders are. Now take a moment to think about someone who may need you to cheer them on. Can you step in and step up, and hold them up until they believe in themselves as much as you do.
  5. Be delighted in the unexpected. Jill talked about working with another great thought leader Kelly Starrett. While they came from two completely different worlds in terms of movement, they ended up working together to create additional educational and motivational ways for people to feel at ease in their bodies. We often stay working with the people who are doing the same things that we are doing. Is there someone who inspires you, who is not in your normal circle of influence? Could your reach out to them and see if they would be open to brainstorming with you? If that feels too outside your comfort zone, can you find a new book or TED talk that is outside of your normal go to topics? Allow yourself to be surprised and delighted by the unexpected and unfamiliar.
Direct download: Episode59_FridayFive_JillMiller.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 9:55am EDT

"Don't Be At Battle With Your Body" Jill Miller

What an honor to speak with longtime industry leader Jill Miller. In this conversation Jill shares her backstory of being overweight as a young child. She has experienced the bullying that comes along with not being a part of the "in" crowd, and talks about the pain that came with not fitting in.

It was Jane Fonda Videos that her mother was working out to, that moved Jill from the couch to a life of exercise, but they also introduced her to a powerful way to control both her body and her life. Both Jill and I have struggled with body dysmorphia, and we touch on the eating disorders that consumed our life. Jill shares that her body was a symptom of the deep wounds that many of us experience growing up, and candidly opens up about her long journey back to true health and wellness.

We discus how movement can either be a weapon or a powerful tool, and it is up to us to listen and honor our body. Jill shares her reasons for developing Yoga Tune Up® and The Roll Model® Method and the heart and hustle that was needed to get her knowledge into the world on a large scale. She talks about her desire for people to feel good and comfortable in their own bodies, and that this was the main inspiration for her to keep forging ahead. Jill was determined to create an adjunct way of treating and healing the body, one which could be used in tandem with any other type of movement.

We talk about what it took for her "overnight" success: from her start when she was solo and traveling all over the country, city to city, studio to studio to today, where she now oversees more than 500 Yoga Tune Up Teachers. Jill talks about her methodology, which is a process based movement format that can work with any type of body. She shares the blind spots that we often have in our own body: Overuse, Underuse, Misuse or Confuse.

We discuss what it takes to keep moving forward when you have people pushing against your beliefs and what it takes to let the the negativity slide away and to keep believing. Jill shares the importance of having cheerleaders who are rooting for you and that for Jill, many of her greatest supporters were her students and the Group Fitness Managers at Equinox.

We wrap up the conversation talking about Jill’s recent hip replacement. At the time of this recording she was only Five weeks post operation. Jill shares the vulnerability and the lessons that have come through this pivotal moment in her career, and how she is determined to use this for good. She also realizes that she is much more than her "hip."

Connect With Jill Online and Social Media

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

The Roll Model Book:

More About Jill

Jill Miller, C-IAYT, ERYT is the co-founder of Tune Up Fitness Worldwide and creator of the self-care fitness formats Yoga Tune Up® and The Roll Model® Method. With more than 30 years of study in anatomy and movement, she is a pioneer in forging relevant links between the worlds of fitness, yoga, massage, athletics and pain management. She is known as the Teacher’s Teacher and has trained thousands of movement educators, clinicians, and manual therapists to incorporate her paradigm shifting self-care fitness programming into athletic and medical facility programs internationally. She has crafted original programs for 24 Hour Fitness, Equinox, YogaWorks, and numerous professional sports teams. She and her team of 500+ trainers help you to live better in your body with an emphasis on proprioception, mobility, breath mechanics and recovery.

She has presented case studies at the Fascia Research Congress and International Association of Yoga Therapy conferences. She has the rare ability to translate complex physiological and biomechanical information into accessible, relevant moves that help her students transform pain, dysfunction and injury into robust fitness. Jill is the anatomy columnist for Yoga Journal Magazine and has been featured in Shape, Men’s Journal, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Health, Yoga Journal, Self, and on the Today Show and Good Morning America. Jill is regularly featured on the Oprah Winfrey Network. She is the creator of dozens of DVD’s including Treat While You Train with Kelly Starrett DPT and is the author of the internationally bestselling book The Roll Model: A Step by Step Guide to Erase Pain, Improve Mobility and Live Better in your Body. Based in Los Angeles, CA, she is a wife and mother of two small children and is currently writing her second book.

Direct download: Episode58_JillMiller.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"It's Never Too Late To Become A Better Version Of Yourself" Mo Hagan

  1. Mo talks about the importance of knowing her why and it is her why that keeps her inspired day after day, month after month year after year. I believe that passion keeps our inspiration tank full and that our passion and our why do not need to be monumental to make a huge difference in our life, and in the lives of those we serve. What is your why? Have you spent the time recently to connect with your values, your passions and the things that fuel your dreams. Perhaps your passion and why comes through your family, your work or by helping others. I invite you to spend some time this weekend asking yourself what fuels your tank of inspiration – and what ever that is make sure to carve out the room for it to flow into your life.
  2. How healthy are your workouts? Mo talked about the realization that as much as she encouraged others to take the time to listen to their body that she had ignored the signs of arthritis in her hips. We all know the importance of moving for our health and also for our brain but are we don’t always take the time to make sure that what we are doing is what our body needs. If you are a type A personality and do high intensity workouts every day – your body may be craving some lower intensity movement, and if you are in yoga class 6 times a week perhaps your brain would love a bit of a boost. Take some time to look at your fitness program and make sure that not only do you move with good alignment but that your workout is in alignment with the needs of your body.
  3. How busy are you being busy? Mo talks about how she had become so busy “doing” that she had neglected to spend anytime “being.” Ten years of her life had slipped by, with many magnificent moments and accomplishments being notched on her timeline, yet she could barely recall any of them. How busy are you? Are you able to stop – pause – reflect and be in the moment. While we all have to accomplish certain tasks and routines and have job requirements-this weekend can you take the time to be. Be without your technology, be with yourself, be in the moment and be.
  4. Mo tells us "to learn as you earn" and encourages us all to get out of our head and into the world, and to surround ourselves with people who we can learn from as we gain more experience. We often want to wait until we know it all or it feels like the perfect time to begin, but what if the best way to start was to start. Is there something you have been delaying? Is there something you could already be doing while earning money and while also learning at the same time? Perhaps now is the time to stop reading and begin doing? Act "as if" and become the person you wish to become.
  5. Mo said it is never too late to become a better version of yourself, is there something you are not doing, not trying because you think you are too old, too unhealthy, or are simply too afraid to do? If it is your health - what is one thing you can do this weekend to move closer towards being the best version of you. If you think you are too old – never forget that age is just a number, and now may be the perfect time to take the leap. If you feel too afraid can you dive deeper to see what is lying under your fear. Perhaps journal this weekend to uncover what it is that you are truly afraid of - so you can step into the best version of you!

 

Direct download: Episode57_FridayFive_MoHagan.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Learn As You Earn" Mo Hagan

Mo is truly a powerhouse in the industry of fitness and female leadership. In this episode she shares the many moments and magic that have happened throughout her career.

After three decades in the industry Mo reveals what it is that keeps her going day in and day out.  She shares that it is her sense of purpose that keeps her inspired through the good and also through the not so good moments. We talk about the importance of finding our why behind our work and that the why does not need to come with a big W.  Mo's why is to positively impact people through her work.

Mo talked about being recently diagnosed with arthritis in her hips. She understood that this was the time to figure out how to take care of herself as she had been telling others to do. This was her wake up call - the nudge that reminded her that she had been so busy she had ignored the signs to slow down. Mo recognized her need to "do" versus "be" and how many moments she had missed fully experiencing due to running so fast.

We discuss the event she founded and created called “Women Who Influence.” This inspirational gathering of women leaders recently celebrated its 4th year. Mo had seen a lack of female leadership in the fitness industry and decided to do something about it. Say it "can’t be done" and Mo will explore ways to make it happen. Premiering  with 50 participants at her first event in Canada, Women Who Influence now sells out at 250 participants, and is  expanding outside of Canada to Australia and recently China.

Mo shares the idea of learn as you are earn and I love that concept – don’t wait to know it all before starting or you will never begin. Mo encourages us to begin before you think you are ready and surround yourself with the people who inspire you. Act "as if." Mo says that it is in the personal development that will enable us to follow our why and not be thrown by our negative critics.

Mo shared what happened when she spoke to industries outside of the fitness industry. It was when she was speaking to corporations she realized that many of them could not get travel insurance for the trips of their dreams. She once again saw a need to help those we do not see in a gym or who are not already working out. It was their health or fear of their declining health that was the greatest risk to their dreams.

Mo talks about her recent book that she co-authored called, "Think Yourself Successful." In this book she shares her work around personal development and how we can manage our state, so we can be at our best to enable us to live a life of our dreams. We also talk about the importance of really believing in the why behind why you are wanting to write a book, if that it on your bucket list. She also suggests that a great place to start is to seek out other authors who are looking to co-author a book and find other authors that you can talk to and find out the behind the scenes of writing.

Mo shares how Canadian Fitness Professionals got started over a five minute conversation and now is about to celebrate its 25th Anniversary.

More About Mo

A global ambassador on the benefits of exercise and living well, Maureen Hagan is vice president of program innovation for GoodLife Fitness and Canfitpro. Mo, as she is known in the fitness industry is a licensed physiotherapist, a Physical Health Educator and has been recognized for her work in fitness that spans three decades; named as one of Canada’s 20 Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity (2014) and International Health Racquets & Sports Association's (IHRSA) "Woman Leader of the Year" (2016) with previous awards in the fitness industry that include the 1998 IDEA Program Director and 2006 IDEA Fitness Instructor of the Year, and most recently named to "The Optimyz 100 Health Influencers" in Canada (2017).  Mo is a #1 best-selling author and a regular contributor to consumer magazines and on-line publications including the Huffington Post. 

 

 

 

Direct download: Episode56_MoHagan_WomenWhoInfluence.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Step In The Way Of Inspiration" Susie Moore

  1. We all had dreams or a vision and it was probably when someone shared their more than likely negative opinion about it or us that our dreams took a back seat. Is there something that you long to do but have put off because someone in your past shared their thoughts with you about your goals and dreams? What if  everything did work out ? What if the journey was not about your goals and dreams, and if or not you reach them? What if it was about the person you will become from the journey?
  2. Is there a feeling of fear that arises every time you think about beginning your side hustle? Susie talked about the excuses we all use to deal with our fear and how we can tend to put things off – especially the things we care about. Can you flip fear to a sign that you are moving closer to your truth. FEAR – Forget Everything And Run or Face Everything And Rise.
  3. Who is it that you want to help? Susie talked about the importance of getting feedback along with getting your information out into the world before you feel ready. She encourages us to teach what we believe in and just get started. You only need to know a little more than the people we want to serve.  What do you have from your lab of life that you can share with others to make their lives easier? Can you think of one thing you do well and begin to think of ways that you can expand your reach and share your voice and heart with those who need to hear your message?
  4. What is one thing that you could do every day to get you closer to the starting line? Susie shares the importance of creating your own rituals and systems that will feed both you and your inspiration. What is one thing you could do to move yourself closer to working on your side hustle?
  5. "A dollar takes a hobby to a hustle." Susie shared that often your hobby is the very thing that could be your first side hustle. What hobbies do you have that you enjoy? What are your strengths? What are you good at? What do you love to do? What do your friends know you for? Can you start there? Can you sell something for a dollar? Congratulations you now have your first side hustle
Direct download: Episode55_FridayFive_SusieMoore.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"You Had A Dream And A Vision Before Other People Shared Their Opinion" Susie Moore

My dear friend Susie Moore releases her new book this week, What If It Does Work Out?  and in this week's conversation she shares her road to success that began in England. We talk about how she transitioned from being a self-published author to being picked up by traditional publishing, and what it took to get there. Susie inspires and encourages us to go for our dreams and in this episode gives us tips on how to shift from thinking big to doing big.

We talk about the excuses that we all use to deal with our fears and how we all tend procrastinate around things that we really care about. We talk about the importance of receiving and learning from feedback, and the courage needed to get our stuff out into the world before we feel we are ready. Susie believes that we all have an unique voice, one that needs to be shared with the world. She encourages us to begin by teaching what we believe in and reminds us that we only need to know a little more than the people we want to inspire.

Both Susie and I are from England and we talk about the culture that taught us to not stand out or go for our dreams. We share how we both created a life based on trust and hope and possibility, and Susie talks about the importance of surrounding yourself with a tribe of people who will support you and your mission. That may or may not be your family or the culture you grew up in.

Susie shares the importance of creating your own rituals and systems that will feed both you and your inspiration. She believes that we all have the ability to take our life back from the predictable, and that creating a side hustle is one way to become creatively fulfilled and tap into your purpose.

She shares her story of how she left her corporate job and became the side hustle expert. We talk about the power of the gig economy and that there is no such thing as job security and that in this day and age, having a side hustle is a way of creating some security in an uncertain world.

We talk about "time" and that often when we say "we don’t have the time," what we really mean is that we are afraid. We explore how to minimize our fears, maximize our time, and create actionable steps that we can use to move forward. We also talk about how to create an environment that will allow you to focus and thrive, whatever that may be for you. Susie says one of the most important things to spend time on is knowing yourself and what works for you and your strengths. One of the key action steps you can take is to notice when your golden hours happen, and then make sure you reserve them for your best work.

We both share the fact that neither of us have the qualifications and letters after our name that we often think we need to be successful - and that it is easy to become a procrastalearner, continually learning and researching but never sharing your own work.

We talk about bringing the fun back and exploring our own expectations around how we feel we should be living versus how we could be thriving. Susie encourages us to bring the fun back into our lives and encourages us to stop overthinking and start doing. "Say what you know, give it your best and allow that to be good enough."

Susie reveals that often your hobby is the very thing that could be your first hustle. What are your strengths? Perhaps you bring them to the forefront and turn your strengths into another source of income. It can be that easy. What are you good at? What do you love to do? What do your friends know you for? Can you start there?

More About Susie

Susie Moore is an advisor to high-growth startups in Silicon Valley and New York City, and a life coach specializing in helping life-curious professionals find their passion and make an impact (and a fortune!)

Susie has been featured on the Today show, Business Insider, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Time Inc., MindBodyGreen, and is the resident Life Coach and Columist for Greatist. Susie’s insights have been shared by thought leaders including Arianna Huffington, Paulo Coelho and SPANX Founder, Sara Blakely.

When she’s not working, Susie can be found exploring New York City, planning her travels (next up: an extended stint in France!) brewing the perfect cup of English Breakfast tea, and spending time with her husband Heath and their tiny (not very bright but certainly very loveable) dog, Coco.

Direct download: Episode_54_SusieMoore.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"It Will Be Worth Stepping Out Of Your Comfort Zone, If You Grow From The Process" Andy Molinksy

  1. Andy talked about the five psychological roadblocks, that when left unaddressed will get in the way of us reaching our potential. Did you recognize any of the blocks showing up in your life? The Five elements that often get in the way are: Authenticity – Likeability – Competence – Resentment – Morality. If one or more of these are standing between you and your dreams is there a new way of working with this block to reframe it into something that will move you forward instead of stopping you in your tracks. It may be as simply understanding what is underneath a particular feeling or reaction that will help you gain the knowledge to allow you best self to move forward.   
  2. Andy shares his tools on how to help us move through the avoidance techniques that often become so familiar to us we don’t realize we are getting in our own way. Andy highlighted key ways that we can get super creative in order to avoid doing the things we do not look forward to doing, or the things we are not sure we are skilled enough to attempt perfectly - I know my top avoidance strategy is procrastination. Do any of these resonate with you : Partial delivery, Substitution, Procrastination, Rationalization – if you see a typical avoidance strategy that you have been using – can you write down mini action steps that you could do first thing every morning (before life gets in the way) to move you out of the “not now” mode and into the “let’s begin” action stage – 15 minutes each morning to begin moving out of your comfort zone and closer to your dreams.                                                                                  
  3. Andy shared the three traits that will move us out of the stagnation phase and help us work with our fears and then move our life forward and get our wants and desires off the paper and into the world. When you feel uncertain of the future can you draw form one of these to help fuel and fill your inspiration tank: Find Your Source of Conviction – this is your why statement – what is it that powers you, the drives you – that can give you a feeling of unwavering conviction that you are on the right path. Customization – can you customize the situations that make you feel uncertain to allow you to feel more comfortable in the discomfort – what can you do to make the situation fit you – versus the other way around. And how much clarity do you have around your dreams and desires – are there areas that you could do a deep dive into and get super clear about exactly what it is that you want to share with the world and make an impact for good.                                                   
  4. Andy and I talked about the imposter syndrome and the fact that at any given time we can all have moments of feeling insecure and that we do not deserve the life we are living or striving for – is there a certain situation where you constantly feel as though you are going to be “found out” can you take one action step to deepen your knowledge, learn something new or ask for help if need be – non of these steps mean that you are not already super qualified for your role or position but I know for me if I am constantly taking small steps to expand my knowledge and stay curious it helps me tame my inner critic and keep her at bay.                                                                       
  5. Andy and I talked about why it is so difficult for us to find the courage to reach for our dreams. What can you do tomorrow morning to deepen your courage and stretch your dreams? Knowing the world will be a better place with you in it and sharing your voice, your passion and your dreams. Can you make friends with your fear? realizing that it is only there to protect you – but no longer allowing it to stop you.

 

Direct download: Episode_53_FridayFiveWithAndyMolinsky.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Your Very Best Ideas Will Be Crafted When You Are Vulnerable" Andy Molinsky

Andy and I talk about how to step out of our comfort zones and reach for your dreams. Andy shares his backstory of being a shy student at College. He talks about what it took to get over his fear and trepidation around speaking - whether in the classroom, at the office or on stage.

We touch on the imposter syndrome (that most of us have) and we both have similar stories when it came to trying to avoid showing up when things scared us. We discuss how we both had to learn how to step out of our comfort zones so that we could show up and do the work that we love. Andy shares wonderful tools and strategies that we can all use to move out of the imposter syndrome, and he reminds us that it's perfectly acceptable to not know everything, but it is important to keep the curiosity and willingness to learn.

Whether it’s networking, going for a job interview, delivering difficult news or being in social situations we all will have moments when we will have to reach within to take the steps and have the conversations necessary to move forward. Andy shares the reasons we it is so hard to step out of our comfort zones and he helps us demystify the “why” behind why it is so difficult to reach beyond what we know for sure.

From his book Reach - Andy reveals the five psychological roadblocks, that when left unaddressed will get in the way of us reaching our potential:

  1. Authenticity
  2. Likeability
  3. Competence
  4. Resentment
  5. Morality

Andy highlights the avoidance techniques that often become so familiar to us we don’t even realize we are getting in our own way. Below are the key ways we get creative to avoid doing the things we do not look forward to doing:

  1. Partial delivery
  2. Substitution
  3. Procrastination
  4. Rationalization

We wrap the conversation up by talking about the three traits that will move us out of the stagnation, enable us to work with our fears to move our dreams off the paper and into the world.

  1. Find Your Source of Conviction
  2. Customization
  3. Clarity

 

 

 

Direct download: Episode_52_AndyMolinsky.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"What Are You Already Known For?" Dorie Clark

  1. What are people coming to you for? What are you known for? Dorie reminds us that we all have inherent skills, but we often spend time focusing on our gaps instead of our strengths. When people think of you what would come to mind? Can you create a product or an extension of what you already do that will allow you to share your gifts with more people, and in turn be compensated for your innate strengths?
  2. If you were to expand your reach is one area which one would it be? Dorie invited us to consider many different types of revenue streams as a way to spread our risk over multiple platforms. She also suggested we do not begin more that two new channels a year, and to only focus on one channel at a time. What medium is appealing to you - Podcasting, blogging, writing, speaking, coaching? Spend the weekend thinking about which platform feels like a good fit to you and where you think you would best be able to be both creative and effective.
  3. What is one thing you would like to explore? Dorie invites us to explore a side hustle as a way of revisiting our creativity and pursuing our passion. She shared words of wisdom by advising us not to quit our day job but to mitigate the risk and build a new side hustle overtime. Try several things to see what fits best for you and your life. What is one thing that you have been putting on the back burner? Why not use this weekend to try something new and see how things may unfold – you have nothing to lose.
  4. Is there someone you can reach out to for advice? Dorie advises us all to find a mentor and someone who would be willing to be honest about compensation and expectations within the market place. We all need a guide of what the market is willing to pay, and even if it is a few years before you reach that level, at least you will have a solid goal and idea of where you are aiming. This is also a great metric to measure your progress.
  5. How strong is your calling card? Dorie shares her thoughts on how to get noticed and this is her main topic in her book Stand Out. She recommends that we explore and master three areas. To really have people pay attention, we need to apply attention to three parts of our business and nurture all three parts equally. Content Creation - Social Proof - Your Network
Direct download: Episode51FridayFiveWithDorieClark.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Create Opportunities For The Best Ideas To Win" Dorie Clark

As I pivot away from fitness as my main source of income and into writing and speaking Dorie Clark has been a huge mentor, and I am excited to share with you her wisdom and expertise in this show. She shares so many useful tips and strategies on how to finally make money doing what you love, and this conversation is rooted in the work of her new book, Entrepreneurial You.

Dorie gives her insights on what it takes to create multiple revenue streams and how to make money by sharing your expertise. She believes that so many of us run ourselves into the ground from working too hard and it is only when we work smarter, not harder, we can be our best self - avoid burnout and share our message.

We talk about the mindset needed to succeed, and we dive in around the topic of money and how it is important to learn and know the market standards and what it pays (whatever your market may be) to be able to price ourselves fairly and wisely in the arena of our career.

Dorie shares words of wisdom by advising us not to quit our day job but to mitigate the risk and build your new side hustle overtime. Try several things to see what fits best for you and your life. Perhaps explore a side hustle as a way of revisiting your creativity and pursuing your passion. Now is a great time to start a second career and immerse yourself in what you love, learn all you can and share your knowledge.

We talk about how to begin to build your audience and gather emails. You need to create a strong opt-in so that you can gather e-mails. Here are a few links that can help you:

Constant Contact

Mailchimp

Lead Pages

Dorie shares her process when deciding what to do, and believes that your first step is looking at what people are already coming to you for. Often you are so good at something that you don’t even realize that it could be your strength and your unique voice in the world. After that test the marketplace around your ideas.

Dorie talks about staying with it versus quitting and she encourages us to plan, prepare and know what metrics are important to you when deciding how long you are prepared to stay in the game before cutting bait and moving onto something else. We talk about the online space and what it takes to get a business up and running. Basically, this is your time to shine and so why not do it online. Online can be a fantastic way to make passive income where you can share your knowledge without taxing your body.

She shares the biggest mistake she has seen with Entrepreneurs: One being a fixed minded and only staying with what they know, and so miss some opportunities that are right in front of them. The other mistake is one that creative’s can get caught up in, and that is doing too many things at once. Avoid becoming so busy creating new things that you don’t have the time to put the care and time in, to make it work. Dorie recommends starting with one or two revenue streams per year. Get good, get better, dive in and then layer on more.

Additional books by Dorie: Reinventing You and Stand Out

Connect With Dorie Online and Social Media

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Dorie's Free Entrepreneurial You Self-Assessment

More About Dorie

Dorie Clark is an adjunct professor at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and a professional speaker. She is the author of the forthcoming Entrepreneurial You (Harvard Business Review Press). Her previous books include Reinventing You and Stand Out which was named the #1 Leadership Book of 2015 by Inc. magazine, one of the Top 10 Business Books of the Year by Forbes, and was a Washington Post bestseller. The New York Times has described her as an “expert at self-reinvention and helping others make changes in their lives.”

A former presidential campaign spokeswoman, she is a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, and is a consultant and speaker for clients such as Google, Yale University, and the World Bank. She is also a producer of a multiple Grammy-winning jazz album.

Be sure to subscribe to the Perfection Detox Podcast on iTunes so that you never miss a show. I would be so appreciative if you can also take the time to leave an honest review.

 

 

 

Direct download: Episode_50_ThePerfectionDetox_DorieClark.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 7:42am EDT

"Look At Every Open Door As A Possibility" Lisa Wheeler

1.Lisa talks about the importance of being your true self when connecting with your audience - she shared six things to think about when differentiating yourself in this very noisy world of social media.

Authenticity is key- know your values and know your strengthKey into where your authentic self shines – which audience allows you to do your best work.

Practice, Practice, Practice –that overnight success that we often think has happened, is the 10,000 unseen hours of hard work all coming together at the right time – luck is preparation meeting opportunity

Connect through the lens of the camera – imagine you are speaking to your best friend or mum – speak to one person and then it will be shared by many

Know who your audience is – know who is your market and the people who allow you to do your best work. Is it the athlete, the baby boomer, the active senior or perhaps a market yet to be created.

Where do you do your best work? – where do you shine – which types of groups do you feel inspired by? You can only inspire others to the degree you are inspired.

2.Lisa talks about the importance of bringing the joy back into your tribe – what can you do today to bring more joy into your life – into your relationships and into your workouts? We can only fill up the cups of others if we are tapping into, and replenishing our own well of joy. What is one thing you could do this week that would bring you more joy?

3.Lisa talks about having to have a thick skin, especially when it comes to standing out and making a difference in this world. One of my favorite quotes is by Seth Godin, "To be remarkable you will need to be remarked upon"  – both the positive and the negative. Lisa invites us to stay true and not to allow the negativity to stop you from pursuing your dreams. She encourages us to let the mean critics slide off our backs and to be open to learning from constructive feedback (or feed forward as I like to call it.)

4.Lisa reminds us that to be remarkable we need to deliver on our promises. Is there an area of your life where you have maybe slipped a little on delivering in a way that stands up to your potential? Perhaps there is an area of your life where you can pull back a little and not constantly over deliver? We often show up in the areas where we feel certain and secure. Perhaps take a wide angled view to see if there could be more balance in where you apply your time and attention.

5.Lisa talks about the difference between doing and leading – especially when it comes to leading and mentoring. She shares the qualities that she admires in the women that she has worked with.  Perhaps we can all step into a more effective leadership role, even if it is leading ourselves. The three qualities that Lisa feels are important to bring to the table are:

Creating a team where women support women

Creating a fun and engaging environment

Creating a culture where the team is to encouraged to strive for excellence (not perfection)

 

Direct download: Episode49_FridayFive_LisaWheeler.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"On The Way Up Be Sure To Grab Someone's Hand And Take Them With You" Lisa Wheeler

What a wonderful treat to sit and chat with my dearest friend Lisa Wheeler. It was hard to cover three decades in fifty minutes but I know you will learn so much form this episode. We begin by going back in the history books and how of Lisa entered into the fitness world. From there we jump into how the industry has evolved throughout the past two decades.

Lisa gives a masterclass and shares what is important to consider when connecting with your audience, whether it is online or in person. From her two decades of mentoring some of the best in the industry, Lisa shares how you can differentiate yourself, and stand out in this very noisy world of social media.

Key Points:

  1. Authenticity is key
  2. Tap into where your authentic self can shine
  3. Practice, practice, practice
  4. Learn how to connect through the camera lens
  5. Know who your audience is
  6. Know how and where do you do your best work

Lisa talks about the importance of bringing the joy back into your tribe and how this will be your secret sauce. From there we discuss the tricky road of social media and the easy access these days of the ability for anyone to criticize. She shares her thoughts on how to deal with the “haters” and Lisa invites us to keep a thick skin while still being open to learning from constructive feedback.

Lisa shares her thoughts on how we all can make a difference and that there is room for each of us to create an impression in this world. Bring your heart to the world and then create connection, connection and more connection. Lisa encourages us to deliver on our promises, stay true to who we are and reminds us that as much as it can be tempting to try and please everyone, this will never allow us to do our best work.

We go back to the moment Lisa decided that the last performance she did at Lincoln Center would be her last professional performance as a dancer. We share our thoughts about the losses that come with staying in alignment with what is true to our desires and dreams.

Lisa has always been in a leadership role and she shares the commonalities in the women who are leaders and whom she admires:

  1. Women who support women
  2. Women who create a fun environment
  3. Women who encourage you to push for excellence (not perfection)

We wrap up our conversation talking about value and the importance of deep friendships, especially as we strive for growth and excellence. We share that it is so important to celebrate each other and open the doors for those around us. We talk about the importance of being able to be friends in the comfortable times and also have the hard conversations. We then share our thoughts about how to age well in a world that celebrates youth, and we get really real on how it feels to move into the second stage of this magnificent journey called life.

Connect With Lisa Online and Social Media

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Daily Burn

More About Lisa

Owner of Wheels In Motion Productions and VP of Fitness for Daily Burn, Lisa Wheeler is is a Daytime Emmy Nominated Executive Producer, two-time New York Times Best Selling author and award winning international presenter. Lisa serves on Industry Advisory Board for ACE.

Behind the camera, Lisa has helped produce over 500 fitness programs for ”Dancing with the Stars”, “The Biggest Loser”, Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels, Louis Van Amstel, Denise Austin, Richard Simmons, among others. In front of the camera she starred in over 30 fitness videos for Weight Watchers, Acacia, the NFL Channel and Shape Magazine, was featured on Fit TV, hosted “The Method Fitness Show” on The Health Network and the “Westin Workout Powered by Reebok” fitness segments on SPG TV. She has appeared on QVC, “CNN Headline News”, “The View”, “Good Morning America”, “The Today Show”, “Access Hollywood LIVE” and “Fox and Friends”.

Her alter ego had a long career as a professional dancer in NYC performing most notably in the companies of Dan Wagoner and Ben Munisteri until her retirement on the stage at Lincoln Center in 2009.

Mentioned In The Show

Gin Miller, Cal Pozo, Deb Praver, Abbie Appel, Lexie Williams, Anjia Garcia, City of Hope, Molly Fox Studios, Jeff Martin, The Vertical Club, Kimmarie Lynch, Julz Arney

 

 

 

Direct download: Episode48_Theperfectiondetox_lisawheeler.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Crisis Moments Allow Us To Get Super Clear On What Is Important To Us"

  1. Maria shares her thoughts on how to get thorough times of suffering and this is how she invites us to find anchors that will allow us to stay afloat when we feel untethered and uncertain. If you are going through a challenging time can you root yourself in one or two of these thoughts?
    Maria shares that we have to feel what we feel and face our loss head on. There is no pretending in the face of suffering that it is not excruciating. Allow yourself to be in your feelings. Sit in the discomfort as that will help it move through you.
    Maria then invites us to breathe through our feelings - this small act will create tiny oasis of respite. Our breathe allows us to feel shattered and be in this new normal – deep breaths – one by one, moment by moment.
    Depending on where you are on your journey Maria then invites you to begin to choose your best practices to help you move upward out of the darker moments – it may be moving your body, gathering your choir of close friends and for certain it will be having the courage to ask for help and support.
    Maria suggests that as your grief begins to fade you begin to create 5 minute spaces where you hold the positive - a small intermission in your grief. Slowly begin to carve out small moments of 5 minutes, then 10 minutes and so on. Slowly, when you are ready begin to expand the moments of positivity.
  2. Maria talks about gathering your choir, Who is in your choir? Is there someone in your choir who may need your help and shoulder to lean on? Is there someone you can reach out to and ask for help? Perhaps now is a good time to offer support or perhaps now is the time to invite it in.
  3. Maria talks about a growing movement called The Simplification Movement: that now is a turning point and we can turn our use of technology down and use this time to become clear on what works best for our own well-being. Lear how we can deepen our true connections. Is there a part of your life that is being led by technology, that is overtaking your heart space? Can you dial it back a bit to make room for the good things to come in?
  4. Maria talks about building tiny habits of micro bites of goodness into our day: taking the time to listen to your body and ask what does it really need – in terms of your movement, exercise and workouts. What would feel good to your body this week? Can you mix it up and do what is nourishing for your body? Remember to make make choices that are enlivening, we will have to be ready to let go of the myths of who we think we should be and what world is telling us we should be. This is the time to move closer to your authentic self.
  5. What can you do for 5 minutes today that bring you closer to your best self? When you are your best self- you will bring your best self to your family, to your life and out into the world.
Direct download: FridayFive_MariaSirois.m4a
Category:Health -- posted at: 8:57am EDT

"The Goodness In Life Is Available To Us As Is The Darkness" Maria Sirois

This weeks conversation with Maria Sirois the who is the author of Happiness After Loss was like talking to a truth whisperer. I first came across Maria through her soul-filled TEDx talk called Living An Authentic Life and you can watch it here: Get you pen and paper ready as Maria shares so many insightful and helpful nuggets of wisdom. We begin by taking about resilience and what this word means to Maria, and how we can use it to strengthen our life.

We begin by taking about resilience and what this word means to Maria, and how we can use it to strengthen our life. Maria talks about “world weariness” and how there will be times that we will feel hopeless and it will be resilience that allows for our best self to come through to the other side. She shares how that positivity and suffering co-exist and it is when we draw upon the good and the true we will be able to view suffering as a place we visit versus falling into an abyss. Maria shares that there is no way to navigate these types of moments alone and the people who flourish and thrive are those who have trusted friends that they can lean upon and that they have the courage to reach out to. It is a falsehood to think or believe that you can get through the darker moments alone.

“Crisis moments allow us to get super clear – who am I going to spend time with and who is a waste of my time”

We talk about technology and I ask Maria her thoughts on how resilience and connection are sustainable with the era of cell phones. Maria feels that underneath, even with all our technology there is a deep need of belonging. She talks that for the younger generation the gap and stress comes from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and for baby boomers, the gap and stress comes from thinking we should know it all due to the high accessibility of so much information.

Maria shares the meaning of the beautiful cover of her book – the image of a broken bowl that has been repaired with gold lacquer and talks about the art of Kintsugi -  the idea is that even though we are fractured and flawed or imperfect – as we are imperfect we are still whole, flawed and magnificent, flawed and still wonderful.

We talk about authenticity especially in relation to recovering perfectionists and how the delusional myth that we are meant to be perfect can keep us separate from our best self. Maria shares that authenticity is about moving closer and closer to your true values and the things that bring you joy. Choosing to make the choices that bring you less harm and create more good into the world. When we talk about true authenticity it is about moving closer towards our best self and how can I be at my best, do my best and help others do the same.

Maria shares one of my favorite definitions of Positive Psychology. "Positive psychology is studying human beings at their best – what do these people know that we can teach others can replicate. Positive psychology is not about being a member of the happy clappy club. It is about creating practices that allow you to move you to be the best that you can be."

We talk about aging gracefully and how to move forward with love and ease – “The more you fill your day with things that uplift you and nourish you the less frightening time is.”  Maria invites us to imagine it’s the day of your 90th birthday, and your friend gets up to tell the story of your life. What would you want that story to be? Choose to shape your days well and create meaning – Craft your day, craft your journey, create your destiny.

We touch on grief and what Maria’s thoughts are around it. She shares that suffering is universal yet it is deeply personal and our experience of grief will be unique. There will be grief and suffering in our lives and even here we can find beautiful lessons. Suffering allows compassion and so the more we are in touch with this space the more we can hold this space for others.

Connect With Maria Online and Social Media

Website

Facebook 

Twitter

More About Maria

Dr. Maria Sirois is a psychologist and seminar leader who teaches internationally in the intersection of resilience and flourishing. Maria is Known for her wisdom, authenticity and rampant humor, she brings invigorating practices and perspectives to corporate and non-profit audiences alike. Maria Sirois is the author of A Short Course in Happiness After Loss (And Other Dark, Difficult Times) and also Every Day Counts.  A master teacher, she has been called an orator of great power and beauty. With Tal Ben-Shahar, she co-leads a year-long certificate program in positive psychology for executives, educators, entrepreneurs, counselors and the general public.

 

 

 

Direct download: Episode46_ThePerfectionDetox_MariaSirois.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Have Bold Humility" Sheryl O'Loughlin

1. Sheryl shared how we all will have moments where life will eat us up. It is in the challenging times where we realize we are not alone and that we will make it. She invites us to navigate through the more difficult times by breathing into the moment and moving through it step by step by step. Minute by minute, day by day. If there is something challenging in your life right now can you dial it back to moving forward breath by breath. Knowing that this too shall pass, it will get easier and one day you will be able to help someone else move through the dark and back into the light.

2. Is there a relationship in your life that could be strengthened simply by being courageous and by asking the other person what it is that they need? Sheryl shared her mistakes as well as her successes especially when it came to parenting. I love that she reaches out and asks her children to help her to understand their feelings and how to help them move into their best self. I think this is a wonderful lesson for us all. We often think we should know all the answers especially when it comes to our family and close relationships.  Can we stop thinking we should know it all and instead become vulnerable and ask for help. How can we improve our dialog, our interactions and elevate the quality of our connections by asking, listening and then responding with kindness and compassion.

3. Sheryl and I talk about the difference between guilt and shame. Guilt is feeling bad about what you did, shame is feeling bad about who you are. Is there something you need to change in your inner dialog, that would remove any blame and feelings that may wash you with sense of shame? We are human beings and in that simple fact we will make mistakes and especially when we look back to see how we could have done things differently we can often confuse what we did for who we are - There is nothing wrong in making mistakes - but remember you made a mistake – you are not the mistake – ever.

4. What is your North Star?  What is your purpose, what is your guiding light? Sheryl talks about her purpose being her guiding light and how REBBL the company of which she is the CEO – was first a cause that was looking for a company. What is your guiding light, your north star? What is your Why – what fuels you to get up each day and contribute your voice to this world? Do you need to nurture your why? We can only inspire others to the degree we feel inspired, perhaps take some time this weekend to reflect on your why, and refill your inspiration tank – after all this will be your fuel for your dreams

5. Sheryl shared what is important to her these days and the boundaries and guidelines she sets for herself. I love all of her heart centered metrics for success and so as I read them reflect if there is one that resonates strongly with you. Perhaps you can spend the weekend exploring ways to cultivate and strengthen this part of you and your essence.                                            

Connect to your tribe and share what is real

Protect your self worth

Bring love into everything you do

Have bold humility                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Direct download: Episode45_Friday5withSherylOLoughlin.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

“What we need to understand is the ups and downs so we can kind of hack our way through the branches of the dark to stay in the light” Sheryl O'Loughlin

What a privilege and pleasure to talk with Sheryl O'Loughlin. A candid interview where Sheryl shares both her highlights and the struggles. We begin talking about her history with Clif Bar and the winding journey that brought her to her current position as the CEO of REBBL.

We talk about the factors that led Sheryl hit a wall. At a time when everything should have been thriving, two new companies between her and her husband, suddenly everything crashed and they were about to lose everything. When everything else was spinning out of control  Sheryl reveals that the only thing she could control were her numbers - the miles run and the numbers on the scale and so her journey into anorexia began. Slowly bit by bit, she dug herself out of this place. In her book Killing It! she shares both her struggles and the her life lessons. As with most lessons it was in the dark times where she realized that she had to slow down, reflect and begin to live in a way that allowed her to be at her thriving best, and through her book, also help others do the same

Sheryl talks about what it takes to get started in a new business and how to cultivate the skills and mindset to survive as we thrive. Sheryl talks about believing in leadership skills that are heart centered, and how she found the courage to bring her full self to the brands that she now works with. She reveals her strategies on how to stay afloat during the dark times and we discuss that when we finally let go of striving to be perfect, we are able to find and live in our truth and uncover our best selves. Sheryl candidly shares her experience of being judged by some of her “best” friends around her parenting skills and we talk about shame. An important conversation about how as women we often shame ourselves when we feel separate to others. It is a lovely and revealing part of the conversation as we talk about how we all have moments when we compare ourselves to those around us and all have parts of ourselves where we feel less than - this is the human condition.

I love when Sheryl talks about purpose. She invites us all to keep our eyes on our purpose and to use our purpose as our guiding light. Below are some of Sheryl's guiding principles. These can be used in leadership, life and in love:

  1. Connect to your tribe and share what is real
  2. Protect your self worth
  3. Bring love into everything that you do
  4. Have bold humility

REBBL: Sheryl shares the backstory to REBBL and how the are contributing to help eradicate human trafficking. It is began as a cause looking for a company. Do something good for your body and for the world. 2.5% of net sales go to causes that help stop human trafficking

More About Sheryl

As a child, Sheryl O'Loughlin was best known for rushing everywhere and being too impatient to pour milk into a glass before drinking it. As an adult, Sheryl is no less eager. She served as the CEO of Clif Bar, where she introduced the world to Luna bars; she was the cofounder and CEO of Plum Organics; and she is currently CEO of REBBL super herb beverages. One of her favorite roles was mentoring budding entrepreneurs when she was the executive director at the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. With her book, Sheryl is able to share her advice with a wider group of current and aspiring entrepreneurs all at once, which delights her because, well, it's faster. And that means more time for drinking wine at her Santa Rosa home, and hanging out with her husband and two sons.

 

Direct download: Episode44ThePerfectionDetox_SherylOLoughlin.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"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.

 

 

 

Direct download: Episode43_FridayFive_KeliRoberts.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

“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.

Direct download: Episode42_Keli_Roberts.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"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.
Direct download: Episode41_FridayFive_SuzieCarpenter.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"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.

Direct download: Episode40_Suzie_Carpenter.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"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.

Direct download: Episode39Friday5SarahRobbOHagan.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"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.

Direct download: Episode38_Sarah_Robb_OHagan_.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Competence and Capabilities = Confidence" Lolly Daskal

I hope you enjoyed this week’s show as much as I did with Lolly Daskal. She shared so many tips, tools, and strategies that we can implement into our life, whether it is in leadership or in our own relationships. Strategies that we can use to shorten the distance between our gap and our greatness. Here are my five favorite takeaways from this week's conversation with Lolly Daskal.

  1. How much time you spend focusing on the greatness of those around you or do you tend to focus on their shortcomings? Lolly talked about the fact that we get to make a choice at every moment, as to whether we focus on our gaps or our greatness. While we are primed to focus on the negative can you notice how often your focus on your greatness and how much time you spend focusing on the things that you feel are a weakness? Then flip that around and notice how much time you spend focusing on the greatness of those around you or do you tend to focus on their shortcomings? How would your day change if you focused on more of the positive?
  2. What you don’t own – owns you! – wow, I loved that moment. How true it is - that we tend to push aside the things that we don’t like about ourselves. But what that really does is give that part of you more power. What is one thing that you consider a flaw? For many years I saw my anxiety as a huge gap – now what if - instead of pushing that piece away inside a box, you made peace with it and accepted it as a part of who you are. The moment I acknowledged and accepted my anxiety – the power of my panic attacks almost disappeared. It’s time to own and love all of ourselves.
  3. What would happen if you no longer compared yourself to anyone else? The imposter syndrome – how tricky it is as we always compare ourselves to those around us. Comparison is the thief of joy. What would happen if you no longer compared yourself to anyone else, and spent time working on your own inner greatness – use those around you for motivation and inspiration but and only compared yourself to your today versus your yesterday? Everyday, celebrate your uniqueness and do one thing, take one action to move yourself towards your greatness.
  4. Competence + capabilities will give you the confidence you need. Lolly talked about confidence and her definition of what confidence is. Competence + capabilities will give you the confidence you need. Knowing what you are good at and knowing the areas of your skill set that may need sharpening and then taking the steps to research, learn and discover new material will help us not only strengthen your confidence but also expand your experiences within the world
  5. How are your listening skills? Lolly talks about the idea of fixing versus listening. How are your listening skills? Over the next few days Can you practice being a fully engaged listener? Listening is just like a muscle and one that improves with practice. Like I said I thought I was an enthusiastic listener but I really was an impatient listener. Can you practice this week, listening to everyone and allowing them to finish their complete sentence? Then pause and respond to the actual conversation in front of you, versus anticipating how you are going to answer.
Direct download: Episode_37_Friday5_LollyDaskal.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"What You Don't Own Owns You" Lolly Daskal

This week's episode is a crash course in greatness. Lolly Daskal talks about her new book The Leadership Gap and how we can use both our strengths and weaknesses to our favor. Lolly talks about her 30 years of experience that culminated in her creating RETHINK:

The Rebel, driven by confidence; and the Imposter, plagued by self-doubt.
The Explorer, fueled by intuition; and the Exploiter, master of manipulation.
The Truth Teller embraces candor; and the Deceiver, who creates suspicion.
The Hero embodies courage; and the Bystander, a coward if there ever were one.
The Inventor, brimming with integrity; and the Destroyer, is morally corrupt.
The Navigator, trusts and is trusted; and the Fixer, endlessly arrogant.
The Knight for whom loyalty is everything; coupled with the Mercenary, who is perpetually self- serving.

We dive into exploring the Rebel archetype and look at the Imposter Syndrome that so many of us struggle with daily. Lolly shares how difficult it is to ask for help and gives us tips and strategies to help us drop the fear and move into our greatness.

Connect With Lolly Online and Social Media

More About The Leadership Gap

Lolly's Website

Twitter

Linkedin

More About Lolly

Lolly Daskal is one of the most sought-after executive leadership coaches in the world. Her extensive cross-cultural expertise spans 14 countries, six languages and hundreds of companies.

As founder and CEO of Lead From Within, her proprietary leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world. Based on a mix of modern philosophy, science, and nearly thirty years coaching top executives, Lolly’s perspective on leadership continues to break new ground and produce exceptional results. Of her many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a
Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc.com
100 Great Leadership Speakers for Your Next by Inc. magazine.
Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others.

Lolly’s proprietary insights are the subject of her new book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness is released May 17th 2017.

 

Direct download: Episode36_LollyDaskal_ClosingTheGapBetweenYouAndYourGreatness.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Your Kids Don't Need You To Be Perfect, They Need You To Be Present" Sara Haley

It was such a treat to talk to Sara Haley and really dive behind the scenes of the imperfect and messy perfect life as a mom, entrepreneur, and wife. I loved how candid and honest she was talking about both her hits and a couple of her misses.

Here are my five favorite takeaways from this week’s conversation with Sara Haley:

1. Is there something that you have been wanting and waiting to do that you have not done because it may not fit in with what you think you should do? Sara talked about how challenging it can be to be truly accepting of how we change and shift in life. What if you take that first step towards a dream that you have been putting on the side and move it center stage?

2. What is something that you are passionate about? Sara talks about the importance of keeping and cultivating the passion in your own life, something not related to your work or attached to someone else. What is it that you do, that contributes to your own happiness. Whether it is cooking, working out, blogging or journaling. Can you carve out more time to dive deeper, explore something that belongs to you?

3. How well do you take care of yourself? Sara talks about the challenge between being selfish and selfless. I think we all can agree that it can feel challenging to put ourselves first. Is there something you can do to refill your energy and inspiration tank? It is only when we feel full that we can be of service to our friends and family.

4. Who is in your choir? Sara talks about the importance of surrounding yourself with a tribe. A group of people who have similar needs, desires and likes. A group that you can reach out to when you need help, and a group that you can offer your help to – when someone else is struggling. A small but mighty group of friends who celebrate with you in the good times and share the burden in the not so good times.

5. How present are you? – do you find yourself with your phone in your hand through the majority of your day? Do you get anxious at the thought of being unplugged? Sara talked about the importance of being present. She reminded us that our children do not need us perfect they need us present. This can be said for our friends, family and work colleagues too. Could you spend a few hours or even one day a week unplugging from technology so you can plug into your heart center? Can you, "Be Here Now" with the people you are with.

 

Direct download: Episode35_Friday5_SaraHaley.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 3:39pm EDT

"Be Who You Want To Be, Not Who You Think You Should Be" Sara Haley

In this show, Sara pulls back the curtain on motherhood. We talk about how she turned her pregnancy from one of passion and purpose into her business. Sara talks about filling a gap in the market, finding her niche and teaching to those who needed her message and point of view. I love that Sara is so candid and in this show, she openly shares both her hits and her mistakes. She is a truth teller with a heart of gold and discusses the importance of discovering and living from a place of who you are today versus showing up as who you used to be or as you think you should be.

We discuss Sara’s work with Reebok and how challenging it was to leave the company behind as she decided to follow her bliss. Sara talks about the importance of finding our own passion and purpose in addition to, and outside of life as mother, wife, and partner. We dive into the struggle of finding the balance between being selfish and selfless and how challenging it is to arrive somewhere in the middle.

I love Sara’s thoughts on balance and she shared her recent experience shooting 12 workouts while trying to juggle family, friends, and laundry. It really is so refreshing to have Sara reveal her backstory, in addition to her highlight reel. We talk about the importance of staying centered especially in a world with so much social media and Sara talks about the importance of finding other Mom’s who can celebrate you and lift you up when things get tough.

Sara mentions the different seasons of life and how there will be different seasons for different experiences throughout our journey. She reminds us that children do not need us to be perfect but they do need us to present. We discuss Sara’s morning ritual and with two children how she prepares for her day the night before. In this episode, we also chat about the importance of being organized and how to set ourselves up for success by preparation, which in turn, allows us to be ready for the opportunities ahead.

Sara reminds us of the importance of looking back to remember what we did well and celebrate the baby steps as we do the best we can. She reminds us to take it easy, listen to our bodies and to not compare your story to what you see in the media.

Sara shares some fantastic advice and tips on the importance of doing the correct core work during pregnancy – click here for some informative videos.

Connect With Sara Online and Social Media

Website

Expecting More® Workout Program

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

More about Sara

Sara Haley is a simple mid-westerner at heart. It was her college sweetheart, Sean (now her husband of eleven years), who really encouraged her to go after her dreams. From dancing for the NBA to performing in commercials and off-Broadway shows, Sara is forever grateful for her ten years in New York City, especially because it eventually led to her fitness career. After teaching classes all over New York City and training celebrities, her big break was being recruited by Reebok, Int. This led to seven years of working as a Reebok Global Master Trainer, which included traveling all over the world to train other fitness trainers and instructors, doing media appearances, and creating and starring in numerous Reebok & Gaiam DVD workout programs.

Along her fitness journey, Sara became a prenatal and postnatal exercise specialist. Little did she know, she had found her niche. When she became pregnant with her oldest son, Landon, Sara saw a lack in challenging and inspiring workout options for pregnant women. After the birth of her first son, Sara went on to create Sweat UNLIMITED, an equipment free workout that includes 5, 15, 30, & 45-minute workouts for the busy parent or professional.  Her workout DVD brand is called The Daily Sweat®, as Sara believes that everyone should sweat a little (or a lot) each day to get what they want out of life.

During her postnatal recovery from her second son, Sara created her newest DVD, Expecting More®: The 4th Trimester Workout. Whether you had a baby six weeks, six months, or six years ago, the eight different workouts will help you increase your cardio endurance, tone your body, and most of all, focus on healing and strengthening the section of your body that was most affected by pregnancy – your core. This DVD as also received a National Parenting Publication Award.

Though fitness continues to be a big part of Sara’s life, motherhood inspired her to expand beyond fitness and share more of her life journey and struggles, which she features on her blog and hosts webisodes on her YouTube channel. She hopes as she continues to develop this new lifestyle brand, she can help others discover the best ways to stay healthy and happy in the constant pursuit of finding the work/life balance that we all seek to have.

Sara currently resides in Santa Monica, CA, with her husband and two children, enjoying the sunshine and a more carefree quality of life the west coast brings

 

Direct download: Episode34_SaraHaley_TheBusinessofMotherhood.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"See The Humanity In Everyone" Molly Fox

Molly and I have known each other for over 25 years. She has been one of the biggest influences on my career and continues to inspire me.Here are my five favorite takeaways from this week’s conversation with Molly Fox

  1. What sparks your creative juices? Molly talked about the hours we would all spend at her studio collaborating and creating - with no fear of failure or judgment – or competition. Who can you collaborate with to elevate your sense of play and curiosity and explore new and creative ideas?
  2. What would you do if you knew it would not fail? Molly talked about trying and bombing, failing and getting up again. If fear simply represented Face Everything And Rise – what would you start today? Remember you can find useable data in both the hits and the misses.
  3. How would your life change if you dropped the attachment and unhooked yourself from the past? I loved it when Molly said if she had hung out in the emotion of resentment after her club closed, that nobody would have won. Is there something or someone that you are holding resentment towards?  It is quite possible you would soar.
  4. Are there opportunities in front of you that you may be missing because you are focusing on the barriers versus the possibilities? Molly said that for her to do creative and new things that she needed to look for the opportunities.  What would your life reveal to you if you became quiet, got curious and maybe even ask for help if need be?
  5. What excites you? Where do you get your inspiration from? We can only inspire others to the degree we are inspired ourselves. Can you spend 30 minutes this weekend or next week and search for things that inspire you. It may be a book, a museum, something online or a conversation. What can you explore that will light up your curiosity, ignite your inspiration, and fire up your passion.
Direct download: Episode33_MollyFox_Friday5.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Looking At It From What You Don't Have, Will Never Get You What You Want"  Molly Fox

What a treat to talk to my mentor and friend Molly Fox. In this show, we talk all things fitness. From Jane Fonda, LP’s, Leg Warmers and Disco and I go back to my first memory of meeting Molly, when I auditioned to teach for The Molly Fox Studios.

Molly and I discuss the freedom and the creative aspect that was available to us in the early 80’s. How we had the opportunity to create out of the box experiences and share ideas and inspiration without the fear of failure or getting fired. We go back to when Molly was six and her love of scarves and dancing. We talk about the Jane Fonda days and how we both (when I remembered) found our love of aerobics from this era of fitness. Molly shares her memories of San Francisco when in the days of disco and dance, music was a muse to the energy of the class environment.

We move into Molly’s journey to NYC and how she began teaching at The Actors Studio. As her following grew and the classroom became too small to hold the energy of the teacher and students, she opened her own space The Molly Fox Studio. This conversation talks about so many elements of fitness including how “low impact” evolved and all the magic and mystery of those days. We also dive deep and go back to the day she closed her doors and how difficult that was for her and her heart.

Molly and I talk about the many deaths we can have in our lifetime and how we can get ourselves up off our feet and into the world again. The piece of the conversation that I especially love is when we talk about resentment and forgiveness. I love this woman and I hope you love listening to this conversation as much as I enjoyed recording it.

Connect with Molly Online and Social Media

Website

Facebook

Instagram

More About Molly

Molly Fox is a pioneer in the fitness industry. She began her career in 1979 at the Jane Fonda Workout in San Francisco and founded and ran The Molly Fox studios in NYC for the better part of 14 years. Molly then began working with Equinox Fitness Clubs where she still teaches today.

Molly has been teaching Yoga since 1994, her influences being Anusara, Iyengar, Jivamukti, and Ashtanga styles. She offers a dynamic, strong and focused Vinyasa Flow Class and her focus is on improving physical alignment and mobility.

 

Direct download: Episode32_MollyFox_FitnessFriendshipForgivness.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Your Online Profile Is Now Your First Impression" Erin Gargan

  1. Are you serving your online community? Erin discusses the importance of,"Serving not Selling" and whatever your reason for being on social media it is always important to think about how you are coming across on the digital airways. Whether or not you think your online presence is important to your current job situation, it is a well-known fact that employers are now taking people’s social media profiles into account, during the hiring process. So take a few moments to glance over your favorite social media app and look at it from a visitor’s perspective. Would you want to know you?
  2. Is Your Content Shareable? Erin talked about shareability of content and this was a big ah-ha moment for me. If you are using social media to strengthen your brand, notice how many shares your posts are getting versus how many likes. This is a great indicator of how much your content is resonating with your friends, audience and customer base.
  3. How Is Your Heart Connection With Social Media? Erin spoke about the shadow side of social media and I am a big believer of checking in to see how your heart feels when you are online and looking at everyone else’s posts. More importantly, notice if you are managing technology or it is managing you. First thing in the morning are you able to spend time with your family before spending time on Facebook. Last thing at night are you watching everyone else’s life scroll by on your screen or are you actively involved in your own life and creating meaningful moments with your family and loved ones? Set the intention to not be online for the first 30 minutes in the morning and the last 30 minutes at night. It sounds simple but you may be surprised as to how challenging this could be.
  4. How strong are your online relationships? Erin talks about the importance of creating a true connection online before pitching or selling to the person on the other end of your communication. Is there someone you would like to get to know better? Perhaps, someone you would like to have as a mentor, or someone that you admire and respect in your industry? Write down 3 ways that you could help this person and make their day-to-day life a little easier. Learn what they are working on and what their likes are outside of their business world. A little research and a small offer to help and give, instead of an ask and take will go a long way to getting someone’s attention and cultivating new and meaningful relationships.
  5. Are you putting your best foot forward online? Erin talked about the importance of being your best self online. She talked about the importance of a good picture – simple yet so many of us do not have a profile picture that represents the best version of ourselves. Pop back online, look at your current profile picture and make sure that how you are showing up online is a great representation of the best version of the offline you.
Direct download: Episode31_ErinGargan_Friday5.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Be Likable, Credible and Trustworthy" Erin Gargan

I first met Erin Gargan at the 2016 ISPA Convention that took place in Las Vegas. I heard Erin speak and was instantly a fan. A millennial who is crushing online media, Erin shares so many terrific insights around best practices when it comes to social media.

We begin our conversation around the work she does with companies but stay tuned as we pivot the conversation into how we can use social media to deepen our connections and expand our reach even if we work for ourselves. Erin discusses the importance of, "Serving not Selling" and whatever your reason for being on social media she shares the top strategies to think about when considering your online audience.

We discuss the millennial question that went viral a few months ago, and I have included the link to this interview with Simon Sinek below. Erin also talks about the shadow side of social media and the importance of balancing our screen time with face to face time. I love Erin's take on social media and that it is not the posts that we put online that will make the impact, but rather "how shareable" the information and inspiration is that we decide to post.

We end this interview with discussing how to best influence your online dating profile (should you have one) to attract the right types of people to you and into your life. Whether you are dating online, your business is online, or you are online for social media only, you will walk away with tons of new insights as to how to make technology work in your favor.

Connect With Erin Online and Social Media

Website

Socialite Agency

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Mentioned In This Show

The Little Red Book Of Selling by Jeffrey Gitomer

Simon Sinek - The Millenial Question

More About Erin

Erin is the founder of Socialite Agency, an award-winning social media, and sales training agency. Erin is also the author of "Smart Social: Evolving Your Sales Strategy for the Digital Age" available in bookstores September 2017. Her clients include The Oscars, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, ABC/Disney Television, VISA, Nelson Mandela's Legacy of Hope Foundation and others. Erin has been featured in Forbes, BusinessWeek, Business Insider,  iTunes ‘Top Entrepreneurs’ Podcast, and has presented at dozens of conferences nationwide.

The Orange County Business Journal named her one of their top “Women in Business.” The Interactive Media Awards honored her team with “Best Facebook Application.” The Professional Convention Management Association awarded Socialite Agency with "Best Social Campaign 2016." Since 2004, she’s worked in the social media, events, and digital marketing spaces for over 100 brands.

Direct download: Episode_30_With_Erin_Gargan_SocialMedia.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"We Make Our Own Future, We Make Our Own Fate" Tracey Mallett

It was so fantastic to finally catch up with my fellow Brit Tracey Mallett. Even though we had been fitness friends for over two decades, we had never really sat down to discover how very similar our backgrounds were. Here are my five favorite takeaways from this week's conversation with the creator of Booty Barre, Tracey Mallett.

  1. How does social media impact your heart? Are you inspired and motivated or comparing and contrasting?
  1. How is your relationship with your diet and exercise? Are you at peace? Is there something you could change in your day-to-day choices or in the choices you make with the internal conversations you have, that would allow you to be kinder to yourself?
  1. Is there something that you excel at that can fill a gap in the hearts of those around you? Tracey talked about her niche filling a need. Perhaps your next step is already inside of you. What can you bring to the world to leave it a little better than when you entered?
  1. How is your stress level? The world will throw you a pebble a rock and then you run into a brick wall. How do you manage stress? Life is stressful but how do you manage life?
  1. Is there something from your past that you loved to do that you can do more of in the present? It doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does have to be something that you love and that allows you to drop into flow? That sweet spot where time disappears and your worries slide away.

 

Direct download: Episode_29_FridayFive_TraceyMallett.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Work Around The No" Tracey Mallett

I had no idea that Tracey's and my backstory, on how we entered the world to fitness were so similar. After years of auditions in London and both of us becoming tired of the day to day grind, although at different times we both decided to audition for a cruise ship and that is how we came to the United States. It was also through working on the cruise ships at sea that led us to the high seas of fitness.

We talk about how we both were enamored with America and in the back of our minds, even though we didn't know how we were going to get there, we both knew that this was the place we needed to be. Tracey and I share our love of England, and we also talk about the difference in mentality between the English where we are warned not to dream too big and get too big for our own good versus the United States where you are encouraged to dream as big as you can.

Tracey shares the 10,000 hours that led to her “over overnight success” and the resilience it took to stay afloat during the long hours and many days of not knowing if her future was certain as she created Booty Barre. It was when her back was up against the wall and money was tight that she decided to step into the next phase of her business and create her own methodology. She shares the hard, hard, work it took to get to where she is today and that it was her work ethic and working around the no's, that brought her to where she is today. Tracey talks about how the barre work is something that she had been studying since she was 16 and at the Italia Conti School and it made complete sense for her to progress into creating her own methodology.

We discuss her relationship with food and exercise and that it took some ups and downs to come to arrive at a place of peace that she has these days in terms of her fitness and body image. We also talk about social media. Tracey finds it a positive influence for her business and also the negative effects that can happen if we don’t keep our expectations real.

We go back to when Tracey's life was put on hold when she found out that she had a brain tumor that was the size of a golf ball. After seven hours of brain surgery, Tracey thrived and rehabbed quickly. However, the lessons she learned through this process have transformed her life today. She has become a warrior for wellness and insists on not always taking the first answer, especially when it comes to your health. Trust your intuition and listen to your body.

Connect With Tracey Online and Social Media

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Direct download: Episode28WithTraceyMallett.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"Everyone Needs To Hold Their Well-Being Sacred" Lisa Druxman

I first met Lisa over 10 years ago at an IDEA Fitness Conference. When I looked her up recently I was both inspired and thrilled to see how quickly her company had expanded. Lisa brings so much wisdom and heart to all that she does and she is a big believer in keeping it real. Here are my five favorite takeaways from this week's conversation with the founder of Fit 4 Mom Lisa Druxman.

1. What makes you different? What makes you unique? Lisa talked about using her differences to make her stand out and create an impact of good in the world. These are probably some of your biggest gifts in disguise. Is there some part of you that you have been hiding or pushing aside as it makes you feel as though you don’t fit in?

2. What if the very thing that you thought needed to be hidden is the very thing that is going to make you stand out and make a difference?

3. What are your MIT’s? Your Most Important Things? Lisa talked about her MIT’s – Most Important Things. In a world that can often move us into overwhelm and overdrive can you pause to reflect on what is important to you. Can you begin each morning by listing your top three MIT’s? These will be the priority for you and allows you to create a to-do list that short, powerful and in alignment with your values.

4. Can you train Your brain to say "Yes And" to life? Lisa talked about how our brain can be our biggest asset or liability. Which thought is letting you down? What is your brain telling you – an untruth - that is stopping you from stepping into your greatness?


5. Can you partner up with someone who fills your gaps? Lisa talked about the importance of delegating and surrounding ourselves with people who can fill in the gaps. Ideas die in isolation and thrive in collaboration, can you team up with someone who is a great balance to your skillset and work together to get your ideas and dreams out into the world.
How is your checklist?

Did you fuel yourself today?
Did you move today?
Did you “be” today?
Did you reflect today?
Did you give today?

Direct download: Episode_27_FridayFiveWithLisaDruxman.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"The Things That Make You Unique May Be Your Biggest Gifts" Lisa 

In this episode, Lisa shares how she began Stroller Strides during the first few months of being a first-time mom. Finding that she had so many questions and was also in need of a community of like-minded people, she decided to bring together 4 moms to workout and from that small beginning and an unexpected television opportunity, it turned from 4 to 40 participants overnight, and that was just the beginning.

Lisa discovered that she had tapped into a market that was not only needed in California but across the country. With heart and hustle, she quickly turned her one-woman show into a franchise Fit For Mom.

Lisa shares her thoughts on the power of community and how important it is to find your tribe during all stages of motherhood. We talk about the importance of sharing and showing the chaos as well as the good, as it is in struggles that true connection occurs.

During the conversation, we talk about the importance of delegating to others and surrounding yourself with people who can complement out strengths and step in to fill the gaps.We also discuss the balance (is there such a thing) of life and motherhood and Lisa shares strategies on how to create a life that allows you to go with the ebb and flow of the day to day.

Lisa shares her top tips for busy moms and gives advice on how to deal with overwhelm. She also shares her thoughts on the importance of reflecting versus goal setting. She also encourages us to prune what’s in our life so that you can carve out the extra time to do the things you love with the people you love.

More About Lisa

Lisa Druxman is a nationally recognized speaker, author and expert in the field of fitness, and particularly pre/postnatal fitness as the founder of FIT4MOM, the world’s largest wellness company with fitness programs exclusively and thoughtfully designed for moms. As the creator of an empire around healthy motherhood, Druxman is best known for her dedication to raising healthy moms and healthy families.

In 2001, Druxman became a mom and an entrepreneur. She was looking for a way to blend her passion for fitness with motherhood. “I decided to create a workout that I could do with my baby,” she recalls. “I didn’t want to miss a moment of his new life but also knew that I needed to take care of myself.” From there, she created an exercise routine for new moms and realized that other mothers would benefit from working together to restore their well-being.

Druxman now leads a business that brings exercise, companionship, and support to tens of thousands of moms around the country. She started with Stroller Strides® and over the years added Fit4Baby®, Stroller Barre® and Body Back®, now all the classes that make up FIT4MOM, one of the fastest-growing franchise businesses in the country.

With a Master’s degree in Psychology, Druxman has been studying exercise adherence as a certified fitness professional for nearly 25 years. She’s been featured numerous times on The Today Show and has made guest appearances on Montel, CNN, Inside Edition and more. Lisa’s articles and story have been featured in parenting magazines such as Pregnancy, Parenting and Baby Talk; fitness magazines such as Fit Pregnancy, Shape and Self; and business magazines like Entrepreneur and Working Mother.

In her 15th year of successful business, Druxman is inching closer to her mission of positively impacting a million moms – helping them all gain strength in motherhood. In 2017, she will continue to host the Empowered Mama podcast and release her second book.

 

Direct download: Episode_26_Lisa_Druxman.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"When You Commit Something To The Universe, The Universe Will Conspire To Align"

Jen Groover

Jen Groover is a non-stop source of inspiration and motivation, and in this week's conversation, she provided so many solid action steps that anyone at any time can implement into their life. Whether you are a teacher, mother, entrepreneur or have a yearning to put an idea out into the world – here are my Friday Five Favorites that will help you fast track your dreams into reality.

1. What can you say “Yes” to before you know it is going to work? Jen talks about the fact that there are a million ideas out in the world, but it is only the people who put action behind them, that move their dreams into reality. I have heard it said that ideas are worth nothing, and action is everything. What Idea have you been holding onto? What idea can you put action behind to move it out of your head and heart and into the world?
What if it worked?
Why not you?

2. FEAR – Jen talks about playing small to our own potential. Our fear is often the silent force that stops us from taking action. What is one thing you can do today to move your fear into the sidecar of your life? What is one thing you can do today to move your potential and passion into the driver's seat of your life?

3. What Mantra can you create to remind yourself of the powerful human being that you are? Jen’s mantra is “I have more fear of regret than a fear of failure.” My Mantra is "Be Here Now" and "It does not need to be perfect to make a difference."
Write your power phrase down on post-it notes, on index cards and place them wherever you can see them throughout your day. Plant small reminders to help you stay buoyant when those doubt demons trickle into your life.

4. Is there something that is feeling super hard to get accomplished right now? Jen talks about the balance between ideas and timing and the difference between being persistent and consistent. If something feels as though it is too hard to get out into the world it may just be the timing. What would happen if you stopped pushing so much, eased up and allow for it to unfold in its right time?
Do you have an idea journal? Create a space to write down all your ideas so that you can allow yourself to dream, stay inspired and free think. One day the right time will appear for the right idea – be ready –stay inspired – don’t fall asleep

5. What is one thing on your to-do list that seems daunting? – That one thing that you keep moving to the bottom of your list. Jen talks about the process she has in place that allows her to take seemingly difficult tasks and simplify the process. Sit down and break up your monster item into bite sized. Create doable mini steps and complete one each day. As Jen says “stop future tripping” Each night plan the night before for your magnificent tomorrow. That includes organizing your purse, your desk, and your mindset.

Direct download: Episode_25_Jen_Groover_Friday_Five_.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

"We Are Often Playing Small To Our Own Potential" Jen Groover

From her earliest memories of being tied to her chair as a young girl by “Sister Elizabeth” for being too curious, Jen Groover she knew she was intrigued by conversation and networking.

In college, Jen studied education and psychology. During that time she expanded and shifted her approach to creativity and begun to apply it to her work. It just so happened that Jen's first business venture was in the world of fitness. Jen had experienced the high that comes from teaching (after facing her fears of no-one showing up for her first class) and realized that she wanted to experience the energy and high of creating something new and partnered with an existing company to open a gym space.  But that was just the beginning. During this part of our conversation, we also revisit the hey day of fitness and step aerobics. It so happened Gin Miller and myself were the videos she was using for inspiration. I love that this has now come full circle and Jen is one of my mentors and reminds me how to show up fully in the world every day.

Jen shares marvelous advice on how to get out of your head and into the world. How to face your fears, value your own ideas and take big action steps to put your dreams in motion. We discussed "fear" and how Jen now has more fear of regret, than fear of failure and I too am the same way. We also talk about the glass ceiling often being our own belief system. Jen talks about creativity assets are dropping out of the sky every day, but it is not until we take action that those assets can be turned into as many verticals and companies as you have time for.

I ask Jen about where it is that she finds her inspiration. It was interesting to hear Jen talk about Reebok being one of the companies that she looked at to learn how to create, execute and repeat. It was then at QVC she discovered the importance of telling stories that would sell into people’s desires. It was here that she learnt the art of pitching and positioning for other brands, she then put that education behind her own company. Jen is also an expert at partnering with strong people around her to move great ideas faster and more efficiently.

Take a listen and be inspired. There are so many nuggets of wisdom that can be applied into your life, whatever you are doing and whatever your dreams. If you live in NYC or Philadelphia click here to find out more about the upcoming Jump Start Pop Up events:

Connect With Jen Online and In Social Media

Website

Facebook

Twitter

More About Jen

Jen Groover has been tagged by SUCCESS MAGAZINE as a “One-Woman Brand,” a “Creativity and Innovation Guru” and a leading “Serial Entrepreneur” by Entrepreneur Magazine and ranked #8 by SAP in the Top 51 Influencers of Human Potential. Jen Groover’s name has become synonymous with innovation, entrepreneurship and transformation. She was recently nominated as a UN delegate to the first ever Global Accelerator for the Global Entrepreneurs Council.

She also made history at the NYSE, as a member of the first all-female group to ring the opening bell and made Forbes’ list of “50 Founders You Need to Follow on Twitter.” Jen’s energy and multi-faceted, diverse wisdom make her a highly sought after international speaker for Fortune 500 companies to top Universities, Non-Profits, Chamber of Commerces, Business Conferences, and more on topics ranging from business to leadership, empowerment to emotional intelligence to healthy living, and enhancing productivity. Her influence and leadership has aligned her with amazing brands, such as Avon, Independence Blue Cross, Verizon, USANA Health Sciences and SkyMall, for which Jen has had various roles as a spokeswoman and consultant for brand development and leadership training.

Her success skyrocketed with the creation of the Butler Bag, the world’s first compartmentalized handbag, that became a multi-million dollar brand, and has not stopped since. Jen springboarded the Butler Bag’s success into an entire lifestyle brand, found at a variety of price points and well-known retailers, which is led to the creation of subsequent lifestyle brands, Leader Girlz, and Empowered by Jen Groover.

Jen has been a top business and lifestyle contributor and content creator for major television networks such as ABC, CBS, CNBC, NBC, MSNBC, Fox News, Fox Business News, and the The CW. Jen also contributes editorial pieces to several prominent business magazines and online resources including The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur Magazine, Inc Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Positively Positive, The Daily Love, and HealthyStyle NY. Her products, brand, and work have been featured in hundreds of media outlets including O! The Oprah Magazine, Redbook, People, US Weekly, SUCCESS and Forbes.

Jen continues to strive toward her ultimate goal, which is to innovate in every industry she is inspired to play in, while empowering others to achieve their goals. Jen is more than a multifaceted, multitalented individual - she is, undoubtedly, a force to be reckoned with. Jen believes in active participation and lives by the belief that “if you are going to complain about something you better be willing to inspire change.”

 

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

 "You Have To Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone To Get To The Next Level"                                     

1. Cathe talks about her love of learning and always staying curious. She is constantly is learning and evolving, which allows her to stay relevant and always on the forefront of fitness. Is there something you have put on the back burner that you have wanted to explore? Perhaps go online to see if there is an introductory class or video you can watch to learn more and see if it is something you would carve out time for.

 

2. Cathe talks about the importance of partnering with people who complement the strengths you already have. This way you can work together to expand the reach and impact of your message. Is there someone in your circle who you could partner up with to help move your passion and projects out into the world? If you are creative team up with someone who is great at project management if you are fantastic at execution but are not an “idea” person – partner up with a creative who needs your help organizing their ideas. Ideas die in isolation and thrive in collaboration

 

3. Cathe talks about the importance of integrity and always doing the right thing. I do believe that integrity is black or white. You either have it or you don’t and once you lose it you can never get it back. Today check in with your heart and make sure all your actions, the big and the small, are in alignment with your highest values.

 

4. Cathe talks about the courage and skillset needed to step out of our comfort zone and stretch our courage. Is there something you can do today to expand your courage zone? Is there something that you could do today to take one small step forward towards your dreams? Just a small step, one action, that you can do today to allow yourself to feel what it is like to say “Yes” to your dreams.

 

5. Cathe talked about when she feels as though she is coming undone that she knows it is time to move into radical self-care.

When you feel stressed or overwhelmed what do you do to nurture yourself and refill your energy tank of goodness? Is there something you can take off your plate this week to create a little more space for self-reflection and self-care?

 

Direct download: Episode_23_Friday_Five_with_Cathe_Friedrich.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

 

When You Give Goodness, Goodness Comes Back” Cathe Friedrich

What a treat to finally get time to sit down and connect with the incredible Cathe Friedrich. I have been a fan of Cathe’s for as long as I can remember, but it was about 5 years ago that we connected in person for the first time.

 

We dive right in and talk about how from the very first fitness class she took, she knew this was her calling. From the music to the moves, Cathe connected with her passion and found her sense of purpose on that fateful day.

 

We talk about the early days of the CIA Instructor VHS series with Greg Twombly, and how after ordering and watching her first video, Cathe had the courage to call Greg to see what it would take to be in a video. From that conversation her on camera career began.

 

In the early days of her career Cathe commuted daily from New Jersey to NYC to practice her craft and build her resume. It was here, at a Boutique Studio over Carnegie Hall that she discovered the gift of creative movement and developed some of her first bench workouts before any of us had heard about “step aerobics”

 

It was so fantastic to hear how she did her 10,000 hours of practice and study to develop her own unique style and brand of fitness. From the start she incorporated HIT, Strength and Cardio training - decades before it was cool to do so.

 

Step n Motion One was the first video that Cathe filmed under her own name. With just a VHS player, her videos and a small booth space she took a leap of faith and went to World IDEA. From three people to ten people watching her class, to selling out of her inventory, it was at this moment that she knew she was onto something special and her rise to stardom began.

 

We discuss the balance between the ever evolving use of technology and how it compares to the heart to heart connection in a studio setting. Cathe talks about the importance of connecting with her community and how much she cherishes her fitness family of Cathletes.

 

We wrap the interview with a conversation on balance and her thoughts on how to manage your time and do the best that you can.

 

Connect With Cathe Online and in Social Media

 

Website

 

Facebook

 

Twitter

 

Instagram

 

More About Cathe

 

Cathe Friedrich is a long time certified fitness professional, entrepreneur, gym owner and leading innovator in the home exercise video industry. Very early in her fitness career, Cathe recognized the need to provide a simple, flexible, affordable and motivating way for individuals to exercise and stay fit. In 1988 she founded Step N Motion Videos, and in 1989 created and released one of the first step aerobics videos on the market. More than thirty years later, Cathe continues to produce fun, intense, and challenging workouts for all body types and fitness levels.

Cathe is the founder of Cathe dot Com, one of the largest and most-visited fitness websites. Cathe has created and produced over 300 advanced fitness videos and over 120 livestream workouts. Her award-winning workouts have been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News, Shape, Oxygen and Self, to name a few. Cathe continues to stay cutting edge through her CatheLive streaming channel, On Demand offerings and mobile video app. Cathe prides herself on staying true to three guiding principles: professionalism, passion, and quality. Her dedication to her craft and to the fitness industry led to her induction into the Fitness Hall of Fame in 2011.

Today, Cathe continues to teach fitness classes at her gym, Four Seasons Fitness, in Glassboro, NJ. Cathe utilizes her brand and social media platforms to continue to share her message of healthy living directly with her fans, known as “Cathletes.” Cathe hosts yearly fitness events in major cities such as New York, Chicago, San Diego as well as in her own fitness facility. At these events, fitness enthusiasts come together to share their love of health, wellness and exercise.

Since 1986, Cathe has been certified through the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Additional specialty fitness certifications include: Indoor Cycling, Body Pump, Body Flow, Kickboxing, Boxing, Silver Sneakers, Prenatal Fitness, Resist-A-Ball, Yoga Fit, Barre and more.

Cathe is the proud mother of two boys, Eric and Kyle.

 

 

Direct download: Episode_22_Cathe_Friedrich_Step__Strength_and_Heart__Hustle.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

 

"Live Your Life So That It Is Not A Once Upon A Time Story, But Is A Time That Happened Once" Jon Giswold

 

Jon and I go back over 30 years and he is truly one in a million. He was my idol when I first began teaching, became my mentor for several years and now is my best friend who lives two blocks away from me in NYC. Jon shared so much wisdom this week on the importance of kindness and empathy along with many other nuggets. Here are my five favorite takeaways from this week’s conversation with fitness and lifestyle expert Jon Giswold.

 

1. Can you put your phone away for 15 minutes and create one more face-to-face moment? Jon Talked about the importance of kindness and about moving from behind our screens and out into the real world and bringing compassion and empathy with us.

Be it a smile to a stranger, a hug for a friend or opening a door for someone behind you. Can you get out into the world and carry out a random act of kindness today?

 

2. Are you able to listen more actively today? Jon talks about the skillset of being a listener. Listening is not a passive act and skilled listening requires us to remove any expectations from how a conversation is going to work out. Can you be a conversation without waiting for, and already writing the script for, what the other person is going to say?

Today I invite you to listen without trying to fix anything. Simply hold a safe and compassionate space for the person in front of you.

 

3. Is there something you can do today to increase you level of passion and curiosity? Jon talks about keeping the passion and curiosity in life and the importance always remaining the student. When is the last time you did something for the first time?

 

4. Can you diversify your skills in someway? Jon talked about the importance of diversification within the industry he is in which is fitness. Is there one thing you can do to share your work and your message in a different way than you are now? For me recently it was this podcast. What is one thing you can do expand your reach so that your wisdom and knowledge can extend to more people?

 

5. Can you let your magic shine? Jon talked about the time when his nephew asked him “what does it like to be magic” YOU are magical, and by owning your own story you allow yourself to sprinkle your magic on others. Can you let a little more of yourself out into the world today? Can you shine your light a light brighter and then spread your light so you can illuminate the life of those around you?

 

 

Direct download: Episode_21_Friday_Five_With_Jon_Giswold.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

 

Don't Be One In a Million, Be One In a Lifetime” Jon Giswold

What a treat to sit down with fitness expert and my dearest friend Jon Giswold. I have known Jon for almost as long as I have been teaching. We reminisce about how we first met at the New Yorks Sports Club when I took one of my first step workshops in NYC over 25 years ago. I have learned so much from Jon over the years, and he shares so many beautiful words of wisdom in this episode.

Jon discusses his backstory of the fashion world and how he rose through the ranks and entered the high fashion market, which eventually led to him starting his own label. He candidly shares his spiral downwards into the world of disco and drugs and how it took him seeing himself in a mirror, after almost taking his own life that finally enabled him to get the help he desperately needed. It was a few days later he met the one and only Molly Fox and through their meeting and her kindness that Jon moved from fashion and into fitness and never looked back.

Jon talks about becoming a Chaplin and finding his purpose in being an empathetic listener. He shares how he has learned the skill of holding a safe space for those around him. Jon talks about the importance of creating an environment where everyone can fit in. He does this daily by living his life in the present moment and sharing his undivided presence with those around him.

 

More About Jon

Fitness and lifestyle expert Jon Giswold, has been a leader in the fitness industry for over two decades. A best-selling author, fitness consultant and international master instructor/trainer, Jon has traveled the world pioneering new ideas and techniques, bringing these exciting group experiences to the masses. His experience has led him to become one of New York’s best personal fitness coaches and one of the New York’s most sought after gym consultants/designers.  His company JMG Management has outfitted luxury fitness amenities for some of the most prestigious real estate and urban development companies in New York City.  These include The Brodsky Organization, The Claret Group, Field Real Estate and more. Jon has developed programs for leading fitness companies Nautilus, Schwinn, BodyWedge 21 and Les Mills of New Zealand. His DVD programs are currently available on the PumpOne Fitness Builder App, offering subscribers a variety of his original signature classes for the iPad and iPhone.

Jon’s previous career in fashion has led him into the field of interiors with a concise collection of handmade blankets and throws under his own label, MADE BY HAND by Jon Giswold.  These modern heirlooms are part of a growing trend toward old world craft but with a modern aesthetic.
On a personal note, Jon has been on a personal quest for truth and awareness through training as a Prayer Chaplain and attending The School of Practical Philosophy in New York City.

 

Direct download: Episode_20_Jon_Giswold_on_Fashion_Fitness_and_Kindness.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

 

We are all born to be enormous, vibrant and illuminated” Melanie Smith

It was so lovely to sit down with my dear friend Melanie Smith. Through her work as an award-winning actress, as the creator and owner of the award- winning yoga studio Yogaphoria, and as her work a coach who specializes in grief loss and recovery, she brought so much wisdom and humor to the conversation. Here are my five favorite takeaways and self-reflections from this week’s conversation with Melanie Smith.

 

1. What would happen if you approached everything with a beginner's

mind, with the idea that is impossible to fail, simply because you tried? Melanie spoke about not being afraid to fail, that she approached life as though she knew nothing and so was not afraid to try and begin learning something. Is there something you have wanted to try but were afraid to, in case you failed?

 

2. Is there an area of your life where you could close the gap? Melanie told us that she “coaches to the gap” She is not afraid to look at the areas in her life that need to be filled in, strengthened or explored to close the gap between the life she is living and the life that she desires.  Is there something you can begin doing to close the gap? Maybe it is doing some research, reading a book on the topic, or asking for help.

 

3. Can you begin to sit with the feelings that you often want to push away? Melanie admits that she too feels fear and anxiety at certain times in her life, but shared that she does not hook a story to the feelings. This was a big light bulb moment for me. Can you begin to make friends with both the positive and negative emotions of life, and avoid attaching a story to them? Can you learn to be a witness to your emotions, and allow them to flow in and out of your day, without ruminating on the negative feelings or diving down the rabbit hole of "would, could and should."

 

4. Which stories are you running in your mind over and over? The one's that are directing the way your life unfolds? Melanie kept coming back to the power of storytelling. She told us that if your life is not working, then your stories are not working. Is there a story that is serving you well? Is there a story that is holding you back? Can you focus on the stories that support your life and release the ones that derail you.

 

5. Can you begin to pay closer attention to what your instincts are whispering to you? Melanie spoke about our instincts and reminded us to pay attention to them as they are often winning moments in our life. I say that our instincts are never wrong we sometimes just choose not to listen to them. Can you think back to a time when you listened to your instincts, and to a time when you ignored them? Then reflect on the different outcomes.

 

 

Direct download: Episode_19_Friday_5_With_Melanie_Smith.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Episode 18: Melanie Smith On Love, Loss, Growth & Shrinkage

 

I approach life as though I don’t know anything, and so let’s start learning something” Melanie Smith

 

This episode was recorded at Melanie’s NYC apartment. Please enjoy the ambient sound of the Big Apple.

Melanie Smith is one of my dearest friends and this episode begins with us sharing how we remember first meeting. It was at Kripalu during our yearlong studies in Positive Psychology with Tal Ben-Shahar Ph.D. Of course, we both have different memories, and this led perfectly into a conversation around the power of stories.

Melanie has a rich and fantastic past, and we touch on just a few of her careers. From being a Playboy Bunny to playing Jerry’s girlfriend on Seinfeld, to opening her world renowned yoga studio in New Hope, PA – Yogaphoria. Throughout the interview, Melanie shares all the different hats that she tried on before landing the work and career that was the perfect fit.

I find Melanie one of the smartest and soulful people I know. We talk about how our surroundings will influence our trajectory in life and how sometimes when we look back, it seems like just one small choice after another, shifts and shapes our life. We talk about being fearless, having tenacity, and developing courage so that we can create a life that we are proud of.

Melanie shares the crazy and surreal group of strange coincidences that took her from Scranton to Stardom and gives us the backstory of how she landed the role of Emily in As The World Turns. She also shares how she was cast in the role of Jerry’s Girlfriend on Seinfeld, and how this episode helped her opening of her Yoga studio, Yogaphoria.

Melanie believes that everyone is heartbroken and she shares how the loss of her mother to cancer and the sudden death of her sister created the gateway for her transition into a coach who specializes in grief, loss, and recovery.

Towards the end of our conversation, Melanie dives into the power of stories and shares how she decides what is true and what is a story. She encourages us all to change, re-script and re-frame our negative stories to allow the magic that is waiting for all of us to appear.

More About Melanie

Melanie Smith is a nationally renowned teacher and coach, award winning actress and spiritual entrepreneur. She has not only spent many years coaching, speaking and presenting to thousands, but she has also graduated well over 1,000 teachers from her educational programs.

She works with mission driven, inspired people on a daily basis; Helping them to transform their lives and businesses, moving them into the most realized and abundant experience of life.

Melanie is trained in many forms of coaching, entrepreneurship, health and wellness, the Chakra system and Bio-energetics, Archetypes, behavioral finance, grief and loss recovery.  She was a founding fellow of Harvard University’s institute of coaching and is an ICF Professional Certified Coach and an ICA Master Coach.

Melanie was the founder and director of one of the countries most respected yoga and wellness centers and has been the face of many international wellness brands. She has written for several national magazines and has been at the center of some of Television’s most memorable and funniest moments.

She is also the proud mom of her greatest acheivement…her son Gideon Moses

 

Direct download: Episode_18_Melanie_Smith_On_Love_Loss_Growth__Shrinkage.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Episode 17: Friday Five With Jeremy Newman

 

With every word I speak I have a responsibility” Jeremy Newman

 

What a conversation I had with Jeremy Newman. I left that interview inspired, grateful and with a new determination to appreciate the good in every moment. Here are my five favorite takeaways and self-reflections from this week’s conversation with inspirational speaker, gratitude seeker and champion for possibility Jeremy Newman

 

1. Jeremy spoke about the responsibility that comes with what we say. One of my favorite books is the Four Agreements, and one of the agreements is to be impeccable with your word. How well do you tend to the words you use on a daily basis?

 

2. I loved it when Jeremy said, “Speak into existence what you want in your life.” What is something you desire? What is something that you want to do in this lifetime? Can you act and speak as if it has already happened and then embody the feeling of what it would feel like to accomplish your dreams. Act as if it has already happened and now go and do the work to make that dream a reality. Envision, Embody and Execute

 

3. Jeremy shared how he chooses not to consume negative media. Can you manage your media intake? Choose which resources you want to utilize to stay up to date on what is important to you. Stay educated without allowing any negativity to penetrate your inner world.

 

4. Jeremy spoke about what keeps him going. How by being of service to others he almost feels selfish as he gets so much back in return. What keeps you going? Who or what do you lean on in those moments of uncertainty?

 

5. I cannot count the number of times Jeremy mentioned his gratitude for his life, his mother, and even hitting the ground at 100 miles an hour. Jeremy does not just talk about gratitude he embodies the word, the action and the emotion. Today and everyday, I invite you to keep coming back to an attitude of gratitude. Seek out all that is working in your favor and trust that the Universe has your back

 

 

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

Episode 16: Jeremy Newman: How Death Saved His Life

 

Speak Into Existence, What You Want In Your Life” Jeremy Newman

Probably one of the most joyous and grateful people I know. Let Jeremy lift you up and remind you of the extra-ordinary in the most ordinary of days. From being a Hollywood personal trainer to being in a wheelchair, you will be both inspired and uplifted by his story.

We begin by going back to when we knew each other 25 years ago at the very first Equinox Club on the Upper West Side in NYC. We had lost touch for about 15 years when Jeremy popped onto my Facebook news feed but this time he was in a wheelchair.

While Jeremy believes there are no accidents, the fact he was living on all cylinders in his life created the perfect storm for the “accident” to occur.

Jeremy was a self-proclaimed rebel and even 56 days in jail did not change his mindset as he continued to live life on an adrenaline high. He shares his entry into skydiving and what happened on the day he decided to collapse the outside of his chute and why he chose not to pull his reserve causing him to hit the ground at over 100 miles an hour.

Jeremy died that day and when he came back to life he then had to undergo 13 hours of surgery. Jeremy was in a coma for a month and the story he shares about his journey to regain his memory and his life back is one of the most remarkable conversations I have ever had. He talks about his wake up call that occurred during a conversation with his mom Liz, and how when he changed his mind and his attitude, he changed his life.

There are so many fantastic stories in this show, along with Jeremy’s words of wisdom and life lessons. I invite you to turn off all distractions, pour a cup of tea and enjoy.

 

More About Jeremy

Many who have experienced serious accidents speak of their lives as if they had occurred in two parts: the before and after. As a personal trainer, gymnast, marathon runner, and skydiver, Jeremy lived his “previous life” with reckless abandon, his first love always being the thrill of a challenge. Unfortunately, no challenge would prove greater than on May 24, 1997, when he hit the ground skydiving at 100 miles an hour and it left him paralyzed from the waist down. In his competitive fervor, he brought himself to the brink of death, for which he takes full responsibility. Jeremy’s life experience since then has become a mission to inspire others, especially when dealing with the seemingly impossible.

As an avid skydiver, he was well trained, experienced, and fiercely competitive. On that fateful day, in an attempt to race a fellow skydiver to the ground, he purposely closed the end cells of his parachute, which naturally collapsed the entire canopy. He plummeted to the ground from 1,200 feet. With multiple life-threatening injuries, he slipped in and out of a drug-induced coma for over a month. As doctors made grim predictions that he would never breathe on his own, speak, or walk again, his family and friends prepared for what seemed like the inevitable – that is, everyone but Jeremy’s mother, Lynn.

Into the second month of hospitalization, he experienced a spiritual and emotional epiphany, which Jeremy attributes to his mother who visited every day. Unbelievably, he began to regain his mental and physical abilities. Doctors described his recuperation as nothing short of miraculous. He was released in 2-1/2 months and immediately returned to his clientele as a personal trainer.

The damage to his body did not prevent him from returning to competitive sports either. With borrowed racing equipment, he began competing as a wheelchair athlete in the 1998 Los Angeles Marathon. Since that time, Jeremy has competed in dozens of marathons, triathlons, and countless duathlons, 5K and 10K races. In Colorado, he relearned downhill skiing as a disabled skier. June 7, 1999 (two years and two months from the day he “hit the ground”) marked the successful completion of his participation in the 56-day, 3,600-mile Transcontinental Triathlon from Santa Barbara, California, to New York City. As one of only two wheelchair triathletes on the US National Team, he has participated in 7 World Championships. In 2004 Jeremy won the silver medal at the World Triathlon Championships in Portugal.

Jeremy has come to cherish life and recognize things he used to take for granted, such as simply taking a breath on his own. Every morning when he wakes up he says, “Thank you!”

In addition to his return to competitive sports and personal training, in 2007 he became one of the founders of Team Beachbody. Beachbody is the maker of P90X, Insanity, Shakeology and more. Jeremy is also drawn to share his life experiences as a professional speaker at corporate events, schools, and other venues where he has the opportunity to encourage and inspire the audience, whether children or adults.

Jeremy’s desire through his speaking engagements is to demonstrate how we can transform a seemingly tragic moment in our lives and create something powerful from it.

 

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

Episode 15: Friday Five With Greg Sellar

 

Don’t Wait! Do Amazing Things Now” Greg Sellar

I love the fact that through technology I could have this week's conversation with Greg Sellar. He was in Australia, and it was a Tuesday morning - while I was here in NYC on a Monday night.

Both Greg and I have a passion for Neuroscience and Positive Psychology and practically geeked out – yes I said geeked out for a couple of hours the last time we saw each other in person and discovered we both has this mutual love of learning on these topics. Here are my five favorite takeaways and self-reflections from this week’s conversation with fitness expert and status quo hacker – Greg Sellar

1. What Is Your Big Word? Greg talked about the work he did with Matt Church and the idea of your big word – for now, mine is happiness, while Greg's was performance. What is your big word? A word that is a through line for how you want to live your life, contribute to the world and move forward this year?

2. What is one thing that you can turn your attention to hack into a happier and more productive you? Greg talked about the idea of Hacking Your Life to move forward with purpose and passion. What is something that you need to hack? Is it your mindset, your time management, your fitness program?

3. What is something that you excel in that you could spread out into other parts of your life to increase your level of joy? We sometimes get stuck in a life that is no longer in alignment with our values. Greg talked about your intellectual property your IP. What are some things that you bring to your daily life, your strengths and assets that could carry over into another job? Can you use this skill to strengthen your relationships or even improve your inner dialog and self-care?

4. Do You Have a Fixed or Growth mindset? Greg mentioned the work of Carol Dweck, and we both agreed that even when you think you have it dialed in, that smaller fixed mindset can creep into the driver's seat of life, especially when we are not paying attention. Take a moment and pause and ask yourself "Am I focusing on the possibilities of life or on all of the challenges?" Don't judge the answer – simply notice. If the answer is not the one you want – take a deep slow inhale, and a deep slow exhale then softly say, "For this moment I am grateful" – then rinse lather and repeat.

5. Where Are You Coasting? Greg talked about burning the Status Quo. I love that phrase, Burn the Status Quo. Is there an area of your life that you have not tended to, been coasting in or even neglected recently? What is one thing you can do to burn up the status quo in your day to day activities and use that fire fuel that to give you traction and forward momentum towards your goals and dreams?

 

 

Direct download: Episode_15_Friday_Five_With_Greg_Sellar.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Episode 14: Hacking The Status Quo With Greg Sellar

 

Look For The Song Beneath The Words” Greg Sellar

 

I love this conversation with Greg Sellar, as recently we both have taken the deep dive into Positive Psychology and Neuroscience. He teaches everything that I believe in, and I am excited to share the path that Greg is taking with you today. Greg shares how he began his fitness career by following his sister out of the gym at his local Football Club (think Soccer) and into the aerobics studio next door. He was bored by the old school hydraulic equipment and was drawn in by the disco tunes of Sylvester playing next door.

We both reminisce about the amazing presenters that came out of Australia. Lexie Williams, Cathy Spencer and Rebecca Small to name a few. It was the incredible Marcus Irwin, who to this day I think is one of the top 5 fitness presenters ever, who encouraged Greg to move to the UK to expand his career.

We discuss how often we pigeonhole ourselves into one career and sometimes cannot see beyond what we are currently doing. Greg talks about how the skills that we now apply to one area of our life, can move into many other areas of the world, but first, we have to define what our message is.

Greg openly shares the struggles he had when he moved back to Australia after seventeen years away. We talk about the dangers of playing the comparison game, how sometimes it is necessary to say yes before you are ready, the power of asking for help and how to hack your status quo.

Connect With Greg Online and In Social Media

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

More About Greg

Greg's not sure what happened when he turned 40. It wasn't a mid-life crisis because there was no crisis, he just thought, "enough". He'd had enough knowing that the upcoming year was going to be a carbon copy of the last. He knew his life was good, but he wanted phenomenal. If the next 40 years were going to be different, his cage needed some serious rattling.

Everyone accused him of always sitting on the fence. He had thoughts – good, bad and ugly – but kept them to himself at the risk of rocking the boat, being confrontational, or god forbid, disliked. He ended up doing stuff he didn’t like, with people he tolerated for money, and usually less money than he deserved.

He worked for other people despite the word ‘boss’ never resonating, never imagining someone else ruling his time and effort. He was happy to work with people, but working for them left him feeling bigger stages awaited. The idea of a commute, offices, and rules seemed to be written for people who were happy to accept them. That's not him.

Greg worked in the health and fitness industry for over 25 years, presenting to more than half a million people in 55 countries on behalf of companies and sponsors including Nike. Regardless of his achievements, he had recurring questions about what life was going to be like for him at 50, or even 60 and beyond. Would he be doing the same thing, and if not, what would his future look like?

In the spirit of "enough", he hacked his status quo. He literally turned his life upside down. After moving back to Sydney following 17 years in London, Greg studied coaching, leadership and mentoring, focusing on neuroscience, positive psychology and NLP. He took everything he had learned from his work, travels and the extraordinary people he'd met and decided to act.

His speaking, workshops, coaching and products are the result. No more saying yes to please others, no more beating around the bush, and definitely no more under-valuing his experience. He’s truth telling as he understands it – compulsively, immediately and repeatedly.

 

Direct download: Episode_14_Hacking_The_Status_Quo_With_Greg_Sellar.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Episode 13: Friday Five With Lisa Condie

This week Lisa whisked us all away to Italy to help us remember the important things in life, slowing down, nurturing and strengthening relationships and listening to our intuition. Here are my five favorite takeaways from this week’s conversation with the author of I found myself in Tuscany, Lisa Condie

  1. Lisa talks about the importance of travel and how sometimes when we get lost we can find our self in the process. Is there a day trip you have been meaning to take, a museum that you have been longing to visit or maybe a restaurant that serves a cuisine you have yet to taste? In the next few days can you step out of the familiar and explore a new town, a new restaurant a new culture?                                                               
  2. Lisa spoke about putting her dream out into the world. Is there a dream that has become a yearning in your life?                                                
    1. Can you share your dream with three people you trust?
    2. Is there one action step you can take to move yourself closer to making your dream a reality?
    3. What do you need to learn or whom do you need to ask for help to move closer to your dream?
    4. Sign up for the lesson, reach out to that person and begin to ask for help                                                                                         
  3. Lisa spoke about how the Italians cultivate their relationships with face-to-face time versus face time. How they nurture their friendships and relationships and take the time to build trust over coffee and a handshake versus contracts and a computer. Is there a relationship in your life that you could tend to? Be it with family, friends or business partners. What is something you can do over the next few days to cultivate and strengthen that partnership?                                              
  4. Lisa revealed that it was not until recently that she had become her best friend. How is your relationship with your inner self? Can you have a date night? Take yourself out to dinner or a movie? Turn off the TV and take a bath and read. Shut off the noise, get quiet, and begin to tune into what you and your heart need.
  5. Lisa mentioned that she recently learned to slow down and hear her soul speak? Whether you call it your intuition, a sign or just a feeling? When is the last time you slowed down, sat still long enough to hear your soul speak?  If your soul were to speak to you what would be the first thing he or she would say?

Direct download: Episode_13_Friday_Five_With_Lisa_Condie.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Episode 12: Lisa Condie: Getting Lost To Find Yourself

“When I Could Forgive Myself, I Could Forgive Other People” Lisa Condie

Lisa was one of the first people to ever hire me to come and present a workshop at her facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. To this day I am grateful for her belief in my work before I had ever appeared in a VHS or DVD. It was wonderful to sit with Lisa after all these years, and catch up with her and learn about the journey that took her from Utah to Italy.

Lisa shares all her experiences and life lessons in her new book, I Found Myself In Tuscany. 

Lisa shares how after a break-up she went to Italy for a vacation with her daughter, and it was in a split second as she was returning to the United States and decided she would be back – but next time not as a tourist. She went home and sold everything, and with just two suitcases she made her way back to learn the language, learn the traditions and learn who she was. Lisa shares how she managed to strengthen her courage and learn to live without a safety net and fell in love with her life.

Lisa got lost in Italy and found herself.

Lisa shares so many wonderful stories including how she almost became part of a movie while simply trying to find her favorite gelato.

We talk about courage, and Lisa talks about how she reframes courage into, “soul speak” and discusses how she learned how to slow down, get quiet enough to hear her soul whisper to her.

Lisa explains how it was a moment at a coffee shop in Rome when her soul spoke for the first time. "You need to come back to Italy" it whispered.  A year later in Cortona, her soul spoke up again and said that she needed to return, but this time share her experiences with other women who had a longing to find passion and purpose in their lives.

Lisa loves being able to share the magic of Italy with other like-minded women. In this episode, Lisa shares the backstory of what it took to go from dreaming about creating a travel experience for women to turning her dream into reality.

On August 4th, 2014 here life changed as she kicked off the 4th hour of the Today show with Kathy Lee and Hoda. Overnight her small tours became a well-known brand, and her entire life changed once again. Lisa shares how important it was to begin to manage her time, and as with many of my guests, she reveals her morning rituals that enable her to be the best that she can be.

As we wrap up the conversation, we discuss signs and winks from the Universe. I believe signs show up when we seek the good things in life. Appreciate the good and the good will appreciate.

Connect With Lisa Online and in Social Media

Find Yourself In Tuscany Tours

Facebook

Twitter

 

More About Lisa

Lisa is a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, now living in Florence, Italy. While raising two children, she enjoyed a career in the fitness industry that spanned 32 years. In August of 2012, she sold her home and most of what was in it, left her business, retired her aerobic shoes, said goodbye to friends and family and headed for Tuscany.

Lisa owns Find Yourself In Tuscany, a luxury tour company, and is the author of I Found Myself In Tuscany, a memoir of her first three years in Italy.

Featured on the Today Show, Lisa was named one of Huffington Post’s ’50 Over 50′, a risk taker who had changed her life for the better. Lisa welcomes groups of women to Tuscany, serves as a travel expert and consultant. Daily and richly, Lisa lives a life that is beyond her wildest dreams! She is a seeker of joy and a believer in serendipity.

Direct download: Episode_12_Lisa_Condie_Getting_Lost_To_Find_Yourself.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT

Episode 11: Friday 5 With Kathy Smith

I was a fan of Kathy Smith for at least a decade before I met her in person and when we did meet face to face, she was everything I had hoped for in a fitness icon and more.

I have watched how she constantly evolves and continues to stay relevant in the fitness industry, and she continues to carve her unique path on her journey - as she inspires people all over the world to engage in a healthier lifestyle. Here are my five favorite takeaways from this week's conversation with one of the pioneers of health and fitness – Kathy Smith

  1. Are You Mindful or Is Your Mind full? Kathy talked about the shift in her daughter’s mindset that moved her from being a runner to a competitor in the Olympics, one of the big changes was mindfulness. What is one thing you can do to become less distracted and more fully engaged in the present moment? Is it minding your technology, perhaps it is dropping the idea of multi-tasking and attending to one thing at a time – or maybe it is pausing now and then and asking yourself "Am I fully awake?"
  1. How would your morning change if you spent a few minutes meditating? Kathy talks about how she incorporates meditation into her morning ritual and how it helps her prepare for her day. How would your morning change if you spent a few minutes meditating? One to Five minutes – start there. It could be as simple as fully paying attention to your breath and following it as it enters and leaves your body.
  1. Is there something you have wanted to explore and learn but have yet to take the next steps? Kathy talked about how she loves to learn and is a constant student of life. I often say we can only inspire others to the degree that we are inspired ourselves. Over the next few days carve out some time and research what courses and resources are available to you. Whether it is photography, writing, baking or learning a new language – pretty much everything is available to you - and is all at the touch of your fingertips. If you are like me and already spend a lot of time behind a computer go a step further and see if there are any live or in person classes that you can attend,
  1.  When your inner judge Judy rears her ugly head - is there something you do to soften her voice? I laughed when Kathy talked about our itty-bitty- shitty committee and please tell me you have one too? Is there a mantra that you repeat or an action step you do to stop those negative voices – the voices that rarely do anything to help us. My mantra is Be Here Now – as when I am in the present moment my inner Judge Judy has no power.
  1. Kathy talked a lot about gratitude, and I am so happy to hear more and more thought leaders discussing this important tool that we all have – just one breath or thought away. Right now, stop, place your hand over your heart say one thing that you are grateful for. Now let that feeling wash over you. Perhaps you can also use gratitude as an additional resource to quiet your itty- bitty- shitty committee - as gratitude and judgment cannot exist in the same space

This weekend I invite you to pick one or two of my Friday Fives from Kathy Smith and don't stop at the end of this podcast but begin to put the inspiration found in Kathy's words into action steps in your own life. That is what I want to happen with this podcast – to give you inspirational conversations on Tuesdays and then drop actionable tips and strategies that you can implement into your life each Friday. Have a wonderful weekend.

Direct download: Episode_11_Friday_5_With_Kathy_Smith.mp3
Category:Health -- posted at: 5:00am EDT