As you might notice from the dates of my blogs, I haven’t posted one in over a month!  Yes, I admit it…..I fell off the wagon for a short time.  It happens to the best of us and I thought it would be a great topic for my blog this week.  Doing the things necessary for a day or two isn’t hard. Where most people fall down is in stringing those days together and thereby creating the progress, the momentum, and ultimately, the successful accomplishment.   What follows are some suggestions I have read over time and try to employ in my own life:

Have Powerful Reasons for your goals. With a strong enough reason you can and will find the how and the wherewithal to achieve your goal. Reasons plus belief keep you motivated. When you’re excited about your goal, it doesn’t seem like work. If you’re not excited, your efforts will require more discipline and energy. Make sure it’s a goal you create – not someone elses goal.  Make sure it excites you. And then act enthusiastically.  Another important step:  Write Your Objectives Down. This is very important.  This is easy to do with Million Dollar Body just by logging in to WOWY!  Another way to help maintain focus is to visualize you goal!  Visualize what you will look like or a special outfit you might wear once you reach your goal!  Make positive statements to yourself about your progress – take before and after pictures!  Take measurements!  Weigh yourself once a week.  All of these will help affirm your progress.  Do something every day to help in achieving your goal.  Your ultimate goal, for example, losing 40 pounds, may seem overwhelming.  But all goals can be broken down into doable tasks done on a daily basis.  We can all eat healthy for a day – we can all commit to exercising for 30 minutes 3-5 times a week – sticking to small goals will help us to achieve the bigger goal at the end of the journey!

Thankfully, I am back ‘on the wagon’.  I have a clearer focus again and I’m enjoying achieving my daily goals.  Remember, sustaining the day to day effort is NOT EASY, but don’t punish yourself for an ‘off’ day or even an ‘off’ week.  We all have them and we just have to pick ourselves up and keep moving forward.

When I initially signed up as a coach for Million Dollar Body, I thought it would be a great way to make a little extra money, while doing something I am passionate about – health and fitness.  Well, I am making some extra money as a coach, but more importantly I am getting to know several members whose personal transformation stories are nothing short of inspirational.  Out of respect for my members privacy, I will not mention any names, but I would like to share some of their stories.  I am coaching a young lady who has battled rheumatoid arthritis since the age of 7.  She never complains and never gives up!  She has set her mind on the goal of getting fit and healthy for herself and her family, and she is doing it.  She has obstacles that some of us will never experience – daily meds with unpleasant side-effects, fatigue, etc. but she has set her sites on a goal and I am priveleged to help her reach that goal.  I have another member who is an ‘older’ gentleman – in his 60’s.  He let me know he had poor eating habits but wants to better himself as well.  He is currently doing the P90X series and is loving it.  He travels quite a bit and has difficulty sticking to a schedule but he is doing it!  I have several other ladies that need help with there diet and eating habits.  What stands out among all my members is the great attitude and incredible drive that each of them have to succeed!  They all have road blocks and habits that make these changes difficult for them but none of them are willing to give up their ultimate goal of fitness and good health.

We live in a society of instant gratification and the desire for immediate results.  And there is no shortage of promises for quick fixes – diet pills, cellulite reduction, the grapefruit diet – the list goes on and on.  Unfortunately, these approaches result in exactly what there name represents – quick fixes and short lived results.  Good health and fitness is based on a lifestyle change.  Whether you are 100 lbs overweight or 10 lbs overweight, the same principals apply.  Slowly change your diet to exclude sugars, white flour, hydrogenated oils and other ‘unhealthy’ foods, and introduce more heart healthy foods:  fresh fruit, vegetables, whole wheat flour, olive oil, fish, etc.  The same goes for exercise – someone who has led a sedentary life can’t expect to push play on the P90X DVD’s and have success.  There are many things you can do though – add a daily walk to your regimen.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away from the building you work in.  It doesn’t take much to start seeing a change and to begin to feel better!  My members are all succeeding – one day at a time, and you can too!  If you have any interest in learning more about the opportunities at Million Dollar Body, visit my website at www.milliondollarbody.com/love2run and click on ‘Join the Club’ or ‘Be a Coach’.  You too can be a positive role model in someone elses life.  It is a great way to join forces against a society full of quick fix approaches and a growing population of overweight people. 

Today was an incredible day.  I stood at the top of a 10,600 foot peak and watched as everyone from elite runners to everyday athletes crossed the finish line of the La Luz race – a grueling trail race held in the mountains in my home town.  I’ve completed the race 3 times but this year I wanted to be at the finish to see my husband finish, and to see all the other incredible finishers at the top.  It was very humid for the desert – 81% and sun at the finish.  Everyone that crossed that finish line had just completed a huge feat and, I hope, felt very accomplished.  I then came home from the race and saw that the 2006 Hawaii Ironman was being televised.  I was literally in tears by the end.  The broadcasters elaborate on the stories of some of the ‘unknown’ athletes.   Everyday people – a 76 year old nun doing her 20th Ironman, a man from Chicago running to help increase awareness of Lou Gherig’s disease, a 32 year old man that was paralyzed while training for an Ironman was competing in the wheel chair division – story after story about people going above and beyond what many of us think is even possible.  Of course, the finishers I witnessed today are a special breed – they are examples of people who are able to push themselves to the limit, and keep on going.  The Ironman has a cut-off time for each of the legs of the race, as well as for the finish.  The 76 year old nun finished with 1 minute to spare.  She then told the commentator that she wanted to be the inspiration to create an 80-84 year old age group – once she gets there!  What a great attitude!  She was one of many examples of everyday people achieving a goal they once thought was out of their reach.  But with hard work, over time they were each able to achieve something that was important to them!  These stories are inspirational and motivate me to do more.  They also make me realize how fortunate I am to have the physical ability to do whatever I put my mind to!  The feeling they have at the finish line is something we all can experience!  Everyone has their own personal race.  For me, it’s being a good mom and wife and, yes, improving my running and fitness for the rest of my life.  Most importantly, it is not losing sight of the fact that all of my blessings are gifts from God.  For you it might be crossing the finish line of a race or losing 10 pounds.  Whatever your ‘race’ is you must believe in yourself.  Find something to inspire you – look for something in yourself that no one else has and allow that to be your spark. 

Million Dollar Body is helping me in so many ways.  As a coach, I am inspired every day by members that write to me about their journey’s.  I feel honored to be a part of their ‘race’ and I get extreme satisfaction out of helping people to achieve their goals and getting to whatever their finish line may be.   If you are reading this and would like to join me as a coach, or, if I can help to keep you inspired – please visit my website at www.milliondollarbody.com/love2run.  If it sounds like something you would like to do, click on ‘Be a Coach’ and join my awesome team of coaches!  If you have questions about becoming a coach or anything else feel free to e-mail me at jlkkmc@aol.com.

God Bless and never stop reaching for the sky!!