PHAT TUESDAY: Millionaire Motivation

by Cara
excerpts from SUCCESS Blog by Jordan Fried

Personal development is more than reading books,  listening to audio or taking this Wellness Coaching course. It is taking what I am learning and putting it into ACTION. It is so easy to learn something and then forget it, or set it to the back burner for when you might need to use that skill or demonstrate the thinking. I have had to put into practice EVERYDAY my ability to maintain and improve my health and fitness. It was a learned behavior that came over time and now is a regular action and mind set.

What makes me different from YOU? This is my greatest question right now. I want to help so many people and yet there is this huge disconnect from what we say we WANT or what we say we will DO and what we actually DO. It is critical to make ourselves do things everyday that we do not want to do, because it is in that that we will find success.

I share a quote often, "If running is hard, run MORE. This applies to everything." So here I am on this quiet morning, starting off my planned personal development, logging in to read from my favorite mentor, Darren Hardy. This includes SUCCESS Blog, and I find that I am reading about Millionaires. Do I want to be a millionaire? Who doesn't?! Do I believe I can be one? No, but that is changing, quickly.

The lessons that are being shared in this short article are things that I have read about before (did I mention Personal Development is something I am doing DAILY) but here are the 9 Lessons from 9 Millionaires, all in one article. And I am FIRED UP. I am ready to do all of these things and more. You can read more in depth from the article, "9 Things I Learned from Talking to 9 Millionaire" by Jordan Fried. (Number 7 is my favorite!)

Lesson 1.You are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. Make sure they are the right ones.
Lesson 2. Money in itself will not make you happy. But money can buy you the freedom to do the things that do make you happy. Whether you have $20 or $20 million you can be happy right now.
Lesson 3. Tony Robins said "It's not about the goal. It's about becoming the person that can accomplish the goal." The journey is far more valuable than the destination.
Lesson 4. Get a mentor so you can start growing.  With their advice--you will learn best practices, you'll be challenged, you'll be better prepared to succeed.
Lesson 5. Like to learn. Stay teachable.
Lesson 6. Two (or three or four) income sources are better than one. Be laser focused on one source and once you reach a level of stability then you can diversify.
Lesson 7. Hate the gym? Well, learn to hate it a little less. There is a correlation between breaking down barriers in the gym and breaking them down in your business and in your mind!

Lesson 8. Read--a lot. 
Lesson 9. Write down your experiences. If it moves you in anyway write it down.

There is so much to look at in life and in how we look at our goals. What I have found is the harder I workout the harder I work outside of that. The more confident I am and the harder I push in so many other goals. I will be honest I took last week OFF, like way OFF. No workouts, poor nutrition. And I am feeling it. I feel it on my body and on my mind. As I now try to refocus this week, I am struggling because my mind is not in it. But I just finished 2 workouts and I can feel my head getting back into it.

"If someone was attacking your life, would you be ready?" 

-Shaun T.

Phat Tuesday: PASSION

PASSION.

PASSION: an intense desire or enthusiasm for something

How did I stumble upon that while losing 100 lbs, running half marathons, and eating my weight in chicken? 

One day I just made the decision to change. I don't know how I made that happen, if I did I would share it with everyone. What I did learn is that we all yearn to make a difference. To make an impact on even just one person. After making that difference in myself and sharing it with everyone I knew, there was something that came over me to keep sharing, keep inspiring and motivating. What I didn't realize is that lasting change is actually really freaking hard. I knew this whole journey was the toughest thing I had ever done, there are still days that the battle happening in my head abut what I put in my mouth is the toughest battle I fight. But what is it about me that keeps me going and WHY, WHY can't I help MORE people? 

I once learned from a very good friend that the average woman never accomplishes the things she wants to accomplish. She might talk about it (a lot) she might research it, write out a plan, buy a few things to inspire her to DO it. And then fail to achieve it. More than not she will not do what she said she wanted to do. WHAT?! How is that possible? All that planning, thinking and even preparation and then....nothing. What is it that holds us back? 

"Don't let planning and preparation delay PROGRESS."

My biggest challenge and one I am taking head on to figure out. How do I help the 9-5ers? How do I create a lasting sense of PASSION in people who I know are tired. In the hard working people that really don't have time or energy to meal prep, heck, to even workout. These are the people that I care so very much about and the people I BELIEVE in. I know it is not easy and I know that time is critical. So to the people who are making the steps to change, to trust, and to move forward, I am right here with you. No matter what: KEEP GOING.

Phat Tuesday

Here it is my inaugural Phat Tuesday post.
I have been wanting to do this now for 4 weeks, you know since Fat Tuesday. I found the pun interesting and have had about a thousand thoughts on blogging since. Time on the other hand...

So here I am (reading for my Wellcoaches assignment) and BLOGGING my heart out. Because I have something heavy, so heavy on my heart. REAL. Vulnerable. And I need to share. Because this journey is all about truth.

I feel great. I feel amazing actually. I feel like I just hit a really good stride in my fitness and in my nutrition. I feel like my health issues that are currently being identified as EXCELLENT Cardiovascular Health should not be taken with a grain of salt, but rather celebrated. I was thinking the worst of the worst and here I am in the best cardiovascular health of my life. We will save that for a later post.

Saturday.
I was off to a baby shower. An afternoon with some of the most beautiful women I know and very influential to me as a mother. I consult my dearest friend (Pretty. Funny. Smart) and ask her what I should wear, we decide on a pink tank, black pants and my neon patent sandals that I would wear everywhere if I could. I do myself up, hair, make up, and sandals. And then I look in the mirror..... I over analyze. I look side to side. Front to back. Again and again and again. My arms are so flabby. I shouldn't have ate cheese, I am bloated. And then it hit me like a fucking brick.....will I ever be happy with this body? Will I ever look at it and be proud?

I just finished telling you not only am I apparently medically in excellent shape, but I feel like I am. So WHY AM I DOING THIS? My excess skin will sag. My arms that feel stronger than ever before will have extra skin. Will I ever remove it? NO. Do I want a wrap? Not really.

I want to not think about it. I want to cherish it and love it and never speak badly about it ever again. This journey starts and ends with a single thought. Yes, action is critical, but you have to believe it. You have to want it. So, I shed a tear or two about being so mean to myself and I moved on. With the intentions of never being mean again.

A Million Things

Lately it seems that I have a million little things running around in my head. I want to write here, but words really do escape me. I never feel like I can write my feelings the way Betty can. She is funny and man she hits it on point every time. We have been sharing Instgram photos and messages daily. They are our way of getting our message across, but they are also our own personal motivation. Look for our hashtag #phatchances for even more. 

I decided to share my favorite motivations from IG:

In a nutshell here is what we are talking about through pictures. 

Endurance: the ability to exert oneself and remain active for a long period of time, as well as its ability to resist, withstand, recover from, and have immunity to trauma, wounds, and fatigue.  Right now I am more engaged and committed to my INSANITY MAX:30 than any workout I have been committed to in a very long time. This program is not only transforming my body, but I can feel it transforming my mind.

"Don't let preparation delay progress" - Jeff Hill

Planning and prep is critical to a good future or to changing your current state, but the only thing that will actually create change is ACTION. 

OUR MINDS HAVE SO MUCH CONTROL. 

Our minds can change on a dime. They can change for better or for worse. We take in so much information through out the day. It can be so easy to look at something or someone and decide right there that what we are doing is not good enough or strong enough. Truth is you are your worst enemy and you need to train your mind as hard as you train your body. 

And with that if you want to #beALion you must train with Lions. If you want to be better at ANYTHING you need to do MORE of that. 

And my favorite message from Betty 

"You can put the drugs and the alcohol away, but people still gotta eat. #food #addictions require a significant amount of present #mindfulness every second of the day. It's exhausting, feels daunting and I'm tired. But I am reminded of my worth, how good it feels to weigh less and workout hard and how blessed I am to live this fortunate life. #Shitcouldbeworse."

Everyday is a chance to get it right. 

Ever tried.

Ever failed.

NO MATTER.

Try again.

Fail again.
Fail better. 

Taking ACTION

by Cara

**HONESTY ALERT**

I have to take today, the second day of 2015, to get a few things off my chest. Let's be honest to move forward I need to get out of my comfort zone. I have been really comfortable and I have been hiding a little. I try hard to stay motivated, to stay positive and to keep pushing myself, but when we start getting real I missed a few key BASICS this past year.

So with the start of 2015 we get back to BASICS. This is my favorite step on my journey and I encourage you to do the same. You might not be getting "back" to BASICS, you might be creating them for the first time. 

OK here is my HONESTY MOMENT: I gained. Not during this past holiday season (I made it a point to commit to MAINTENANCE) but I have gained in the last 2 years. I look at my top performance as November 2012. I ran my second half marathon, I had a trainer and I was hyper focused on my nutrition. I got to my lowest weight since high school, 190 lbs. Maybe it was the running, maybe it was the nutrition, maybe it was the trainer and SPIN. Either way I was FOCUSED.

Today, I weigh 211lbs. And although some of that can be muscle, which we all would love to believe, it is not all muscle. There is something to say that my pant size hasn't changed, in fact it has gone down, but I don't feel good. But I am not focused. I am not committed to my journey and I need to be. COMPLACENCY= FAILURE. It is not just about the number, although that is a tool I use to gauge my own accountability. What I found this holiday season, is that my addiction to chocolate is still a problem, that I eat when I am frustrated, and that my body does not respond well to rich, salty and cheesey foods. My body actually hates me. I have pain in places I forgot about, I broke out so badly I looked like I had chicken pox, and I am exhausted.

I have shared my BASICS strategy before, and I have decided that I need to do this 3-4x a year to make sure that I am gut checking myself every quarter. You can hold me to this. OK here they are:

1. Share my INSANITY Max:30 progression and experience PUBLICLY. This will hold me far more accountable. I will be starting on MONDAY.
2. Start my day with Shakeology EVERYDAY and to kick my chocolate addiction have a second Shakeology by 4pm most days.
3. Drink 1 GALLON of water EVERYDAY.

I will also continue to track my daily calorie intake with My Fitness Pal, but this has become a habit and I didn't feel the need to make it one of the 3 basics, because I am already committed to it. You can follow me there:  @that1momma.  And lastly, I am making my priorities a PRIORITY! OK your TURN. I would love to hear about your BASICS. If you are willing and able post your BASICS in the comments below. Every single person that shares their journey motivates me to work hard to maintain mine. INSPIRE to be INSPIRED. 

HAPPY and HEALTHY 2015!