looking for teammates

2.5 years ago I tried Beachbody because I wanted what my friend Toni had- energy, vitality, and happiness. I was sick and tired of being tired and knew I could use the tools from the 21 Day Fix to change my life and Corey's, too. Adding in Shakeology was awesome for me because I am very picky and don't like vegetables at all.

I never imagined that just by sharing my journey with others that I'd be inspiring them to start their own- or that it would become such a financial blessing for my family. It has paid for bills in a bind and also given us breathing room to have FUN and not be so stressed about money anymore.

If you've been watching my posts for any amount of time and have the tiniest bit of curiosity as to what it

is I DO as a coach, please comment or fill out this form at bit.ly/1flitlifegroup and I will contact you. I am hosting a free, no-strings attached informational group to give a peek into coaching that I'd love for you to be a part of.

Taking care of your WHOLE self

            Hey everyone! I wanted to share some things with you today. If you've been following my blog at all you probably know that I have had a really busy July: at the beginning of the month Addison and I took a one-week road trip to my best friend's house and had a great time playing with her kids and Toni and I did a lot of work for business together and it was great to collaborate. We came home for a week and then we were right back for two more weeks over at my parents’ in Illinois and then I went to Summit in Nashville for Beachbody. Now I'm finally home and unpacked with put everything away and I'm trying to get back into a routine.

            I’ve been feeling off all of last month and some of that has been my nutrition; even though I've been drinking Shakeology, my other meals are not on point when I'm traveling. I've been doing awesome with my fitness, which (for me) once I get started it is it is just a non-negotiable for me but I've recently realized that I haven't been taking care of my whole self.

            I’ve been doing my workout which is great: I've been doing 22-Minute Hard Corps so it's just 20 minutes and I’m in and out and I'm done and I'm moving on with my day. I'm drinking my shake every day, no issue. Well when I was traveling, we were eating out a lot and my cravings got all messed up and my complexion is a reflection of that right now. But another thing that was off for me was my personal development: reading books!

            My small group this summer has been reading “Grace-Filled Marriage” and I got about halfway through it and then with traveling and everything I stopped reading it. I'm the type of person that when I read a book where you learn things and implement them I really need to focus and take notes and highlight. I’m very engaged when I read; otherwise it's just pointless. I could just be reading a novel or some other fiction but I really like to make the books that I read “count” and I haven't been doing that.

            The other book I've been reading is “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” because I want to become a better person and a better leader for my team so that I can help them to start achieving their goals for themselves. I'm a very scheduled person and I thrive on that; so although it was nice to travel and see people, when I got out of my schedule I wasn't reading before bed every night or taking notes or listening to my podcasts regularly either.

            I think that so often people forget that your health is multifaceted! Even just missing one Sunday at church makes me feel “off” because I'm not getting my cup filled. I love getting daily devotional emails and I share them quite often on my Facebook page if you if you look through it (bit.ly/1fitlife). Those quick little nuggets fill my cup and make me feel more whole. Reading a book about bettering my marriage, or reading a parenting book, or reading a business book, or just a feel-good book help me “fill up” my tank in all areas of my life.

            I think one of the next books I'm going to be reading is called “The Energy Bus”; I've had a lot of friends tell me that it's amazing and so that is in my cart on amazon right now. I want to encourage you to not just focus on one area of your life; you need to focus on all the areas of your life. Your fitness is important; your nutrition is important; your spirituality is important. If spirituality for you means your faith and your relationship with Jesus like it does for me, or the energy of the universe, yoga, meditating, or other religions that's fine. But it's taking care of your inner self that's really important to do, by taking some time off for your mind to unplug. I just spent half an hour in the backyard just picking through the grass at the clovers and just letting my mind be blank for a while and letting my fingers look at a puzzle and not have to be focused or figuring out anything else.

            One of my commitments this August (I'm not waiting until school starts up again) is that I'm taking little little bits of time after Addie goes to bed or trying to get up before she does to get plugged back into my personal development. I’d like to share some of that with you, too. I've read so many amazing books recently and since I mentioned I am a note-taker, and I want to share that with you. I'd really like to start posting more things about personal development and bettering yourself in all areas, so that’s where I'm at right now right now.

            My fitness is doing great, I love my program. My nutrition is getting back on track now that I'm home: Corey and I have our monthly meal plan calendar out for dinner and we went grocery shopping and we are staying on point with that. I’m also getting back on track with my personal development now, too. If you are looking for a good book to read please don't hesitate to reach out and ask; I’ve got a great bookshelf that I'm filling up of books that I've read.

            I love that part of being a Beachbody Coach is taking care of your inner health as well as your body. If you would like to read some of my takeaways from the books that I've been reading because I hope that the information that has been blessing me can be used to bless you as well, please follow me on Facebook: bit.ly/1fitlife

Summer is almost over!

As a kid, you think that because you have Summer's off, so do your teachers. Reality- they don't! Especially in Iowa if you also coach a summer sport. Corey officially finished coaching baseball in mid-July and then I spent 2 weeks at my parents' and at Summit.

Now that Addie and I are home, we have 2 weeks to cram in summer fun with Corey before he starts school up again- and Addie too. 😱

I'm so grateful that MY JOB as a Beachbody coach allows me to have flexible working times so that we can take advantage of our limited time together as a family these next 2 weeks. I can't get this time back, so for now I'll be working after bedtime so that we can have more fun days like this. 🏌

Does your job let you plan your days around your fun or do you have do plan your fun around your work schedule?

Aching for something more...

Are YOU feeling that ache for something missing, something more? When I saw some amazingly positive changes in my best friend's life, my first response was not something I'm proud of. I HATED seeing her posts every day. I know people that unfriended/unfollowed her because they couldn't stand her positivity and success and happiness. I could have chosen to wallow in that bitterness too, but that ACHE inside of me WANTED what she had. So when she approached me and invited me to join her, I knew I had to give it a try. And now I am forever grateful to her for sharing this opportunity with me and I feel a calling to share it with others.

Consider this your official invitation to join me on my positive life journey.

Maybe you haven't seen my "before" pictures or been around long enough to hear bits of my story- but I have NOT always been healthy, happy, and confident. I have been through depression, anxiety (still daily!), finding my value in others' opinions of me, taking several prescription medications a day, and believing that nothing was ever going to get better. It wasn't until I took a chance on Beachbody that I found a way out of the shell of a life I was living. It's now my mission to help other people get out of the darkness and enjoy their lives again.

Let me help you- let me do it with you.

If you'd like to apply for a spot in my upcoming private health and fitness accountability group, please fill out this short application: bit.ly/1fitlifegroup

I would love to learn more about you & your goals so I can help you feel the BEST you ever have!! Have a beautiful day!

Summer Sanity Savers: 10 great ideas for you to implement this summer

What are some of the ways you keep yourself sane during the summer when your kids are home all day? I absolutely love the ideas on this list. 

You can read more about this list at: http://www.jillsavage.org/summer-sanity-savers/

being a mom boss: the ultimate flexibility to put my family first

"Thanks for taking me to VBS today, mom. At first I was nervous but then I really liked it. Thanks for always doing fun stuff with me."
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What a great day. I think first it started out positive because of my planning and mindset and made a choice at each challenging moment to respond with love and grace. But it's also great because I got to spend time seeing my daughter's faith grow and spend time investing into almost 40 3-5 year olds today.
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To think that with the flexibility of my coaching, I was able to do VBS in the morning and then work this afternoon in between playing in the pool and inside with Addie. A schedule based on my needs and those of my daughter and family.
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Corey umped for a Jr High game this morning, prepped his field, and then had a game to coach. Addie is already asleep so she hasn't seen him since 7:30 this morning. 😟 Someday soon he will have his summers "off" for real and it will be because of my job as a Beachbody coach.

fitting my job into my life, not scheduling my life around my job

I hear from so many people that they have NO TIME to be a coach. I used to think so, too!! I've learned that you CAN create an income by using the little nuggets of your day. 

I listened to personal development on my drive down to the baseball game. I drank my Shakeology instead of having candy and a hot dog at the game. And I've been checking in with my challengers in between customers at the concessions stand. Not a huge time commitment, just bits here and there! 

If you've seen my posts and wondered even a little bit what coaching might be about, like or comment to this post. My team is hosting a free, no strings informational group this week to answer any/all questions you have about this coaching thing I do.

Struggles make you stronger

WHAT IS ONE STRUGGLE THAT MADE YOU STRONGER? *Transformation Tuesday*

          I want to share with you part of my story that has nothing really to do with my physical journey at all. I went into grad school directly after graduating college because the job market was bad and I (fortunately) was able to attend with a tuition waiver and a stipend from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 2 years later when I graduated the job market was still bad, so I moved to Iowa where Corey had been teaching for 2 years. In this small town area there were no jobs related to my field and every entry-level job turned me down because I was “overqualified”.
          The only job I did get was through Corey’s school as a 1-on-1 aide for minimum wage, and the next year I got my sub license and worked while I was pregnant. Subbing work was slow also, but it got us used to living on 1 income before Addie was born. I have always wanted to be a stay at home mom, and since I never really became involved in a job/career out of grad school, it was an easy transition to stay at home and we were already used to living on only Corey’s income. That doesn’t mean living on a teacher’s salary is easy, but we are used to it.
          I used to think that because I couldn’t find a job to put my master’s degree “to use” that I was a failure. But those setbacks really just set me up for being a stay at home mom, and then about 2 years into staying at home I joined the Beachbody family as a coach to get a discount on Shakeology and to turn my health around. 2 more years later and what started as a way to save money has now turned into a purpose to help people change their lives through health and fitness, a way to bring an in an income, AND I still get to stay at home. heart emoticon 

          My point is... In the THICK of it... Your life may seem out of control... it may feel like everything is going wrong... You might be struggling... Financially, spiritually, emotionally, and physically... But THE TRUTH IS... it may just be the thing needed to create your AMAZING future!!! Stay strong... Have faith! Everything is going to turn out just how God intends it to!

Why I became a Beachbody coach

The moments captured in THIS picture are part of why I became a Beachbody coach. I was not doing Addie's future self-image and self-esteem any favors by sitting on the couch, loafing around letting anxiety, depression, and laziness rule my life.

I was not doing my family's financial future any favors either. While it's always been my dream to be a stay at home mom, tight finances have been a result of that dream. 

Enter Beachbody. My friend Toni saw in me the potential to be happy and healthy again. She knew I could push myself and was willing to do that for me when I wasn't doing it for myself. She is also a stay at home mom and found a way to balance family life with building a debt-crushing business in her free time, WHILE staying fit and healthy, too!

Being a stay at home mom has a lot of responsibilities, but whatever your job may be, there are down times in your day when you're watching tv or scrolling Facebook. I've learned to take those mindless activities and turn them into a way to help pay bills and be my own boss. 

She doesn't do it every day, but I love when Addison joins me for a workout. On days like today, the calorie burn is the least important thing on my mind. ❤Giving each other winks and thumbs up, "boo-yah" and fist bump, talking about the latest Lion Guard episode, teaching her pointers when she is excited to join in, and quality bonding time over a habit I hope she continues long after we have the chance to do this together.

What kind of legacy will you leave as a result of your habits and lifestyle? I am looking for ladies who can see themselves in who I used to be, and want to see themselves in parts of who I am now. Because I'm not the only person whose life has been changed by becoming a Beachbody coach, and I won't be the last. But it is up to YOU if you join me in being the author of your own future and being in the drivers seat of your physical and financial health.

If you'd like more information about joining my team to see where we go in 2016, please comment below and I will get in touch with you.

How does reading a book about anger help me in my business?

Anger: Taming A Powerful Emotion

I intended to read 1 chapter a day of this book and be done within 2 weeks. I bought it at a conference in November after I listened to a seminar on anger. The author is Dr. Gary Chapman who also wrote the book The 5 Love Languages. That book completely changed how Corey and I communicate in our marriage and I believe changed our marriage so much for the better.

Given some recent events that have happened in my family's life I feel like this book was was destined for me by God and I am already one quarter through it in one afternoon! I have highlighted and taken notes all over and I can't wait to pass this along to some members of my family who are really struggling with the emotion of anger and how to deal with it.

So many people, Christians included, feel like anger is such a taboo subject and we aren't supposed to admit that we are angry. This book is teaching me (as did the seminar several months ago) that anger, as an emotion, is rooted in the nature of God as a response to something that is unjust or unholy. Anger is designed to motivate us to take positive action when we encounter an injustice. It's purpose is to motivate us to positive loving action that will leave things better then we found them. This is totally not what mainstream media portrays as anger; they always show us something negative and destructive and that's because people don't know the origin of anger the purpose of anger and they don't know how to keep it from being a raging uncontrolled emotion or how to let not let your body take over you when you're angry.

Anger is the opposite of the feeling of love: love draws you toward someone and anger sets you against them. It's really a poison in your life and in your heart. I have learned and gone through firsthand how freeing it is to reframe how I think of anger and how I deal with it. If you're a Christian you are to be set apart from other people; other people should be able to look at how you live your life and know that there is something different about you, something good. I used to suffer from a lot of anger and fly off the cuff and have outbursts and not really control what I said (I always regretted it), and I had a festering bubble all the time inside of me waiting to explode. That's not a good way to live your life!

Personal development is one of the required behaviors for a Beachbody coach. True, I could be reading a book about marketing or some business topic and I have several of those on my bookshelf and my wish list, but honestly I want to better myself in all areas of my life. I want to be a better mother, a better wife, a better Christian; I don't want to suffer from having anger, depression, or anxiety take over me! I want all over health for my life.

For me, being a Beachbody coach is not about having a perfect body or selling products. Yes, it's helping people discover physical health and wellness through nutrition and fitness, but it is also creating all over health by investing in yourself with personal development, and financial health by sharing this opportunity with others and building your own business. 

If you'd like to see these sort of all-over changes in your life, please reach out to me because YOU are the type of person I want to align with and have on my team!