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."
❤️
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.
❤️
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.
❤️
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.

Unexpected car repair? No problem!

I'm just at the oil change place sipping my Shakeology when I get the news that my squeaky car has a bad U joint. Like DANGEROUSLY bad. The bill: $180. 😳
*
Guess what? For the first time getting this kind of news I don't have to freak out and set a later appointment until we come up with the money or sell a few things. 🙌🏻 Why not?
*
Because that's covered from my last 3 Beachbody weekly pay checks. 👊 We save what I make and sometimes it goes toward fun things like Addie's soccer sign up/equipment ⚽️ but sometimes it goes into savings for times like this. 🚙
*
The fact that I can pay for things like this just from sharing my health and fitness journey honestly and helping other people do the same is such a blessing.
*
If you'd like to turn your fitness into a business and are the tiniest bit curious about what I do as a coach, please like/comment/message me and I'd love to share some information with you. 😘
*
"Beachbody does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach's income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill."

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.

Dealing with anger toward your children in a Godly way: God's timing for my personal development reading

          Sometimes your kids can give you big reality/gut checks. When Addie and I were talking before nursing last night, she said in a sad but serious tone "Mom I want you to apologize for spanking me." Now to clarify, it wasn't a spanking but I yanked her towel down off the ring in the bathroom pretty quick in frustration from her not listening to me and it got her hand in the process.
          But, I was frustrated and lost my cool and that's the truth. It's tough when your kid points out a fault you already know. But if I'm going to set a good example for her, I need to show her how to apologize and ask for forgiveness when she does make mistakes. So I apologized and we talked how you can sin when you are angry or if you don't listen to mommy that's a sin too.
          She responded by saying "I don't have sins anymore. God took them and made a hole in the ceiling and flew up to Heaven with them and now they're gone." 
          Then we prayed together. I went first to show her how to say I was sorry for my sin and ask Jesus to help me do better next time. Then she folded her hands, closed her eyes, and prayed an apology and asked Jesus to take that sin away.  We both apologized to each other and forgave each other and made a commitment to (me) take a deep breath first when frustrated and (her) listen to mommy the first time.
          I am so humbled by her innocence, growing faith, and the refreshing honesty she gives me on a daily basis. She is such a blessing from God for my own faith and that pesky pride.

          Fast forward to today. I was reading my personal development while Addison was at school. It was totally God's timing for me to read this chapter today out of Anger: Taming a Powerful Emotion by Gary Chapman. This book is such a blessing. I highly recommend it to everyone.

          Do you ever find yourself letting your anger get the best of you? It's not a sin to be angry! It is a sin to act wrongly because of our anger. We have a responsibility as parents to stop the cycle of not being able to handle our anger effectively and to teach our children to be in control of their emotions.

Did your job give you a raise last year? Mine did!

          I did some number crunching today and my jaw dropped. My 2015 Beachbody income was 3 TIMES what I made in 2014!! Can you say that about your 40+ hour a week job? This is the type of job where the sky is the limit. Nothing is guaranteed, but if you work hard you will be rewarded! I took part in several trainings, applied what I learned, and have a daily "Power Hour" of items where once I am done, I can shut my computer lid if need be and spend the rest of the day with my daughter. I never thought that the 2.5 hours twice a week that Addison is in preschool would be such a blessing but it has made a huge difference in my business and I am usually able to squeeze the most important things for my business into those mornings.

          Some months this income paid for gas and groceries, some months it paid for a splurge of a gift, this summer it paid for our trip to Kansas City, and other months it provides much needed savings for our emergency fund/debts. Every month, though, it paid for our Shakeology and then some. Which is more than enough for us!!

          How am I able to accomplish this without letting the tv raise Addie and the house fall into disarray? I don't need to work full time hours to create an income as a Beachbody coach. In fact, I joined as a coach simply to get a discount on Shakeology and to hold myself accountable to MY OWN fitness journey. I share that with you, and invite you to join me.

          To learn more about what it takes to be a Beachbody coach, please like/comment/message me because my team is hosting a free sneak peek this week that will answer all of your questions. Now is the perfect time to take control of your own health and fitness and to earn money while you're at it! 

          To keep Corporate happy: "Beachbody does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach's income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill."

2016 is here: Time to take action!

2016 is here. Are you going to keep waiting for life to happen to you, or are you ready to take action?

I read the book “The Organized Mind” by Daniel Levitin and a specific passage really spoke to me about three principles that lead us toward INACTION in a large social group that are ingrained into our psyche. First is the desire to conform. We are driven by the need for acceptance. We want to be seen as agreeable so that we can blend into the group. The second is social comparison. We compare our actions in terms of other people's actions and want to make sure that we're seen as similar. The third one is the diffusion of responsibility. Let’s say for example that you're the only person that witnesses an emergency. You are definitely going to take action and help out, right? But if there's a bunch of people there, the responsibility is spread out and everyone is waiting for someone else to take the first step to do something about it.

That used to be me: I sat around waiting for things to happen to me. I did the bare minimum and wondered why nothing was getting better. When I was approached by my friend about being a Beachbody coach, I thought: I don't know what it means to be a coach; I don’t have a “beach body”; I’m not healthy, why would anyone look to me for help or as an example?

But over the last 2 years, I have learned how to live a healthy lifestyle. I still have insecurities- who doesn’t?! But I will rock a bikini when I’m at the pool with my daughter and I don’t care what anyone thinks. Now I have an inner confidence to be myself and to not care what the group is doing, thinking, or saying. I no longer have a desire to conform. As far as the diffusion of responsibility goes, I’ve realized that I have a responsibility to teach my daughter what it means to be healthy and strong and confident. No one else is going to do that for me.

I am no longer living a life of inaction. I’ve learned about confidence and the tools to be healthy. Now I teach them to other people and inspire them to make changes in their lives and families. If you think the you would like to be captain of your own ship instead of waiting for someone to take the steering wheel for you, then I would love to have you join my team or accountability group. Please leave a comment or contact me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/boeknowscleanliving  

Common Objections to Becoming a Beachbody Coach or Purchasing a Challenge Pack

Common Objections to Becoming a Beachbody Coach or Purchasing a Challenge Pack

I'm here to talk to you a little bit about Beachbody coaching and objections. Everybody has an objection- trust me; I've heard them all because I had them too! My friend worked on me for quite a while before getting me to sign up, and I wanted to share with you some of the objections I had before signing up because I hear them all the time now as a coach when I approach other people. Getting objections from other people is frustrating and to be honest, it kind of breaks my heart because I had them and I broke through them; I had faith in my friend that she would not be steering me wrong and I'm so glad that I listened to her because my life has changed in so many ways once I finally put the objections and the excuses aside and took a chance on myself to not only change my fitness but also financial future by becoming a coach.

I’ll get to specific objections to being an “active” coach later, but first I want to talk about what people say to getting a challenge pack or sale bundle. One of the top objections I hear all the time is “I don't have the money” Oh my goodness, I totally felt that way too! I'm a stay-at-home mom, my husband is a schoolteacher and we are paying off 2 sets of private college tuition: it is tough! I did not think that we had the money either at first. Fortunately, my husband and I work from a budget so we saw on paper what our income was and we kept track of what we were spending every month and we decided to prioritize our health and instead of paying money to go to the doctor, we decided to try to prevent some sickness. If we took away one or two times of going out to eat for a month, or some of the extra things that we were spending money on that we really didn't need to be buying, we could we could swap those out for Shakeology and a challenge pack. I really don't miss all that extra stuff but we have felt the benefits of Shakeology and it's been a year and half of drinking it every single day. I would not spend that money every single month if I didn't feel the health benefits and know that it is worth it, because trust me, I could totally be using that $100+ a month to get ahead on our loans, or go out to eat a couple more times in a month, and just enjoy other things like to the movies. But I'm so glad that I'm healthy and I think that you'd find that too, but you've got to take that chance for yourself.

If you are not sure that you want to sign up and it's a lot of money to put on the line, guess what? You can try the program, you can drink the entire bag of shakes and if you're not happy with the results you got or how you feel, you can get your money back even after you drink them! Now that is a money back guarantee one hundred-percent; there's really nothing to lose at that point when you know that you can drink them and still get your money back if you're not happy. That's how much faith that Beachbody has in the products that they put out.

Another thing: maybe it might take a couple months of saving to get yourself signed up- that is fine! Maybe you can sell a few things- my husband and I sell stuff on Facebook and eBay all the time to make room for our fun purchases. Or maybe you can say “Let's invest in ourselves this year for Christmas. Let's not get each other gifts, let's get each other a challenge pack.” It'll be a gift that lasts a lot longer.

If you still can’t swing it to continue Shakeology monthly even after looking at your budget or selling things- I totally understand! You could drink half a shake a day (your bag will then last 2 months) or split a serving with your spouse every day. You're still going to get those extra nutrients; maybe not a full dose but it's still going to make a difference in your day. We drink half a shake a day too: you my husband and I are not at the point where we can afford two bags a month but we've still seen changes in our health and our lives just from drinking half a shake a day. What I’m trying to say is that if you make your health a priority, then you'll find a way to make it work.

Now, onto some things people think about becoming a coach and why they wouldn’t be able to do it or be good at it. People always say: “I don't have the time” and I did not think that I had the time either. Even as a stay-at-home mom I was busy doing other things, but how much time do you spend watching TV a day? I know most people now have a DVR, so what you can do is DVR your favorite show ahead of time and then fast forward through the commercials. Your hour-long show just turned into 40 minutes and you now have time to fit in that half an hour workout, especially if you watch more than one show a night! Half an hour is such a small percentage of your day, but it's going to give you so much more energy and it’s going to make you feel so much better.

Another thing I hear a lot is “I don't have the time to be a coach.” Well, you can dedicate as much time or as little time as you want into being a coach, especially for those Beachbody coaches that work full-time and have family events too. That is not my situation since I'm stay-at-home mom, so I have a little more time during the day to reach out to people. The most successful coaches use something called a “Power Hour” and that is where you set your focus for one hour to do the things for your business like inviting people everyday and spending time catching up with people. Let’s be honest: everyone scrolls on Facebook!! I scroll on Facebook; you use Facebook during your lunch hour; you log on after you get home from work or before bed. Why not take that time scrolling on Facebook and instead of just mindless scrolling, focus on connecting with people and having conversations. It's not posting sales on your wall and selling to people all the time. It's just building relationships and with that, an opportunity to present Beachbody to them should come about naturally in your conversation. If you're posting about what you're doing for your health and fitness to your wall daily, people are going to see it and they might ask you about it or a chance for you to you invite them to your accountability group or to the coaching opportunity might come about naturally as you are talking.

Another excuse I had before signing up as a coach was that being a coach scared me! I was not at my goal weight or body; I was not a picture of health. I thought, “I'm not perfect. No one is going to want to look at me as an example to follow.”  But honestly what I’ve found is that is the opposite! Almost every day I get a message saying “the fact that you're posting every day about your workout inspires me.” Perfection does not inspire people- it doesn't! When you see those “perfect” people in the magazines or on TV, that doesn't really inspire you. It almost makes you feel bad about yourself because you're not that perfect.

Guess what? I have stretch marks and I still have areas on my body I'm not happy with or would like to change but I work out everyday, I share my struggles, and the fact that I'm not feeling it someday and don't want to work out but I choose to press play and I choose to post about it, that's all I'm doing! As a coach, I’m trying to show people that I take that one extra step of SHARING and that is what gives other people motivation to try and what inspires them. A sales pitch or an advertisement does not inspire people; being relatable and being honest is what it takes to be a coach.

Still another objection I had is “What will people think of me?” I didn't really want to put myself out there. I got to the point where holding back/not sharing as much or being honest in my posts was affecting my relationships. So many of our relationships now are cultivated through social media because we do not live close to a lot of our friends and family. My best friend lives in Wisconsin so obviously I don't see her very often at all but I share on social media with her and I message her daily, so if I wasn't being truthful in what I posted online our friendship wouldn't be real. I got to a point where I stopped caring what other people thought about me because I can't control what anyone thinks about me; all I can control is myself and my reactions to people. If they don't like what I post, then they are free to unfriend me, unfollow me, block me, whatever. I don't need their negative energy bringing me down anyways! I'm going to share who I am and if you like that, that's awesome and you are the kind of person that I want in my life being friends with me. I got past being embarrassed and being scared or knowing what to post as a coach. I just post who I am and the people who identify with that are the people that I’m going to want to partner with me in accountability groups and to be on my team as coaches. You’ve heard of the idea that “like attracts like”: you put out there who you are and the people that want to follow you will follow you!

Those are a lot of hesitations that I had before I started as a coach and now that I'm on the other side, I wanted to tell you that you're not the only person with objections: I get messages with them all the time. Those are just my experience having overcome those objections and I hope this has helped you realized that you don't have to be perfect and you don't have to know everything. We have trainings available and however you much time and energy you want to devote to this business to creating financial freedom for your family, or just saving $20something a month on your Shakeology and working on yourself and you may be referring a friend once in awhile that's totally fine! Being a coach on whatever level you choose is fine with me. I hope this post helps with some of the objections you may be having right now and if you have any questions, please let me know!

A playground epiphany

I was at the playground earlier with Addie and I got to thinking about what my life was like before I got in shape- before I joined Team Beachbody as a coach. Even though she wasn’t that old at the time (about a year or year and a half), the playground almost seemed to be a punishment for me because I couldn't do anything with her. I didn't have enough energy to run and play and chase and climb with her. Yes, she's having fun without me, but don't you hate it when your kids say “Mommy come down the slide with me” or “Mommy can you lift me up? I can't reach the monkey bars.” If you're stuck on the bench because you can't fit in the swing, or you can’t run around the playground with your kids…that was my life before I got healthy and got the wake-up call that I needed. I have a little girl to keep up with and set a good example for!

I asked Addie a question of “Is it more fun when mommy plays with you at the playground or when mommy watches you?” What do you think she said? Of COURSE she said it’s more fun when I play with her!!

I do still get tired and need breaks, so I’ll tell her to just give me a minute. Right away I see that she'll get deflated because I didn't have enough energy for her. I just need a minute or two to catch up, but if that's your life every day and you don't have the energy to keep up with your kids, and you see that you don't see that little glimmer in their eyes when you're chasing them or you're going down the slide after them and stuff like that… If my wake-up call is the same as your wake-up call then here it is: I'm reading it for you!!

If you want accountability and encouragement while you are making healthy changes in your life, or if you’d like to see what Beachbody Coaching is all about: how just getting more fit changed my life in other ways, how it pays my bills while I provide support for other people changing their lives, I’d love to share this opportunity with you.

A new meaning to "business casual" wardrobe: working toward financial freedom in my pajamas

If you showed up to your next business meeting looking like this, would you still have a job?



I was:

-still half asleep

-in my pjs

-sporting bed head

-feeding my daughter breakfast

-with my best friends

-following my own daily schedule

-GROWING MY BUSINESS!

          Intrigued? As a Beachbody coach, I set my own hours, I work with who I want to, I am PRESENT for my daughter, I am growing personally, I keep myself accountable for my own fitness, I earn a paycheck, and I partner with other people who want to do the same!

          We paid for our hotel stay from our recent road trip entirely from my coaching income without having to sweat it coming from my husband's teaching salary! But you know what? In the past, we haven't been able to take road trips or vacations without my parents...because they paid for everything for us. Like...we didn't even have extra money to leave a tip on the dinner out that they would buy. Granted, I love my parents and I love being spoiled by them and they love spoiling us (my mom's love language is most definitely gifts)...but as a 29 year old I want to be able to pay for things myself and have that pride of doing things for my daughter without having to always say "Grandma bought us that."

          Before we had Addison, I would pick a reservation at the CHEAPEST place I could find when Corey and I had to travel. I have nothing against hotels that at least have clean sheets and warm rooms for $70 a night, but with a 3 year old I want something a little bigger, more amenities, and things that make traveling less stressful. I discovered the Drury Inn in Kansas City. They include *everything* in their stay! 2 hot meals a day (really good ones), popcorn and pop in the lobby, wifi, parking, fitness center, and they are walking distance to Kauffman Stadium which is where we went for our recent trip. You can't find that in a hotel for $70 a night! You do pay for those premium perks, though. Before Beachbody I would have never even dreamed of  spending over $100 a night for a hotel, or staying more than 1 night in a row! But thanks to a couple hours of dedicated time daily building my business over the last year, I've been able to enjoy the fruits of my labor. We are still in debt for student loans and on a tight budget, but having a bit of breathing room for fun stuff like this makes all the difference in the world. And I know that I will continue moving up from here.

I have been so blessed by the coaching opportunity and if you're not on board, you need to be! Please reach out to me and share with others if this post resonated with you or if you know someone who could benefit from this opportunity.

Beachbody does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach's income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill. See our Statement of Independent Coach Earnings located in the Coach Online Office for the most recent information on our Coaches' actual incomes." In addition, please provide prospective and current Coaches with the link to the Statement of Independent Coach Earnings, http://tbbcoa.ch/TBB_SOICE

My first Color Dash: Having my MIND tell my BODY to keep going!

          A 5k is what started my entire fitness journey. I believe I mentioned this in my very first post, but my sister in law got me to sign up in late 2013 for a summer 2014 Warrior Dash and I started from NOTHING and in 7 months lost weight, got fit, overhauled my nutrition, and ran 2 Warrior Dash obstacle 5k races in July and August 2014. My goal when I signed up for those races and started training was to prove my husband wrong. He didn't think I could do the obstacles or run/finish the race. What better incentive to work hard and kick butt?! Fast forward to July 2015, and I decided to try a Color Dash and made it my personal goal to RUN the entire thing. I may run slow, but I didn't want to walk. I start out every day with Shakeology, so why wouldn't I also on a race day?

 





 

          There were so many people there!! It was a bottleneck at the beginning and when I started jogging it took forever to get past the big crowd. During the first kilometer my knees and body were a little sore getting into form because I do not normally run for exercise. It was a nice course, starting and finishing at the Bedell Family YMCA in Spirit Lake, Iowa. I learned that half of the race proceeds went back to my community- what a great cause!! There were a lot of families and kids. I think maybe next year I'll bring Corey and Addison along, but it was really nice to just be alone with my thoughts and run.

 

          I did walk through the color stations so I could get good coverage on my shirt. Unfortunately, even though I did the recommended vinegar soak beforehand, all of my colors washed out!! :( I took a sip at the water station but I find that as long as I have gum in my mouth when I run, I don't get dry mouth. I finished the race in around 30 minutes. My 2 timers were off because I began behind the official race start line. The time wasn't super important, although I will aim for improvement next time. The big thing was that I ran, had a good time, and pushed through when I was getting tired at the end. Your body can do so much MORE than what your mind tells you it can.

 

 

Have you ran any races before? Are you competitive with the clock, another person, or just yourself? If you'd like to be a part of the Beachbody family that has been so instrumental in my success, comment below or click the "contact me" tab above!



What I've lost in 1 year with Beachbody, and what I've gained

**I started this post and then it got lost...but better late than never

to show my 1 year transformation story with Beachbody!**

1 year ago Monday I started the 21 Day Fix with my husband- officially kicking off our Beachbody transformations. This Monday we started the 21 Day Fix Extreme. A year to the day! So here is a comparison of what I've lost in 1 year. But I've also gained...and what I've gained isn't shown by the scale or a measuring tape.

 

I've gained knowledge about nutrition:

• You don't have to make a drastic change to make a difference. Try first going from white bread to wheat to whole grain, or even Ezekiel bread; or go from flavored chemical-laden regular yogurt to Greek yogurt to plain Greek yogurt with your own flavorings.
• Generally, you should build your meal around a protein and use carbs sparingly. I used to begin every meal plan with a carb or always add bread/butter, biscuit, fries, etc. to every meal. Not any more!
• The more healthy the food is, the larger space it should take up on your plate.
• You can't really overeat on veggies or fruits.
• What a proper portion looks like, and how many portions I need of what type of food each day.

I've gained confidence:

• No one else's thoughts should dictate how I feel about myself.
• If I don't love and accept my body, who will??
• If I don't treat my body with respect for the amazing things it can do, how will my daughter learn to do that?
• My mood should not depend on a number on the scale.

I've gained strength, energy, and muscle definition:

• I have more energy than my daughter and can get up earlier in the day to get more done.
• I can do things around the house without having to ask my husband when he gets home from work.

I could go on and on, but I'll stop here. If you'd like this type of transformation - inside and out - in your life, please reach out to me! I'd love to help you achieve this for yourself.

Freedom comes in many forms

What do you see in this picture that could possibly have to do with freedom?

 I see a freshly cut lawn that I was able to do myself, without needing Corey to start the mower for me. Last year, I could not do that. Doing Les Mills Pump has made me ‪#‎stronger‬, a "non-scale victory" impacting my daily life. Now I have the ‪#‎freedom‬ to surprise my husband with a mowed lawn when he gets home.
Thursday is ‪#‎payday‬ for Beachbody coaches. I am having my best month yet as a coach. I'm not saying this to brag AT ALL on myself, but rather this amazing ‪#‎opportunity‬ I joined. Now I also have the freedom to contribute to my family's bills, and just maybe surprise my husband with an awesome present when he graduates with his Master's degree on May 9th.
What freedoms can joining my team give you??