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  

How accountability helps you battle excuses and reach your goals: It's made all the difference in my life.

I wanted to share some thoughts I had as I was training for a 10K in October 2015. I mostly signed up for that race because it was a challenge and a goal to work towards. I had been trying to run with a friend but she was out of town so instead I was just going to do my workout at home because that’s easier for me and there are no excuses to not work out at home. But I really needed to get running!! That's the thing: going out in running clothes, putting your shoes on, and going out by yourself is hard because there are so many excuses not to and no one's there to push you on and there's no accountability.

The great thing about the way that I've changed my life in the last year and a half is I have had accountability. I haven't worked out with a person in my living room (besides my husband or daughter) but I have had accountability in my private groups on Facebook and that's been the key. You can have all the tools you need or the willpower but a lot of times that's not going to get you all the way there. What's going to get you there is knowing that someone is going to keep you accountable and that's really what I do as a coach.

I provide accountability for people, listen to their needs, their goals, and their frustrations. I give them suggestions and match them up with something that I think that they can succeed at. And then I am there every single day: checking in, posting, and giving support. It made all the difference for me when I was starting out because I knew that if I didn't work out or if I didn't check in that my coach Toni was going to be there and she was going to ask how I was doing.

During my 10K training I told my coach and I told my husband: “Today I'm going running. If you don't hear from me in 45 minutes: I’m either dead on the side of the road (kidding!) OR I was lazy and I didn't do it." ;) And then, because I knew they were going to be checking in on me, I went out and did what I needed to do. If you are someone that needs that kind of accountability, I would love to be your accountability partner. You can work out in your home! That way you don't have to get dressed up or even put shoes on. You don't have to find someone to watch your kids or pay the daycare center at the gym; you can do it right at home. Those excuses are taken care of and I'm going to be there to check in on you. I will support you if your husband or family doesn’t support you, or if they don't want to try your new recipes, or if they don't want to work out with you. You will know that there's a group of ladies on Facebook that would love to support you and be with you every step of the way.

If you need that same kind of accountability and that I needed when I first started out, and still needed when I did my longest run ever, let me know and I would love to help you.

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.

Living a life of "action" vs "inaction"

*Please watch** This is from my heart.

A passage from Daniel Levitin's The Organized Mind really struck me today. 3 ingrained psychological principles lead humans toward INACTION in a group. 

1. The desire to conform

2. Social comparison

3. Diffusion of responsibility

This was my life before becoming a Beachbody coach. In the last year and a half, I've learned how to be healthy, found an inner confidence to be myself and to not care what the group is doing or thinking, and to take responsibility for myself and also for teaching others to do the same. 

For a free sneak peek at what it is I do as a coach, comment below and I'll get you added to the group!