Momentum

Saturday was one of the best days I have had in a long time. Which brings me to our topic of today. Today, we are going to talk about momentum.

______________________________________________________

Yesterday I heard about this story of a man who spent thirty three years looking for treasure. He had heard of a ship wreck that had millions of dollars worth of gold and treasures on the ship, and set his heart on finding it. The man went out every single day to search the seas for the ship wreck, and every single day, he ended the day in disappointment. But the man persisted through ever disappointment. After THIRTY THREE YEARS....thirty three years, 365 days a year, he finally found the ship. And what did he find? Over half a billion dollars in treasure.

There were three things that the man needed to believe in order to keep up his momentum and consistency in his search for the treasure.

The first, believing the treasure was there.

The second, believing he would FIND the treasure.

Finally, believing the treasure would be worth the search.

...

Yesterday I went to an even to support the Canadian launch for Team Beach Body. My friend Tiffany who had been a tester challenger in one of my 21 Day Fix challenge groups came with me. And I can't even begin to express how empowering it was to be there! 

Tiff and I, Pre Workout (August 23, 2014)

The day started off with motivational words from Coaches who are doing really well with the business. Their struggles, and triumphs. We heard from the CEO of TBB, Carl Daikeler and his journey into creating Team BeachBody with his partner, John. Here are people who came from such limited means, who set their sights on something bigger than themselves and are now making over one million dollars a year, which was something they had hoped for but never thought back then would actually happen.

 Carl told us his plan as a young adult was to hopefully one day may 100 000 dollars a year. He has easily achieved ten times his goal.

Finally, we got WORKED OUT by the Body BEAST himself, Sagi Kalev. 

Sagi Kalev Q & A. Yeah. He's a monster.

Here is the thing. If you follow my blog regularly, you may have me on Facebook. And if that's the case, you KNOW that I post a lot about my workouts, recipes, BeachBody stuff...that's because it keeps me accountable, and also because I also want to motivate others. The thing is, when you start making creating positive habits, they become your LIFESTYLE. I understand that some people can get annoyed by the in-your-face posts about how wonderful and fulfilling taking care of your body can be! SO if you're one of those people - you might not want to read what I have to say next :P. Yesterday I was so inspired, because here I was at this BeachBody conference - a company thats MANDATE is to strengthen confidence, build relationships/connect with people and help them achieve their goals to lead healthy fulfilling lives. And while it's called Team BeachBody....you'd be surprised to know that 90 percent of the people in the room didn't have the socially constructed perception of a "beach body" at all....in fact, I'd wager a third of the people in the room could have been overweight. But, at the very beginning, we did a survey with our bodies. One of our keynote speakers asked us to stand up if we had lost 10 pounds using a TBB product. Some people, including myself stood. He asked us to remain standing if we had lost 20 lbs. Reluctantly, I sat down. The way I see it, I have very little weight left to lose. He asked us to remain standing if we had lost 30...and so on. By the end of it, there were two people in the room who remained standing...at a grand total of losing 120 lbs due to their efforts and BeachBody products. ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY POUNDS. Did any of those people have shredded defined abs? Maybe not. But THESE PEOPLE have committed to this lifestyle. Have struggled day in and day out to maintain their nutrition, worked their ASSES off through their workouts, and the last thing that I'd want them to defend is how obsessive they are with fitness, or how stupid they are to get involved in a "pyramid scheme" like BeachBody. 120lbs, and still motivated to keep going. Absolutely inspiring, and insane. Hats off to those people, and everyone who has STUCK with something like this. Hats off to those who thrive in difficult situations, and keep up their MOMENTUM, even if not everyone is supportive along their journeys. 

After wonderful words from the CEO, and some top coaches in the business, we got WORKED OUT by the Body Beast himself, Sagi Kalev (famous and renowned Israeli body building title holder, and creator of the Body Beast workout program). And all of us worked out, in this huge conference room, together. No matter our ages, sizes, genders. We all worked out together. At the end of the workout, Sagi split us in half. He asked one half of us to stand against the wall of the conference room (which was ENORMOUS by the way), and the other half to stand against the opposite wall. He told us our last task before going home was simple. Plank Walk, push up. Plank walk, push up. Plank walk, pushup....across the ENTIRE conference room. One side had to complete the task.

 The other side had to cheer our fellow coaches on. We all looked at him like he was nuts. The thing is, this conference room was at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto. It's hosted numerous HUGE events. I can't even estimate the square footage of this room. We were motivated, but certainly this task was impossible. The first group started. 

The cheering side stood there in anticipation, feeling our peers pain and dreading the moment when it would be our turn. We stood against the opposite wall clapping and cheering for them to keep going. And then... I dunno what happened. Something just clicked. And ALL OF US cheerleaders, every...single..one...RAN towards our plank walking pushing up friends and just walked them through it. People we had never met, and knew nothing about. 

But it was our task to motivate them and let them know they could do this. By the end of it, at every finish line, there was an ERUPTION of cheers in the room. Video and picture taking, high fiving...the works. 

Tiff and I, post sweaty workout!

By the time BOTH sides had completed the task, Sagi asked us to create a circle in the middle of the room. He asked how many of us DID NOT think we'd be able to complete the task. We all raised our hands! He asked us how many of us felt like quitting halfway through. We all raised our hands! He asked us then, what was the take away from this experience. Every time we are met with a task that seems impossible, what are we to tell ourselves? One man answered. "We have to tell ourselves that we CAN do this. No matter what." We all nodded in agreement. Seemed like a no brainer. Sagi corrected all of us - a moment I'll never forget. He said, "When YOU are met with a task that you WANT to complete, but seems impossible. Don't tell yourself 'I CAN do this. Tell yourself, I MUST do this'" 

Everything clicked! Everything that I have been reading about momentum and choices and habits and goal setting clicked. I have goals for myself. And I dunno what happened but suddenly within these past few months I have told myself I can achieve them. Now I'm enhancing this attitude. I MUST achieve them. You MUST find your "why." Set a goal for yourself. Why MUST you complete this goal? Guaranteed when you identify that, you will complete it. And so, here are some things that have been on my heart lately. I want to announce them PUBLICLY so I can hold myself accountable by the time I turn 25 next year.

1. No matter what I do in my career, I MUST help other people.

2. I MUST record a We Sisters Three E.P

3. I MUST attend Summit. (Summit THE Beachbody event of the year)

4. I MUST restart LivesOfBW (...I'll explain THAT at a later date)

Right now, no matter what you are doing, I want you to write down, on a piece of paper, THREE THINGS that you MUST do within the next year, or within your life. Not three things that you want to do. Not three things that you believe you can do. Three things you MUST do. No matter how impossible. No matter how much money it costs, or how many people are telling you it is stupid, or senseless or NOT gonna happen. And in this time, this journey towards your goal, you MUST keep up your momentum. Do it for yourself. And speaking of goals, Tiff and I BOTH achieved one simultaneously on this day. She decided to join my team in ending the trend of obesity and inspiring others. Be on the lookout for this woman - she's a fire cracker!

I'm gonna end this blog with a REALLY corny story.

...

5 years ago, me and my sisters and one of my very best friends, Mary, were obsessed with the Jonas Brothers. Yeah yeah, laugh if you want, they are still one of my favourite bands EVARRRRR. Anyways, back in 2009, the Jonas Brothers were the MOST internationally famous teenaged popstars in the world. They were filming movies, TV shows, 3D concerts, on world tours, creating charity events. You know. All the stuff that popstars do. Me and my sisters and Mary were convinced that before the END of the summer, we would meet the Jonas Brothers. Some way, we would do it. We set our sights on that goal. Just meeting the most famous band in the world. No biggie. We didn't have money for 500 dollar meet and greet tickets, and we also decided we wanted to meet them in a more natural setting. So we attended a concert with over 56000 people at the Skydome in Toronto. We went to the venue at 8am, and followed them around like total fan girls all day. At the end of the day, we went home... sunk away in a sort of shame. It was August 30th. The end of summer was approaching and we still hadn't met our goal. A few nights later, The JoBros announced on their website that they were going to be talking to fans on the phone! Call a number, and if they answer the call, we could talk to them! Pretty simple. It wasn't exactly meeting them, but we'd take what we could get! I spent an hour on the line trying to get through, while we were having a family barbecue. My family and friends poked fun at us, talking about how no matter what or how long I'd stay on the phone, I would NEVER meet the Jonas Brothers. Just give up! I was pretty prepared to do that at this point. But I wanted it.

A week later, I had heard on the radio that the Jonases were in Toronto filming a new movie. The NEXT day was the first day of school. Toronto is a HUGE city, there would be no chance of us knowing where they were and meeting them. Back then, it's not like twitter or instagram were that popular. None of this tweeting a picture at this restaurant and us knowing where to look!  But for some reason, we just got INSPIRED. So, thankfully I have the most awesome friends in the WORLD, my OTHER best friend Julia offered to take us to Toronto. What the hell! It was the last day of summer, and we had SUCH an adrenaline rush! So, we drove all the way to Toronto, at 7pm on the night before school. When we got there, we narrowed it down to three ritzy hotels that they COULD be staying at. After searching for three hours like total stalkers  fan girls! Finally, at the end of the night, we were ALMOST prepared to give up. We sat on the ledge at the Four Seasons, down on our luck, and just about to go home. And as we hugged each other goodbye for having a good night regardless, this homeless man named Patrick came up to us and says "I know who you're looking for." We sort of ignored him at first, assuming he just wanted some change and maybe gave him a couple dollars. Then with us being down on our luck and unresponsive, he goes, "You're looking for those JONAS BOYS aren't you!?!?" We laughed and rolled our eyes, and admitted it. And he smiles and says "If you follow me, I can take you to where they are." What the hell. We had nothing to lose. Figuring that nothing would happen, we decided to give it one more shot before going home. He walked us up, only a BLOCK from where we were about to give up, and who did we see outside of the restaurant? The Jonas Brothers SECURITY guard, Big Rob. And less than a minute later, on the LAST night of our summer, right before midnight, the most internationally famous pop band in the world walked out of the restaurant, and smiled at us. We chatted for a few minutes, took a few pictures, and we walked back with them to their hotel. 

The crazy thing now is that, I look back on that moment, on that night, and I couldn't care less about meeting them. Well, I care a little bit. But it was that feeling of momentum, acting on impulse, and spending a crazy night with my best friends that I look back on. It was the fact that we had set a goal for ourselves, and a time line, and ACHIEVED it, together. No matter how many people said it was a STUPID goal, or impossible goal. We thought not about what we COULD do, but about what we MUST do. I am so looking forward to many more moments like that, where I can celebrate with people I love in our triumphs.  BOOYAH.

Have a great night folks.