Lean into the Storm

I opened up my Facebook this morning and Facebook asked what was on my mind so I want to share some thoughts with you.  I believe that more of us need to lean into the storm.  So what does it mean to lean into the storm?  Let me expand a little with the thoughts in my mind. I even made a youtube video if you prefer to hear my message instead or reading it.

Money is important. I get that. Money gives you more choices and options on how you spend your time and who you want to spend your time with.

Your career is important. One thing that I have learned is that you must LOVE what you do and have a passion for it because if you do NOT, then one day 3, 5, 7, 10, 20 years from now you’ll just have a JOB not matter what career it is or how much money you make in that career.

I see TOO many people in life jump from ONE thing to the NEXT. I get it. I did it early in my career. I chose the field or Orthodontics in my early 20 not because I LOVE being in people’s mouths but because I knew it was a career that paid well. I quickly found out that I didn’t have a passion for that in college and left that path.

Next I chose Dental Lab. I mean I am artistic, I loved to draw and create and make things. That is what I told myself AND others but the honest truth looking back now. My cousin made a near 6 figure income in Idaho as a Dental Lab Tech so I KNEW that with my skills I could do that as well. I chose that path and school for the income.

What did I learn. I EXCELLED in school and was one of the best in my class. I was the first hired right out of school but within 2 years. I was just WORKING a job that I didn’t look forward to. I hated Sunday evenings because it meant I had to mentally prepare to go back to work.

As a Team Beachbody coach I can honestly say I LOVE what I do. I LOVED it FAR before I got paid. For an entire year before officially signing up I motivated people on Facebook, ( annoyed some), started a blog, made a transformation video, and ran fun groups and helped over 200 people in a private group with P90X, Insanity, running, biking and any sort of exercise. I couldn’t stop thinking about the WORK I was doing. In my mind I was telling myself. If I could make a living doing this, that would be my dream job.

I had found my purpose. I found something that I could do on the side while I worked my full-time job. I continued working out, reading books ( over 400 to date). When I started officially as a coach I wanted to make some money from it. I was working 12 hour days, almost every Saturday on top of that, and had to send my wife to work nights. We put the kids with a babysitter which was NOTHING that I ever imagined having to do as I raised my family.  I had a NOBLE cause to earn a living with this work.

But the day I signed up as a coach I knew and made a CHOICE that money would never be the sole motivator. It would be the LOVE of helping other people grow and find the courage to live their purpose while living a healthier more fulfilling life. My INCOME would be a direct reflection of the number of lives that I could help change. Not a reflection of how many sales I could make or how much my income grew or didn’t grow.

Everyday I wake up GRATEFUL that Team Beachbody is willing to even give me ANYTHING. They didn’t have to make that choice 10 years ago because the truth of the matter, I would share these workouts, this community, and the opportunity for people to transform their health without a compensation plan.

My success or the success of the coaches I mentor will never be on how much they make or don’t make. That’s not the culture that I want. I want my coaches and our team to look back at the end of each year and be able to be PROUD for the number of people they helped create HEALTHIER habits and achieve their health and fitness goals.

After 7 years it’s my purpose and I am living in it. Here is where I believe many people miss the mark. It’s HARD. Too many people compare themselves to others and get distracted by what is NOT important. Everyone is on a different path and everybody has their own timeline.

You have a reason and purpose for existing and I have one as well. We are each in the process of discovering what our purpose is and I will be the first to admit that I am understanding what mine is but I don’t fully grasp the bigger picture yet. Let me explain.

You are important to the world and I am important to the world. Since that is a FACT we will each face obstacles. There are stories and people that you remember from history because they were OVER COMERS.

We are going to face obstacles before we can fully understand our bigger purpose. We live in a universe that has:

Light and Dark
Up and Down
Hot and Cold
Happy and Sad

They are all part of ONE Universe. As you strive to find your purpose you are going to encounter RESISTANCE and sometimes at UNBEARABLE levels. This resistance satan’s way to keep you from living that purpose.

The CLOSER you get to realizing your full purpose the STRONGER that resistance will get.

Here is what I am going through and learning right now. You need to be able to navigate through that darkness to find the light.

One thing that keeps me up late at nights when I can’t sleep (for example last night) Is that far to many of YOU, my friends give up on this GROWTH stage. The tests become too powerful, you get overwhelmed, your will falters and so does your faith. Many of you are giving up just as you are about to break through and discover your true God given purpose. If you preserve, you will experience the greatest JOY in the world and it has NOTHING …. Absolutely NOTHING with how much money you can make.

Hold TIGHT to your values and your morals.  Lean into the storm. Know that one day this world will END. What do you want to be KNOWN for? How did you serve the world? What GIFT did you give the world? Did you serve others? Did you uplift others. If ANY action, believe or mindset doesn’t align with what you want to be remembered for, CHANGE.

As you face the trials and obstacles that are DESIGNED to make you grow into the person you are meant to be, and to live your purpose remember one thing. You can have ANYTHING that you want in life so long as you don’t HURT others in order to get it