My First Summit - Life. Forever. Changed.

I have SO many takeaways from this weekend I almost don't even know where to start BUT I'm going to practice what I preach to my team and not worry about wording it perfectly - I'm just going to word it.  Here goes nothing...

If you follow me on social media I'm sure you may have seen a pic or two from this past weekend (#newsfeedtakeover #sorrynotsorry) BUT I wanted to take a second to get into EXACTLY what it was because it was SO much more than just an elongated, fun team "meeting."

One of the BEST and sometimes challenging parts of coaching is that we are all our own bosses.  We run each of our own shows and at the very core of it - it's me, myself and I.  That means we can be as involved with our team as we want or just the opposite.  Truthfully it tends to fluctuate - some days you're dialed into your team and have that active environment and sometimes you go rogue. 

For me I've always thrived in a team environment (being an athlete my whole life, all-girls school and so on) so I can't get more involved with my team - it's what puts this gig over the top (in a good way) for me! 

Summit is the pinnacle of Beachbody events.  It's a weekend, hosted by BB, where we come together as a team to learn tricks of the trade, hear from corporate and celebrate each other for our commitment to helping others and doing our part to end the trend of obesity.

To say the days are long is a brutal understatement.  They are JAM packed with work outs with the Super Trainers, training sessions (with top coaches, corporate, celebrity guest speakers etc ) opening and closing ceremonies (think Olympics big) AND team bonding over meals and a few strong southern drinks.

First I'll say this - I remember traveling for work a LOT and I don't ever remember being EXCITED to set my alarm for 5am after a 1am bedtime.  I remember sitting in conferences about optimization of ad campaigns and where we think the industry is going - I was barely listening, staring off, just counting the minutes until I could get back home to my family.  Fast Forward to this past weekend and I am literally AMAZED that even on the longest day I wanted MORE.  More speakers, more time to meet coaches I've been virtual friends with for years, more time with my team, more EVERYTHING.

They say sometimes people have this A-HA moment at Summit and I was all "I don't need an A-HA moment, I'm already invested in this."  I'll tell you right now...I was stupid and OH so WRONG because I had my moment and it was surprising, enlightening and every other word I can't think of right now.  Not one single second of this 4 day trip seemed like work to me because I have found my PURPOSE.

Note - the last sentence is in addition to being a wife and a mom because that will always be my #1.  As a SAHM I will tell you this though - being home with my nuggets is the BEST thing I have ever done BUT the days can be long, lonely and sometimes you're left feeling unfulfilled and almost like a failure. 

I can hear people gasping right now BUT I keep it 100 at ALL times.  SAHMs you feel me right?

By failure it's this unattainable sense of accomplishment that being a mom makes IMPOSSIBLE to achieve.  All the laundry done, the house cleaned, being on time etc. etc.   I mean I don't know about you BUT I may have said this once or twice in a day - "How do I have 2 more loads of laundry", "how did the dishes get so high again?"  "did I brush my teeth today?" "We never got out of our pj's" "Is that chocolate or poop?"  etc. etc.

This coaching opportunity has allowed me to channel my desire to help ladies (like myself) of various stages in their journey's feel better about themselves, feel like they're not in this alone and most importantly - come to the realization that in this life YOU/WE are the ONLY ones in charge of our own happiness.  I'm talking physical, mental AND financial transformations.

What I LOVED about Summit was there was an abundance of speakers but as I was trying to cliff note all of my chicken scratch for my team I noticed an underlying theme - Confidence, Consistency, Comparison and Patience.

I won't bore you with the details (and if you WANT to hear them let's chat because I'm thinking you may like this coaching thing) but I left Summit more fired up than EVER because I just know down to my CORE I have found my purpose.  

I understand people have a lot of questions, thoughts and judgements about this whole coaching thing (and more times than not before even knowing anything about it), I know, I probably had the same hesitations BUT I can say with 100% certainty THIS is what I was made to do.  I have set some pretty big goals for myself (and my team) with this business and I (we) WILL get to them.

At the end of the day I am passionate about helping others find THEIR passion and purpose through becoming the BEST version of themselves.  

A HUGE misconception about this gig is that "it's just sales."  

Do people have the ability to purchase programs and the most delicious superfood shake around through me - Absolutely.  

Do I care if you buy something from me - Absolutely not.  

Will I still help you - Absolutely.  

My team and I run free groups ALL the time - WHY?  Because I want to help you regardless. 

In my life I've been in ALL stages, at all weights and was constantly looking for something to give me the GENUINE confidence to FINALLY believe in myself.  It's funny how much I previously thought this was so dependent on the physical.  Probably a mixture of being a mom and some heavy diving into Personal Development and as many Challenge Groups as I could, I realized it was FAR from physical.  It was ALL MENTAL.  I am talking mind explosion here - when you mentally commit to loving yourself and your life you build this solid foundation where you actually start to appreciate and love yourself AS IS.  So then the ups and downs (of life AND the scale) will happen but we stay our course because we know WE GOT THIS.  

I have finally come to the point where I believe in myself enough to share that love and help others get there.  I am FAR from perfect and I ironically came to this realization way higher than my lowest number on the scale, However at the end of the day when I lay my head on my pillow I know with certainty I am the best version of me I can be and I value myself enough to only give time and energy to those deserving of it.

This is NOT an easy place to get to and I have some days where I fall off track BUT I am now picked right back up by the support system of friends, family and fellow coaches who helped me get there in the first place. 

And to bring it full circle - as a coach I sometimes shy away from mentioning Beachbody because I fear being seen as annoying or salesy BUT I left this weekend with a newfound appreciation, PRIDE and respect for this company.  This is SO MUCH more than just health and fitness.  It's gut-wrenching life changing stuff and if you're open to it, its a LOT of work on YOURSELF and in turn others.  I spent the weekend with THOUSANDS of similar, like-minded people who GET THIS!  They're looking to build people up, hold them accountable and REALLY support and PRAISE them when they do great things.  It doesn't get better than that.

Whether it's fitness, fulfillment or financial that is drawing you in - let's chat.  What's the worst that could happen? Get in better shape, make some new friends and have a whole lot of fun!? Sounds terrible right?

And I'll end with one of my favorite quotes from the weekend:

"Days are expensive.  When you spend a day, you have one less day to spend.  Make sure you spend each one wisely." ~ Jim Rohn

Thank you to EVERY single person who was part of my first Summit experience  - it was a memory that will last forever!