The Golden Ticket

-In your wildest dreams you cannot imagine the marvelous SURPRISES that await YOU-

There is a story of a man, who every day, kneeled in front of a stone statue of a Saint. He would pray and pray and pray to win the lottery. Finally, one day the stone statue came to life and said, “Please buy a ticket.”

And so that is what I’ve done. I bought a ticket for a chance to win the lottery

I moved to San Francisco six and a half years ago without anything. No job, no money, no friends and no support system. When I told my parents I was moving, the advice I got went something like this, “Good luck, but don’t call us if something blows up in your face.”

To make ends meet, I worked six jobs, including one illustrious job as a cater waiter. Yes, I wore a cumber bun, served pre-plated meals, posed for goofy pictures with the wedding party and saw countless first dances, all to make it work in the city by the Bay.

Slowly, I built my safety net and deliberately I determined what I really wanted to do for my career. Six and half years later, I was the Fitness Director at one of the largest YMCAs in the Bay Area. From cumber bun to corner office, it was a labor of love.

So why after all that hard work, am I exactly 1,829.75 miles from all that warm and fuzzy love, support and accomplishment? I believe in the physics of the quest.

“I’ve come to believe that there exists in the universe something I call ‘The Physics of The Quest’ – a force of nature governed by laws as real as the laws gravity or momentum. And the rule of Quest Physics maybe goes like this: If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting (which can be anything from your house to your bitter old resentments) and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared – most of all – to face (and forgive) some very difficult realities about yourself….then truth will not be withheld from you. Or so I’ve come to believe.” –Eat, Love, Pray

Simply put, you find your life in the seeking. If you allow the illusions of safety and security to dampen your dreams or silence your heart’s song, than you will never know true success. It’s in stepping of the edge of the cliff, in the free fall, that you learn to use your wings.

I was ready for what’s next. Therefore, when I was presented with the amazing opportunity to provide executive leadership to my family’s foundation and start my own business, I knew in my heart and in my gut it was the right thing to do. Was it scary to leave a job I loved and an organization I believe it? Yes. Was it terrifying to leave friends I love and adore? Oh, yes! Was it heartbreaking to leave a city I consider home? Without a doubt. Yet, I did it anyway. Bolstered by the believe that my life is what I make it, I had no other choice but to try.

And so, the Kansas City kid has come home to collect on a golden lottery ticket.

I challenge you to find your life in the seeking. Do something today that scares you just enough to know it is the right thing to do.

Who Would You Be--If You Thought You Could

I have a teenager who volunteers for me at work. I will call him, "Neil" for anonymity sake. 'Neil' is 16. He approached me some months ago for a job as a personal trainer. He explained with an incredible amount of earnestness that he had personally experienced a life changing transformation because of fitness and he wanted to share his newfound knowledge with others. I told 'Neil' that while I didn't have a job for him, per say, I could offer him a volunteer position. He responded quickly that he felt he was over-qualified for a volunteer position and would "think about it."

After a few weeks of thinking about it, 'Neil' agreed to a volunteer position in the fitness center. His role was to make members feel welcome and answer questions. In short, he was to be helpful. In his volunteer role, 'Neil' and I had the opportunity to get to know each other better. I asked him what his life plan was; where did he want to go to college, what was his career path. I fully expected with his passion for fitness, to respond that he in fact wanted MY job. (insert smugness) Instead, he responded without a second of pause that he wanted to attend a prestigious University in Texas, major in Political Science and would one day be President of the United States. I couldn't help but smile.

When I was a youngster, I used to tell people confidently, that I wanted to be both a brain surgeon AND a break dancer when I "grew up." I remember their laughs and the way they would pat me on the head. "Oh--she's so creative! So ambitious! A break dancer AND a brain surgeon?!" Remembering the way those adults made me feel, I looked right at 'Neil' and said, "Well, aren't I lucky to know and have worked with the future President of the United States."

I have thought about 'Neil's' unabashed belief in who he will become many times since our conversation. In part, because he tells every person he meets his "plan" but, mostly because his desire stirs something within me.

I teach fitness classes and do personal training all day long with people who have lost the vision about who they will become. They feel they are too old, too out of shape, too whatever to become that dream that they once held.

FACT: People change their lives every single day. People pick up as single parents with three kids and go back to school. People take a chance on a dream idea and end up making millions. People start walking one day and a year later are running a marathon.

So, I ask you this, "who could you be--if you thought you could?" Let that marinate... Now, write it down. Don't be shy. Dare to dream big--HUGE even. Ask yourself this, "Why is that dream not possible?" Write all those reasons down and forget them. For every reason you can't, respond with a reason you can. Hold yourself accountable. Tell a best friend or your partner your dream. Share it with a career coach or a personal trainer.

While I didn't grow up to be a b-girl or a brain surgeon, I do wake up every day ready to take chances, inspire people and dream big. So I challenge you tomorrow to wake up armed with with the vision of who you can be and just "go be it."

"It's a funny thing about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very often get it."

-William Somerset Maugham

The Making of a Fitness Buff

It was the summer of 1984 and the Olympics were being held in sunny L.A. I was half a world away, firmly planted in front of the TV, completely mesmerized by the track events. Carl Lewis was busy being super human and inspiring the world with his speed and athleticism. I remember how race after race he would cross the line for first. And then, time after time, he would climb atop the medal stand with the US flag waving, star spangled banner playing, wearing his gold medal.

During commercial breaks, I would beg my mom to come outside and time me as I ran laps around our house. There I was, four years old, lined up on the invisible starting line in front of our house. On my mom's countdown I would shoot off the line with imaginary Carl Lewis just in front of me. As we rounded the corner towards the finish line, I would leave my imaginary competition in the dust and finish breathless, back where I started. At the finish line, my mom would shout out my race time. Each time, heaving with exhaustion, tiny hands on tiny knees, I would shout back, "I can do it faster!"

In true Olympic form, after every race, I would climb up to the top of the stairs on my front porch for the "medal ceremony." At my encouragement, my parents would join me singing the star spangled banner while I stood at attention, hand over heart, imagining the waving flag.

And thus it began; the love for running until my lungs burned, only to want to run again--faster this time. The thrill of dusting the competition on the final corner of the home stretch. The honor of topping the medal stand.

When did you start making fitness a part of your life? When was there a time that you exceeded your own limits and expectations? Can you remember a time you stood on top of the medal stand and felt so incredibly proud of yourself?

Take a minute to remember that life is all about celebrating your successes big and small and remembering what inspires you.

So today, I'd like to thank Carl Lewis for being faster than a speeding bullet. I'd like to thank my parents who always stood up to sing their support. And finally I'd like to tip my hat to genetics. I mean seriously, what four year old runs laps for faster and faster times?! That is definitely genetic.