It's not about me...

"I believe we are here to learn and grow, and to become so abundant in belief in ourselves that we finally tap into the full potential of the greatness that is within us and share that greatness with the world." -

Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge.

If you would have told me 5 years ago that I would be here sharing hope with 100s of people, I would have laughed at you. I thought it was "one of those things". Was so wrong and was living selfishly. Glad I humbled myself, opened my heart to what this really was and became coachable. I know now, it has nothing to do with me. My yes is tied to so many other lives and families, putting down my ego has allowed me to be the light for others! As uncomfortable as it was and still is to step out of my comfort zone, I know that the more times I do it the more people that I will be able to help. I believe that rooted in every human being is the desire to make a positive difference, we want to leave a legacy, change the world. Yet most of us miss the fact that we all do make a difference. 

Our lives are our messages and regardless of if we actively try to or not, our choices affect millions of others. And some how we connivence ourselves that settling, not growing, not learning, not fulfilling our true potential only effects us and our family. That's not true at all. You are either bringing people down around you or you are lifting them up, there is no human life that does not make an impact. Could I turn back, settle for a "safe" job, start watching TV instead of attending these events or reading books, stop caring about how to become excellent at what I do, stop putting myself in uncomfortable situations to learn and grow, party all weekend... sure I could. I'm not saying that I choose the right things all the time, but I know in my heart that I am fighting to be better every single day I'm on this planet. 

I talk to people all the time who "are fine", shrink their dreams to match their circumstance, and think that I'm crazy... then complain about not having time, money and/or health, they bring everyone around them down with their negative mindset, not even realizing that they are creating a negative ripple effect that will reach millions. Or even worse, they promote mediocrity, excuses and "this is the way things are" mentality, giving others permission to do the same. They blame the system instead of accepting responsibility, thinking that they are the only ones suffering. 

I choose to live differently, I choose to promote greatness. I'm not saying its going to be easy at all, I'm saying it's going to be worth it. If you are not already, I challenge you to start promoting greatness in yourself and in whatever you choose to do. Watch what happens. A life fueled by passion and purpose will set the world on fire. 

Like the majority, I use to live in autopilot and was on a path to go to the grave with dreams in my heart. Luckily for me, someone cared enough to share a gift of hope for a better future, belief that I could chase my dreams and that I was a champion. That is why I do this, I'm a dealer in hope. It's not about me anymore, its about the millions of people that need to hear this message like I did 5 years ago. I thank God everyday that my life was interrupted.  

I work on myself harder than anything else because I know reaching my full potential is the best thing that I could do for the world. I'm in no way perfect and fight slipping back into my old ways on a daily basis. I constantly have to remind myself, It's not about me, it's about the millions of lives that will be impacted because I was here.  

Embrace the Struggle

When I was 2 years old, I was involved in a lawn mower accident that cut off the majority of my right foot and it was the best thing that ever happened to me!  When it first happened, my parents were told that they would most likely be amputating my my entire foot. The medical technology at that time wouldn't allow the doctors to reattach all the tiny parts of my 2 year old foot. As I was being life flighted, the doctors found a plastic surgeon (his name is Dr. George Picha) that was willing to try a new technique to save my foot. It was an experiment that my parents felt the benefits outweighed the risk. I'm sure glad they took that risk! After the first surgery that saved my foot, I was in the hospital for months as they monitored and scraped off the scab on my foot every day so that the blood would continue to flow. I had multiple surgeries over the next couple of years, one in second grade that amputated the middle toe because it failed to regain proper blood flow and the bone died.

The doctors told my parents that I would be very lucky to ever have normal balance back again, things like walking without a limp would be difficult. They thought that getting me into something like gymnastics would help but wouldn't completely correct the problem. They did that.  I sure wish the doctors could see me now! haha!

The scars have almost disappeared, but visually my right foot is missing a toe, other toes are curled in (apparently they were trying to push out the dead toe while I was growing) and is a whole 4 sizes smaller than the left foot. I remember a few times growing up being really sad that my foot didn't look the same as the other kids and that I couldn't wear cute shoes like the other girls. My parents were quick to remind me how lucky I was to be able to walk, be in gymnastics, run, be alive, have a foot... actually they use to call in my "special" foot. I started introducing myself like... "Hi my name is Shanna, I have 9 toes" I thought it was cool and made me special.

By the time I got to my senior year in high school, I was the varsity captain of the football cheerleading team, captain of the diving team and active in gymnastics, track and fast pitch softball. You would never know that I was even involved in an accident. BUT what most people didn't know was that I was in a lot of pain, I had spine issues and early arthritis in my hip and knee. I cried a lot of nights after diving competitions or games where I cheered because I was in so much pain...We spent a lot of time at specialist offices trying to come up with a solution. Most of them wanted to prescribe me pain meds to manage it or told me to pull back from my physical activities. Both of those were not an option for me. I knew at 18yrs old I didn't want to be on pain meds for the rest of my life. I also knew that not being active was not a solution for me. Honestly, the fact that they told me to slow down drove me to want to push myself further.

We finally found an awesome chiropractor that showed me how to manage my pain naturally... without having to scale back on my activities. I learned what shoes to wear, what exercises and stretches I could do to strengthen the right muscles. I still struggle with pain and body image issues from time to time, but for the most part, at the age of 30, I don't ever think about my 4 toed foot. But the lessons I have learned because of it,  have become a part of me.

This is the first time I'm writing out my thoughts on this experience and its pretty obvious to me that my character is a direct reflection of going through a struggle like this early on in my life. When I say it was the best thing that happened to me, I really mean it. I would not be who I am with all 10 toes. It built me into the person I am today. It would have been really easy to use the pain, blame my circumstance, say no thanks I "can't" or make exceptions because of my foot. I had a lot of excuses to choose from, it would have been really easy... but I chose not to use them. I chose to go through the struggle and came out the other side a different person.

At the time, I had no idea that I was choosing to go through the struggle, I just knew in my heart pain meds and quitting what I loved were not the answer, so I kept looking. I know now when I face obstacles that going through is always the best path. Every challenge I face is an opportunity to grow, learn, and become who I am meant to be. I embrace the struggle. I look for struggle. I say yes to things when I'm unsure. I don't quit when it gets tough. I don't make excuses.... or I'm quick to call myself when I do.

In reality, there are a lot of other situations that people are going through that are way worse than mine. There is always someone worse off than you. I know that. I also gained perspective and a grateful heart. I cherish my body and the physical abilities that I have. Walking. Running. Weightlifting. Playing with my children. I will never ever take for granted the ability to be alive, healthy and physically active. When I don't want to go workout and start making excuses in my head,  I quickly remind myself how lucky I am to be able to walk. You can use that too, if you are having a hard time motivating yourself to workout. Or when I want to procrastinate and not do the uncomfortable things that drive my business forward, I remind myself how lucky I am to be alive today. I am alive and that could all end tomorrow... Gets me in action every single time, go through the struggle and stop avoiding it.

So many times I hear people say or that voice in my head say, "I can't do that because.... I don't have time, I don't have money, I'm not that outgoing, I'm not athletic, I don't know the right people, I don't know anyone, I don't have a good family, I'm not sales person, I don't have motivation, I don't have support, I have kids, I don't have kids, I don't have the right clothes, I'm not in good enough shape, I can't talk like that... you see what I'm getting at? All excuses, they may be very real, very true and legitimate excuses. But they are excuses.

Deep down I think everyone that uses excuses knows that they have a choice. Or maybe they are waiting for someone to tell them they have one. I'm telling you right now, YOU HAVE A CHIOCE.  Stop choosing to use excuses and embrace the struggle. Lets just be honest here, it really is a lot easier and more convenient to make excuses, to not take responsibility. I know, because I still catch myself doing it. But let me tell you something else, we are not prisoners of our circumstances, you really can do whatever you want to do. You can live an extraordinary life. You can accomplish big goals. You can live the life of your dreams. If you find yourself saying "I can't..." I challenge you to examine where that is coming from. I bet that if you dig deep and take a look in the mirror you will see that you do have the ability to change things. Everyone is going through struggle! Everyone! The difference between the ones that win and the ones that just make it in life are their choices during that struggle. Never let your excuses win, you always have a choice!



PS... I'm not telling you to go out and get everything you want. I'm just making an assumption that you are wanting to do that. People that go out and become successful don't make excuses.


PSS... This is as much a reminder to myself, as it is a written blog for anyone else. I too, very often find myself wanting to make excuses, to turn around and leave the struggle for the safety of mediocrity. Don't do it friend, you are better that! The world needs the person you are becoming!

Someone should do something...

"Someone" should do something about that... then I realized that person was me. While I do wholeheartedly believe that my life and everything that happens to me is my responsibility....I have struggled with taking responsibility in places that were outside of my little world. For example, when I see something in the community that needs to change or I see some big problem that needs to be addressed. I have a tendency to say "someone should do something..." but why not me? Why don't I have the same sense of responsibility for my community as I do for my own life? Why is it okay to turn the other way?.... if I'm being honest, it's not.

While I'm a dreamer, I'm grounded enough to know that I can't solve everything that needs to be fixed in our society. BUT if not me, than who? WHO is responsible? Who is responsible for making the world a better place? I may not be the smartest, richest, prettiest, strongest, or most powerful...but I know that I can do small things to make a big difference, I do realize the power of taking an action. ANY action is better than just a good intention. From one of my favorite books by Andy Andrews:

“Everything you do matters. Every move you make, every action you take...matters. Not just to you, or your family, or your business or hometown. Everything you do matters to all of us forever.”  -The Butterfly Effect

I want to share a story of how I experienced the Butterfly Effect firsthand. This is not to brag at all, I want to share because I hope that it will encourage you to take small actions when you have opportunities presented to you, that you will find courage and strength to take action and trust that you can make a difference in the world. 

About a month ago, my sister shared a YouTube video on her Facebook page of her friends, The Haworths, they were auditioning for a catastrophe show on HGTV.  He's a wounded solider,  they both are fellow Olmsted Falls Alumni and their story just is not fair. I watched and my first thought..."Someone should do Something for this family" Then I got a tug on my heartstring, loud and clear I heard "Shanna, you should do something".

It scared me a little, like what could I do? This family needs $100,000. I decided to pray and sleep on it. In the morning I had an even clearer picture of what I should do and that I was fully capable of taking action. SO I did, reached out to my sister and asked if she could get in contact with the family and see if they would be open to me setting up fundraising efforts for them. After a few days and their approval, I set up an online funding site and started working with my sister, my AdvoCare Teammates, The CrossFit Box and other local businesses to start something to help the Haworths rebuild their home.

After a couple of days in, I had a lot of doubts; what was I thinking? How is this going to help them? What if no one joins me? What if we only raise $200? This is such a dumb idea. I always have these big plans that never work out. Who am I to make a difference? I'm 9months pregnant why would I start something like this now?  blah..blah..blah.

A short month later we have had lots of media coverage, had 14 local businesses get involved, had multiple contractors volunteer their time, got offers to have most of the materials donated, got the attention of a non-profit agency that is covering their cost to live while they rebuild their house,  raised $9,500 online alone, held a fundraising event at The CrossFit Box that brought in an additional $3,100 and raised over $3,000 off line. They still need more to finish, but because of our efforts, a local Nonprofit called NEOPAT is going to take over to help raise the rest.

The Haworth's are going to get their house rebuilt. I am overwhelmed, amazed and honored to have been able to be part of something so incredible. Never would I have thought that my tiny action would create such a huge ripple effect...or maybe it was my sister who started it by sharing their story...or maybe it was the person that encouraged the Haworth's to apply for the HGTV show...

See we all have our part to play, they are all equally important and they all make a difference. Our actions, small every day actions do in fact change the world. We just have to decide what kind of change that is going to be. Pay attention, take responsibility and have the courage to take action when it's your turn. YOU will be blown away by the experiences that you will have the opportunity to be a part of, by the legacy that you will get to leave behind and by your ability to change the world. Never underestimate the effects that your small actions can have in the world.

The illusion of balance

Oh yes let me be the first to admit, I am a sucker for the "balance" speech. It sounds so good right, you have to have "balance" in your life, work hard play hard, take a break, go on vacation, watch TV at night to relax, take a day off, take a night off, take a weekend off... I don't want to sound like a fun Nazi, but this is a lesson I learned the the hard way, you must consciously decide to get out of balance in order to accomplish great things.  Randy Gage wrote a blog about it last week and it got me thinking. For that past 10 years I have been an avid goal setter, I set goals and I go after them. But if I'm being 100% honest, I give myself lots of slack. What I mean by slack is that I put things on my goal board that I don't have to get out of balance for....deep down I know that a lot of my goals are  fluffy. And the real ones that require me to get out of "balance" usually end up on the "goals" to go after next year or "things change" or "too unrealistic".  I'm not sure when or why I had this epiphany but it hit me when I was looking at my goal board that I created this year.

So on here I have 3 categories...Personal, Career and Health. And quite frankly its pretty all over the place. What was I thinking? How can I expect to accomplish anything great when I'm spread so thin over all these different goals. And the truth....I CAN'T and I WON'T.  You know why successful people are successful? I would say 99% of the time they consciously give up everything else and focus on one thing, for a least 5 years. They don't go on vacations, they don't jump on every new opportunity that walks in their path, they don't get distracted by every shiny thing, every different path. NO, they stay committed to their goal and focus on that one thing 100%.

Here we are in August and I have hit a lot of my "fluff" goals for the year. I'm like a cat with ADD in a room of shinny things when it comes to "jumping on new opportunities" or expanding my current entrepreneurial ventures. I love starting new things. It's fun! It's exciting! I hate the follow through, I hate the out of balance part. You know the part where you decide to keep going or walk away. Yeah. I'm calling myself out...OUCH!  I've never in my life committed to a goal longer than 3 years. I mean really committed to something. That stopped when I came to this harsh reality. I'm getting way out of balance until I reach my goal.  My house is trashed, my yard is over grown with weeds, I haven't gone out with friends or on a date with my husband in months, I will miss my workout, I'll miss cooking at home, I'll miss my softball league, and vacations and frankly anything that does not get me closer to my goal. Well with two exceptions, God and Family those are things that I will never let out of balance. Everything else is out the door. Here's why... I am going to be successful. I am going to be financially free. I don't care how long it takes me. I'm not changing course.

Let me put a little side note in here: when I say financially free, I mean really free. Most people fall into two categories... employees and/or business owners/self employed. In my definition, being in either of those two categories you can never be free. (Read Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Freedom by Robert T. Kiyosaki for a much better explanation) I've been both. Employee is obvious...  you have someone telling you what to do, how to do it and how much you're worth...ooooo but being a business owner with no boss and no rules...Whooo I'm free!! Not quite, now you just own a job and believe me that business will run your life. Seriously ask any business owner they will tell you how much "freedom" they have. No my friend you are still trading your hours for dollars, your paycheck is a direct reflection of how much time you have personally invested and it stops when you're gone.   I'm not a genius and this is just my opinion but the only people that are living financially free are those that understand residual income or income that continues to be generated after the initial effort has been expended. For example, songwriters, inventors, patents owners, and actors they all get paid residual income. Most of those people are extremely talented, what about us average people? Ever heard of Direct Sales? We get paid residual income too. There are lots of good companies out there, I'm not talking about the shady pyramid companies that force you to buy their products, stock the products, sign people up or pay monthly fees. I'm talking about real direct sales. Do your research before you jump on board with one. Okay that's it for the side note..
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My goal is to coach and be a mentor to hundreds of other families so they can live free too. In order to do that I have to be focused. And to be honest until I am free myself I will never be able to help others the way I want to. Having financial freedom will allow me to stop thinking about myself, my bills, how my family will survive and start living for others.  I have to let everything else fall out of balance so that I can pour every ounce of energy into helping people reach their goals. I sat around and made excuses for 3 years, for 3 years I sat with this opportunity in my hands and I made excuses on why it wouldn't work for me as I lost focus and danced with every new opportunity that came my way. I sat back and watched as my teammates and good friends, went from a small team of  about 10 to a huge organization of hundreds. They have changed hundreds of lives because they stayed focused. Moms being able to quit their jobs to raise their children, families not fighting over finances, people being able to volunteer time, donate a lot of money to things they care about,  having the choice to leave jobs they hate, dad's being able to go to their kids sports, families being able to take vacations around the world, adults being able to spend months with their sick parents... that's what they did for people, not even mentioning everyone that they have helped with their health, wellness and fitness.  I could have done the same.

It was a simple decision I made to myself a couple of months ago...this is the first time I'm writing about it. I told my husband. He was on board but the decision I made to myself is what changed everything. It's amazing what kinds of things start to "happen" with a simple self promise.

AdvoCare came into my life 3 years ago...I wasn't ready. The products changed my life. And they sure changed my Husbands life, they are the reason he is a CrossFit coach today and why he has such passion for health and wellness now.  The products work for every single person that commits to program.  The leadership and the company values have shaped me as a person. When people are ready, this company will change their life too.  I don't have to convince people that it can or will do the same thing for them. I share my story, I listen and I lose myself in other people's goals. That's it. I don't "sell" anything or try to convince anyone to do something they don't want to. I pay it forward to people that are looking for the same solutions that I was looking for and when I do that AdvoCare takes care of me and my family. I refuse to leave my children with my debt. I refuse to not make a positive impact. And I refuse to live a life anything less than extraordinary. Everyday regular people become extraordinary by getting out of balance. They consciously decide that they want it more than anything else and they commit to it no matter what life throws at them.

Enough

Am I good enough? I know I'm not the only one that struggles with this concept. As a type A, goal setting, perfectionist that loves to be a people pleaser I find myself in a this conundrum a lot. How do you love and appreciate where you are NOW, yet always strive to be better? Is that even possible? If you are always setting goals and trying to be a better version of you, where do you draw the line? When does being good enough become lazy?  Comfortable? When are you good enough? What the hell does that even mean?

My definition of "good enough" has changed over the years. I remember when I first started CrossFit, how my body image changed from what I looked like to what I was capable of doing. I was hitting PRs every other week, my times were dropping, and I was making drastic improvements every month.  I never hit a natural plateau, I got pregnant, but I'm pretty sure that most people go through a similar situation at some point in their CrossFit career. As a coach, I see it happen all the time. LOTS of fast improvements, then all of the sudden a regression or very slow improvements. I went from "I'm freaking awesome, I just lifted my body weight off the ground" to "Why am I so weak? Why can I only lift 2X my body weight off the ground" AND "I am a rockstar!! I just did 10 pull-ups!" to "I suck, I can only string 25 pull-ups together".  My negative body image issues that I fixed with "strong is the new skinny" and "my body is amazing for what it does" is back with a vengeance saying "I'm not strong enough or fast enough..." And I'm back to square one.

What happened here?

My theory: I stopped concentrating on what I was capable of doing in that moment and started looking around at what others were doing.

I never felt that until I came back from my pregnancy. I was obsessed with what other new moms were doing, what other people in my gym were doing, I was insanely insistent on paying attention to other people's times and max weights and comparing myself to them. I would justify my craziness with "its a good measure of where I'm at" BULLSHIT! The truth is until I concentrated on what I could do in that moment, I was miserable. I wanted to quit. I hated myself. I hated the way I felt.

But the second that brought focus back onto myself and back to the moment, I was free. I started reading a really awesome book that helped. See you at the Top by Zig Ziglar reminded me that I am the only ME there is. Nobody on the entire planet will ever be me, they will never be in the same situation, have the same point of view, or have the same issues as me. NEVER. Not now, not ever. So really I can only compare myself to me. And what's even more interesting about this, is that with uniqueness and rarity comes value. I am so valuable to this world because I truly am one of a kind. YOU are too. We all are. When you focus on yourself and what YOU are capable of doing right now the pressure of being "good enough" goes away. Of course you're good enough, NO one can be a better version of you. You're always good enough if you give it everything you have.

I stopped comparing myself to other people, it's a terrible measure of where I stand. I now compare myself to my very best, in that moment. I know when I give it everything I have or when I'm faking it. I know when I slack off. When I make excuses. I rightfully beat myself up when I don't give it my best...not because I'm not as good as someone else but because I cheated myself. Don't ever beat yourself up for not being as good as someone else, that's stupid, how can you be? How can you be a better version of someone else? You can't. So you can't compare yourself to them.

If I'm being honest with myself and I gave it my very best, I am always enough. Always.

I'm Shanna Marie Tokarsky, Jeremie's wife, Avery's mother, an athlete, an AdvoCare nutrition advisor and a coach at The CrossFit box. I am the best version of ME the world is going to get. I am enough.

My original inspiration for this post came from a combination of  Stephanie Vincent from Radical Hateloss asking CrossFit Women for quotes for her upcoming article in WOD Talk Magazine; "Do you/did you get down on yourself for what you cannot do or don't do well in the gym? are you hard on yourself in outside of the gym (ie i could be a better mother/wife/friend) How does/did that impact you? If you overcame it, how?"

 And Fashlete of the Month:

 Melissa Guitron • I am ENOUGH • "CrossFit for the first time taught me to embrace who I am today, not who I want to be tomorrow, as enough." Now Melissa is spreading her message and inspiring other women and young girls through her CrossFit Women and CrossFit Kids programs as a coach at CrossFit San Mateo   Click here to read Melissa's story.

YOUR Very Best

It's just you and the bar

It's so simple yet so hard to do. I preach it to my clients all the time..."focus on yourself, don't worry about what others are doing around you...Compete with yourself... Be better than yesterday"

Saying we like to compete with one another in CrossFit would be an understatement, it is the SPORT of fitness after all. That's one of the reasons we love it! It's competitive. We do it to benchmark our fitness, we do it because it's fun, we do it because it's what keeps us coming back.  SO what's the harm in a little friendly competition? Well if we are doing it for the right reasons, nothing. But when it gets in the way of doing your best than it becomes a problem.

For me, the last two months of post-baby recovery have been rough. I found myself focusing on what others were doing during the workout, jealous of my non-baby bearing friends that were hitting PRs, and insanely obsessed with how fast other Moms could recover...I mean really check out this incredible new Mom athlete with a 2 month old! Everyone around me reassures me that I'm doing great... "take it easy, you just had a baby, you look great, you need your sleep, it took you 9months to get there..." Yes all that is true, my body has to go through some serious healing, but am I giving it my best?

CrossFit workouts are extremely frustrating and difficult for me right now. Things that I used to do easily are a struggle. It's been very humbling. When I first started CrossFit I was already in pretty good shape, so I didn't really have to go through what a lot of newbies do. Yeah I got my ass kicked but I was putting up respectable numbers within my first month. Now I'm at the bottom, I am dead last almost every WOD and I have a new appreciation for what the newbies go through.

Last week I decided that I should probably listen to my own advice and focus on myself. Everyday I go into the gym and I focus on what I can do that day, during that WOD, with where I am at now. Not what I did yesterday, not what other members are doing in the gym, not how I'm going to be the only one working out for 15mins after everyone finishes, not how bad I want to keep scaling the workout so that I can have a somewhat decent time, not how can I be the coach if I can't even RX workouts, not why would anyone listen to me when I'm still 25lbs overweight...ENOUGH! My mind was filled with those negative, unproductive thoughts and I wasn't getting better or having fun. This last week I have made incredible improvements because I made the decision to stop the crazy. I've been having a lot more fun too. This is what my self talk sounds like during a workout now:

"are you giving it your very best? Your very best Shanna, your very best? You promised me your best..." 

That's from Facing the Giants, btw...

Best scene from the whole movie! I love it and it's fueling my comeback! You can use it if you want. I highly recommend that you watch the whole movie too.


This doesn't just apply to CrossFit...this applies everywhere, with everything you do. I'm 100% convinced that the way you do something....is the way you do everything. Let that soak in for a second. I think about that a lot...do I half ass cleaning my house, playing with my son, listening to my husband? Am I too busy comparing myself to others to focus on what I need to do to be my best? Am I taking myself too seriously to have fun? Sometimes the answer is yes, I don't want to be that person ever. I don't want to just go through the motions. What's the point?

This year's mantra:

 "I live with purpose, I live with intention, I give it my very best every time and I have a freaking blast doing it."

Stick it Up Your Nose!

There's something about the smell of Crayola crayons that reminds you being a kid. I can't take credit for this idea, my favorite professor from BGSU who specializes in entrepreneurship and creativity in business, Gene Poor, wrote a whole book on this topic. I remember coming into class one day and he handed us all our own crayons. When we sat down in our seats he said "Okay now I want you to break your crayon in half and STICK it up your nose." We all laughed and did it. For a minute we forgot we were serious MBA students, we were kids again, we were laughing, dreaming, careless kids with limitless possibilities and unadulterated imaginations.

What happens to us as we age? When we make our goals every year, when we plan our future, where did that kid go? Why do we make the same mediocre goals year after year. Why do we limit ourselves? We call them resolutions... I hate new years resolutions, because it has become acceptable to break them. Don't do that to yourself.  Think I wrote something similar last year in my GOALS post. Here's the deal if you want to make a real change in your life then just DO IT. Commit to your decision to change and make it happen. I cannot help you do that. That kid that you used to be knows exactly how to do this. That kid knows how to dream, she knows how to make goals like anything is possible. She doesn't care about being realistic. She doesn't care about what happened in the past. She really doesn't even care what she has to do to make it happen. Seriously ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up....its a straight forward, high energy answer and it usually is stated like a fact. Like there is no doubt in their mind that they are going to achieve that status. Get in touch with that kid, even if you have to stick a crayon up your nose to do it!

That's how I started my goal re-evaluation for this year...with a crayon up my nose. I'm a visual person so after I wrote out my goals in the correct format..."I am_____, I have____, I did______" with the dates I was going to achieve them by,  I created a visual reminder of what I wanted to accomplish this year:

Last year we had three big goals:

1. New flip house

Check

 2. Babies

Check

3. Crossfit Gym. 

Check

If you followed this blog than you know we hit all of those! Be very careful on what you put out into the universe, it almost always comes true. Think about that the next time you are worrying or better yet complaining.  This year we have one major goal:

We are completely debt free by December 31st 2012. Total financial freedom.

Our gym isn't exactly a cash cow and we both don't have "traditional" jobs....we've been broke for long enough. We've learned a lot, we've grown a lot, we've been humbled and we've decided that we had enough.

Other goals of mine include: getting back to my pre-baby weight, 120lb snatch, a muscle-up, visiting my brother in San Fran, going to New York City in December and reading 6 new books.

Bring it on 2012! Bring it on!

"Sorry I can't, I'm too busy"

"Being busy is seductive, just because you’re going flat out doesn't mean your on the right path. If its the wrong hole you need to stop digging." -The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun 

This by far is my favorite excuse to debunk. Why why why must people act like they have no control over their life? Don't you see that makes you the victim? Being busy does not mean that you are going anywhere. Being busy with things that are not important to you does not make you a better person. Being busy does not equal success. Now, being lazy and waiting around for things to happen to you is another thing. I'm not talking about that. Define your purpose and your goals and only be busy with those things that will get you there, everything else is a waste of time. If you don't know where you are going it is very easy to get "busy" running around in circles. Being a fitness professional I hear, "I'm too busy" more than a normal person should ever have to, I usually answer, "we all have 24hrs in a day" Isn't that the truth though? Got that from one of my favorite books, The Magic of Thinking Big. I'm 100% convinced if you want something bad enough you will find a way to make it happen. If not you will find an excuse. Being busy is an excuse. If you don't want something a better answer is "no if I spend my time ______ than I will be taking time and energy away from what I truly want." Be honest with yourself. Don't make excuses, that's lame. If you want to get healthy than do it, don't waste my time or yours with excuses. If you want to make more money than do it. If you hate the weather and want to move than do it. You are the one that drives the "you" bus. Nobody makes you do anything except for you. If you're "too busy" right now to work on achieving your goals, whose fault is that? Hate to be the bearer of bad news.....but that would be you.  


In that light, I'm happy to announce that I have redone my goals, re-focused my energy and am ready to cross more goals off my board. I work on average 12hour days, but I can tell you I am never too busy to pick up one more task if it is in line with my goals. I will also say that I am getting better at saying NO to the things that are not. Every decision I make gets me closer or further away from my goals. One choice at a time I determine my future. How amazing is that? Jeremie and I are now the only other owners in the run for the CrossFit gym. We made the decision to stay, it will become successful.  I work at lululemon but choose not to get promoted because it's not my career choice. My ego gets in the way sometimes and I think I want to be in a leadership position at lululemon, but I have to constantly come back to my goals and be honest with myself. My BHAG is to be retired by the age of 35, that's not going to happen by climbing the ladder at lululemon. Even though I love love love it there, saying yes to a promotion would take away time and energy from my AdvoCare business.  We choose to work AdvoCare daily because it is our future. Because it is the only thing that will allow us to be financially independent enough to be retired at the age of 35. I write this blog because it keeps me accountable. It organizes my thoughts. And I hope that it speaks to someone struggling to build a life that they imagined. 


Coming up next....be careful what you write on your goal boards they almost always come true...




Paleo eats: 

Paleo Muffins.....so good! Recipe from Everyday Paleo

Breakfast of Champions

Seriously bacon makes everything better, bacon on asparagus.

Bacon and mushrooms sauteed with spinach, baked mahi-mahi topped with guacamole and hot sauce

Sausage over raw spinach, salsa dressing.

Pizza with a turkey bacon crust! Use a tiny bit of Raw cheese.

Sometimes you need a break

I promised a million people I would have my goals redone and ready to go tonight, but its not going to happen. I'm tired, I'm burnt out and I'm taking a break. I've stared at this computer screen for over an hour now and I am completely uninspired to write new goals. What's been going on this past week has completely drained me emotionally and physically. I'm not going to wine about this funk I'm pushing through but I will be honest. Small setback. There needs to be a balance readjustment. The big announcement that I have to make is this, Jeremie and I are now training at a CrossFit gym. This announcement is also the source of my balance issue. Here's how this week went, 5:00am wake up  go to crossfit to train myself, come home shower and head straight to lululemon until 4:00pm, go straight back to crossfit to train until 7 or 8pm, get home cook dinner, shower, answer emails for about an hour, clean up and crash around 11:00pm. This is what my schedule looked like for the majority of the week and I am dreading going through it again. Our goal is to own a CrossFit gym. This past week we had an interesting opportunity of joining forces with the owner of the gym we work at and help build that into a successful business. He already had a couple interested in the same thing. Today we had a meeting with the owner of the gym and the other couple and we are entering into a 3 month trail period where we see if this is a feasible setup. Can there be 5 owners? Can we all get on the same page? Can we all win? Right now for me I feel extremely overwhelmed for a maybe. My dream in life has always been to be a gym owner. We also want to travel and give our children a wonderful life and never have to worry about financial pressure. We know 100% there is no way to do that with a gym being the only source of income. I've ran the numbers a million different ways to make it work. It's not going to happen. And even if we could make enough money we wouldn't have the time to travel or raise our children. We would be married to the gym, trading hours for dollars. That's why our focus has been to build our AdvoCare business to a point where we can live comfortably ($80,000) before we venture into opening a gym. That way the gym was our passion that we get to share with people..not a business that stresses us out.  That we could let people workout for free if we wanted to. That we could hire and pay trainers to run it when we were gone. That we would actually have time and money to travel when we wanted to. Helping people reach their goals is my passion. Helping people become more than they thought they ever could be is my passion.

And so investing time into a gym right now might not be the best solution for us. We have to sacrifice hours from our AdvoCare business to build the gym business, when we know that is not what is going to pay us. Where do we draw the line?

The next couple of months will be interesting. I am going to make a promise to myself to stay grounded and take a break when I need it. Will that happen how I plan.....probably not...I like to do everything all at once by myself. In the past this is where I break. I've learned a lot from the 4 businesses I started that didn't make it. Just by being aware of this balance issue I feel like it's going be the tipping point for me. Being aware that I need to call myself out when I don't follow through too. I want to become the leader that I was meant to be. To do that I know I must continue to grow and learn. This is one of those learning experiences that will make me stronger. Staying true to my goals and pushing my comfort level is where I grow. I want to be extraordinary. I want to be a difference maker. I want to change the world for the better.

The Power of One

"Every single thing you do matters. You have been created as one of a kind. You have been created in order to make a difference. You have within you the power to change the world" - Andy Andrews, The Butterfly Effect

Jere and I at Success School

We spent this weekend with some of the most inspiring people on the planet at AdvoCare's Success School. One of whom was best selling author Andy Andrews. It would take pages upon pages to really describe what we experienced this weekend, but I feel like Andy's message about the butterfly effect really does the best job at summing it up. Every decision we make has an effect on the world, whether you believe that or not, it's a scientific principle known as the law of sensitive dependence upon initial conditions. Just like the scientific law of gravity you don't have to understand it, believe it or even be aware that it is there to be effected by it. Scientific laws are truths. Sometimes I feel like I have to do something obnoxiously great to change the world. But its not the truth. I change the world with every decision that I make, how I react to situations and the attitude that I choose to have. And so do you. The pure fact that you are alive and breathing gives you purpose and ability to leave a legacy. Not by what you accomplish (building your resume) but by what you've contributed (building a legacy). At the end of your life you will look back and have one of two feelings #1 Regret or #2 Fulfillment. You choose every time you make a decision. Do  you live a safe life of mediocrity or do you let people in your heart and your life? Do you chase the dreams that God put in your heart or let fear, the little gift from Satan, keep you in your safe place.  Do you trust that struggles are part of his plan to make you stronger or fall into a pit of depression crying "why me" when your plan doesn't work out? I want to share  a story that I heard this weekend about the power of one decision:

AdvoCare's new endorser Colt McCoy  had one dream from time he was a little boy, to be the quarterback that lead his team to a national championship. On January 7, 2010 he was face to face with his dream. It was the last game of his college career as a Texas Longhorn.  The day was perfect and as quarterback to win the most games in college history, he was hours from achieving his dream. His plan was solid. However, God had different plans for him that day. In one play Colt was hit and his shoulder was numb. To shorten the story he was taken out of the game and Texas lost to Alabama. Then Colt made a decision that effected millions. He decided that day how to react to his reality. Here is what he said seconds after the game was over: 

Thousands have written, emailed, and shared this story of faith. Because of his decision to trust that everything happens for a reason and to voice that on National TV Colt touched more lives than he could have ever if they would have won. 

How many times have you missed the opportunity to make the right decision?


Don't get me wrong we don't have to be incredible starting quarterbacks to make a difference. We all make a difference. I use to think that my decisions would only effect me and some of the people in my life. Don't make this mistake. Settling for less than your best, not chasing your dreams, being "realistic", not challenging the "way we do things" when they don't seem right does not do anyone a favor. Clarification; I'm not saying quit your job and move to Mexico because that is your dream, I'm saying make small conscious decisions every day to get you closer to that dream. Be grateful for what you have, enjoy every second of your life (good and bad), take a stand for what you believe in and fight for your dreams. If your plan is to go to college, get into debt, settle for a job to pay off your debt, live pay check to pay check, switch jobs every time you are offered a little more cash, live for the weekends, trade the precious hours of your life for dollars, and build your retirement fund so you can finally live your passion at the age of 65,  I  strongly urge you to find a new plan. Even if you truly love your job your future depends on someone else. Pension plans, benefits, retirement are all things of our past they will not be around long. This system is failing and we are seeing the effects.  Be smart and create multiple streams of income, get out of debt so that you do not owe anyone anything and prepared. Become financially independent so that you can be a contribution not just a cog in the big business machine living for your pension.

This is not an advertisement for AdvoCare, but it is an endorsement for direct sales. I don't know any other way for an average person to create an abundance of wealth. Find one that fits your passion and start creating a second stream of income. There are thousands of great companies out there. If you're into Makeup, especially if you are into organic non-toxic makeup, Arbonne, is a great company. There's ones for jewelry, tupperware, house decorations, cell phone services....do some research and find one that pays well, has a value system that you believe in and is filled with people that you want to be around. Our AdvoCare team is like our family. Beware of companies that promise quick easy money. It's not easy. You will work if you want to be successful. Here's my question, if you are going to work hard for the next 5-10 years why not build something that is going to pay you for the rest of your life?

3 of the most amazing people we know

Jere and I are part of AdvoCare because we are passionate about helping people get healthy. The products work and the business opportunity works. If you're still reading I'm guessing you are looking for something, that you want to be a difference maker. You will effect millions whether you want to or not, you will change the world no matter what.....its a fact.

The question isn't will I make a difference, the question you should be asking is what kind of difference do I want to make?

Lessons from the Sunshine State

We  have learned more in the short 7 months that we have been in Florida than we could have ever learned anywhere else. Our journey to Florida was incredible, honestly we thought that Florida would be the place we would settle down, collect ourselves & the shatter pieces of our dreams and build something new. As I look back I know that Florida was a necessary stop in our journey, was it a mistake? Financially yes! In the big picture, no. The cash we've spent hauling our crap around the country  was a small price to pay for the experiences that we have had here. As I look at our clutter apartment I can't help but smile.

Love Packing.....not!

The biggest lessons that I will take from FL:

1. You really can do anything you want, the only thing stopping you is you. 
2. Great people are everywhere and you have the choice to hang out with them and be influenced by them or continue to be around people that bring you down.  
3. Follow your heart and everything will always be okay.
4. Nothing can replace time with family. 

We found ourselves here. We discovered our passion for CrossFit, the paleo lifestyle, we met amazing people, we understood that AdvoCare is our only outlet to become independently wealthy and we discovered how lucky we were to have family that supported us through all of our crazy endeavors.  Life is so crazy like that. Never in a million years did I think I would live in FL, I never thought Jere would be passionate about health and fitness like I am,  I never thought I could make it through financial crisis, and when I left Olmsted Falls I never ever thought I would miss it. My heart tells me I'm in the right place.  I've never had a problem  following my heart, half of the time its what gets me into all these crazy situations. Personally I think its a blessing. You never have to worry about me being happy and or not telling you how I feel. I'm happy because I follow my heart, I wear it on my sleeve and I share it with everyone I meet. Yes sometimes I get hurt because I live like this....but I make a conscious effort to keep the walls down. I don't know how to experience life any other way. I'm not great at making and sticking to plans because I do what my heart tells me to not what the plans on the paper say. I don't want to change that about myself because it gives me the right away to be free. I choose to be this way. I choose to live a passionate life. NOW, I'm not saying to give up on things that get hard because it is uncomfortable....I'm saying to listen to what your heart says. If you listen, it will tell you when to stick and when to leave. If you're honest with yourself you will know when you're doing something because you're following your heart or because you are pleasing someone else. Don't be a people pleaser....its exhausting. You will make millions of people happy by following your heart, by living a passionate, purposeful life you give others permission to do the same. We need more passionate people in the world.



Passionate Peeps we'll miss from FL:

Our AdvoFam

CrossFit Fam

lululemon Fam

In food News:
Back to Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS):

"Just like my Workout, My Multivitamin kicks your Multivitamin's ass." - Jere

Extra Probiotic....keeps my digestive system working

Extra Omegas keeps inflammation down

Chicken cordon blue wrapped in Bacon with frozen veggies

So the other night after the Nuclear Winter Challenge we had melted dark chocolate to dip Strawberries in....this is the leftover chocolate. YUM!

Bacon topped Meatloaf Recipe from Heath Bent, we subbed turkey for pork.

Sauteed (in the juices from the meatloaf) kale and spinach with garlic and sea salt

Put that over a sweet potato, baked in bacon grease.

Ate like royalty in our half packed apartment. 

The person that lives in my head

Okay so there's not really a person that lives in my head, but who is that constant annoying voice that is always making lists, judging people (including me) and telling me what I should be doing. From the books that I have been reading, I call this "voice" one of three things: my Ego (from A New Earth), My Lizard brain (from Linchpin), or my Story (lululemon development). I personally don't really think it matters what we call it, I think the important thing is that we acknowledge it, separate ourselves from it and rewrite thoughts that are beneficial to us not harmful. We are not our thoughts, yet our thoughts most definitely manifest our reality. In that sense our thoughts create our life so controlling them and being aware of them is extremely important. On Friday my Ego won.

The WOD of the day was:

For time:
30-25-20-15-10-5 reps of
Pull-ups
Thrusters (45/33)

My Ego says, "Shanna you can not do 105 pull ups, use a band" I listened and asked if I could scale the WOD with a band. To which my coach says "No you can RX it or you do jumping pull-ups" Jumping pull-ups is like a step backward for me....so I say "Okay let's do this thing" Yet the story in my head is saying "This is going to take you forever, you can't do this, you're not strong enough yet, do half and switch to jumping....."

I have this mental block with pull ups, and yes its a story I tell myself but this Friday I felt strong before I let my Ego take over. Since my hands usually end up like this after 10 pull-ups:

I was terrified of what 105 would do to my hands so I made some tape grips following this guys advice:


Taping your hands for pull-ups from CrossFit Los Angeles on Vimeo.

and I took Muscle Fuel, which makes you have superhuman strength:

I felt confident that I could get through the WOD with a small tiny little band......but the band was a crutch, it was a satisfying treat for my lizard brain. When it was denied that simple pleasure it tortured me and I gave in. I did the first 75 pull-ups on my own, the whole time comparing myself to others and worrying about not being strong enough to finish, and then I gave into what my ego wanted from the beginning and switched to jumping. Yep, with 30 left to go I quit. And on the board as a constant reminder of who won, it says "JPU" not "RX" next to my name and time of 28:34. I could have finished RX, but I didn't. Not because I wasn't strong enough, but because I let my thoughts tell me how it was going end. The worst part is that WOD was my chance to bury my fear of pull-ups forever. Will, my coach, kept saying "keep going Shanna, after this every WOD with pull-ups will be easy" He was right.

On a good note my hands ended up in pretty good shape:

Right after the WOD

24 hours after the WOD

Those grips rock! I'm excited to overcome my fear of pull ups and now that I am aware of my Ego's sabotaging behavior I will kick its ass when it starts deciding my future for me again. I have a crossfit compeition coming up next week called the Nuclear Winter and one of the WODs is max pull ups. I'm going to win that one.




Here are some eats from the last couple of days:

Paleo Pizza! Crust made out of a huge portabella mushroom, organic bacon, ham and salami, marinara sauce and topped with a little raw cheese. Yes a little cheat but you only need a little tiny bit and its better option than soy.

That stuffing Jere made went a long way...I used the rest of it to make meatballs, a spinach salad, and a very small sweet potato. Another small cheat on the ranch dressing...its make from greek yogurt and we only use it in small quantities.

What's going on in your head?