Lessons from The Grind
WOOOOOOOO!
*pass out on couch*...is pretty much how I felt on the night of June 4th, after my first day of launching Make This Your Moment.I had done so much preparation for launch day, had been prepping a bootcamp for the local Lululemon, and was putting in some serious programming time for brand new coaching clients.And then it was done.It was out there. There was nothing more to do to perfect it. It was "printed" and shipped.And I felt feel pretty good.Overall, I've received amazingly supportive and uplifting feedback from people who have bought the book, as well as some great reviews from bloggers I really look up to.Throughout the process, however, I learned a lot of things that I am so grateful for because I can now add the skills I developed through coping with them to my tool belt for next time.Oh yes, there will be a next time.Here, I'm going to share with you some of the goodies and baddies of the whole process, and what you can learn from them and apply to your own life, book or no book.
Throwing Plans Out The Window
I was hoping that releasing the book would take about a month. It took two.I loaded all the discount codes in as I should... but one number was off, so only one went in for the first few hours, blocking all other discounts out.When it comes down to it, plans are for sh**.There's no way to plan for something you've never done before (or that you have done before, for that matter). Plans just end up disappointing you or failing to prepare you for what you think might happen.What I learned from this experience above all else: expect the unexpected.
Go with the flow.
Don't force your agenda.
Let it be what it is while taking action to accomplish what you need.
And it will all turn out the way it should: because nothing "should" ever be one way.
Crashing (and being ok with it)
Oh man, how I crashed this week after everything was out there.My body was having a hard time holding basic yoga poses.I was sore and aching and tired throughout the whole weekend after launch week.I slept in til 8:30 one morning! *personal trainer gasp!*But you know what? I'm ok with it this time around.In the past, I've crashed, but fought it the whole way until coming out of it. This time, I'm allowing myself to take a break, breathe, do fewer workouts and just enjoy silence and calm.I'll startle every so often, thinking that there is something I should be doing. I have to actively remind myself that it's all done.Life goes in cycles. In order to keep that balance, you need to have calm as well as the periods of hard work.Practicing what I preach in the ways of allowance and breathing has been quite an experience. It's harder than it seems!I've learned that I am better at pushing myself to work harder than I am at relaxing (which is funny because for so long I refused to do anything to change my unhappiness and felt sentenced to a miserable life). Sound familiar? It's pretty common nowadays.If you're used to going gung ho all the time, schedule time to crash. Relax. Breathe. Do some freaking yoga.If you're slacking more than you know you should, schedule days to get sh** done! Make a list of things to check off and DO IT! Go to the gym and lift something heavy. Throw out your soda. Call someone you've been meaning to connect with.Life goes in cycles... whether you work with them or not is up to you.
Scaring People Off With Change
This was a hard one for me.I released Make This Your Moment hoping that I would be able to help a lot of people change their lives.I think it will, but I'll be the first to admit that it's sensitive subject matter.I've received a couple responses from readers about how they were so shocked at the first worksheet, they had to put the book down because of the effect it had on them.This is what I was afraid of.
This part of the post is not intended as an attack, rather it is me trying to speak directly to you as a coach would, as I do to my clients.
The first worksheet is probably the hardest of them all: it's called "Face It," and it pushes you to do exactly that.This section of the book forces you out of denial, and to face the issues that are holding you back from happiness.It's emotional and extremely hard to do.But the rest of the book goes on to help you out of that state. The worksheets beyond this one take you through how to deal with these issues and do something about them.The worst thing one could do would be to stop reading after Face It and stay in that dwelling, miserable state.I would never release Face It on its own without actionable steps to come out of it. Having been to that place of darkness and hopelessness, I would never wish that on anyone.
I want to tell you all that if you're reading Make This Your Moment and have stopped after Face It, DON'T.
Pick it back up and keep going.There is hope. You can do this.Change is downright uncomfortable, but you need to take action to get out of it. Don't settle for anything less than pure happiness!The way I wrote Face It is very straight forward. There is no hand-holding. There is no baby talk. It's me and you, peeling off the layers of denial around your life so you can experience it in its rawest state.I came on very strong in this section, and though I did it in the hopes of helping people, I may have scared some away. And that breaks my heart more than I can write here.Change is a tricky subject. A lot of people don't want to talk about it at all because they are so sensitive about it, whether it's from refusing to change or failing in their attempts to change in the past.For some, Face It will be the turning point. For others, it may take some mental preparation to peel those layers back.
You have to stop telling yourself you "can't" and making excuses to keep from changing.
Our time here is limited. It's up to you how you'll spend it.
There's A Lot of Love Out There
Oh wow. There is so much love out there in the world and I am so grateful to have felt so much of it from friends, acquaintances and strangers over the past few weeks!With my post on Tiny Buddha, the release of my book, and the Lululemon bootcamp, I feel like I'm getting bum-rushed by love from all sides... and I am eating it up!I can't thank all of you (yes you) enough for the support and happy vibes you've been sending my way, whether it's been from the beginning or if this is your first visit. You guys are why I write. You guys are why I train.The change I see happening in people inspires me to help more people achieve it. You can be the success story you read about. You can achieve just as much as Benny, Kay or Andrea have (yep, even without a trainer).What you need to realize is that it is all possible.Life is full of possibility, opportunities, gifts and inspiration. CHOOSE to look at those things rather than the setbacks, draining sources, or excuses you fabricate out of fear.Change is yours for the taking. All you need to do is change your perspective and take action!
Do It All Over Again
As stressed as I was over the last couple months, I would do it all over again......and I'm planning to.I just need a breath before I do.I won't lie: for much of the time I was working on Make This Your Moment, I was really scared I couldn't do it.I faced a lot of fear in the past couple months; I looked it dead on in the face, inhaled its nasty doubting breath and stared it down until it knew I was boss.But there were a couple moments weeks in there that I really thought, "Can I really do this?"Now that I'm on the other side, I see that fear for what it was: an obstacle keeping me from evolving set up by my comfort zone.That fear never goes away; you simply learn how to cope with it.Sitting back and waiting is not an option anymore. I have some lofty ambitions and a lot of people to help.Who are you helping? How are you changing?
Inspiration fuels inspiration, so let's start a positivity-fest right here in the comments!
If you're working on something, helping somebody, or otherwise making the world a better place through your actions, comment below!
My goal for this is to motivate others to move, and maybe just show some people that they don't have to wait: the only time we have guaranteed to us is NOW. Take it!If you liked this post, check out 11 Life Lessons from 2011 to Turn You Strong Inside Out or Expect (and Prepare for) The Unexpected.Want more than just blog posts 2x/week? Check out the Strong Inside Out Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, and check my Pinterest boards for daily inspiration!