Choices and Priorities…

Have you ever stopped to think about what an incredible freedom the gift of choice can be? I mean REALLY thought about it in detail?  Here is the thing- REGARDLESS of where we are in life or what circumstance we may be in, we always have the CHOICE to do something different. It doesn’t mean we can magically wave a wand and have our fairy godmother fix it all, that only worked for Cinderella, but we CAN do SOMETHING different.

Life is hard.  Obstacles and battles and time suckers are thrown at us daily.  Knowing this, here is a very distinct quality possessed by people who succeed.  They make the choice to change!  And this pertains to anything.  Business, health goals, personal relationships, sports, anything really.  This is in no way meant to be a harsh sounding blog- but a dose of reality.  I had to give myself this same dose 14 months ago as I sat here a personal trainer and runner and fitness nutrition coach who had broken her back, could no longer run or train people, and who was in a pity party and feeling sorry for myself.

Where am I going with this?  Okay- here is the deal….. I see/meet/hear/talk to people daily and often times, whether friends, stranger, or family I hear things like this:

“Oh I will never be able to lose weight, I guess I was just born to be fat.”

“I would love to try your Plexus program but I just cannot afford it so it is a NO WAY for me.”

“Oh I have that Plexus stuff and I take it a few times a week but it just doesn’t work.”

“I want to have a baby so badly and I know my weight is an issue but I just cannot lose weight.”

“I tried that business plan but I don’t know enough people and after a little bit my warm market dried up and my people quit so I am just over it and not even trying anymore.  I just can’t do this.”

“I hate my job but I could never be a success at running a business like you do, I’m just not a salesperson.”

“Wow, I would love to get out of debt but I guess I just have to wait until I hit the lottery.”

“I know my weight is an issue and my blood pressure is up, but I just do not think I can do anything about it.”

“Yes I have diabetes, but I just eat candy and cookies once in a while and we only do fast food once a week or so.”

“I’m eating healthy and I exercise five days a week but I just cannot lose weight. I do not get it??”

“I so need to lose weight but my whole family is overweight and they would be so upset if I tried to rock the boat and bring some of my healthy food.  I don’t want to upset anyone.”

“I cannot afford to eat healthy.  It is too expensive.”

“I do not have time to cook.”

“I hate exercise.”

“I want to eat better but I just love my Doritos and my ice cream.”

This is just a brief list.  I could literally go on and on and on.  Here is the bottom line when it comes to EVERYTHING IN LIFE.

  It is absolute truth.  We are such capable beings who have no idea the potential we have to accomplish things we never dreamed possible.  We have to start with BELIEF that we can and then DO THE WORK to make the dreams/goals happen.  This is another favorite of mine:   Things we want take work.  Rome was not built in a day.  Nothing upsets me more than to see people QUIT ON THEMSELVES!  We quit on our health, we quit on people, we quit on our dreams to be financially free and we often just quit on life.  This is heartbreaking!  My life has been no bed of roses.  Trust me the last year has brought some challenges nobody other than my closest circles are aware of plus the health issues and many other things.  It would have been easy to just throw my hands up and quit.

I mean come on, I was sitting there with a broken back, had to cancel my anti-obesity tour, (which is on hold AGAIN due to my upcoming surgery), had gained 40 lbs and things seemed a mess! What happened?

I woke up one day and said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!  NO MORE negativity, no more pity party and I AM GOING TO CHOOSE TO CHANGE THINGS! And so it began…. I decided it was time to take back control of my health and business and I MADE A CHOICE to do just that.  My husband thought I was nuts when I signed up for Plexus, but I did and here I sit a year and 2 months later, 60 pounds lighter, my husband almost 60 pounds lighter, my blood sugar crashes under control, watching my team grow and people I work with teach me new things daily, watching people on my team as well as customers come off meds for all kinds of things like diabetes and migraines and anxiety, all because they MADE A CHOICE TO CHANGE.  I am watching people on my team replace incomes that are allowing them to be at home with their families more in place of that second job.

The best part?  I am still making the choice to learn and grow and improve daily.  I am learning more and more each day about the POWER OF MY CHOICES. I can choose each day to be a blessing to someone or to be a negative Nelly.  I can choose to thank God for my many blessings or choose to be upset and my problems. I can choose to spend my time trying to help others and grow my business and help my team or I can choose to spend my time wallowing in my health issues and whining that I cannot run and that my tour is grounded.  Get my point? The long term circumstances do not change daily and quickly BUT my DAILY CHOICE to DO SOMETHING HAS LONG TERM effect that WILL eventually change my circumstances.

I CHOOSE to do the needed exercises for my back in the bed before my feet hit the floor each day.  My back is still fused and I still cannot run and still need another surgery, BUT my daily CHOICE to stretch it out has had a positive impact on my ability to walk.

Life is not easy.  Life is hard.  Losing weight is hard.  Getting healthy is hard.  Creating a business is hard.  Being unhealthy is hard.  Being broke is hard.  You know what?  We can all pick our hard.  We have to change our negative mindset and start realizing we DO have a choice to control things we can control.  Knowing that fact, let’s look at the statements above once more with a different angle.

“Oh I will never be able to lose weight, I guess I was just born to be fat.” –  This is only a true statement if you believe that.  We can ALL CHOOSE to do something about or health.  The question is are we choosing to do or to stay in the same unhealthy rut?

“I would love to try your Plexus program but I just cannot afford it so it is a NO WAY for me.” – Really?  Let’s add up your monthly expenses for fast food, Starbucks, vending machines, cookies, candy, chips, and junk.  What are you spending on energy drinks?  Oh yeah I saw you on Facebook eating out the other day and also at that concert.  So really you just do not WANT this to be a priority for you.  That would be the better statement.  Most people on Plexus save more than the monthly cost on food alone.  We won’t even get into the people coming off expensive meds. It is perfectly fine to make the CHOICE not to invest in your health, but remember, it is a choice.

“Oh I have that Plexus stuff and I take it a few times a week but it just doesn’t work.”- Well there is your problem.  You have to be consistent and use it daily.  It works if you work it and the plain fact is some people try it before they are ready to work it and that is okay!  But please do not blame the products.  Remember- don’t be upset with the results you do not get from the work you did not do.

“I want to have a baby so badly and I know my weight is an issue but I just cannot lose weight.” Obesity is one of the leading causes of infertility. We have a term called “surprise Plexus babies”- I have one on my team- born last week.  CUTE as can be.

“I tried that business plan but I don’t know enough people and after a little bit my warm market dried up and my people quit so I am just over it and not even trying anymore.  I just can’t do this.” – Every person you know knows thousands more people.  I can promise you some of them need help with weight, blood sugar, etc.  Did you give the business a year?  Not just a year of posting once a week on Facebook- JOIN MY TEAM, or HEY I’VE GOT PLEXUS IF YOU NEED SOME, but a year of truly working this business?  Whether 30 minutes a day or 3 hours a day- you can do this if you use the awesome tools available to us all as Plexus Ambassadors.  Remember you are a CEO of a company now.  Google the story of one of my favorite businessmen and dreamers Walter Elias Disney.  What if he had just quit when he was fired and told he had ZERO creativity?  WOW!

“I hate my job but I could never be a success at running a business like you do, I’m just not a salesperson.”  Here is the thing- I HATE selling stuff!  WE do not need salespeople at Plexus.  We need people to use the products and when they work and you lose weight and feel better, SHARE.  NOBODY likes a pushy salesperson!  SO GREAT NEWS!!!  You are a perfect fit!!!

“Wow, I would love to get out of debt but I guess I just have to wait until I hit the lottery.” Funny how some of us call Plexus our lottery because of the incredibly different and fair compensation plan they offer.  Oh wait- and my friend Celeste Gwynn who is one of the speakers for the Fit Living Radio Seminar at Sea, and the top earner in Plexus- yes she candidly refers to her paycheck as “gangsta money”.  TRUTH.  Ask her… or listen to where she said it on my radio show here.  Or let’s talk about one of my mentors Sara J Marble-  yep she just used her Plexus income to open an orphanage this summer for 25 kids in India.  You can hear her story here.  And she retired as a nurse and her husband John has gone part time as a nurse anesthetist  thanks to their Plexus income.  They would likely tell you they hit the lottery also.  Take a listen here!  

“I know my weight is an issue and my blood pressure is up, but I just do not think I can do anything about it.” –  Ummmm- you can if you CHOOSE to- but the choice is yours to make.  Nobody can force you.  I had to be ready to get healthy.  I got hounded for years and all it did was make things worse.  Until I decided to be healthy, there was no forcing me.

“Yes I have diabetes, but I just eat candy and cookies once in a while and we only do fast food once a week or so.”  Here is the thing about your type 2 diabetes- it can be controlled by choices we make.  We can also use healthy tools to help us get there, but just throwing up our hands in the air- nope that is NOT going to get us anywhere.

“I’m eating healthy and I exercise five days a week but I just cannot lose weight. I do not get it??” We need to look at food logs because 9 of 10 times I hear this it turns out to be a food log filled with empty carbs and sugar and processed foods that may indeed on the package say “low-fat”, “organic”, “gluten-free”, or “light”- but the calories ad carbs are still there.  WE can fix this one EASY.

“I so need to lose weight but my whole family is overweight and they would be so upset if I tried to rock the boat and bring some of my healthy food.  I don’t want to upset anyone.” If you have a friend or family member who doesn’t support your decision to live healthy, then they are not good for you and you should not want to have them in your life.  NOW- we cannot just go writing off family of course, but what you CAN do is bring something healthy to the next family get-together.  We tell people this all the time.  You cannot control others’ actions but you CAN control how you respond to them.  If someone makes fun of you for choosing healthy over junk- let it go.  If you know there will be nothing but garbage at the party, be sure YOU bring 1-2 healthy dishes so that YOU HAVE OPTIONS.  Do what is right for you and as you get healthy, you will notice that your social circle changes.  It is just part of life.  You will find that the old friends who loved to come around when your table was filled with junk, are not so quick to come over when life becomes more than just being about food.  Trust me, it happened to us.  At first you will be upset, but in the long run, it is a huge blessing.

“I cannot afford to eat healthy.  It is too expensive.” FALSE- good healthy food can be obtained on a budget.  You will be eating smaller portions as well.  Here is the best example without this being a whole blog in and of itself!                    

“I do not have time to cook.”  If you have time to read this, you have time to cook.  We teach people all the time in our Cook, Eat, Live Smart seminars how to cook a healthy meal with time issues and budget issues.

“I hate exercise.” – The problem is that you have to find a physical activity you like and do it three times a week.  Walk, dance in the living room, ride a bike, take a walk, swim, play tennis, play golf and walk not take a cart, ANYTHING.  It doesn’t mean you have to join a gym, hire a trainer, do crazy hard core workouts, just MOVE YOUR BODY 3 times a week and work up to thirty minutes.

“I want to eat better but I just love my Doritos and my ice cream.” – What is more important?  The temporary pleasure of the taste of the Dorito or the long term good health?  There are products like Plexus to help you say no to the things that tempt you.  But you have to make the choice to use them.

So you see, these are all EXCUSES to prevent us from making changes i or lives that can often be scary.  STOP THE EXCUSES and DO IT!  YOU CAN!!!!

We are all capable of SO MUCH MORE than we realize.  We CAN get our health back and we CAN remove the toxic negative people from our lives, and we CAN grow a thriving business and we CAN find something to be positive and hopeful about every day.

MAKE AN INVESTMENT IN YOURSELF!  We spend so much time taking care of others that we often fail to take care of us and then we are no good to anyone.  Stop the negative talk, stop allowing others to control your thoughts, and start being a positive person and see how life changes.  Regardless of where you are, I promise I can show you someone worse off!

Tell yourself that you CAN and WILL change your life and give it a year and see what happens!  I did and have never been happier, regardless of health issues and other things going on in my world.  Life is far from perfect, but I am blessed beyond measure! If you CHOOSE to invest in your health and wealth for ONE YEAR, you have no idea the personal growth and influence on others who come with you that you can have, but you have to MAKE A CHOICE.

XXOO

Erin