20 Aug Five lessons learned
Five lessons learned
For most of my life I didn’t have a slow down or pause switch; just an on or off one. It was go-go-go, and GO some more!
Sometimes during my days I would pass people relaxing on the beach and think “how in the WORLD do they turn their heads off enough to just lie down on the beach and do absolutely nothing?” I am a Do-er by nature. I like having goals, I like making lists and checking things off as I go.
I was never patient. I would never really celebrate accomplishments because I was always onto the next goal. I was also quite stubborn and I wore all of this as a badge of pride.
I would hear people say “slow down and smell the roses” but in reality, I was too busy thinking about what KIND of roses, where to put the roses, what I already know about roses and what I will replace them with when they die. Ugh… not the ideal way to be present.
That has changed for me and THIS is why.
Meet the five people that came into my life this past year and the lessons I have learned from all of them…
Become a Yogi
How I met Kim
When it comes to yoga, I believed that I “should do it” but to me, that meant shutting down my mind and finding extra time. It wasn’t quick, it wasn’t hardcore, it might be boring and it would be an hour that I could be getting something else done.
Over the years, I signed up for several yoga classes. They all resulted in the same thing; going to the class, being bored and looking at my watch the whole time wishing it would end. I wasn’t flexible, I didn’t take time to “breathe” and I was irritated.
People would leave class feeling invigorated, reborn, refreshed. I left more stressed out because I felt like I wasted a lot of time in the class. I didn’t get it.
But days, months and even years went by and every time it seemed as though I would meet someone who was so present and full of “light.” That consistent commonality amongst all of them was always YOGA. They all did YOGA. I longed to learn to love YOGA.
One day I decided to stop into a trendy new yoga studio in my area. I wasn’t there to take a class, (tried that before!) but to ask if they had any instructor that would be willing to come to my house and basically force me to do yoga. They giggled at me, wrote down my number and e-mail and a few days later Kim Bauman came into my life.
On Kim’s first day with me I think I spent the entire hour telling her why I hated yoga. The funny thing is, the hour went by pretty darn fast. She stretched me and corrected my form in certain positions, while chatting with me the whole time. Again, the hour flew by and when she left, I felt pretty relaxed and was able to go back to my work with a new sense of clarity and creativity.
She came to my house once a week, which quickly progressed to twice a week. It’s an hour that I now crave and look forward to. During our hour we are
able to chat the entire time while doing yoga, share stories, learn about each others lives and giggle. I play hip hop music in the background and often times my dog Bean and 7-year old daughter join us.
Kim tells me that I am her ONLY client that talks the whole time and who won’t lay in Savasana. I am pretty sure I am also the only one who plays hip hop music during our practice as well.
Through our yoga sessions we have become great friends. I have learned about her past (she started her life as an orphan in Korea), we have re-branded her non-profit organization (The One Love Movement), she’s created a new revenue stream, we have come up for a plan for her first book, “The 10 minute Yogi” and she is fired up.
As for me, I have become more flexible, learned new cool poses and most importantly, truly learned to shut my mind off away from my “To Do” list for an hour. She leaves and I feel relaxed, loose and ready to take on the world and any problem that will come my way. You know what she told me the other day? She told ME that I AM the definition of a yogi.
FOCUS ON YOUR STRENGTHS AND DELEGATE THE REST
How I met Chalene Johnson
When I met Chalene Johnson I instantly felt like I met my sister from another mister. We like the same shoes, the same bags, we both talk a mile a 
minute, we love fitness, we love social media and we are both strong business women with no shortage of ideas.
But here was the issue. She was one of the first people I had met in my life that I realized everything I had done she was doing more efficiently, better, faster, easier, and more profitable.
During my first conversation with her, I just thought to myself, how am I supposed to do this without the same resources, financial stability and outreach that she has?
As we proceeded to talk, she gave me a one word answer that would change my life forever…DELEGATE. It’s simple, yet so distant from what I thought would be the one addition that would change my life.
She was right. I needed to focus on what I am good at, what I like to do and the things that I do that make me get lost in time. I started to imagine what my life would be like if I could just do more of those types of things!
But…oh wait – there was a problem. What about everything else I HAD to get done? I diverted back to Chalenes answer…DELEGATE ☺.
When I asked how, she said “you will figure it out, you are a do-er and that IS your strength!” That day, I did. I hired Mindy and Ashlyn. I wasn’t quite sure at the time how I would afford them or who I thought I was hiring two people to help me, but they have changed my life.
The amount of money and time I actually SAVE having them help me with the things I was terrible at has freed up my life and given me time for more of what I am good at and enjoy doing. That has made me more productive, more focused on the right things and more successful.
I have learned so many lessons from Chalene since then and I am so grateful to have her in my life. I will never forget the lessons that she has taught me and most importantly that first one…. Delegate.
COLLECT PEOPLE TO HAVE IN YOUR LIFE DAILY
I now collect people daily. When I meet people that I like that are motivating, happy, positive, creative and generally add value, I figure out a way to get them IN my life.
We become what we surround ourselves with and I know for SURE that I do not want to be negative, grumpy or lazy so why would I surround myself with those people? The good ones I collect, the bad ones I get OUT OF MY LIFE as soon as possible.
I apply this to friends, clients, services I hire, consultants I work with, products I represent, and everyone that works with us in our business. I have collected them all…I don’t just hire people for what I need help with or for what they charge or for their resume, but rather because I LOVE them and want them in my life.
I learn their strengths and figure out a way to have their strengths add value to our business and my life. I can honestly say I LOVE those who work closely with me.
How I met Tamilee Webb
One of the first workout DVD’s I ever did was “Buns of Steel.” At the time, there were no DVD’s, so actually it was a “VHS tape.” I remember working out in my mom’s living room to Buns of Steel and I would stare at Tamilee Webb in amazement. I loved what she stood for, I LOVED her energy, attitude and her physique.
When I moved California a decade ago I walked into a class at the gym and SHE was the teacher! I can’t express how excited I was and, she was even MORE motivating and energetic in person. I wanted to COLLECT her! Right then, I knew I wanted her in my life.
When it was time to make my first workout DVD I wanted to work with the best. I wanted to LEARN from the best and I wanted to create the same feeling in those watching my DVD that I had when I watched Tamilees tape.
I needed to hire someone to help me do this. I went back to that time when I met Tamilee and thought that she would be the perfect person to ask. So, I got her contact information and reached out to her and asked if she would be open to help me. That’s all it took (well, a little persistence didn’t hurt) a phone call and a conversation.
People always ask me ” how did you get to work with her?” My answer: I asked. My DVD went as smooth as possible and the day it launched…we had a record sales day. And now, Tamilee and I are not only great friends, but she is my brand manager helping me daily will all sorts of projects. She has become one of my rocks and is truly one of the best people I have known and once again, she has reminded me of the importance of collecting the right people into our lives.
STAND FOR WHO YOU ARE AND WHO YOU WANT TO ATTRACT
How I met Ari Whitten.
When we focus on what we don’t want we tend to find more of what we don’t want. On the other hand, if we stay focused on what we do want we will start to attract what we want.
When I met Ari a few years back I didn’t like him (ha! Sorry Ari but it was true!) I would go to the gym to workout with my friend Brian, and see Ari from afar. I would roll my eyes and put him in the category of “annoying flirty guy at the gym.”
I didn’t want to meet those guys, but I kept attracting them. Once I met Brooks (my now boyfriend and business partner) I didn’t even concern myself with the annoying flirty guys at the gym because that was not what I was focused on.
As my back problems and injuries grew stronger and my age kept creeping up, I was looking for some HELP on recreating my workouts and what I was teaching people.
And then it happened…Ari and I crossed paths again.
I’m not sure what it was; that I wanted to attract quality, solid people in my life or if I had a change of heart, but he was no longer the annoying flirty guy at the gym, he was someone I received a wealth of knowledge from. From him I learned about functional training and how to restructure workouts to HELP avoid pain and I learned how to apply that to my clients and programs.
Ari and I would spend a lot of time training and that eventually grew into a friendship. He is the extreme researcher and I am the social one who is able to communicate complicated stuff to the masses so we make a great team. We spend hours talking nutrition, workouts, social media, marketing, and our businesses. At the end of all of this, he became my “guru.”
I am very present on social media platforms and Ari is not. I am the politician who is good at pleasing people and Ari has no time for that. He would tell me that he is who he is and “he will attract the right people.”
I would continue to share my stories with Ari on our weekly chats of why I was moving towards sharing non-offensive and non-controversial materials, easier workouts, etc…in order to create less controversy. He would point out that I was going down a slippery slope.
My motto had always been, “Excuses or solutions, you decide.” But, a couple people didn’t like it because it made them feel bad about themselves. As my business started growing and I was catering to the masses, I changed my motto to “Happy, Healthy, Fit.”
But Ari’s point was that people were attracted to me for my “Excuses or solutions” mentality and people pleasing is impossible. I didn’t listen for a while and then, after dealing with the never ending trials of “people pleasing AGAIN one day, it hit me! He WAS RIGHT. It is impossible to please everyone and it is exhausting trying to.
There will always be haters, there will always be someone offended and there will always be someone that does not agree with me or that wants to correct or challenge me.
I used to get very wrapped up and focused on talking to THOSE people. I wanted to convince them why I was right or why they are wrong, or whatever…and then I realized something. By responding to THOSE people I would continue to attract more of those people.
Those are the people I do NOT want on my team so why am I talking to them? I had to draw the line somewhere and it has stopped. I talk to the people I want to attract. I share the messages I believe in, I acknowledge and help those I want to attract.
If you are negative, if you want to convince me of your excuses, if you want to tell me what you don’t like about my post, my page, my whatever… well, you simply won’t get to me.
MAKE MONEY MEANINGLESS
How I met Ashlyn
I have been through financial hardships. I have hit rock bottom. I know what it is like to have it all and be financially stable as well as lose it all and broke with no credit.
What I have learned about money is that it comes and goes and there is only so much we can control. If you are completely out of debt that is admirable, but one day you too, may encounter a time where you find that it happens.
Living in the scarcity mindset keeps you in scarcity mode. I have learned to appreciate it when you have it, be generous with it and to make money meaningless.
Ashlyn came into my life about a year ago. I didn’t have time to train her or hire her and as previously mentioned I didn’t know how I was going to afford her. With great persistence, she explained how she would make MY life easier.
She is now my personal assistant, but so much more than that. She is the most creative person I know and so wise beyond her 23 years. She lost her boyfriend a year ago in a tragic accident and before he passed, she and he had started a company…and go figure…the name of that company is “Make Money Meaningless.”
I recently took my team from Natalie Jill Fitness to a much enjoyed spa day. It was one of the most relaxing, fun days we have experienced in a while.
To look at the financial cost of the day, perhaps it wouldn’t have logically made sense. But for the excitement factor, memories, bonding and well deserved rest, it was worth every penny.
At the end of the day, it left my team refreshed, more plugged in and EXCITED. The thought so many times entered my mind about the expense, the time away from work BUT I knew- this was a GREAT example how and why to sometimes just “make money meaningless”
The day was great- my team bonded and enjoyed it and ya know what? Do you know who appreciated the day more than anyone? Ashlyn… She has taught me and so many others to sometimes just “Make Money Meaningless.”
The five lessons learned
Become a Yogi –
Focus more on your strengths and delegate the rest –
Collect people to have in your life daily –
Stand for who you are who you want to attract –
Make money meaningless –
Be Happy… Be Healthy… Be Fit!
-Natalie Jill
