The Cook & The Coach Blog

I'm Not a Fitness or Nutrition Professional...How Can I Help Others?

12/5/2016

Don’t think you’re qualified to help other people get healthy?

Do you think you have to be a personal trainer or have some degree to do what we do?

Think you have to be in perfect shape or have all the answers?

Think again.

Do you have a HEART that breaks when you see people hurting? Do you have EARS to listen? Do you have PASSION and FIRE to help others? Do you want to SERVE others greatly and help them change their life? Do you want to make a little extra $$? I put the financial benefits last, but they’re certainly not least. There are so many companies out there now that can make you a little extra money (Thirty-One, Pampered Chef, Jamberry, Younique, DoTerra, Rodan & Fields)…the key is finding one that fits YOUR passions and the things you’re excited about…while fulfilling someone else’s need.

I have to pinch myself day in and day out because I truly can’t believe this opportunity and how it’s changed our lives and changed me from the inside. I’m not going to lie…I didn’t have a lot of weight to lose when I first started, so I don’t have an incredible physical transformation like some people. My transformation has been mainly from the inside. Since becoming a Beachbody coach I have become more confident in my own skin AND in my abilities. I’ve become stronger and able to get past my struggles and insecurities. My focus and time management has gotten better because heck, life is busy but if you have a DREAM you find ways to make things happen. Do I still struggle with these every once in a while? Heck yes. BUT the emphasis that Beachbody puts on personal development and growth definitely makes those struggles easier to get through.

The blessing that coaching has been in my life is just incredible. I share this not to somehow help myself but to help you! Beachbody can be that community you are looking for. It can be the thing that keeps you committed to working out and taking care of your health. If you want to know more about what this coaching community and business opportunity is all about we would love to share it with you.

I'm Interested

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Do You, Don't Let The World Miss Out

8/17/2016

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We each have a story. Things that have shaped us and changed us and formed us into the people we are today.

We each have a CHOICE as to what we're going to do with those things. You can choose to continue coasting and taking the easy route...simply accepting what's in front of you, swallowing your dreams and never allowing them to surface OR you can go out and find whatever the hell you're looking for!!!

Four years ago I was ready for a change. A change in my fitness routine which then turned into a COMPLETE change in my life...for the better. I never used to dream or have goals. I would simply coast through my days, my weeks, my months with no vision for what I wanted or the type of impact I wanted to have. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to change lives somehow but I had lost my way and gotten complacent. It happens.

But all of a sudden I was thrust into this crazy Beachbody world filled with these people who were talking about goal setting, dreaming bigger, helping and inspiring others, living with purpose....and all of a sudden...God opened my eyes.

I felt in my gut that my purpose was here somewhere....so I jumped in with both feet and my eyes wide open. I started running online accountability groups and fell in love with encouraging people, supporting them, giving them a kick in the butt when they needed it...and then watching them SUCCEED. Watching them slowly lose weight and believe in themselves again and see that they could do the things they never thought possible.

My vision is to help people LIVE FULLY. To empower others and help them see that they are incredible...and can do ANYTHING. To give them HOPE! To inspire people towards health, sweat and proper nutrition and to most importantly, point people to Jesus with love and encouragement.

Who would have thought that this little side job would ever amount to much?? It's changed both of our lives and our health so much that we want as many people as possible to experience what we have.

If you've been following us for awhile and are feeling that nudge or even a bit of curiosity about whether you could do this too, we would love to hear from you. We know it isn't for everyone but we know if you are a follower of ours you likely have a similar heart to help people and this business has been a perfect outlet for us it could be for you too.

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Make Fitness Your Business as an Online Health Coach

6/8/2016

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This week we held our first ever webinar! It was super fun to get online with some people and talk about what we do as coaches. We put together a fun power point slideshow to go along with it which totally brought me back to high school speech class.

We put this webinar together to share a couple different key points that a lot of people have questions about.

Who is qualified to do this? - The short answer... ANYONE!!! You'll have to watch the video for the long answer.
Can I really make money? And how? - The answer, Yes! Our coaching business supports our lifestyle right now of living on the road and we only see it growing from here
What kind of business is coaching really? - Check out the video for this answer.

One of the things that brings us the greatest joy is when we get to mentor our team and see them awaken to their true potential. We've come across so many people that live with a limited mindset. With thoughts that they aren't important or they could never make a difference. When we can help that person see their value it just gives us goosebumps! That's what this coaching thing really is all about. Yeah we help people get healthy, but we most importantly help people feel valuable! If that intrigues you, check out this video and let us know if you have any questions when you are done watching. We know this isn't for everyone but can be for anyone!

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Plan Your Life, Don't Dream or Wish For One

3/4/2016

Before we even had kids, I knew I wanted to be home with them. I wasn't sure what that would look like though because a part of me still wanted to work and make a difference outside of raising them.

Not gonna lie...it was HARD going back to work after Eli was born...and having Dan stay home with him. I knew it was temporary though. Before he was born we had come up with a plan. A plan that would allow us both to be home...with an end date written down and actually communicated to other people at my job. It wasn't a wish or a dream. When you put dates to dreams and take action...they become plans...and they kinda force you to just make shit happen!

If I'm being honest, it hasn't been easy. There have been SO MANY ups and downs, failures, successes, late nights, early mornings, sleepless nights....but it's made me into the person I am today and I wouldn't change that for anything.

Now I get to sit and read as many books as he wants and my heart just gets excited when I realize that we did it. With God's help and guidance...we made a dream happen.

And now... our focus shifts to helping other people get what they want and help them reach their dreams!

I've learned that when you work to help others, you are more likely to work a lot harder and with more passion. I believe wholeheartedly in the Zig Ziglar quote above. It's not even the financial stuff...

It's knowing that because I believed in them, they believed in themselves and became more confident.

That they can be in control of their future AND be a part of something BIGGER than themselves.

That they are successful, powerful, and empowered women. That they have seen their goals and plans come to fruition.

Those are the things that truly fill my cup and give me a sense of purpose to do what I do every day.

I would love to chat with you if you feel drawn to what we do or how we created the life we have!!

Do What You Love...

2/11/2016

I've been thinking about this saying quite a bit as of late. It comes up in conversations that we have with friends. We hear things like, "That's so great that you get to do something that you love." This isn't new to me, having been a golf professional as a previous profession. For some reason, people just thought I played golf all day. That was definitely not the the case! The same goes for our current jobs as fitness and nutrition coaches. Yeah, we love our job... but it is still work!

That brings me to this saying that floats all over social media or at least the people that I follow. It sounds great but the reality is, it's pretty much a lie!

I don't say that to be a Debbie Downer so let me explain. First off, I'm kind of a literal guy so right off the bat the statement disqualifies itself from being remotely true, unless you "literally" don't work. Secondly, I don't care how much you love your job, it's not always going to be rainbows, unicorns and butterflies. There are going to be times that suck the life out of you. I know I'm not supposed to say that, but it's the truth.

Now that I've deflated your sense of hope you had in thinking that there's a dream career path out there for you let me add the "but", because there is always a but.

Hopefully you agree that you will have to work, we all need to work. It's hard to exist in this world without financial resources. It's even harder to have an impact and serve others without resources; time, money, or talents to name a few. So there is this balance where we need to work to afford ourselves those things while still maintaining our sanity and our relationships.

For us figuring out this balance started when we did an online seminar called Smart Success that was hosted by Chalene Johnson. It was all about working smarter so that you can enjoy some other things in your life. One of the big things she talked about was establishing a list of goals in different areas of your life. She also has you establish a key priority statement which governs all of your decisions. For us that revolved around spending time with our family. We looked at every decision through the lens of, "Does this honor our key priority?"

Man, your world changes when you start thinking like that. Everything from what groceries you buy, to vacations you take, to the work you do are analyzed through that lens. You start cutting out a lot of waste and focusing on things that really help you grow in a direction that you want. You don't let every invitation or opportunity to pull you off your course and onto someone else's.

This is where both Laura and saw the potential in our Beachbody business. Through smart concentrated efforts sustained over a period of time we would be able to have more freedom. We could spend more time together as a family. We could travel more. We wouldn't have to conform to other people's schedules. Along with that we've cut out a lot of the fluff in our life and kept those things that honor our key priority. This frees up resources so that we don't have to make a lot of money and we can live simply.

We are right in a transition point in our life right now where we are leaving the corporate world behind and about to set out on our cross country RV travels. Laura just put in her resignation letter yesterday and we now get to work on OUR business and explore what we are passionate about. Yeah we will still be working from the road.

We love that we found something that we enjoy showing up to do daily. We love that we can do this from wherever. We love that it provides us the resources to live the kind of life we want. We love that that we can still give financially to people and organizations that we want to support. We love that we get to help people get healthy. We love that we get to help others build a business of their own. It's because we love all of that, that we work!

If you would like to know more about what we do as Beachbody coaches feel free to head over to our FAQ page. We are also hosting a live 1 hour event next week in a private event page setup on Facebook. Click on the button below to learn more about this event.

TEAM FULLYFIT COACH HAPPY HOUR

Star Wars and Network Marketing, What's the Connection?

12/21/2015

I just saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens earlier this afternoon. I'll start off by saying it is awesome and you should totally go see it. If you are worried I will spoil anything for you in this post don't worry, I won't dissect the storylines and characters. I'll leave that up to some other hardcore geeks out there.

I do want to share something regarding Star Wars and the publicity it has gotten this past weekend. The thought that I had was about how so many people were raving about this movie. I totally get why, there was hype behind it and it delivered. (Side note: totally worth seeing in 3D and on an IMAX screen, I'm still a bit in sensory overload but in a good way.) Even people with no connection to this movie or nothing to gain from promoting it, other than share an enjoyable experience with friends, were promoting it.

You might be able to see where I'm going with this. People promote things all the time! Movies to go see, restaurants to check out, airlines to take or avoid, or golf equipment to use (I used to be a golf pro). They promote because they want to help their friends and family out and recommend things they like.

Network Marketing works on the same premise but there is just a business structure that is built behind it. I'll use our situation as an example: we love the workouts that Beachbody has to offer and feel that they can help other people too. We also love Shakeology and use it every single day because it helps us. We didn't become Beachbody coaches because we saw a public need in the market. We did it because we loved the products and they work for us and will likely work for others. Just like me promoting Star Wars to people and telling my friends to go watch it, I promote Beachbody products because I see a benefit that my friends can get from it.

For some reason I feel there is a stigma that network marketers are in it to make money off of their friends. I'm sure some are, but I think a majority really do care and want to help. Here's the crazy thing though... Even if your friends were in it to make money, wouldn't you rather give your money to your friends versus some corporation that you have no connection to or ties to? I think the thing that rubs people the wrong way is when someone tries to promote products to people that have never expressed need or a desire for. Going back to the Star Wars theme, that would be like me telling a friend that I know despises science fiction that they need to go see this movie...that Star Wars will be the movie that changes them and their thoughts on science fiction. I can share how amazing the story line is and how awesome it is to see characters from the old movies in the new one. I'm not helping that friend, I'm just annoying the crap out of them.

So here's the takeaway... if you are in a network marketing company, don't be annoying and recommend cleaning supplies to a homeless guy or handbag to lumberjack. If you aren't involved in a network marketing company, understand that your friends really enjoy the products that they are promoting. They aren't doing it to make money off of you! Also if you aren't with a network marketing company I might encourage you to look at the products you are using on a regular basis, chances are there is a company out there that would allow you to use products at a very similar price. You could help a friend out, and even potentially make some money yourself!!

Coach Summit 2015

8/4/2015

July 16th - 19th we packed our bags, left Eli with my parent's and headed to Nashville, TN to spend 4 whole days with our Beachbody family...to say we were excited was a bit of an understatement!

This event is something we look forward to every single year for quite a few different reasons:

The training is the BEST - we typically walk away with pages and pages of notes to somehow try to condense down and share with our team that couldn't be there.
We become close friends with people over social media but we only get to hang out once or twice a year so we really have to make the most of it!
Being around this many positive, successful and uplifting people will change your outlook on life.
Going to new places means trying new FOOD :)

I won't bore you with all the details of what we did since I have pictures of most of it...but to summarize: there were workouts with Shaun T and Autumn Calabrese, listening to Simon Sinek speak and also DeWitt Jones who is a photographer for National Geographic, delicious food, amazing trainings, knowledge, insight and inspiration shared and LOTS of walking!

"Every One Matters" was the theme for this year...and that couldn't be more true. We're in this business to help people live HEALTHY and FULFILLING lives. Your health really is one of the cornerstones of your life and it impacts every area of your life. If your health is suffering, everything else seems to go downhill as well, right?? So our goal is to get people to focus on health...and how it's a lifestyle and not a diet or a short term fix. It can't be if you want to live life to it's fullest!!

We are already looking forward to next year...and can't wait to have so many more people from our team there!!

Small Beginnings Create a Path for Big Dreams

7/8/2015

This past weekend was my 3 year anniversary of being a Beachbody coach. I honestly cannot believe it...it's flown by and I have so many emotions, thoughts swirling but this picture pretty much says a lot of what I'm feeling...

When I signed up I was simply in love with Insanity and Shaun T and wanted to spread that love around to other people. I wanted others to experience how amazing I felt and change from the inside - out just like I did in just a few short months of doing the program. I LOVED that I could get the best workout of my life in the comfort of my own house. Don't get me wrong, it's a tough program and there were some days where I really did not feel like doing it...but once I saw results, I wanted more! Once I felt that rush of endorphin's I needed it again....and again...and again.

Anyway, that's basically how I started coaching. I knew NOTHING about network marketing and honestly didn't even think about this as being something like that!! I just knew this was a way to help people and I had fallen in love with health/fitness/nutrition and what better way to help people change their lives...right?? Those things impact EVERY area of our lives whether we realize it or not.

That was my main reason for signing up, but I very quickly saw potential just by listening to other coaches stories. I saw how our lives could be different.

I saw HOPE.

Hope looks different for everyone...but at that point in our lives, hope looked a lot like TIME. You see, Dan was working long hours and many days as an assistant golf professional. During the summer, the hours were even longer and we rarely saw each other. I learned very quickly that if he stayed in that profession he wouldn't be around to see our future kids grow up and I didn't really want that life...and he didn't either. My very first BIG, scary goal was to retire him from his job. I don't even know if I told him that right away but I just dove in to learn everything I could by listening to trainings, collecting a ridiculously huge amount of notebooks because I had to write down everything I learned, watching and learning from some of the top coaches and just trying to absorb everything I could.

Now, our hope looks a little different because in October of 2013 Dan WAS able to quit his job and be home full time so we could work on this business together!! God is so good. Dan now stays home and takes care of Eli, who is 11 months old, but he is also a coach and has a nutritional certification from Precision Nutrition.

Right now we are on a mission to create a life we LOVE...a simple and flexible life. One where we have the freedom to focus on what we love and what God has planned for us. We want a life where we are our own bosses and get to choose when we work, what we want to focus on and just pour love, compassion and honesty into other people!! Helping someone make small changes to their habits to become healthier, stronger and happier is the one of the best perks of this "job".

The other major perk are the people...seriously. Our team of coaches is made up of the most incredible people from all over the U.S. They're passionate about health/fitness but also about simply sharing their life (the good and the bad) in the hopes that their struggles might help someone else. They're authentic, real and just want to make a difference!!

I honestly never would have thought that one small change to my workouts would create such a change in my life. God's timing and plan is perfect and there is nothing I would rather be doing with my time and energies!!

If any of this resonated with you and you have questions about coaching, do not hesitate to reach out!!

Network Marketing - Why I Hated It!

5/20/2015

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I think it was about 8 years ago when someone that I know approached me and asked me if I would be interested in joining them in their network marketing business. I shot her down so fast, "You mean one of those pyramid schemes, sorry not for me." As soon as she mentioned it every part of me just revolted with the idea that I would be "tricked" into a business like that. There is no way it could be a legitimate business and definitely no way I could make money unless I wanted to trick people too.

Why did I get so defensive?

I would say for a few reasons. I had an idea in my head of what this type of business was all about. You solicit all of your friends and family to spend a lot of money to buy product and sign up...Not sure how that stereotype was ever planted in my head but it was a pretty firm belief.

Another reason was that I had ZERO interest in using the products that this company was affiliated with and I had even less of an interest in selling them.

Lastly, I didn't see it going anywhere. My thought was that it was a "get rich quick" scheme, that would fizzle out as soon as people realized it was a scam.

What changed, and how did I end up working with a Network Marketing Company?

I will say that my objection about believing in the products is still a real one for me when it comes to network marketing. If you don't have a genuine interest in the products or services that the company you are associated with then you will have to "sell" them. What I mean by that is, if you don't wholeheartedly believe that your widget or service will make someone life's better, then you will need to try to convince them or sell them on it. If you are meeting a need that they have you are just making a recommendation based on what has worked for you. A personal example for me is my experience with the workout program Focus T25, this was the first program that I really did from Beachbody. It got me into incredible shape all while working 50-60 hours per week. The 25 minute length of the workouts was perfect for my situation I had a need for exercise, I had a busy schedule and this program filled that need.

There is a big difference between referring quality products that you enjoy using and peddling crap just to make a profit. We sell things everyday without knowing it: we tell our friends where we had lunch and recommend/sell them the idea of going there also. We tell/sell people about TV shows or movies we watch that we think they would like.Take a look at some of the services you use: your realtor, your accountant, the church you go to, where you bought your last car. I would guess you either worked with a friend in one of these industries or a friend told you about who they use. I've come to realize that this is all network marketing is...you tell people about your experience with a certain product or service and if they end up seeing value in it then they will pass along those recommendations as well.

My view of what network marketing changed VERY slowly. Laura had joined on as a coach in July of 2012 and for those first 6 months I was hesitant with what she was doing. My perception of what she was doing focused more on how she was working so that someone above her would make more money. Her sales helped their bonuses and her recruiting helped their rank advancements. Somewhere around the spring of 2013, I changed my focus. Instead of looking up in our organization, I started looking down. How was she helping her coaches make money? How was she helping people below her grow their businesses? How was she helping people grow as individuals with their confidence and health?

This idea of looking down instead of up totally changed my impression of network marketing. That's why I love this quote from Zig Ziglar.

I learned to approach network marketing with a selfless attitude. An attitude that you are there to serve, and help people meet THEIR needs. I think this is where network marketing gets a bad image. All too often the focus is on how sales and recruiting will benefit you and the people above you. Instead, this is how we approach it: how will this opportunity or product help this person. Will it serve a need that they have?

Specific to Beachbody,

Will these products help them with their health?
Will this coaching opportunity fill a desire of theirs to help people?
Will coaching help them have an outlet to share their story of health and fitness?
Do they need to feel like they are contributing financially to their family?
Do they need extra income on top of their current income?

Network Marketing Compared to Corporate America

Just because something is different doesn't make it good or bad, it's just different. If you look at the hierarchy of a traditional business with a CEO, VP's, middle management, supervisors, and finally employees it looks a lot like the same structure of a network marketing business. The difference is that in network marketing the ability to climb the proverbial corporate ladder is much easier. By "climbing the ladder" in a network marketing organization you don't have to displace someone in that position. Everyone has equal opportunity to grow and advance. Compare that to a standard corporation, usually someone has to leave a position before you are able to get promoted. There are certainly benefits to a corporate job, mostly the health benefits are what most people mention. There are also benefits to network marketing though: freedom, ability to work anywhere, unlimited income potential, residual income and being your own boss to name a few.

One of the benefits about network marketing versus starting your own company is you don't have to go all in from the start. The startup costs are very minimal. A lot of coaches within our company are doing this just as a part time job, working maybe an hour or two a day. They are doing it because they love being held accountable themselves for their fitness and health and they want to help others with their health and fitness goals. The range of coaches varies from the person that just wants to get fit to the person that wants to grow a huge team and make a 7 figure income and everywhere in between.

Why I Now Love Network Marketing
There is a small part of me that thinks back to the opportunity that I was approached with 8 years ago and wonder if I should have went for it. I now see how network marketing is a viable business and not a get rich quick scheme. In just 2 1/2 years with our business we have been able to pay off nearly all of our debt and I've been able to leave my full-time job and now stay at home with our son. More importantly, this business has helped me reclaim my health and meet so many amazing people that have similar interests and goals. I also see the potential in this business to give us the freedom that we want in our life and not be tied to a 9-5 job.

I'll close with this because I wish someone would have told me this 8 years ago: don't judge this business by the 1 or 2 bad experiences that you've potentially encountered. Just like any industry there are going to be people working with integrity and there are going to be people that lack a certain level of professionalism and customer service. If you have a bad experience at a restaurant are you going to stop eating out all together, absolutely not. You may do your homework the next time and learn about where you want to go and other people's experiences prior to going out but 1 bad restaurant experience isn't representative of the entire industry. One bad experience 8 years ago left a bad taste in my mouth, but I did my research and found something that I can believe in and I know will change lives and that has made all the difference.

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I'm Not a Fitness or Nutrition Professional...How Can I Help Others?

Do You, Don't Let The World Miss Out

Make Fitness Your Business as an Online Health Coach

Plan Your Life, Don't Dream or Wish For One

Do What You Love...

Star Wars and Network Marketing, What's the Connection?

Coach Summit 2015

Small Beginnings Create a Path for Big Dreams

Are you ready to create a new path and begin designing the life that you want? We would love to hear from you, and what talk about how we can help you make your dreams come true!

Network Marketing - Why I Hated It!

The Cook & The Coach

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