September Update

Oh heyyyy bloggyblog friend!

Long time no update, so let me catch you up on what's been going on behind the scenes, because September was a crazy beautiful month over here in my little corner of the world.

I always love the energy of autumn.

At the beginning of the month, I journaled out what success would feel like and look like in my life in September. I believe one hundred percent in the power of intention setting, and loved doing this exercise because almost everything I wrote down came true!

I wrote that SUCCESS this month would feel...

• calm
• confident
• content and fulfilled
• proud for digging in and doing the work
• excited about everything I'm manifesting
• lean and strong in my body

And I'm proud to say that yes, based on my intentions I feel super successful! #winningatseptember 

September was a month of deep inner shifts for me, and integrating all the growth and learning I've done this year through my life coaching course.

It's officially been two years since I quit my job to work for myself, and I can finally say that after two years of breakdowns/breakthroughs/ego trips/epic highs and lows, I'm finding my groove! Hallefreakinluiah.

I think this is the first full month I've ever had with ZERO anxiety, which is probably due to a combination of lots of things, but to me it feels like at 29 years old I'm finally growing into myself. And I like who I'm becoming. And yoga.

I'm finding a sweet spot between working hard and trusting the flow of my intuition.

Obsessed with Jess Lively's podcast episodes lately

I'm taking a TON of pressure off myself and releasing my attachment to goals that stress me out or trigger my perfectionism.

Lots and lots of inner and outer shifts and leaps!

I'm transitioning into this new, bigger, brighter version of myself. I've accomplished so many "bucket list" dreams over the past few years (quit job, become a full time coach/entrepreneur, hit a business milestone, become a life coach) and to be honest it feels like I'm being mentally and emotionally stretched to my limits every single day as I expand into my new reality. Nothing major has changed on the outside, but everything has changed on the inside.

Change maybe isn't the right word, because I'm still the same person I've always been. Maybe evolved is more appropriate.

I'm not the insecure, shy, fear-driven, seeking and striving girl anymore. I spent years of my life wishing I was this confident, self assured, successful, powerful woman, and now I'm actually recognizing those qualities in myself it's kind of scary! In a good way.

And the best part is that it's my job to help guide other women along their own paths now!

The personal development book I read this month was Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain, and it was perfect for the season of life I'm in right now.

It's all about how to create a vision for your life, and then how to shift your mindset so you align yourself emotionally and energetically with all the GOOD stuff you say you want.

Some of my takeaways from the book:

Emotional resistance is our natural fear of change and growth.

If something feels like you're forcing, pushing, or straining, DON'T DO IT.
If it feels helpful, releasing, opening, strengthening, or inspiring, DO IT.

Simple, right? But it's so easy to ignore our intuition and the cues our body sends us.

I've been practicing letting go of the stuff that stresses me out, and proactively practicing having a more grateful, abundant mindset.

September was a kaleidoscope of work, play, planning, and travel.

I spent a week in North Carolina visiting my friend and business partner Hannah in Raleigh, then we drove to the coast to meet our fellow teammate Amanda for our first ever leadership retreat.

We spent a long weekend on the beach masterminding, creating visions and plans for our businesses and team, drinking tons of rose, watching sunsets, and laughing. It's crazy to think I met both of these girls on Instagram, and now we're best friends and business partners!

I spend most of my time working behind a computer screen, and creating opportunities to connect with my coaches in person is so important to me.

It was a full circle, dream-come-true trip. I've had this vision in my mind for so long of creating a community and sisterhood of strong, empowered women who want to become leaders and leave an impact in the world, and it's happening! So surreal. Hard work pays off. If you have a dream, keep your nose to the grindstone and don't. give. up. Everything will take 100x longer than you think it "should," but it will all come together eventually!

After a quick one day pitstop back home, I hit the road again to fly to Dallas for the annual business conference hosted by the bigger team we're part, The Platinum Edge, with two of my other coaches, Bri and Katie!

We spent the weekend at the beautiful Gaylord Texan resort (aka the Texas Bubble) learning how to brand and market ourselves, drinking margaritas, eating tons of food, and of course working out!

This was my third time attending this event, and it felt more like a fun and relaxing family reunion than a work trip. It was fun to notice how much I've grown on the inside and out in the last two years since my first time there just two years ago. I still hold the same core values and beliefs, but I feel so much more calm and confident, ha!

Oh yeah, and because September marks the official beginning of SCARF SEASON, I also found time to re-launch the Etsy shop!!!!! I can't wait to get back to my creative outlet, and have mountains of flannel to sew up for the season. Stay tuned...

This faux fur cowl is my new obsession.

Apparently "level up" was officially my theme of the month.

You might have noticed some new pretty pictures around the blog... that's because I stepped way out of my comfort zone and booked the talented Ashley Biess of Artistrie Co. for my first official lifestyle and branding photo shoot!

Having professional photos done has been a huge checkbox for me this year. I want to stop pretending that my businesses are my hobbies and start taking myself more seriously as a coach and entrepreneur.

And nothing says CONFIDENCE BOOST like new pretty photos! Seriously... go have a photoshoot date with your girlfriends this week. Go search out a blank wall or mural in your city, find each other's best angles, laugh, be silly, have fun, and show each other how gorgeous you really are.

And finally, this guy. I'm so grateful to have a Ben in my life to keep me grounded and remind me where home is. We're celebrating our fourth wedding anniversary next weekend!

What's up next?

I AM SO EXCITED FOR OCTOBER! First of all, no more trips, which makes my inner homebody very happy. I'm planning to buckle down and get to work!

Most of what I'm working on right now is branching out and separating my Beachbody (health and fitness) coaching from my new life coaching brand. Yup, it's happening!

I'll be launching a brand new website and blog to share the health, fitness, and business mentoring side of my world, and continue to use this website to share my personal updates, Etsy adventures, and NEW life coaching services! Yes, I'll be taking on a limited number of 1:1 clients and I can't wait.

---

Time to set October intentions!

This weekend I'll be journaling out my answers to the following, and if it feels good, you can too! 

1. SUCCESS this month would feel like....

2. A SUCCESSFUL LIFE this month would look like...

---

Time flies and life moves fast, but we're in control and get to choose our path and how we respond to the crazy.

Take off some of the pressure you're putting on yourself. Do more of the things that make you feel happy and most like yourself, and let everything else fall into place.

Get clear on your vision for your life, what you want, and where you want to go, and start making small shifts in that direction every single day.

You deserve to feel unapologetically happy and confident in your own skin, and the gap between where you are and where you want to be is closing a little more each day. Have patience and trust the journey, gorgeous girl!

xo Anna

How to stay on track while traveling (or when life gets in the way)

Last weekend I took the Amtrak from Chicago to my hometown in central Illinois to celebrate my best friend’s baby shower. It was the first time I’ve taken the train home, and it was a lot of fun!

It was also the first trip home I’ve had with zero food shame, guilt, internal pressure, or struggle to reconcile my love of all things healthy with my love of celebrating life with food, a MAJOR WIN for me!

“Anna, what are your tips for staying on track while traveling?”

I get asked this question by my health and fitness coaching clients all the time.

And to be honest, up until this summer, every trip home/vacation/work trip/wedding/holiday was a huge mental battle for me. I’d tell myself that I was going to make good decisions, avoid emotional eating, avoid the cake/wine/etc, and then inevitably I’d get caught in the moment, over-indulge, and then feel extremely guilty and beat myself up for letting myself down.

Now I'm proud to say I feel completely free around food and my body!

What changed for me this summer?

Not much in terms of what I do, but everything in terms of how I think and feel about myself.

I’ve learned how to be more self-compassionate, and how to make mindset shifts that allow me to make positive decision for my body without feeling deprived. I’ve been able to integrate “Anna the health and fitness girl” into...simply Anna, and it’s effortless for me to make positive decisions that honor the person I want to be.

And it’s my mission to help as many other women as possible make these mindset shifts too! We waste so much emotional energy worrying and stressing about what we eat and how our bodies look. Let’s take away the inner struggle so we can use our energy to do bigger things for the world, ok?

Here’s the thing: LIFE is always going to get in the way of our goals and dreams like a hole in a bouncy castle, deflating our initial excitement and distracting us from what really matters.

There will always be a trip, vacation, work deadline, holiday, birthday, move, death, new job, illness, personal drama, relationship drama, family drama...you get the point.

And for some reason, it’s incredibly hard for us to stay connected and committed to our goals when we’re thrown out of our usual routine.

So how do we hold ourselves accountable?

We can do all the obvious practical things like bring healthy snacks, pack our Shakeology and travel blender, pack workout clothes, vow to ourselves that we won’t overdrink, will say no to dessert, and will order ONLY SALADS when we go out, and we’re always looking for easy solutions and quick fixes to our struggles.

But as my mom always told me, “the road to hell is paved with good intentions,” which means the key to staying committed to your goals is to make sure you’re turning your intentions into ACTIONS that are second nature, aka habits.

Habits are automatic, no matter what life throws our way, and they don’t actually stem from what we do, but rather from who we ARE and what we believe about ourselves.

So my tips for staying on track with your health and fitness goals aren’t the usual practical advice nuggets, but rather the mindset shifts I’ve made to implement lasting, long term, sustainable changes in my life!

How to stay on track while traveling (or when life gets in the way)

1. Get clear on the person you want to be

Why do you want to make positive changes in the first place?

We can’t take action without a destination, and if you’re trying to motivate yourself to be healthy because you want to lose weight...you’re going to quit. The process of losing weight isn’t inspiring!! It takes soooooo long, and you're going to get discouraged if you can't inspire yourself in a deeper way.

Evolving into your most vibrant, confident, empowered, radiant, best version of yourself-- now THAT is pretty dang inspiring.

So take some quiet time to journal and brainstorm who you really want to be!

• As your best self, what would you wear?
• How would you feel when you wake up?
• What kinds of things would you say to yourself?
• What would you do?
• How would you nourish and move your body?

Create the profile of your Best Self, and then make daily decisions based on what she would do.

For example, the Anna I want to be eats food to nourish and fuel her body, but also loves celebrating life and the people she loves with food traditions and wine.

2. Make HEALTHY your lifestyle, not a wagon from which you can fall on and off

We always use language like “staying on track/falling off track” when it comes to habits. I think this is dangerous because we’re essentially telling ourselves that healthy living is an all-or-nothing thing, and that we can succeed or fail at it.

This mindset comes from the diet culture we’ve grown up in, and the belief that we have to restrict or deprive ourselves to lose weight, and can be “on” or “off” a diet.

The wagon is your LIFE.

You can’t fail.

You can’t fall off.

You can’t cheat on a diet. Cheating means that you’re doing something bad or unethical. Eating a cookie isn’t bad unless you make it bad...and that would be sad.

So let’s stop beating ourselves up for no reason, ok?

(Read: how to overcome food guilt)

You get to make your own food rules, based on what FEELS BEST for YOUR body. 

3. Give up the all or nothing mindset

The all or nothing mindset is the number one thing that holds the women I work with back, but here are some truthbombs I want you to really think about.

You don’t have to work out 6 days a week and eat perfectly in order to feel better or lose weight. One pizza won’t make you fat, just like one salad won’t make you thin.

When you eat the donuts at breakfast, are you tempted to throw in the towel and eat crap for the rest of the day? Remember that every single minute is a chance to press the RESET button. Forgive yourself if you do something you aren’t proud of instead of wallowing in guilt and self-pity, pick yourself back up, and learn from the moment so you can make a positive decision next.

There’s this Pinterest quote I love that goes something like “If you get a flat tire, would you slash the other three? Of course not! So don’t give up on your entire day if you make one bad decision.”

It’s about letting go of your need for control, and opening yourself up to creative solutions in imperfect situations.

You might not be able to workout for an hour and eat perfectly portioned and timed meals every single day, but there’s no need to be perfect to see and feel changes in your body and energy.

4. Cut the drama

Stop making a big deal out of everything! That just puts more pressure on yourself, and we’re naturally rebellious when it comes to irrational rules and strict boundaries. If you go into a trip telling yourself “you aren’t going to eat the cake,” guess what you won’t be able to stop thinking and obsessing about? Eating the damn cake. And then you put yourself through mental torture: obsessing about eating the cake, and then guilt and regret when you finally cave.

Give yourself wiggle room and approach the trip with curiosity, not strict rules.

Ask yourself “I wonder if I can go on this trip without eating the cake like I did last time?” and be calm and neutral around the decision.

5. Trust your decision making abilities

Deep down, we’re all still like little kids. When you set hard and fast stupid rules like “I am not a good person unless I workout for an hour” or “I have to be perfect with my nutrition” you’re going to want to break them, just like a kid when you tell them they have to do something or they can’t have something.

When you respect and trust yourself enough to make the right decision in the moment, you’ll feel empowered and will have the mental clarity to actually make the right decision instead of freaking out, losing control, and sabotaging.

Stop setting hard rules and boundaries for yourself. You’re an adult! You know deep down what’s best.

When you’re faced with the decision to sleep in or get up early to workout, practice asking yourself “how will this make me feel? Why does this matter to me?” and you’ll remember why you want to get up in the first place.

When the decision is whether or not to eat the junk food appetizers, ask yourself “will this food really make me feel my best, or can I pass for now?”

Explore and experiment until you figure out what kinds of food make you feel your best, and then decide to eat more of those and empower yourself to pass on the stuff that will make you feel like crap.

If everyone else is eating crap and judging you for saying “no thanks, I’m not in the mood right now,” remember that you aren’t doing this for them. They don’t have to understand, and they’ll get over it faster if you don’t make a big deal out of things.

7. Get your workout done first thing in the morning, no matter what!

This is the one practical piece of advice that I’ll give you, and it’s my golden rule while I’m traveling or thrown out of my routine!

While traveling, I recommend walking or running outside, because you get to explore your surroundings and get some quiet time in nature, which will help you deal with the busy day to come.

When you start your day with a positive decision, it’s a million times easier to continue to make positive decisions. And flooding your body and mind with endorphins, fresh air (if you can get outside) will make you more confident and empowered for the rest of the day.

Plus let’s be real - when you’re traveling for work, family, or pleasure, working out later in the day isn’t going to be an option. Get it done, girl! Action before emotion. Get your body moving before your brain can convince you all the reasons why it would be better to slack off and stay in bed. You will never regret a workout.

Speaking of which, I’m off to do my Pilates.

I hope these tips have helped you. If you also struggle with staying on track while traveling or have any tips to share, I’d love to hear from you!

xo Anna

p.s. Accountability is the glue that holds everything together. If you want some support and guidance in making your own lifestyle shifts, you can learn more about my health and fitness coaching here!

Beachbody Coach Summit 2016 Recap!

“It was about no longer being the kind of person who takes what she can get, and finally becoming the kind of person who creates exactly what she wants.”

— Jen Sincero

Well, Ben is back to school this week so it's officially time for me to get back to work and update the bloggyblog. Consider this my "What I Did With My Summer" report, starting with my Coach Summit recap!

In July we took an EPIC trip to Nashville, TN for the annual Beachbody Coach Summit, which is kind of like a conference, girls trip, family reunion, personal development retreat, business and leadership training event, the Academy Awards, and the Olympics all rolled into one.

I'm not exaggerating.

This was my second Summit and I was super excited to be able to share it with Ben! He's such a good sport, and was obviously equally excited to spend a long weekend in a house with 10 other women just like me.

Last year I arrived in Nashville with wide eyes, and open heart, and absolutely no idea what to expect. It was a whirlwind and I felt like my heart and soul were blown wide open with the energy, emotion, knowledge, and sheer joy of spending time with some of my favorite people, immersed in learning and sharing and living what we're most passionate about - growing and learning and helping other people. You can read my gushy 2015 new coach recap here!

This year was a completely different yet equally amazing experience. I'm another year older, wider, and more experienced, and HOLY CRAP it's pretty amazing how much we can change and grow in just one year.

I was a lot calmer and able to relax and enjoy being in my element and soaking everything in.

Last year I shared Summit with 6 of the coaches on my team Inspire Joy, and we crammed into rooms at a cheap motel on the side of the highway. We woke up at 5:30am to workout with Shaun T and Autumn Calabrese, stayed up past midnight at the celebration events, partied a little too hard, survived on Shakeology and adrenaline, and left feeling on fire and overwhelmed in the best possible way.

This year I brought 10 coaches on my team, and we decided to rent a house in the suburbs so we could have a kitchen, more space, and a little more peace and calm to retreat from the high energy of the event. BEST DECISION EVER.

Yup, we had 10 women plus Ben in one house. Ben survived... and I'm proud to say we made it everywhere on time and had zero girl drama. Your vibe attracts your tribe, and we don't accept drama over in this club! Chill is the word.

Our first night we made dinner together and spent the night drinking wine, Snapchatting, and soaking it all in. It was the first time a lot of us had met each other in "real life" after spending hours and hours together online in our team webinars and groups.

The craziest part is that I met every single one of these women through social media, Instagram, and the internet, but together it felt like reuniting with long lost soul sisters. 

The modern world is CRAZY AWESOME, making it so easy to connect with women literally just like you.

Psst - this is your sign...if you've been stalking my blog and thinking "omg we could be friends"...reach out and let's make that happen!

Thursday was the first official day of Summit, so I headed downtown to the Music City Center to check-in, and then had to report to the big football stadium for rehearsals for the night's big opening recognition ceremony!

This year I was recognized as a One Star Diamond Coach, which means that I have at least one Diamond ranked coach on my team. To be a Diamond you have to lead an organization of at least 12 coaches, and it's the first major milestone if you're serious about creating a part-time or full-time income through Beachbody coaching. (My goal next year is to have at least 8 diamonds on my team!)

I also was honored for being a Success Club Legend, which means I helped at least 3 new clients every single month get started on their health and fitness journeys for 24 consecutive months!

Beachbody is ridiculously great at recognizing coaches for their hard work. 

For the recognition rehearsal, I was herded into a tunnel beneath the football field with all the other new One Star Diamond coaches, and felt like Beyonce walking out into an NFL stadium. There were on and off thunderstorms and downpours, but Beachbody simply handed out ponchos and we got it done. They're seriously impressive at event organization.

Here are a couple pictures of the empty stadium during rehearsal, and then Ben and I at the opening Celebration!!

Last year I sat with my coaches in the nosebleed seats in the stands, and made it my goal to make it down to the floor seats by this year ... and I actually pulled it off!

It's SO important to create goals and a vision for your life so you can constantly work towards something bigger that matters to you. Put it out into the universe and everything will fall into place, even if it turns out a little different than what you originally expected.

Knowing that my girls were in the stands cheering me on was the best feeing ever and was so proud to represent our team!

Thursday night's opening celebration was full of recognizing all the top coaches and leaders in the network and hearing about the exciting new products and programs that will be launching throughout the rest of the year.

Friday and Saturday were full of seminars, workshops, and learning!

There were 25,000 coaches in Nashville for Summit, so all our events were held in the Music City Center, Bridgestone Arena, and Nissan Stadium ... aka all the huge convention centers and sports arenas.

We heard from keynote speakers, social media experts, and online business experts like Gary Vaynerchuk, Chalene Johnson, Shaun T, our CEO Carl Daikeler, and other top coaches in the organization including my own mentor Chelsea!

I was so proud to see her up on stage in front of 3,000 coaches!

One of the best parts about Beachbody is that it's a culture of duplication and service, which means everyone wants to help everyone else succeed. Top coaches don't keep secrets and corporate provides us with a ridiculously high level of business training, tools, and resources.

That's honestly why I was brave enough to quit my old job and partner with Beachbody as a full time coach two years ago -- the business is a system and you're provided with literally EVERYTHING you need to create a six figure business, you just have to put in the work and effort. There's pretty much zero risk involved, as long as you're consistent and show up for yourself and your business every single day.

And those were my main takeaways from all the workshops: hard work and patience will pay off. Not everyone is willing to stick it out and trust in the bigger picture, so they give up on themselves too early, but if you're willing to commit even just 3-4 years of your life to work on creating something really great, you literally CAN'T fail. Good things take time, and that's ok!

If you're a fellow coach or entrepreneur and want to see what we learned, you can find my full notes from the business workshops and seminars here!

And of course between all the workshops and learning there was plenty of going out and celebrating too!

Nashville is such a fun city. Our favorite spot to hangout was ACME, a four story bar and restaurant with a rooftop overlooking Broadway, the river, and the stadium!

What I love most about my team is that we're just regular down to earth, fun loving women who share big dreams.

We value authenticity, creativity, community, service, leadership, and personal development...but also love to be silly and let loose with a few glasses of wine or grapefruit sodas. Because that's what life is all about. Work hard, play hard!

Surround yourself with positive, growth-minded people who share your vision and values.

Commit to learning, growing, and constantly evolving into your best self.

It's up to YOU to create the life, job, and opportunities you want, so be ready to do the work, have infinite patience, and trust the process even if you don't see immediate results. It takes time and effort to create something built to last, and that's ok. We'll encourage, empower each other, and have as much fun as possible along the way!

If you're curious about joining our team or learning more about my new coach mentorships, reach out and shoot me an email! I love talking about what I do and I'm always looking to partner up with women who are independent, driven, ambitious, big-hearted, and want to serve others and be part of something bigger.

We were all born to fly :)

xo Anna