your futureI just watched a youtube video of a young woman who is a new Team Beachbody coach.  In August of 2009, she was hospitalized after having a slight heart attack.  She’s a single parent of a beautiful 4 year old.  She said that she laid there in the hospital bed thinking about how she wasn’t talking care of herself.  She smoked cigarettes, she drank every day, she was working 3 jobs, and maybe getting 4 hours of sleep a night.

She said “That was my lifestyle.  That was what I was used to.”

But all of a sudden, she got a glimpse of her future…most likely an early death and leaving her child behind.  She mentioned that her brother died at 41, and she knew that was the fate she was headed for as well.

Scary!

So often, we live lives of quiet desperation because “That’s the lifestyle we’re used to”. We’re too tired to change.  It’s only when we’re hit over the head with a serious wake up call that we take a look into the future we are creating for ourselves.

This young woman has a cousin who is a Beachbody coach, and he was there for her.  He said “We’re going to get you healthy, so you CAN be around for your daughter”.  She signed up to be a Beachbody coach so that she can get herself healthy and pass it on, just like her cousin did for her!

It’s astounding to watch the end of the video, and how she was NOW picturing her future!  She said “I want to watch my daughter grow up.  I want to watch her walk across the stage.  I want to watch her go to college, get married, and I want to play with my own grandchildren.”

I think this is a great exercise for all of us to do with our own lives (minus the heart attack).  Think about the choices you are making each day, because each little choice is leading you towards the future.

YOU are directing your own ship!  Think about what destination you want to arrive at!

Are you living an unhealthy lifestyle?  Are you overweight?  Do you smoke or drink too much alcohol?  Do you survive on less than the ideal amount of sleep?

You may think that you are caught, and can’t change, but you absolutely can.  If you are determined and committed to make a change, answers will begin to show up.  For this young woman, it was her cousin saying “I’ve got a solution for you.  Follow me.”

For you, maybe it’s reading this blog post.  Maybe when you honestly evaluate your lifestyle after you finish reading this post, you’ll realize that it’s time to make some changes.  PLEASE don’t let it go until you have a serious wake up call.  You may not be as lucky as this woman was.  She got a second chance.

You absolutely CAN begin to change you lifestyle today.  Still not convinced?  What if you were asked to walk across a 2″ by 4″ board that was suspended between two 5 story buildings?  Could you do it?  You’d probably say “no”.  But now, what if I told you that your loved ones were on the roof of the other building and it was on fire.  The only way you would be able to save them is if you walked across this board.

Could you do it now?  Hmmm…makes a difference, doesn’t it?  We’ll do so much more for the people we love than we’ll do for ourselves, and I think that’s why so many people neglect their health.  It’s because they put everyone else first.

Well, if you put everyone else first all of the time and leave no room for yourself…you won’t be around for those loved ones very long.

Something to ponder.

Together…we’re better!

Judy

P.S.  I wrote this from the perspective of a healthy lifestyle, but it works for business as well.  Are you doing the things you need to do to in order to succeed in business?  What would your future “successful” self tell you to do?  If you haven’t already read it, go get the book “Go for No”.  It’s a quick read, and all about the “future self” of a salesman teaching his former self what he did to succeed.  It’s hard to explain, but it’s a great book!  :-)

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