Many of us have doubt in our minds or maybe just not enough belief in ourselves. I want you to know it’s possible. The dreams you hold in your heart but push to the back of your mind are within your reach. Accept the fact that you can create a better life. This will serve as the springboard of belief you need to succeed.

~Martin Crous

Get Fit And Create Family Experiences And Memories

 I’m a husband, dad and granddad and I love fitness and an active lifestyle.  In recalling some my fondest moments with my children and wife they’ve all been around some physical activity, i.e. hiking, swimming, rock climbing, climbing a mountain, biking. The physical activity wasn’t as important as the time we spent together. 

 I also recall on several occasions other families looking to have some fun outdoors and several members of the family being too out of shape or overweight to participate.   They never said those words, but what they did say was something like, “I’m too tired” or “You go ahead and I’ll stay here and watch.”  

 How said, that because of something so easy to control – a persons level of fitness – that the family missed out on creating great memories. 

 Fitness is one of those things that is constantly in our face, but few ever take it seriously, that is until it’s too late. Fitness doesn’t have to be complicated or take hours a day to achieve.  It just takes a bit of mental strength, a plan and taking action.

 I like to look at fitness as being a part of and contributing to an active lifestyle.  This, I feel should be the goal of every family, to have an active lifestyle.  Sure, it’s nice to have game night and maybe even watch T.V. or a movie.  But those memories quickly fade away or turn into regret.

 By having an active lifestyle a family can create fantastic memories that will last a life time.  My kids still talk about our trips and hikes to Yosemite…and it’s been almost 15 years since those trips together.

 The question you’re probably asking at this point is HOW to create an active and fit lifestyle.

 Glad you ask!

 With the help a coach, you both can address the areas that are most overlooked in a successful conversion from a sedentary to active lifestyle.  These areas include:

• Environmental factors determine the external opportunities or constraints which individuals and families must function in. They involve considering where and when success occurs. This includes areas like:
  • The Kitchen
  • The workplace
  • School
  • Fitness area or gym
  • Outdoors

• Behavioral factors are the specific action steps taken in order to reach success. They involve what, specifically, must be done or accomplished in order to succeed and include:
  • Determining favorite activities like rollerblading, bike riding, running, etc
  • The optimum time to exercise
  • A change in nutrition
  • Work out 3 times a week

• Capabilities relate to the mental maps, plans or strategies that lead to success. They direct how actions are selected and monitored and might include:
  • The use of a schedule
  • Creating a family Code of Honor
  • Establishing accountability among each other

• Beliefs and values provide the reinforcement that supports or inhibits particular capabilities and actions. They relate to why a particular path is taken and the deeper motivations which drive people and families to act or not to act.  Some limiting beliefs to be examined can include:
  • It’s expensive to be fit and healthy
  • I/we don’t have time to exercise
  • I have too much work to do to exercise

• Identity factors relate to people’s sense of their role or mission. These factors are a function of who a person or family perceives themselves to be. Some identities to be explored can be:
  • “I’m overweight”
  • “I have an illness”
  • “We’re just a big boned family”

• “Spiritual” factors relate to people’s view of the larger system of which they are a part. These factors involve for whom or for what a particular action step or path has been taken (the purpose).  This can include
  • Living long enough to see your grandkids finish High School
  • To be an inspiration to your children
  • To be an inspiration to your parents

These are the main areas that, as a coach, I help individual and families look at when wanting to embrace an active lifestyle.  A combination of a personal trainer, great nutritionist and a coach can make the process of creating an active and fit lifestyle so easy that you’ll be wondering what’s taken us so long.

This is one of my roles as coach; to assist, encourage and transform families thinking and beliefs that they can’t be fit, healthy and active to knowing and believing that they can and then living it and creating great memories.

Successful people in life are always positive people. They are the people who – know what they want – are optimistic – expect the best and expect to win. Are you one of them?

~Dr Martin Crouse

Last week’s article was filled with the wisdom of an extraordinary 90 year old. This week’s article was inspired by my 6 year old daughter and 8 year old son. Children just believe they can do something and they don’t let anything stop them…until they learn to have limitations. It’s these limitation that stop many of us adults from achieving

My son is a voracious reader and his sister is learning to read and loves books just as much. He is currently reading the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The cover has the NY Times Bestseller seal on it and he asked me what that was. I explained it to him and, without missing a beat, said, “Mommy, we’re going to write books that will be on the best seller list.” He grabbed some paper and started to write down 18 subjects he wants to write books on and over 30 names of possible characters.

Upon hearing this my daughter piped up “I’m first!” and grabbed some paper out of the printer and a pencil. “My book is going to be about pumpkins. How do you spell pumpkin, mommy?” She asked me to spell every word and wrote a 5 page story about a pumpkin that wanted to grow. She then illustrated it, stapled it together, and we have our very first copy of Kaitlyn’s bestseller. 

Kaitlyn's bestseller

Haven’t you always wanted to feel such amazing enthusiasm for a dream or a goal? When you were a kid, what did you believe that you could do? I bet you could see yourself soaring like Superman or flying the Enterprise like Captain Kirk, couldn’t you? Then you began to grow up and you became a “realist.” Because we can’t fly like Superman or Captain Kirk; it’s impossible, right?

I agree, there are limitations to our physical world and human flight is currently limited to airplanes. But you probably have other goals that are completely possible and you could achieve them if you wanted to. And before the “realist” in you pipes up “yeah, but…I have no money, no time, no (insert excuse here)…” pretend for a moment that you do have all those things. If you knew all those things were taken care of, what would you do? Do you dare to dream about it?

If you don’t, why not? Is it because you’re afraid that you might actually see this dream as a probable success and you might feel compelled to go after it? Think about that and honestly answer yourself.

My kids believe that their stories will end up on the NY Times bestseller list. They have envisioned their books already written and printed with their names on the cover. Now the easy part is just to write the stories. And the rest shows up. The How always shows up when we decide to do something. The very next day I met a woman who gave me information about publishing a book after I shared this story with her.

The NY Times hasn’t called yet but the point is this, what if Kaitlyn had just done what most adults do and said “No, it’s too hard, I don’t even know how to spell pumpkin, who would want to talk to a 6 year old at the NY Times? No, I just won’t even bother because it probably won’t work anyway.” Isn’t that what so many people do? They give up because of fears that are mostly all in their head and ungrounded in reality?

Kaitlyn is learning to write this year in kindergarten and doesn’t know how to spell many words yet. That didn’t stop her from writing her first book. She found the resources she needed to get her story written.

The truth is, reality is created by the words we say and what we believe. And it’s easy to change with the right tools. If you have dreams, goals, or just need a change, then we have the tools to help you get started and to support you on your journey. Call today and book your free Strategy Session to discover is working with us is right for you.

Today every word I utter will be chosen consciously. I will refrain from complaints, condemnation, and criticism. I will walk in love.

~Deepak Chopra

These are wise words for living every day.

Have you ever met someone who has lived a long and excellent life? I had the great pleasure of meeting Louise who, 2 weeks ago, celebrated her 90th birthday.  She shared with me some profound life lessons and I was happy to realize that I am already implementing these in some areas of my life.  I also decided that I would implement these lessons in ALL areas of my life.

 Louise, who does not look a day over 70, told me about how she learned to ice skate in Central Park in New York during the winter 70 years ago.  She had decided she wanted to learn and bought herself a beautiful skating suit before she ever even had ice skates on!  She said “I had made up my mind to do it and it didn`t matter how many times I fell! I had my mind set to learn to skate so I could ice dance with the boys at Madison Square Gardens.“  With this same tenacity she also rented a bicycle for $0.25 per day and learned to ride it so well that she would race with her friends around Central Park.

 She also told me all about her 90th birthday party and the importance of celebrating everything in life.  Birthdays and special accomplishments of good friends and family included.  “Celebrations mark the good times in your memories, and that`s all that matters,“ she told me.  “If you don`t celebrate then you feel like you never accomplish anything.“ 

 This reinforced what we talked about at the mastermind meeting too.   We spoke about celebrating and bragging.  Yes, bragging. We were all told as kids that bragging is bad because it’s not good to think you’re better than others.

 I have a different perspective now: it’s not about being better than others, it’s about being better than you used to be!  That’s what life is all about.  To celebrate our accomplishments…all of them, no matter how small. And then brag about them with the people who celebrate with us with joy and love!  Because this raises our energy and continues our momentum forward.

Louise said she lived her best life by making decisions to accomplish goals and then doing whatever it took to accomplish those goals.  She would then celebrate every accomplishment and special date to really feel like she was living.  She said she has no regrets.

 What will you decide to do that you`ve always wanted to do? 
What goals have you or your loved ones accomplished that you haven`t celebrated yet?

When you`re 90 years old, what types of stories do you want to tell?

We have decided that the best way to celebrate the new direction of our business is to have a Grand Launch Party!  We invite you to join us for fun, food, and prizes on November 18, 2010, from 5-7 pm at Slainte by the Pier (15057 Marine Drive, White Rock, BC).

Before positive changes can take place, you must take responsibility for your position in life. You are in control of your future and you are the only one who can guarantee a better life. If you play the role of a victim, giving up control and ownership of your life, you will never enjoy the amazing opportunities that life offers to us all.

~Martin Crous, Ph.D.

After the Mindset Retreat in Miami with my awesome coach, Fabienne Fredrickson, a lot has changed for me.  I learned a ton and had some transformational aha moments even though I knew a lot of what she was talking about.  I went to the retreat for me and so I stayed open to the information.  After all, I was definitely struggling with my mindset in my business and I wanted relief from that.

It became clear to me that I wasn’t allowing myself to receive from the universe and I also was afraid to speak my truth.  I didn’t even realize that I was putting the brakes on in my own business by acting this way.  It wasn’t until a few very intuitive people and Fabienne told me specifically that I was standing in my own way and exactly how I was doing it too.  I needed to learn to receive and to trust myself.  It just goes to show that you can only be your own healer and therapist up to a certain point.  It takes others outside yourself to catch what you say and increase your awareness. 

I realized two big walls that I had built for myself that were blocking my success.  One of these was that I didn’t allow myself to be open and vulnerable about the struggles I was experiencing in my business because I thought I had to have it all figured out.  I mean, who would want to work with someone who doesn’t have everything figured out?  The truth is, I realized, that no one has everything figured out.  Not even the best coach in the world.  All they do is share what they know and help others to the best of their ability.  They are open to learning and continue to grow and develop themselves so that they can help others even more.

The second one was that I was afraid to speak about spirit/universal source/god or whatever you want to call it as being an important part of the work that I do because I didn’t want to be perceived as doing “woowoo stuff”.  In fact, I was afraid to even say that I believe it’s THE most important aspect of our life.  NOT in a religion sense but in a trusting that there is something bigger than ourselves sense.  I learned at the retreat that manifestation and attraction work and are scientifically proven to work  and you need spirit to make them work.  Not to mention, you need your spirit and your intuition in your life to guide you to live your highest purpose. 

Once I forgave myself for being imperfect and I truly accepted my own gifts I became comfortable with my work and how I talk about it.  I am ok with it if someone thinks I do “woowoo stuff” because I no longer feel I need to justify what I do or what I know.  I KNOW what I do works without a doubt and it’s not my purpose to convince anyone or defend my knowledge and my skills.  This powerful knowing that I now have is something that I wish to help others find.  And in order for them to find it, they need to be open to spirit and forgiveness and thinking differently about things they already know.

The most humbling and exhilirating result of all of this learning and release work that I did is that my business has shifted completely.  People are responding to me differently and I actually have clients! I built a solid foundation during all that time that I was hiding behind my fears and that’s the good thing that came out of all of that.  Now I really got out of my own way and let things take flight. 

I urge you to consider what beliefs and rules do you have that are stopping you from mkoving forward in your business or in your life?  Does it feel like you’re driving with your brakes on?  Be honest with yourself and be ready to let these beliefs go.  It will transform the way you experience your success.  You will feel free and you will prosper. 

If you don’t know how to identify or let go of the limiting beliefs that you know you have then schedule your free Strategy Session to find out if a Breakthrough Session is the right process for you.  It gets you where you want to go in record time.  The world needs what you have to offer.  Don’t hide behind fears and struggle – take action now.

I think the there are a few reasons for this.  The first one is that people don’t define what success means to them.  They have grand visions of mountains of money, cars, houses, travel, etc.  When you really think about it, though, is that what success means to you or is that just what you think you want?  If you’re not absolutely sure that that’s what you want and that that’s your definition of success, then you’re not going to pursue it with a burning desire.  Does success mean material things to you? If yes, then define those in detail and go after them!

The second reason is that some people aren’t willing to take responsibility to achieve success.  Once you know exactly what you want to be, do and have to achieve your definition of ”successful” in your life, are you willing to do whatever it takes to get it?  OR do you have too many excuses standing in your way and you just choose to complain about how you don’t have all those things.

Another reason is people don’t believe they can achieve success.  They carry around with them baggage from their childhoods, their teenage years, and all their life experiences.  With all those negative things that stand in your way it’s hard to see clearly.  People are afraid to let their negative emotions go.  I don’t understand this.  Your life experiences will still be there – preserve the memories, not the emotions.  Let the baggage go and move forward with all your energy to create your success.

I remember the day I experienced a very interesting shift in my business.  It happened as I was getting ready for a trade show.  I finally understood and believed in something that I had known for a long time.  And I decided to do something with that knowledge.

I had everything set up to attract huge successes at the show: my booth, my information, my forms, etc.  What I noticed was that I wasn’t on board.  My own attitude was all wrong.  Past experiences of failure (that f-word we all want to avoid), struggling to build my business, and not believing in my own ability kept me stuck in this mindset.  Now I found myself at a fork in the road.  I could either A: remain complacent and wishy-washy about the show and just go and hope to meet some people.  Or B: I could clean up my own attitude, commit my goals to paper, visualize my success, ensure my energy was high, and succeed!

It was completely my choice at this point because I had the knowledge, the information, and all those other things that make up a good trade show booth.  In fact, I realized, I had all the makings of a successful business, I just wasn’t allowing myself to be successful inside.

I chose path B.  I was 100% on board at every level and the trade show was a HUGE success for me. I met amazing people, made great contacts, and really moved my business forward.  AND I learned a valuable lesson: that attitude and beliefs mean the difference between success and the “f” word.

It is entirely up to you to succeed or fail.  That’s the case in business and in life and we all have that choice to make.  You can learn and think about things and feel like we’re not ready to play it big when in reality, you do know enough.  All it takes is just the decision to play big and the tools to let the limiting beliefs go.  I use all my knowledge every day to release my own stuff as it comes up so that I can nurture and live with an attitude and with beliefs that support me.  To me this means I am taking 100% responsibility for my own success and my own business. 

Sure, it’s easier to blame it on the economy, on the government, on neighbours, demanding family schedules, and all sorts of other things.  There are lots of people out there who have these same circumstances and yet they succeed at very high levels.  They don’t use excuses and they implement what they know.  AND they ask for help when they need it.

I hope that all of you experience this shift in your businesses and your lives so that you’re ready to implement the knowledge instead of just know it.  There are awesome tools like NLP and hypnosis that help release negative emotions and limiting beliefs and help you get laser focused.  All it takes is personal responsibility and the willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed.