When GIA Wellness announced over $6000 in prizes to be awarded for its 60-day Growth, Inspiration & Abundance Challenge on January 1st, I knew I was IN. I LOVE A CHALLENGE! Did you say,”CONTEST?”  YAY! I felt like the family Labrador when someone gets the leash and says, “Wanna go walk?!” But this challenge was different, it was a pick-a category (or more) and “design-your-own” challenge. Hmmm. Well, I decided I wanted  to do all three.

I started by digging into reading  The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable On Real Success In Business And In Life,” by Robin Sharma. And I committed to reading it through – slowly and twice, taking extensive notes and incorporating the lessons into my life and GIA business. I rewrote my Affirmations and committed to reading them every day. I committed to embracing and becoming more active on social media and creating tools and trainings for GIA consultants. I committed to those, but the easiest for me to do was to hit the physical challenge. I figured if I wanted to get my butt in gear, I better go get a butt. Really. 

So I started the physical challenge: to gain 8-10 lbs, build lean muscle mass, build strength and bulk in my upper body and, literally, to  GET A BE-HIND! I mean – an actual butt that could be seen on my skinny backside! 

I studied what to do , consulted with a fitness coach to get the proper exercises – which included lots of leg presses, abductor and adductor and calf work, and I hit the gym. I doubled my caloric intake, adding more carbohydrates, and multiple GIA LEAN shakes per day. I LOVE the new stevia-sweetened GIA LEAN, just plain, or with a heaping tablespoon of Cacoa powder, Cafix ( a non caffeinated coffee substitute) and a robust handful of mixed greens! I found myself enthusiastically spending time at the gym that was encroaching on my work time. hmmm. 

Just over a week into my rigorous regime, I was already seeing results – my derriere was getting larger and I was gaining weight and building muscle mass. Then I started to feel pain in my hip. The diagnosis: Tendinitis and a possible disk issue in my lower back. I had overdone it. I had injured myself. I needed to rest. 

One of Lynda Cormier’s and our mantras here at GIA is to “BE INTENT IN YOUR VISION AND FLEXIBLE IN YOUR APPROACH.” I had to laugh in the midst of pain, as I realized that maybe the real gift from my GIA Wellness Challenge was not about my own physical change, but to “get my butt in gear” to creating a way of life that better serves me, my gifts and those whose lives I am meant to impact. The “GIFT” of this “boulder in my path” injury was that it put me back on track The real focus of my GIA Challenge 2019 would be more to target my efforts and unleash my own creativity in service of helping my GIA team, and the entire GIA Team, accomplish their goals and serve their dreams. 

My next challenge, as I sought to get my arms around the GIA Challenge 2019 in a big way, was how could I possibly document every aspect of my GIA challenge activities in a way that would best serve my personal and larger purposes? I knew a simple before and after, with a video two would not possibly be enough to help me communicate everything I was going to follow through on. My next idea: Create a GIA Wellness blog – devoted to GIA Wellness, documenting and giving glimpses into the lifestyle, the products, the freedom and the inspiration available to us by engaging in meaningful ways with GIA Wellness. I dedicated myself to creating something that would exemplify all things GIA –  that would be a container for my enthusiasm and my self- expression, serve the GIA Wellness field, and enable the online world to get a meaningful glimpse into the extraordinary GIA Wellness universe. I took a webinar, bought the blog name and got started. Here, for you, is my work in progress. Enjoy. Be inspired and I hope to helps you to “Live Your Best Day, Every Day,” on our way to making 2019 our BEST YEAR EVER!