How to Solve Childhood Obesity... A Story

I just got this email from Jonathan Gelfand, general counsel at Beachbody. I think it's an important lesson for anyone who wonders how we got into the crisis of childhood obesity, and how we can solve it:

Carl,

Something you said a few months back really resonated for me the other day.

My daughter Sophie came upstairs Saturday while I was working out to Power 90 and asked what I was doing. From reading I have done, I know we are at the parenting stage where we "model behavior" for her and I remember you saying that our parents taught us to do our homework and brush our teeth but probably never made fitness a required part of your everyday life. So, I explained to her what Daddy was doing and why and that was that. The next day I went upstairs to do my workout again and with about 20 minutes left, Sophie came upstairs and started following along (jumping jacks and the hopping side to side which was the perfect time). When I asked her why she was working out with me, she said because it was important. Eureka!

(Now if I can only find a way to replicate that with 'not dating' until she is 22.)

Jonathan

The point here goes beyond solving childhood obesity. This is an example of how, despite how it feels, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. How you behave can have a positive impact on everyone around you. It's one of the key functions of being a coach -- LIVING the healthy active lifestyle, not just representing it.

That's not only how childhood obesity gets solved, but the healthcare problem in general. We are not alone. Your behavior matters. My behavior matters. The healthier one lives, the healthier we all will live.

Summer's 90 Days Out... Any ideas?

March + April + May = The Last Three Months To Summer!

Here's your motivation check list:
1. Look great in a bathing suit
2. Enter to win the Million Dollar Body Game
3. Create a Before/After that will kick your Coach business into high gear
4. Inspire your friends and family to get healthy
5. Have the strength, energy, and confidence to have the best summer EVER!

Here's your "Things To Do" between now and March 1:
1. Order the program you're going to follow for 90 days 2. Set your first month's workout schedule up in WOWY
3. Join the "Beach or Bust 2008" WOWY group, and invite four people who seem to workout at the same time as you to get on the band wagon
4. Throw away the food in your kitchen which will undermine your success
5. Take your measurements
6. Take a new photo - this time in THE BATHING SUIT you intend to wear this summer.
(Note, it should be tight if you're not at your goal weight)
7. Pick the exact day that you intend to take that bathing suit to the beach, and KNOW that you will hit that beach with total confidence!
8. Talk to five people who you think you'll likely see on that beach or the pool, and tell them what you are doing. If you're a coach, invite them to get involved. If you're not a coach, this is the perfect time to get started.

Whether it's Turbo Jam, P90X, Power 90, Hip Hop Abs, or your own make shift program, you've got 90 days to kick it into "transformation gear" so you feel great all summer long. I'll see you in WOWY!

Connect Your Desires To Action

Whether it's making more money, transoforming your body, or helping the people around you get healthy, I wrote about the motivational benefits of "layering your desires" a couple weeks ago.

I've given that a lot of thought - like constantly - since that post. What I now call "Motivation Multipliers" is the power you get when faced with a choice;


"Do I eat the entire bowl of ice cream, or don't I?"

You want the gratification of that bowl of ice cream, no doubt. So how do you resist?

You multiply the motivation of your desires, and connect that motivation to ACTION.

For me, here's how it would go.

Reasons to eat the ice cream
1. I want to enjoy something sweet. I deserve it.

Reasons NOT to eat the ice cream
1. I want my jeans to fit better.
2. I want to have good energy, and a sugar spike always shuts me down
3. I want to build this business - and gorging on ice cream does not support the idea of walking the talk
4. I want to stay off the cholesterol drugs (I have high cholesterol) to preserve my kidneys and liver, so I don't need the combo of sugars and cream
5. I don't want to teach my daughter the habit of using ice cream as a reward/escape.
6. I want to feel confident and lean this summer on the beach

1 reason to eat it. 6 reasons not to.

Now it's worth it to find an alternative which won't run counter to my six reasons but which actual support them. A piece of fruit, a healthy shake, or simply reassessing my desire to eat something sweet are all ACTIONS that support my DESIRES.

If you ever saw that movie "The Secret", I really think that's what the point was. The more you focus on your desires, and link your actions to those desires, the more probable it is you will get what you want.

I read a great line in a Richard Bach book once: "Everything is exactly as it is for a reason. The crumb on your table is not some mystical reminder of this morning's cookie. It is there because you have chosen not to remove it. No exceptions"

For my purposes in the Beachbody world I would restate it like this: "Your body is exactly as it is for a reason. The additional inches around your waistline is not some curse or result of a genetic defect. They are there because you have made choices which kept it there. No exceptions"

Same goes for your financial condition, the trend of obesity, the state of our healthcare, etc. We are not the victims of our situation. We created the situation. We are also free to be more conscious of our multiple DESIRES to change these conditions, and to take action that supports our new desires.

Being aware of your desires when it comes time to make a choice, I mean REALLY aware of them, is how you can more easily take action that best serves your desires.

In the instance of the ice cream, I am serving my highest desires by finding an alternative choice. It's not evil or bad to have the ice cream. It's just not serving what I desire. I am not going to attack and judge myself for having ice cream. But I also have no right to complain about how long it is taking me to achieve my desires.

Escaping through sensual gratification is the hardest thing to give up. But if you are actively conscious of more of your desires than your desire to escape or "get a fix", you will have a better chance of achieving your goals -- in fact I know you'll have a better chance of surpassing your wildest goals, and enjoying the the process.

Connect your Desires to your Actions, and you will get the body, the health, and the lifestyle you want.

That's the point of coaching at Beachbody: You multiply your motivation by being aware of how they connect, and you put yourself in a position to take action on all that motivation where every action can serve your mutiple desires. That's efficiency, and the path to success!

The Real Winners

The list of finalists for the Million Dollar Body Game is now posted inside the club for members to vote. (If you vote, choose wisely, because once you voted, you voted.)

Each of the four men and women on this page have already won $50,000 for being the top overall selection in their category. That's pretty exciting! And one man and one woman will take away $250,000 on March 7th. That's crazy!

The selection process was fascinating. We learned so much about the value of the coach/customer relationship. We learned that so many people have to overcome so much to get healthy. Even with all the tools at our fingertips, it is not easy. But in every case, the rewards are a revelation.

The judges kept the promise to celebrate not just the best "after" photo in choosing these finalists, but to pay attention to the entire journey. The quality of photos, the visibility of the transformation, the quality and content of video, the healthy nature of the transformation, and the essays were all considered as the judges selected the finalists over a grueling week of review.

The most difficult thing for all the judges was knowing that, while every person was an inspiration for achieving great health, not EVERYONE could win the money.

This is where coaches are so important. We can't let the contest be anything more than a fun aspect of the overall experience of Team Beachbody. We can't let the competition pollute the spirit of teamwork, support, and positive benefits of staying active and getting good nutrition. That's the message of everything we do -- whether you won $300 for working out in WOWY, $1,000 or $10,000 as a transformation contest winner, or today $50,000 as a finalist, the REAL prize is the quality of life we are all achieving by supporting each other to stay true to this healthy lifestyle. THAT'S the real grand prize!

Congratulations to the finalists. And to everyone who stays consistently active and focused on eating well, thank you for inspiring all of us to succeed -- YOU are the real winners!

We Are All "Beachbody" Again!

The video below explains it... but in case you want to save five minutes, we're relegating the Million Dollar Body brand to the game, and bringing the club and community in to the core brand; Team Beachbody. This means that our coaches represent the product, and the company represents the coaches.

All for one, and one for all! Let's build this thing Team Beachbody!

The Power Of Your Desire

> You might DESIRE to lose weight, but so far that desire alone has not led you to your goal.

> You might DESIRE to have financial freedom, but so far that desire alone has not led you to your goal.

> You might DESIRE to help others around you improve their health and lifestyle, but so far that desire alone has not led you to your goal.

Welcome to the power of the Beachbody/Million Dollar Body coach opportunity, where the power of your desires are compounded. It has been my personal experience that this synergistic power of multiple desires is how, for once, you REALLY can achieve your most ambitious goals!

You can get ripped. You can get rich. You can help thousands of people!

When you are a coach, you can still struggle to get in shape. Every day there are factors that can impede your motivation. But if you take a moment and give thought to your personal DESIRE to (1) be fit and healthy, (2) to earn more money, and (3) to inspire others, you'll see how meaningful your decision to stick to your goals can be.

If you're like me, at the very moment you could have let yourself down, considering your higher DESIRES will translate into the choice of eating right, pushing play, and taking your supplements.

Every time you overcome the inner voice to quit, and you direct your multiple sources of DESIRE toward your success, you will stoke the furnace of your own power... That doesn't just help you today. DESIRE of this kind is like a muscle - and the more you work it, the stronger it gets! I see it each month in the Million Dollar Body Game, that it's possible for anyone to achieve their highest DESIRE, and for those that succeed the rewards are significant.

If you or someone you know has struggled with their motivation or consistency, tell them to link another DESIRE to the equation, and they'll be pleasantly surprised at how much easier and faster it is to accomplish each goal!

So from now on, pay attention to your desire -- It really may be your heart's way of directing you toward your highest potential!

It is precisely because our present life is so inseparably
linked with desire that we must make use of desire’s tremendous energy
if we wish to transform our life into something transcendental.
-- Lama Thubten Yeshe

A Business Plan For Trainers

I just got off a radio interview with one of our newest coaches, Neil Anderson, a trainer and radio host of The Health and Fitness Zone in Salt Lake City. During the conversation, we came up with the concept of how trainers can actually expand their business and better serve their clients by becoming MDB coaches.

First the premise: I think personal trainers deliver a valuable service helping people learn about fitness and learn good form. But I think part of their job is to get people on a personal program that they can execute on their own, without the trainer's help counting reps.

And for anyone who is a trainer, you know how fixed the income potential is - you're locked into the hours you work. Let's say you can effectively serve 5 clients a day, 6 days a week. That's a total of 30 client hours a week, and you ONLY get paid if there is no cancellation. Here's the problem -- the only way to expand is either work longer hours, or increase your rate.

Instead, trainers should do is (1) work toward signing up ten new clients a month to train, to be members in the Million Dollar Body Club, and Coaches so their sessions with you can eventually pay for themselves.

(2) You will put them on a 90 day program like Power 90, Turbo Jam, P90X, or Slim in 6, depending on their preferences, but you only train them for the first few weeks of it to make sure their form is accurate and they stay consistent.

(3) You take their before photos and measurements, and get them to set-up their online profile in the club.

(4) You make sure they log every workout, so you can check up on their progress, and they are eligible to win the daily WOWY prize up to $1,000.

(5) You make sure they use the diet tool to track their food.

(6) In exchange for your helping them become independently healthy, part of that client's job is to refer you two more people (some will, some won't. Some will refer a ton of people - when they get results and brag about how they did it on their own, with YOUR help!)

(7) You set the appointment for you to get together to take their 30 day progress photos and measurements. That locks them into accountability.

(8) You make sure they enter their results in t the Million Dollar Body Game - since they could win $1,000 to $10,000 bucks every month if they make progress - and you as a coach will get rewarded too!

(9) You sign-up their referrals (either under them as a coach, or under you if they're not a coach) and do the same thing with these referrals. The tree grows!

Here's how the math works (without getting into the income of it, which would be substantial):

Instead of serving ten to fifteen clients in all the time you have, your new goal is to sign up ten new people a month, with the help of client referrals. You're still always training ten or so people a month, but once they have learned the program with your help, they are on your maintenance program (including supplements if you feel it appropriate) and your earnings from your clients becomes passive, rather than direct trainer-earnings.

So at the end of the year, you have at least 120 clients, calling you from time to time for refreshers and to take progress photos/measurements. After two years you have over 240 clients, plus all the coaches your clients have now signed up on their own. THAT'S A BUSINESS! You've created your own network of peer support; People who are thanking YOU for getting them started on the right path, and for helping them achieve it under their own power for the long term.

You make more money. They are rewarded for getting healthy and referring people into the program. And EVERYONE is a more independent healthy human being. if I were a trainer, that's the way I would approach it. And if I were a coach, I would call every trainer in the phone book and pitch this concept. people don't need help counting reps, they need to be empowered to succeed on their own once they know what they're doing!

By the way, this same formula works for doctors who see patients that need help losing weight, gyms, chiropractors, and nutritionists. The point here is to empower people to be independently healthy, and you reap the rewards in every way!

Thanks to Neil for helping inspire this concept!