“The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.” ―  Ernest Hemingway

As a Midwesterner, the songs and calls of the Northern Cardinal and American Robin are annual welcomings to spring. In our DuPage County alone, we have over 300 species of birds living in our great backyard. That means that between our springtime welcome wagon friends, mallard ducks and Canadian Geese, I can identify less than 2% by sound, and only a few more by sight. Fortunately, however, birds have their own species covered in terms of giving one another a heads-up to intruders, for food, and in times of mating.

In the case of humans, however, we form groups based on a common language, shared experiences, cultural norms, and ancestral lineage. When we dial down and look around at those who we choose to spend time with, we discover similar philosophies and common beliefs. 

The question then is, what are those glue-like links that keep each of us coming back to break bread together? Is it a certain sense of humor? How about the clan-affiliation of a religion? Do we rally around political beliefs?

Or is it how we look? I recently attended a church service where to my untrained eye, it appeared that all the women looked similar in how they dressed, how they wore their hair, and how they held their bodies both standing and sitting. However you'd define these social norms, they were clearly important to these parishioners.

Or are the bonds that hold us together, beyond the obvious commonalities?

Is there a call that only we can hear? A frequency of communication that is only perceptible to some?

In an effort to build a community of individuals and families who want to improve their health, I have discovered that what we're creating is not for everyone. I am sending out the call, but only some receive it and are ready to act.

Who are those that hear my call?

• families who are willing to question the quality of what they put on the table
• parents who value their children's healthy habit formation over convenient and easy entertainment
• senior citizens who have not given themselves over to effortless comfort 
• men who know that their time is now . . . and can admit that their habits need to be shored up
• women who have suffered physically, emotionally, or psychologically . . . and feel vulnerable as a result
• women who use their vulnerabilities to build positive, gritty world views to make themselves stronger
• women who are sick of the status quo and are looking for real change . . . real empowerment

How about those who won't hear my call?

• anyone who is only concerned with how they look to others
• those who have lived with relative comfort, and don't really want to make the required habit changes
• people with fixed mindsets that will go to endless lengths to protect their egos rather than face their weaknesses

Here's the call: I am looking for four more clients.

Four individuals who don't want the $30 gym membership that they'll never use.

Four people who know that $1000 spent today on their health will save them $10,000 in the future.

Four clients who understand that two years of committed effort now will add 2-3x that many quality years to their lives in the future.

If you are are no longer motivated to go to the gym on your own, have reached the bottom of your own self-care toolbox and are still not achieving the results you want, are drawn to our message of building health through self-love, and have thoughts of reaching out . . . then you can hear our call.

If that's the case, answer it. Schedule your No Sweat Intro Now

Take the path that pulls you outside of your comfort zone and into the sunlight. It might feel scary at first, but after a short while, you will discover that the warm sun on your face is precisely what you've been looking for all along.

Cheers & Hugs,

-Coach Rebecca