Love Food, Larger Portion, Still Healthy...Say WHAT!???

I love food just like anyone else.  I am a picky eater, but when I find something that I enjoy...watch out!  One way I get to eat a lot of food (well maybe it's just tricking my stomach...hehe) is to make my protein shakes into a milkshake-like consistency with about 4-8 ounces of extra water.  Simple, SO freaking delicious and it keeps me satisfied for a few hours.

You could probably do this with any protein...I prefer my Arbonne vegan protein because it doesn't bloat my stomach.  Get out a big blender, add water, protein and whatever "healthy additives" you wish.  I am stuck on my chocolate with peanut butter.  Blend and keep adding ice until it just won't blend anymore.  Get a big spoon, take your time and enjoy.  :)

My shake from yesterday.  #nomnomnom

From a few days prior...I didn't have any peanut butter at the time, but just the chocolate protein, water and ice was pure DELICIOUSNESS!

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Un-Boring Cardio...

Choose any piece of equipment and do a 5 minute warm up.  

Next, go to the stairmill.  If you do not have a stairmill, a treadmill will work.  Please note the difficulty numbers may change depending on the type of stairmill or treadmill you have.

Do 1 minute at a low speed.  Then increase your level by 8 (or an incredibly substantial amount if this isn't a challenge on your machine).  Do this for 10 seconds, and then 50 seconds of your original speed.  Then 20 seconds fast, 40 seconds slow.  30 seconds fast, 30 seconds slow and repeat this pattern until you do 60 seconds fast, 0 seconds slow.  The following is an example of what I did last week for the interval part:

1 minute - Level 6
10 seconds - Level 14
50 seconds - Level 6
20 seconds - Level 14
40 seconds - Level 6  

30 seconds - Level 14
30 seconds - Level 6
40 seconds - Level 14
20 seconds - Level 6
50 seconds - Level 14
10 seconds - Level 6
60 seconds - Level 14

After this is done, feel free to repeat it again or do a cool down.  This left me breathless!

ENJOY!

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Amazon FBA, EBay, Fitness...SO Much Fun!!!

I want to start off by sharing some of my favorite motivational Eric Thomas YouTube videos...

What's Your Purpose? 

Rise and Grind

What do you want to be when you grow up?  It's a question that we are always asked and it was always a struggle for me to find "that answer".  I knew what I enjoyed doing, but I didn't really know how to turn that into a career.  It was always preached to get a good job with benefits.  How was I supposed to turn my passions into a career that made me money (and had benefits)?  Really not sure!

I have always loved fitness and working out.  There are pictures of me as as a kid (probably around 3 or 4 years old?) with a leotard, tights and warm ups working out to Richard Simmons and Charlene Prickett on TV.  I had no idea what a career was, but I knew what I enjoyed.  So that's just what I did.
Down the road, MANY years later...I still loved fitness.  But how would I seriously turn that into a career, a "good job with benefits"?  Not really sure, and it seriously frustrated the crap out of me for so long.  I would think to myself...can it really be this difficult?  Is everyone else finding their career passions but me!?  Or is everyone faking it and I just don't know the difference?

So I thought being a Personal Trainer would do the trick.  It's fitness, right!?  Well yea, kinda.  I studied, passed my test and I was (and still am for now) a certified Personal Trainer.  Wooohooo!  I found a job in a few weeks, and quickly learned that there were many things about the job that were definitely not my passion.  I didn't like teaching people fitness basics and I didn't like selling people on working out.  Either you like it or you don't...so after awhile I felt like I was a glorified salesperson and I was back at square one.  Frustrated and stressed.  Is finding your passions and turning it into a career supposed to be this difficult!?

Like they say I guess...nothing worthwhile comes easy.

I was still on a mission to find out a job that I enjoyed...turning a passion into a career.  This entire time and since 1998/1999, I sold on eBay.  It was never consistent, but it was definitely there for me when I needed to make a few bucks.  It got me through some really tough times, and I really enjoyed it.  I never in a million years think that it would ever turn into a career.

A few years ago, I started selling on eBay more consistently.  I would get up super early and stay up super late to work on my items.  I even carried a full time job at the time and I managed to still do this.  I really did not like my job at all, but it paid REALLY well and it was hard to leave that kind of money.  But what is money...you need it to pay bills.  But as they say, you make more...you spend more.  I came home pissed off every night, and not having that stress would be PRICELESS!

To make a long story short, I did end up making online selling my career.  Since then, I have started selling more on Amazon and less on eBay.  I don't know if I will do this for the rest of my life, but I really enjoy what I do.  It's not fitness...BUT it allows me to pursue it in the middle of the day if I want.  It allows me to work when I want, which is incredibly fun too.  I probably put in more than the average 40 hours a week...but it's so much fun not to!

This is what my day looked like yesterday...heavy lifting in the AM.  Then...11 boxes (235 pounds) for Amazon!

Then, some more gym time.  Cardio intervals!

I was so exhausted, but its definitely rewarding to enjoy what you do every day.  I'm not going to lie, I do get stressed.  It's not sunshine and roses 100% of the time.  But it's much better than working a 10 hour day with an hour commute on top of that, not being able to pursue your hobbies like you want and then getting up the next day and having a boss be mad as to why you only put in 10 hours because metrics were not met.  Blah!  No good for me!  

So as a takeaway...maybe the thing that will be your career will just fall into your lap one day.  It did for me.  I had no idea that I could do this Amazon thing until I read about it one day on a FB group for EBay.  All along I LOVED couponing and finding good deals, but I had no idea I could make money from it.  Maybe your career will not be your greatest passion, but it will be something you REALLY love doing!  

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Doing One Thing Well...

I have been pretty much MIA on social media lately, but I'm alive and well.  :)

Up until about a month ago, I would cringe when someone asked me what I did for a career.  Why?  It's because I don't have a "typical" job.  I get bored pretty easily, so I like to do many different things so I don't get tired or burnt out.  So my answer would sometimes be...I'm a self-employed entrepreneur.  Whew!  Then some would still ask...well what is that!?  Well, I sell on Amazon and eBay, I work for a sports recruiting company, I do promotions, I have a supplement business and I have a makeup business.  I would typically laugh afterwards, saying that I like to stay busy.

One day recently it's hit me...does that really make me sound professional?  I know that I do all of this for myself and I shouldn't really care what others think.  But does it really want to make someone do business with me?  No, not really.  I realized that I need to pick one or two things, and do them well.  If I am doing 5 or 6 jobs at once, I will get tired, frustrated and can't really become an expert in anything.

So I am not quitting anything.  That's not my style at all.  And it's always good to have multiple streams of income.  But I am going to focus on Amazon, and I'm going to work for the sports recruiting company on the side.  I will be doing this at least for the rest of the year since it's Q4 and it's the busiest time of the year.  I'm so excited and it seems like once I decided this, my Amazon income started growing.  Sidenote - my husband has started to help more, so that has been awesome too.

Who knows what next year will bring.  I don't ever see myself stopping my Amazon business or the sports recruiting.  I love them both too much.  I do know that business may slow down a little bit after Q4.  I'd love to get the opportunity to write some books on fitness or maybe my educational/career journey.  My journey been a little different than most, and I'd love to share it.

Do you know anyone who is interested in how Amazon works?  Or maybe you are interested for yourself?  If so, Jessica Larrew is absolutely amazing and it's someone that anyone and everyone should copy if you want fast success in this business.  I HIGHLY recommend her!  I have a long way to go, but I would not be where I am today without her guidance and expertise.

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