Tag: dreams

This Envelope

envelope

This envelope right here. This envelope here holds my son’s monthly tuition for preschool. This envelope used to be a bit of a stress factor for me during that first week of the month. While our co-op is definitely affordable compared to many daycares and private preschool programs, it is still a nice chunk of change that I wasn’t always sure we could afford. I knew we would make it happen…because education is so important to me and my husband, and we truly value the experiences that our son had been able to have with his teacher and classmates. But I stressed all summer long about the tuition increase from last year to this year with an extra hour a day, extra day per week, cost to hire an assistant, etc. It all adds up pretty quick.

Building a business from scratch is not easy and it takes time and patience to build. It has been frustrating at times to not be an “overnight success,” but that’s just not how things work. My husband has been so supportive since I became a coach and he truly believes in me. He believes this has been a great decision for our family…even when I have doubted myself. For that I am so grateful. Quitting has never been an option, and I have continued to put in my best effort day in and day both both as a mom and as a business woman…sometimes at the same time.

So when I realized today that this week’s paycheck more than surpassed that monthly tuition we owe today, my heart just filled with happiness. To know that I was able to contribute in such a way toward my son’s education in just one week of helping others reach their goals truly shed light on a big reason WHY I do what I do.

I love helping others, and I also want to create the best life possible for my family and give my children all they deserve to be happy and successful in life. I am holding this envelope today feeling grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given and feeling hopeful for the future.

Hope you all are having an amazing week and continuing to pursue your passions and dreams!

XO,

Gina

Reach New Heights in 2017

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When I originally moved to NYC, I had big dreams. I wanted to be a TV star, or a sports reporter. I moved here to pursue those dreams and enjoy life in a new city, but I don’t think I ever fully allowed myself to truly GO for it. I became comfortable. I enjoyed my job. I would have had to be extremely uncomfortable if I really wanted to go for those goals, and maybe it ended up being a lack of true passion, fear of failure, or lack of belief in myself to make it happen, but I kind of let those dreams fall to the wayside.
 
Since becoming a mom my dreams have changed a bit. My priorities have shifted. I no longer aspire to star on General Hospital (yes, that was a dream! LOL!), but I dream of sending my kids to the best school possible. I dream that my husband and I will be able to travel the world and we will show our kids how people live in other places. I dream of the financial freedom to enjoy a new home and not have to live paycheck to paycheck. I dream of staying healthy, fit, and strong into my old age so that I can not only keep up with my children, but one day my grandchildren.
 
And I dream that I will be able to help as many other people as possible achieve their own hopes and dreams too. Becoming a Beachbody Coach has allowed me to truly believe that this is possible. I have seen what I can achieve in my “home gym.” I have seen what my challengers can achieve. I have seen what my fellow coaches have accomplished in business and how my own business has grown over the last (almost 2 years). I have seen how my own personal growth has developed and my mindset has shifted to be more positive, less anxious, less stressed, more uplifting, and more believing in myself and my own capabilities. I don’t see a lid to that ladder anymore. I know that if I set out to help others, then I WILL reach those goals and my life and my family’s lives will be better because of it.
 
I am hosting an online Happy Hour event THIS Wednesday December 14th to share with you how I have gotten on this path towards going after my dreams, and how you can start yours.
 
If you’d like to join, please fill out this application below and comment below. You can also e-mail me at gina.notes26 {at} gmail.com.
 
https://pandpfitness.wufoo.com/forms/team-spark/
 
The new year is just around the corner. Make 2017 the year you believe in yourself!
–
XO,
–
Gina

Dare to Dream

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When you look at this photo here, you see a smiling, happy, fun-loving, positive, fitness crazy group of friends.

But what you don’t see in this photo:

-One of these women suffered from eating disorder in her past
-One rarely sees her husband because he is in the military
-One never had a group of close girlfriends growing up
-One always felt like a social outcast
-One recently struggled through divorce
-One is struggling financially to get her family back on their feet
-One was drowning in the day to day of motherhood
-One was overweight and lost over 80 pounds to get healthy
-One struggles with a chronic illness
-One has a stressful full time job

People often comment or tell me that what I am doing is amazing, but they don’t have that kind of motivation, or they don’t have the dedication that I do. I think sometimes they believe I am this fitness machine and that this is just easy for me. But I am human. All of these women here are human. We have our struggles. We have our past. We have the daily grind of life that can sometimes be difficult.

But the difference here is that this group of women have made a DECISION. They have decided that THEY are in CHARGE of their own lives. That their circumstances will not define them. That they are WORTH it. That they will work toward a life they have always wanted, and won’t let anything stand in their way.

This is the type of job where you determine your own destiny. Especially in a country right now where women are still underpaid compared to men…this company has given everyone an equal opportunity to succeed. There is no cap to your potential…as long as you are willing to put in the work. If you believe in other people…in helping other people…that is the key. The ladies here are not in this business for a quick rise to the top or some get rich quick scheme. That’s just not real life. But they are here to help people, to grow and enrich themselves, to learn, to FACE their daily struggles, to conquer them, and to go after what they truly deserve.

I am hosting a “What is Coaching?” Happy Hour online THIS Thursday night at 8:30pm ET to give you an inside scoop on what it REALLY means to be a coach and how you can start to face those fears and go after those dreams in your life. Everyone has the potential to be the best person you can be. It’s all about making that decision. So if nothing else other than pure curiosity, I would love to see you there on Thursday for this info-only event! No pressure to join in this opportunity…only the information to see if just maybe this is the thing you’ve been waiting for.  

COMMENT, drop me an email, or fill out this application below, and I can’t wait to chat more on Thurs!!!

https://pandpfitness.wufoo.com/forms/team-spark/

Make it a great day everyone!

XO,

Gina

Dreams into Reality

Team Spark Happy Hour June 23

About a year and a half ago, I felt a little lost. The company I worked for had folded 6 months prior, I had an 18 month old and was newly pregnant with baby #2. My mother had always worked outside of the home, and naturally being the person I am, I always wanted to do the same. I never wanted to rely on anyone else and I wanted to “be successful” in my own right.
 
Before becoming a mom, I also could never have imagined how hard it would be to balance work and life. Going back to work was easier said than done. I liked my old job, but it was definitely hard to leave every morning. During those 6 months of “soul searching” I realized I didn’t want to go back to working in advertising full time and leaving my son (and future son to-be) 5 days a week for incredibly long hours.
 
My blog and a couple writing gigs told me that I wanted to do something from home…and on my own…but I just didn’t know what. Because the blog was certainly not paying the bills…
 
At the same time I was also incredibly out of shape. Aside from walking, I hadn’t done anything since I got pregnant with my first born. This was a heck of a lot different from my athletic past life, and I did not feel like myself and was quite sure I would probably never again.
 
It was then that I stumbled upon the coaching opportunity. A fellow blogger started her journey and I quietly followed until I saw she was looking to mentor new coaches. I thought to myself “WHY NOT ME?!” What did I have to lose? If I hate it, I will just find something else.
 
So I took the JUMP. A year and a half ago, I had NO idea what I was getting myself into…but I knew that I would be helping people and I would be getting healthy at the same time.
 
Fast forward to the present day, and my life has completely changed. I am able to stay at home and raise both of my kids AND also have a full time job that I work in part time hours. I have helped over 200+ people start their health + fitness journey and achieve incredible results, and I have trained and helped mentor 20+ coaches to build their own businesses and start their own journey toward financial freedom. I have been able to take multiple vacations so far this year and have at least 5 more trips on the books for the rest of the year. We are paying off debts from old houses owned in Baltimore, hubby’s student loans, and more. I have made so many new friends (pictured above) from across the country who are positive, uplifting, supportive and who I look forward to talking with every day.
 
The journey is not over, and it’s hard work, but it’s work that I LOVE, so it doesn’t actually FEEL like work. It’s something I can do on my own time, my own hours, + create and design by MY standards. I wake up each day excited to check in with my challengers and my team. I love seeing the lives transform each and every day, including my own. It makes me feel happy that I can provide for my family and be a positive example for my boys.
 
Are you looking for something MORE in your life? If you have ever felt the way I did…if you want more time with your kids, more travel/vacation time, a chance to do something for yourself, the opportunity to feel as if your success is limitless, to surround yourself with an amazing community of people….
 
Then PLEASE JOIN ME + Team SPARK! – THURSDAY night 6/23 at 8:30pm where we will share our stories and give you a behind the scenes of a day in the life of a coach. How we help others, why we love it + how you can fit coaching into your already busy schedule.
 
***Comment below “I want to learn more!” with your e-mail address***
 
Come learn how to turn your DREAMS into a REALITY – And don’t forget something to say “Cheers!” on Thursday! 🙂
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Hope you all have an AMAZING Monday!!!
–
XO,
–
Gina
 
***Team Beachbody® does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach’s income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill.***

Vision

Vision.

“a vivid mental image, especially a fanciful one of the future”

We all have vision in some way, shape or form…a view inside our minds of how we want the future to look. We can’t predict the future, but we CAN envision it. Many times our vision can get cloudy. We forget WHY we are doing something or where we want to go. We get distracted by the many things in life pulling us in different directions. Sometimes we aren’t quite sure where we want to go…and we really need to sit down and think about what it is that we want or how it is that we can get there.

This is an exercise that a year ago I would have laughed at if someone told me I should do it. I didn’t really understand the value in it, thought it was a little bit silly, and even a waste of my precious time.  But I have come to appreciate the value in SEEING my vision and putting it down on paper (or on electronic paper in this case…although I do recommend printing it out and putting it where you can see it each day!) By having a physical copy of my vision there is no chance I will forget those goals I have set for myself…no way that I can get lost in the shuffle of the day to day and let my vision get left behind in the fog.

At first it was scary mapping out this vision…even writing this now, I am scared to hit the publish button. Who the hell do I think I am to achieve this? Will people think I’m crazy? Will they laugh at me? Will they think there is no way she will be able to do that in a year? WHAT IF I FAIL????

But the more I think about it…it doesn’t matter what other people think. This is my journey and my life, and I only have one…so why not DREAM BIG and make the most of each moment. And while I will work my tush off to achieve this vision…so what if I don’t quite get there this year? It’s all about the journey and growing as a person at the end of the day right?

So…here goes…(deep breath)…my VISION BOARD for 2016.

2016 Vision Board

May you set out to reach YOUR full potential this year, and may your vision become your reality. Believe in yourself and believe that anything is possible. That’s my motto for this year, and I’m stickin’ to it! 😉

XO,

Gina