What if you couldn't fail?

Dear Potential Doubters, Life Enablers, and Stagnant Dreamers,  

Don't be a person who dies with potential. In fact, refuse! Nothing could be more terrible. It's worse than failure. You have to try in order to fail. Yes, try! That means you got off your ass and went after something. Kudos to you! Worst case, you failed! Who cares. Plus, its not so bad when you think of not trying something you might be good at; something you have a passion for. Now that's a scary thought. Seriously, take a second think about it....What would you do if you knew you wouldn't fail? And once you think of it, ask yourself who defines failure? My guess is- other people who fail! Weird, right? We tend to worry about failing around failures...

I don't know about you, but the absolute worst feeling is wanting to do something and not going after it because you are afraid to fail. Afraid of where it may take you if you succeed. Afraid of being uncomfortable or alone. Well, I say it's the worst feeling, but i lied. I, truthfully wouldn't know what thats like. That's not me. I try it all! I see it this way. A wasted talented is like a boat with no sails; life with no music. In my mind, it's utter destitution. It's never been for me and I'll show you. 

It starts in my college years. I was a student who knew exactly what I wanted to do and I jumped in with both feet. There was nothing I loved more in life than children. My dream was to teach. I knew it from a young age. And so for 5 years, I worked diligently to make this happen. When the fifth year arrived and completion of my degree came to be, I went out for my dream.  If you know me well, you know I bulldoze goals with passion and possess a drive that won't stop. I spent a year searching for my dream job and apparently God had something else in mind for me. (Laughable now) it was nothing specific i could figure out at the time and I was quickly frustrated. In long days of soul searching I realized my "career" was to help people. Help people grow, change, expand, but more importantly to see all their potential and to see my potential in the process. I quickly realized, In order for me to teach, I had to learn;) 

And so it goes, I began I career in fitness. I started a small business from the ground up. I figured even though I couldn't show children their potential, I could show people. People! You know, those 6 billion people that exist around us everyday. You and I, who ALL struggle with loss of loved ones, broken relationships, job security, false body images, debt, fear, pride, lust, adultery...Yes, those!!! The ones who would love someone to breath life into their weaknesses, and brokenness. Well although the Lord is the Master of all healing,  I was on a mission to utilize my God given talents any way I could, to breath life. To mend parts of brokenness. To change "I cant's" to "how couldn't I?" Although devastated at the loss of what I thought I would be spending my life doing, I wouldn't change the outcome for anything in the world. I was on my "potential" journey...

So to fast forward... Everyday I wake up at 4am to spend an hour at 5am with clients, women, that not only have changed their lives, but in returned have changed mine. They see their potential and show me mine (crazy how that works;)! I then head out to work a 9-5 job, I never knew I'd try, like or even consider. But heck, I am so glad I did! To date, I have been to more than 10 cities (in 12 months), I have a handful of life changing friendships and lessons learned I could've never gained in a classroom. So, because I wanted to indulge in every aspect of my potential I made the world my class room. I do everyday. So now I have both my dream and the understanding of my potential.  I see individuals as teachers, circumstances as lessons and my talents as tools. With each of those segments, my life is an example of a potential that didn't die at "no" to teaching, it became alive at "yes" to change. Influence. Passion. Life. 

So, I write today to ask you this- 

What's your yes? You can choose anything. Don't let your potential die! There is no one on this earth like you. The discovery of your potential could change the world. Start living now! Don't settle for "no" or "not yet." Settle for "now" and " you bet!" 

Always remember... 

" ONE OF THE WORST THINGS YOU CAN DIE WITH IS POTENTIAL. DIE WITH FAILURES BEFORE YOU DIE WITH POTENTIAL. POTENTIAL IS SOMETHING TO BE REALIZED, NOT GUARDED OR PROTECTED. SO, DIG IT UP! INVEST IT! AND YOU WILL FIND THAT IT IS TRUE -  LIFE COMES FROM THE INSIDE OUT!"

Today, promise yourself you'll go after something you have always wanted to do. 

Let me know how it goes;) 

My best,

Your biggest fan
123 Dream Way
Success, IN 54321

You Choose...

 Don't bunt. Aim out of the ballpark.
David Ogilvy

I don't know about you, but when I read that I was motivated! My goal every waking day is to be motivated but more importantly to stay motivated. Not by money, people, or trivial things, but by my own drive, passion, and desire to expand every ounce of my talent. Sure, if you bunt you may get on base and then what you do from there can be successful; but like a homerun, if you aim for the stars and miss, you will end up amongst the clouds... still in the sky! Cliché, sure. I like to think of it as challenging. Optimistic. Glass half empty, or half full. That's me, You choose! 

I am a person who is constantly inspired. I choose to be around people who are "better" than me. In turn, it makes me better. Some people surround themselves with "less thans." For example, take the girl who asks the "not so pretty girl" to go to the club; she does this so she stands out. Ridiculous! I say, find the prettiest girl because then when you stand out, you are amongst the best! We can also take the guy who flaunts his possessions in order to get the girl. Lame! I say flaunt your: brain, character, chivalry, whit, and in turn you'll possess the better girl. All the same goal right? Attention. Approval. Ego stroke. A date... the difference between the two is a choice. 

Point being you have two choices, Regardless the situation. Although mine are silly (I know you all laughed because its true) there are choices in life that aren't. You can choose to be amongst the average with no: challenge, growth and potential. Or you can choose to be amongst the elite (not in a pretentious way) whose lives are constant reflections of: sacrifice, depth,  dedication, and uniqueness. 

Which one are you?

LIVE IT UP!!!!



Positively Painful

"Laugh when you can. Apologize when you should. Let go of what you cannot change. Play hard. Forgive quickly. Take chances. Give everything you've got. Have NO regrets. Life is too short to be anything but happy!"

I want to share with you how I have recently “Faced My Race.” The race of: dedication, investments, emotions, involvement, connection, and faith in my relationship (can I get an Amen!). I hope what you take from this is the ability to relate, to be revived, encouraged, inspired and maybe even to change!

Eighteen months ago I met the man I thought I would marry and a week ago, that same man decided otherwise. Needless to say, I am in the process of healing. With that, I am by no means writing about my previous relationship to say anything negative, cast any blame and/or publicly share private information. I deeply value my previous relationship and I can honestly say that it changed my life. It changed me as a woman. So, I write to share with you the process of my change. How my pain is evolving in ways so empowering and that I have decided to see the pain positively (not easy, but doable). I feel like so many people can relate to my situation. However, some people choose to be: complacent, depressed, angry and stuck. We have all experienced something that seemed so perfect, and within days/weeks/months, it all changed. That’s life. Nothing is promised to us. That is why they say, "Never put all your eggs in one basket." If you lose the basket, you have no eggs and no basket. In the same way, you should never conform to one person. “Never put all of who you are into someone else." If you lose that person, you lose yourself. I am thrilled to say that I still have 100% of myself and know exactly who I am. That is the positive!

I am human and I would have to admit that in my days of healing, there are good days and bad days. I have learned that it is completely natural to go thru many emotions each day, sometimes even by the minute. I began in shock. I was numb. I had no visual emotion. That turned into pain/anger/resentment. I didn’t understand. I couldn’t ration the irrational. Within a week, I was devastated. The “routine” of my relationship was setting in and the realization that there were no: morning conversations, afternoon lunches, “cute” texts, long phone conversations, speechless moments, perfect weekends and effortless affection…the void was beginning to set in. I fought with time. Moment by moment, I replayed every second of “that night” in my head. This was painful. This is painful. And for some time, will continue to be painful.

I don’t speak in past tense, as if I don’t have days that I feel alone and miss what I had. I speak in past tense because I have chosen to put it behind me. To only take from it what is good. I choose to take control of my healing. My pain. My happiness. My life. I have slowly begun to realize that God is working in me. The end to that relationship was to make room for a relationship with God AND to make me, a better woman.

I am currently reading a book called, 9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life. Henry Could states, “You have to come to the end of yourself, because that is when a person truly gets better. When you face the fact that you are powerless, then you look outside yourself to find the power to do what you are unable to do. That is how people usually change, and it works.” As I spend time reading and trying to focus on the good, this experience is beginning to add to the testimony of my faith. The loss of love is an extremely hard thing to grapple with. To lose something/someone you can physically see and feel and flex my faith muscles, which I cannot see but can definitely feel, is stretching for me. Either way…Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about dancing in the rain.

Change is uncomfortable....Opportunity is invaluable!

If you lived your life like this, “Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can - there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.” - could you even begin to fathom your greatness? Your success? Your influence on other people? Your purpose in life? Your ability to thrive? – It’s endless!

Ask yourself this, Have I learned everything I can? Anytime I can? From anyone I can? If the answer to anyone of these questions is "no" ask yourself why?

For some, it may derive from fear. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Fear of starting over. Fear of hard work. Fear of anything that may cause you to change.

For some, it may derive from pride. Pride of self. Pride of experience. Pride of position. Pride of power. Pride of anything that may cause you to feel “less than."

For some, it may derive from the inability to dream. Dream for things unseen. Dream for things never done. Dream for things some said one couldn't do. Dream for things thought impossible.

For me, my fear is NOT learning everything, anytime, from anyone.

For me, my pride is in my experiences, positions in life that make me a better woman, daughter, sister, friend; power to take any opportunity and make the most of it, and ability to take the feeling of "less than" and turn it into "much more."

For me, it’s my ability to dream. Dream of things unseen (faith), dream of doing things I've never done, dream of doing the very thing someone said that I couldn't do, and to do what I at one time thought was impossible.

This past year, I have fallen in love with exactly who I am. I have spent time with the most amazing people, I have done the most amazing things, but more importantly I have learned from my mistakes, taken chances and NEVER looked back!

One year ago today, I embarked on an opportunity I never saw myself taking. Meeting people I could never imagine my life without. Traveling to places I would have never gone and thru uncomfortable change... I am living an invaluable opportunity!

Without great detail, today I celebrated 1 year of my current job as an Operational Coordinator for a company that produces dozens of trade shows a year, in over 15 cities, 12 states, and more than 2 countries; whose mission is to create an unforgettable experience and captivate the interest and passions of millions of people.

The purpose of writing this blog was NOT to boast or brag, it was to inspire and challenge each of you to take opportunity, risk everything, and above all my prayer for you is to FaceTheRace!

NO time is the RIGHT time!

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon."  

1.   "IF it wasn't the first week of summer, I would totally start my diet." - 100% of people

2.   "I really want to do a cleanse (detox) but only if I have nothing going on." - 100% of people

3.   "A diet would be something I could commit too, only if I could still have a glass of wine every night and eat whatever I want on the weekends." - 100% of people

4.   "I am so tired of being overweight but I will only consider going to the gym if it’s not early,  if it's not crowded, if there is parking, if it’s not raining, if my kids are off to school, if I don't drink too much the night before, if my favorite spin instructor is there, if someone doesn't call me to go have coffee or invite me out for drinks, if I remember to charge my iPod, and if I lose 10 pounds in 5 days.” – 100% of people

For those of you who read thru this and thought to yourself, “that isn't me"..... RE-READ!!!!

I say this with 100% confidence, there is NO way you can NOT relate to at least one of these examples. Ok maybe not exactly, but feel free to add your own personal example of an excuse to the list (that's why I say 100% of people....by nature, we make excuses). This particular blog is currently personal to me and I felt like I had to share a current experience that went against the grain (literally! :))

Last Monday I did a 5 day cleanse (detox) Yes me... The person who LOVES food, wakes up for coffee and goes to bed dreaming about it. To clarify, the cleanse consists of ONLY fresh fruit and vegetables (No: dairy, coffee, tea, sugar, spices, bread, etc). You may ask, "Why the heck would you do that?" and then I would ask, "Why wouldn’t you?" - But I clearly don't have to ask anymore because I have heard ALL the excuses (see above). So to answer your question, I did it for the challenge, of course :) I did it for the ability to learn more about my body. I did it because I am human and my cheat days consist of: chocolate, beer, wine, cheese and LOTS of food that contaminate my body and I wanted to rid it of them. I did it because I am 100% of people with excuses and wanted to try something with NO excuse. With NO can't, NO I will try, NO I’ll start at the beginning of the year, blah, blah blah.... I am now finished with the cleanse and truthfully I have an entire new perspective of food and the "want" to eat...although during the five days I was restless, irritable, hungry (or so I thought) and truthfully wanted to gouge some eyes out! - jk

My “If” moments last week
 at work drove the idea for this blog. So here it goes - 

"If only I would've started this on January 1st I could be eating Mexican Food and dessert at our Christmas Potluck, I could have dinner with my brother while he was in town, and I could go to the opening of my favorite movie this week and have popcorn..." - but to be honest come January 1, 2012 I would've said, "If only I would've started this Dec 1, 2011!"  My point is No time is the RIGHT time for sacrifice.

Don’t be amongst the many. Ex: One day... we will quit. One day... we will change. One day.... we will start. Be a part of the few. Ex: Today I won’t quit! Today I will change! Today I will start.  Start anything! Start whatever you have put off due to excuses that cripple you. I PROMISE the “risk” is worth the “reward.” And when in doubt… FACETHERACE.

 

None of your Business!

I'm sure you read the title of this blog and were more inclined to continue because you wanted to know what I claimed was "none of your business." Don't worry, it's no secret. This title came to me when I was deciding what to write about in regards to my life in the "business world." You see, for those of you who know me, you know that the idea of working FOR someone and being confined to an office is comical....not to mention the whole 40 hour a week thing. For those of you who don't know me, here is all you need to know... I can barely sit thru an entire movie! Go ahead, laugh. It's true. The idea of sitting still makes me uncomfortable. My restlessness is the context for this particular blog.

For the past couple years I have run my own business as a Fitness Instructor. About a year ago, I was offered a position at a company that produces approximately 25-30 trade shows a year. Truthfully, the thought of a boss, a desk, a scheduled lunch hour and paperwork steered me more towards the, "No thank you" side of that conversation. It wasn't until I had a conversation with my parents that I realized I was looking at the job offer as "glass half empty." When I was counseled to adjust my thinking to the possibility that this job might polish skills I already have, involve me in new concepts and ideas about business that I could add to any one of my passions, and teach me to appreciate structure, timing and deadlines... my perspective changed.

To date, I have been at my job as an Operations Coordinator for almost 1 year. I have been to Indianapolis, Maryland, New York, Las Vegas, & San Francisco and could not be more blessed. Although at one moment in time my attitude was, that's none of my "business," i am SO glad that it is now!;)

Originally, I looked at this new job opportunity and assumed that it was not for me. With a little bit of wisdom from people I trust and the willingness to think outside my preconceived "notions," I accepted the job offer. I approach each day with the attitude that I will take the opportunities, the ideas, the lessons and the valuable business concepts and apply them to my life, my current fitness business, my relationships and my life goals.

My challenge to you is.....if you look at opportunities as "glass half full" what is the worst thing that could happen to an honest attempt that didn't pan out as planned? You learned something? You gained perspective? You took a leap of faith? Not so bad if you think about it. When in doubt... FaceTheRace!

Gear for Fear!

If I told you 3 years ago that the idea of running long distance was almost as enticing as sitting in bumper to bumper traffic with no air-conditioning and no gas, you would not believe me. There was once a day that I decided that everything I feared I would try and the fear of failing to complete a long distance run was one of them.  Three years later I have ran: 1 full marathon, 4 half marathons, 3 mud runs and 1 obstacle course; each varying in distance and difficulty, all carry the same requirements: (1) Be prepared (2) DON'T QUIT (both of which is a personal decision).  I can attribute these accomplishments to someone telling me that I couldn’t do it, and that I wasn’t prepared. Well, that by far was the BEST thing that someone could've said to me. I went straight to the internet, looked up the next 1/2 marathon, filled out my information, pressed submit and knew from that point, I was 21 days away from conquering my fear. I don't know you and how you deal with doubt, but what purpose does it serve you to affirm the doubt of someone else's opinion? There is much more pain in that than a 9.5 min pace for 13.1 miles - Trust me!

I wanted this to be my first blog ever because honestly, the idea that someone doubted my ability, presumed on my weakness and had the audacity to speak of it made me EXACTLY who I am today. My hope for you is that you find a way to relate to my story. Think of someone or something that has instilled fear in you. Ask yourself the risk vs. the reward, and then above all else - FaceTheRace!

Fearlessly,

Jenna Fenton